David Thorpe on Brian Roberts

[dkno1]

From ESPN.com
"Brian Roberts, Hornets
I spent about eight weeks with Roberts when he first came out of college and another couple of weeks the following summer. He always looked like an NBA player to me, gifted with speed, toughness and an excellent shot. It has taken awhile, but his time in Europe has only helped polish his game and he has taken advantage of his preseason and regular-season minutes in New Orleans.

Roberts can beat most defenders off the dribble, but has learned not to overpenetrate much and instead pull up for the midrange jumper or floater. Austin Rivers, when healthy, will have a tough time taking minutes from the very tough-minded player from Dayton."

And M. Mcnamara wants him sent back to Turkey

[Inner_GI]

Roberts sucks... He can't beat people of the dribble. If he could do that, He wouldn't get stuck behind the 3 point line for 10 seconds and screw the team of any ball movement of opportunity to score.

[Snarly]

He's a rookie. As long as he shows flashes I don't have a problem with him. He's definitely needs to learn to run the offense for our post options. He doesn't seem to like to get the ball in the post unless he breaks down the defense on the dribble penetration.

I agree with Thorpe about Robert's over-penetration, He has a great pull up mid range shot that needs to be utilized a lot more.

[42]

I think you mean Ryan.

[WhoDatPelican]

From ESPN.com
"Brian Roberts, Hornets
Roberts can beat most defenders off the dribble, but has learned not to overpenetrate much and instead pull up for the midrange jumper or floater.

That would mean he has to ATTACK instead of dribbling the ball near the half court line for 10-15 seconds.
I thought the guy looked pretty good in pre season... i dunno what happened once real games kicked in? He almost seems like a different player. At times i have flashbacks of Antonio Daniels.....

Be aggressive. Move the ball. Look for the mismatch. Penetrate and kick. Do Something!...... I still have hope for him though.

[beastbowen40]

Yea it's pretty clear Roberts is a much better player than rivers right now. It really pissed me off when Anderson had harden and then another time Linn on him in the post and Roberts didn't get it to him. I was yellig at the tv

[RaisingTheBar]

That may be true, but he can't run an offense. The flow completely stops when he comes in.

[pmarpelicansfan]

He reminds me of Jarrett Jack in the way that he will do something good and beneficial and then next time down the court make a stupid and easily preventable mistake.

[Vinny6420]

I like him learning with our young squad

[Mr. West]

Darn good third point guard. Pushing it as a backup.

[Smirk]

He's not a good player. End of bench guy.

[P Raff]

He's not a good player. End of bench guy.

As of now yea, but with good coaching he might be able to be a solid backup/ 4th guard off the bench. He's gonna get a lot of PT on this team.

[Mr. Mojo]

Roberts sucks... He can't beat people of the dribble.

This is false.

This is completely true, however.

Roberts can beat most defenders off the dribble, but has learned not to overpenetrate much and instead pull up for the midrange jumper or floater

So basically some peeps are saying (not incorrectly) that:

A. He needs to start to initiate the offense earlier in the shot clock
B. He needs to look to get others involved more

good constructive criticism

other peoples are just being @$$****s

This guys a rookie so treat him like one and give him some time to grow. I mean, if we can do that for rivers then why not for a guy like roberts?

[Bee-Fense]

mean, if we can do that for rivers then why not for a guy like roberts?

Rivers is 20, Roberts is a couple of weeks from 27.

[Mr. Mojo]

Rivers is 20, Roberts is a couple of weeks from 27.

that makes sense as far as decline due to age goes, but on the other hand, they are both rookies so they have the same learning curve. I'm not saying that if Roberts doesn't show anything we should still keep him around for years, but say he addresses any flaws in his game; should we cut him because he didn't look great in the first month of his rookie year? The guy has none experience. Cut him a break

[Perth_Hornet]

Roberts has shown enough to keep around.

Probably hit more jumpers in the first 6 games than Aminu has in his whole career.

[Bee-Fense]

that makes sense as far as decline due to age goes, but on the other hand, they are both rookies so they have the same learning curve. I'm not saying that if Roberts doesn't show anything we should still keep him around for years, but say he addresses any flaws in his game; should we cut him because he didn't look great in the first month of his rookie year? The guy has none experience. Cut him a break

The point is though, Rivers has opportunity to grow because athletes typically don't reach their physical peak until about 25. I'm not for cutting Roberts either; I think he's better than Dyson was last year. He's fine for this year.

I'm just trying to explain why Rivers is given more of a break. Also we have a lot more invested in Rivers so I think people are a lot more willing to point out more good than bad in hopes that Rivers can be a serious piece to our future. Roberts on the other hand is most likely just a one year rental, so if he plays really bad, people will be more willing to criticize.

[Mr. Mojo]

Yeah that makes sense. Rivers is definitely a bigger investment (younger, more potential, longer contract, used a lotto pick on him) so your absolutely right about why people are more patient with him. At this stage in the season though people should (not you) at least be hopeful that we will be able to produce for us this year even if they're skeptical, rather than immediately calling for his replacement.

[Pantazis76]

he made a 7-0 run by himself at the start of the 4th in the last game that got us back into it.. why are people complaining .. what are you expecting from him, he obviously didnt make the NBA when he was younger for a reason, so don't expect much.

[Bigeauz]

He's not a rookie, he's a "rookie." He's had several years of pro ball in Germany. He can beat people of the dribble, but he doesn't run the offense well and he gets backed down up top until he's near the half court line with 8 seconds left on the clock. He's got tools and all, but I think Rivers' court vision is already better, or getting close.