Welcome Davion Mitchell


hE hAsN't BeEn As GoOd As I eXpEcTeD oN dEfEnSe!
 
yeah Barnes is the one everyone is talking about and Mobley too but the fact they are talking about a 9th pick from the Kings everyone questioned very early on is a huge win on its own.
 
Chupacabra said:
Has another rookie been better through the first 9-10 games? I think not.
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Mobley and Barnes look like future superstars and way further ahead on O than people expected I think, Giddey and Wagner have been rock solid, but the other ball-handlers/wings (Cade, Green, Suggs) have really struggled early. My top 5 would probably look like through 9 games:

Mobley
Barnes
Mitchell
Wagner
Giddey

Duarte has also looked like a real nice find for Indy for a late first. Herb Jones playing strong defense and already playing a huge role on the hurt Pelicans. Once the top guys get going, this looks like it's going to be a real league-changing draft; especially on the defensive end.
 
We're still dealing with tiny tiny samples, but thought it was interesting checking Davion's DEF On/Off splits:

Davion ON: 106.9 DEF RTG/ 243 minutes
Davion OFF: 113.9 DEF RTG/ 190 minutes

So if we applied that to team DEF rating for the season so far, we've been 30th in DEF Rtg with him off and 16th with him on the floor. But, I do think this Hornets game really messed with the inputs because the offensive RTG quite a bit

Davion ON: 108.5 ORtg (10th in the NBA)
Davion OFF: 118.5 ORtg (1st in the NBA by a significant margin)

I do think this lines a bit with the eye test with how he's played so far. He's certainly been an impactful defender in virtually every contest, but has had several games where he was just a total non-factor on O and wasn't hitting shots. That seems to be turning around though, so it wouldn't surprise me to see this sort of split when we get more sample, just more condensed.
 
Tetsujin said:
Scottie Barnes has looked like a freaking superstar to start the year and Mobley is going to be a monster but aside from that Davion might have an argument for most impactful rookie.
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Both SBarnes and Mobley have been fantastic. (Funny to think that early in the draft consideration process there was some thought that Barnes might last until the Kings' pick.) But no doubt in my mind, then or now, that DM was the BPA for the Kings.
 
Davion’s defense is as advertised, I’m almost more impressed with how fearless he is on offense. He isn’t afraid to attack and let it fly even when things aren’t going his way. And he has some moves too! That step back is nice! Really didn’t expect the offense to have such flashes.
 
The_Jamal said:
Mobley and Barnes look like future superstars and way further ahead on O than people expected I think, Giddey and Wagner have been rock solid, but the other ball-handlers/wings (Cade, Green, Suggs) have really struggled early. My top 5 would probably look like through 9 games:

Mobley
Barnes
Mitchell
Wagner
Giddey

Duarte has also looked like a real nice find for Indy for a late first. Herb Jones playing strong defense and already playing a huge role on the hurt Pelicans. Once the top guys get going, this looks like it's going to be a real league-changing draft; especially on the defensive end.
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Kings missed a perfect draft by a few picks in the 2nd round. Davion and Herb Jones on the perimeter and this Kings team has the defensive perimeter fixed for the next ten years.

And as for Jones his offensive upside is still considerable. Dude can drive and dish. Just missing a shot. Wanted him badly. Ugh.
 
Davion’s defense is as advertised. So much as advertised that when his counterparts score a basket it makes you wonder how it happened and over focus on it.

He is destroying other backup point guards while also doing work on primary scorers.
Clarkson, Brunson, Ish Smith, etc. Kings used to give up career nights to backup guards nightly.

I think at this point Elfrid Payton is the only depth chart counterpart(not talking Donovan, Lillard, Steph that Davion also guards effectively) that didn’t have a completely inefficient trash game when guarded a significant amount of times by a Davion...and even in that case, we’ve seen Payton have monster games against the Kings. He was OK.

Less than 10 NBA games and he can already defend at the highest level without getting called for a lot of fouls. It’s only going to get better. The fact that he’s also showing glimpses of being an explosive scorer off the bench as well makes this a total draft hit
 
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Tetsujin said:

hE hAsN't BeEn As GoOd As I eXpEcTeD oN dEfEnSe!
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He hasn’t been. He’s not #1 ;)
 
KingsFanSince85 said:
It’s kinda funny, Lonzo came into the league drastically overrated offensively. Not many predicted he’d be better defensively.
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Lonzo was always more of a connector on offense. His shot was and is funky, Like Lamelo, he doesn’t have elite burst.

Defensively, in college, the only player he had trouble defending was Fox. He pretty much handled everyone else including Markell Fultz.

Ball was one of my FA targets last year. If you love Hali, you would love Lonzo.
 

Consider the quality of our guard opponents the first 10 games and it makes it even more impressive. He's not playing enough.
 
kb02 said:
Kings missed a perfect draft by a few picks in the 2nd round. Davion and Herb Jones on the perimeter and this Kings team has the defensive perimeter fixed for the next ten years.

And as for Jones his offensive upside is still considerable. Dude can drive and dish. Just missing a shot. Wanted him badly. Ugh.
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yeah I was right there with you. He was a classic case of falling because he was 22 years old when he came out. Had he been 19, he would have been a late lottery pick.

The shot is still a legit concern, but even if he can raise it to Mo Harkless levels, I think he's got clear starter upside. Just can't be a wing player in the NBA without a shot, unless you're the unicorn athlete that Ben Simmons is. Even if it doesn't, he'll stick as an 8-9 man for a long time.
 
The_Jamal said:
yeah I was right there with you. He was a classic case of falling because he was 22 years old when he came out. Had he been 19, he would have been a late lottery pick.

The shot is still a legit concern, but even if he can raise it to Mo Harkless levels, I think he's got clear starter upside. Just can't be a wing player in the NBA without a shot, unless you're the unicorn athlete that Ben Simmons is. Even if it doesn't, he'll stick as an 8-9 man for a long time.
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I know this board was really high on Moses Moody, but I thought and still think Jones is a better player in the near and long term. Age matters, but we’re talking a 19 and 22 yr old. Both are young.

For me, it was simple. The only thing Moody had over Jones was a three point shot. Jones is bigger, longer, more athletic, a superior driver, facilitator and defender.

And to be clear, I think Moody will end up being a good ten year pro. Just didn’t understand why one was a lottery pick and the other fell to the second.
 
kb02 said:
I know this board was really high on Moses Moody, but I thought and still think Jones is a better player in the near and long term. Age matters, but we’re talking a 19 and 22 yr old. Both are young.

For me, it was simple. The only thing Moody had over Jones was a three point shot. Jones is bigger, longer, more athletic, a superior driver, facilitator and defender.

And to be clear, I think Moody will end up being a good ten year pro. Just didn’t understand why one was a lottery pick and the other fell to the second.
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its a shooting League
 
Tetsujin said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1489252384647749643
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I'm glad he's been looking a bit better as of late but it sure would be nice if we could get some players that are good at both offense and defense.

You can see the skill there with him. He's got moves and he's got handles but there is a lot of work to be done with his finishing abilities. Hopefully someone gets him watching tape of IT in his prime so he can learn how to use his body to shield defenders as he's attempting to finish inside. IT was great at it because it either got him the whistle or gave him enough space to get the shot attempt off. Davion doesn't do this and it's why he doesn't get to the line and gets blocked fairly easily in the paint. Hoping he comes back after the offseason and has this in his bag.
 
ESP47 said:
I'm glad he's been looking a bit better as of late but it sure would be nice if we could get some players that are good at both offense and defense.

You can see the skill there with him. He's got moves and he's got handles but there is a lot of work to be done with his finishing abilities. Hopefully someone gets him watching tape of IT in his prime so he can learn how to use his body to shield defenders as he's attempting to finish inside. IT was great at it because it either got him the whistle or gave him enough space to get the shot attempt off. Davion doesn't do this and it's why he doesn't get to the line and gets blocked fairly easily in the paint. Hoping he comes back after the offseason and has this in his bag.
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For me, I think he was still getting good looks during his slump. He just didn't have any touch. Hopefully he continues to trend upwards.
 
ESP47 said:
I'm glad he's been looking a bit better as of late but it sure would be nice if we could get some players that are good at both offense and defense.

You can see the skill there with him. He's got moves and he's got handles but there is a lot of work to be done with his finishing abilities. Hopefully someone gets him watching tape of IT in his prime so he can learn how to use his body to shield defenders as he's attempting to finish inside. IT was great at it because it either got him the whistle or gave him enough space to get the shot attempt off. Davion doesn't do this and it's why he doesn't get to the line and gets blocked fairly easily in the paint. Hoping he comes back after the offseason and has this in his bag.
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Agree with you about using his body to get better looks at the rim, but overall what I want to see is him take less step back threes and jumpers in general, especially when his shot isn't falling. He is so freaking quick with incredible burst; when he wants to drive I haven't seen many able to keep him out of the paint. And his one handed layups with his dribbling hand has been pretty darn good.

But that's just a theme with this team in general. Too many threes when their shots aren't falling. When they focus on playing through the paint, their offense is worlds better.
 
Volblorx8634 said:
But that's just a theme with this team in general. Too many threes when their shots aren't falling. When they focus on playing through the paint, their offense is worlds better.
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Welcome to the ”new era” of basketball. ;)

And it ain’t just a KINGS thing. The vast majority play the same way. And with that being the case winning and losing mostly boils down to the team that is consistently better at the tactic.

The NBA has largely morphed into a glorified 3-point shooting contest.
 
ESP47 said:
I'm glad he's been looking a bit better as of late but it sure would be nice if we could get some players that are good at both offense and defense.

You can see the skill there with him. He's got moves and he's got handles but there is a lot of work to be done with his finishing abilities. Hopefully someone gets him watching tape of IT in his prime so he can learn how to use his body to shield defenders as he's attempting to finish inside. IT was great at it because it either got him the whistle or gave him enough space to get the shot attempt off. Davion doesn't do this and it's why he doesn't get to the line and gets blocked fairly easily in the paint. Hoping he comes back after the offseason and has this in his bag.
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I imagine that's why he's always scoring 17 PTs on 17 shots even during this hot stretch offensively.

And once the rookie shine wears off, his tendency to iso and stop ball is really going to annoy this fanbase.
 
The Effort Police said:
I imagine that's why he's always scoring 17 PTs on 17 shots even during this hot stretch offensively.

And once the rookie shine wears off, his tendency to iso and stop ball is really going to annoy this fanbase.
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Maybe he would not have to ISO so much if we had a playmaker in the front court to play off of.

A rookie who is already pulling his weight on D, has some playmaking ability, and has tools to become more efficient on offense is a good get late in the lottery.
 
midtowner said:
Maybe he would not have to ISO so much if we had a playmaker in the front court to play off of.

A rookie who is already pulling his weight on D, has some playmaking ability, and has tools to become more efficient on offense is a good get late in the lottery.
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Maybe but he doesn't have a vast history as a cutting off ball guard. And his lack of size will be more noticed there I would think if it meant attempting more shots at the rim. That hesi move of his is his best bet. I mean, he kind of is who he is, and considering he can defend well being volume isn't fatal for a player like him. He'll be more positive than negative. Maybe he can develop at 24 years of age in his 2nd season, but you take developed players you usually get developed players. Bad habits and all. The good thing is there is usually less of them to deal with by that point.
 
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