So why are using 20ppg as a metric? Just because you did not score 20 ppg does not mean you did not break out or show flashes.
Paul George had way more playmaking skills when he was drafted and is much more fluid athlete. Lets be real here, Smith is looking more like Rudy Gay than George and even Marvin Williams had more of a handle. If he can get a Gay type of handles I would be very happy, anyway I am trying to just take it all in his 1st year but we got to be realistic about his current baseline.
So you are not trying to actually have a reasonable discussion? Why would injury have to do with this.
Kobe, Giannis, Curry, Bowie, Drexler, Klay Thompson, and most everyone that has started an all-star game.
Some folks did mention KD which was absurd. I think most posters just thought he'd better initially or thought "fit" was very important at this stage.
U ask a question and I responded. Ben simons failed his rookie season so did Blake griffin. The nonsense about missing rookie season bc of injuries still makes u a rookie is just a bunch of nonsense.
This exactly this. Did not know you questioned the Green pick and Murray is going to be a guy Smith is measured against because they kinda play the same position and they were drafted around the same area. Also with how much we have played a 3 guard lineup Mathurin and Ivey should have been in the discussion.
LOL and you are actually trying to double down on a technicality. Not going to engage with you if you need to resort to such to try and make a point.
how good he is right now depends almost entirely on how much he’s hitting his jump shot as this system and our guard play won’t be creating many easy looks for him and his off the dribble game isn’t gonna improve in any meaningful way from college until now…his jumper has been off to start his rookie campaign even if people thought fit was very important at this stage, the talk was always “we have a top 3 pick and should just take whoever falls to us”…guys like Ivey, Mathurin, Keegan, etc were hardly even discussed as viable options so Jabari was basically best fit and BPA at 3 for the vast majority of fans on draft night
I think it's way too early to judge a player like J Smith. I understand the concerns coming from a number 3 pick in terms of his lack of explosiveness or mastery of much outside of shooting 3's. At the same time, he wasn't drafted for what he'd bring on day one or even year one or year two. He was always thought to be somewhat of a project. Guys don't need to be physical athletic freaks to succeed in the NBA. Skills usually trump athleticism - just look at Curry, Jokic, Harden and Leonard. Jabari Smith is definitely raw, but anyone who can say what is ceiling is right now doesn't know what they are talking about.
None of those guys flunked their rookie seasons, you are not even trying to make sense. Curry average 17 a game and shot over 40% from 3. Are you just throwing out random names now? Drexler averaged 8 ppg playing only 17 minutes a game playing behind Paxton and other sg's. Are you just throwing names out?
Jabari hardly ever leaves the floor/jumps. on his jumpers..trying to finish inside..playing defense...getting rebounds. He looks like an old Al Horford sometimes because he's so damn ground bound.
I don't even know what's your point in asking that question. I just gave u an answer to your question. If your question relates to u thinking Smith is flunking his rookie season already = can't b a star then that on u. Usually folks would wait a year or two to see if the rookie has what it takes to play in the league. This is way too early to come to any reasonable conclusion.
I am not saying he will get his points the same way that Paul George does, I am saying he has that type of impact as his upside. Paul George played a couple of years of college basketball (not just one) and he really wasn't showing an ability to often get by people off the dribble until the tail end of his second year in the NBA. I don't expect that Jabari will ever have a handle as good as George's, but he can make up for it in other ways. He is a better natural shooter, he is bigger and will be stronger and is faster in transition. I agree that he is not as fluid as George is. Marvin Williams didn't have a good handle at UNC, but everyone assumed he would develop one and he did get marginally better but not good enough. However, the expectations for Marvin Williams are very similar to those Jabari Smith had entering the draft. Jabari Smith is going to be a good NBA player. He is already a good defender when he is in place, he has strong natural instincts as a rebounder. He will shoot well from 3, even if it is simply as a jump shooter and he also can get out in transition. The question is whether he is a high level role player on an elite team or if he is more than that. If you remember, you and I both had reservations about Smith's upside because of his handle and how poorly he finishes in traffic. I compared him to Robert Horry, who had everything except the handle.
I agree with all of this but George was looked at as 2 guard before he was drafted. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/paul-george-5688/ Paul George looks the part of a lanky athletic two-guard with immense promise, but his confidence ,the work hes put in this summer, and his tremendous productivity as a freshman look much better than his situational statistics from last season. - Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/paul-george-5688/ ©DraftExpress I'm have no issues with being patient but I don't think it's automatic he is a good NBA player too many guys just never get there and is a good NBA player worth a 2nd contract at the max? This is what I am looking at since he was the 3rd pick, I am not going to be satisfied with just a high end role player.
Then just say nothing don't have to inform the forum about it. Your behavior really reminds me of the weirdos who would post sht online like I don't care yet they cared enough to waste time posting about it.
