I agree that Lamb is smooth as an offensive player. However, I did not see much from him apart from an offensive skill set. Rebounding, assists, steals, defense, etc. all were pretty poor when looking at upside (this is just from when I watched him as a Rocket). If he's going to be at least a starter in this league then he needs to fill up some of these other categories. Otherwise, he'll just be a smooth offensive player from the bench.
http://bkref.com/tiny/9CYAj Can't nitpick stats, not enough sample size especially in garbage time(less fouls called,...). He shot 60% from 2pt in college which was the highest 2pt% for SG in past decade. He got real PT(in first half) twice this season. First time it was against Detroit and he looked like rookie and the next time it was at Atlanta and he made two great defensive plays on Josh Smith and two shots which changed momentum of that game(he was gamehigh +9). Ironically Martin was out next day vs. Minnesota and he didn't get any PT. D-League is better competition than college, especially when you consider that he is 20yo skinny dude playing against grown men. Brooks probably value experience more than he should that's why Perkins is always being overplayed and that's why Fisher averaged 25 MPG in last year finals. To be fair, he had Lamb as #2 pick before the draft. And it wasn't just one game, he had three game strech before he got injured where he averaged 31/8.3/4.3 on 78 TS%.
I think he'll be a Danny Granger type more so than Tmac. He'll be good, which will get him a max contract, but that contract will be a burden because he isn't quite a superstar, but he is worth the max. D-League stats don't give much, I've seen a lot of average players go to the D-League and have huge seasons over the years. Will it translate to the NBA is the question.
Unlikely. OKC is a small market team and likely can't afford another "rising star" (e.g. Harden). The team probably has a small window with Ibaka, Durant and Westbrook...if they don't win the championship this year or next, I think Westbrook is gone.
If Lamb was playing like an allstar he should be tearing up practices at OKC... So Brooks isn't playing an allstar because he wants someone more experienced in there? I don't buy that. You certainly stand behind your opinions using particular focused stats that support it. We'll have to see how he plays overall, which as of right now isn't NBA all-star caliber. Will he be? Meh, he does have some good games, but I think you're wanting this to be true too badly and are overlooking the big picture with this guy.
While I don't exactly follow your logic, I also think Westbrook is gone as well... but not until 2016 at the earliest - if Presti trades him before he becomes an UFA in 2017.
The prosecution would like to enter exhibit A as evidence, your honor. Harden didn't start getting consistent playing time until Presti traded away Brooks' security blanket, Jeff Green.
more nuggets of wisdom from this blog http://asubstituteforwar.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/is-paul-pierce-as-talented-as-larry-bird/ edit...To summarize...he rates Pierce higher than Bird I also saw on his blog that he rates Jimmer Fredette as a near all star level starter. We should listen to this guy.
All of you were calling him a next great shooting guard when we had him but now that he's in okc the same people are skeptical of him. I still would have enjoyed the year without the Harden trade, seeing Lamb develop while ranking would have been fun.
Pretty much. I think fans tend to greatly over value their own players and put down other teams players. I remember how everyone was so high on lamb when we had him.
It's because Kevin Martin's playing in his spot. Lamb has amazing potential, but he's also extremely raw. He reminds me a lot of DMO, you have this really good rook but you also have guys currently better than him getting his minutes. If OKC (or Rox) were trying to tank then they'd give him mins and he'd blow up like Irving or Beal. If you're trying to win though then you sit him for a while until he outplays Kmart.