Marvin Bagley - the legend begins

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#61
Last night he shot the ball with no hesitation, and the shot overall looked smooth with a faster release. People around me were yelling for him to get in the paint, but I see it as him probing the boundaries of his development. As the game grew, he patrolled the paint and was a difference maker on both ends. Exciting to watch
When I saw Bagley play at Duke, I said he's just a jumpshot away from being a star. When he's able to hit that 3 pt shot consistently, he'll be unguardable and will move into the rare air area occupied by the Durant's and Lebron's of the world. I firmly believe that!
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#62
Honestly, based on his year at Duke (and the disaster of summer league) I didn't expect his post game to be as advanced as it. Footwork is solid and he has great touch around the basket. Add to that his pursuit on the offensive boards and it feels like his post touches should eventually end up in 60%+ scoring efficiency.
I think you have to give the coaching staff some credit here. Joerger has alluded to the fact that Bagley is a very hard worker who wants to be great. So the work ethic is there, but I think he's getting great coaching as well. Put the two together and you get what your seeing. I think he's just scratching the surface on his potential, and that's scary.
 
#63
Sometimes when we see players regularly, their improvement tends to sneak up on us. Just for some clarity on Belgey’s improvement, just think back to summer league and the player we saw then and compare him to the player we see now days. Not just the player we saw against the Spurs but in general in recent weeks. Even before missing games with injury, Bagley was putting together some really promising games.

Just imagine how much better he will be next season or even in 3-5 years time. All-Star!
I said it before the draft (as did Baja, I believe). If Bagley adds an outside shot, he will be a superstar. His shot looks to be coming along just fine.
 
#64
My fave play was the put back dunk in the fourth. Watch it. Bags jumps almost a full second before Bertrand. You can’t teach that. It’s throwing before the receiver is open type of sh*t.

And the work ethic is evident from his improvement within the year.

He’s special. We’re lucky. Enjoy the next ten yrs.
Everyone watch this play in slow-mo. Idk if he was taught to do this or if it’s just instinct....

But look how he enters his jump BEFORE the ball hits the rim and decides on which way to bounce. And then the milisecond the ball picks a trajectory, Bagley is already halfway through his jump and directs himself to the ball.

He might be one of the best rebounding prospects I’ve ever seen if he adds some more strength. Especially if you couple the rebounding ability with the ability to go coast to coast. He’s 19? Oh

 
#65
When I saw Bagley play at Duke, I said he's just a jumpshot away from being a star. When he's able to hit that 3 pt shot consistently, he'll be unguardable and will move into the rare air area occupied by the Durant's and Lebron's of the world. I firmly believe that!
Glad to hear he has been shooting with fox, buddy and bags post practice.

honestly; he is one summer away if he works on his game to the extent Fox and Buddy did this offseason. The work ethic is certainly there
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#66
The "nobody really knows" argument is not valid, it can be applied to literally any young player. It's not an argument for anything.

I'm not putting a cap on Bagley's potential, don't get it twisted. He might end up being better than Giannis. He's definitely not going to be the passer or ball handler he is though, no more than Fox is going to be the shooter Steph is. Different skillets, it's not hard at all to see.
You do realize that when Giannis came into the league he wasn't a great passer or ball handler, so we really don't know how good Bagley will eventually be, but I do think we can agree that he's definitely going to be very good. Hey, I don't think Giannis is done improving either. His 3 pt shot is getting better and will continue to improve.

It's weird how people think originally, and perhaps, how that thinking might influence the final result. Everyone knew that Curry could shoot, but most people thought he was more of a SG than a PG, and that he'd never be able to defend in the NBA. Guess what, he got much better in the area's he was criticized. I suspect that Fox will do the same. Should be fun to watch.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#67
Everyone watch this play in slow-mo. Idk if he was taught to do this or if it’s just instinct....

But look how he enters his jump BEFORE the ball hits the rim and decides on which way to bounce. And then the milisecond the ball picks a trajectory, Bagley is already halfway through his jump and directs himself to the ball.

He might be one of the best rebounding prospects I’ve ever seen if he adds some more strength. Especially if you couple the rebounding ability with the ability to go coast to coast. He’s 19? Oh

What I particularly like is the audio on the video. What tremendous coverage of that put back dunk. Sounds like they were at a dinner party having a cocktail and some conversation.
 
#68
Everyone watch this play in slow-mo. Idk if he was taught to do this or if it’s just instinct....

But look how he enters his jump BEFORE the ball hits the rim and decides on which way to bounce. And then the milisecond the ball picks a trajectory, Bagley is already halfway through his jump and directs himself to the ball.

He might be one of the best rebounding prospects I’ve ever seen if he adds some more strength. Especially if you couple the rebounding ability with the ability to go coast to coast. He’s 19? Oh

That is unteachable--it's wiring. If we assume it's a learned skill, you teach that to Skal and he's in the rotation and nets you a late lotto to mid first today. Skal jumps a second before Bertrans and with his length, he covers the same distance, and gets the rebound--at a minimum.
 
#69
Everyone watch this play in slow-mo. Idk if he was taught to do this or if it’s just instinct....

But look how he enters his jump BEFORE the ball hits the rim and decides on which way to bounce. And then the milisecond the ball picks a trajectory, Bagley is already halfway through his jump and directs himself to the ball.

He might be one of the best rebounding prospects I’ve ever seen if he adds some more strength. Especially if you couple the rebounding ability with the ability to go coast to coast. He’s 19? Oh

Basically, Bagley jumps toward the center of the basket trusting that he can adapt whether the ball veers right, left or goes in. Look at his right arm. If the ball went to the right. He was in place to get that rebound as well.

It's like the skilled Jeopardy players who are confident they know all the answers, so they buzz in before they have processed the question. By hte time they are called on, they have time to come up with the answer before others have even hit the button.
 
#71
You do realize that when Giannis came into the league he wasn't a great passer or ball handler, so we really don't know how good Bagley will eventually be, but I do think we can agree that he's definitely going to be very good. Hey, I don't think Giannis is done improving either. His 3 pt shot is getting better and will continue to improve.

It's weird how people think originally, and perhaps, how that thinking might influence the final result. Everyone knew that Curry could shoot, but most people thought he was more of a SG than a PG, and that he'd never be able to defend in the NBA. Guess what, he got much better in the area's he was criticized. I suspect that Fox will do the same. Should be fun to watch.
He certainly was for his size and age. It was always a foundation of his game. Look, there's no point in me arguing this further. We all want Bagley to be great, I just don't think Giannis is an apt comparison in style of play. Physically they're not too far away. But in game type, I don't see a strong resemblance.

Also, I never insinuated Fox wouldn't improve his shooting, in case you misinterpreted what I said as that.

Moving on, we can all agree that his ceiling is sky high.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#72
Marvin is showing his complete game as a rookie. The only thing as impressive as his game against the Spurs was the interview after wards. He said everything you want to hear from a rookie. He is humble, he appreciates the fans and he loves Sacto.

HIs level of improvement is faster than any player I have ever seen.
This! He looked pretty rough in summer league/preseason. Now he's dropping 24/12/4/3 on The Spurs like it ain't no thing. The way he keeps adding to his game is awesome. Crazy growth.

I'm pumped, PUMPED I tell you, over the player he's gonna be next season. I have no doubt that this franchise's newfound ability to develop talent is going to turn Marvin into a monster!
 
#74
Everyone watch this play in slow-mo. Idk if he was taught to do this or if it’s just instinct....

But look how he enters his jump BEFORE the ball hits the rim and decides on which way to bounce. And then the milisecond the ball picks a trajectory, Bagley is already halfway through his jump and directs himself to the ball.

He might be one of the best rebounding prospects I’ve ever seen if he adds some more strength.
The best I’ve seen with rebounding ‘instincts’ and the ability to pogo and tap the ball to himself was Dennis Rodman. By far.

MB3 is certainly showing that he has that same skill in him. Time will tell how much more it develops. But he seemingly has the skill naturally.

Combine that with his other skills ..... wow! This is gonna be fun to watch!
 
#76
I said it before the draft (as did Baja, I believe). If Bagley adds an outside shot, he will be a superstar. His shot looks to be coming along just fine.
Add Blob and me to the Mix. We were both very bullish on Bagley pre draft although I'll admit I was a MPJ fanboy as well. lol
 
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#78
Coming out of college, I knew he would be a productive rebounder and scorer around the paint, but a big man needs more than that to be a superstar in today's NBA. I was skeptical about his defense, ball skills and potential on the perimeter, but he's winning me over game by game. He's seemingly flashing new skills every few games and his work ethic appears to be as advertised, so let's see how high he can rise.
 
#79
It really doesn't matter whether he starts on not. What matters is that he is getting enough minutes and if we are honest, he has been getting enough minutes lately and in the key stretches of the games.
He can come off the bench, but if Joeger's going to play it that way he needs to get Bagley in earlier in the half. Last night, Marvin was having a dominant game and yet he had to stay in the final 1.5 quarters straight just to reach 31 minutes. That's not ideal.
 
#80
Add Blob and me to the Mix. We were both very bullish on Bagley pre draft although I'll admit I was a MPJ fanboy as well. lol
I've admitted that I was on the other side of the spectrum. At one point, I had 5 other players ahead of MB3 in terms of draft preference. He moved up a couple spots before the draft, but he certainly wasn't one of my favorites.

But about a week or so after the draft I decided to be open-minded about it and I have been ever since. I started to clearly see the logic behind the selection. And despite the early success of a few other draft picks, I remain committed to the notion of seeing how it all plays out over the next 2-3 seasons.

That said, I'm already on the MB3 bandwagon and am extremely excited about what I've seen and what I am imagining for the future.

In short, I can readily admit that I underestimated him. Probably has a lot to do with my anti-Duke bias ;) lol
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#81
What I like a lot about bagley is his mean streak. Fox has it too. Not sure it’s something you can scout or foresee but they have it. I think it’s really important for success in sports. You can see it in bagley after that dunk last night and the one in summer league.
That's the thing about this current team: Fox, Bagley, Buddy, Bogi, Harry, and to a lesser but still important extent Shump are all intense self-starters. They take joy in dominating their opponents.
 
#85
I would split the difference. It was 180 from the point at which he caught it, but when he jumped he wasn't totally turned around. Either way, pretty amazing to jump, catch and spin....continue to levitate, and then throw it down.
It was an amazing play. Very few players have the body control and quickness to pull it off. But god lord, no reason to make Kings fans look ignorant and math challenged.
 
#86
This! He looked pretty rough in summer league/preseason. Now he's dropping 24/12/4/3 on The Spurs like it ain't no thing. The way he keeps adding to his game is awesome. Crazy growth.

I'm pumped, PUMPED I tell you, over the player he's gonna be next season. I have no doubt that this franchise's newfound ability to develop talent is going to turn Marvin into a monster!
I said this before but I think it bares repeating. Bagley, unlike other picks, did not have top level skills coaching prior to entering the league. His dad, a football coach, was the coach of his AAU team. Most college coaches use the summer and September to develop skills and Bagley came in late as he changed his draft class.

The result is Marvin is for the first time getting professional coaching and you can see it in his rapid improvement.
 
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#87
I said this before but I think it bears repeating. Bagley, unlike other picks, did not have top level skills coaching prior to entering the league. His dad, a football coach, was the coach of his AAU team. Most college coaches use the summer and September to develop skills and Bagley came in late as he changed his draft class.

The result is Marvin is for the first time getting professional coaching and you can see it in his rapid improvement.
If he turns into the superstar of this class this is will be a good point to remember when looking back at how he was viewed as a prospect. I liked him but definitely didn't love him. I love him now.
 
#88
I 'd like to bring it down to ground zero - Bagley is high energy in a bottle. Even on a bad game he's giving his all more so than several of his teammates. In preseason game 1 against the Suns, a few people were upset, but it was clear he was going to bring the energy - all the rest of it was gravy. He could be the Tony Allen of the Kings and it would've been enough, but he's clearly more. In the draft I was mildly annoyed, but a little curious, and certainly willing to wait and see. I love his obvious camaraderie with Giles. You can see it on both sides of the floor. They realize they are shot blockers out there. Joerger has realized it with extended minutes - its in their body language. This doesn't kmean Stein is expendable either. At this point, I wouldn't blame the Kings management at all for keeping the whole team intact through the trade deadline. They may not, but I wouldn't blame 'em. Team chemistry is hard to create and even harder to capture. I'm to the point now of a spoiled fan, the .500 mark may not be enough. I want playoffs THIS YEAR, and Bagley just might be their catalyst player to lead them as a rookie. 8th seed is within reach. It starts with a win against the Rockets