How are you feeling about Luther?

JVG has trusted him to play in the 4th quarter. He is mentally tough and physically I can see his muslces growing. I consider him a big part of the team nucleus.

 

Ive been wondering about number 4 for some time now... its strange he is alot smaller than most guards he goes against and maybe its a mental thing but im not sure what happened to that 40 inch vertical

 

He's a good ballhandler off the bench, makes his share of mental mistakes. Last night's game notwithstanding, not really a difference maker or can't change momentum of game like V-Span seems capable of in what little time he has gotten. We need him because Rafer and him are our primary ballhandlers to get it to Yao and T-Mac (I don't want T-Mac getting worn down getting the ball up every time), and now I guess V-SPan is getting a chance to be another ballhandler. Notice I said ballhandler, not point guard as we don't need the traditional PG who dominates the ball.

 

Luther still sucks as a point guard.

 

Yes but not many pt guards can hit the open 3 like Luther.

 

I love his clutch shooting. I disagree that he's not a difference maker. He might not do it with playmaking, but he makes a difference with his awesome shooting when we absolutely need it. Oh and btw, a dagger three is just a big of a momentum killer as a good drive and finish.

 

Luther is clutch, that's what I like most about him. He's not shy about shooting the big three pointer

 

Luther is a valuable role player for the Rox. He's a clutch 3-pt shooter. Having said that, Deron Williams is a stud from the same illini class. I wish we had him instead.

 

I've been wondering the same on both of these. I've seen a lot of highlights of him and got to watch a good number of games his senior year. he seem slow footed now and either doesn't care to dunk ala Jason Kidd or just can't get up like he did in collage.

But I luv how clutch he has been sense he's been here!!!

 

I think he'll progress more and more and become the player Barbosa was last year.

Good outside shooters
Average ball handling ability
Limited creativity with the ball in his hands
Uses screen and speed away from the ball to get open looks
Both athletic, but not above the rim

 

Luther can still dunk and is still a good defender, but the guys in the Nba are alot taller and stronger. Luther cannot dunk over them. I really liked how he defended Arenas last game. Alston on the other hand...seemed to just stand there.

 

Luther is having a very quiet year for the Rocks but a great year nonetheless...he's got game and JVG is not afraid to use him this year. The fact that he's in the game at the time that Magic Johnson calls "winning time" says all that I need about him. The kid has become deadly when we need that big shot to bury the oppossing team. Who care if he doesn't dunk just keep on shooting 45+% from the 3-pt line and playing smart and I'm fine with his performance,

 

luther is clutch and smart.

he would be a starting calibur player is he added 3 things to his game:

1. defense - is he could stop some guards from getting in the paint he might be worth starting thanks to his 3pt shot and rafers lack of defense.

2. ball control - he will never start at the 2. he's just too small. if he could prove that he is a good enough ball-handler to handle the point then i think he might have a chance at starting.

3. a mid-range game - everyone know's he's a 3pt shooter. if he could throw a pump fake and take a dribble in the arc for 2 points (like sam cassell) he would be a very productive scorer. right now it seems he cant hit anything inside the 3pt line.

 

In my head, I heard Ahnold saying this quote.

 

Actually I don't remember Luther being an athletic standout at Illinois either ... the team didn't really blow you away that way...

This was pretty much luther's game in college too, except he attacked with more freedom whereas he's more mechanical withi his moves now ... that's just part of doing what you're asked to and nothing more type of thinking IMO ... if he ever got starter minutes he may try to play outside the lines a bit more, but JVG likes his guards, at least in this lineup, to be very methodical and bland players so long as they minimize mistakes...

 

I don't think the issue is if he still can. It's more like where is the 40+ vertical that he had in collage? He used to throw it off the backboard, get alley oop reverse dunks, easily getting over the rim. I don't care if dunks over anyone. It's just odd to see him jump out the building to now see him just doing layups...

 

the other day when he had an open-court layup really had me confused. i don't think there's any way he's hurt or lost athleticism, i just think he dropped part of that game, though i have no idea why.

luther needs to really work on cutting back on the DUMB mistakes but there's no doubt he's making improvements overall. considering where we drafted him we should all be happy with where he's at. he was a steal.

 

Hopefully with V-Span getting minutes,Luther can be Luther and stay at the 2 guard and V-Span can play the 1. Luther is just NOT a point plain and simple. He makes bad passes and is a decent ball handler. He's at this best when he is taking it to the hole or is in a catch and shoot situation.

 

Luther is a very good finisher around the basket, and layups are higher % shots for 6'3" guards than are dunks. Early in careers of guys like Kenny Smith, Bob Sura, Brent Barry, etc. these guys were decent dunkers. But most non superathletic NBA guards naturally transition away from dunking early on in their careers.