Steve Nash should consider himself lucky to be mentioned in the same breath as The Chosen One.Steve Nash hates you.
As I mentioned upthread, it was really interesting to me how long PP’s comps took to get good, even though they were basically all drafted old. He’s fairly ahead of the curve both statistically and eyetest.So of course Steve Nash is beyond a ceiling comp, PP will be beyond lucky to ever be in any MVP discussion.
But I do think they actually play very similarly. Great handle, short area quickness, shooting, always probing the defense. Soccer style basketball as has been mentioned before.
Nash was WCC and PP was Pac 12, but both 4 year college players and interesting comparison with the college numbers. Nash picked #15, Pritchard picked #26.
Nash:
Career:
Pts: 14.9
Ast: 4.5
Reb: 3.1
FG%: 43%
3Pt%: 40%
Ft%: 87%
Best season (junior):
Pts: 20.9
Ast: 6.4
Reb: 3.8
FG%: 44%
3Pt%: 45%
Ft%: 88%
Pritchard:
Career:
Pts: 14.5
Ast: 4.6
Reb: 3.8
FG%: 44%
3Pt%: 38%
Ft%: 80%
Best season (senior):
Pts: 20.5
Ast: 5.5
Reb: 3.6
FG%: 44%
3Pt%: 42%
Ft%: 82%
Maybe, could also be one of those “what if Bob Cousy had 21st century training and nutrition” situationsDidn't we have a thread on morphing two players together? Are we sure that thread didn't spawn PP?
Reincarcerated? You make him sound like a Trump associate.Jesus didn't leave NE for Tampa Bay, he was just reincarcerated into the form of PP.
It was the coke that gave Eddie Johnson his superpowers.High end? What about a Tim Hardaway or a smaller Mitch Rixhmond or Michael Redd? But making any All-NBA teams (let alone multiple) seems like a dream case scenario.
I'll settle (as in realistic best case) for Terry Porter or a non-coked up Eddie Johnson.
That would be an awesome Trailer Park Boys Ricky-ism.Reincarcerated? You make him sound like a Trump associate.
This made me think of Gary Payton, though admittedly PP is not exactly the Glove.Well, that would be the Grey Poupon of outcomes, methinks.
Imagine being ex-NBA player Eddie Johnson, the analyst, and have everyone think he’s ex-NBA player Eddie Johnson, the coke feign and pedophile?It was the coke that gave Eddie Johnson his superpowers.
I'm also shocked at how well he holds up on defense. The dude is really strong and understands what he is supposed to do. I did not see that coming.PP is the perfect PG to put with Brown and Tatum long term. Great range to spread the floor. Can take advantage of mismatched if getting the ball back on any pick/roll action with either Jay. Competitive enough on defense to switch out top on wings. Tremendous handle and solid passing ability on drives. Ability to probe under the basket with the dribble, to collapse a defense. Affordable
Yeah, "pesky" describes him well on defense. His inferior speed/lack of height hurts him, but he can be pretty disruptive.I'm also shocked at how well he holds up on defense.
He is surprisingly good at holding ground when a bigger guy catches him in a postup on the perimeter. That alone gets you a lot of the way as a small guard, because there just aren't many guys outside of Durant/Middleton and a few others who can just shoot over you at a good enough rate.Yeah, "pesky" describes him well on defense. His inferior speed/lack of height hurts him, but he can be pretty disruptive.
The left hand pass to Theis for a dunk was great. He's made a few passes that made me say Wow! Love not only his vision but his ability to get the ball over or through defenders.This is an underrated skill but he is also a very good long passer. Despite being short he is able to find the cross court passes that can be so easy to tip/steal, but if you can swing it, it really moves a defense.
What is the physical limitation? Height?His ceiling isn't crazy high because of his age - despite being a rookie, he's a month older than Tatum - but wow does he have an impressive floor. If you're drafting a 4 year senior he's everything you hope for - someone who's ready to be part of the rotation from day 1. He reminds me of Grant Williams in that it's immediately apparent that he's going to stick around the league for over a decade because despite some physical limitations there's just so many things they do right.
For both of them, yes. Wikipedia says an average PG is in the 6'2"-6'4" range. Kemba is 6'0" and makes up for any defensive problems by being amazing on offense. Pritchard is 6'1". Grant is 6'6" which is hilariously undersized for a center, and still pretty small for a PF.What is the physical limitation? Height?
As someone who loves what Grant will be, sign me up as first in line for this being a reasonable take.PP's career > GWill's career. You heard it here first.
I'm guessing close to 100% of the board agrees with it.As someone who loves what Grant will be, sign me up as first in line for this being a reasonable take.
Let's not go overboard. Neither guy has started a game yet, they play almost the same minutes (25.4 for Ball, 23.1 for Pritchard). Per 36 minutes, Pritchard is averaging a very solid 14.5/4/4.8, while Ball is averaging an unbelievable 16.8/9.8/8.9. Pritchard has been more efficient, but then he's on a better team and is nearly 4 years older. Pritchard looks like he'll be a real solid role player and likely a competent starter alongside the Jays one day, but Ball is looking like a superstar in the making.His athleticism isn’t elite but his handle is. His athleticism plays way up because of this. He has shown he can consistently break people down off the dribble and probe/collapse the defense. Combine that with good shooting (maybe great? Early days but it’s good and improvement is a reasonable expectation) and he has the base tools required to be a top shelf pg. Vision and passing are the other core tools that also play up further given the aforementioned ability and those look solid too. With starter minutes he’d be going toe to toe with ball on counting stats for a rookie and his efficiency is better. Ceiling is interesting to talk about but the floor is established and it’s already a very, very useful player.
Pretty spot on, but @Euclis20 is correct, no reason to comp him with Ball (or some asinine 10yr comp w/Grant )His athleticism isn’t elite but his handle is. His athleticism plays way up because of this. He has shown he can consistently break people down off the dribble and probe/collapse the defense. Combine that with good shooting (maybe great? Early days but it’s good and improvement is a reasonable expectation) and he has the base tools required to be a top shelf pg. Vision and passing are the other core tools that also play up further given the aforementioned ability and those look solid too. With starter minutes he’d be going toe to toe with ball on counting stats for a rookie and his efficiency is better. Ceiling is interesting to talk about but the floor is established and it’s already a very, very useful player.
Would our perception of his ceiling be different if he had come out of college after his freshman year and was playing this way in his fourth NBA season?His ceiling isn't crazy high because of his age - despite being a rookie, he's a month older than Tatum
The answer is probably yes (although I see people arguing that Tatum has less upside than you’d expect since he’s been in the league a long time. Shrug).Would our perception of his ceiling be different if he had come out of college after his freshman year and was playing this way in his fourth NBA season?
I think it will take awhile for some of the board to come around on LaMelo. He's going to be a special player.Let's not go overboard. Neither guy has started a game yet, they play almost the same minutes (25.4 for Ball, 23.1 for Pritchard). Per 36 minutes, Pritchard is averaging a very solid 14.5/4/4.8, while Ball is averaging an unbelievable 16.8/9.8/8.9. Pritchard has been more efficient, but then he's on a better team and is nearly 4 years older. Pritchard looks like he'll be a real solid role player and likely a competent starter alongside the Jays one day, but Ball is looking like a superstar in the making.
Maybe? It depends what he did in his first 3 seasons. If there wasn't much year to year improvement, probably not.Would our perception of his ceiling be different if he had come out of college after his freshman year and was playing this way in his fourth NBA season?
YikesHope its just an ugly looking MCL sprain and he's only out 4-6 weeks.
Mechanism is a lot easier to tell on video than grade. If its just a bone bruise and MCL sprain I'd expect something like this....Yikes
is that the upside?
thanksMechanism is a lot easier to tell on video than grade. If its just a bone bruise and MCL sprain I'd expect something like this....
Grade 1= 2-3 weeks
Grade 2 =4-6 weeks
Grade 3 = 8-10 weeks