Is Raul Neto actually Utah's best PG?

Our humble third string PG is sneaky good and most of you guys are not even aware of that.

He's 6'1" that people assume he's poor defensively. He's not. He's one of those cerebral defenders. Plays angles well and has stellar anticipation. And he doesn't seem to have the weaknesses Rubio and X possess. It's just he can't stay healthy and he's not given the role he deserves. I believe in a bigger role he can post 46/40/90 and make his teammates better, i.e. help Utah win more games if given the opportunity and patience.

Raul Neto was Utah's #1 player in NETRTG last season, which is a pretty reliable metric.
If it was a coincidence last year, he's #1 so far this season too! By far!

Guess who is #2 behind Neto? Ingles. Well, in Qs system cerebral white unselfish players from overseas that shoot the ball perform the best.

17-18 #1 103.7 OFF, 93.4 DEF +10.2
18-19 #1 110.6 OFF, 102.0 DEF +8.6

No

He's definitely better than he's given credit for on this site.

Hard to say based on numbers alone. Is the majority of his mins played against the other team’s 3rd string guards? Or their worst defenders?

Idk

He could have a consistent role... if he was ever consistently healthy.

He's not our best pg, but the way he plays provides some good things and he's a high floor guy imo. Sometimes the floor with Ricky and Dante can be really low on their awful nights.

Better than Gaines.

Anyone remember all those “better than Gaines” threads?

He's fine.

Lol. No

He’s an excellent third string PG. prob a decent backup if he could stay healthy.

You answered your own question when you said "It's just he can't stay healthy." No need to talk about his role when he is hurt, which is far too often.

jjscap said:

He's 6'1" that people assume he's poor defensively. He's not. He's one of those cerebral defenders. Plays angles well and has stellar anticipation.

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I'm a big Neto fan and I think he would be fine in a backup PG role if Rubio wasn't re-signed in the offseason, but he's a huge liability compared to Exum or Rubio because of his size limitations on the defensive end. You really can't get Neto to switch off his man otherwise he ends up having to guard much bigger and stronger guys, and the results are usually not great (e.g. Neto vs Harden in last years playoffs). But in Neto's defense, the Per 36 numbers are surprisingly close between all three of the guys (14.8/6/4.6 for Neto, 16.3/6/3.7 for Exum, 15.8/7.6/4.4 for Rubio), and Neto's TS% is miles higher than Exum or Rubio (61.7% for Neto, 53.0% for Exum, 51.0% for Rubio).

My biggest concerns over Neto's numbers is how sustainable they are, who they're coming against for the most part, and how little defense is being played as there is a large portion of the minutes being played in garbage time. That combined with him really not being versatile enough defensively due to his size limitations should be enough for most people to realise that he isn't the best PG on this team. That's ignoring his health issues

But as I said before I'm a big Neto fan and I would be down with him getting the backup PG role full time if Rubio were to be let go in the offseason.

Is he better than Rubio or X? Maybe.
Not saying much though. I don't think any of the three should start on the jazz.

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Too injury prone. Doesn't matter how well he plays it's always gonna be off of small sample size because he's never been healthy for long extensive period

+/- is very deceiving. Look at his advanced defensive stats. His defender shoots an astronomical higher % when he is guarding them vs their average. I like Neto a lot, but he is definitely a second string PG at best. He just doesn't have the height/length/quickness needed to guard opposing PGs.

I like Neto, I like watching him play more than Rubio. But his defensive liability is a thing. A bad thing, He's better on offense than Rubio or Exum IMO, but the defense makes him worse than both over all.

If he were really the best, maybe that guy Quinn Snyder would have noticed and made him the starter.

gregbroncs said:

I like Neto, I like watching him play more than Rubio. But his defensive liability is a thing. A bad thing, He's better on offense than Rubio or Exum IMO, but the defense makes him worse than both over all.

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I don't think Neto's better than those guys offensively either. He's just a solid PG that won't hurt you on the floor coming off the bench for 15 - 20 minutes a night offensively, but I don't really think he's a guy that makes your team better offensively either.

Brazillian DJ Augustin would be my ceiling for Neto, which is a solid backup PG.

Neto doesn't have a high ceiling but due to his intelligence he plays knowing his talents and limitations.

If he were a car I'd say he's the Toyota Camry of point guards.

jjscap said:

Our humble third string PG is sneaky good and most of you guys are not even aware of that.

He's 6'1" that people assume he's poor defensively. He's not. He's one of those cerebral defenders. Plays angles well and has stellar anticipation. And he doesn't seem to have the weaknesses Rubio and X possess. It's just he can't stay healthy and he's not given the role he deserves. I believe in a bigger role he can post 46/40/90 and make his teammates better, i.e. help Utah win more games if given the opportunity and patience.

Raul Neto was Utah's #1 player in NETRTG last season, which is a pretty reliable metric.
If it was a coincidence last year, he's #1 so far this season too! By far!

Guess who is #2 behind Neto? Ingles. Well, in Qs system cerebral white unselfish players from overseas that shoot the ball perform the best.

17-18 #1 103.7 OFF, 93.4 DEF +10.2
18-19 #1 110.6 OFF, 102.0 DEF +8.6

Click to expand...

That’s a stupid question. Our best pg isn’t even a pg, but if I had it my way, he’d be starting next year

jope said:

Hard to say based on numbers alone. Is the majority of his mins played against the other team’s 3rd string guards? Or their worst defenders?

Idk

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Lol. The only time he might play against other third stringers is in garbage time, but he has from time to time been in the rotation. He’s better than normal third stringers.

Sandman822 said:

I'm a big Neto fan and I think he would be fine in a backup PG role if Rubio wasn't re-signed in the offseason, but he's a huge liability compared to Exum or Rubio because of his size limitations on the defensive end. You really can't get Neto to switch off his man otherwise he ends up having to guard much bigger and stronger guys, and the results are usually not great (e.g. Neto vs Harden in last years playoffs). But in Neto's defense, the Per 36 numbers are surprisingly close between all three of the guys (14.8/6/4.6 for Neto, 16.3/6/3.7 for Exum, 15.8/7.6/4.4 for Rubio), and Neto's TS% is miles higher than Exum or Rubio (61.7% for Neto, 53.0% for Exum, 51.0% for Rubio).

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What's the proof that Neto is a defensive liability? He's short? Well CP3 is shorter and he's been doing great in a switch-all defense.
Utah posted 93.4 DRTG with Neto on the floor last season. That's a pretty large sample size. And it's 102.0 this season, still good enough for league's #1 defense.
As Daryl Morey recently noted there is no reliable metric to determine individual defensive performance. Team DEFRTG is as good as it gets and most other metrics are only misleading.

Neto is putting those number mostly against bench guys and is not tested as a starter. He may do well or fail. But a young guy leading the team in NETRTG in consecutive years deserves a role upgrade consideration. And our poor shooting inconsistent PGs make me think Raul Neto may actually help Utah win more games in Q's system.