Now or Never Ben
I have gone back and forth on Ben for 2-3 years, undecided if he was a diamond in the rough or another wasted pick in a string of wasted picks (Jimmer, T-Rob, Nik) that have torpedoed our franchise into irrelevancy.
I have been repeatedly on the verge of giving up on him, throwing in the towel and say "no mas no mas!!! my eyes my eyes!!!!" but every once and awhile he provides a glimmer of hope.
Just enough to say....
I saw B-Mac in Houston at the last game of last year from the third row of the Toyota Center. Its nice to see a player up this close because you get a real sense for what he can and can't do:
24 points on 50% FGs
5 rebounds
3 assists
2 steals
40 minutes
This game was an outlier for a guy who averaged half of these numbers on less efficiency.
Is it possible this kid at the tender age of 23 and in his 4th season starting in less than two weeks and 232 games and over 6300 unearned minutes can finally become a legitimate NBA SG???
Is it possible he can be more than a neutral to negative player on most nights?
Is it possible he can log a respectable PER for the first time in his career (14 PER or better) instead of wallowing below 10 PER like a no-name D-Leaguer feeling his oats?
I think this answer is maybe to possibly. Which is better than the projection of most Kings fans which is "NO CHANCE". and which is better than hell to the no. I am telling you don't give up on him just yet.
Here's why:
We knew this kid was immature, mentally and physically, when he was drafted at 19 years old. We knew he came from poverty which hindered his emotional development. We knew he was a nice kid. We knew he was shy and reserved and plain spoken, the opposite of worldly, and not remotely ready for the Big Show.
The pretty jumper was there. But it didn't go in. The hops were there. But open air was rare. Then there was the misadventures as a passer and a dribbler. It was often like a hot potato when the ball was in his hands with opponent drooling with sense of theft.
Then there was the inability to create space and own shot. There there was the fluctuating confidence and self-doubt and own head coaches who lost faith and hope.
He was gifted minutes because there was no better option. And the gift he delivered to long suffering Kings fans was often a piece of coal.
This was not how it was suppose to go. The Ray Allen comparisons have been put to bed. The future all-star projections have been laughed away. Pete D is turning red as I type this.
B-Mac has looked often like he was on roller skates, the tread on his sneakers worn off despite donning new pair.
His lack of balance and shiftiness and lateral agility hurts him on D and O, limiting his effective cuts with and w/o the ball and ability to deny penetration and close out on shooters.
So even though Ben is a borderline great athlete, with a lovely looking jumper, his lack of strength, particularly core strength, has hindered his ability to check his man and create space with or without the ball.
If this Instagram video shows anything, this issue may finally be addressed:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKUhi0BBjcH/?taken-by=b_mclemore23&hl=en
As someone who maxes out around 310lbs.....500 pounds is BOSS! B-Mac has a work ethic and drive and a desire to be more than an NBA footnote. More than the next Jimmer. This counts for something! I'd say it counts for almost everything when the raw tools are there.
B-Mac got married recently. He's expecting his first child. Our naive wide-eyed draftee is growing up off the court. By extension, genuine growth on the court seems appropriate if not overdue.
I wish he had more length as SG, being 6'4" with average wingspan at best. I wish he had more juke moves to free himself with 5-10 seconds on the shot clock. I wish Kate Upton was in my bed.
But one thing I do NOT have to wish for is that when Curry went from pretty good player with bum ankles to odds on favorite to be MVP of the NBA is when he became deceptively strong. I don't have the numbers, but it was reported that Curry can deadlift more than any other player on the Warriors, including their bigs.
Curry became great when you could no longer smother him and when he turned into a two way player. If defenders try to play him tight, he blows by, he keeps his lane and his balance and counters. He also has the physicality and reaction time to cut off penetration into the lane.
This is what Ben can do in theory this upcoming season with his newfound combination of speed AND strength, per video. Of course theory is different than reality and this is the challenge that lies before him.
The deadlift is a good gauge of overall strength and matters a lot more than bicep diameter or max bench press. When you can deadlift a ton, or in the case of B-Mac 1/4 of a ton, you can absorb contact and finish.
You can fight through screens and give as much as you take. You are no longer a pushover. You are a beast in high tops.
What needs to happen now is for his improved physicality and strength to translate to increase confidence and aggressiveness.
What needs to happen is for Ben to clearly outplay Affalo in training camp, a good veteran on the decline, and WIN THE STARTING SG spot.
I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it, but I think he can do it. Ben needs to stop taking abuse and start giving it. This means drawing contact, getting to the line, and using his superior athleticism and strength instead of being Mr. Nice Guy.
There should be no more Mr. Nice Guy. You're playing for a NEW contract (QO pending next summer) and put food in your new baby's mouth! This is another reason to quit being a invisible presence on the floor too often. You have a family to take care of in the midst of exploding salary cap.
Make your mark, bro.
When you are strong and quick, the defender has to back off. Now make him pay for backing off by burying the jumper with more regularity (40% 3s after career best 36.2% last season). On the other end, use your physicality to deny penetration and get 1/2 step closer to your man to deny dribble penetration and receipt of the pass.
The SG position in the NBA is probably the weakest of all positions. The opportunity is there yet again in Year 4 to show he's not a pretender. Ben has logged a ton of minutes there over three arduous seasons. It is overdue for this franchise to start receiving tangible dividends on this investment.
Now or never, Ben.
I have said this is the year whether we decide Boogie is a King for Life or whether he needs to shipped to greener pastures, the Cs or elsewhere. The same goes for Ben. It is time to step up or step out. This diehard is betting on the former. I am betting Ben is a late bloomer and not a bust. It is time to start blooming.
Cheers
Blob
I have gone back and forth on Ben for 2-3 years, undecided if he was a diamond in the rough or another wasted pick in a string of wasted picks (Jimmer, T-Rob, Nik) that have torpedoed our franchise into irrelevancy.
I have been repeatedly on the verge of giving up on him, throwing in the towel and say "no mas no mas!!! my eyes my eyes!!!!" but every once and awhile he provides a glimmer of hope.
Just enough to say....
I saw B-Mac in Houston at the last game of last year from the third row of the Toyota Center. Its nice to see a player up this close because you get a real sense for what he can and can't do:
- the athleticism
- the fundamentals
- the intangibles
- the aggressiveness
24 points on 50% FGs
5 rebounds
3 assists
2 steals
40 minutes
This game was an outlier for a guy who averaged half of these numbers on less efficiency.
Is it possible this kid at the tender age of 23 and in his 4th season starting in less than two weeks and 232 games and over 6300 unearned minutes can finally become a legitimate NBA SG???
Is it possible he can be more than a neutral to negative player on most nights?
Is it possible he can log a respectable PER for the first time in his career (14 PER or better) instead of wallowing below 10 PER like a no-name D-Leaguer feeling his oats?
I think this answer is maybe to possibly. Which is better than the projection of most Kings fans which is "NO CHANCE". and which is better than hell to the no. I am telling you don't give up on him just yet.
Here's why:
We knew this kid was immature, mentally and physically, when he was drafted at 19 years old. We knew he came from poverty which hindered his emotional development. We knew he was a nice kid. We knew he was shy and reserved and plain spoken, the opposite of worldly, and not remotely ready for the Big Show.
The pretty jumper was there. But it didn't go in. The hops were there. But open air was rare. Then there was the misadventures as a passer and a dribbler. It was often like a hot potato when the ball was in his hands with opponent drooling with sense of theft.
Then there was the inability to create space and own shot. There there was the fluctuating confidence and self-doubt and own head coaches who lost faith and hope.
He was gifted minutes because there was no better option. And the gift he delivered to long suffering Kings fans was often a piece of coal.
This was not how it was suppose to go. The Ray Allen comparisons have been put to bed. The future all-star projections have been laughed away. Pete D is turning red as I type this.
B-Mac has looked often like he was on roller skates, the tread on his sneakers worn off despite donning new pair.
His lack of balance and shiftiness and lateral agility hurts him on D and O, limiting his effective cuts with and w/o the ball and ability to deny penetration and close out on shooters.
So even though Ben is a borderline great athlete, with a lovely looking jumper, his lack of strength, particularly core strength, has hindered his ability to check his man and create space with or without the ball.
If this Instagram video shows anything, this issue may finally be addressed:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKUhi0BBjcH/?taken-by=b_mclemore23&hl=en
As someone who maxes out around 310lbs.....500 pounds is BOSS! B-Mac has a work ethic and drive and a desire to be more than an NBA footnote. More than the next Jimmer. This counts for something! I'd say it counts for almost everything when the raw tools are there.
B-Mac got married recently. He's expecting his first child. Our naive wide-eyed draftee is growing up off the court. By extension, genuine growth on the court seems appropriate if not overdue.
I wish he had more length as SG, being 6'4" with average wingspan at best. I wish he had more juke moves to free himself with 5-10 seconds on the shot clock. I wish Kate Upton was in my bed.
But one thing I do NOT have to wish for is that when Curry went from pretty good player with bum ankles to odds on favorite to be MVP of the NBA is when he became deceptively strong. I don't have the numbers, but it was reported that Curry can deadlift more than any other player on the Warriors, including their bigs.
Curry became great when you could no longer smother him and when he turned into a two way player. If defenders try to play him tight, he blows by, he keeps his lane and his balance and counters. He also has the physicality and reaction time to cut off penetration into the lane.
This is what Ben can do in theory this upcoming season with his newfound combination of speed AND strength, per video. Of course theory is different than reality and this is the challenge that lies before him.
The deadlift is a good gauge of overall strength and matters a lot more than bicep diameter or max bench press. When you can deadlift a ton, or in the case of B-Mac 1/4 of a ton, you can absorb contact and finish.
You can fight through screens and give as much as you take. You are no longer a pushover. You are a beast in high tops.
What needs to happen now is for his improved physicality and strength to translate to increase confidence and aggressiveness.
What needs to happen is for Ben to clearly outplay Affalo in training camp, a good veteran on the decline, and WIN THE STARTING SG spot.
I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it, but I think he can do it. Ben needs to stop taking abuse and start giving it. This means drawing contact, getting to the line, and using his superior athleticism and strength instead of being Mr. Nice Guy.
There should be no more Mr. Nice Guy. You're playing for a NEW contract (QO pending next summer) and put food in your new baby's mouth! This is another reason to quit being a invisible presence on the floor too often. You have a family to take care of in the midst of exploding salary cap.
Make your mark, bro.
When you are strong and quick, the defender has to back off. Now make him pay for backing off by burying the jumper with more regularity (40% 3s after career best 36.2% last season). On the other end, use your physicality to deny penetration and get 1/2 step closer to your man to deny dribble penetration and receipt of the pass.
The SG position in the NBA is probably the weakest of all positions. The opportunity is there yet again in Year 4 to show he's not a pretender. Ben has logged a ton of minutes there over three arduous seasons. It is overdue for this franchise to start receiving tangible dividends on this investment.
Now or never, Ben.
I have said this is the year whether we decide Boogie is a King for Life or whether he needs to shipped to greener pastures, the Cs or elsewhere. The same goes for Ben. It is time to step up or step out. This diehard is betting on the former. I am betting Ben is a late bloomer and not a bust. It is time to start blooming.
Cheers
Blob
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