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I'm sorry about your reading comprehension troubles.
Read the whole sentence: The eye test identified him as a good player capable of improvement. His defensive and rebounding stats were very good, but his offensive stats weren't. Observations of his character & work ethic made them believe he could improve offensively and become better than, say, Mbah a Moute or Al Farouq Aminu....
Mediocre offensive stats in college don't predict that you will someday be a good offensive player.
I'm sorry about your reading comprehension troubles.
at all. It's an absolutely baseless attack to bring up Kawhi improving.
Not sure what you mean here... explain?
Stats gauge what has already happened. To say they're a misrepresentation (or even a flawed representation) of reality due to Kawhi getting better makes no sense. Stats suggest Parker has been terrible this season. They don't say he won't improve.
tell that to Avante
Gotcha, and agreed. I think Kawhi's stats in college were the numbers of a guy who hadn't developed a great offensive game yet, but the straightfoward observation of his character, work ethic, and temperament led the Spurs to believe he had the tools and the at ude to improve... I don't think they would've made that trade if they thought he was going to be a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute...
My angle has always been use stats AND use observation in conjunction, but no matter how many time I repeat this Johnny ringo comes back with, "you don't thinks stats should be used at all." It's absurd. I post in the Think Tank all the time, and use stats extensively, but somehow this still translates as "I don't like stats" to him.
Just take the L on this one and move on, bro. It's obvious that this is a reactionary thread because you're butthurt about all Tony Parker criticism. Doesn't mean you have to use re ed backwards logic to prove your point. Like Chinook said, damning all stats because they didn't predict Kawhi would be this good is faulty logic. No way comparable to the stats that are saying Parker's a bad player right now.
Your reading comprehension is so bad that it's actually amusing right now. Keep hammering the same untrue statements like "damning all stats" etc., etc. Anyone with sense can read the posts and see that I repeatedly say use both, but your only response is saying that I don't like stats, which is completely untrue, as i've pointed out again and again and again. You might as well say, "Dude, you're wrong because you live in a tree house and drive a '73 Ford Pinto."
Not true, not relevant, not interesting.
Ok, so what if a player has bad metrics and fails the eye test? Like Enrique who can't take guys like Humphries/Mirotic off the dribble and can't stay in front of anybody.
I would trust stats beyond the reach of any "talent scout" in the league.
There's not a single person in the NBA who doesn't bring bias about what an "NBA player should look like" or be able to accomplish on a basketball court.
Pretty sure the Spurs didn't go out and "eyeball test" every Euroleague player in the world to find Parker and Manu.
Also fairly certain that Kawhi wasn't their only wish for the NBA draft. Draft another player and he might not have worked out at all for us.
Abilities are innate, and skills are to be developed.
I'm sure it was organic for the Spurs and their defensive pedigree to see the true value of what Kawhi could be, despite his limited offensive success.
I reckon the Spurs are confidant they can build a players shot, and teach offense, and with KL there was plenty of clay to mold.
What's the point of all this turmoil anyway, the same vision was at work when the Spurs drafted Tony, Manu and KL...
It's remarkable how the coaching staff was able to identify and make diamonds out of those players ( in tandem with their own fighting spirits). A Speedy kid from France, a whirling dervish from Argentina, a stoic kid with wingspan and hands.
Even Danny Green has been a revelation.
When Bruce lost a step/retired the Spurs realized they needed versatile, long, defensive wings to compete. Guys who can defend the likes of Dirk, LeBron, KD, Aldridge, Griffin, but also be flexible enough to maybe guard a Westbrook, Rose, Lillard, Thompson, Curry. They drafted Kawhi because he had the defensive attributes. Along with Green, they developed probably the best and most versatile wing defenders in the league. I actually think the Spurs just got lucky with their offensive contributions. I'm sure they saw they could improve, but I don't think they ever thought to the extent they are at right now...and still growing.
The spurs thought they were drafting a bruce bowen but got a scottie pippen.
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