Kobe Bryant vs. Alec Burks, Rookie Season Stats Comparison

[theNBAnerd]

Hey Nerd,
I think on this one we are ultimately not going to see eye to eye and it doesn't matter, but since you're saying that I was sneaking data into the list by using rookies drafted in 2007 I wanted to ask, which drafts did you think I should have used? I figured 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 would make the most sense. The fact that you only pointed out a couple of 2007 guys makes me wonder if I made an error and if there are actually more who belong on the list.

I disagree with your argument in this thread (especially if you don't arbitrarily cut the list off exactly when you reach Alec), but who cares. I'd obviously love to see Burks turn out to be as good as the OP was trying to suggest, and I'm sure you would too.

you included guys from 2006-7, 2007-8, 2008-9, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. that's 6 rookie classes, not 5.

and i didn't arbitrarily cut the list off at alec. the argument was about how rare it is or isn't to reach the level alec reached. if a guy didn't reach that level, then he's kind of irrelevant to that discussion. still, i left the complete list in the first part of my post, and only truncated the list on the second blow because i was showing that pretty much the only guys who exceeded alec's rookie scoring efficiency were all-rookie first-teamers...

(...and because, honestly, i don't care enough about this argument to spend a half hour per post. my point was rather simple, and you and others are attacking it by making it sound like i'm saying more than i really am. burks' feat is not a dime-a-dozen accomplishment. that's all i was saying. i think i have proven that one pretty solidly.)

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

you included guys from 2006-7, 2007-8, 2008-9, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. that's 6 rookie classes, not 5.

and i didn't arbitrarily cut the list off at alec. the argument was about how rare it is or isn't to reach the level alec reached. if a guy didn't reach that level, then he's kind of irrelevant to that discussion. still, i left the complete list in the first part of my post, and only truncated the list on the second blow because i was showing that pretty much the only guys who exceeded alec's rookie scoring efficiency were all-rookie first-teamers...

(...and because, honestly, i don't care enough about this argument to spend a half hour per post. my point was rather simple, and you and others are attacking it by making it sound like i'm saying more than i really am. burks' feat is not a dime-a-dozen accomplishment. that's all i was saying. i think i have proven that one pretty solidly.)

Let's just forget about all the rest because it's become abundantly obvious that your parameters for this argument and mine simply don't match, but since you've accused me of sneaking names in there that didn't belong in the discussion how about telling me who on that list played in the 2006-07 NBA season?

 

[theNBAnerd]

ah my bad... for some reason i thought jc navarro and brandan wright were a year ahead. pardon the oversight and you can add those two back to the list... one to the portion that played the qualifying amount of minutes and one to list who didn't.

but i don't think it's just that our parameters are different... i think we're having two completely different conversations. you are trying to explain to me why burks isn't as good as kobe, and i'm saying no duh he's not as good as kobe, but good for him that he's off to a better start than people realize.

we can stop making this about hyperbole and just admit that not many rookies do what burks just did from a scoring rate perspective. that's all this has been about.

 

[Stifle Tower]

sure, i think obviously those are the big questions for alec... 1) is he ready for a more steady role, something in the range of 20 mpg, which would be 1600+ minutes for the season; and 2) can he maintain that scoring efficiency even while nearly doubling his minutes?

if the answer to both of those questions is yes, then we're looking at nearly double figures from him. honestly, i'd even be ok if he got to the 7-9 ppg range while also rounding out other areas of his game. we (in theory) have a lot of guys on this team who can score, so it'd be great to see his overall decision-making improve. that will probably get him more minutes in the long haul.

Agree with your points. Burks can score. And isn't that why he was drafted at #12? I think he has the potential to become either a solid starter or a Maggette-type player off the bench. Actually, I'd kind of like him to fill that 6th-man role. Jazz have struggled a lot with getting production out of their bench.

Imagine a 2nd unit of Millsap-Kanter-Burks-Foye and either Hayward or Williams at SF (whoever rotates back in or stays on the court). That's great balance with Millsap's mid-range game, Foye's 3-Pt shooting, Burks driving inside, the SF's cutting to the basket and Kanter underneath to score off dishes or putbacks.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Is he Kobe yet?