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Keyonte George’s Star Ascension

slc said:
Don't understand what Jazz may be doing right now
They cannot give that top 8 pick away under any circumstances
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Why not? Oh no, they'll miss out on... "Taylor Hendricks / Cody Williams" or whoever the hell is available at 7 or wherever.

"Giving it away" would be stupid, but if the team wins because Keyonte in his third year scores 39, then so be it.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Overall, though, Key is still a one way player. He can occasionally motivate himself into playing good defense for a possession or two, but more often than not, his matador tendencies take over and he simply gives up on plays. Becoming an average defender is definitely his most important goal now.
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I disagree. This season I often see him Keyonte doing something positive on defense and I did not see it last year. He also stopped complaining and pouting after the failed offensive posession: instead he busts his tail to get back on defense.

Key's improvement on the defensive side this year was no less drastic then his offensive growth: he was already pretty good on offense last season but on defense he started from a much lower base.
 
jazznik said:
I disagree. This season I often see him Keyonte doing something positive on defense and I did not see it last year. He also stopped complaining and pouting after the failed offensive posession: instead he busts his tail to get back on defense.

Key's improvement on the defensive side this year was no less drastic then his offensive growth: he was already pretty good on offense last season but on defense he started from a much lower base.
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Ya I still see a lot of criticism of his defense but when I watch the games he seems fine defensively. I mean offense in todays nba is better than defense for the most part, especially when it comes to perimeter players so I think most perimeter defenders are going to get scored on/beat pretty frequently but he doesn't stand out as worse than most to me. The pace is so fast and there are so many more possessions that its harder to play lock down perimeter defense all game against amazing scorers.
 
What stands out to me the most about George this season is that he dramatically improved his ability to read the court and make right decisions. No more aimless stationary dribbling in the midcourt trying to read the defense, no more hesitation on his offensive drives, much improved movements on defense... His processing speed is very fast now and that is why he was so much better of playing the PG.

The basketball IQ, the ability to read the court is one of the most important qualities separating stars from equally athletically gifted role players, so it bodes really well for the George's future.
 
Here are the third year stats:

Donovan Mitchell: 24.0 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG, on the 45% - 37% - 86% shooting.
Keyonte (so far): 22.9 PPG, 6.8 APG, 4.0 RPG, 0.9 SPG, on the 44% - 34% - 91% shooting.

And Mitchell's stats declined after the hot start, while Keyonte keeps improving his PPG, RPG and shooting percentages every month.

They're the same picture. Their stats would be very, very similar after the end of the season.
 
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fishonjazz said:
Ya I still see a lot of criticism of his defense but when I watch the games he seems fine defensively.
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He might seem fine. As in, as noted above, he doesn't just stop running and start pouting. Or give as many matador plays as described.

But there are a ton of plays which might not stand out. Like instead of guarding your man from the arc, just letting them get to the paint, standing near them, but not affecting their shot in any way. That doesn't scream "he's not playing D!!!", but is just as meaningful.

This type of play last night was obvs the result of his 5 fouls, but it happens every game, from the start, to some degree.

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Elizah Huge said:
If he continues on this ascension he will absolutely be an all-star in the near future.
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Maybe. If his defense doesn’t improve, I think it will hard for him to ever be an all star. I think it’s easy to get up in the counting stats (especially when stats have inflated so much), but I view all players through the same lens and for Key that means pumping the brakes a bit. He’s improved massively, there’s still a long way to go to be considered a star or all star.
 
Tanktastic said:
He might seem fine. As in, as noted above, he doesn't just stop running and start pouting. Or give as many matador plays as described.

But there are a ton of plays which might not stand out. Like instead of guarding your man from the arc, just letting them get to the paint, standing near them, but not affecting their shot in any way. That doesn't scream "he's not playing D!!!", but is just as meaningful.

This type of play last night was obvs the result of his 5 fouls, but it happens every game, from the start, to some degree.

www.nba.com

Video and Shotcharts | Stats | NBA.com

A video and Shot Chart interface with the ability to filter down to specific on court events and granular details.
www.nba.com www.nba.com
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"This type of play last night was obvs the result of his 5 fouls". Now find and post the clips of how every other offensive star defends with 5 fouls in the last minutes of a close game.
 
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