Lester Hudson is a keeper

[slamtheking]

Here's what I'll say for Lester.  We've seen so many young guys come in and try to prove their worth.  But it takes a certain kind of person to truly try to grab ahold of that chance when it comes.  Giddens, Pruitt, and many more have struggled to prove their worth when they have been given time.
Its from a small sample size, but I appreciate the effort he seemed to be putting in.  It seemed he was always involved in the action that was going on (something similar to Rondo.)  He was always in the middle of every play, near every loose ball.  He seemed to be really trying to assert himself and I appreciate that.  I think all we need from him at this point are signs that he's serious and capable of positively progressing.  Compared to never seeing him play before, he at least turned my head last night.  I think he could have a bright future if he can continue to get better and grab ahold of those opportunities when they are there, because his heart seemed to be in it.

I think that in last night's game, Giddens stepped up on the defensive end.  not so much on offense but he didn't hurt us on offense either.  Hudson was more in the action I think due to covering the PG but one thing to consider is that Giddens' man was not involved in the offense due to the good defense by Giddens. 

If Giddens and Hudson can provide on a consistant basis what they provided last night with a little more offensive punch, they're both keepers.  Makes moving TA that much easier from a depth perspective.

Yeah, Giddens got lost in the shuffle for me last night.  Which isn't to say he played badly, I just think he's one of the only things that didn't jump out at me from the endless amount of giddyness I was feeling watching the Celtics again.

Understandable.  I paid particular attention to both Giddens and Hudson when they came in to see how they did on defense.  Doc has stated repeatedly that playing good defense will be their (not just them, but anyone on the team) ticket to getting PT.  In those regards, they were better than the end-of-the-bench big men we had in the game that were doing the primary scoring for Houston.  With Giddens, I noticed that he stuck with his man and as a result, his man was not really involved in the offense.  Giddens also tried some help defense that did not necessarily stop Houston from scoring, he did it in a way that prevented his man from being left completely open.  Not necessarily spectacular play, but definitely solid--worth seeing more of him on the court while TA and Walker are healing.

[xmuscularghandix]

Ariza gave him a shove at one point after a whistle, he was giving him some trouble.

[mgent]

Here's what I'll say for Lester.  We've seen so many young guys come in and try to prove their worth.  But it takes a certain kind of person to truly try to grab ahold of that chance when it comes.  Giddens, Pruitt, and many more have struggled to prove their worth when they have been given time.
Its from a small sample size, but I appreciate the effort he seemed to be putting in.  It seemed he was always involved in the action that was going on (something similar to Rondo.)  He was always in the middle of every play, near every loose ball.  He seemed to be really trying to assert himself and I appreciate that.  I think all we need from him at this point are signs that he's serious and capable of positively progressing.  Compared to never seeing him play before, he at least turned my head last night.  I think he could have a bright future if he can continue to get better and grab ahold of those opportunities when they are there, because his heart seemed to be in it.

I think that in last night's game, Giddens stepped up on the defensive end.  not so much on offense but he didn't hurt us on offense either.  Hudson was more in the action I think due to covering the PG but one thing to consider is that Giddens' man was not involved in the offense due to the good defense by Giddens. 

If Giddens and Hudson can provide on a consistant basis what they provided last night with a little more offensive punch, they're both keepers.  Makes moving TA that much easier from a depth perspective.

Yeah, Giddens got lost in the shuffle for me last night.  Which isn't to say he played badly, I just think he's one of the only things that didn't jump out at me from the endless amount of giddyness I was feeling watching the Celtics again.

Understandable.  I paid particular attention to both Giddens and Hudson when they came in to see how they did on defense.  Doc has stated repeatedly that playing good defense will be their (not just them, but anyone on the team) ticket to getting PT.  In those regards, they were better than the end-of-the-bench big men we had in the game that were doing the primary scoring for Houston.  With Giddens, I noticed that he stuck with his man and as a result, his man was not really involved in the offense.  Giddens also tried some help defense that did not necessarily stop Houston from scoring, he did it in a way that prevented his man from being left completely open.  Not necessarily spectacular play, but definitely solid--worth seeing more of him on the court while TA and Walker are healing.

I think both Giddens and Hudson looked great on D, but Giddens was sorely lacking on the other side of the court.

[Atzar]

Giddens and Hudson are similar in the sense that neither of them seems to know how to move without the ball on offense.  It makes sense; both were THE man on their respective teams in college, and so had the ball as often as possible.  It's different when neither one of them will likely ever be more than the 5th option on the court at any given time. 

At the same time, they went about it differently.  Lester is new at it, but he's always moving towards the ball, trying to make an impact.  Giddens is more likely to go and stand in the corner with his hand up. 

[DarkAzcura]

It's always a good thing to be fired up and optimistic.  However, people were saying the same types of things about Orien Greene not too long ago.  I'm going to see how things play out before making too many conclusions, one way or the other.

There's so much more of a reason to be optimistic, though..for all the great things we liked about Greene in those first preseason games, he really didn't have a track record pointing to anything other then those performances being out of the norm. Kid could hardly get minutes on his first college team, and then when he transferred he produced a decent 10/4/4 on 40ish% shooting..now I never saw him play in college, but those stats don't usually translate to a one day decent role player. We had no reason to be optimistic about Greene...we just were for some reason.

Hudson on the other hand...was the 2nd leading scorer in the nation. He had the most steals in the nation. Oh, and he's the only player in NCAA history to produce a quad double.

This kid has talent, and he has the stats to back it up.

[gar]

Have to agree that to Lump Lester in with Allen Ray and Orien Greene is difficult. First Ray an undersized defensively challenged SG with no PG skills. Hudson is not a polished point guard; but he and Giddens both fill up the stat sheet. Allen Ray was an extremely one dimensional player. Orien Green has lived up to expectations which frankly were never that high and will be a decent backup somewhere. If Hudson turns into a rotation player in a couple years that would be a major boost for this team. Right now all we need is a backup.

[RAcker]

Giddens and Hudson are similar in the sense that neither of them seems to know how to move without the ball on offense.  It makes sense; both were THE man on their respective teams in college, and so had the ball as often as possible.  It's different when neither one of them will likely ever be more than the 5th option on the court at any given time. 

At the same time, they went about it differently.  Lester is new at it, but he's always moving towards the ball, trying to make an impact.  Giddens is more likely to go and stand in the corner with his hand up. 

That one wild drive that Giddens made to the basket where a foul bailed him out was typical of him.  Tommy and Mike tried to give him the benefit of the doubt about possibly looking to pass off.  I would have loved it if the defenders would have just cleared out and let him take that crazy shot.  Doc would have been like, "Well, now the entire world sees why I can't trust him."

[jayk009]

The more and more I think about Lester Hudson the more I like him. He is ready to contribute on the defensive end right now, and he is extremely strong for a guard. His offensive skills are very very good, he's a real good shooter, but his midrange game is also developed as well. he can drive it to the hole, he's not selfish, im actually amazed that a guy with his offensive skills were passed up just because he's a little older and he played for a small school.Also people worrying about his academic problems are stupid, since when has any nba player done well in school, I bet most NBA players didnt even attend class and their teachers just passed them. I think even before he plays an NBA game for the Celtics he has already surpassed Jr Giddens and Bill Walker(due to injury history) in terms of prospect rank. I really hope he becomes the Celtics version of a Shannon Brown.

well, while many nba players do not need to fret too often over whether they will be named a rhodes scholar, not all of them dumb butts either.

emeke okafor - 3.75 Grade Point Average at the University of Connecticut.

derrick rose - 3.2 gpa...not terrible.

so some folks do well in college...which is good.

yeah sorry, I was just generalizing in my post, of course there are e many players that did well in school, but I think the majority of players did not do well in school....Holding a player accountable for his school grades is like not hiring a teacher because hes not good at basketball....

[Fan from VT]

The more and more I think about Lester Hudson the more I like him. He is ready to contribute on the defensive end right now, and he is extremely strong for a guard. His offensive skills are very very good, he's a real good shooter, but his midrange game is also developed as well. he can drive it to the hole, he's not selfish, im actually amazed that a guy with his offensive skills were passed up just because he's a little older and he played for a small school.Also people worrying about his academic problems are stupid, since when has any nba player done well in school, I bet most NBA players didnt even attend class and their teachers just passed them. I think even before he plays an NBA game for the Celtics he has already surpassed Jr Giddens and Bill Walker(due to injury history) in terms of prospect rank. I really hope he becomes the Celtics version of a Shannon Brown.

well, while many nba players do not need to fret too often over whether they will be named a rhodes scholar, not all of them dumb butts either.

emeke okafor - 3.75 Grade Point Average at the University of Connecticut.

derrick rose - 3.2 gpa...not terrible.

so some folks do well in college...which is good.

yeah sorry, I was just generalizing in my post, of course there are e many players that did well in school, but I think the majority of players did not do well in school....Holding a player accountable for his school grades is like not hiring a teacher because hes not good at basketball....

Considering the "help" Rose had with standardize testing, his 3.2 GPA may say more about the "scholar-athlete" program at Memphis than anything about Rose himself...

[LarBrd33]

nah.  He'll be cut or something. 

[hwangjini_1]

The more and more I think about Lester Hudson the more I like him. He is ready to contribute on the defensive end right now, and he is extremely strong for a guard. His offensive skills are very very good, he's a real good shooter, but his midrange game is also developed as well. he can drive it to the hole, he's not selfish, im actually amazed that a guy with his offensive skills were passed up just because he's a little older and he played for a small school.Also people worrying about his academic problems are stupid, since when has any nba player done well in school, I bet most NBA players didnt even attend class and their teachers just passed them. I think even before he plays an NBA game for the Celtics he has already surpassed Jr Giddens and Bill Walker(due to injury history) in terms of prospect rank. I really hope he becomes the Celtics version of a Shannon Brown.

well, while many nba players do not need to fret too often over whether they will be named a rhodes scholar, not all of them dumb butts either.

emeke okafor - 3.75 Grade Point Average at the University of Connecticut.

derrick rose - 3.2 gpa...not terrible.

so some folks do well in college...which is good.

yeah sorry, I was just generalizing in my post, of course there are e many players that did well in school, but I think the majority of players did not do well in school....Holding a player accountable for his school grades is like not hiring a teacher because hes not good at basketball....

Considering the "help" Rose had with standardize testing, his 3.2 GPA may say more about the "scholar-athlete" program at Memphis than anything about Rose himself...

good point. non-basketball students would benefit from such individual attention as well.....maybe more so.

[RickyDavisfor3]

Definitely a Lester Hudson fan right now.
No way he's the same as the OG's, Allen Ray's, etc. of the world.
He has tenacity, you can see he wants it, and I think if he keeps that focus and doesn't get down when he's sitting on the bench most of the season, he will get a chance at some point and produce.

[Neurotic Guy]

It's always a good thing to be fired up and optimistic.  However, people were saying the same types of things about Orien Greene not too long ago.  I'm going to see how things play out before making too many conclusions, one way or the other.

Greene
Allen Ray
Pruitt
Gerald Green
Marcus Banks
Ben Pepper

Good post!  I actually don't recall too many superlatives sent Ben Pepper's way, but I may have missed it.  Here are a few more guys who wowed some folks, but flopped:
Michael Smith
Eric McMillan
Kris Klack
Dee Brown (yes, he flopped)

On the other hand, people saw something in these guys, and they were correct:
Eric Williams
Adrian Griffin
Bruce Bowen

[thirstyboots18]

Dee Brown did not flop...he got injured.

[DarkAzcura]

It's always a good thing to be fired up and optimistic.  However, people were saying the same types of things about Orien Greene not too long ago.  I'm going to see how things play out before making too many conclusions, one way or the other.

Greene
Allen Ray
Pruitt
Gerald Green
Marcus Banks
Ben Pepper

Good post!  I actually don't recall too many superlatives sent Ben Pepper's way, but I may have missed it.  Here are a few more guys who wowed some folks, but flopped:
Michael Smith
Eric McMillan
Kris Klack
Dee Brown (yes, he flopped)

On the other hand, people saw something in these guys, and they were correct:
Eric Williams
Adrian Griffin
Bruce Bowen

I disagree with both posts here. For the first list..Greene, Allan Ray, Pruitt, Green, and Banks. Take a look at their stats in college (or lack of stats in college..Green). None of them were too impressive with the exception of one good season from Banks. It's pretty easy to see that we were just straight up stupid to expect anything from these guys. None of them proved anything at the college level (produce consistently, ability to control a game, or dominate even..).

For the second list..Dee Brown was a bust? He was the 19th pick of the draft, was pretty good in college, and has a 11 PPG average over 600 games. I'd say that's a pretty decent career. Not all star, but a good role player. Same with Michael Smith. He was the 35th pick in the draft. You usually don't get anything from your 2nd round picks..yet he played over 400 NBA games. Not a bust by any means. Can't say much for Klack or McMillan. I don't remember them.

It's pretty easy, imo, to identify who's going to cross over into the NBA (the hard part is identifying who will be a star..that's why lottery picking is so much harder, imo). IMO Leon Powe, Ryan Gomes, and Big Baby were nearly obviously going to make it as at least rotation players. They put up huge stats, all are very talented, good IQ's, etc. This is the group Lester Hudson is in. Lester Hudson doesn't belong in the group of Pruitt, Greene, and Allan Ray. Greene hardly did anything of any worth in college. Pruitt and Allan Ray were completely one-dimensional and undersized. Lester Hudson, though, was crazy in college, no matter what conference he played in. 2nd leading scorer and first quad double ever.