You guys haven't seen a star on the Rockets in SO long that you have forgotten what a star looks like. Chandler Parsons will never, EVER be a star. That said, he is a fine player.
Yeah, posts like these are right up there with "Lowry will never be a star because he's a backseat type of player". Parsons is still a rookie, but the bball IQ and defense are already at a high level, bordering on elite. Unlike guys like C-bud or PP, Parsons has the alpha dog mentality needed to be a star in the L, he's always aggressive and doesn't mind going all out nasty on the court. Shooting's basically the only thing holding him back, if he could learn to shoot open jumpshots he'll be one of the better SFs in the league. If he could learn to finish in traffic....look out we have the 2nd lowry on the team.
Let's be realistic: Parsons doesn't have the athleticism, the handle, the touch, or the first step to beat above average defenders 1 on 1, let alone make something out of a double team. Because of this, I don't see him ever becoming a traditional all-star type of wing--he's not a shot creator and he probably never will be. These games where he scores 20+ points, he does it because he's catching teams unawares, teams who aren't taking him seriously on offense, and punishing them for putting their worst defender on him or leaving him open entirely. When they make adjustments at halftime he cools down. What he could be is a kind of super roleplayer--Shane Battier, upgraded version, with more aggressiveness and length. Parsons could bring almost the same value to a team as an all-star would, but in less flashy ways which don't gain him national attention. I'm cool with that--it's a fantastic piece to have, especially at 4 years on less than $1M per season.
He has the athleticism, but you are right on the handles. Yes, I'll be super thrilled if he becomes super Battier.
Handles Umm...did you see him just drive the lane on the Thunder and slam it over Ibaka??? Did you see him handle the ball for most of the game moving from the corner to the top of the key and evaluating whether to drive or dump to Scola or make some sweet passes? I don't need my SF to do break your ankle moves, but I do need them to be able to drive into a crowded lane and he's now done that against all types of defenses and is only getting better at it. The best part about it is that he goes hard at the basket with authority. What "handles" do you guys want? He dribbles better than most of our team outside of the PGs.
His handles are decent but in no way would I compare him to LeBron, Durant, etc. It's a lot easier to keep your handle on the ball when you only have one defender on you and he's not a very good one and half his attention is on giving help defense against your teammates.
I don't know about 'star', but I'd really really like to keep Parsons and Dragic around for a long time.
the kid keeps improving, and you can't teach height. Morey needs to keep this one. Let's put it this way; i'm not as concerned about our SF position as i was a month ago. Penciling in Parsons for next year would not be a bad thing; especially for a rebuilding team. He's only gonna get better.
Not to state the obvious, but its easy to forget we are watching a rookie (2nd rounder for that). Parsons has demonstrated a great propensity for both defense and BBIQ. Those are 2 things that are the most lacking from rookies, regardless of how high their ceiling is on offense or however athletic and long they are. Offense is almost always (minus the greats) something that has to be developed. Parsons will dramatically improve on offense due to his IQ and - as others have stated - his "alpha dog" mentality, because he is smart enough to work on his weaknesses. There is always an adjustment period getting used to the bigger play in the NBA compared to college.
It terms of his handles I'll put it this way; Parson's has better handles then either of our two SG, Courtney Lee and Kevin Martin. Can he break down defender's off the dribble probably not, but his handle is good enough to drive past defenders, through traffic, and create plays for others, and coming from a '6'10' SF that's more than good enough. Also may I add, that Parson's is a fluid athlete, his not explosive, but he is a good athlete. This is how Parson's compare athletically to the guy everyone wanted to draft with the 14th pick, Kawhi Leonard (Spurs): Parsons 6'10 Min Vert:25.5 | Max Vert:31.5| Lane Agility:11.05| 3/4 court sprint: 3.29 Leonard 6'7 Min Vert:25.5 | Max Vert:32 | Lane Agility:11.45 | 3/4 Court Sprint: 3.15
Every time I think Parsons can't do something, he proves me wrong. You used to think he was slow, but I've seen him get by his man with a pretty quick first step. He definitely has handles. I think what he's lacking is the ego and selfishness to be a star. He passes up too many shots. If gets confident in his shot like he did the first half of yesterday's game, he could easily be a 18/6/6 type of guy.
