Looking at that shot chart I'd be a lot more worried about the short stuff and in the paint finishing. The last think I want from this guy is to think he's a 3 point shooter. If he can shoot 36% great but he better not be taking a lot more shots out there. His talent and fundamentals are much better suited to attacking. I just hope he works his way into the offense and plays within himself. The sophomore year will be his most difficult. He isn't sneaking up on anyone this year and teams will take away what he likes now.
From what I've seen from this kid he DEFINITELY will be working on his 3 point shot. The work ethic is there, and even though he was shooting ~30% last year....it was his rookie season! Let's not forget that. Even though he's 22 or whatever, there's still a learning curve. I think he knows that his skillset - ability to get in the paint and slash, pull up from mid-range, etc. - would only become even more deadly if he had a 3 point shot to threaten with. Also - part of it could be he's just not used to the NBA 3 pointer. Coming from 4 years of college he just may not be used to shooting from that deep. It'll come with time, no reason for it not to.
He's already been working on it. He said he worked this summer to raise his point of release and get a little more arch on his shot. He recognized that when we drafted Russell as a PG he'd have to play more off the ball so he said he's working on his catch-and-shoot game as well. The kid is smart and willing to adapt. He's going to be a stud. I couldn't have been more wrong about him when we bought his pick from the Wizards.
They look fantastic .Their bodies are NBA ready. I still stand by what I say; Clarkson will be the best player on the floor for us because ofh his experience last year. While Randle's body is NBA ready, he'll need some time to adjust ; I am starting to think the learning curve will be accelerated for Randle because he's a very sharp young man. Thanks for posting!
Yeah they look great but be a wee bit careful with getting anywhere near close to the look of volleyball scene in the original "Top Gun". Just sayin'.
I'm inclined to write off totally the bad look Julius' summer league performances gave to his readiness and game. Totally understandable with the major injury and long layoff which created all the rust. With the minutes restriction of 5 minutes a game and one missed game .......that made him crazy. When his minutes are raised considerably for pre-season games I expect to see the best Julius Randle we have ever seen. And we saw a LOT to be excited for going into the season last year. He will be better ..... Book it.
Agreed. Actually despite the horrible start to summer league foe Julius, his last 2 games were what I would expect from him going forward. Clarkson had a good summer league but cooled down the last 2 games; his efficiency tailed off, and I think that was largely due to fatigue. I look for these guys to surprise this year...
Well that didn't take long to get weird. Kids look like they're in tremendous shape. How AMAZING is it to have two kids like them who are not just willing, but EAGER to work like this on their craft? I freakin' love it. I think Russell would have been there too if it wasn't for his NBA Rookie commitment today.
I was worried about Clarkson as a RFA, but knowing his salary will be limited to the MLE for 16-17 and 17-18 has definitely made me feel better about it. 2 more years to spend our cap space before JC eats up a huge chunk of the cap should be plenty of time for us to determine what the team needs and acquire players. Also, not to nitpick, but we don't actually know what the MLE will be next summer. This season it's $5,464,000 with the cap at $70,000,000. The MLE is currently projected to be $5,628,000 next season, but they came up with that number before the cap was projected to balloon to 90 Million in 16-17. If the MLE stays at the current percentage of the cap(roughly 7.8%) the MLE next summer would start around 11.5 Million. Unless he regresses majorly, Clarkson is worth matching that poison pill offer even if the MLE is 11.5, but hopefully it stays under 6M to give us plenty of $ to add Free Agents or take on salary in trades.
It really is inconsequential. If the cap goes up and that raises the MLE, the percentages are the same so it doesn't matter much.
