Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
Yeah I just can't agree with fair parts of that. Some of it, I get as a critique even if I don't really see it as negatively as you do (the rebounding, for example) but I didn't think his defense was bad overall at all. Inconsistent, absolutely, but there were real standout moments where he looked good and as I mentioned, he racked up off-ball defense moments all the time.
Struggled from FIBA 3 ... sort of. This is what I meant when I said that he's shown clear signs: his overall 3pt shooting on the season was poor but there was an 18 game stretch in the middle of the year where he shot 37% on good volume. His shot isn't broken, he just needs tweaks because his footwork is a inconsistent - it shouldn't be too big of a deal for an 18 year old to correct.
I just remember last year when LaMelo played in the NBL and he also struggled mightily shooting and finishing, but showed all sorts of ballhandling and passing and was clearly next level on feel just like Giddey is, and then his rookie year he showed that all of that was legitimate. I don't think Giddey is quite the passer that LaMelo is, but he's also far less contact averse and takes better shots in general so there's things you can give him.
I guess overall I'm just willing to give a little bit of benefit of the doubt when it comes to 18 year olds who are clearly still growing into their bodies when they're playing against a league of grown adults, and look for the signs of what they can do (especially when those signs are such valuable ones: again, 6'8 ballhandlers!) than what they can't.