in fairness, when sasha got 3+ attempts he hit 40+%. i do think it's a big ask of a guy like vando to hit 40% on corner threes on 2 attempts per game. bruce bowen needed 3 attempts per game to get over 40%, for reference. i believe the rhythm is a thing.
LeBron's out vs Phoenix Friday. Smart and Vincent too. Lots of offensive firepower still with Luka, AR, Rui and Deandre. Does JJ give Vando the start and chance to show off what the healthy summer did for his game. Seems like a good idea? We could see the starting lineup of the future post LeBron if Jared actually becomes neutral on offense. Big damn team still. Wild cards .... Jake, Dalton or Bronny?
Yeah maybe a starting lineup of: PG: Vanderbilt (defensively) SG: Reaves SF: Luka PF: Hachimura C: Ayton Vanderbilt's shot looks really good in practice. I get the game is a different story, but I think if he stays healthy and gets his 24 minutes per game, Vando could make a huge impact on this team. A healthy Vando has basically been about a 24 minute per game player over the course of his career. If healthy, I think he could be a 24-minute per game player this season, if his shot is there. Last season, he made about 0.4 out of 1.3 threes per 24 minutes, which is only 28%. He obviously needs to improve his volume and accuracy. I anticipate, he will more than double his three-point shooting volume, and also increase his accuracy by at least 5%. Hitting about 1 out of 3 threes per 24 minutes at 33.3% sounds like a reasonable projection for Vando next season. This is equivalent to 1.5/4.5 three per 36, which is right in line with a player like Jaden McDaniel's career per 36 numbers.
They both kind of sucked lol? The videos of Tatum and Lillard doing these drills is ridiculous - just nothing but net over and over and over again. Forever messed me up watching others shoot now
Do we have 24 minutes per game to give to Vando? Feels like he and LaRavia competing for the same minutes. I think Rui's locked in at like 30ish a game. I think Gabe is going to be getting more minutes than some expect, a consistent 20ish per night. Smart should be around 20ish minutes to start. Luka and Austin should be in the mid 30s, with LeBron hopefully closer to around 30. I think 15-20 is the perfect range for Vando in the regular season.
If his shot is for real, then heck yeah we do. PG: Vando (24) Smart (24) SG: Reaves (36) LaRavia (12) SF: Doncic (36) LaRavia (12) PF: James (30) Hachimura (18) C: Ayton (32) Hayes (10) Hachimura (6) Basically, Vando takes Gabe's minutes from my original projections, and LaRavia take's DK's minutes. With the injuries at the PG, we do actually have decent depth there. Gabe or Bronny could fill in for Smart, if he is out, etc. All 4 of those guys are defensive or defensivish players. Rui and LaRavia get 24 minutes a piace, which is fine as bench players. Sucks that DK is out of the rotation, but they seem to be souring on him lately anyway. Of course this is all way too premature, as we havent even played a game yet, but nonetheless it's fun to speculate, as this is a fan board.
We'll always play 4 on 5 with him in the lineup. Few made 3's in the practice won't make him a shooter. He is who he is.
Vando is not a good option for POA defender because he’s not a good screen navigator. He's too big, frankly. We saw in the Grizzlies and Warriors series that when those teams spammed Ja and Steph high P&R, Vando got screened off too easily and those guys could walk into pull-up threes (Steph) or get a head of steam toward the rim (Ja). And that was with AD, one of the best P&R defending bigs in the league, backing him up. He’s more of a wing stopper/helper, which is why I see him taking minutes from LaRavia rather than Gabe.
What's your guess then who starts (tonight) with LeBron out to go with Luka, AR, Rui and Ayton? With Smart and Vincent also out. LaRavia (making us huge), DK or Bronny .... someone else? To try to deal with Booker.
i like that vando at least forces teams to use screens. you can scheme a bit for that. when the other team's top guy can just get a catch and work easily past any of your defenders, that creates a different kind of problem. but yes, ideally, you have a caruso or ellis type.
On LG this morning I liked the replies below to Nobody (really ) @Nobody Agreed. At this point, the three pointer is a pipe dream as far as I'm concerned. Making layups and easy shots in the key, and having less of an erratic dribble should come first, then we can talk about jumpers and threes. @RI Laker This. Who gives a F' about whether he can hit a 3. His game is not predicated on that. He may have the green light for one 3 (only because he hides in the corner and the defense does not guard him). He needs to be able to do the simple stuff offensively (just to keep the D honest). I expect (hope) he does take that LEAP so becomes playable. His D is good, but not good enough to overcome his recent deficiency (hopefully it changes) on the other side of the ball. @MJST All the stuff you're saying is stuff Vando already did, which was why the three was the thing people would focus on. Before he started dealing with the injuries with us, he averaged 57% from the field and averaging 7 rebounds per game and 6-7 ppg and being one of the main defenders. His field goal percentage didn't drop below 50% until he had several injured seasons with us and couldn't find a rhythm, and that was last year. But in Utah he was averaging 8/8 on 55% from the field and 32% from three. This is why when people try to say Vando needs to 'learn' how to finish and all this efficiency stuff, he already did all that before he got here. For the majority of his career, until the injuries started to pile up. _________________
disagree that he's ever shown much in the way of finishing. agree that the three is a) unlikely to ever really arrive at the level it needs to be and b) as a result isn't that important. he needs to be able to find ways to keep defenses honest that don't involve standing in the corner, imo. even if he bumps up his percentages, teams are still going to live with him out there vs. our other options.