I have a funny feeling that Morey is going to go with Dragic and move Lowry for either Gasol or possibly Dwight (if the opportunity re-presents itself). With that being said, I've been watching Dragic very closely the last few games and here's my take. 1. Size and athleticism - he has it over Lowry, a good 3 inches, and more hops. 2. Court vision - he's just as good as Lowry (maybe better since he's taller) and I'm talking about court vision on both ends. 3. Energy - at this point it appears he has more energy than Lowry. Don't know if that will hold up long term with him playing starter minutes but Dragic has been giving energy on both ends. 4. Quickness - every bit as quick if not quicker. 5. Defensively - he's better than Lowry. He dogs his man the whole live long night, similar to what Lowry used to do when he was a backup. Also, he plays the passing lanes really well and jumps a lot of steals. 6. Rebounding - He's decent but he doesn't stay in the frontcourt to board. He lets the big guys do it and he leaks out more often, which creates more break opportunities for us. Lowry is the better rebounder but part of Lowry's rebounding numbers come from the fact that he packs it in and goes to the glass on both ends of the court instead of looking for the leak outs. (2 different styles here, I don't know which is more effective. However, I'm looking at our shooting percentages and all the wide open layups and 3 point shots we are getting off our break and I really, really like it a lot. I think I prefer to have bigs rebounding efficiently and have guards leaking out to create breaks and pressure the defense.) 7. Shooting - Dragic is just as good as Lowry from distance. He moves so much though that he doesn't have to wind up taking a lot of those bailout from distance 3s that Lowry gets trapped into becaue he's standing around out front. 8. Handle - I think Dragic is better. He keeps the dribble. Lowry has a tendacy to pick up the ball a little too much without having a definite pass or shot. Dragic picked this aspect up from Nash. It makes him much more effective. Besides the triple threat position, the next greatest threat is to be moving and dribbling the ball. Dragic does this very, very well. 9. Passing - Lowry makes all the right passes. Dragic is a more creative passer. Lowry is more efficient passing (less turnovers). Dragic forces a bit too much. Because Dragic sees the floor better and because Dragic has played with and watched Nash, he is more creative with the basketball. I give him the edge over Lowry since he can improve the turnovers. 10. Leadership - Lowry gets this hands down right now. Don't know what kind of leader Dragic will turn out to be. In my opinion, Dragic has a higher ceiling and I think will wind up the better PG than Lowry. And I love Lowry.
Lowry two years ago was better IMO. Dragic is benefiting from the increase in usage the same way Lowry did. Dragic has been great. Its such a small sample size with him as a starter though. One thing that pushes me to like Dragic more is I am tired of watching Lowry crying on floor after a no call and just taking him out of the next play.
I like Dragic. I don't know if he can consistently be better than Lowry. It's probably not going to be a popular opinion here, but I agree with you that Dragic is better defensively. He has more length and better lateral quickness. I don't agree that Dragic has a better shot than Lowry. He goes through prolonged slumps for whatever reason. Maybe he can perfect his shot through hard work though. That would help his game a lot. I think he is roughly Lowry's equal in many respects, and is Lowry's better on defense/creating his own shot. Lowry has a big edge on rebounding and (currently) three point efficiency, though. Dragic will probably be more expensive than Lowry since he's a UFA in the offseason and the league ise more aware of how good he is.
Dragic > Lowry. If he's not better, there's very little difference between the two. If Morey can sign Dragic to a 4-5 mil a year deal, you do it. We need to sell high on Lowry if we can get a game changer.
Tough call but I agree with OP on all points. Lowry short term with mystery potential. Dragic long term with high potential. If we are unable to acquire another leader at another position, Lowry may be the long term solution.
Dragic has played well in a handful of games as a starter. He's been extremely inconsistent as a backup. You expect some inconsistency from players playing limited minutes, but for Dragic I think its been too much. I'll go with Lowry over Dragic as my starter.
I understand where you are coming from on the shooting. However, it sure looks like to me Dragic is an entirely different player when he gets up shots regularly. I've become infatuated watching this perimeter of him, Lee, and Parsons. All 3 guys play great D and they work it every minute they're on the floor. He drove Westbrook nuts 2 nights ago. I've seen him dogging everybody he plays against. And it doesn't seem to effect him on the other end. He's still able to bring the ball up, keep his dribble, and make play after play after play. I really, really like the chemistry that has been exhibited by that trio over the last week or so. They're playing as good of perimeter D as anybody in the league right now. And they are moving so much offensively that they are getting wide open looks and layups. It just feels like our offensive efficiency has went up with the faster pace since Lowry and Martin have basically been sitting out and there's no question that our D is better.
I agree. I was really, really high on Lowry at the beginning of the season but his behavior is starting become grating with the flopping and whining. Remember when he flopped off CP3 when he was guarding him one on one, giving him the wide open jumper. He should've realized that they weren't calling it when Mo Williams just flopped on the other end and nothing was called. I still think he has some intangible leadership qualities that can't be taught. It's a very small sample size with Dragic so far, but he's been impressive.
What I love about Dragic the most is that he can get to the rim and finish very well. You compare them in passing but Lowry is definitely the only pure point guard in the team. But the question with Dragic is consistency. Can he play at his best day in day out? Also, can he do it for 36 mins over a long season? Lowry was putting up those crazy numbers before the grind got to him. I would be ready to give the position to Dragic but I'm not ready to say he is as good or better than Lowry until I see what he does with it.
That is a huge unknown. It seems like when Lowry is rested and healthy he puts up insane efficiency metrics. He's very, very good when he's got a full tank of gas. It appears to me that Dragic has a larger tank to run on. But don't know for sure without seeing him grind for 82 games with 36 mpg or so.
One big advantage I think Dragic has is that his game tilts more toward the skill and size side of the spectrum and less toward the hustle and effort side of the spectrum. What I mean is that Lowry has to really go all-out to play at such a high level; this obviously wears on him, reduces his ability to make plays and play quality defense. It also gets him injured more often. I've always felt this was a big disadvantage in his game--he's proven to me that he can sustain his intensity better than I ever thought he could and the development of his three point shot has been a shocking and pleasant surprise. But that weakness in his game where he has to give 110% to go from "above average" to "star level PG" bothers me. I think it would cause him problems come playoff time and cause him difficulty in staying on the court. Dragic is more about length, agility, and skill. That isn't something which wears you out as much or gets you injured as easily and it translates better to playoff games where both teams are going all out... as we saw against the Spurs his last year in Phoenix. He really, really needs to be more consistent with his jumper, though.
Five star thread, I wonder about this all the time. Dragon could become better than lowry. He is got better defense than Steve Nash, and he can develop to somewhere near Steve
I'd say Dragic. Lowry is a good point guard, but i'll continue to say he's not the star point guard that a lot of people believe he is. He doesn't dominate games even when he's going against someone he knows can't guard him. Dragic is coming at whoever is guarding him all night and if he's not getting to the rim, then he's driving and kicking for easy shots. I really hope we keep Dragic and trade Lowry. I don't see Lowry having much better of a season than he's having now.
Can someone nice enough put up Dragic's numbers as a starter? I'm interested to see what his numbers are.
Dragic is already the better scorer, possibly better defender, potentially better shooter. It is easier to quantify and visualize what Dragic is better at. Lowry runs the team better, which leads to better at winning. I'll take Lowry.
Clutch tweeted 'em. It's on the front page. Those numbers are certainly right up there with Lowry's, but it's a pretty small sample.
