It's not really a big concern for now But if he continues to play like this it will increase the odds of getting injured
Better game tonight (not that it’s a high bar). But I still didn’t like how he played, he was playing defense with really low IQ, didn’t like his attitude and how he was shaking his head at everyone not named Manon when they messed up - even though he got back door cut multiple times himself, and he is still barreling into people with no plan. Also felt he froze Carr out a bit too - hopefully it’s not envy.
Poor +/- and it seems he isn't being very good. I think we need to temper our expectations on him, it seems he is trying too hard and that can be detrimental. The athletic skills are elite but there's a lot more needed to play in the NBA: executing, consistency, good decision making, defending, play through concepts, etc. Hope we have a good plan to develop and he is definitely the type of player that will benefit from playing with Luka/AR and only doing the simple things, defend, rebound, cut and move the ball. That's it
haven't finished the whole game yet, but yeah...he's not ready. had a couple nice picks on ballhandlers, but if he didn't get those, he was basically dusted by every guard. this was weird, too, as we seemed to intentionally have him on ballhandling guards, as if we were trying that out. it failed. that's ok, as i think he's more likely to play forwards in the nba, anyway. he just sits on his heels too much when he's defending the ball out top. disappointing. with his athleticism, the coaches should have already gotten to him about stuff like that. he actually looks better on offense, imo, as he made some nice passes. a couple telegraphs for TOs, but some others where he led a guy coming off screens with a pass, etc.--more sophisticated than you'd expect given his scouting profile and previous footage. his drives are predictable but nonetheless hard to defend because he's big and fast and actually has decent ball control. i didn't see game 1, but based on general reaction to that and my own eyes on this one, he's not playing much for us this year. he has some pretty simple individual work to do that should have already been done, imo.
The staff seems to want him to do some trying to take guys off the dribble. Or else why him at the top of the key with the ball several times. Not a bad idea I guess because he needs to get his timing down instead of having to wind up trying to muscle his shots at the end. Too bad he’s not smooth and measured with his athleticism so far like Carr is.
He was better this game and that isn't saying much but progress is progress. But this is what I was saying in my earlier posts about the infastructure for the development of our young guys - do we have a shooting coach for this young man and our team? I mean, it would do him wonders if he had a decent three-point shot that teams respected. I'm not expecting him to shoot 40% over night, but sh**, is there anybody on staff working with him on his skills development?
Better in game two and only super off balance on two offensive plays. Good hands for two and a half picks(third one officially went to Mañon since he grabbed it after Adou stripped it). My best guess, if his development goes very quickly this season, is a potential difference maker off the bench by season’s end. Realistically, I think he’ll need all of this season and some of next to be a dependable rotation piece.
One of the commentators, I think the older one, made the G-Wall comp in the game. Glad to see he had a more successful game. BUT he's still got a LONG way to go. Decision making and shot making are a couple years away.
something i forgot to mention about thiero was that i thought he did a good job just making connector passes/moving the ball/not forcing the issue on offense. they ran a couple things early for carr, but nothing really for thiero, which i found strange. part of it is just that the other three guys are such non-threats that the defense can both load up and disrupt the offense.
Don't think he has taken the next step to be a solid rotational player, sadly. The problem with guys like Thiero is they're too athletic for their own good that they never had to truly develop BBIQ or skills. He can jump higher, faster, and is more explosive than almost everyone out there so why learn how to be crafty, get into spots, etc.,? He's an amazing athlete but he doesn't seem to truly understand how the game is played on a top level. I feel like Phil Handy could be of help for him here. The Lakers developmental staff doesn't seem to be doing a good job lately. Knecht, THT, JHS, and Adou... just doesn't seem like these dudes improve or take that next step. A lot of boneheaded plays. With his athleticism, he should be able to score points just off of putbacks, cuts to the basket, and outhustle everyone out there. Really hope he figures it out. He could either be a young solid player for the Lakers for the next 5 years or get cut within the next year IMO.
