He did alright. He missed 3-4 shots because he tried to force a difficult left handed shot instead of going with an easy right handed shot. But, that'll come.
He needs to learn how to finish better, doesn't help being small with short arms but he's gotta figure it out. Could have easily been 20+ points.
Randle needs to develop a jump shot and be able to finish with his right hand. Otherwise he'll always struggle to finish inside and be efficient.
Looks like KG added rooks to the list of people he's comfortable going after (the other group being white, european PG's)
did you see the play where he did? he almost missed the entire backboard. this is a major issue for him. until he gets it, he's very guardable by clever defenders. once he gets it (IF he does), things will get very difficult for defenders, and he'll require a second defender's attention any time he's near the paint. still, though, lots of positives from him last night. i like his energy and physicality, and when the lakers looked hapless on offense, i found myself wanting them to dump it to him instead of kobe or lou. even when he can't finish, he just creates havoc in the paint, which leads to offensive boards and fouls. kobe/lou/swaggy just take contested jumpers. the 11 boards are big to me, too. i've been worried about his low rebounding numbers against pro competition, so it's good that he came out and got on the boards in his first real game.
Randle looked real good considering that was literally his first full NBA game. His. First. Full. Game. We need to keep that in mind. Him and Clarkson were the best players on the floor tonight for us and it wasn't close.
My one caveat with Julius still stands that he needs to stop initiating contact when he drives. He's so gifted with his size and speed that he can go right around these guys, but he time and time again bumps into these guys, is put in an awkward spot, and throws up something wild. That may have worked in college, that's not going to work often in the NBA. He loses so much explosion on his drives it "drives" me nuts seeing him lob those ugly shots.
Yeah. That one was ugly. Lol. But I think he has to stick with it. I agree that if he gets it he will start commanding a double team.
Damn! Tough crowd for the young'n. 1. Loved where he went at KG @Punk-101 . I thought it was huge for his development and it shows the mentality he has and why everyone on the team respects him and expects big things from him. 2. He still needs to develop that jumper and that right hand. Even WITHOUT that though, he gets wherever he wants on the floor. If Byron could design plays to get the ball to Julius with space to operate, he'd be unstoppable even without a right hand finish. The truth is, he gets fouled a lot and that's the goal when he goes right moreso then finishing the shot. I've said this a hundred times but Julius is like Shaq and LeBron in that he's so different physically he's going to take a lot of contact without the benefit of the whistle. It comes with the territory of being physically dominant. Still, once he learns where his 2nd gear is and attacks going to his right under control, he'll be literally unguardable. 3. It was a rock solid showing for him in his first game. I thought he was active on the glass and active offensively. His man-to-man defense is decent, but his help defense needs a LOT of work. Whenever anyone beats Roy to the rim, Julius HAS to challenge the shot. Too often he lets them get an easy lay-up and I think that's more important to his development than anything offensively.
He didn't break his leg this time, so he's got that going for him which is nice. In all seriousness though, he has a lot of rough edges but you could see the potential there. I really liked him going at KG, that feisty attitude can carry him far if he continues to pair it with work ethic. Sadly, I don't see the same kind of fight in Russell, he looks like a little lost puppy. But he's young and it's early, so maybe he needs time to come out of his shell.
He's so raw and unpolished. His shot looks awful and he is terrible at finishing...still. it's ugly, he forces it, he just chucks it up there and prays for the best. But I firmly believe that he has IT. It's still his first NBA game, his handles looked good, he got to where he wanted to get to, he had the right mentality and wasn't afraid of KG, and did a very good job (for his standards) on the glass. I think it's going to be 2-3 years till he figures things out.
Agree with you for the most part but seeing this kid's hunger and his work ethic, I think it's going to be a lot quicker than you think.
Yeah, Clarkson came out of nowhere with his development. Randle's starting and getting minutes. He'll figure it out with Worth, Metta, and Kobe there to guide him. He's definitely got that star aura about him.
