Exactly, usually Nick Johnson is jacking up shots tbh
His isos and drives weren't as good as one thinks they should be at this level, though Memphis is long and well coached. The high screen plays were great since he'll get better screens in the NBA and was getting into his shot as soon as he got separation.
He's got good mechanics and elevation on his shot so I'm not really worried about his jumper. The question for me is what is his BBIQ. His speed and athleticism is also special.
He reminds me a lot of Zach Lavine with his fluidity, movements and overall athleticism on offense. Zach has way better hoops (pre - ACL tear), but both guys (still) have (a lot of) leaping ability to spare.
He seems like Westbrook in that his leaping ability looks more impressive in-game compared to during testing.....
Last edited by J_Paco; 01-05-2019 at 06:06 PM.
Tremendous balance and confidence on his jumper.
Ok, we had some minutes of Walker.
The kid keeps showing great potential. And his game is still raw.
You all will name here is good actions, let me be the grumpy old man.
- Misses a P&R defense call, Aldridge clearly calls PUSH and he doesn't deny middle, allowing his man to take the pick, drive to the basket and score.
- Soft 1on1 defense in several actions, far and near the basket. Evitable fouling.
- White recognizes a mismatch after a pick and tries to give the ball to Rudy in the post. Makes a signal to Lonnie in order to stop his cut and stay in the opposite side of the court. Walker doesn't notice/doesn't listen and White has to look for an alternative option.
- Turnover pushing the ball in traffic with no need to do it.
- A few more subtle details about spacing in offense and defensive positioning.
Everything pretty basic and easy for the average young NBA player. I'm not setting the execution bar at a 10-year veteran level. Lonnie still needs to LEARN the game with the Toros.
If you like the boy, don't rush him. Allow him to build his game up playing minutes in Austin. When you feel impatient, watch D White and think if his game would have been the same without spending one season in the Development team. And Walker is 19! White was a 23years old rookie!
He’s not going to be known for his defense or b-ball IQ. He will be a chucker and a scorer. But he’s athletic af so he can be a poor mans D Wade if he develops a load of moves like D Wade had when he came into the league.
He needs to take the defensive approach like Pop did with Kawhi. If that doesn't happen, if he doesn't develop that part of his game first, he's not gonna stay with the Spurs, Pop will make sure of that.
Intrigued by his athleticism (he jumps are outstanding) but he really was not good on defense. He could not get around a pick at all. He needs to master that jump forward move as the pick is set and then slide over it so that he can stay with his man. Hopefully he can get a sense of what to do quick or Pop will not have his no defense.
Definitely needs to focus on better defense.
Pop has no problem with Forbes' no defense so that would be hypocritical of Pop not to cut Walker some slack at 19 years old.
Whistle moves.
His ticket to getting minutes is D. Forbes and Mills can score but big/athletic guards just go through them and the whole defense collapse. Playing great D and hitting those open shots. Rebounds and pushing the fastbreak would be a plus. I’m sure Pop just got his feet wet especially with DDR/Davis down. But he’s going back to Austin for more seasoning. But I like the athleticism, shooting range a lot. Kinda reminds me of Sprewell??
He reminds me off a short young Sean Elliott.
Give this kid more NBA minutes. His defense will improve by playing. Offensively he has the moves and athleticism, just needs to learn which spots to be in when sets are run.
I agree that he can't learn NBA level defense playing only in the G-league. Pop should just have him defend the best offensive wing on the court (sink or swim). That'll help White focus more energy on running the offense.
He's asking to guard the best player.... let him have it! Have him guard Bradley Beal!
Certainly has no lack of confidence. A few film sessions with Pop and let’s see where he’s at.
I like it man. And say what you want about late rounds duds/non-factors like Ian, LJC, and TBD Mulitinov, but RC has done some WORK 3 straights years deep in the draft.
A lot of it comes from players seeing the value of essentially red shirting one year. Not just from talent development POV, but the fact that as a late pick they have a great shot at getting PAID. See Kyle, Bert, CoJo ( , you can even lump Ian in there).
In my minds makes those 2 firsts this draft that much more valuable.
The record shows that Spurs have draft 4 NBA quality players in the last 5 years on high draft picks. That's beating the usual odds by a mile!
Anderson, Murray, White, Walker.
The only one questionable in Mulitinov, who hasn't played yet but may be a good trade asset.
Milutinov absolutely is NBA quality, he's more advanced than Baynes was when they brought him. He's a back up big at least, I'd compare him to Gortat, who's had a decent career.
The problem isn't his talent, it's his contract. Seems like he won't sign the rookie scale deal and will look for something between that and what Bogdanovic got. This would be a problem for any team looking to sign him, so he won't be much of a trade asset unless someone likes him a lot and is willing to use cap space for him (Vlade?).
Unless you’re a fairly exceptional big man the contract value of bigs in the NBA is in serious decline.
You still need bigs look at Warriors signing Cousins but agree not like you needed in Shaq days.
That’s right! I forgot Kyle and CoJo, each of who got PAID. Regardless of whether Multinov comes or not, can’t say Spurs wiffed if he turns into the Euro MVP.
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