Isn't it nice to have an elite shooter again ? Young is the best since Ray left

[guava_wrench]

Pressey is a very good backup point guard.
I have said that for a long time.
I like him better than Nelson.

Pressey is not a very good backup. He is a workable backup on our team -- a bad team. He can push the ball, but he can't shoot and he isn't particularly good at finishing. Look at the easy swat from behind on the break, and how he led Bradley to a charge early on since the defenders knew Pressey wasn't going to challenge at the rim on the break and definitely does not have the ability to pull up.

Pressey did a great job defending Charlotte's backup PG. Once Walker returned to the game, Pressey had no more impact on defense.

If Pressey is a 'very' good backup pg, who are the backups who are only good? Or even bad?

[Roy H.]

I think so. He has the form and his shot looks so natural.

I'm not sure if that will translate to being an elite scorer but calling him an elite shooter is not a stretch.

There have been plenty of guys with nice form who couldn't perform well in the NBA, though. 

"Elite", to me, means proven top-tier results.  Young may or may not project to be at that level, but he's far from proven it.

I mean, he only hit 34.9% of his threes at the college level last year, and 33.6% in conference play.  That's far from elite, and it's with a closer 3PT line.

I'm not disagreeing with you that he might not be an elite scorer but he has shown signs of being an elite shooter. It's hard to ignore how natural his shot looks.

Avery Bradley could practice another 10 years and his shot wouldn't look as good as young's.

Right, he's got a pretty shot.  That doesn't mean the ball will go in the hoop, though. 

He was mediocre in college, but was great in the D-League.  The form is there.  We just need to see some results before saying he's already elite.

[guava_wrench]

... I'm more excited about James Young than Marcus Smart.  19 year old kid with proper size who can shoot?... I'm in.   Nice to have hope.  I give his performance tonight two thumbs and a Gerald Green nub up.

I agree--but he really has a much better understanding and flow in the game than Gerald ever had here. He's a natural basketball player with a solid bbiq--which Gerald of course wasn't.

While Green had a really low bbiq, how do you know Young is much better? He has barely played. His fourth shot, if I remember correctly, was a horrible, awkward chuck from 3. I want to see him aggressive early in his career as that will help development (and is part of the justification for having him play in the d-league where he can be the alpha dog), but it is too early to evaluate his bbiq.

I really like his stroke and was excited when he stepped on the floor, but it is very early. Plenty of guys with excellent strokes have proven to be detrimental overall.

Crowder, on the other hand, is taking great shots within the flow of the offense and never decides to go into Ben Gordon mode.

[clover]

I think so. He has the form and his shot looks so natural.

I'm not sure if that will translate to being an elite scorer but calling him an elite shooter is not a stretch.

There have been plenty of guys with nice form who couldn't perform well in the NBA, though. 

"Elite", to me, means proven top-tier results.  Young may or may not project to be at that level, but he's far from proven it.

I mean, he only hit 34.9% of his threes at the college level last year, and 33.6% in conference play.  That's far from elite, and it's with a closer 3PT line.

I'm not disagreeing with you that he might not be an elite scorer but he has shown signs of being an elite shooter. It's hard to ignore how natural his shot looks.

Avery Bradley could practice another 10 years and his shot wouldn't look as good as young's.

Right, he's got a pretty shot.  That doesn't mean the ball will go in the hoop, though. 

He was mediocre in college, but was great in the D-League.  The form is there.  We just need to see some results before saying he's already elite.

"Mediocre in college"--as an 18-year-old.

[arctic 3.0]

Yeah, that was me. Kid can flat out shoot.
I'd recon he's got a good chance at being far more than Korver and an outside chance at being the go to scorer building block of the celtics future.

I'm with you on the second part, but I think you are guilty of under-rating Korver. He's the #1 outside weapon in the league right now. That is no human's worst case scenario.

To clarify: korver is a great player, no doubt, but he is a rol player.
Not the guy you build around.
If young developed the defensive killer instinct he already has on offense he could be a keystone piece.
That's what I mean by "far more than korver".

[LarBrd33]

His per-36 is 24.7 points on 67%/57%/00% shooting. 

Oh great... another Rondo who can't hit free throws. 

[KeepRondo]

I think so. He has the form and his shot looks so natural.

I'm not sure if that will translate to being an elite scorer but calling him an elite shooter is not a stretch.

There have been plenty of guys with nice form who couldn't perform well in the NBA, though. 

"Elite", to me, means proven top-tier results.  Young may or may not project to be at that level, but he's far from proven it.

I mean, he only hit 34.9% of his threes at the college level last year, and 33.6% in conference play.  That's far from elite, and it's with a closer 3PT line.

I'm not disagreeing with you that he might not be an elite scorer but he has shown signs of being an elite shooter. It's hard to ignore how natural his shot looks.

Avery Bradley could practice another 10 years and his shot wouldn't look as good as young's.

Right, he's got a pretty shot.  That doesn't mean the ball will go in the hoop, though. 

He was mediocre in college, but was great in the D-League.  The form is there.  We just need to see some results before saying he's already elite.

Well then you'll just have to show up late to the party then. 

[Roy H.]

I think so. He has the form and his shot looks so natural.

I'm not sure if that will translate to being an elite scorer but calling him an elite shooter is not a stretch.

There have been plenty of guys with nice form who couldn't perform well in the NBA, though. 

"Elite", to me, means proven top-tier results.  Young may or may not project to be at that level, but he's far from proven it.

I mean, he only hit 34.9% of his threes at the college level last year, and 33.6% in conference play.  That's far from elite, and it's with a closer 3PT line.

I'm not disagreeing with you that he might not be an elite scorer but he has shown signs of being an elite shooter. It's hard to ignore how natural his shot looks.

Avery Bradley could practice another 10 years and his shot wouldn't look as good as young's.

Right, he's got a pretty shot.  That doesn't mean the ball will go in the hoop, though. 

He was mediocre in college, but was great in the D-League.  The form is there.  We just need to see some results before saying he's already elite.

"Mediocre in college"--as an 18-year-old.

Sure.  It's silly to project somebody's career based upon one year of college ball.  It's much sillier to project them based upon one NBA game.

I'm not saying he won't be a great shooter.  However, it's amazingly early to put the tag "elite" on somebody who has had exactly one decent NBA game in his career.

[Future Celtics Owner]

Young is not a SG according to Ainge, he is a SF.

I don't want him at SF. He has the length, but not the size. You put him at SF, you're asking for trouble. Develop him at SG, then he has a size and length advantage he can work with.

Ainge did say he was a sf......but Ainge has to say that, imo. I have explained my reasons why many times before but its essentially the same reason why he said Smart would be a shooting guard . Its a smokescreen. What Ainge says and what he does are 2 dif things.

Also now that people are jumping onto the James Young bandwagon let me say this(I've said it a 100 times before): He is not a sf. He can play sf but he is much more effective at shooting gaurd. His 8'8'' standing reach and quick shot give him a huge advantage over other NBA 2's. This is one of the reasons why we went with him instead of drafting Gary Harris for instance.

Also James' 7' wingspan helps with some deficiencies he may make on defense. Also his length will help him contest the shots of other shooting guards.He is not going to be a 240 lb sf, he is going to naturally get stronger and quicker (he just turned 19)but he is going to have a lean and muscular frame.....kinda like Ray Allen, but longer.IMO

I'm happy I have stated my position on James Young on here many times. His absolute floor is Nick Young and his ceiling is the mooon. but I have said before he could be a Klay Thompson type player.

As far as his minutes go, lets hope that CBS and the asst. coaches know what they are doing. If teasing James with PT gets him to work on his defense and helps motivate him to train harder on defense and other areas then I am all for it. CBS is known for getting the most out of his players.

Now if James is a 2 and Marcus is a 1 then where does that leave us in regards to a SF? IDK. We can always trade draft or sign a player. But if we are going to be a dominant team then we are going to need a Paul Pierce type player back at sf.

Best case scenario:
If James and Marcus blow up next season, and we draft well, maybe we can convince Anthony Davis to sign with us

[Future Celtics Owner]

I think so. He has the form and his shot looks so natural.

I'm not sure if that will translate to being an elite scorer but calling him an elite shooter is not a stretch.

There have been plenty of guys with nice form who couldn't perform well in the NBA, though. 

"Elite", to me, means proven top-tier results.  Young may or may not project to be at that level, but he's far from proven it.

I mean, he only hit 34.9% of his threes at the college level last year, and 33.6% in conference play.  That's far from elite, and it's with a closer 3PT line.

I'm not disagreeing with you that he might not be an elite scorer but he has shown signs of being an elite shooter. It's hard to ignore how natural his shot looks.

Avery Bradley could practice another 10 years and his shot wouldn't look as good as young's.

Right, he's got a pretty shot.  That doesn't mean the ball will go in the hoop, though. 

He was mediocre in college, but was great in the D-League.  The form is there.  We just need to see some results before saying he's already elite.

"Mediocre in college"--as an 18-year-old.

Sure.  It's silly to project somebody's career based upon one year of college ball.  It's much sillier to project them based upon one NBA game.

I'm not saying he won't be a great shooter.  However, it's amazingly early to put the tag "elite" on somebody who has had exactly one decent NBA game in his career.

I think Roy is right to look at his college stats and his 3 point % at that time. But it is also
He's shooting 47% from 3 point range in the d league while hucking up over almost 10 3's a game.  Now it is not a fact that the D league is better than college, that is debatable; but the 3 point line is the same as the NBA.......
My conclusion is that James got better and has a game better suited for the NBA than college. But that is just my opinion, I am open to others.

[manl_lui]

I wonder what kind of player he would be in the NBA, if he adds like 10 lb of muscle and do some slashing like he did in college.

[Sketch5]

... I'm more excited about James Young than Marcus Smart.  19 year old kid with proper size who can shoot?... I'm in.   Nice to have hope.  I give his performance tonight two thumbs and a Gerald Green nub up.

At 19 he is not even close to a finished product. He'll get better. I wouldn't have taken him but it seems like at worst it wasn't a total miss. The 6th pick however has been a complete bust as I predicted. That's what happens when you draft Banks 2.0. You don't learn from your mistakes. Best case scenario he becomes a defensive role player. He will never become a good shooter that's for sure. A shooting guard that can't shoot??!!! You passed on Randle for that? Brilliant. At least Randle is hurt, Banks has no excuse.

I really wish you'd stop calling him Banks 2.0. It's annoying and disrespectful to Smart. Smart works on his game, and you can see it from the summer league to now his shot is better. He had a set back with the ankle injury that had slowed him down. To call him a bust after  a few months is idiotic. Most kids these days take a couple years to get it. The fact he can play D right off the bat is good. He's hit some big threes, a couple nice ones last night. His shot selection has gotten better. He needs to be more aggressive going to the paint and pulling up for his shot. He has the will and heart to have a good work ethic that could translate to being a good NBA player. Banks wast all flash and no substance and thats why he failed being an NBA player. Give Smart at least two years. People want things right now or yesterday, when some times it takes a little while to click. People were thinking KO was a complete bust last year at this time. Now he looks half way decent.

Randle looked bad in summer league, just as bad as Smart. Plus We already had Sully, KO and Love was still on the board. Smart was brought in to take Rondo's spot if DA couldn't land Love. Even if it's temporary. Having 3 developing PF's would have been a nightmare to give them consistent minutes so they could develop.

At least I can agree on Young. This kid could be the steal of the draft. Maybe not the best player, but I remember people complaining about this pick. And all I could remember was him in the tourney taking big shots and wanting it. That says a lot about a player, and it's something you can't usually develop. Look at Green.

[jambr380]

Yeah, that was me. Kid can flat out shoot.
I'd recon he's got a good chance at being far more than Korver and an outside chance at being the go to scorer building block of the celtics future.

I'm with you on the second part, but I think you are guilty of under-rating Korver. He's the #1 outside weapon in the league right now. That is no human's worst case scenario.

To clarify: korver is a great player, no doubt, but he is a rol player.
Not the guy you build around.
If young developed the defensive killer instinct he already has on offense he could be a keystone piece.
That's what I mean by "far more than korver".

That was my take on what 'far more than Korver' meant. It is almost impossible for Young to become more of a pure shooter than Korver, but he still has a ton of potential in other parts of his game. Korver is amazing at what he does and it's quite likely that looking back he will have had the better NBA career, but it's also possible (yes, just possible) that Young becomes the next McGrady.

[D.o.s.]

Wiggins could become the next T-Mac. If you want to roll with what's 'possible' then the Celtics could still hang Banner 18 at the end of this season. It's possible (yes possible).

[aingeforthree]

... I'm more excited about James Young than Marcus Smart.  19 year old kid with proper size who can shoot?... I'm in.   Nice to have hope.  I give his performance tonight two thumbs and a Gerald Green nub up.

At 19 he is not even close to a finished product. He'll get better. I wouldn't have taken him but it seems like at worst it wasn't a total miss. The 6th pick however has been a complete bust as I predicted. That's what happens when you draft Banks 2.0. You don't learn from your mistakes. Best case scenario he becomes a defensive role player. He will never become a good shooter that's for sure. A shooting guard that can't shoot??!!! You passed on Randle for that? Brilliant. At least Randle is hurt, Banks has no excuse.

I really wish you'd stop calling him Banks 2.0. It's annoying and disrespectful to Smart. Smart works on his game, and you can see it from the summer league to now his shot is better. He had a set back with the ankle injury that had slowed him down. To call him a bust after  a few months is idiotic. Most kids these days take a couple years to get it. The fact he can play D right off the bat is good. He's hit some big threes, a couple nice ones last night. His shot selection has gotten better. He needs to be more aggressive going to the paint and pulling up for his shot. He has the will and heart to have a good work ethic that could translate to being a good NBA player. Banks wast all flash and no substance and thats why he failed being an NBA player. Give Smart at least two years. People want things right now or yesterday, when some times it takes a little while to click. People were thinking KO was a complete bust last year at this time. Now he looks half way decent.

Randle looked bad in summer league, just as bad as Smart. Plus We already had Sully, KO and Love was still on the board. Smart was brought in to take Rondo's spot if DA couldn't land Love. Even if it's temporary. Having 3 developing PF's would have been a nightmare to give them consistent minutes so they could develop.

At least I can agree on Young. This kid could be the steal of the draft. Maybe not the best player, but I remember people complaining about this pick. And all I could remember was him in the tourney taking big shots and wanting it. That says a lot about a player, and it's something you can't usually develop. Look at Green.

20 yrs old and they compare him to Banks.  It's pretty funny.  Unfortunately, people like to give these young kids 'finished product' grades.

Smart has a chance to be special.  Anybody saying something different has no clue about development, and the process that comes with it.  This kids a worker, a competitor, a no-nonsense talent.  If anybody is going to get better from this draft, put him first in line.