Here are some of my favorite out of touch quotes from THT in this article that worry me on his potential growth.
“I know I take shots sometimes that are like, different.” (Understatement of the century)
“I’ve always been an unselfish player, I’m never out there just trying to score for myself”
(Really? Because there’s lots of evidence of you making a couple of shots and then thinking you’re prime Kobe)
“Every shot I shoot, is something I practice.”
(Well…. that’s concerning)
“I don’t want to take any shot out of my game.”
(Even the contested, midrange, turnaround fadeaway 180?)
A career 28% 3 point shooter on his 3 point shooting “I want to get my volume up”
“I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes shooting the ball too much.” (After going 6/20 2 games ago and tying for the most shots attempted)
by austinc668
5 Comments
I want to get the volume of non-THT-minutes up.
Oh no, this article has me ten times more worried about him
It’s so clear that you are just completely out on THT and don’t care what he has to say on the subject of his play and his role.
First, and I say this as a THT defender, I’m not under any delusion that he will become a cornerstone player for this franchise in the coming years or even that he can realistically develop into a serviceable PG. I have hopes for that, but I know what I’m seeing night-in and night-out on the court. What puzzles me is it feels like while people have been upset with THT, Clarkson and Colin, that THT is receiving a disproportionate amount of that flak.
A few things I want to bring up:
This guy is still 22. That’s essentially still a kid in my mind, and this is his first “solid” starting gig in the NBA in a position that he hasn’t really honed yet. And so you taking quotes out of context like, “I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes shooting the ball too much” is just straight up disingenuous and feels driven by bias. Literally at the beginning of that same sentence in the article he says it was in the context of coming off the bench last year, and yet you seat it in the context of a really poor shooting night for him as a starter this year..? And, speaking of development, I believe that he really is trying to work on his game. I say that because at the start of last year this man had maybe the slowest spin-move in the entire NBA? But as the year went on it was clear he was working on that specifically because it’s become tighter and faster, that’s tangible. That may seem small and stupid to focus on to you and me when we still see poor reads happening and bad shots being taken, but it’s rare in my experience to see tangible growth like that in a player during the season. That gives me optimism that he can improve in other more important areas, but it’s up to him to prove it. I’m viewing this still as an entirely new role for him essentially even though he started at the tail end of last year, and that’s because last year there were plenty of games down the stretch where he really did look like the best player on our team with so many of our guys out. So is he a guy who excels in bad situations, or will he prove that he can be valuable as part of a healthy/good roster? I’d like to give him time to try.
Still, just so we’re clear, him shooting 20 times a night is NOT the recipe for our team’s success. But, in context, he’s only done that once this year in a limited sample size while the rest of his games he’s averaging 9.2 FGA which is pretty in-line for a role player. You guys act like he’s out here chucking on a nightly basis like Kobe, but the reality is more like he’s taking a few really bad shots sometimes as opposed to every shot on every night.
I guess all I’m saying is, given our options right now for the guard rotation, I would take THT over Sexton and Dunn right now without hesitation. I’d prefer if we just ripped the bandaid and started Keyonte, but in lieu of that THT is the best of a bad guard situation for now. That doesn’t mean he’s good or that’s he’s actually a PG right now, it just means he’s what we’ve got. Give the kid a break.
nah I’m good. Thanks tho
I know it’s not any fun to watch guys develop but people have unrealistic expectations of what this team is going to be. We don’t have a point guard on the roster. They’re all going to look bad.
He needs to be a better shooter so he’s shooting a lot. It’s frustrating to watch but that’s exactly what he should be doing. If he doesn’t get better he’ll be gone in February or April and probably out of the league before too long. If they cut his minutes they’re giving up on him completely, and that’s not a decision they’re going to make after a week.