Welcome A.J. Griffin

[NBASupes]

I would still prefer Jalen Williams but OKC stole him ahead of us so Griffin is a great constellation prize.

[Gray Mule]

We here on the Squawk believe that we have had our biggest question answered.  "Can AJ Griffin really be as good as we think that he is?"  

Having an injury past, he fell in the draft, all the way down to the Atlanta Hawk's turn.  As a further consern, we didn't get to see him in Summer League.  

Now, we give a big sigh of relief.  This teen-ager is ready for the season.  In fact, we believe he will be in our rotation.  This would be a big step for Nate.  AJ is going to be that good so don't be shocked if you see him in the regular season.  JJ too.

 

[AHF]

49 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

So the normally staid and restrained @AHF used the snarky "duh". I must have touched a nerve. My apologies.

Sorry.  It was just that the point you made in the second post was super obvious and is agreed on by everyone on the Board.  We had tons of discussion around his historically bad shooting numbers at Duke.  So I went with "duh" as in "of course that is right."

What I was trying to engage on, though, was the idea that the drafting of AJ was suggestive that Schlenk's approach to evaluating prospects or players in general has changed.  I don't see the drafting of AJ as evidence of a change in philosophy.

[JayBirdHawk]

3 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Zion tonight baby! I was watching some thing about Zion tweaking his ankle and someone was saying it’s physics and that he won’t stay healthy long term to be that superstar. Did you write that thing? Lol.

Zion out with sprained ankle.

[kg01]

3 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Zion tonight baby! I was watching some thing about Zion tweaking his ankle and someone was saying it’s physics and that he won’t stay healthy long term to be that superstar. Did you write that thing? Lol.

Eh, I don't wish injury on the guy or anyone else.  Just want to state that plainly.  But I don't forsee Zion staying healthy.

That said, this ankle sprain is probably just a routine thing.  Could've happened to anybody.

[AHF]

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

That said, this ankle sprain is probably just a routine thing.  Could've happened to anybody.

Ankle sprains can definitely happen to anyone, but it feels like something always happens to Zion.  Whether common or rare, he just seems to always be out anymore.

[Spud2nique]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Zion out with sprained ankle.

Dang! Would have been fun to see him play.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

Eh, I don't wish injury on the guy or anyone else.  Just want to state that plainly.  But I don't forsee Zion staying healthy.

That said, this ankle sprain is probably just a routine thing.  Could've happened to anybody.

Uh huh, gloat on you jinxed this kid. He’s still gonna be a star ️ despite the evil you placed on him. #rangersuarez #zionhurt #theomen #damien  #666 #ikid 

Edited October 14, 2022 by Spud2nique

[Spud2nique]

3 hours ago, NBASupes said:

I would still prefer Jalen Williams but OKC stole him ahead of us so Griffin is a great constellation prize.

I disagree here. The only other prospect in the region where we picked that would have been a Schlenk pick was Agbaji from Kansas. IMHO 

[NBASupes]

5 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

I disagree here. The only other prospect in the region where we picked that would have been a Schlenk pick was Agbaji from Kansas. IMHO 

Jalen is a beast. Do you see what he's doing with OKC

[Spud2nique]

23 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Jalen is a beast. Do you see what he's doing with OKC

I saw him live at Santa Clara, smart player with skills for sure. Nah haven’t watched him, it’s preseason. I haven’t even watched our own game vs Cavs from a couple days ago yet.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Gray Mule]

Will tonight be the night?  Remember, Orlando Magic have their own super hero rookie.  Atlanta needs to answer this.  Can AJ manage to see the floor tonight?  Nate?  Can he, please?

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

 

[benhillboy]

High time to bump this thread.  Outside of finishing around the basket and the FT attempts it provides his statistical profile is spotless.

When you say your favorite player is Jimmy Butler you already have a basketball IQ higher than 90% of your peers who probably couldn’t even explain what floor game is.  I can clearly see the steady base with his back to the basket, the constant crouched defensive stance with extended arms, the super chiseled upper body. and soft mid range touch.  I can’t contain myself if he becomes Jimmy Butler lite with an elite three  ball he’ll have a reserve AS run like Joe did.  In addition to the Jimmy tape that he already watches I want him to mix a little Khris Middleton in there.  You know have that quiet production from being in the right spot all the time that the opposition doesn’t really feel until they’ve lost the game.
 

His floor approach is so damn mature.  5 assists and 4 steals to 1 turnover.  Ungodly efficient shooting distance splits.  I don’t know what’s more impressive the  stupid 141 offensive rating that’s 27 points ahead of the team or the 111 defensive rating that’s in line with the team that featured two elites in Clint and DJ.

When you way ahead of OO for the team lead in WS per 48 you cooking kid.  If Nate don’t lock in his 15+ minutes I swear boy.

Edited November 8, 2022 by benhillboy

[dalamchops]

he'll definitely get burned a lot on D this season from the lack of exp but he is a perfect fit in the 2nd unit when trae's off the floor while the rest of the lineup is solid on D

Edited November 8, 2022 by dalamchops

[Gray Mule]

On 10/14/2022 at 12:25 PM, Gray Mule said:

We here on the Squawk believe that we have had our biggest question answered.  "Can AJ Griffin really be as good as we think that he is?"  

Having an injury past, he fell in the draft, all the way down to the Atlanta Hawk's turn.  As a further consern, we didn't get to see him in Summer League.  

Now, we give a big sigh of relief.  This teen-ager is ready for the season.  In fact, we believe he will be in our rotation.  This would be a big step for Nate.  AJ is going to be that good so don't be shocked if you see him in the regular season.  JJ too.

 

Told ya!  

[gurpilo]

I agree that the sample size is low, but Griffin is now our 3rd best player on WAR and RAPTOR stats, his offensive advanced stats are insane, best on the team, on defense he is much better than Justin Holiday and Trae. His defense is good and there is no reason to play Holiday ahead of him, he should be getting 15-20 mpg all nights. Holiday is our worst player by far.

JJ is the only player with Murray that is positive on offense and defense, he is playing great and deserves some extra minutes as well. I think Nate is doing right with front court minutes although we could use a big body for certain matchups but he really needs to stop playing Holiday and start playing Griffin.

[cam1218]

Okay, I know I’m way more positive than a lot of folks around here and don’t have the basketball acumen some of you do..but I’m very impressed with this guy. Especially coming out as somebody labeled as an athletic shooter.

He has an advanced feel for the game on the offensive end, he’s just so smooth and in control out there. He is confident and with his frame (especially at his young age) should be a plus defender if he just stays healthy. It’s way too early but I’m thrilled with what we have seen so far. Not all great players come from the lottery!

[NBASupes]

31 minutes ago, gurpilo said:

I agree that the sample size is low, but Griffin is now our 3rd best player on WAR and RAPTOR stats, his offensive advanced stats are insane, best on the team, on defense he is much better than Justin Holiday and Trae. His defense is good and there is no reason to play Holiday ahead of him, he should be getting 15-20 mpg all nights. Holiday is our worst player by far.

JJ is the only player with Murray that is positive on offense and defense, he is playing great and deserves some extra minutes as well. I think Nate is doing right with front court minutes although we could use a big body for certain matchups but he really needs to stop playing Holiday and start playing Griffin.

I always really like this poster. Very underrated with Benhillboy.