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what will his stats be next year?
I saw flashes of a max player last year, as well as stretches that don't warrant PT. Personally, I think he should have gotten every minute steven adams did since we sucked anyway.
How good do you think he will eventually be?
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I like that he’s thinking about expanding his range, but he needs to become good to elite at something bigs need first. Become an unstoppable rebounder or shot blocker. Be someone who can rotate to the weak side and get vertical. Once he’s done that then he can learn to face up or wet corner 3s.
I was just looking at his stats... I didn't realize he took 14 threes and made 6 of them last season. Which is cool.
It's interesting looking at his shooting range...
3 to <10 ft : 32/65 .492
10 to <16 ft : 3/14 .214
16 ft to <3-pt : 3/6 .500
3pt : 6/14 .429
It's pretty encouraging besides his midrange , nonetheless.
Jax has been promisingly good in terms of touch when it comes to range. Of course, the sample size is extraordinarily small. But that's the not the point, nobody is saying that he's ten minutes away from being a sniper - or at least, I don't think anyone is saying that. People are just saying that the things we've seen so far are, while rare, mildly encouraging and it would be an interesting string to the bow for him to have if he can develop it over time. Of course it shouldn't be his number one major focus, not at all, but when you're training to improve at something you usually don't pick one thing and just do that 8 hours a day for weeks. It's not healthy and, more often than not, it's also not helpful; it can be positive for you to have other outlets.
Yeah, of course Jax should be focusing on gaining muscle mass and boxing out and his footwork on defense. Sure. But if he spends 15 minutes at the end of every workout shooting some 3s with a trainer, or works on his ''offense'' (that is, shooting + handle + finishing) one day out of the week, that's far from an issue.
Jax's ceiling is very high. The odds that he will reach it are low; the odds of anyone hitting their max ceiling are extremely low. But his growth so far has been encouraging, and I think he should be a positive rotation player this year.
Basketball.
If he can shoot 75%+ from the free throw line and be trusted to close out games it will be a successful year for him and the Pels.
I'd like to see him shoot at least one 3pt a game this season and average at least 25 min a game.
The area where Jax has surprised me the most is his passing ability. He's phenomenal for his size at passing out of the short roll, even when off balance. He's also flashed some at hitting cutters from the high post.
If you have two good passers at the 4/5, it opens up so much offense from a spacing perspective. We saw it for years with the Grizzlies, when they had the luxury to play Tony Allen major minutes because ZBo and Gasol could both shoot and pass. That is the aspect of Jax's game that I would really be trying to develop.
For the time being, while he is still raw, I would just be asking for 110% effort at all times. You can live with the games where he fouls out in 20 minutes if he is giving more effort than anyone else. With his length and athleticism, effort will turn into so many buckets on the offensive glass and equally as many turnovers/blocked shots defensively. I want a controlled type of reckless from Mr. Hayes.
Jax is interesting because I wonder how much not getting to play early on in the D league because of Covid and a thin roster has slowed down his skills development - especially on defense.
I mean it's easy to think that playing against better competition will make you better, but when you are just getting dominated every night you start developing bad habits and lose confidence. It was always nice to see him grow throughout the Summer league where he could get into a grove with his game over the whole tournament and find out what works.
He is definitely coming along though.
We were truly at a low point as a fanbase when bloggers were dragging Jax last year on a nightly basis. Questioning his work ethic, desire, etc. I get that these guys have a duty to write about the games and I understand that they get paid little to no money to do so; but at a certain point please realize that you're a 35 year old man sitting on your couch questioning the mental toughness of a 20 year old kid. Your duty to write and tweet about the team does not and should not ever extend to a player's mental health and make-up.Originally Posted by AD-AT
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Biggest thing I questioned was his mind. His general intelligence. Seems he’s fine enough there. I’ll admit I was wrong.
Sky is the limit as long as he knows where the work needs to go. Body is filling out. His an intriguing player. I just fear he won’t reach his potential in NOLA.
Like you, I always thought that JAX should have been sent to Erie so he 'could learn the game', but also touted him as a major contributor once his game matured (I used to get into heated arguments with our friend from across the pond about my G League preference in his rookie year). He did not play as much competitive basketball as other lottery picks did (and do), but his physical skills were off the chart compared to most. While I continue to hold on to the belief that he will one day be that special player which I envision, we ought not fool ourselves, his time is still a year or two away, minimum. I hold on to the the belief that he is a building block for this team that probably should be untouchable barring a superstar trade of epic proportions (for me a Dame trade does not qualify).
Jax is not a grock- the man has skill and ability. The question is how well can he refine those skills and that will determine how far he can go as a player. He has a shooting touch. He has a good handle for a big man. Athletically off the charts. It’s up to him and how much work he puts in (or where he puts the work in for that matter).
Honestly, I think 90% of all conversation about ''mental toughness'' and ''work ethic'' is just a substitute for actual analysis. Is it sometimes the case that people just don't handle pressure well, or just don't care? Sure, that happens. But the way some people, bloggers and journalists, throw those terms around you'd think that 150 people got into the NBA somehow without ever learning how to put effort in or try.
If someone is struggling to make an impact in difficult situations, or isn't able to put the game together, you have two real options for talking about it.
Option 1 is difficult. It means considering all the factors: how is this person physically developing? Are they being used optimally for their skillset? Does their roster accommodate their skills? Does they coach deploy strategies to give them opportunities? Do they play in helpful or unhelpful lineups? All of these things have to be considered, and more, and doing all of that requires some work and some intellectual honestly.
Option 2 is easy. Just say they're lazy or don't know how to work hard or don't really care, or don't ''want it'' enough. Doesn't require any effort or engagement on your part, you can just tap out your article for Bleacher Report or whatever and sit back with your brain switched off.
Some people opt for Option 2 faaaaar too often.
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