Preseason Grades v. Suns 10/17/2013

[ninjabiscuit]

found this from last night's game:

Funny because I heard all of those plays on the radio, and I had something totally different in my head. Cousins looked (and sounded) pretty unstoppable, at least by the Suns. Also love his attitude so far, and hope he keeps it up from now on.

 

[SCKingsfan]

Wait, what? Because it's so ridiculous it doesn't seem ridiculous, is that what you are saying?

That people are making ridiculous claims at both extremes. To put him somewhere on the continuum from a Curry to 12th man at best? - sure, seems lots of room for reasonable debate. But to say one or the other at this point seems, if not inaccurate, then at least "ridiculously" premature.

 

[jcwkings]

I am really holding back on reporting your post. You just compared Jimmer to Curry.

Mods, can I get a ruling?

I am really holding back on reporting your post. You just compared Jimmer to Curry.

Mods, can I get a ruling?

They have similar games with the one glaring exception that Curry developed into an elite ball handler(he didn't come into the league as one, and was average for a PG). Developing elite ball handling ability catapulted Curry to elite status because the rest of his offensive game is great (distance shooter, pull up jumper, floaters, solid court vision, good decision maker), he is not a good defender like Jimmer. I didn't say Jimmer will ever be Curry, his ball handling is below average for a PG(the last 2 seasons, havent seen him this year), but if he ever became a very good/great ball handler, theres no reason he couldn't be at least a poor mans Steph Curry, again Jimmer in limited playing time on a short leash has shown high basketball IQ, solid court vision, good decision making.

Fundamentally its similar to comparing Tyreke Evans to Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Russel Westbrook. They have similar games with the glaring exception that Tyreke doesn't have a jumpshot. Remember there was a time where no one on this board would even think of trading Evans for Curry, today it would never even be considered for the Warriors, why? because Curry became a great ball handler, he no longer has to worry about trivial things like handling ball pressure, he went from almost a pure catch and shoot guy to a guy that controls the game at all times because the threat of his combination of ball handling, shooting and passing.

 

[SCKingsfan]

They have similar games with the one glaring exception that Curry developed into an elite ball handler(he didn't come into the league as one, and was average for a PG). Developing elite ball handling ability catapulted Curry to elite status because the rest of his offensive game is great (distance shooter, pull up jumper, floaters, solid court vision, good decision maker), he is not a good defender like Jimmer. I didn't say Jimmer will ever be Curry, his ball handling is below average for a PG(the last 2 seasons, havent seen him this year), but if he ever became a very good/great ball handler, theres no reason he couldn't be at least a poor mans Steph Curry, again Jimmer in limited playing time on a short leash has shown high basketball IQ, solid court vision, good decision making.

Fundamentally its similar to comparing Tyreke Evans to Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Russel Westbrook. They have similar games with the glaring exception that Tyreke doesn't have a jumpshot. Remember there was a time where no one on this board would even think of trading Evans for Curry, today it would never even be considered for the Warriors, why? because Curry became a great ball handler, he no longer has to worry about trivial things like handling ball pressure, he went from almost a pure catch and shoot guy to a guy that controls the game at all times because the threat of his combination of ball handling, shooting and passing.

I'd take a comparison to Steve Kerr, with the potential for more PPG.

 

[Bricklayer]

Given that some (lot of posters actually) have already written Jimmer off as a 12th man at best as he enters his 3rd year, this doesn't seem any more ridiculous.

Hmm...let me provide a chart.

Out of League<<12th man<<<<24/25yr old with 7.4ppg on .402FG% career age<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Steph Curry

 

[macadocious]

They have similar games with the one glaring exception that Curry developed into an elite ball handler(he didn't come into the league as one, and was average for a PG). Developing elite ball handling ability catapulted Curry to elite status because the rest of his offensive game is great (distance shooter, pull up jumper, floaters, solid court vision, good decision maker), he is not a good defender like Jimmer. I didn't say Jimmer will ever be Curry, his ball handling is below average for a PG(the last 2 seasons, havent seen him this year), but if he ever became a very good/great ball handler, theres no reason he couldn't be at least a poor mans Steph Curry, again Jimmer in limited playing time on a short leash has shown high basketball IQ, solid court vision, good decision making.

Fundamentally its similar to comparing Tyreke Evans to Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Russel Westbrook. They have similar games with the glaring exception that Tyreke doesn't have a jumpshot. Remember there was a time where no one on this board would even think of trading Evans for Curry, today it would never even be considered for the Warriors, why? because Curry became a great ball handler, he no longer has to worry about trivial things like handling ball pressure, he went from almost a pure catch and shoot guy to a guy that controls the game at all times because the threat of his combination of ball handling, shooting and passing.

Seriously you need to stop.

Jimmer is just like curry except for all that athleticism and dribbling and being able to create his own shot. Exactly the same.

 

[Gary]

Seriously you need to stop.

Jimmer is just like curry except for all that athleticism and dribbling and being able to create his own shot. Exactly the same.

Yah I didn't get his post either. Curry wasn't ever a "bad" ball handler. Ellis was the one that was handling and GS WANTED to give Curry the ball more which was one of the reasons why they traded Ellis. Curry entered the league being a good ball handler and now he's even better. Jimmer entered the league as a bad ball handler and he's still bad.

 

[bajaden]

Yah I didn't get his post either. Curry wasn't ever a "bad" ball handler. Ellis was the one that was handling and GS WANTED to give Curry the ball more which was one of the reasons why they traded Ellis. Curry entered the league being a good ball handler and now he's even better. Jimmer entered the league as a bad ball handler and he's still bad.

So are you saying you haven't seen any improvement in Jimmer's ballhandling? Strange because most people have. And by the way, someone mentioned Curry being a better athlete, and thats simply not true. One of the major knocks on Curry coming out of college was his lack of athleticism. All that said, Jimmer is not Curry! Jimmer is Jimmer, and he'll either make it or he won't. I do think he's made a case for himself. What irritates me, is when a player works his butt off to improve the weak points of his game, and fans continue to see the same player that came into the league. Take your blinders off folks! Players improve!

 

[jcwkings]

Seriously you need to stop.

Jimmer is just like curry except for all that athleticism and dribbling and being able to create his own shot. Exactly the same.

Curry is not very athletic at all, average quickness for an NBA PG, doesn't finish strong at the rim, his around the rim stuff are all floaters, no dunks and he almost never challenges bigs at the rim. He is able to create shots for himself because he is such a threat from deep you have to play him tight and he has the ball handling ability to pump fake, dribble around the flying defender, and either take the midrange shot, take it to the rim, or dish it off to a teammate.

Again i never said Jimmer will ever be Curry, i did say a poor man's Curry(if he ever developed good ball handling), and a solid NBA player. Now in my mind a poor mans Curry would be 15 ppg, 4-5 assists if given 28-30 mins. I don't think that is an outrage of a statement to make.

Plus my original comment was meant give some goodwill and recognition to a player that gets a lot of hate on here, truth is he came to just about the worst situation he could have come in as a rookie, having a good game and then not playing for 5 or 6 more games, playing 5 mintues and getting yanked, the kid has stuck it out, and i hope he is able to produce a solid NBA career, either here or wherever else he ends up.

 

[macadocious]

Can we please stop comparing Jimmer to the winner of the skills competition and arguably the best young PG in the league.

 

[VF21]

I am really holding back on reporting your post. You just compared Jimmer to Curry.

Mods, can I get a ruling?

The ruling is that reading is fundamental. He didn't compare Jimmer to Curry. He said that Player A might get the SAME KIND OF GREEN LIGHT as Player B. Big difference.

 

[VF21]

So are you saying you haven't seen any improvement in Jimmer's ballhandling? Strange because most people have. And by the way, someone mentioned Curry being a better athlete, and thats simply not true. One of the major knocks on Curry coming out of college was his lack of athleticism. All that said, Jimmer is not Curry! Jimmer is Jimmer, and he'll either make it or he won't. I do think he's made a case for himself. What irritates me, is when a player works his butt off to improve the weak points of his game, and fans continue to see the same player that came into the league. Take your blinders off folks! Players improve!

It's so much easier to continue to bash Jimmer than to acknowledge that perhaps he might actually be improving.

 

[Gary]

So are you saying you haven't seen any improvement in Jimmer's ballhandling? Strange because most people have. And by the way, someone mentioned Curry being a better athlete, and thats simply not true. One of the major knocks on Curry coming out of college was his lack of athleticism. All that said, Jimmer is not Curry! Jimmer is Jimmer, and he'll either make it or he won't. I do think he's made a case for himself. What irritates me, is when a player works his butt off to improve the weak points of his game, and fans continue to see the same player that came into the league. Take your blinders off folks! Players improve!

No not really. I go to pretty much 2/3rds of the games and most of the time it's someone else dribbling, and handling, but I don't think he's improved much, if at all. At least not enough to put him in there as PG.

We're going to have to disagree on the ball handling front though. He's not really improved in my eyes, and I don't think I am wearing blinders, but I guess I could be? I never liked the pick, that much is true.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

i have been very unimpressed with IT, Thornton, Salmons, and Hayes so far. everything else has been great and the team as a whole looks so much better under Malone.

 

[Bricklayer]

Again i never said Jimmer will ever be Curry, i did say a poor man's Curry(if he ever developed good ball handling), and a solid NBA player. Now in my mind a poor mans Curry would be 15 ppg, 4-5 assists if given 28-30 mins. I don't think that is an outrage of a statement to make.

Actually that pretty much is if the subject is Jimmer Fredette. That's a per 36 of what? 20-7?

For giggles I went over to basketball-reference.com and ran a very specific cumulative search for players who put up similar numbers to Jimmer at a similar age/stage of their career. Using Jimmer's career stats I restricted the search to:
-- players 25 and younger
-- players 6'5" and shorter (i.e. guards)
-- who averaged between 6.5pts and 7.9pts up until that point in their careers
-- with a career FG% less than .420
-- with a career reb/gm average less than 2.0
-- with a career ast/gm average greater than 1.0 (filtering out any freakishly short frontcourt guys/non passers)

here was the result:

Which is to say a whole bunch of names and comparisons that have accurately been made over the years. But no Steph Currys, or even poor man's Steph Currys. People long ago should have become realistic about Jimmer, but his cult has a strange hold. I've been watching developments here, especially with Marcus, with interest. But even if things break just right for Jimmer and he gets a rotation spot, the idea that he's going to emerge as some sort of star at this point is just completely off the wall.

 

[SCKingsfan]

Hmm...let me provide a chart.

Out of League<<12th man<<<<24/25yr old with 7.4ppg on .402FG% career age<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Steph Curry

Sure, that is debatable. Now, given the mess that has been our team, I expect his FG% to improve considerably, particularly if he is in the right system where he just gets to focus on being spot up shooter. I think it's fair to say he will never be as lucky as Kerr (for whom the talent of his teammates really allowed him to maintain a higher percentage given the sheer number of open looks he enjoyed), but Kerr also made it 10 + years in the league as a rotational player because of his high BBIQ, one which I think Jimmer shares. Jimmer also has the potential to be a more capable scorer. So I'd put him a little bit more down toward the right side of the continuum than you did [since i'm not seeing a chart in browser]. And, no, I do not have him near Curry.

 

[bajaden]

Can we please stop comparing Jimmer to the winner of the skills competition and arguably the best young PG in the league.

I think saying that Curry may be the best young PG in the league, a league filled with very good young PG's, Rose springs to mind, is a bit of a reach. Look, you can make your point without going to extremes. Curry is good at what he does, and that, for the most part is score. Personally, I'd take Chris Paul over him 10 times out of 10. But that's not a knock on Curry, who I like a lot. I hate comparing players to one another. There are too many circumstances involved, all of which I won't go into to. Lets just say that most players with talent, are victims of their environment. That can be good, and that can be bad. Jimmer walked into one of the worse environments possible. But we still judge him on his accomplishments regardless of that. Probably not fair. But how would the perception of him be if he had been handed the keys to the car the way Curry was. Or the way Tyreke was in his first couple of years.

I'm not saying they didn't deserve that, that's another discussion, but that Jimmer didn't have that kind of backing. Just for reference sake, I think I saw just about every game Jimmer played in his last two years at BYU, and the game last night, was a mirror image of what he used to do there. I can't tell you how many games where Jimmer only had 2 or 4 Pt's in the first half because he was trying to set up teammates. But he'd come out in the second half and do what it took to win the game, and he'd end up with 20 plus points every game. I believe he averaged 27 pts a game his senior year while shooting close to 50% from the three. Yes he came into the league with flaws, but he has improved, and will continue to improve. Personally, I'm glad that finally someone is giving him a legitimate chance to show what he can do. Even if it is preseason.

 

[bajaden]

Actually that pretty much is if the subject is Jimmer Fredette. That's a per 36 of what? 20-7?

For giggles I went over to basketball-reference.com and ran a very specific cumulative search for players who put up similar numbers to Jimmer at a similar age/stage of their career. Using Jimmer's career stats I restricted the search to:
-- players 25 and younger
-- players 6'5" and shorter (i.e. guards)
-- who averaged between 6.5pts and 7.9pts up until that point in their careers
-- with a career FG% less than .420
-- with a career reb/gm average less than 2.0
-- with a career ast/gm average greater than 1.0 (filtering out any freakishly short frontcourt guys/non passers)

here was the result:

Which is to say a whole bunch of names and comparisons that have accurately been made over the years. But no Steph Currys, or even poor man's Steph Currys. People long ago should have become realistic about Jimmer, but his cult has a strange hold. I've been watching developments here, especially with Marcus, with interest. But even if things break just right for Jimmer and he gets a rotation spot, the idea that he's going to emerge as some sort of star at this point is just completely off the wall.

For me, the point isn't whether he can be a star. Its whether he can make Thornton expendable. Thornton is argued to be the proven player. But if you discard that and just compare them across the board, the decision gets a little tougher. First, the price tag for Jimmer is much cheaper. Jimmer is the better shooter. Jimmer is the better playmaker as for as creating for others. Their almost the same height. I'll give the edge in ballhandling to Thornton, but he's not a great ballhandler. I'll give BBIQ to Jimmer, and I'll give unselfish play to Jimmer. When you think of bang for the buck, and the fact that McLemore is the heir apparent, its not hard to make a case for Jimmer beating out Thornton. Unless your a huge fan of Thronton and can't be objective about it. And I'm not referring to you of course.

 

[mac]

For me, the point isn't whether he can be a star. Its whether he can make Thornton expendable. Thornton is argued to be the proven player. But if you discard that and just compare them across the board, the decision gets a little tougher. First, the price tag for Jimmer is much cheaper. Jimmer is the better shooter. Jimmer is the better playmaker as for as creating for others. Their almost the same height. I'll give the edge in ballhandling to Thornton, but he's not a great ballhandler. I'll give BBIQ to Jimmer, and I'll give unselfish play to Jimmer. When you think of bang for the buck, and the fact that McLemore is the heir apparent, its not hard to make a case for Jimmer beating out Thornton. Unless your a huge fan of Thronton and can't be objective about it. And I'm not referring to you of course.

Gee Baja you just explained why I want Jimmer to be given a shot this pre/season.

 

[The_Jamal]

For me, this season should be ALL about who we think can be apart of the future with Cousins, McLemore and Landry. The Jimmer we saw last night could be an incredibly valuable weapon. His shot has always been incredible. As a SG, his playmaking and ball-handling aren't a liability anymore, but closer to a strength. I thought he and McCallum played really darn well off each other. Defense is a huge concern, but it's not like we're stock full of Tony Allen's in our back-court.

At the very least, Jimmer deserves another shot to show last night wasn't a complete fluke

 

[CruzDude]

Have been impressed with their team defense both Monday and thursday night. Then took a look at game stats after Suns game and almost lost my dinner. Suns starting 5 shot 66% for the game, 26 of 39 and scored 26 points in the paint. What killed them however was their 28 TO's vs 14 for Kings and kings big advantage in steals. But 66% shooting by a starting five?? Interior D was ok but they jumpshot at will. All part of the learning process.

Jimmer earned major consideration for the 2-spot on both offense and defense. Granted his D has a way to go but his hustle is a notch up this year and his lateral moves to stay in front of his man is better.

JT and PPat are both also up a notch this year competing for the 4-spot. Until Mbah A Moute gets to 100% and gets 20-25 min a game he is odd man out and the SF slot is Outlaws to lose.

Salmons could prove to be a stabilizing force for the 1, 2 and 3 spots as it seems he is good off bench or starting but may serve the team best off the bench. Malone keeps telling us this is all a work in peocess and it will take more than a year to see what works best and to start winning games on a regular basis.

Is IT better off the bench pushing Vasquez to start?
Is Jimmer, with more experience, better in front of McLemore and is it better long term to get them more minutes now vs MT?

Salmons can handle the 3 if Outlaw does not get consistent on offense as he defends better now as we all wait for Mbah A Moute.

Who backs up Cuz other than sliding JT over and bringing inPPat? Hayes is it. All 6-6 and 260 of him.

Kings have a very long way to go and we all have to take it easy this season.

 

[VF21]

...Kings have a very long way to go and we all have to take it easy this season.

Nope. Not gonna take it easy. Gonna enjoy every single second and look for the good from every game. It's been too long since there was anything to smile about...

 

[macadocious]

I think saying that Curry may be the best young PG in the league, a league filled with very good young PG's, Rose springs to mind, is a bit of a reach. Look, you can make your point without going to extremes. Curry is good at what he does, and that, for the most part is score. Personally, I'd take Chris Paul over him 10 times out of 10. But that's not a knock on Curry, who I like a lot. I hate comparing players to one another. There are too many circumstances involved, all of which I won't go into to. Lets just say that most players with talent, are victims of their environment. That can be good, and that can be bad. Jimmer walked into one of the worse environments possible. But we still judge him on his accomplishments regardless of that. Probably not fair. But how would the perception of him be if he had been handed the keys to the car the way Curry was. Or the way Tyreke was in his first couple of years.

I'm not saying they didn't deserve that, that's another discussion, but that Jimmer didn't have that kind of backing. Just for reference sake, I think I saw just about every game Jimmer played in his last two years at BYU, and the game last night, was a mirror image of what he used to do there. I can't tell you how many games where Jimmer only had 2 or 4 Pt's in the first half because he was trying to set up teammates. But he'd come out in the second half and do what it took to win the game, and he'd end up with 20 plus points every game. I believe he averaged 27 pts a game his senior year while shooting close to 50% from the three. Yes he came into the league with flaws, but he has improved, and will continue to improve. Personally, I'm glad that finally someone is giving him a legitimate chance to show what he can do. Even if it is preseason.

Paul and Rose are better. This is Roses 6th year and Pauls 9th.

 

[bajaden]

Paul and Rose are better. This is Roses 6th year and Pauls 9th.

Rose and Curry are both 25 years old, and both are going into their 5th season. Paul is 29. I'm not sure what your definition of young is, but from where I sit, 29 is still young. All a matter of perspective mi amigo.

Edit: I say both are going into their 5th year, because Rose didn't play last year. If he had, he would be going into his 6th season, but since were talking experience, its his 5th..

 

[The_Jamal]

Nice media bit with Vasquez. Almost everything he talks about is feeding Cousins when he's hot and not worrying about individual numbers when he is, finding ways to get him the ball in good spots, playing "inside-out."

Gotta say, I really like the idea of our PG's number 1 priority is to get Cousins good shots

 

[Chupacabra]

I don't like comparing players to other players either. Curry and Jimmer don't really have anything in common as it is. Curry needs the ball to be effective. Jimmer is the opposite. Curry is a point guard, Jimmer is a shooting guard. Curry obviously is the FAR SUPERIOR player. The end.

Now that the new coaching staff is in place I think everyone on the team deserves another look. Unfortunately, the past few years worth of coaches has given all of the players a mulligan.

 

[Glenn]

Now that the new coaching staff is in place I think everyone on the team deserves another look. Unfortunately, the past few years worth of coaches has given all of the players a mulligan.

I said this a week or so ago although I didn't use golf terms. This was after Outlaw had a game where he looked like a bonafied basketball player. I think we throw away the lack of achievements of many of our players under Smart and give them a fresh look. If Outlaw and Luc prove to be a decent 1-2 punch at SF, we will have learned what Smart did to Outlaw.

On to Jimmer. I am not going to explain the "whys?" of some of my comments as most people understand. I do not think Jimmer is better than Thornton nor will he be better than Thornton. I think Jimmer looks more comfortable in a Malone conceived offense than Thornton. The question in my mind is whether Jimmer is good enough to play SG minutes off the bench and make Thornton very good trade bait as a package for a defensive big for example. The answer is "I don't know but Jimmer is looking better." The answer will come in a few months as we see how Jimmer functions under Malone. So far, he looks fine. He is a short SG with PG skills, a combo guard, but I would not put him on the court as our PG. He is #3 or #4 as a PG anyway.

My starting line-up would have McLemore at SG and I expect him to get 35 minutes. Maybe I am misinterpreting what people are saying about him or I am overestimating him but I think he is a budding star. Best yet is that he fits in a Malone offense and specifically he is or will be a very viable #2 option with #3 not in sight. GV ups McLemore's value. That leaves 13 minutes for a bench sg who, if Thornton is gone, can be Salmons and/or Jimmer if things work out well with Jimmer. Those aren't a lot of minutes to account for. The trade off for a defensive big might make the risk of using Jimmer and Salmons a good risk to take especially in year 1 of the Malone/PDA/Vivek triumvirate. Jimmer can shoot. He hasn't shown it as well as I thought he would but under Smart, trying to play PG in the NBA, seemed to have hurt his confidence.

Brick's stats are a warning. Given that Jimmer in his whole two games this year that he has played doesn't look like the Jimmer under Smart, we might also look at brick's stats and wonder if Jimmer belongs in that group or if he is in that group largely because of Smart and the total lack of adequate player development. I don't have the answer.

The takeaway from this note is whether Jimmer has enough tools to allow us to trade MT. MT paired with someone else might give us a starting defensive big and that is very important to this team. We are not talking major minutes from Jimmer and may be talking major minutes from the defensive big. Tune in in a few months.

 

[bajaden]

I said this a week or so ago although I didn't use golf terms. This was after Outlaw had a game where he looked like a bonafied basketball player. I think we throw away the lack of achievements of many of our players under Smart and give them a fresh look. If Outlaw and Luc prove to be a decent 1-2 punch at SF, we will have learned what Smart did to Outlaw.

On to Jimmer. I am not going to explain the "whys?" of some of my comments as most people understand. I do not think Jimmer is better than Thornton nor will he be better than Thornton. I think Jimmer looks more comfortable in a Malone conceived offense than Thornton. The question in my mind is whether Jimmer is good enough to play SG minutes off the bench and make Thornton very good trade bait as a package for a defensive big for example. The answer is "I don't know but Jimmer is looking better." The answer will come in a few months as we see how Jimmer functions under Malone. So far, he looks fine. He is a short SG with PG skills, a combo guard, but I would not put him on the court as our PG. He is #3 or #4 as a PG anyway.

My starting line-up would have McLemore at SG and I expect him to get 35 minutes. Maybe I am misinterpreting what people are saying about him or I am overestimating him but I think he is a budding star. Best yet is that he fits in a Malone offense and specifically he is or will be a very viable #2 option with #3 not in sight. GV ups McLemore's value. That leaves 13 minutes for a bench sg who, if Thornton is gone, can be Salmons and/or Jimmer if things work out well with Jimmer. Those aren't a lot of minutes to account for. The trade off for a defensive big might make the risk of using Jimmer and Salmons a good risk to take especially in year 1 of the Malone/PDA/Vivek triumvirate. Jimmer can shoot. He hasn't shown it as well as I thought he would but under Smart, trying to play PG in the NBA, seemed to have hurt his confidence.

Brick's stats are a warning. Given that Jimmer in his whole two games this year that he has played doesn't look like the Jimmer under Smart, we might also look at brick's stats and wonder if Jimmer belongs in that group or if he is in that group largely because of Smart and the total lack of adequate player development. I don't have the answer.

The takeaway from this note is whether Jimmer has enough tools to allow us to trade MT. MT paired with someone else might give us a starting defensive big and that is very important to this team. We are not talking major minutes from Jimmer and may be talking major minutes from the defensive big. Tune in in a few months.

Obviously were pretty much in agreement. Where I won't say we disagree, but where I think some people have a false perception, is about Jimmer's ability to shoot the ball. I will agree that he hasn't looked like the BYU player I remember, and, I attribute a lot of that to Smart, and some of it his inability to adapt immediately to the NBA. But make no mistake, Jimmer can shoot the ball, and while he might not have shot the ball as well as some would have liked, he proved himself to be the best 3 Pt shooter on the team. Here are the 3 pt percentages of Jimmer, IT, Salmons, and Thornton for the last two years.

Thornton: 34.5% and 37.2%
I. Thomas: 37.9% and 35.8%
Salmons: 29.5% and 37.1%
Fredette: 36.1% and41.7%

In his first year here only Thomas had a better percentage, and last year, it was no contest between Jimmer and the rest of the field. And yet, despite being the best shooter, he got the fewest minutes. Now of course we know the obvious answer as to why, but a good coach would have found a way to get his best shooter on the floor. I also disagree on whether Jimmer is a PG or not. The only thing that was separating him from being a viable PG in the NBA was his ballhandling. He's made improvements in that area, and if he can continue to improve, there's no reason he can't handle some minutes at that position.

I've always envisioned Jimmer as a sort of Mike Bibby type PG. A player that can bring the ball up the floor, and then play off the ball, but who can also create for others if necessary. The key for him now is to continue to improve on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[ESP47]

Jimmer was just really easy to cover last year. He couldn't get open on his own and even if he was standing beyond the arc waiting for a pass, that pass never came because we didn't have PG's that could see the floor.

If Jimmer could be anything like Bibby that would be great. If Jimmer could be anything like he was the other night that would be great. Obviously he's not going to shoot over 50% from 3 but it was his ball handling and passing that impressed me.

The problem with Jimmer is one of his best shots is that stop and pop transition 3...which coaches absolutely hate to see. When it goes in it's great. When it doesn't, its a killer. I absolutely hate it when IT does it but Jimmer should be given free reign to do it if he can do it at a 40% clip.

 

[Hadlowe]

Jimmer was just really easy to cover last year. He couldn't get open on his own and even if he was standing beyond the arc waiting for a pass, that pass never came because we didn't have PG's that could see the floor.

If Jimmer could be anything like Bibby that would be great. If Jimmer could be anything like he was the other night that would be great. Obviously he's not going to shoot over 50% from 3 but it was his ball handling and passing that impressed me.

The problem with Jimmer is one of his best shots is that stop and pop transition 3...which coaches absolutely hate to see. When it goes in it's great. When it doesn't, its a killer. I absolutely hate it when IT does it but Jimmer should be given free reign to do it if he can do it at a 40% clip.

That shot in particular was forgivable. It was an open three on the secondary break. We had rebounders in position to go for the miss. I would tell Jimmer, IT, or McLemore to take that every time. The 30 foot heaves still drive me nuts, though.