perhaps mercifully, i didn't get to tune into the game, but i saw bufkin started and the box score looked rough. did he look as bad as the stats indicated?
I barely watched so it take with multiple grains of salt but bufkin looked like an NBA player at least which is way more then can be said about most of the team. Lots of shots that looked good which went in an out.
yeah, there's just such limited footage of him playing against nba guys and only so much you can glean from college and g-league. i feel like gabe's minutes are up for grabs, though--i don't think smart can be the only guard in the rotation other than reaves--and i'd like it if bufkin or smith or even bronny can step up and take them.
Bronny seems like the kind of guy for this team - he's willing to work hard, make the right rotation, make the correct swing pass TBH. He'll do what JJ wants and will get others the ball (Bronny one possilble above average to elite skill could be passing) (Everyone knows my preference would be to put theiro in the rotaion)
i just like bufkin because his ceiling is significantly higher than bronny's. substantially taller/longer, already way ahead on shooting to my eye.
This is all reasonable, but I'm beating a dead horse it's up the coaching staff to kind of prioritize what they want? I'm maybe being harsh as injuries have gotten in the way of say Thiero being integrated but the Gabe thing was really, really rough to watch. Yeah he was a vet with an expiring so you want to give him a solid, but did he automatically have to come back in the lineup after the injury? Why send bufkin down or sign him to a 2 year deal wthout bringing him back and seeing waht he can in the lineup?
Speaking of beating dead horses, I’ve said multiple times on here in different threads that I have ZERO confidence in JJ Redick and this staff developing young players. He has shown to have little to no patience in this area. It stunts their growth and above all, lowers their trade market value. The NBA is trending towards young, athletic depth but JJ has yet to get the memo.
The kid is only 22 years old, and in the G League he's also shown he has what it takes on defense. I'd like to finally see some individual development worthy of the name, a player who can grow with judgment and technical acumen on this team. I'll never understand how a team with the Lakers' ambitions can tolerate mediocrity: players like Walsh or Scheierman become very decent NBA rotation players, while here we never manage to develop someone who can then remain a worthy supporting cast member. And anyone who starts showing something good like Goodwin obviously gets lost for nothing and then improves exponentially on the next team.
