In time... can Kris Joseph play the Point position?

[ScoobyDoo]

I really liked this kid from day one of summer league. Knew nothing of him prior to that but he reminded me a lot of Ryan Gomes as a young player "in terms of":

1. Knowing how to play and where to be on the court

2. His pace - like Gomes you can see him "thinking" the game, even as a rookie.

3. He does everything pretty well (like Gomes) but has no differentiating skill - yet.

Just a solid basketball player all around.

What I didn't knwo was how well he could handle the ball. Not only does he handle the ball pretty well, but he sees the floor fairly well also.

In summer league he had multiple end to end plays where he'd get the ball and finish at the other end.

Then, in one of the preseason games I watched I'[m pretty sure he was at the point for most of the fourth quarter - and did well.     

You can see he has a pretty good handle already and I believe with hard work on his ball handling he has a real legit shot at being able to play some back up point - particularly when we need some size.

Maybe not this year obviously, but 1-2 years down the road does anyone else see some potential point guard play from this kid?

This would mean he could play point, the 2 and the 3. Talk about a great, versatile guy off the bench...

Thoughts?

[slamtheking]

I don't see this kid as a PG.  I'd be thrilled if he could turn out to be a solid backup 3 next year.  I think he shows some signs of being a potential end of rotation player at some point.

[arambone]

I'd be happy if he could play some 2 sometimes.

4th quarter of a summer league game doesn't mean he can play any pg in meaningful games against nba players.

[mmmmm]

More like 'point forward'.

We saw several players get time with 'point' duties this pre-season, and they weren't all guards.

Doc obviously gave PG time to Rondo, Terry, Lee and the two SL guards, Christmas and Smith.

But Doc's offense is also geared towards being run often by Pierce as 'point forward' and so we also saw extended stretches with Green and Joseph each running the offense.  And I gotta say I was impressed at how well each did at that role.

LOL - and of course, we also saw Doc run the offense for several plays through Darko passing from the top of the key - again, something that we do on occasion with KG.

[ScoobyDoo]

Interesting. Agreed that it would be great if Joseph can simply end up being a decent 3rd string swing guy for us in time.

That said, I'm going out on a limb and saying I bet we see him as our "big" point guard at times sometime within the next 2-3 seasons. I really think he can play some point - in stretches.

KG
Bass
Green
Pierce
Joseph

or substitute Lee or Bradley in for Pierce for more speed, move Green to PF, etc.

It's a long shot - Joseph at the point - but I would definitely have him hone his ball handling skills with experiment with him at that position.

The main reason is that if he proves, in time, that he can actually legitimately play "some" point guard - that will be a huge advantage if we wanted to play bully ball.

Milicic
KG
Green
Pierce
Joseph

I'd play around with it.   

[SHAQATTACK]

KJ plays alot like a shooting guard to me .  He reminds me of Jalen Rose .  KJ is at least 6 '6" maybe 6 ' 7"   ...I think he played out of postion in college.

Kris , is NOT turnover prone, he is very careful with the ball.  Great head fakes , decent passer from what I've seen and wants to push the ball on transistion.

He can see the floor well, pass over average 6-6'4" guards

He handles the ball well for his size. Has great lift .

If I were Doc , I would try him for a guard postion.  Pierce is TOO slow Now to be out front ,  he'll have his pocket picked worse and worse as he slows down. 

 

[j804]

I'm not seeing where he can be a PG backup three maybe SG

[kozlodoev]

Um, no. He's not even quick enough to stay with most SGs.

[aporel#18]

very interesting point... but I concur with mmmmm, he could be a point forward, not a point guard.

In a team with combo guards like Jet,Lee,Bradley and now Barbosa, I think Doc is trying to use his forward's ability to set the offense, making up for the lack of a true PG. Not bad, IMO, and here's hoping for that plan to work out to perfection.

[pearljammer10]

Youre either born a point guard or your not. He might be able to handle the ball well, but that doesnt mean he can run a team. I think he will turn into a nice athletic swing guard with above average ball handling skills.

[Eddie20]

My concern about Joseph is how high his ceiling is. He'll already be 24 later this year (just 2 years younger than Rondo to put that into perspective) and I question just how much we can really expect him to improve.

[nickagneta]

Doc said something like, and I paraphrase "we even had the kid(Joseph) playing some PG, which wasn't fair because he can't do it, but he gave it his best anyway."

Well, he said something eal close to that. I think that answers the OP's question.

[badshar]

I see Kris Joseph as a mini-version of LeBron James. Look at it with an open mind.

• LeBron attacks the basket. Kris Joseph attacks the basket and has that type of mentality.
• LeBron is not the best shooter, but has a decent shot. Kris Joseph has a pretty decent shot.
• LeBron can effectively play multiple position. Kris Joseph is a pretty good ball handler and after witnessing him run the point for much of the 4th while sitting in TD Garden against the Sixers yesterday, he can definitely run the point. He is already a small forward and he can also play the 2 and if he gets some muscles, MAYBE he can play some 4 at some point in time.
• LeBron is super athletic. From what we have seen, Joseph is an athletic small forward. Even if he is not very good, he already has that LeBron like mentality and doesn't mind taking the hit.

I was sitting behind the basket during the 4th quarter at last night's game against the sixers and I could literally imagine a mini-LeBron type player with the way Kris Joseph was playing. He was consistently and fearlessly attacking the basket.

I might get picked on for bring LeBron into this thread and be called immature for saying Joseph is similar to LeBron, but think about it with an open mind. Sure Joseph might not be what LeBron is, but his game is pretty similar. In a few years with some added muscle, this guy could be very dominant.

[kp4000]

I really liked this kid from day one of summer league. Knew nothing of him prior to that but he reminded me a lot of Ryan Gomes as a young player "in terms of":

1. Knowing how to play and where to be on the court

2. His pace - like Gomes you can see him "thinking" the game, even as a rookie.

3. He does everything pretty well (like Gomes) but has no differentiating skill - yet.

Just a solid basketball player all around.

What I didn't knwo was how well he could handle the ball. Not only does he handle the ball pretty well, but he sees the floor fairly well also.

In summer league he had multiple end to end plays where he'd get the ball and finish at the other end.

Then, in one of the preseason games I watched I'[m pretty sure he was at the point for most of the fourth quarter - and did well.     

You can see he has a pretty good handle already and I believe with hard work on his ball handling he has a real legit shot at being able to play some back up point - particularly when we need some size.

Maybe not this year obviously, but 1-2 years down the road does anyone else see some potential point guard play from this kid?

This would mean he could play point, the 2 and the 3. Talk about a great, versatile guy off the bench...

Thoughts?

No, at least not yet. Kris still needs work though he stood out during preseason. I think he has the potential and has shown flashes of what he can be, but I think he needs to work more on his ball handle than anything. He's an unorthodox small forward to be honest.

[D Dub]

Joeseph will have a long career in the NBA as a reserve wing.  Nice 2nd round scoop for Danny, but he's no point guard...