De'Andre Hunter

[mrhonline]

How would you rate his season so far? His potential for growth?

I found some interesting statistical comparisons for his rookie season (via BBREF):

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	MP	PER	TS%	3PAr	FTr	ORB%	DRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%
1	Dillon Brooks	2017-18	22	82	2350	9.8	.531	.342	.215	2.4	10.5	9.3	1.6	0.7	12.8	18.5
2	De'Andre Hunter	2019-20	22	54	1704	8.7	.520	.434	.197	1.9	11.9	8.4	1.1	0.7	11.9	17.7
3	Wesley Johnson	2010-11	23	79	2069	10.2	.491	.424	.135	2.7	10.4	11.0	1.4	2.0	11.6	16.8

[sturt]

Hate to say how I really feel, cautious about jinxing him. But suffice it to say I thought he'd do good in his first season, and he's slightly exceeded what I anticipated.

[benhillboy]

I rock with him and Cam heavy although I prefer a 330-ish 3 point attempt rate to a .275-ish FT rate for both.  They’re at around .440 and .215 respectively.  They slash too well to be jacking up unless it’s rhythm or corner.  I like both guys’ feel for the game and they don’t mind putting their bodies on the line for the squad.  
 

Hunter has supposedly played 40% of his minutes at the 2 and 4: I’d prefer that to be around 20%.  Out of the Core 5 per The Ref only Cam is 1.1 points away from a positive on/off net, he should be there in a couple.  With this remaining schedule strength I expect them to cut a fool.  Only 4 games but Ded is +10 on with a +19 net.  I cannot for the life of me figure why the Spurs let him go and have since signed frontcourt guys who don’t play outside the sheet at all.

[Buzzard]

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

I rock with him and Cam heavy although I prefer a 330-ish 3 point attempt rate to a .275-ish FT rate for both.  They’re at around .440 and .215 respectively.  They slash too well to be jacking up unless it’s rhythm or corner.  I like both guys’ feel for the game and they don’t mind putting their bodies on the line for the squad.  
 

Hunter has supposedly played 40% of his minutes at the 2 and 4: I’d prefer that to be around 20%.  Out of the Core 5 per The Ref only Cam is 1.1 points away from a positive on/off net, he should be there in a couple.  With this remaining schedule strength I expect them to cut a fool.  Only 4 games but Ded is +10 on with a +19 net.  I cannot for the life of me figure why the Spurs let him go and have since signed frontcourt guys who don’t play outside the sheet at all.

Hunter's rebounding rate has really improved and I think that has a lot to do with being played correctly at SF. I did not expect him to be Leonard like in his first season but I did expect 5.0 rebounds a game.

Over his last 10 games he is at 4.9 while his season average is 4.0.

Edited February 22, 2020 by Buzzard

[Lurker]

I honestly thought he had the ability to do a little better as a rookie, but given your circumstances of what's happened to the team this year, I would say overall he's met expectations for me. 

I think you've seen the player that he's likely to be in the NBA a lot already. Guy that takes and makes what are mostly high percentage shots for him through catch and shoot 3 pointers, straight line drives, cutting, posting up smalls if they're on him, and occasionally trying to attack for himself (but not often) or pulling up for mid range shots. Then on the defensive end, usually knows where he's supposed to be and is fundamentally sound, etc.

But I'm also on the side that I don't think he has the highest upside. I think he's better than 41.3% FG/35.3% 3PT/75.9% FT and better than Taurean Prince (as a rookie for sure and honestly you could question now), but I think my expectations on what he could do would probably stop at something like averaging 16-18 PPG on 46-48% FG. I'm expecting/hoping that he comes back more consistent for 20/21.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Spud2nique]

I like our core.

[Vol4ever]

I like Hunter alot.  I think his upside will show next year.  

[hazer]

Played about how I expected, good for a rook, more like a 2nd year guy. My expectations: will average 17 pts, 6 reb, 38% 3pt, and start receiving some 2nd-Team All-NBA Defensive chatter by the end of his 3rd season. Change my mind

[Peoriabird]

3 hours ago, hazer said:

Played about how I expected, good for a rook, more like a 2nd year guy. My expectations: will average 17 pts, 6 reb, 38% 3pt, and start receiving some 2nd-Team All-NBA Defensive chatter by the end of his 3rd season.

Someone mentioned that he hasn't done enough to be consider a starter because he doesn't put up superstar potential  numbers like Young and Collins.  That is just Horse sh-t.  I agree with everything you said above.

[AHF]

1 hour ago, Peoriabird said:

Someone mentioned that he hasn't done enough to be consider a starter because he doesn't put up superstar potential like numbers Young and Collins.  That is just Horse sh-t.  I agree with everything you said above.

He has not cemented his position because he hasn't been average starter level good yet except on a one-off basis.  It has nothing to do with not putting up superstar numbers. 

On offense, he shot 41% from the floor.  Needs to improve to lock in the starter role.

As a passer, he put up 1.8 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game.  Needs to improve there.

As a rebounder, he was 11th on the team in rebounds per minute.  That is behind Goodwin, Graham, Bembry, and Turner and only slightly ahead of our SGs.  Needs to improve there.

On defense, he had a very solid year for a rookie and definitely has a nice floor.  Hasn't shown to be a stud on that end yet but looks very solid with potential for more.

None of that is a big surprise for a rookie - especially one who was transitioning from college PF to NBA SF.  But he hasn't locked that starting SF role down yet even though absent a significant roster move we should all go ahead and write it down in pen that he will be starting next year.  (I don't mind crossing out an occasional miss on the crossword puzzle in pen but feel free to stick to pencil if you do.)

[JTB]

25 minutes ago, AHF said:

He has not cemented his position because he hasn't been average starter level good yet except on a one-off basis.  It has nothing to do with not putting up superstar numbers. 

On offense, he shot 41% from the floor.  Needs to improve to lock in the starter role.

As a passer, he put up 1.8 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game.  Needs to improve there.

As a rebounder, he was 11th on the team in rebounds per minute.  That is behind Goodwin, Graham, Bembry, and Turner and only slightly ahead of our SGs.  Needs to improve there.

On defense, he had a very solid year for a rookie and definitely has a nice floor.  Hasn't shown to be a stud on that end yet but looks very solid with potential for more.

None of that is a big surprise for a rookie - especially one who was transitioning from college PF to NBA SF.  But he hasn't locked that starting SF role down yet even though absent a significant roster move we should all go ahead and write it down in pen that he will be starting next year.  (I don't mind crossing out an occasional miss on the crossword puzzle in pen but feel free to stick to pencil if you do.)

None of this is unfair to be honest . But a few things...

Just in general I think all of our young core is better from the floor than what they did this season outside of Collins and Capela who hasn’t played yet. Even trae can shoot better percentage wise from the floor than he did.

Rebounding.... I am very sure that hunter can crash the boards better and I’m sure he will with the addition of capela. I’m not going to get on him too much in this area because we can’t disregard the horrible horrible boxing out from majority of our bigs prior to the trade deadline. I just don’t feel like hunter or even cam has gotten a true chance to show how good they can be on the glass just yet.
 

Defensively I think Hunter was very solid and has 2nd team all defense potential one day. Oddly the thought was he was better at defense than cam and after seeing cam on display this season I am fully convinced that going forward cam will hands down be our best perimeter defender and he will be a first team all defensive player throughout his prime as long as he stays this committed! It would be cool to see us draft Okoro to go with Cam and Hunter! I think the healthy competition and commitment between these 3 in practice along with dedmon and capela would change the culture defensively (in a good way that is).

 

i can agree that he hasn’t locked SF position down to a certain extent! That’s not to say he won’t but it depends on what the team does this summer . For example if we draft Edwards , Edwards won’t start right away but if he lives up to the hype his ceiling is higher than Hunters and Cams ceiling is higher then Hunter’s with Cam being able to play both SG and SF. If Edwards were to prove his worth as a starting player by his second season and cam continue to grow that’s one scenario where hunter will probably find himself on the bench . BUT that’s just my opinion. Also I read that LP and staff are still deciding what position is best for hunter in this nba era ...so there’s that part as well why we may not be a sure lock at the 3 going forward.

[gurpilo]

Guys you realize that Hunter was below average on defense on his rookie class and of course below average on the league right? All the metrics show he was not a good defender this year, I agree that can be expected on a rookie but to consider him  2nd all defense team I think is a huge reach.

he was not good on defense, he was not good on offense, plain and simple, can he improve? Of course but honestly I expected much more specially in defense.

[Peoriabird]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

He has not cemented his position because he hasn't been average starter level good yet except on a one-off basis.  It has nothing to do with not putting up superstar numbers. 

On offense, he shot 41% from the floor.  Needs to improve to lock in the starter role.

Blame your boy LP for the poor shooting percentages on this team.  None of our wings shot over 41% including K. Huerter and we know he can shoot.  Even Trae Young shot 41% his rookie season and we know he can shoot.

As a passer, he put up 1.8 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game.  Needs to improve there.

Wasn't asked to play this role in that terrible LP offense but you're right, he can and will improve as a playmaker his 2nd year

As a rebounder, he was 11th on the team in rebounds per minute.  That is behind Goodwin, Graham, Bembry, and Turner and only slightly ahead of our SGs.  Needs to improve there.

I hate to sound like a broke record but those small line up didn't put anyone in the best position to rebound the ball well especially when Hunter played a lot of power forward against guys that were strong and longer.

On defense, he had a very solid year for a rookie and definitely has a nice floor.  Hasn't shown to be a stud on that end yet but looks very solid with potential for more.

Did we even have a defensive scheme?

 

 

[Spud2nique]

6 minutes ago, gurpilo said:

2nd all defense team I think is a huge reach.

Hazer said at the end of his third year and to me that’s right on target. The dude has a wingspan and gets after it. I think he’s gonna be a force. I can’t put a ceiling on him.

Hes gonna also be our corner 3 guy and he’s gonna start nailing those consistently. His form is good too mechanically speaking, perhaps a wee bit slow but good form and release.

[JTB]

13 minutes ago, gurpilo said:

Guys you realize that Hunter was below average on defense on his rookie class and of course below average on the league right? All the metrics show he was not a good defender this year, I agree that can be expected on a rookie but to consider him  2nd all defense team I think is a huge reach.

he was not good on defense, he was not good on offense, plain and simple, can he improve? Of course but honestly I expected much more specially in defense.

We are talking in his prime years. 

[Buzzard]

On 2/23/2020 at 12:03 AM, Lurker said:

I honestly thought he had the ability to do a little better as a rookie, but given your circumstances of what's happened to the team this year, I would say overall he's met expectations for me. 

I think you've seen the player that he's likely to be in the NBA a lot already. Guy that takes and makes what are mostly high percentage shots for him through catch and shoot 3 pointers, straight line drives, cutting, posting up smalls if they're on him, and occasionally trying to attack for himself (but not often) or pulling up for mid range shots. Then on the defensive end, usually knows where he's supposed to be and is fundamentally sound, etc.

But I'm also on the side that I don't think he has the highest upside. I think he's better than 41.3% FG/35.3% 3PT/75.9% FT and better than Taurean Prince (as a rookie for sure and honestly you could question now), but I think my expectations on what he could do would probably stop at something like averaging 16-18 PPG on 46-48% FG. I'm expecting/hoping that he comes back more consistent for 20/21.

I blame Pierce for DeAndre's worse than expected rookie season and think Hunter has done about as well as can be expected for a rookie who is only 6'7" and 235 pounds. When you have a coach that would rather play guys under 6'8" at PF you will be a weak rebounding team. There is no getting around this unless they are Barkley or Rodman.

Its a stupid scheme against 90% of the teams in the league and puts players like Hunter and Vince in bad positions on both ends of the floor. All the hype about the Rockets has now turned to rumblings about being built wrong. It looks like they have no chance to compete for a title despite having two MVPs on their team and are 9-6 since Capela was traded on Feb. 4th.

Collins at PF and anyone else at Center ( Len, Bruno, Jones, Dedmon ) until they all fouled out should have been the mindset. Its almost like LP is in his  college days and he thinks 6'6" and 6'7" is tall enough for a power forward.

I don't think its a coincidence that Hunters rebounding numbers have gone up over the last month with Hunter playing more SF. It is no coincidence at all. Collins as well, who pretty much crushed February in ever statistical category.

Its really pretty simple. It does not matter if you Center is garbage when your starting PF is putting up 25.6 and 10.4 and your rookie SF is putting up 13.8 and 6.8. Play the garbage Center(s) and put your better players in the best position to succeed. That is how you win games.

Those numbers btw are the February spilts for Collins and Hunter.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Buzzard

[Lurker]

51 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

I blame Pierce for DeAndre's worse than expected rookie season and think Hunter has done about as well as can be expected for a rookie who is only 6'7" and 235 pounds. When you have a coach that would rather play guys under 6'8" at PF you will be a weak rebounding team. There is no getting around this unless they are Barkley or Rodman.

I don't think that had much, if anything to do with it. I'm going to take Supes side again here somewhat. The ideal spot for Hunter is SF but as of his rookie season he was really a combo forward/small ball 4 that was learning how to play 3 since he was a small ball 4 and not 3 at Virginia.

I've explained my side but I will again. I think playing more, especially on back to backs early, fatigued him, and Pierce admitted giving him too much responsibility with PNR (the former is something I've said before, the latter isn't). I think both has a lot more to do with it. He started looking better, period, when his responsibilities were lessened. Not when your true center was in, just when the responsibilities were lessened.

[hazer]

In a Trés/Cam/Dre/JC/Capela lineup, Dre will get his 17/6-7/4/38%/2nd-Team All-D like nimbers in year 3. Those are Butler-esque stats. Heard it here. I called Thabo to Hawks before his name was even in the conversation, the trade back to 5 with Dallas for Trés weeks before the draft, Isaac being a baller, JC averaging 20/10 this year, and the Bruno selection, so bank on those nimbers. I also said Bebe was the next coming of Noah, but that's neither here nor there

Edited April 9, 2020 by hazer

[TheNorthCydeRises]

5 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

He has not cemented his position because he hasn't been average starter level good yet except on a one-off basis.  It has nothing to do with not putting up superstar numbers. 

On offense, he shot 41% from the floor.  Needs to improve to lock in the starter role.

Blame your boy LP for the poor shooting percentages on this team.  None of our wings shot over 41% including K. Huerter and we know he can shoot.  Even Trae Young shot 41% his rookie season and we know he can shoot.

He had trouble finishing in the paint when he couldn't get all the way to the rim.  Shot only 31.6% from 5ft - 9ft and had 12 of the 57 shots he took from that area, blocked.

Watch the video of these shot attempts from this area and tell me what you see.

https://tinyurl.com/ud7bfzw

 

5 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

As a passer, he put up 1.8 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game.  Needs to improve there.

Wasn't asked to play this role in that terrible LP offense but you're right, he can and will improve as a playmaker his 2nd year

Not so sure about this.  He's never shown the ability to be a playmaker.  He's always been a put the ball on the floor and shoot the ball type of guy.  Once he puts the ball on the floor, it's not going to be passed to anyone. He's in straight Jabari Parker mode, and is going to shoot that ball.  The big exception is that he doesn't draw fouls on his shot.  That's a big reason why his offensive metrics are so poor.

 

5 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

As a rebounder, he was 11th on the team in rebounds per minute.  That is behind Goodwin, Graham, Bembry, and Turner and only slightly ahead of our SGs.  Needs to improve there.

I hate to sound like a broke record but those small line up didn't put anyone in the best position to rebound the ball well especially when Hunter played a lot of power forward against guys that were strong and longer.

My biggest pet peeve with LP.  No doubt that those small lineups didn't do him any good from a rebounding standpoint.  All of them seemed a little bit overwhelmed at times, when it came to playing more physical against bigger guys.  And truth be told, Hunter was even a slightly below average rebounder at best in college.  That is NOT a strength of his game.  Not even by a long shot.  He showed a little sign that he could go get that ball after the All-Star break.  But that's not what he does.

 

5 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

On defense, he had a very solid year for a rookie and definitely has a nice floor.  Hasn't shown to be a stud on that end yet but looks very solid with potential for more.

Did we even have a defensive scheme?

 

I think he was OK defensively.  It doesn't help when you're being asked to guard people who are bigger and taller than you.  Overall, I think he was decent.