Australian basketball.

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Damon_3388 said:
Random tidbit - Among players to play at least 1,000 minutes and who qualified for the minutes per game leaderboard (played at least 70% of team games/58 games), Dante Exum was statistically the worst player in the NBA this season, and among the worst of the three point era (1979-80 to present).

I know Exum is very young and likely still has a lot of growth and improvement left in him, but he really does need to grow and improve a lot as a player, too! The last player to be drafted top 5 and do so poorly early on was Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a similarly hyped teenaged foreigner who never lived up to his potential and ultimately didn't last very long in the league.
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But statistics generally only show the offensive side of the game.

The fact is, post All-Star Break the Jazz were one of the better defensive teams in the league, and Dante was a big part of that.
Clearly he has a lot to work on offensively, but even if he doesnt build much on his offensive game (which is highly unlikely given he's only 19) he will still have an NBA career just based on his defence alone
 
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Damon_3388 said:
Random tidbit - Among players to play at least 1,000 minutes and who qualified for the minutes per game leaderboard (played at least 70% of team games/58 games), Dante Exum was statistically the worst player in the NBA this season, and among the worst of the three point era (1979-80 to present).

I know Exum is very young and likely still has a lot of growth and improvement left in him, but he really does need to grow and improve a lot as a player, too! The last player to be drafted top 5 and do so poorly early on was Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a similarly hyped teenaged foreigner who never lived up to his potential and ultimately didn't last very long in the league.
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In fairness to Dante, isn't his jump from high school ball in Australia (or similar level) to the NBA basically unprecendented?

Didn't look any more out of place than Giannis did last last year for the Bucks and he is starting to come along nicely.
 
In hindsight he probably should have gone through college for one or two seasons. Dante probably didn't want to go to college because they was a very likely possibility that his draft stock would fall bellow the top 5. His earnings as a rookie at number 5 = $3,012,500, compare that to 30=$911,400.
 

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PAFCsince1870 said:
In fairness to Dante, isn't his jump from high school ball in Australia (or similar level) to the NBA basically unprecendented?

Didn't look any more out of place than Giannis did last last year for the Bucks and he is starting to come along nicely.
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Yeah, I expect a bit step up on the offensive end next season. His D is clearly already there
 
larrikin said:
Yeah, I expect a bit step up on the offensive end next season. His D is clearly already there
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Not so sure that he can make a huge step up in offense. He was extremely poor offensively, watched him every game and honestly he was pretty bad. His offense was basically dribble up past the half way line then pass it off then camp in a corner/outside the 3 point line and hope a team mate finds him. Every not and then he'd make a decent cut but yeah, you'd have to say he was one of the worst offensive players in the league. He does lack confidence but what is a mystery to me is that he can't get to the rim at will (when pre-draft that was his bread and butter). He's pretty quick but I think his handles are very poor for a PG. All the top guards have extremely good handles.... Dantes is pretty poor. I also haven't ever seen him finish through contact. In fact he shys away from contact. Now, I get he's not that strong but still, have a go, if you get smashed so be it- you might draw a foul. He never goes in hard at the hole, if he does drive in to the hoop (which is rare) he always goes for a floater.

Not writing him off but he's got a long long way to go. His D is pretty solid though.
 
crowsarethebest said:
Not so sure that he can make a huge step up in offense. He was extremely poor offensively, watched him every game and honestly he was pretty bad. His offense was basically dribble up past the half way line then pass it off then camp in a corner/outside the 3 point line and hope a team mate finds him. Every not and then he'd make a decent cut but yeah, you'd have to say he was one of the worst offensive players in the league. He does lack confidence but what is a mystery to me is that he can't get to the rim at will (when pre-draft that was his bread and butter). He's pretty quick but I think his handles are very poor for a PG. All the top guards have extremely good handles.... Dantes is pretty poor. I also haven't ever seen him finish through contact. In fact he shys away from contact. Now, I get he's not that strong but still, have a go, if you get smashed so be it- you might draw a foul. He never goes in hard at the hole, if he does drive in to the hoop (which is rare) he always goes for a floater.

Not writing him off but he's got a long long way to go. His D is pretty solid though.
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I get what you are saying, but he is clearly playing under instructions from his coaches. They have asked him to play a role this year with an eye to the future. The few times he actually went to the rim it was genuinely exciting - he blows past the first defender so quickly it's not funny, but his only instinct at the point seems to be to pass. They now have several months to work on that next bit.

I think his handles are actually ok - he's a bit loose and will never be a Tony Parker/Steve Nash style point guard, but he does things athletically that those guys can only dream of.

Keep the faith, I think he'll come good.
 
larrikin said:
I get what you are saying, but he is clearly playing under instructions from his coaches. They have asked him to play a role this year with an eye to the future. The few times he actually went to the rim it was genuinely exciting - he blows past the first defender so quickly it's not funny, but his only instinct at the point seems to be to pass. They now have several months to work on that next bit.

I think his handles are actually ok - he's a bit loose and will never be a Tony Parker/Steve Nash style point guard, but he does things athletically that those guys can only dream of.

Keep the faith, I think he'll come good.
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Thing is though that they gave him the green light for the last dozen games to be aggressive and attack however he still didn't do anything. Heck he had his team mates, his coach, telling him to shoot more and get his own shots or at least create however he was still extremely passive. His handles are very weak for a point guard lets be honest. If you don't have good handles at that position you won't get very far IMO. I think he might be better at the 2... possibly. There are many athletic point guards in the league I don't think he's that great athletically compared to anyone (quick first step but so is practically every other guard). The only thing he has over others would be his length (which you can't teach). Lavine looks the much better prospect and they're the same age playing a similar position. Even quicker, more explosive than Dante, more athletic, just as long but can shoot. The main thing though is he isn't afraid of making mistakes and has the attitude to back up his game. The only thing Dante is better than Lavine at the moment is probably his basketball IQ.
 
Lavine's a shocking prospect. That guy will never be anything more than a journey man who comes off the bench to provide a spark.

For all of Exum's struggles he helped his team win games of basketball more than you can say about a lot of other rookies, which that was on a youngest team in the league with Dante being the rawest prospect in the league. He was bound to struggle and is in the process of learning what works and doesn't work and is being asked to do learn that about himself whilst learning how to play as apart of a system. Had he been given a free license all season then you would have seen even more ugly pieces of play but there would have also been the odd game that really showed his quality.

As far as I'm concerned Dante is a much better prospect now than what he was 12 months ago when his qualities were unknown and it's only a matter of experience and hard work that is needed for Dante to realise his potential. Worse case scenario he becomes a 3 and D point guard like Patrick Beverly. Best case scenario is an all round point guard like Tony Parker or Mike Conley.
 
Tomnat Tigers said:
Lavine's a shocking prospect. That guy will never be anything more than a journey man who comes off the bench to provide a spark.

For all of Exum's struggles he helped his team win games of basketball more than you can say about a lot of other rookies, which that was on a youngest team in the league with Dante being the rawest prospect in the league. He was bound to struggle and is in the process of learning what works and doesn't work and is being asked to do learn that about himself whilst learning how to play as apart of a system. Had he been given a free license all season then you would have seen even more ugly pieces of play but there would have also been the odd game that really showed his quality.

As far as I'm concerned Dante is a much better prospect now than what he was 12 months ago when his qualities were unknown and it's only a matter of experience and hard work that is needed for Dante to realise his potential. Worse case scenario he becomes a 3 and D point guard like Patrick Beverly. Best case scenario is an all round point guard like Tony Parker or Mike Conley.
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See, I don't see how you can say that Lavine is a shocking prospect when quite clearly he has shown 10 times more than Exum so far and is the same age... I do love to see an Aussie do well and I'm not writing Exum off at all but can't see how you think Exum will be the better player compared to Lavine on the showing they've given so far. I really like Lavine's game and I reckon he'll be a future all star IMO.
 
Lavine is a shocking defender (-4.33 defensive plus - minus) and has terrible basketball IQ. Two things I struggle to see him improving cause it goes against his natural instincts. Sure his a great athlete and shooting form looks very good but I don't think he will anything more than a JR Smith.
 
Tomnat Tigers said:
Lavine is a shocking defender (-4.33 defensive plus - minus) and has terrible basketball IQ. Two things I struggle to see him improving cause it goes against his natural instincts. Sure his a great athlete and shooting form looks very good but I don't think he will anything more than a JR Smith.
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serioulsy? He's playing on a s**t team without a proper point guard (after Rubio went down) and a terrible coach, of course his numbers don't look great. He'll improve a lot if he gets some decent training and the team improves
 
Not sure if this is the place to leave this but seems as good as any. Being bored with nothing better to do, got started wondering whether we could field a final four contender with the youth we have coming through.
I cheated a bit as I assume B Simmons and T Maker will be one & dones. However, I decided for this, since nothing is set in stone, they would return for their sophomore campaigns. Squad is quite top heavy as we have a lot of forward talent coming through but I struggled to come up with a good guard rotation. Anyhow, it looks very talented to me and I think a team like this could easily challenge a final four team, probably even beat.

PG. William McDowell-White
SG. Deng Adel
SF. Ben Simmons
PF. Thon Maker
C. Isaac Humphries

Bench
F. Jonah Bolden
F. Daniel Mading
F. Matur Maker
F. Jack McVeigh
G. Dejan Vasiljevic
F. Keanu Pinder
G. Tom Wilson
F. Xavier Cooks
F. Kouat Noi

Anyone I'm missing out?


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DraftExpress' scouting report of Will McDowell-White following the U19 World Champs:

Strengths:
-Good size for a guard. Strong frame
-Terrific athlete
-Great first step and overall quickness
-Beats opponents off the dribble without a screen. A jet with the ball
-Very good in transition
-Solid ball-handler. Can play at different speeds. Plays quite a bit of pick and roll
-Creative and unselfish. Finds open man. Makes some very crisp passes, particularly in drive and dish situations
-Extremely competitive on defense. Terrific lateral quickness. Moves feet well and puts strong pressure on opponents. Can already defend 2-3 positions effectively. Gets in the passing lanes frequently. Among the tournament leaders in steals.
-Very good rebounder for a guard.
-Shows potential as a shooter. Ball comes out relatively smoothly at times. Made a number of shots with feet set in Crete. Not a non-shooter by any stretch.
-More than two years younger than many of the players at this tournament

Weaknesses:
-Unpolished offensively at this stage
-Struggles to finish effectively around the basket.
-Needs to do a better job of drawing and finishing through contact around the basket. Not very crafty with his finishes at this stage. Drives to the basket without a plan
-Very turnover prone. Wild with the ball. Makes questionable decisions.
-Shooting mechanics are not consistent. Sometimes shoots a slingshot jumper.

Outlook:Forced into significant action due to the large number of players who declined to play for Australia at this tournament. Handled himself very well despite playing up two years. Showed some great flashes of potential. Appears to have a substantial amount of upside left to tap into with his terrific size, athleticism and creativity with the ball. Looks like a hard worker and a good teammate. Likely on the NCAA track. Will get recruited at the highest levels of college basketball.
 
Thon looks to really be back in biz after dominating DeAndre Ayton. 23pnts with 17 boards (apparently in a half) to D Ayton's 7pnts and 6 Rebs


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