Keyontae George progression watch this year
- Thread starter Thee Jazz Fan
- Start date
IMO he has undoubtedly gotten better defensively. A lot better? Maybe not, but simply just not complaining as much has improved his defensive ability and he does seem to "lock in" for the clutch possessions at times.
outerspacefan
Well-Known Member
We've already seen George contributions on D at some important moments of games.
He's just a really young guard at 22 without a monster physical profile but with a will to work hard... he will be ok and he's going to have a very nice NBA career.
Here's an interesting little tidbit of historical context:
In the past eight games, George has averaged 30.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 7.0 assists on a true shooting percentage of 65%–– which is a stat line only two players in NBA history at age 23 or younger have ever put together in the same timeframe: Luka Doncic and Michael Jordan.
In the past eight games, George has averaged 30.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 7.0 assists on a true shooting percentage of 65%–– which is a stat line only two players in NBA history at age 23 or younger have ever put together in the same timeframe: Luka Doncic and Michael Jordan.
Since I don’t believe rookie contract players should be eligible for the award (this is usually where the leaps happen), no.
Key being the #2 worst and not #1 being in a metric is being considered a win. That’s kind of where we’re at with that rn lol.
I think the best rationale for thinking Key is not actually this bad or can have a quick turnaround is the belief that our defense is artificially bad because of tanking/Hardy being bad or not caring about defense. Obviously we've had a lot of that these past few seasons so it's reasonable. A truer test will come when tanking is in the rear view. I could buy into the idea that he's just regular bad and not league worst. Like I was saying earlier, I kinda think there's a chance he's on a Garland or Lavine like trajectory (coming from a Lavine apologist). Could make a couple all star games that way.
FWIW, Lauri's APM stuff has remained constant throughout the tanking, but he's sitting out during the most tanky moments.
I think the best rationale for thinking Key is not actually this bad or can have a quick turnaround is the belief that our defense is artificially bad because of tanking/Hardy being bad or not caring about defense. Obviously we've had a lot of that these past few seasons so it's reasonable. A truer test will come when tanking is in the rear view. I could buy into the idea that he's just regular bad and not league worst. Like I was saying earlier, I kinda think there's a chance he's on a Garland or Lavine like trajectory (coming from a Lavine apologist). Could make a couple all star games that way.
FWIW, Lauri's APM stuff has remained constant throughout the tanking, but he's sitting out during the most tanky moments.
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Tremendous Upside
Well-Known Member
Yeah... but hey, it's always Kevin Love's fault anyway. Or something.
Some of our players nevertheless manage to work hard on D even if Hardy doesn't "care" about it. That's one excuse out of the window for Key.
What are those? He's been involved in plenty of nasty losses where we, as a team, have played horrible D.
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Historical RAPM numbers can be found nbarapm.com. Lauri’s drapm has not dropped in his years playing with the Jazz despite significantly worse on court defensive ratings and teammates. Somehow this is controversial, but this is possible due to the adjustment in APM statistics. That’s the whole point of APM.
Tanking likely plays a role here as a lurking variable because Lauri doesn’t play in as many tanking games as others. The overall effort in probably higher for everyone when Lauri is on the court.
outerspacefan
Well-Known Member
Swift, efficient communication by Key.
Think I got it to work this time. This was the highlighted play that felt egregious. Just one play but not great.
Thee Jazz Fan
Well-Known Member
He’s more engaged but he’s just not good.