Pacers Forever wrote:Part of me agrees with your argument about the organization may be on a very slow rebuild schedule. If so then I shouldn’t rush to fix the current issues.
I definitely agree that they probably don’t know yet what they have in growth potential of some of the players. I know I might be biased on who fits and who isn’t going to mature into better than a role player.
My fear about Walker is he is more raw than Nembhard and Mathurin were as rookies. He’s not logging anywhere close to the minutes the rookies logged last year based off their first year skills.
It’s early in their second season and Mathurin is still struggling to defend his position consistently. The main reason he played so much last season was by driving he scored in the paint often and developed the ability to get to the line. I hope he can develop his defensive skills to become an all around player.
Now put Walker in his second year and will he struggle to defend also like Mathurin ? His offense needs work. Obviously his defense needs work. I like that he’s a decent passer so far and trying to rebound. I’m sold that by year 3 he will be the player we all hoped he might be this season.
I believe he’s in the G league for a reason this season and that’s to gain confidence and develop all skills needed. I applaud the Pacers for putting him in a situation that he can win and develop in rather than throwing him into the fire and potentially damaging his confidence going against the leagues veteran 4’s.
Nembhard from the beginning showed defensive ability defending NBA talent earning him minutes last season even though he was still gaining and developing his point guard skills and learning what ways he could score. I believe he belonged and impressed the coaches enough to throw him into the fire.
I think we are of like mind. =]
Hali blew up. I believe the coaches & FO thought he would be good, with the upside for real greatness. I don't think anyone really expected, in his 2nd year with Indy, for him to be an all-star. In his 2nd full year with the team to be getting some MVP comments, and critics mentioning him in the 'best PG in the league' conversation. He is 23 going on 24. He accelerated the teams win-loss performance.
But, we still have to put a complete team around him that can be a real contender. Which gets more difficult draft wise, the more you win. (obviously) Hali's ability to to get the team to play to their strengths & minimize weaknesses, actually makes it harder to put that team together. (don't want to see us get stuck in the 'Dame in Portland' spot,... too good to develop through the draft, not showing enough potential to attract key FA's.)
With that in mind, I completely agree with your questions about the individual players & where they are now. What we are still trying to figure out (and I don't think there's enough time even with the second year guys to know right now) - What can they be? How likely are they to get there? if they do, how does that fit with the team we are trying to build?
Nembhard was a steal. He played last year & is being developed this year not because we know his ceiling or his potential, but because his 'floor' was so dam high. His fundamentals on both ends are exceptional. His basketball IQ is top of the charts. Does he have the potential to be an all-star? who knows at this point? What we do know, he is a very good, consistent, realiable NBA guard that fits the team and the coaches plans. That alone is going to get him rotation time, now.
I'm not as high on Mathurin as many, but in his defense, (no double-entendre intended - LOL) Coach did say in that interview about cutting time, something like,.. I told Ben he can score, we all know that, so, I told him, don't worry about your scoring, I need you to concentrate and commit to defense. That he has the athleticism to become a lock-down defender and true 2-way player, but he need to work on becoming a stopper first.
So, for once I actually expected a bit of a drop off on the offensive end. His defense playing with Brown and Nembhard (in those minutes in the 4th quarter in Detroit - I think?) was actually pretty good. Raw, sometimes he still didn't see the whole floor, but in playing his role in the scheme, it was much better.
Having said all that (sorry),... =/ Even if he becomes an excellent 2-way player, how is he going to fit in an less-scripted, to unscripted, read & react offense and defense, when he still struggles to see the whole floor and play in the whole team concept instead of just his role on the team?.... Jury is still out ? that's the part that concerns me. He's still very limited on assists offensively, and many times doesn't react to the offensive overplays on defense.
It's the other side of that same coin that gives me such hope for Walker. He seems to see the whole floor on both ends. He is reading & reacting really well. They didn't play this type of offense or defense at Houston (or in high school). This is all new to him. Even though he is reading the action well, and reacting, he is so raw that many times he is not making the right reaction to the read, putting him out of place, or out of sync. Understanding the right reaction & timing will come with experience. I have no doubts he can and will learn it. It's just a very steep learning curve from where he is, entering the league.
All of the observations (again sorry, just love actually talking BB with other Pacers fans, and this is the best place for it,.... =/ ), just reinforce the idea that major changes, right now, that aren't a clear cut, long-term, franchise altering improvement, are probably premature? Those kind of changes are usually almost non-existent for a team this young, at this time of year.
BUT,... all those questions, and watching the answers come out, as the team develops, are one of the things that makes this team so much fun to watch. Not sure how things are going to go, but the ride as thing develop is going to be interesting! LOL =]
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He hasn't grown as much as Myles did coming into the league (physically), but his game is very similar to Myles at the same age with a bit more focus on offense vs defense. He's at that point where a bit of mentoring from Myles could really pay off. I-Jacks seemed to play much more intuitively during summer league this year. Or,... everything could just hang, 'status quo'. Going to be fun to see what happens. =]
I definitely wouldn't feel bad if they did. 
