It is difficult to compare CBud to any NBA player at this time in his career. He has the skills, excellent shooting touch from mid range to the three, high IQ and excellent court vision and instinct, great passing skills, good size and above average athleticism. He could be a really good player but there are two distinct weaknesses that he is showing at this time. One is that he seems to want to just fit in with the team. Granted, he is aware that he is just a rookie, but we know that the great players were assertive and very aggressive from the start of their careers. Whether he can be assertive and really aggressive in the future remains to be seen. The other weakness is that he plays a little bit like Battier in the offense. It is related to the other weakness that I just mentioned but he should try to be like Battier as much as possible on defense but should avoid being Battier on offense. If CBud has it in him to want to be among the best players in the NBA it is all up to him. He is a unique player in that he has all the tools to be great.
Athletically, I have always said that he resembles VERY closely to Joe Johnson, except a little more explosive vertically. Both have average first step and quickness but has above average athleticism otherwise including size. Chase has shown that he has enough quickness, agility, and handles to navigate the lanes and drive but he often lacks the strength to finish consistently despite the hops. But its just not in his personality to drive and use his athleticism to finish in the lanes consistently and its been like this since college.
He was wide open for the three, sure hes technically shooting off the dribble but pulling up for a jumper wide open with plenty of time is completely different from pulling up for a midrange jumper semi contested. And pulling the behind the back on Peja? Id be dissapointed if he didn't do that. Peja was clearly leaning in for the steal, all Chase had to do was go around him.
If he turns into Rex Chapman with better ankles he'll be a huge coup for this team considering where we picked him. For those of you that don't know: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m5PyJ-b818Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m5PyJ-b818Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I haven't paid much attention to him in games lately, been watching K mart a bit more closely these last few games. So is he still only shooting off curls on the catch? Or is he actually taking an extra dribble or two to shake off his man before he pulls up?
I think he's like a Reggie Miller/ Rip Hamilton player. This summer Chase was a dead ringer for Reggie because he was so pure.( 70% was an off day). As the season has progressed i believe Chase will be a great 3 shooter, but never as good as Dirk, Nash, Peja and Reggie. I think if Chase would focus more on the 18 footer and become a better finisher, his ceiling could be similar to Hamilton's. He won't be as quick, but will compensate with height. Chase can finish strong as we've seen, but if it's not a dunk or highly contested, he has trouble. Francis had the same problem.
Wtf, sorry but that comparison fails. If you aren't at least 6'10 that can move as agile as Dirk and shoot...you can't compare them...
One thing I noticed about Chase is damn he can ball and the other thing I noticed was he is his own man out there. He's even learning defense pretty solid. He plays his own style and gets it done. He's a pure basketball player who just know how to do the right thing. He's smart and hits shots at a high percentage. He's our best kept secret at this point and I'm not sure if he'll become like another player. It's like all these Bird comparisons... he's NOT Larry Bird. Chase is Chase, and I like him for that.
before you compare him to anyone you have to consider one thing. his shooting form. It's great for shooting set jumpers, but it's not going to be something he can use unless he's set. Chapman, for example, was somewhat maxwell like in that he shot quickly and could get his shot off off the dribble whether he was set or not. Fading away, to the side, etc. I dont believe budginger has that ability, his shot revolves around having his feet set.
I think Shane might have influenced the kid to play like a team unit and he listens to him. That's a hunch. I'd listen to anything Battier said because he's... well, an established player. Chase is going to have time to shine at one point or another and will be more aggressive when need be. What I admire is his ability to facilitate the team and not play greedy. He's going to become the player all the coaches want. A glue guy who can ball. Make me think of Battier... if only we had him sooner when he was a little younger. Still, Cbud will not be like Battier. I see flashes of killer instinct in the kid.
Who, Budinger or Martin? If you're talking about Bud, the curl to get open from the top of the key is still his go-to move.
Chase reminds me right now of Brent Barry without the polish. There are quite a few factors out there that are still making him look like a specialized role player though. The guy doesn't have a lot of lateral quickness, so only time will tell if he can overcome that with intelligence and experience (anticipating how the opposing player will act). Chase also needs to look to slash more since opponents are looking for him to shoot and will eventually contest every time. Another thing that Chase needs to learn is that if he fakes and the defender jumps up, to lean against him and draw the foul. One of the biggest thing though that could make him into a top 3 scoring option though is to show he can consistently knock down off balanced shots.
This is an excellent analysis. As much as I like him as a player, I see this same lack of aggressiveness. I suppose it is to be expected from a rookie, but, like you say, the would be stars are aggressive from the get go. But he may not be a future star; he certainly has the tools to be an excellent role player. Potentially, he could be more. At least that is my gut level impression. When he went through the Rafer-like brickarama a few games ago, I began to wonder.
Chase can improve very much whether he can improve to a Dirk like i'm not sure, but he has the abilities to play the 1,2,3 and hopefully can improve his post up moves
He still runs the curl to the middle of the paint or about the free throw line. Lately I have seen him catch the ball for a corner three but instead of shooting it, he lets his man close out on him and then dribbles towards the center of the court for a pull up jumper or a pass off.
I believe Chase is a 5 tool player (to borrow a baseball term) and could be a star. But I have said all along that I don't know if he has the personality to be a superstar. He does not demand the ball and you never really see him force the action. Nothing wrong with that because a player can still be an all star caliber player with out being a superstar. I do think Chase will be one of the better starting Small Forwards in this league at some point.
