Giddens carries Flash to the D-League Finals

[BudweiserCeltic]

Kruger is the master of unclutch. It was an amazing comeback from the Flash though.

Indeed. It was a fun game.

[xmuscularghandix]

thank god we'll be watching The Portland Sal****er next year, hopefully they don't trade for Kruger.

[BillfromBoston]

He's a guard. He'll never produce enough offensive boards and tip-ins at the NBA level to keep him in the league. He needs to learn to defend and to shoot the ball.

he led his conference in scoring as well, its not like thats all he does.

plus our bigs are undersized, if we put him into the second unit at the 3 he could help huge on the offensive/defensive boards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxMZ353-yrU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fballhype%2Ecom%2Fvideo%2Fjr%5Fgiddens%5Ffor%5Fmountain%5Fwest%5Fmvp%2F&feature=player_embedded

Yeah, of course the rebounding prowess is a positive for him, but it's not like it's something he can rely on, as he was a PF.

He's a much better off-ball prospect than you give him credit for - and he is Rondo good at rebounding for a guard. He also fills the stat sheet with possessions - he is efficient with his shot conversion no matter what you think of his shot selection.

He's also improved across the board - so you can call any part of his game sub-par if you want, but he's developed substantially over the last 2 years.

Finally, D-League numbers are what they are, but NBA teams put stock in D-League performance and numbers from a rookie are more impressive than numbers from a 4-5 year D-league vet - seniority matters on this level too.

I think Giddens has clearly shown he has a skill set that can translate to the NBA court, but he hasn't shown the ability to take his mental game to a championship level of execution as a limited role player on the top level of performance.

That will determine if he sticks - not the limitations in his game.

[Cman]

Giddens is so naif defensively. Every D-Leaguer looks like a savy 10 year NBA veteran next to him...

It's comments like this that confuse me about Giddens.  You've mentioned several times that Giddens has tools but isn't intelligent on defense, yet Danny claims that he can contribute defensively in the NBA already.  Also, every scouting report I read listed defense as one of Giddens' biggest positives.  

If Giddens was ready to contribute defensively in the NBA, I'm pretty sure Doc would have find minutes for him.

Like Tony Allen... oh, wait...

[BillfromBoston]

Giddens is so naif defensively. Every D-Leaguer looks like a savy 10 year NBA veteran next to him...

It's comments like this that confuse me about Giddens.  You've mentioned several times that Giddens has tools but isn't intelligent on defense, yet Danny claims that he can contribute defensively in the NBA already.  Also, every scouting report I read listed defense as one of Giddens' biggest positives.  

If Giddens was ready to contribute defensively in the NBA, I'm pretty sure Doc would have find minutes for him.

Like Tony Allen... oh, wait...

The complexity of team schemes and his lack of understanding the importance of study scouting reports and not relying on natural ability are his greatest defensive flaws - like Perk, Rondo, Powe, Pruitt, and Walker before him...he can figure it out with patience and the right motivation...

[bucknersrevenge]

He's improved his shooting substantially over the court of the summer and this season, including his FT accuracy,  which was a must.

He's still subpar.

His ability to read the court and make plays for others is excellent - i'd equate it to Delonte West in terms of him being a 2-guard that can find cutters and kick-out options when he gets himself in trouble - also very adept at dump-off/drop-off passes to bigs when he draws defensive attention from help defenders.

I don't see this.

Out of curiosity, what are you guys basing your assessments on?  Have you watched his D-league games?  (This isn't a sarcastic question).

In my case, yes, about half a dozen of them.

what are his stats for the post season and regular season in the d league?

http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/index.jsp?player=jr_giddens

Cordobes quoted for truth.

Two words for JR: Bench fodder.

And for the record, if Ainge fails to bring in a quality wing in the off-season who can defend and shoot from the perimeter, it'll be time to seriously ratchet up the discussion about his job performance. That failure would be inexcusable. Veteran wing help is a top off-season priority, along with an end to Danny's collection of 7-foot stiffs - oops, "low risk, no upside" bigs, and, again, a veteran point off the bench.

   so when do we develop young talent to replace our current starters? do we just ignore that and just keep signing 30+ year old backup bigs instead of trying out young talent (who by the way is just as good as the one we traded him away to make space for)

   I hate the idea that becuase he didn't sign particular people in th off-season means he did a good job, your off your rocker if you think this team wasn't well constructed when they win 60 despite all of the injury issues.

Ghand, even I think Danny has no clue yet what to do involving replacing the Big 3. None of our bench are starter worthy. If I was him I would solely focus on finding the next Paul Pierce for this team  , that's going to be the biggest hole to fill.

The way I've seen some talk about Bill Walker you'd think we already have. IMO JR is more ready to contribute to an NBA roster right now than Walker is. I like Walker but for all the talk about Giddens' mental lapses Walker makes some brain dead plays out there.

[The Walker Wiggle]

If Giddens was ready to contribute defensively in the NBA, I'm pretty sure Doc would have find minutes for him.

Really? As I'm not convinced that's the case. Rivers waited forty games to play Delonte West in his rookie season, ditto Ryan Gomes in his. Rondo and Powe saw the court sooner but hardly had defined roles in 06-07. All four have since proven themselves as NBA starters, or near enough.

So hasn't Rivers' M.O. typically been to have his hand forced, by injuries, by financial commitments, and by these kids' subsequent strong play?

EDIT - I don't remember Josh Davis at all from his last stint in the league. But thanks to Ridiculous Upside, I've gotten on board the bandwagon.

[Cman]

If Giddens was ready to contribute defensively in the NBA, I'm pretty sure Doc would have find minutes for him.

Really? As I'm not convinced that's the case. Rivers waited forty games to play Delonte West in his rookie season, ditto Ryan Gomes in his. Rondo and Powe saw the court sooner but hardly had defined roles in 06-07. All four have since proven themselves as NBA starters, or near enough.

So hasn't Rivers' M.O. typically been to have his hand forced, by injuries, by financial commitments, and by these kids' subsequent strong play?

TP for being way more pursuasive about me in these matters, and also for the fact that I'll never get sick of that pic of Allen and Varejao...

[The Walker Wiggle]

We knew you meant. But I appreciate the compliment and return the Tommy Point.

Also, I don't want to knock Rivers too hard. He's done a lot right during his tenure here, even delivered Banner 17. And to the effect, I admit developing young talent is no longer a top priority. It's just that I'm not convinced that's ever been one of his strengths. The fact that he was handed a rebuilding project and a lot of young talent, and then kept the kids on the same page and playing hard throughout, tends to muddy the waters.

I do believe that finding minutes for Giddens and Walker should have been an easier proposition, considering this season's injuries, our veteran starters, and lack of depth at the 2/3. Maybe if we'd resigned James Posey and had T.A. for 82 games it would be a different.

[libermaniac]

Yeah, of course the rebounding prowess is a positive for him, but it's not like it's something he can rely on, as he was a PF.

Giddens was a SG in college.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15187

[bucknersrevenge]

If Giddens was ready to contribute defensively in the NBA, I'm pretty sure Doc would have find minutes for him.

Really? As I'm not convinced that's the case. Rivers waited forty games to play Delonte West in his rookie season, ditto Ryan Gomes in his. Rondo and Powe saw the court sooner but hardly had defined roles in 06-07. All four have since proven themselves as NBA starters, or near enough.

So hasn't Rivers' M.O. typically been to have his hand forced, by injuries, by financial commitments, and by these kids' subsequent strong play?

EDIT - I don't remember Josh Davis at all from his last stint in the league. But thanks to Ridiculous Upside, I've gotten on board the bandwagon.

I'll take it a step further and ask where were Giddens' minutes gonna come from?? Let's see...we have a HOF 2guard that plays at least 35mpg. Behind that guy is the team sparkplug and best shooter off the bench. Oh and when he's not playing is by most teammates assessment our best perimeter defender who has 4 years experience edge on Giddens. All this on a team with championship aspirations. Where was Giddens supposed to get minutes again?? JR fell victim to a numbers game. Only reason Walker got more run than him was because Walker's size gave him more versatility against power 3's and small 4's.

As BillfromBoston said earlier next year Giddens gets a real shot to compete for minutes. All 3 SGs that are currently in front of him could ALL be gone after next season. Much like Rondo, I think with time, study, and experience Giddens could have a Rondo-like impact on this team defensively as well as be an energizer on offense.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Yeah, of course the rebounding prowess is a positive for him, but it's not like it's something he can rely on, as he was a PF.

Giddens was a SG in college.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15187

That's not what he meant. He's saying that his rebounding skills would be something to rely on if he were a PF, but since he is a guard, it won't as big of a factor.

[Fafnir]

If Giddens was ready to contribute defensively in the NBA, I'm pretty sure Doc would have find minutes for him.

Really? As I'm not convinced that's the case. Rivers waited forty games to play Delonte West in his rookie season, ditto Ryan Gomes in his. Rondo and Powe saw the court sooner but hardly had defined roles in 06-07. All four have since proven themselves as NBA starters, or near enough.

You presume they were ready to be quality players early in their rookie year. Just because they became quality NBA players doesn't mean they automatically should have been played a lot early.

Playing time is the only real power coaches have.

[The Walker Wiggle]

I'll take it a step further and ask where were Giddens' minutes gonna come from?? Let's see...we have a HOF 2guard that plays at least 35mpg. Behind that guy is the team sparkplug and best shooter off the bench. Oh and when he's not playing is by most teammates assessment our best perimeter defender who has 4 years experience edge on Giddens. All this on a team with championship aspirations. Where was Giddens supposed to get minutes again?? JR fell victim to a numbers game. Only reason Walker got more run than him was because Walker's size gave him more versatility against power 3's and small 4's.

Well, we see it differently, and I did address this in my follow up post - but more time was available for the rookies than I expected at the start of the season... In choosing not to re-sign Posey, or replace him with another veteran SF, there was a notable lack of depth at the swing position all year; most of House's minutes came at the point (almost 2:1), and T.A. missed 36 games.

Otherwise, your numbers game argument would hold more water, absolutely, but instead we had Paul publicly asking for respite:

“I’d like to see us do something,” said Pierce. “I think it would help us. You don’t want to burn out me and Ray coming down the stretch to where we’re having to play heavy minutes, especially going into the playoffs.”

and - it's safe to assume - Ray privately feeling the strain. Even if you don't want to trust the rookies with meaningful regular season minutes, we had plenty of games well in hand, were Rivers still held the rookies out. Most egregiously that February 38 point blowout win in Denver, where Walker saw 12 minutes and Giddens 5.

[xmuscularghandix]

Yeah, of course the rebounding prowess is a positive for him, but it's not like it's something he can rely on, as he was a PF.

Giddens was a SG in college.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15187

that comment confused me as well.