Ben Mclemore

KingsFanGER said:
Eddie Johnson was all over the Kings as a whole, based on the narrative that it was a major mistake to let IT walk. It wasn't just Ben, who he talked down, but DC, Gay and even DMC.
Just a pure home announcer exaggerating the strength of their own roster big time. I like Phoenix but i doubt that this PG-heavy Playstyle will lead to success in the playoffs versus strong defensive teams like the Spurs or Grizzlies. Everything is based on the perimeter game and floor spacing, while the Kings prove right now, that you can still pound the ball inside and have success in the contemporary NBA.
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Eddie Johnson is a bit of a fool really. He blogs over at hoopshype and I pop in to berate him for the blatant stupidity of about 90% of his blogs every few months. He's just not very good at basketball analysis. Very good player who apparently was not a very bright one.
 
While watching some of the earlier PHX games this year, to see how IT was fitting in and they are a fun team to watch, listening to EJ....he's kind of an ass. Most announcers or color men don't just dump on the opposing team players. EJ does and it just comes across as unprofessional. I'm going to guess his ego is rather large.
 
There was a particular possession in the OKC game in which Ben got the ball at the top of the 3 point line and tried to drive to his right, was cut off, and shot a step back jumper from the baseline. The amount of space that he covered with this step back move was incredible.
 
Chupacabra said:
There was a particular possession in the OKC game in which Ben got the ball at the top of the 3 point line and tried to drive to his right, was cut off, and shot a step back jumper from the baseline. The amount of space that he covered with this step back move was incredible.
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Yes yes yes. That move had me thinking maybe we have a 12-15 ppg shooting guard already on the roster. He just needs confidence. That play is at around 45 seconds. Almost looked like a travel.

If he hits his first shot, he's on his way, if not, it gets ugly.

 
dude12 said:
While watching some of the earlier PHX games this year, to see how IT was fitting in and they are a fun team to watch, listening to EJ....he's kind of an ass. Most announcers or color men don't just dump on the opposing team players. EJ does and it just comes across as unprofessional. I'm going to guess his ego is rather large.
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He and Harpring are two of the absolute worst color analysts in the league who happen to be ex-players. Sean Elliot is pretty poor too.
 
Chupacabra said:
There was a particular possession in the OKC game in which Ben got the ball at the top of the 3 point line and tried to drive to his right, was cut off, and shot a step back jumper from the baseline. The amount of space that he covered with this step back move was incredible.
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The best dribble drive move that he has made in his career so far. I just watched it a bunch of times in a row. He did a lateral/backwards jump stop...and covered about 8 feet of floor! An awesome move and shot
 
Chubbs said:
Yes yes yes. That move had me thinking maybe we have a 12-15 ppg shooting guard already on the roster. He just needs confidence. That play is at around 45 seconds. Almost looked like a travel.

If he hits his first shot, he's on his way, if not, it gets ugly.

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He looks to be so much more under control in these highlights than any game I've seen him play in with the Kings so far. He might be starting to learn patience.
 
Chubbs said:
Yes yes yes. That move had me thinking maybe we have a 12-15 ppg shooting guard already on the roster. He just needs confidence. That play is at around 45 seconds. Almost looked like a travel.

If he hits his first shot, he's on his way, if not, it gets ugly.

Click to expand...

Food for thought. All of those baskets were essentially assisted, but none of the passes came from Collison.
 
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Defensively is where I have been impressed with Ben the last few games. He seems to be picking up the defensive schemes faster than the offensive sets. That is fine for now. We really need him to be a good perimeter defender first and scorer second. He is starting to become more confident in his shot and certainly has shown confidence in his man defense. I say lets wait another 20 games and see how he is playing then. People are always too quick to judge these young kids. He'd be a junior in college for GAWD's sake ! Give him some time to get comfortable and used to the NBA game and he is already showing progress. It takes some longer to learn that others. Ben strikes me as someone who might take a little longer to get the system, but once he does he is going to be just fine.
 
FaStRmAn said:
Defensively is where I have been impressed with Ben the last few games. He seems to be picking up the defensive schemes faster than the offensive sets. That is fine for now. We really need him to be a good perimeter defender first and scorer second. He is starting to become more confident in his shot and certainly has shown confidence in his man defense. I say lets wait another 20 games and see how he is playing then. People are always too quick to judge these young kids. He'd be a junior in college for GAWD's sake ! Give him some time to get comfortable and used to the NBA game and he is already showing progress. It takes some longer to learn that others. Ben strikes me as someone who might take a little longer to get the system, but once he does he is going to be just fine.
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Why not just say "Let's wait a bit and see how he progresses"? I know it seems like I'm picking nits but it's become way too much about arbitrary deadlines. If the guy continues to improve, for the most part, this season then that's gonna be more than good enough for me.
 
I see Ben turning into some what of a Doug Christie mold SG as he develps. Just needs more confidence and work on his shot. He's a good kid with a good head on his shoulders.
 
Ben is 21. He'll still be 20 games from now.

It's going to take time. It's already taken time.

He'll never be a Doug Christie type. Doug could handle the ball and pass. I don't see that out of Ben. I do see a better shooter than Doug.
 
Chubbs said:
Yes yes yes. That move had me thinking maybe we have a 12-15 ppg shooting guard already on the roster. He just needs confidence. That play is at around 45 seconds. Almost looked like a travel.

If he hits his first shot, he's on his way, if not, it gets ugly.

Click to expand...

Also great to see that four of those six shots were assisted by Rudy, a sign of good chemistry between the starting wings.
 
I will admit, I had complately given up on this guy and thought he deserved to rot on the bench until we could trade him.

I may have been wrong. The past 2-3 games he has looked good. There may be hope for him and our 2 spot.
 
Livinthedream said:
Still too early to tell. There is nothing that tells us he can't pass.
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Doug was the 3rd/4th best passer on one of the top passing teams to ever play in this league. A big part of his playmaking ability was his ability to create off the bounce. As a younger player he regularly ran the point. I actually think he was a better passer than Bibby and the reason he didn't average more assists is because Mike was handling the rock most of the time we weren't playing through Webb/Vlade.

Ben is not near that level. There's quite a difference between saying "nothing tells us he can't pass" and comparing him to Doug. And really, their games aren't similar. I don't know where these Ben and Doug comparisons keep coming from. Aside from defense, and while Ben is clearly improving on that end, their strengths and weaknesses are pretty much polar opposites.

It seems cliche, but the guy Ben has resembled over the last few games is a poor man's Ray Allen.
 
ben will never be anything that even resembles christie offensively...last year he was LITERALLY the worst ball handling guard ive ever seen...hes improved some but not much and still doesnt have confidence when dribbling...and IQ wise as a passer, im willing to bet my life that he will not be christie...but in saying that, i just hope he just continues to get more consistent in shooting...and hes very athletic so he should get better defensively.. its his bball IQ thats holding him back, i mean honestly he so much more athletic than jj reddick but reddick was losing him quite easily, just on IQ alone...
 
If he turns out to be a Danny Green type of roleplayer i'm fine. He has all the tools. Just needs time, trust and leadership. I really like the comments DMC made about Ben working hard.
 
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