[Game] Kings @ Bulls - 15 MAR 2014, 20:00 EST, 17:00 PST

[HereWeBoogie]

Pizza Guy delivering those Ws to opposing teams in crunch time

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

I like Ben Mac more and more. You can see the potential; however, his confidence is zero. One of the worst confidences I've seen in an NBA basketball player. If he had Kobe's confidence or Lebron's, he would be rookie of the year and an all-star. He's got that much up due to his incredible athleticism and the fact that he's actually a quality shooter but just hasn't shown it since college because his confidence is invisible.
But he will be a good player no doubt. I look at two things: Experience and Hard Work
He lacks experience but he puts in a lot of work. You can tell that slowly his confidence is increasing towards the end of this season. That comes with time and experience. I also like that he's a hustler on defense and because of his athleticism, he's got the potential to become an elite defender. When he is on a fast break, MAN his speed is intense. It seems like he's too fast for his own good cause sometimes he has a hard time slowing himself down LOL
Once he gets his stroke, he'll be an extremely hard player to defend because if he learns to dribble, he'll be able to put the ball on the floor and blow by his defender.

I'm glad we kept him.

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

I feel like it was a good idea from Malone to have Ben Mac take a shot at the end of the game. I feel like if that shot went in, Ben Mac's confidence would be through the roof for the following game. He's just waiting to hit that one big shot to get him going. I also like how IT fist bumped him after he missed that shot and Malone called him over to tell him it's ok that he missed and gave him some pointers. I like Malone, he's a good coach and learning day by day as well.

 

[Bricklayer]

I like Ben Mac more and more. You can see the potential; however, his confidence is zero. One of the worst confidences I've seen in an NBA basketball player. If he had Kobe's confidence or Lebron's, he would be rookie of the year and an all-star. He's got that much up due to his incredible athleticism and the fact that he's actually a quality shooter but just hasn't shown it since college because his confidence is invisible.
But he will be a good player no doubt. I look at two things: Experience and Hard Work
He lacks experience but he puts in a lot of work. You can tell that slowly his confidence is increasing towards the end of this season. That comes with time and experience. I also like that he's a hustler on defense and because of his athleticism, he's got the potential to become an elite defender. When he is on a fast break, MAN his speed is intense. It seems like he's too fast for his own good cause sometimes he has a hard time slowing himself down LOL
Once he gets his stroke, he'll be an extremely hard player to defend because if he learns to dribble, he'll be able to put the ball on the floor and blow by his defender.

I'm glad we kept him.

I very much agree that if Ben just learns how to defend, how to shoot, and how to dribble, he could be a good NBA player.

 

[pshn80]

P.S.: ...... and pass.

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

I very much agree that if Ben just learns how to defend, how to shoot, and how to dribble, he could be a good NBA player.

Ok, I'll take that sarcastic comment

But in all seriousness, he's already a decent defender (needs to learn to stay in front of his man and not foul all the damn time) and he's an excellent shooter (just lacks confidence to knock it down ala Marcus Thornton this season for us). His explosiveness is present and could potentially be one of the most explosive players in the NBA if he keeps working hard. That would do wonders for him IF he learns to put the ball on the floor and get to the hoop, hence, dribbling.

So, confidence and dribbling. Defense is already there because of his athleticism. explosiveness and hard work.

One is purely psychological so there is no reason that he can't accomplish that.

The other has to do with putting hours and hours of work into his game. I used to play basketball in high school with this one kid who was our 13th man. He was the most athletic player in our team but he couldn't dribble or shoot for sh!t !!!! Well, he worked hard after freshman and sophomore year and come varsity, he was the star player on our squad and one of the best dribblers as well for a forward.

So, any half-wit can learn how to dribble and take care of the ball. All it takes is practice and experience. He didn't have to do that in College cause that's a totally different system and because of his confidence, he was one of the best shooters in college so he always posted up rather than being forced to put the ball on the floor. When he did dribble, he was on a fast break and that's where the majority of his inside baskets came from.


I think Ben Mac's main issue with regards to dribbling is that he needs to learn to work with his speed. He's too fast for his own good when he dribbles and that's why he loses control of the ball often, sadly.

He's got the most upside besides MCW from last years draft and I think he can potentially become an all-star. He has a little ego (see all-star dunk contest) when he's feeling confidence. When that ego is stroked, he becomes a beast. We've seen it in college but the best is yet to come. I hope we don't trade him next season. Give the kid some time to develop. He should have still played in college this season.

 

[Bricklayer]

Um..no.

Actually I have noticed some defensive improvement in the last few weeks. Well, some nights at least. But I am 100% not exaggerating when I say I think for much of this year Ben McLemore might have been the very worst defensive player in the NBA. At the very least the most clueless. I would take Steve Novak to get a big stop before him. Jimmer is Bruce Bowen comparatively. Ok, well that's a little hyperbole, but the point stands. He has been completely awful as a defender. The ONLY thing he has done has been make some spectacular hustle blocks, but that's tourist stuff. Defense is play to play, hard work and smarts, and lateral quickness which I don't know he has. People talk about his athleticism, and he is certainly very fast and jumps very high...and those are barely relevant defensive traits for a perimeter defender. He hasn't been able to stay in front of anybody, and he's shown absolutely no feel for spacing. The latter is something I think there may have been some improvement in of late, but everytime he faces an experienced scorer its a white knuckle ride.