Are the Cavs trying to Cover up Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters Fight?

[BallsOut]

After the Cavs players only meeting last week, Waiters stayed home for 2 games with "flu like" symptoms during which Irving suffered a mysterious black eye.

Reminds me of the story between OJ Mayo and Tony Allen a few years back, Mayo missed a game due to "bronchitis", aka a black eye after getting in a fight with TA on the plane.

Source (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/cavs-g-waiters-back-practice-225643455--nba.html)

:biggums:

[andremiller07]

Was the black eye/eyes not from his broken nose?

[Inferno]

I thought the black eye was from an elbow in a game

[BallsOut]

Was the black eye/eyes not from his broken nose?


I thought the black eye was from an elbow in a game

The article said he wore a mask to protect his broken nose which occurred awhile back. I'm not sure how he got the black eye though, seems to be awfully bad timing.

[CavaliersFTW]

Interesting theory

[coin24]

Suspect timing:oldlol:

[NattyPButter]

When u get a broken nose u get a black eye. Dude got hit hard by Brewer and went down for a while. Now the problem with all this is he seemed fine and played the rest of the game so who knows.

[Brook(lyn)Lopez]

So you're saying Waiters would be the one with the black eye?

Bro, Waiters would wreck that shrimp Kyrie in a fight.
Waiters is a real niqqa from North Philly (one of the hardest places in the country) while Kyrie was born in Australia and grew up in a nice part of Jersey.

A fight between the two would not be fair based on where they grew up alone and that's not factoring in the fact that Kyrie is a shrimp compared to Waiters.

[SpurrDurr]

So you're saying Waiters would be the one with the black eye?

Bro, Waiters would wreck that shrimp Kyrie in a fight.
Waiters is a real niqqa from North Philly (one of the hardest places in the country) while Kyrie was born in Australia and grew up in a nice part of Jersey.

A fight between the two would not be fair based on where they grew up alone and that's not factoring in the fact that Kyrie is a shrimp compared to Waiters.

Before spitting random shit, learn to read

[RedBlackAttack]

The article said he wore a mask to protect his broken nose which occurred awhile back. I'm not sure how he got the black eye though, seems to be awfully bad timing.
Which article said the broken nose happened a while back? Not the one in your OP.

I can tell you, the broken nose/black eye occurred Wednesday against the Timberwolves when Corey Brewer hit him with a very hard elbow to the face.

It was immediately following that game when Irving called the player's only meeting. He showed up during the next game at home against the Bobcats with the face guard and the visible black eye, but no one seemed to think much of it.

Then, these rumors started before the Wizards game Saturday night and, again, he wore the face guard and had the black eye. There was nothing strange about the timing of the injuries.

Secondly, everyone on the team has denied ANY physical confrontation whatsoever and all of the "insiders" are saying it's a bunch of nonsense.

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-cavaliers/cleveland-cavaliers-1.275356/cavs-103-wizards-96-ot-jason-lloyd-s-final-thoughts-1.445539


I'm almost certain if Waiters had taken a shot at Irving, he'd be suspended indefinitely by the team right now. Not only that, but word would have leaked out by someone in the know. Neither of those things have happened and Waiters laughed off the insinuations today. He's expected to play Wednesday, which is hard to imagine would be the case had he given Kyrie a black eye a few days ago.


It has been nothing but unfounded rumors when it comes to this players' only meeting last week. First, people were saying that the rest of the team was upset at Kyrie for his inconsistent play early this season. That was squashed when it was revealed that Irving actually stepped up and called the meeting in the first place.

Then, it became Kyrie vs. Dion. There has been nothing to substantiate that and everything seems to point to it not happening.


One thing I could see, but again, this is just pointless speculation... Some people had said Brown was intending to start bringing Waiters off the bench against the Bobcats and Wizards. He caught wind of it and that's when his flu-like symptoms began.

I think that is really the only plausible "problem" to come out of this whirlwind surrounding the Cavs in the last few days.

However, the organization has made it pretty clear that Dion really has been sick, even going to the doctors several times.


This all sounds like much ado about nothing.

[9erempiree]

All you kids on here speculating...:facepalm

Broken nose causes a black eye. I doubt they got into a fight.

[DukeDelonte13]

Dion gets a bad rap and i don't think i ever recall him even getting in another player's face during a game. Hard to imagine him punching a teammate, especially one that he is known to be close with. Just because he didn't grow up privileged doesn't make him an automatic a*shole.

[FireDavidKahn]

:oldlol: That black eye had nothing to do with the fact that Corey Brewer accidently hammered Kyrie in the face during the game and that Kyrie and to temporarily go back to the locker room becuase of it. Nope. Couldn't have been that.

[Nuff Said]

Mysterious black eye?

[TheReturn]

Bit off topic but damn, Beal is so much better than Waiters, it's not even close at this point..

[DukeDelonte13]

Bit off topic but damn, Beal is so much better than Waiters, it's not even close at this point..


shooting 41% after 10 games is sooooo much more impressive than shooting 39% after 10 games. :oldlol:

[RedBlackAttack]

Bit off topic but damn, Beal is so much better than Waiters, it's not even close at this point..
Um yeah... no. Not really.

Beal is averaging 20 points per game on 19 shots in 40+ minutes per.

Waiters is putting up 14 points on 13 shots per game in 28 minutes per.

Two completely different players in two completely different situations. Beal plays with a playmaking point who can't shoot. He's being asked to be the team's primary scorer.

Dion is playing alongside a scoring point trying to work more playmaking into his game. He also has Jarrett Jack and CJ Miles (who has looked great) breathing down his neck.

I actually think Dion had been playing very well prior to this illness or whatever it is. He had been the Cavs most consistent perimeter player in the previous 5 games or so. I think he had 20+ points in 4 of those games... or something close to that.

[FireDavidKahn]

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3566345/kyriesmash_medium.gif

[RedBlackAttack]

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3566345/kyriesmash_medium.gif
It's weird how the elbow came down directly on the same exact right eye/nose area that Dion Waiters would punch later that night... though no one seemed to see said confrontation and Dion faced no disciplinary action.

Ah, the "mysterious" black eye. It's origin may never be solved.

[Meticode]

I personally think the players were just getting on each other a little bit.

There's one thing I hope that doesn't happen, and that's Waiters losing his starting job. Brown wouldn't confirm he was the starter or not when they last spoke to him yesterday.

[Meticode]

Bit off topic but damn, Beal is so much better than Waiters, it's not even close at this point..
Two things to mention with this...

Why does it even f*cking matter? Beal was drafted before the Cavs had a chance to draft him.

:oldlol: at "clearly" being better.

Dion per 48 min:
22.5PPG, 40% FG%, 41% 3P%, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.8 SPG

Beal per 48 min:
24.2PPG, 41% FG%, 45% 3P%, 4.4 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.1 SPG

...grant it, he's getting a hair under 2 more points per game on 1% better shooting form the field, but you "clearly" a better is a stretch.

[RedBlackAttack]

I personally think the players were just getting on each other a little bit.

There's one thing I hope that doesn't happen, and that's Waiters losing his starting job. Brown wouldn't confirm he was the starter or not when they last spoke to him yesterday.
Agreed. Waiters is far and away the best SG on the roster and his ceiling is very high. I don't care if it takes he and Kyrie some time to work out the kinks and I actually think they have had some very nice moments this year together on the floor at the same time.

With the way Kyrie dominated Saturday night playing off the ball, why not allow Dion to be thr playmaking guard some of the time as well?

It would just be incredibly short sighted to move Dion to a 6th man role this early in the season. Let these guys work together for a couple months for god's sake.

[gyu]

Dion Waiters WILL be the best shooting guard in the league.





























































http://cdn.niketalk.com/1/16/164d263f_ibxFWGla38dwbC.gif

[G-train]

Two things to mention with this...

Why does it even f*cking matter? Beal was drafted before the Cavs had a chance to draft him.

:oldlol: at "clearly" being better.

Dion per 48 min:
22.5PPG, 40% FG%, 41% 3P%, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.8 SPG

Beal per 48 min:
24.2PPG, 41% FG%, 45% 3P%, 4.4 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.1 SPG

...grant it, he's getting a hair under 2 more points per game on 1% better shooting form the field, but you "clearly" a better is a stretch.

Personally I think per 48 is a horrible stat to try and win an argument, especially based on a handful of games. Also don't just flop out the 6 main guard cats, much more to it that that.

Beal is clearly playing better at this point. He is simply playing smarter and better offence.
Dion has had a bad start to the season, and Beal has had a good start. That's just how it is.
Even in Dion's good scoring games I wasn't that impressed.
Not to say that can't change, but right now Beal is playing better.

As for OP, I doubt its a cover up. However its a fact Dion and Boeheim had a rocky relationship, and given Dion is still a young man and given Coach Brown's personality and emphasis for defence (which is a clear weakness for Dion) I would not be surprised if there are frequent clashes happening and some implications from that.

[G-train]

I actually think Dion had been playing very well prior to this illness or whatever it is. He had been the Cavs most consistent perimeter player in the previous 5 games or so. I think he had 20+ points in 4 of those games... or something close to that.

Bucks game was okay but they lost to a terrible team.
18 against 76ers in a loss was not a good game IMO, and the 24 in the 76er win took 19 shots in 44 mins against very weak opponent, and I just wasnt that impressed. It was a decent game, filled stat sheet, but not an opinion turner for me on a bad season.

[RedBlackAttack]

Bucks game was okay but they lost to a terrible team.
18 against 76ers in a loss was not a good game IMO, and the 24 in the 76er win took 19 shots in 44 mins against very weak opponent, and I just wasnt that impressed. It was a decent game, filled stat sheet, but not an opinion turner for me on a bad season.
FYI, 19 shots is what Beal is averaging PER GAME to score 20 points, so bringing that statistic up in an attempt to dismiss a Waiters performance when comparing him to Beal seems a little disingenuous. I think Beal had something like 28 FGAs against the Cavs on Saturday. If Waiters had that kind of shot-jacking night, he'd get killed for it.

And, the Wizards have actually been worse than the Cavs so far this year.

19 FGAs per game is quite a lot for anyone. Will Beal get the "shot-jacker" label that everyone likes to apply to Dion? It seems these guys are playing with 2 sets of rules.

[Meticode]

Personally I think per 48 is a horrible stat to try and win an argument, especially based on a handful of games. Also don't just flop out the 6 main guard cats, much more to it that that.

Beal is clearly playing better at this point. He is simply playing smarter and better offence.
Dion has had a bad start to the season, and Beal has had a good start. That's just how it is.
Even in Dion's good scoring games I wasn't that impressed.
Not to say that can't change, but right now Beal is playing better.

As for OP, I doubt its a cover up. However its a fact Dion and Boeheim had a rocky relationship, and given Dion is still a young man and given Coach Brown's personality and emphasis for defence (which is a clear weakness for Dion) I would not be surprised if there are frequent clashes happening and some implications from that.
So Beal is far away the better player this year so far when overall he's shooting 1% better from the field overall and if they were getting the same amount of playing time their stats would be nearly identical?

Okay...

[Meticode]

The thing I find funny is before the draft you could've sworn the gap between Beal as Dion was this big... ][---------------------][ Andt hat Beal was ready to fill his role in the NBA...

But when it comes down to this season and actual production is actually ][-][ this big and arguably they're at the same pace right now.

[imdaman99]

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3566345/kyriesmash_medium.gif
OUCH! this is what happens when Kyrie plays D?!!!

Time for him to give that up again :oldlol:

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Dellavedova would win a Cavs cage match and you all know it.

[RedBlackAttack]

The thing I find funny is before the draft you could've sworn the gap between Beal as Dion was this big... ][---------------------][ Andt hat Beal was ready to fill his role in the NBA...

But when it comes down to this season and actual production is actually ][-][ this big and arguably they're at the same pace right now.
On top of that, Waiters -- statistically speaking -- was slightly better than Beal last season (they were incredibly close).

The biggest difference between them right now is their respective roles with their teams, imo. Beal is the Wizards' primary scorer. That's his role and he does reasonably well in it. His three-point shooting has sky-rocketed this year, which I think we all knew was coming considering his silky smooth shooting stroke.

But, even with that huge leap in accuracy from behind the arc, his overall efficiency isn't good. But, because of the Wizards' lack of scoring -- especially in their backcourt -- Beal is being given the freedom to basically shoot the ball every time he touches it. He's had 18 or more FGAs in 7 of his 9 games so far this year and he's shot 20 or more times in 4 of those.

That's a ton of shots. To give some perspective, Waiters has shot over 18 times in just 3 games this season and gone over 20 once. Could Dion get 20+ shots up virtually every night? Absolutely. Not every player in the league is even capable of getting that many shots up. Both Beal and Waiters can.

But, he doesn't have that kind of freedom, his role is totally different and -- like I said -- he has what many people think is the best backup guard in the league breathing down his neck (Jack) and CJ Miles.

I'll also mention that Dion's defense has been much better this season and he's even had a few moments of looking elite on that end, like when he shut down Joe Johnson at the end of the win over Brooklyn.


Waiters and Beal were about exactly the same in terms of production last year and I'm seeing pretty much the same thing so far this year, except Beal is playing way more minutes and has more freedom in that offense.

It seems like people are just more critical of Dion for whatever reason. Maybe it's because he was a "surprise" Top 5 pick... maybe because he plays for the Cavs and this franchise gets a lot of criticism period... maybe because Dion seems arrogant... or maybe it's just the PB effect.

I don't know, but I think saying Beal is "clearly" better right now is a serious overstatement. They're both very young and both guys have a lot of room for improvement.

[Meticode]

On top of that, Waiters -- statistically speaking -- was slightly better than Beal last season (they were incredibly close).

The biggest difference between them right now is their respective roles with their teams, imo. Beal is the Wizards' primary scorer. That's his role and he does reasonably well in it. His three-point shooting has sky-rocketed this year, which I think we all knew was coming considering his silky smooth shooting stroke.

But, even with that huge leap in accuracy from behind the arc, his overall efficiency isn't good. But, because of the Wizards' lack of scoring -- especially in their backcourt -- Beal is being given the freedom to basically shoot the ball every time he touches it. He's had 18 or more FGAs in 7 of his 9 games so far this year and he's shot 20 or more times in 4 of those.

That's a ton of shots. To give some perspective, Waiters has shot over 18 times in just 3 games this season and gone over 20 once. Could Dion get 20+ shots up virtually every night? Absolutely. Not every player in the league is even capable of getting that many shots up. Both Beal and Waiters can.

But, he doesn't have that kind of freedom, his role is totally different and -- like I said -- he has what many people think is the best backup guard in the league breathing down his neck (Jack) and CJ Miles.

I'll also mention that Dion's defense has been much better this season and he's even had a few moments of looking elite on that end, like when he shut down Joe Johnson at the end of the win over Brooklyn.


Waiters and Beal were about exactly the same in terms of production last year and I'm seeing pretty much the same thing so far this year, except Beal is playing way more minutes and has more freedom in that offense.

It seems like people are just more critical of Dion for whatever reason. Maybe it's because he was a "surprise" Top 5 pick... maybe because he plays for the Cavs and this franchise gets a lot of criticism period... maybe because Dion seems arrogant... or maybe it's just the PB effect.

I don't know, but I think saying Beal is "clearly" better right now is a serious overstatement. They're both very young and both guys have a lot of room for improvement.
Well there wasn't much to pick after Dion anyway. I think the only player I might've taken over Dion that's worked out decently now is Drumond who's putting up 12/12. He has sky-high potential. Barnes is a so-so picked and didn't show any great play until the playoffs last year. he's played okay this year averaging 10 per at 23 minutes at 51% FG%, but I'm happy with the Waiters pick so far.

But it baffles me that anyway even brings up the Beal pick to me. It's like, "What the f*ck does it even matter? He was picked before the Cavaliers had a chance at him anyway."

[brandonislegend]

I take Beal on my team over Waiters 11 times out of 10.

[RedBlackAttack]

Well there wasn't much to pick after Dion anyway. I think the only player I might've taken over Dion that's worked out decently now is Drumond who's putting up 12/12. He has sky-high potential. Barnes is a so-so picked and didn't show any great play until the playoffs last year. he's played okay this year averaging 10 per at 23 minutes at 51% FG%, but I'm happy with the Waiters pick so far.

But it baffles me that anyway even brings up the Beal pick to me. It's like, "What the f*ck does it even matter? He was picked before the Cavaliers had a chance at him anyway."
I know. Not only was their production nearly identical through their first season and were both guys First Team All-Rookie, but Beal was picked 3rd overall. :oldlol:

It's just this trend by some basketball fans to go at the Cavs and their draft picks, regardless of whether or not it actually makes sense.

Waiters has been a good pick so far. I don't see how anyone could deny that. He was one of the five best rookies last season (and was selected as such) and, again, after a little bit of a rocky start this season, he had averaged 19 points on 46% FG and 44% 3PT, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals with much improved defense in the four games prior to his recent illness.

Yet, here we are... Still dealing with a stream of posts about how bad he is, mostly by people who probably haven't even seen him play this year.


And, yeah... Drummond may end up being alongside Davis as the two best players in this draft. I'm still not totally sure on that, because his minutes are being limited for a reason, but he is a physical monster (and I actually wanted the Cavs to take him).

But, no team is ever going to take the best player in the draft every year. As long as you don't completely strike out (like Thomas Robinson, who most people said we blew it by not taking), you've done pretty well for yourself. Waiters is hardly a strikeout. In fact, he still may end up a homerun. I'd call him at least a double at this point.

(if you can follow my baseball analogy)

[RedBlackAttack]

I take Beal on my team over Waiters 11 times out of 10.
Well, that's good for Washington then, since he was taken before Waiters. Thanks for the input.

Btw, June 29, 2012:


Waiters is super nice, you guys will see & I hate the Cavs.

I guess Beal is super-duper nice. Also, doesn't your hatred of the Cavs make you biased?

[brandonislegend]

No because I love me some Kyrie, I hate the Cavs as an organization though their GM is an idiot. Anthony Bennet..what a pick rather have Kwame tbh atleast he got great low post defense.

[RedBlackAttack]

No because I love me some Kyrie, I hate the Cavs as an organization though their GM is an idiot. Anthony Bennet..what a pick rather have Kwame tbh atleast he got great low post defense.
What do you think of Tristan Thompson? You obviously liked the Waiters pick at the time. I'm not sure what has happened to change your opinion since he was First Team All-Rookie last year and has a pretty high ceiling.

Considering a lot of people were saying he should've taken Williams/Knight over Kyrie/Thompson at the time, I don't see how he can be seen as an "idiot."

Not only is Kyrie clearly better than either of those guys, so is Thompson.

So... your beef is about one pick and we're just a couple weeks into his career?

[brandonislegend]

What do you think of Tristan Thompson? You obviously liked the Waiters pick at the time. I'm not sure what has happened to change your opinion since he was First Team All-Rookie last year and has a pretty high ceiling.

Considering a lot of people were saying he should've taken Williams/Knight over Kyrie/Thompson at the time, I don't see how he can be seen as an "idiot."

Not only is Kyrie clearly better than either of those guys, so is Thompson.

So... your beef is about one pick and we're just a couple weeks into his career?

I still like Waiters just like Beal more I think Beal will be one of the best shooters in the league in a couple years, his form is just beautiful and now he is learning how to play off of it, Tristian Thompson is solid, won't be an allstar or anything but a great piece to have.

[andremiller07]

I see Waiters as a really good 6th man down the line, not sure if he fits next to Kyrie in the starting line up tbh.

[RedBlackAttack]

I still like Waiters just like Beal more, Tristian Thompson is solid, won't be an allstar or anything but a great piece to have.
Just to be clear, Tristan may not be an All Star at some point, but the leaps he's made each season have been huge.... and I don't think anything would be a surprise at this point. He's one of the hardest workers in the league. That's obvious just by looking at his growth in the last three seasons.

The guy is averaging 13+/10 this season with very good defense and a ton of room still to grow as a player. I saw a statistic through Synergy Sports that had Tristan in the top three in the entire NBA in average points per opportunity in the post.


Obviously a very good if not great pick at this stage. Again, I don't see how Grant can be labeled an "idiot" when no one saw that pick coming... and Irving was obviously a great pick... and Waiters has been solid.

Safe to say he hasn't missed at this stage. It's way too early to call Bennett a bust. His career is just beginning.

[brandonislegend]

Just to be clear, Tristan may not be an All Star at some point, but the leaps he's made each season have been huge.... and I don't think anything would be a surprise at this point. He's one of the hardest workers in the league. That's obvious just by looking at his growth in the last three seasons.

The guy is averaging 13+/10 this season with very good defense and a ton of room still to grow as a player. I saw a statistic through Synergy Sports that had Tristan as in the top three in the entire NBA in average points per opportunity in the post.


Obviously a very good if not great pick at this stage. Again, I don't see how Grant can be labeled an "idiot" when no one saw that pick coming... and Irving was obviously a great pick... and Waiters has been solid.

Safe to say he hasn't missed at this stage. It's way too early to call Bennett a bust. His career is just beginning.

TT is solid. Bennett just is a tweener and really isn't GOOD at a particular thing. To be honest it seems like he just doesn't give a fk either his personality reminds me of Bynum.

[RedBlackAttack]

TT is solid. Bennett just is a tweener and really isn't GOOD at a particular thing. To be honest it seems like he just doesn't give a fk either his personality reminds me of Bynum.
You don't think two weeks into his career and coming off an injury isn't too soon to make these kinds of pronouncements? Everyone seems in such a hurry to write this guy off. It's odd.

I think the newly lowered expectations may actually help him in the longrun.

[brandonislegend]

You don't think two weeks into his career and coming off an injury isn't too soon to make these kinds of pronouncements? Everyone seems in such a hurry to write this guy off. It's odd.

I think the newly lowered expectations may actually help him in the longrun.

I am not writing him off, he just isn't elite at doing anything on the basketball court, he is decent at everything but is small. He did well in college because he was bigger than everyone else. Similar to someone like Beasley (not how they play the game) but how they both are just not elite at a certain skill.

[RedBlackAttack]

I am not writing him off, he just isn't elite at doing anything on the basketball court, he is decent at everything but is small. He did well in college because he was bigger than everyone else. Similar to someone like Beasley (not how they play the game) but how they both are just not elite at a certain skill.
I haven't seen enough of him to make any kind of sweeping analysis regarding his game. Coming out of college, the "elite" potential for Bennett was his athleticism for his size. He's not small. He has a 7-foot-1 wingspan which is actually a couple inches longer than Kevin Love.

I don't know why everyone gets caught up in height. Wingspan/standing reach are much more important measurements than where a guy's head is. You don't contest shots or shoot the ball with your head.

That's why Dwyane Wade played like he was 6-6, not 6-4 during his prime. He had an ungodly wingspan. Bennett's measurables were very good in that respect.

We'll see... I'm not saying he'll be a great pick. I'm just saying I have no idea at this stage.

[brandonislegend]

I haven't seen enough of him to make any kind of sweeping analysis regarding his game. Coming out of college, the "elite" potential for Bennett was his athleticism for his size. He's not small. He has a 7-foot-1 wingspan which is actually a couple inches longer than Kevin Love.

Yes but Kevin Love is and always has been an elite rebounder.

[brandonislegend]

I haven't seen enough of him to make any kind of sweeping analysis regarding his game. Coming out of college, the "elite" potential for Bennett was his athleticism for his size. He's not small. He has a 7-foot-1 wingspan which is actually a couple inches longer than Kevin Love.

I don't know why everyone gets caught up in height. Wingspan/standing reach are much more important measurements than where a guy's head is. You don't contest shots or shoot the ball with your head.

That's why Dwyane Wade played like he was 6-6, not 6-4 during his prime. He had an ungodly wingspan. Bennett's measurables were very good in that respect.

Dwayne Wade is a guard, Bennett is a Power Forward it's a big difference.

CP3 is a guard and short he is able to be success because he is a great ballhandler, passer, shooter.

It's hard to be an elite Forward or Center when you are small and not elite at a certain skill simply because you have different responsibilities.

[RedBlackAttack]

Dwayne Wade is a guard, Bennett is a Power Forward it's a big difference.
Surely, you aren't insinuating that having a very long wingspan for your height is less important for a PF than a SG? I'd argue it's probably more important for a frontcourt player. Again, he's not small. Having a wingspan 7+ feet is good length for a forward.

As for the rest of your post, I just don't understand the rush to figure out where Bennett's strengths are. In college, he had elite shooting touch for a bigman and was tenacious around the basket. Also a nice handle for his size.

He has simply not played enough in the NBA to toss away these previously displayed characteristics. But, even if you are going to predict his eventual skillset on his very minimal minutes over the last two weeks, you'd have to say he's at least an elite rebounding prospect.

Prior to his latest shoulder injury, he was leading all rookies in rebounds per 48.

[brandonislegend]

Surely, you aren't insinuating that having a very long wingspan for your height is less important for a PF than a SG? I'd argue it's probably more important for a frontcourt player. Again, he's not small. Having a wingspan 7+ feet is good length for a forward.

As for the rest of your post, I just don't understand the rush to figure out where Bennett's strengths are. In college, he had elite shooting touch for a bigman and was tenacious around the basket. Also a nice handle for his size.

He has simply not played enough in the NBA to toss away these previously displayed characteristics. But, even if you are going to predict his eventual skillset on his very minimal minutes over the last two weeks, you'd have to say he's at least an elite rebounding prospect.

Prior to his latest shoulder injury, he was leading all rookies in rebounds per 48.

He did not have an ELITE shooting touch cmon...he was similar to Beasley good in college because he was simply stronger than others and more skilled but in the NBA he is undersized and has no ELITE attributes. I hope I am wrong because I don't like to wish bad on anyone but as far as I can tell he is good at some things but not great at anything.

[Droid101]

I just don't understand the rush to figure out where Bennett's strengths are.
Because he was the first ****ing pick in the draft man!

How many years does he have to "prove it" to you and to us?

[RedBlackAttack]

Because he was the first ****ing pick in the draft man!

How many years does he have to "prove it" to you and to us?
Safe to say more than 2 weeks playing 8-12 minutes a night on a team ranked last in the NBA offensively. :oldlol:

[RedBlackAttack]

He did not have an ELITE shooting touch cmon...he was similar to Beasley good in college because he was simply stronger than others and more skilled but in the NBA he is undersized and has no ELITE attributes. I hope I am wrong because I don't like to wish bad on anyone but as far as I can tell he is good at some things but not great at anything.
I said elite shooting touch for a bigman. But, whatever... No need to play semantics. Fact is, a 6-8 PF with a 7-1 wingspan shooting 38% from the three-point line as a 19 y/o freshman is pretty damn good shooting touch.

Brad Beal shot under 34% from three during his freshman year at Florida.


Bennett was an efficient scorer period... 53+% from the floor and had a TS% of 61. All as a 19 y/o. Those numbers included lots of long/midrange shots.

TBH, I'm still not at all concerned about the kid. Whether or not he ever lives up to the expectations that come with "the No. 1 pick" are really inconsequential to me.

[ProfessorMurder]

Reminds me of the story between OJ Mayo and Tony Allen a few years back, Mayo missed a game due to "bronchitis", aka a black eye after getting in a fight with TA on the plane.

I forgot about that :roll: TA is a bad ass.

[ralph_i_el]

Dwayne Wade is a guard, Bennett is a Power Forward it's a big difference.

CP3 is a guard and short he is able to be success because he is a great ballhandler, passer, shooter.

It's hard to be an elite Forward or Center when you are small and not elite at a certain skill simply because you have different responsibilities.

What he's saying is that Bennett isn't small. He's got the weight/standing reach of a taller player. Who really cares how high your head is?

For example, Elton Brand has no neck. He's like 6'8" with a 7'5" wingspan, which is why he could play center

[Straight_Ballin]

Waiters is a real niqqa from North Philly (one of the hardest places in the country)

If by hard you mean hard for someone to get off their ass and pick up a piece of trash and throw it in a trash can, then yes. Driving through north Philly at 1pm on a Thurs, I never seen such a dirty city with a bunch of people too lazy to get a job standing around hanging at gas stations, leaning against telephone poles, bullshitting while the streets were cluttered with garbage. :lol

[Sarcastic]

Waiters and Beal were both bad picks. Andre Drummond should have gone no less than #2, and all the teams that passed on him will regret it for the next decade.

[Dizzle-2k7]

ill take kwame brown over anthony bennett

[chocolatethunder]

If by hard you mean hard for someone to get off their ass and pick up a piece of trash and throw it in a trash can, then yes. Driving through north Philly at 1pm on a Thurs, I never seen such a dirty city with a bunch of people too lazy to get a job standing around hanging at gas stations, leaning against telephone poles, bullshitting while the streets were cluttered with garbage. :lol
Amen. What a bunch of bullshit, being hard cause you're from North Philly.

[devin112]

What is a nasal fracture?
Getting struck on the nose, whether by another person, a door, or the floor is not pleasant. Your nose will hurt