I am really getting excited reading this article. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/scouts/news/story?id=2538187 Man, if Lucas can be as anything close to most other names mentioned...
that article makes me more uneasy than anything. most of the people who did well in the summer league didnt have such a hot career in the NBA. but heres to looking forward to seeing that proved wrong.
Summer league history or not, I'll take numbers like that (from summer league) in a 2nd/3rd backup pointgard any day. Ok, so maybe I'm stretching with the 2nd, because he isn't proven, but 3rd, heck yeah. I just hope he gets the opportunity to prove himself in the NBA under JVG. But the fact that he had that many assists means that he HAD to be making some good decisions with the ball!
The article shows that all the leading assist men but one ended up busts. Omar Cook, Jermaine Jackson, and Zoran Planinic were all failures. TJ Ford was the only one that has done anything. I am sure JLIII will do just as badly as Omar, JJ, and Zoran.
That might not be true. Stephon Marbury has had great assist numbers his entire career, but I don't think I've ever seen him make a good decision with the ball.
I'm a big OSU fan so I am very excited about JL3 but the main reason he was so effective in the summer league is the people defending him had no hope of stopping his penetration and he either scored or dished. He literally could get to the hoop at will. That won't be the case nearly as often in the NBA but he will be able to get by a lot of guards and it will be nice to see opposing coaches having to decide what to do about his penetration. JL3 is a better shooter than Rafer, Sura, Snyder, VSpan, and probably Head his shooting will never be a problem, he can shoot from anywhere and is clutch. Unfortunately he will be at a disadvantage on defense quite often but will make up for some of it with his quick hands and abillity to stay in front of his man. They may post him or shoot over him but will not get around him very often.
No one expected him to be a legit starter right away. But IMHO what makes his stats in summer league so valuable is exactly who he plays against --- lottery picks in this year's draft. He basically slaughtered them...
during lucas' 2 stints with the rockets, wasn't the main detriment to his game the fact that he wasn't knocking down shots? IIRC that was the main complaint.
Yes. That is what I recall as well. With that in mind then his new found shooting touch is a real plus. We (I) really liked most everything else about him last year ... his quickness, his high energy, ability to penatrate and his nerves of steal (hitting clutch 3 pt. to win game). I think he'll be a terrific fit for the Rockets and IMO JVG should really be hung (well at least fired) if he does not give JLIII significant court time and chance at moving up on depth chart.
As much as I like JLIII, it is up to him to EARN his playing time. I am also confident he will. Having said that, yes, I hope JVG can tilt toward JLIII ever so slightly
I don't think that in 13 games with an average of 3 shots per game you could really get a feel for anyones ability to shoot. I will admit that his statistics from last season are pretty bad but Lucas was a good shooter in college and only needs a little playing time to settle back into his shooting. As badly as he wanted to be in the NBA I would imagine he was slightly nervous when he got playing time. He now has a guaranteed contract which should calm his nerves a little.
They selected only certain summer leagues as examples from the past few years in that example. If summer league counts then based on his play...might be seeing Rudy Gay be productive, oh oh I remember one point Malik Badiane was 2nd to Bogut in the summer league in rebounding, so...... I'd still say its a decent indicator...Omar Cook cant shoot, but is he really any worse than Moochie who's been in the league for a while? I think JL3 will be okay as backup...
