11-15-2025, 04:50 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-15-2025, 04:51 PM by hakeemfaan.)
(11-15-2025, 04:44 PM)cow Wrote: Cooper is a bit of an odd one to me. The two attributes that stand out the most is his touch around the rim with both hands and he isn't afraid of the moment. I think Skin said last night that they want to see more of him with his back to the basket and my immediate thought is that he usually needs to make one or two more moves than I'd expect to get to the shot he wants when he does have his back to the basket. He can also look like a baby dear taking its' first steps in those moments, but he does figure out a way to make it work because of his touch. His handles are good for his size, but not nearly enough to play the point. He also has a long way to go with his decision making above the free throw line. There was a possession last night where he drive from the top of the key to the free throw line and instead of pulling up for the open jumper, hesitated which allowed a defender to close, missed a wide open Naji on the wing to throw it to the other wing (D'Lo I think). Overall, I think he's doing well and has the overall dysfunction and poor roster construction holding him back. I have to remind myself how young he is, but I'd be lying if I told you my expectations weren't higher based on his hype. If I had to make a way too early guess, I don't think he's going to be the centerpiece to an organization, but rather a really good second banana. The good news is that I'm usually wrong about this things.
IMO a big part of his indecisiveness is that he is still not 100% confident about his shot. There are moments where he comes on a fast break and lets it fly and then there are moments where he is wide open and hesitates to shoot. Even the game winner against the Pelicans, it seemed like he was in two minds whether to shoot it or take one more step and dunk it, and he threw up a weird shot where he didn't look fully balanced.
Again the hope is that the FT% you see which bodes well for his jump shot, the confident Cooper you see at times, is what you will get more consistently as he keeps working and improving his shot.