Wouldn't have been close if Jimmer played heavy minutes.
Kev has been considered underweight all of his career, to the point where some thought he was "too fragile" to play.
All I'm saying is that there are certain situations where a lack of defense doesn't necessarily mean there's not a place for you. I still maintain that shabazz916's comment was flawed for that very reason.
indeed, but it's not a single lack that we're talking about with jimmer, is it? it's not
just that jimmer is a poor defender. it's not
just that jimmer is severely undersized. unfortunately, it's the entire package of "cons" weighed against a very minimal set of "pros." on top of being an undersized SG and a poor defender, jimmer is also rather unathletic. in retort, one might say "yeah, well, a player like greivis vasquez is slow-footed, too." this is true, but vasquez is also a phenomenal floor general and has size for a PG, providing him with increased court vision and additional passing lanes over the top of the defense. jimmer isn't blessed with superior PG instincts, nor is he blessed with the kinds of physical gifts one sees in many other backup guards across the league...
on top of these faults, jimmer also has a weak handle under defensive pressure, a particularly detrimental lack in an nba-caliber guard. in retort, one might say "yeah, well, a player like ben mclemore can't dribble, either." this is true, but mclemore is also a superior athlete with adequate height to play the SG position. kevin martin may be of a skin-and-bones build, but he's also got the height to play SG, he's moderately athletic, and he's got a knack for drawing fouls at the rim. can one say all of the same things about jimmer? i know it sounds like i'm piling on, but it's just my honest evaluation of a player who's had a disproportionate amount of hype and hoopla surrounding his limited ability to compete in the nba...
i've said it many times: it's not that jimmer fredette doesn't have a place in the nba; in a different era, it would have been considerably easier for him to see consistent court time. but it is my estimation that, in the contemporary nba, there will always be a more athletic guard, a taller guard, a guard with a better handle, a guard who can get to the rim, a guard who is a better defender, etc, in front of jimmer in the pecking order. there are too many journeymen guards with a greater combination of skills and physical gifts that will likely beat out jimmer for minutes. hell, isaiah thomas, the 60th pick in a draft class in which jimmer was picked 10th, is severely undersized and a poor defender and an unrepentant chucker, but he's also got a napolean complex and a drive to compete amongst the trees, and he beat out jimmer for minutes...
isaiah thomas has proved that he belongs. he's carved out his own niche on a bad team that presented him with the opportunity to prove his worth. some kings fans are quick to forget that jimmer was given the very same opportunity to play himself into the rotation during his rookie and sophomore seasons. and there were jimmer fans bold enough to play the race card when IT leapfrogged jimmer in the kings' crowded, mediocre backcourt, claiming that keith smart undercut jimmer in favor of a black player. it's been that ludicrous. now the kings have a white head coach, so what's the excuse this time around? for all my criticisms of IT over the last couple of seasons, i still maintain that i am a fan of his as a super-sixth-man off the bench. jimmer has not yet found a way to earn consistent minutes...
now, will a team sign jimmer next offseason? i'm sure some GM out there will take an inexpensive flyer on a guy who can flat-out shoot the ball. will a coach work jimmer into his rotation? i'm sure somebody out there will want to see how much jimmer's ability to shoot the ball is worth on the court. will jimmer earn consistent, meaningful bench minutes deep into a given season? i'm not so sure of the answer to that last question. he strikes me as a journeyman 10th/11th/12th man. again, i tend to believe that, as valuable as efficient shooters are in the nba, that efficient shooting needs to be paired with enough other skills/physical gifts to earn its place. this is professional basketball we're talking about here, after all. at BYU, jimmer was not plagued by comparison to the kinds of athletes and skillsets you typically see at the professional level. it's why nobody expected a team to take him as high as 10th in his draft class...
