# D-Lo for first team all rookie



## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

So despite @MojoPin claiming all the other lottery picks are showing up dlo he's in the top five amongst rookies in points, threes, assists, steals. First time the lakers get all rookie first teamers in back to back seasons?


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

I think first team fairly easily; he's been the best overall guard in this class thus far. Mudiay came out of the gate hot, but has fell off a bit and dealt with a few minor injuries. We'll get to see them go head to head again Tuesday. 

Now, anyone could have seen Okafor and KAT having better rookie years, but KP has obviously been a surprise, especially the kind of defensive impact he's had. Still, I'm happy with DLo and how he's developing. Still figuring things out, but learning at an accelerated rate. 

As far as the I told you so, I'll hold off a bit. We haven't seen him put together a good efficient scoring _and_ high assist game yet. Just a matter of time. Think he has a real shot at flirting with a triple double at some point this season.


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## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

Uncle Drew said:


> I think first team fairly easily; he's been the best overall guard in this class thus far. Mudiay came out of the gate hot, but has fell off a bit and dealt with a few minor injuries. We'll get to see them go head to head again Tuesday.
> 
> Now, anyone could have seen Okafor and KAT having better rookie years, but KP has obviously been a surprise, especially the kind of defensive impact he's had. Still, I'm happy with DLo and how he's developing. Still figuring things out, but learning at an accelerated rate.
> 
> As far as the I told you so, I'll hold off a bit. We haven't seen him put together a good efficient scoring _and_ high assist game yet. Just a matter of time. Think he has a real shot at flirting with a triple double at some point this season.


No, I won't. He's a top 5 rookie already and clearly only going to get better.


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

Jamel Irief said:


> No, I won't. He's a top 5 rookie already and clearly only going to get better.


I said I'll hold off. You do whatever the hell you want.


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## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

Uncle Drew said:


> I said I'll hold off. You do whatever the hell you want.


Sorry, read it as "I'd hold off."


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

So he's not shooting as well as I would've hoped, but he's actually better in a number of areas than I previously thought. 

I've seen him finish with his right hand more than in college. His burst to the basket is actually decent (which we have seen much more of in the last 2 weeks). And he looks like he'll be at least a competent defender, possibly a good one. 
None of these are his strengths, but they're not the glaring weaknesses some thought they would be at this level. 

It's exciting to think about just how good he can be when his body matures. Kid's not even turning 20 for another couple months.


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## MojoPin (Oct 10, 2008)

Jamel Irief said:


> So despite @MojoPin claiming all the other lottery picks are showing up dlo he's in the top five amongst rookies in points, threes, assists, steals. First time the lakers get all rookie first teamers in back to back seasons?


I'm not sure how his piss-poor performance for the first 25% of the season - when I made that statement - has anything to do with this last month of play.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

so you went all Henny Penny over a 19 year old facing his first 10 games of NBA competition at the toughest position in the game in an offense that doesn't cater to his skill set being forced to play off the ball in limited minutes and decided that he was a complete failure and then as 19 year olds with any kind of resilience sometimes do he slowly came along and adapted and got better because it's a process like that - they don't all come along fully formed right out of the womb


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## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

MojoPin said:


> I'm not sure how his piss-poor performance for the first 25% of the season - when I made that statement - has anything to do with this last month of play.


As I mentioned back then, it was way too early to care about his struggles. I was right.


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

Kid has a certain poise about him, and excellent vision. His floor in his prime will likely be Andre Miller, best case I'm not sure yet.

As a scorer he needs to work on finishing at the rim, but in these ~25 games he already knows enough to have tried posting up smaller guards here and there. That's a sign of remarkable intelligence, and once he gets it down he will be top notch. Westbrook and Lowry use their size well and have very good post game, he should be able to do the same in time.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

I've been saying that he'll be a much better shooting version of Ricky Rubio. I think he's more athletic than people think. He's figuring out how to use that burst of speed to keep defenses off balance. Once he adds some muscle to his frame, he'll be able to finish better at the rim. Like Drew said up top, his defense has improved a lot.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

fwiw DLo is actually scoring more efficiently than Okafor is at the moment


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## MojoPin (Oct 10, 2008)

e-monk said:


> so you went all Henny Penny over a 19 year old facing his first 10 games of NBA competition at the toughest position in the game in an offense that doesn't cater to his skill set being forced to play off the ball in limited minutes and decided that he was a complete failure and then as 19 year olds with any kind of resilience sometimes do he slowly came along and adapted and got better because it's a process like that - they don't all come along fully formed right out of the womb


He was not good up until December. The fact that he has gotten better does not change the fact that his play was sub-par to start the season or that most other lottery picks were putting up bigger and better numbers.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

of course his play was subpar - he was/is a 19 year old with one year of college under his belt playing the toughest position in the game in an offensive system that doesn't cater to his skillset etc - the problem is not his performance, it's your inflated expectations


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

MojoPin said:


> He was not good up until December. The fact that he has gotten better does not change the fact that his play was sub-par to start the season or that most other lottery picks were putting up bigger and better numbers.


I think the point most everyone was trying to make at the time was that it was silly to take much if anything from his early struggles. He hadn't even left the starting block yet. And anyone who watched him in college knew he was much better than what we were seeing, just the game was moving a little fast for him. 

Even now, after a couple solid (not stellar) weeks, he's JUST starting to figure it out. Not even scratching the surface yet of what kind of scorer and playmaker he can be. 

It's ok to admit you rushed to judgment. You didn't just say "he's struggling now, let's see if he improves." You outright said you were worried he'd be a bust after watching him for less than 20 games. Have you changed your mind yet? Edit: holy shit, man. I looked. You said that a week into the season. After less than 5 games. 

All in good fun, btw. I'll wait till he notches his first 20 and 10 game or better yet a triple-double before I say I told you so to you and DaRizz.


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## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

Uncle Drew said:


> I think the point most everyone was trying to make at the time was that it was silly to take much if anything from his early struggles. He hadn't even left the starting block yet. And anyone who watched him in college knew he was much better than what we were seeing, just the game was moving a little fast for him.
> 
> Even now, after a couple solid (not stellar) weeks, he's JUST starting to figure it out. Not even scratching the surface yet of what kind of scorer and playmaker he can be.
> 
> ...


You're giving him too much credit. They were worried during the preseason and even summer league.

I'd like to say these "I told you so" will teach them a lesson to be patient in the future, but I don't see it happening just like I don't see fans hating every coach on a losing team.


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## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

So we might potentially get four lakers in the rookie-soph game. Clarkson, Randle and Dlo are shoe ins obviously, but does nance have a chance? Obviously brown and black won't make it.


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

Jamel Irief said:


> You're giving him too much credit. They were worried during the preseason and even summer league.
> 
> I'd like to say these "I told you so" will teach them a lesson to be patient in the future, but I don't see it happening just like I don't see fans hating every coach on a losing team.


Yea, I was referring more towards the thread titled are you worried Dlo is a bust or something like that. I'll bump it later this year. The panic after summer league was inexplicable. 

As for Nance, long shot I'd say but depends on positioning. Who are the forwards that will be there for sure? Porzingis, S. Johnson, Winslow. Miss anyone?
Is KAT a forward or center? What about WCS?


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## MojoPin (Oct 10, 2008)

Uncle Drew said:


> I think the point most everyone was trying to make at the time was that it was silly to take much if anything from his early struggles. He hadn't even left the starting block yet. And anyone who watched him in college knew he was much better than what we were seeing, just the game was moving a little fast for him.
> 
> Even now, after a couple solid (not stellar) weeks, he's JUST starting to figure it out. Not even scratching the surface yet of what kind of scorer and playmaker he can be.
> 
> ...


Heaven forbid someone makes an objective observation without adding several caveats. He played like shit in summer league, preseason, and for the first 5-6 weeks of the season, which _was
_ worrying. My opinion reflected his shit play. Of course things will change, as nothing exists in a vacuum. 

Am I sold on him yet? No. He will need to play well for much longer than this. But has he improved? Certainly, and enough to stop worrying.


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

Some good highlights from DLo last night in what was his 30th NBA game. 

Stats through 30 games:

12 pts, 3.3 ast, 4.3 rebs, 1.1 stl, 2.3 TOs, 40% FG, 33% 3pFG, 67.5% FT; 28 MPG, 12.89 PER

In December, averaging: 14 ppg, 3.7 ast, 3.9 reb and 1.4 stl in 29 min. 

Obviously needs to make better decisions and be a little more efficient scoring the ball, but there's no reason to believe he won't. Reports of him going "hollywood" have turned out to be bullshit. Coaching staff raves about his work ethic, including Byron. His confidence has never been an issue. We've now seen the scoring, the passing, even the defense. He just needs time to mature and put it all together.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Pleased with his progress, just have wonders about the lack of high assist games...Im sure it will get better but that my concern for now


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

DaRizzle said:


> Pleased with his progress, just have wonders about the lack of high assist games...Im sure it will get better but that my concern for now


Yea, I'm surprised he hasn't had a double digit assist game, but not a huge concern. The tools are clearly there, some can't be taught. Vision, delivery, creativity. Imagine him with a year or two in the offense and an elite pick and roll big (hopefully Randle someday).


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

DaRizzle said:


> Pleased with his progress, just have wonders about the lack of high assist games...Im sure it will get better but that my concern for now



Don't wonder. He's going to be fine. Keeps improving. It's not like we're so talented that these guys can all finish once he delivers his passes.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/12/11/9932182/la-lakers-dangelo-russell-mad-roy-hibbert

wondering about not enough assists? (just watch that over and over again - it's like our season so far in capsule form)


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