07-09-2023, 02:31 AM
(07-08-2023, 04:26 PM)JamesConway912 Wrote: Omax looks good, very athletic, shot doesn’t look bad, high motor guy. Easy to see him have a role in the Nba.
Lively as expected, good defender, complete zero on offense. I remain skeptical that he’s worthy of a lottery pick. Never saw how he’s a better prospect than guys like Jarrett Allen or Mitchell Robinson who all got drafted way later a while ago when the league wasn’t quite as offense-heavy. I wonder how he’s supposed to stay on the court in a playoff game one day when opposing teams go small, his rim protection gets marginalized and he can’t punish anyone in the post or on offense in general. I’m not trying to fart in anyone‘s cereals here but I think you can easily make the case that the picks should have been reversed and Omax should have been pick #12 and Lively #2x (whatever it was).
Hardy needs to add the midrange game to his arsenal. He’s still not the quickest which hurts him in iso possessions where he just relies on his stepback again and again. Physically he looks bette than he did last summer league. Pretty good game from him before the chucking started late in the 4th.
I agree he was drafted too high, but my understanding is this was a weak draft class. I would also say his defensive upside is a level above both Allen and Robinson in terms of potential. It's more along the lines of Kessler or a less mobile Mobley. Clear All NBA defense type upside. Obviously his offense is clearly behind these guys. The bottom line is the desperation of what this team needs forced the pick. Also as we know bigs take a lot more time than other positions, and he's 19. He shouldn't look as refined as a 21 year old OMax with 3 years of college experience.
(07-08-2023, 11:30 PM)ThisIStheYear Wrote: The best thing for the Mavs in this game was that even though Wallace, who is the real deal, mostly lit them up, the one time the Mavs seemed to control him was when OMax was on him. OMax also guarded Holmgren effectively from time to time. He has the making of a versatile 3 and D guy who can guard every position. I can think of very few players who can do that. The Mavs need to be open to allowing him to earn 20-25 minutes per game this season. Lively, on the other hand, may need to spend some time in the G League, like Hardy last season. I think he’ll be a legit rotation big, but he’s a little more awkward than I expected and had almost no touch or aggression. Maybe we’ll see more force on offense in the next games. I loved his attitude in the post game interviews. Great defensive instincts, but he’ll have to do something else to be viable in the NBA and will need minutes to develop and build confidence. Overall, even though they lost, the team looked much better in terms of structure than last season’s summer league team. Props to the coach.
Honestly I'm not sure about that, given what we have served up at the 5. Despite his rawness he's leagues ahead of our current bigs in terms of defensive awareness and ability to alter shots. Not saying much, but IMO he could literally just be great at defense and get lots of playing time. That's how bad our situation is right now.