[Grades] Grades v. Celtics 12/2/2016

[kingsboi]

Same with Cuz.

At least Rudy had an opportunity with two other franchises prior to coming here. Cousins doesn't have that luxury.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

The former: Gay has put up numbers on a winning team, unless you are using a deliberately restrictive definition of "winning team."

 

[kingsboi]

I have no problem with Willie's effort on offense. If you don't touch the ball, it's hard to do much of anything. My issue with him is with his rebounding. His reactions to the ball are a step too late, or not at all. I find him being a spectator instead of moving toward the basket. I have no answer as to why, because I doubt it's being lazy. I also doubt it's by design. Defensively he's very good at times, and then makes a mistake, like playing a little too far off of Horford after he had already hit a couple of three's.

Now to be fair, Willie wasn't the only player to play too far off of Horford. It's just that we seem to be holding Willie to a higher standard for some reason. Every mistake gets magnified on this forum, while Cuz, or Koufos can make the same mistake, and nothing is said. Truth is, a young player is more likely to make mistakes. Offensively Willie has taken what's there for the most part, and when it's not there, he moves the ball. He seldom turns the ball over which is a plus. It's obvious to me that for the most part, Willie isn't the first, second, third or even fourth option on offense. Maybe that will change in the future. But for now, he needs to become a better rebounder and I'll be happy.

I think the reason for that is that he was expected to be a defensive player coming out of college and he really hasn't shown enough of that IMO. He was also known to defend guards and he hasn't shown the ability to do that either, I know college vs pros. Cousins and Koufos are not very good defenders and the fact that Willie is so lengthy and agile for his size, it's still puzzling why he struggles on defense like he does. I'm not saying he is incapable of figuring it out, it's his second year, it's over reactions like this that get a player out of town early before even giving him a chance to blossom. However, the Kings don't have the ability to bring the best out of a player and therefore we don't know if he will amount to anything, at least for this organization.

 

[kingsboi]

The former: Gay has put up numbers on a winning team, unless you are using a deliberately restrictive definition of "winning team."

The almighty Memphis team that got better once he left?

 

[kingsboi]

I see where your going with this, and understand your point, but using that as a starndard would mean that Cousins has no impact either since he's never been on a winning team.

So the question then is, how much did that player help the team in terms of winning and advancing in the playoffs?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

The almighty Memphis team that got better once he left?

That's moving the goalposts: you said that he'd never put up numbers on a winning team. That statement is verifiably false.

 

[kingsboi]

That's moving the goalposts: you said that he'd never put up numbers on a winning team. That statement is verifiably false.

fair enough