Darius Kinnard Garland

[wildfan]

“I talked to Steph Curry a couple weeks ago, and I was asking him about young players he might have reached out to and guess who he said?” Jackie MacMullan remarked. “Darius Garland, Darius Garland, he loves Darius Garland a lot, a lot, a lot. He thinks that kid is gonna be a flat-out star.”

2 hours ago – via Apple Podcasts
Top Rumors, Darius Garland, Stephen Curry,

 

[Man Called X]

I'm old enough to remember Dwayne Wade talking up Colin Sexton last year. I also remember Cedi being talked up by LeBron and Durant after a workout.

But by all means, let's continue slobbing knobs over a comment Steph Curry made.

 

[Cavatt]

I'm old enough to remember Dwayne Wade talking up Colin Sexton last year. I also remember Cedi being talked up by LeBron and Durant after a workout.

But by all means, let's continue slobbing knobs over a comment Steph Curry made.

Lebron said Cedi was a professional, not that he was good.

How was Wade wrong? He said Collin was a competitor. Is it Collin's laziness that is throwing you?

 

[kidduck]

I'm actually curious as to whether the NBA is serious about the rule change re the offensive player initiating the contact, or whether it's going to be like the annual moving screen point of emphasis where it's a thing for the first three weeks of the season and then everything returns to how it's always been.

The NBA wants to do nothing to slow the scoring and enforcing rules such as the above would take some of
the luster off many star players which weakens the NBA brand.

Money talks.

 

[Man Called X]

Lebron said Cedi was a professional, not that he was good.

How was Wade wrong? He said Collin was a competitor. Is it Collin's laziness that is throwing you?

It's just that players praising other players is common place, and not something to point to as a sign of a growth or improvement or a player taking a leap forward.

But here that turns into "Steph Curry thinks he's gonna be good. You're all stupid. Darius Garland HOF PG!" It's tiring that every response to a dissenting opinion here turns into LOLOL when someone feels like they've been vindicated by a talking head.

But let's go back to talking about Darius Garland star PG who's going to lead us to the playoffs if he'd just play a bit more aggressively. Something he's shown absolutely 0 inclination of doing through 2 years in the league.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The NBA wants to do nothing to slow the scoring and enforcing rules such as the above would take some of
the luster off many star players which weakens the NBA brand.

Money talks.

Not sure about that. There is growing backlash to the guys who manufacture fouls, and it slows down the game which is something the NBA tries to avoid.

 

[kidduck]

Not sure about that. There is growing backlash to the guys who manufacture fouls, and it slows down the game which is something the NBA tries to avoid.

I will be very happy if I am proven wrong.

 

[Cavatt]

It's just that players praising other players is common place, and not something to point to as a sign of a growth or improvement or a player taking a leap forward.

But here that turns into "Steph Curry thinks he's gonna be good. You're all stupid. Darius Garland HOF PG!" It's tiring that every response to a dissenting opinion here turns into LOLOL when someone feels like they've been vindicated by a talking head.

But let's go back to talking about Darius Garland star PG who's going to lead us to the playoffs if he'd just play a bit more aggressively. Something he's shown absolutely 0 inclination of doing through 2 years in the league.

You agree that Garland's indicators statistically are very good now though right? He went from under 4 assists a game and people not knowing if he was a pg, to over 6 and firmly in pg territory last year, while averaging over 7 per game in the last 20 games.

I really questioned his heart in the beginning and I do still have questions about his aggression, but he looks like he is a starting quality pg to me now. Question becomes whether this shy kid will be more aggressive as he matures. I really don't think the organization is blowing smoke on him, because it would be much easier to hype Collin because he has the numbers. If you want to blow smoke it is easier to hype the guy with numbers as if he is Zach Lavine or something.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I will be very happy if I am proven wrong.

I think you're right that the NBA likes to have players to hype, and high PPG totals help do that. But the flip side is that nobody wants to watch highlight videos that are guys shooting free throws, so there is a "hype" trade-off between wanting actual highlight plays, and wanting high PPG totals that are propped up by a lot of free throws.

Maybe I'm just hoping, because I absolutely hate that guys are starting to take shots not to make them, but just to get fouled. Makes for a boring game to watch.

 

[weepinwillow]

Nothing wrong with some praise from Curry on Darius. Darius has all the pieces parts to make something special out of his career and last year was promising. If he picks the pace up and starts taking his open 3's at a higher rate he could very well vault up the NBA food chain this year.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

Jackie's just on Rich's payroll....that's all.

As noted, saying someone will be good does not make it true. Up to the recipient to make it happen. One of my concerns with Darius is his demeanor (I don't know him - this is just from watching, so grain of salt)....but does he have that personality to not only improve YoY, but also make his teammates better? It requires that mentality....and roughly speaking I would venture to guess that less than 10% on NBA'ers have it.

He is still so young, and I do not expect that kinda mentality out of him yet. Experience allows one to focus on other aspects of their game...as micro-level improvements during your early career become macro-level, if the mentality and confidence are there.

Me personally, I'm about 80-20 on whether he'll make it. So I'm bullish - and I think we'll see sexton like improvement over the next several seasons. Those does not correlate to team success though. Would just make Rich Paul happy.

 

[Man Called X]

You agree that Garland's indicators statistically are very good now though right? He went from under 4 assists a game and people not knowing if he was a pg, to over 6 and firmly in pg territory last year, while averaging over 7 per game in the last 20 games.

I really questioned his heart in the beginning and I do still have questions about his aggression, but he looks like he is a starting quality pg to me now. Question becomes whether this shy kid will be more aggressive as he matures. I really don't think the organization is blowing smoke on him, because it would be much easier to hype Collin because he has the numbers. If you want to blow smoke it is easier to hype the guy with numbers as if he is Zach Lavine or something.

I realize his numbers looked better last year, but the way he plays doesn't pass the eye test for me. I don't think he has the mentality to be aggressive. I never get any sense of urgency watching him play. We were still one of the slowest teams in the league, and it wasn't all due to Andre Drummond.

I don't think the kid has it in him to be a star. I think his ceiling is a super skilled backup PG that plays entirely too slow. He'll be a stabilizing guard that you eventually bring in to slow a game down and keep an offense running when your star is sitting.

But the little backhanded insults using my words without just quoting me? That's the kind of lame childish shit this forum is so great at. @pr26

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I realize his numbers looked better last year, but the way he plays doesn't pass the eye test for me. I don't think he has the mentality to be aggressive. I never get any sense of urgency watching him play. We were still one of the slowest teams in the league, and it wasn't all due to Andre Drummond.

I feel the same way when I've watched him. I think he can still be a good starter, but unless he has a change in personality/approach, he's going to need to be paired with some Alphas on offense who can force the pace to be more aggressive.

 

[Cavatt]

I realize his numbers looked better last year, but the way he plays doesn't pass the eye test for me. I don't think he has the mentality to be aggressive. I never get any sense of urgency watching him play. We were still one of the slowest teams in the league, and it wasn't all due to Andre Drummond.

I don't think the kid has it in him to be a star. I think his ceiling is a super skilled backup PG that plays entirely too slow. He'll be a stabilizing guard that you eventually bring in to slow a game down and keep an offense running when your star is sitting.

But the little backhanded insults using my words without just quoting me? That's the kind of lame childish shit this forum is so great at. @pr26

I quoted you and directly responded to what you said. I literally have no idea what you are talking about. I don't care how you feel though at all, as you are constantly angry about some perceived slight. That is your baggage, has nothing to do with me.

I don't need you to like Garland, his numbers are good indicators and that was all I was trying to communicate.

 

[guitarguy]

I think the thing is, Darius obviously has an elite skill set, but that doesn't mean he'll be elite. It's really up to him, in a lot of ways, if he can pull it together and take advantage of his talent.