Ace Bailey Hype thread

[Handlogten's Heros]

Most encouraging sign from SL + Preseason is that he's playing completely different than he did at Rutgers. It's an easier path for him to succeed and it shows that he's open and willing to adapt.

Everyone is focused on how badly Omar botched his draft process. The years before the process likely much worse. Going to a ****** basketball situation did not help him showcase himself at all. He gets good smart coaching around him with semi-competent players to help him... I think he becomes the #2 pick.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Ultimately Ace botched his draft himself by choosing Rutgers.

 

[default]

very nice looking shot

 

[seattlejazzfan]

Most encouraging sign from SL + Preseason is that he's playing completely different than he did at Rutgers. It's an easier path for him to succeed and it shows that he's open and willing to adapt.

sort of. HH hit the nail on the head above.

he's able to play different because he has spacing and competent teammates around him. he got more open shots without a defender right in his grill last night than he did all last season at rutgers - still shooting jumpers (wasn't putting it on floor, getting to the FT line, etc), they were just open jumpers. he just had to be patient and those shots were there. at rutgers they needed him to score and in order to do that, he had to force contested jumpers all game every game.

he was able to make passes to open teammates who made shots/finished plays which resulted in assists that weren't available at rutgers. bottom line, he was like a kid in a candy store with NBA spacing and teammates who could play worth a ****.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

Ultimately Ace botched his draft himself by choosing Rutgers.

yup. i think his intentions were admirable - take a ****** program and bring it to the top. it just proved a lot harder than his 17 year old underdeveloped brain could fathom.

 

[KqWIN]

Everyone is focused on how badly Omar botched his draft process. The years before the process likely much worse. Going to a ****** basketball situation did not help him showcase himself at all. He gets good smart coaching around him with semi-competent players to help him... I think he becomes the #2 pick.

Beyond showcasing his talent poorly, I was seriously worried about habits that were formed over time and how he viewed himself as a player. Rutgers was the perfect setting to reinforce those bad habits. The basketball situation was worse at Rutgers obviously, but he was leaning into the garbage way more than he had to.

 

[slc]

sort of. HH hit the nail on the head above.

he's able to play different because he has spacing and competent teammates around him. he got more open shots without a defender right in his grill last night than he did all last season at rutgers - still shooting jumpers, they were just open jumpers. he just had to be patient and those shots were there. at rutgers they needed him to score and in order to do that, he had to take contested jumpers all game every game. he was able to make passes to open teammates who made shots/finished plays which resulted in assists that weren't available at rutgers. bottom line, he was like a kid in a candy store with NBA spacing and teammates who could play worth a ****.

He did look good
But teams now know he can make shots and may not let him be so open

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

Ideal first game.

+Still plays gigantic even against NBA players. Just looks huge out there and gets his shot off easily, scores at the rim, rebounds, etc
+Played within the offense to get open looks

He's extremely young so he just needs to develop. Outcomes like huge Klay or a more athletic Brandon Ingram do seem on the table.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

He did look good
But teams now know he can make shots and may not let him be so open

Good thing he's 6'9 with a quick release

 

[Peter Effin' Parker]

Ultimately Ace botched his draft himself by choosing Rutgers.

Gotta wonder how much Omar pocketed under that table to make that happen.

 

[KqWIN]

One bad habit that has surfaced itself a few times so far is that he doesn't love contact on offense. I don't think he is soft, but I think he is trained to use his talent to evade the defense and/or shoot over them. I though he had an opportunity to turn the corner and challenge the defense at the rim, but that's just not his game atm. He prefers to fade away and avoid the defense. He is going to make those tough shots at a higher rate than most, but it's not going to be more efficient than attacking the hoop. He rarely did this in college, but he had some moments where he lowered his shoulder and invited the contact. If he can start doing that more it will be a massive development.

I'm not sure if this is a habit you can unwind, but he's got youth on his side.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

One bad habit that has surfaced itself a few times so far is that he doesn't love contact on offense. I don't think he is soft, but I think he is trained to use his talent to evade the defense and/or shoot over them. I though he had an opportunity to turn the corner and challenge the defense at the rim, but that's just not his game atm. He prefers to fade away and avoid the defense. He is going to make those tough shots at a higher rate than most, but it's not going to be more efficient than attacking the hoop. He rarely did this in college, but he had some moments where he lowered his shoulder and invited the contact. If he can start doing that more it will be a massive development.

I'm not sure if this is a habit you can unwind, but he's got youth on his side.

Yeah, it's not great (and that's why his efficiency wasn't great in college), but he's also 18 years old and he's clearly 20-40 pounds away from his final NBA weight so there's some reason for optimism.