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How did Exum look last night?

Exum's current PER: 21.2, best of all rotation players (Rudy is 2nd @ 21.2). His TS%: .658, 2nd only to Rudy (.663).

Note: For the record, I don't believe in PER. It's an invention of Hollinger, a lazy dumbass who didn't want to take the time to analyze boxscores, let alone watch the damn games, so he came up with a formula to compress the boxscore into a single number he could calculate and sort in a spreadsheet. It only really tells you who the best fantasy basketball players are. There is correlation between the best players in the league and PER, because these guys also stuff the stat sheet, but it throws out too many anomalies for the bulk of the league. Thabo is one example - a player who logs heavy minutes for good teams but is 'below average' according to PER. Then there is Ekpe and Joe - Ekpe has the higher PER (15.4 v 14.2), but he can't get off the bench when Rudy and Faves are healthy, while Joe - who is also rated below-average - starts and plays 30 mins+ every game.

Caveat: Yeah, I know, very small sample size, tanking opponents and/or their best players missing, he still looks goofy, yadda, yadda, yadda.
 
Seeing Simmons shoot like that would definitely seal ROTY for Mitchell :)

Mitchell is awesome for a rookie.

But Simmons is an absolute monster. Granted his shooting ain’t the best, but damn his overall play is amazing.

On a side note, Fultz will be really good but if the Sixers drafted Mitchell that would have been a really fun Sixers team to watch.
 
Ok I knew it. Elan_Prodigy you are correct.

Quin after the game said some stuff about not having had the 'opportunity' to put Dante in for more minutes since his return!!!! I knew it I knew it. Nothing about 'easing' him back etc. Just that Q as per normal doesn't envisage Dante being a main (trusted) difference maker.

Sucks.
 
Mitchell is awesome for a rookie.

But Simmons is an absolute monster. Granted his shooting ain’t the best, but damn his overall play is amazing.

On a side note, Fultz will be really good but if the Sixers drafted Mitchell that would have been a really fun Sixers team to watch.

I think the Sixers are a really fun team to watch as is. Simmons and Embiid are monsters
 


Having a player with elite speed and length combined with vision can really break open an offense. Look at the play @ 0:21, you're forcing rotations that the defense is not ready for as they might be in PNR coverage. This is why I thinking letting Exum walk would be a mistake because if it comes together (and I think it will), he is an absolute difference maker.
 
Him starting his drive while catching the pass makes him even faster.

It’s a pretty good offensive system for him because he’s not a full pg imo.

With a tighter handle and pull-up game he can absolutely be a full-time PG, and that's where his ceiling is the highest.
 
Just posted this in the game thread:

The kid looked great. Kid's shot looks so much smoother. Obviously the ball going in makes it feel that way even more so but even coming out of his hand, it looked more natural, like he was an actual shooter and not some spaz flicking it up to the rim with that awkward hitch he had had. It also seemed like he was very decisive (which I love) both in transition and passing and on defense. I saw the Kobe killer instinct we had all heard about. He just absolutely sprinted up the court, as if he knew he was simply faster and more explosive than everyone else. And it was awesome to see. I want a killer like that.

Now, in those moments, you could see some issues with his handle. Nothing bad really happened last night, but he's moving so damn fast and his stride is so damn long that it's difficult to weave and zig and zag very easily, and so when a guy would begin to attempt to get in his way or defend him, he had to adjust mid-dribble. That's very difficult to do at max speed with that long stride and long/high dribble like he has. Like I said, nothing bad happened, but you can still see he needs to tighten up that dribble. Big time. Because in other games, against better opponents, bad things will happen. He just needs to minimize those moments. His handle's definitely improved though. If he can continue to improve it and develop his body over the next few years like Hayward did, **** me. Dude could be legit.

Another issue I saw, which a lot of NBA players have, is with his ability to get through screens, either by fighting through them, reading the play right, or having a more clear sense of urgency in that moment. It's not a huge concern but it's something to work on.

Right now, I'm on top of the ****ing world. Seriously.

Now, we have to see it consistently. He's not a little kid anymore. He's been in the league four years and injury or not, should feel like he belongs and that he has to make his mark. Sadly, Rubio will be returning and so his playing time will be more limited but I am very excited to watch the remainder of the games this season and really hope he can get about 18-20 minutes a game and continue to kill it.
 
Now, in those moments, you could see some issues with his handle. Nothing bad really happened last night, but he's moving so damn fast and his stride is so damn long that it's difficult to weave and zig and zag very easily, and so when a guy would begin to attempt to get in his way or defend him, he had to adjust mid-dribble. That's very difficult to do at max speed with that long stride and long/high dribble like he has. Like I said, nothing bad happened, but you can still see he needs to tighten up that dribble. Big time. Because in other games, against better opponents, bad things will happen. He just needs to minimize those moments. His handle's definitely improved though. If he can continue to improve it and develop his body over the next few years like Hayward did, **** me. Dude could be legit.

I'd imagine in a playoff series, opponents are going to give an insane amount of cushion to Exum on-ball and make him beat you with a pull-up or more advanced handing than a straight-line drive. I'm hopeful he can produce in these scenarios.
 
I'd imagine in a playoff series, opponents are going to give an insane amount of cushion to Exum on-ball and make him beat you with a pull-up or more advanced handing than a straight-line drive. I'm hopeful he can produce in these scenarios.

Agreed.
 
With a tighter handle and pull-up game he can absolutely be a full-time PG, and that's where his ceiling is the highest.
If he can improve his handle, great but how realistic is that? I'm not just asking for him but how often does a player improve his handle enough to play pg full time?

The jazz's future could be DM at pg with Exum at sg with Exum playing some backup pg just like Mitchell is doing now.
 
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