Jalen Johnson may be better than De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish

[bird_dirt]

8 hours ago, givemesome1ce1 said:

Could a Trae-Murray-Jalen-Collins-Okongwu lineup be a beast in the NBA? I think so. 
 

also I can’t believe people were talking about Jalen being better than Hunter two years ago…that’s nuts

I’ve been beating that drum of having JJ replace Hunter in the starting lineup by mid next season. 
@NBASupes shoots me down saying he’s too slow footed to defend at the SF position or STTE. Maybe he’s right, but I still think he could hold more advantages at SF than at PF. He’ll be good at either position. 
 

[theheroatl]

1 hour ago, bird_dirt said:

I’ve been beating that drum of having JJ replace Hunter in the starting lineup by mid next season. 
@NBASupes shoots me down saying he’s too slow footed to defend at the SF position or STTE. Maybe he’s right, but I still think he could hold more advantages at SF than at PF. He’ll be good at either position. 
 

I think JJ is a more determined, aggressive player than Hunter. And that alone is a huge advantage for him starting. I'd rather him grow and make mistakes than watch Hunter.

[Gray Mule]

Jalen Johnson grabs a rebound and brings the ball up the court.  If no Hawks gets open, he continues to bring the ball up.  No one is yelling, "Oh no!  Get rid of the ball!"  Nope.  Everyone is comfortable with the ball in his hands.  And, if a teammate becomes open, he's capable of making a great pass.

If JJ was not a Hawk, we would be looking for a player like him.  He is a good offensive player and a good defensive player.  We love it when he drives in and dunks the ball, especially if it happens right after he has stolen the ball.

He's far from perfect.  No NBA player ever is.  But, dang, he's pretty good!

[JayBirdHawk]

We are seeing what Schlenk saw:

Basketball-wise, the pick makes sense for the Hawks. They love tall, lengthy forwards, which is what Johnson is at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot wingspan. What Johnson brings that John Collins and Danilo Gallinari don’t necessarily have at the power forward position is natural passing ability. Johnson has the ability to grab and go off rebounds and create. He should thrive in transition whenever he’s playing with Trae Young, and the Hawks could explore some small ball lineups with Johnson at the four and Collins at the 5 and maximize off-ball movement and playmaking.

“I see him as a combo forward,” Schlenk said. “He’s got the defensive versatility to play a lot of different positions, as you saw this year at Duke. He’s got the ball skills to play on the perimeter but the size and strength to play inside as well. We view him as kind of the modern NBA in playing both inside and outside and (having) defensive versatility.”

[kg01]

2 hours ago, bird_dirt said:

I’ve been beating that drum of having JJ replace Hunter in the starting lineup by mid next season. 
@NBASupes shoots me down saying he’s too slow footed to defend at the SF position or STTE. Maybe he’s right, but I still think he could hold more advantages at SF than at PF. He’ll be good at either position. 
 

Multiple coaches have guarded the opposing team's guard with JJ so we can trust what seasoned NBA coaches have done orrrrrr .....

[JayBirdHawk]

I was like 'here we go, don't do this' when his GLeague coach said he was a mini-Lebron.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbRFpTQM_yk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

That's lofty praise.

Just let him keep doing what he's doing filling his role.

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, bird_dirt said:

I’ve been beating that drum of having JJ replace Hunter in the starting lineup by mid next season. 
@NBASupes shoots me down saying he’s too slow footed to defend at the SF position or STTE. Maybe he’s right, but I still think he could hold more advantages at SF than at PF. He’ll be good at either position. 
 

He may not be fleet afoot, but part of that is his anticipation, flexibility, reach, natural athleticism and size.  

[NBASupes]

3 hours ago, bird_dirt said:

I’ve been beating that drum of having JJ replace Hunter in the starting lineup by mid next season. 
@NBASupes shoots me down saying he’s too slow footed to defend at the SF position or STTE. Maybe he’s right, but I still think he could hold more advantages at SF than at PF. He’ll be good at either position. 
 

He is far too slow footed offensively. He's a 4 offensively. Defensively, he's best as a 3. He fits just fine as a rotational bench player and he has gotten better with Quin. Him and Bey have a nice thing going as Bey is an offensive guard/wing and JJ is a 3 on defense. They pair well. Before Bey, JJ was having a lot of issues with pairing. 

[NBASupes]

44 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

He may not be fleet afoot, but part of that is his anticipation, flexibility, reach, natural athleticism and size.  

Offensively, to be a wing in the NBA, you got to have at least a decent first step. JJ first step is bad. He does a lot of other things athletically. But not enough to be a dependable wing on offense. His best position is a playmaking 4 Offensively. At times 5 depending on the matchup. Smoove to a lesser degree, had the same issue. JJ just handle better than Josh.

Edited April 7, 2023 by NBASupes

[JayBirdHawk]

29 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Offensively, to be a wing in the NBA, you got to have at least a decent first step. JJ first step is bad.

I disagree on both fronts. There are enough varying 'offensive wing' types in the NBA to make this statement not generally true.

JJ's handle, creation and athleticism is enough to get him to his spots and get a basket or make the right pass from the perimeter.

From his NBA draft profile:

Shows solid vision and passing skills for a forward … Showed that he’s capable of running the point  (forward) and creating mismatches in the post and on the perimeter … Versatility on the defensive end as well with the lateral quickness and strength to cover guards on switches and hold his own in the paint … Played a lot of 4 at Suke and showed the ability to defend in the post … Quickness and power on the drive creates opportunities for teammates and unlocks his elite finishing at the rim … Averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists per 40 minutes as a freshman at Duke … Excellent speed and control in transition … Finds his way to the rim with great speed and strength on straight line drives …

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I disagree on both fronts. There are enough varying 'offensive wing' types in the NBA to make this statement not generally true.

JJ's handle, creation and athleticism is enough to get him to his spots and get a basket or make the right pass from the perimeter.

From his NBA draft profile:

Shows solid vision and passing skills for a forward … Showed that he’s capable of running the point  (forward) and creating mismatches in the post and on the perimeter … Versatility on the defensive end as well with the lateral quickness and strength to cover guards on switches and hold his own in the paint … Played a lot of 4 at Suke and showed the ability to defend in the post … Quickness and power on the drive creates opportunities for teammates and unlocks his elite finishing at the rim … Averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists per 40 minutes as a freshman at Duke … Excellent speed and control in transition … Finds his way to the rim with great speed and strength on straight line drives …

Feel free to disagree. 

But if you look at exceptions to the rule when it comes to wings with a poor first step, DMC stands out but he master off ball perimeter skill set and off ball big man movement set. That's extremely difficult to do and he maybe the only one that master both. 

Other than that, the others have generally been 4s. 

Scouting reports from college are generally unreliable. Look at Bey's. It will take you he's a pretty good defender. 

[warcore]

6 hours ago, NBASupes said:

JJ just handle better than Josh.

No his brain is just better. Smoove had all the talent with the brain of an idiot. 

[hawkman]

2 hours ago, warcore said:

No his brain is just better. Smoove had all the talent with the brain of an idiot. 

JJ is Smoove with less audacity and slightly less bounce.

[NBASupes]

37 minutes ago, hawkman said:

JJ is Smoove with less audacity and slightly less bounce.

Smoove couldn't guard 3s

[Watchman]

13 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

He may not be fleet afoot, but part of that is his anticipation, flexibility, reach, natural athleticism and size.  

Yes, and I am really impressed with his passing and ball handling ability.  He is a streaky scorer and rebounder, but to me, he has been the most pleasant surprise of the season.

[JayBirdHawk]

It's the effort on some of these I love.

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Hawkmoor]

DeAndre Hunter is a baller.  The problem is how he has been utilized offensively. You have to run plays with him as the number 1 option in the low post and wing.  Jalen does have much more upside but you don't toss DeAndre Hunter into the can.  I like Jalen's passing ability and I his rebounding.  Both are exceptional.  You can run your entire offense through him as a point forward.

Edited April 12, 2023 by Hawkmoor

[AHF]

45 minutes ago, Hawkmoor said:

DeAndre Hunter is a baller.  The problem is how he has been utilized offensively. You have to run plays with him as the number 1 option in the low post and wing.  Jalen does have much more upside but you don't toss DeAndre Hunter into the can.  I like Jalen's passing ability and I his rebounding.  Both are exceptional.  You can run your entire offense through him as a point forward.

Hunter definitely should not be thrown into the garbage but I'm also totally not sold on running plays for him as the #1 option except as an occasional mixup.  I don't think he has the handles among other skills to be a #1 option.

Note that I also don't think he needs to be a number 1 option to be successful here.

[Hawkmoor]

7 minutes ago, AHF said:

Hunter definitely should not be thrown into the garbage but I'm also totally not sold on running plays for him as the #1 option except as an occasional mixup.  I don't think he has the handles among other skills to be a #1 option.

Note that I also don't think he needs to be a number 1 option to be successful here.

You are correct, he is a situational number 1 option.  Its about mismatches that you can get with him.  His strength like I've said before, is letting him catch the ball in the low post and letting him work quickly from there.  He isn't a get to the rim player.  His strength is the mid range to low post, quick 1 or 2 moves and shoot the ball.

Edited April 12, 2023 by Hawkmoor