Canadiandude, No offense but you basically admitted to not seeing either Wall or Bledsoe play that much yet here you are with a thorough breakdown of Wall's strengths/weaknesses. Now, I'm not saying you're entirely wrong (some of your analysis is spot-on), but there are a few areas I think you're reaching on: his court vision and overall playmaking abilities, his defense and this notion that he'll struggle to get his shot off. As far as being a natural playmaker goes, I think he's already as talented as just about any current PG outside of the elites (i.e. CP3, Nash, etc). He sees the floor well, can run an NBA-level PnR, can push the ball or slow it down, he's very unselfish and will be a nightmare for teams trying to stop dribble-penetration. He'll need to cut the TO's down and be careful not to get too fancy, but overall I expect him to lead all rookies in assist by a mile and possibly break the 7-8 APG barrier (good enough for top 10) and have a Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook-like rookie year. Sure, a lot of that depends upon where he ends up and I will give you that most of the teams in the top five already have either established PG's or young PG's developing already -- Curry with GS, Evans with Sacramento, Flynn with Minnesota, Harris with NJ. All the same, I doubt it will matter since, as you mentioned, he might be forced to play a combo-guard like role. In any event, I can't look at Wall's game and not see a player that's absolutely LOADED with NBA talent and upside. He'll be an impact player the moment he steps foot on the court and from that point the rest is all up to him.
Admittedly, I have seen Bledsoe play very little but I just can't understand how a 6'1" guard with a A/TO ratio of less than 1 can be such a rated prospect (Chad Ford had him in the lottery at some point). I know he has elite athleticism and long hands but still, coughing up the ball that much seems to indicate that his decision making is so far off that he can never be a ball handler in the NBA.
Count me as one who think Wall could be the best point guard in the game in 5 years. He has the size, athleticism, ball handling, unselfishness, creativity, and personality to do so. He was 4th in the nation in assists. It's almost like: is the complete opposite of reality. what he is lacking is a better outside shot and the ability to control a half court game. but both of those things should come to him with time, practice and experience.
Have you seen his play non-highlights? Is out of the control most of the time. Just because you dish out alot of assists, its doesn't mean youve got good court vision. His As/To ratio is pretty bad for a point guard, good for a 2 guard and at the moment he plays like a 2 guard.
People compare him to Rose or Rondo But he remind me of a Rough D-Wade when he came to the league Without a Jumpshot .. that why I see him as SG not a PG really really reminds me of Dwade ..
The problem with comparing him to Wade is Wade is a miniature tank at 6'4 220 lbs. Wall only weighs 185 lbs. Wall will never have Wade's brute strength and finishing ability in traffic. Wall will be much more of a finesse player than Wade. I think Derrick Rose is a much better comparison.
I don't see any problem trying to be as thorough as I can with the admittedly limited sample of games I had the opportunity to scrutinize. I watched his first game after his suspension, another game mid-season, a game in the SEC Tournament, then his final 2 games. I'm not going to apologize for living in a country where hockey comes first, second, and third. The point of this thread, for me, at least was: to refute/back my impression of Wall as a (near) consensus #1 pick. Afterall, we do have a somewhat vested interested in him as a (unlikely) potential Rockets' pick. Wade was a lanky 175lbs coming out of highschool, no where near the "miniature tank" as you describe him. He began working out intensely between his freshman and sophmore years @ Marquette, bulking up to around 205 as a playing weight. Wall weighed in @ 195 as a freshman. At the same point in their careers, their physique are similar, tho Wade maintained, if not, intensified his workout habits thereafter, while John Wall's ultimate NBA body frame is obviously TBD.
<object width="576" height="324" allowfullscreen="true"><param name="movie" value="http://d.yimg.com/nl/yahoo%20sports/site/player.swf"><param name="flashVars" value="vid=19656335"><embed width="576" height="324" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://d.yimg.com/nl/yahoo%20sports/site/player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="vid=19656335"></object> There's even a brief mention of the Rockets
eye bleed have a return key on ur keyboard ? from the first couple lines i was able to read I agree, I dont understand all of the hype and man-crush for this guy sure hes a beast but he has too many holes in his game, hes super quick but hes TO prone, a diva, no jumper, a wild man and simply doesnt take kind to coaching u saw how he pouted when Coach Cal tried to coach him a little, Wall got all defensive and butt hurt like a diva uncoachable players spells character issues which subsequently is a red flag, buyer beware sort of package for whomever drafts him
nice find Rockets would be looking to get a big if they were somehow able to get into top 5-10 range and if in some miraculous way we got that 1st pick, I believe they would be too tempted to not draft Wall altho I honestly wouldnt agree with
Haha...you're lucky I'm not a monster Penguins fan like some of my other fellow dejected Yinzers. "Hockey" is something you don't want to bring up today around these parts but congrats to you if you are indeed a Habs fan.
He kind of reminds me of a taller Brandon Jennings. Don't know if he will have a better rookie year then BJ had. With BJ's numbers, its hard to imagine that Wall could do better though right? I guess his assists per game could go up, but this draft should be very interesting.
I've been saying this all along: Lets pray for Minny to get that #1 as much as we pray for us to get a top 3!
Yep I REALLY hope they get the 1st pick, because if Minny gets the #1 pick, their is a big chance "Ricky Rubio" will be available... and I would be more than willing to send a couple of young prospect at Minny's way inorder to land rights to Ricky Rubio... 14th Lottery pick Chase Budinger Rights to Sergio Llull for Right's to Ricky Rubio + Filler This of course would be a seperate deal from the Bosh trade ... :grin: --RB
You wouldn't even need "filler" to do that trade. Chase's salary is so small that it would fit within a small trade exception that Minny holds. Considering that Morey doesn't expect the #14 pick to play next year, the Rockets would be giving up little from "next year's team" in exchange for a potential star PG. Here's hoping that David Kahn would do that trade.
