A Conversation on Eric Bledsoe
Me: So there has been some talk about Eric Bledsoe being moved for a while now. From what I can gather some teams believe that he could be their point guard of the future.
Kevin: The dude is a stud defensively and has shown that his offensive game can grow. While CP3 was out last season he showed some serious promise. He is a hot commodity right now.
Me: He for sure is a valuable player. I'm not sold on him as a starter though. He reminds me of Darren Collison a bit.
Kevin: Darren Collison?!?!? They are two completely different players. One can be a serious factor on defense and do a little bit of everything and the other is Darren Collison.
Me: I know, I know, but hear me out. Remember back in the 2009-10 season when Chris Paul went down with an injury and thrust Darren Collison into the starting lineup for 37 games? He showed some serious promise too. He averaged 18 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds with shooting splits of 48-42-85, per Basketball-Reference. Those are some serious numbers for any rookie. Teams weren't ready for his ability to get into the lane; because of this he was able to either get to the rim or find teammates for good shots and with gunners like Peja Stojakovic and Marcus Thorton some of those shots are bound to go in. Basically, Collison landed in the perfect situation for him to showcase his talents while the holes in his game were slightly masked. Once he got his opportunity to start in Indiana we all saw the player that Darren Collison is, a change of pace backup point that you need to hide on defense.
Kevin: Ok, Ok, you do make some pretty good points but I think you are vastly underrating Eric Bledsoe's potential and the physical tools he has at his disposal. He is on the smaller side at about 6', but his wingspan comes in at a whopping 6'7" (per DraftExpress.com). He has the quickness of Collison but I would be willing to bet he could out-jump Collison; that with an extra 10 lbs on him. His defense is only going to get better as he gets older and his offense is far from hopelessly broken. Per 36 he had averages of 15-5-5 with 2.5 steals. Throw in his elite defense and those are some very Andre Iguodalaian numbers. Yes, he shot pretty bad away from the rim, but I have faith that someone can fix that jumper of his. Oh, and he is just 22.
Me: He did shoot around league average this past season. I don't know if that should give you that much hope for his jumper though. After Darren Collison man, I just don't believe in point guards that play behind Chris Paul. I would rather have Avery Bradley than Eric Bledsoe and even then I don't want Avery Bradley running my team.
Kevin: Really now?
Me: Yup. I would say that Avery Bradley has a higher ceiling than Eric Bledsoe. I think that the best situation
for Bledsoe is pretty similar to Collison, a change of pace backup point that can play some Tony Allen-ish defense. Bledsoe would feast on some of the backup point guards in the league right now.
Kevin: That, I can agree with you on. But I think that if you give enough minutes to Bledsoe he could give you above-average point guard play. I think that is enough production from the 1 spot to at least help a team make the playoffs.
Me: Well, I guess we have to agree to disagree.
Kevin: Indeed, but we will soon see with all the moves happening around the league. And when I'm right I will rub it in your face worse than when Miguel sat on that chick at his concert.
Me: .......What?
Kevin: Look is up.
Kevin: The dude is a stud defensively and has shown that his offensive game can grow. While CP3 was out last season he showed some serious promise. He is a hot commodity right now.
Me: He for sure is a valuable player. I'm not sold on him as a starter though. He reminds me of Darren Collison a bit.
Kevin: Darren Collison?!?!? They are two completely different players. One can be a serious factor on defense and do a little bit of everything and the other is Darren Collison.
Me: I know, I know, but hear me out. Remember back in the 2009-10 season when Chris Paul went down with an injury and thrust Darren Collison into the starting lineup for 37 games? He showed some serious promise too. He averaged 18 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds with shooting splits of 48-42-85, per Basketball-Reference. Those are some serious numbers for any rookie. Teams weren't ready for his ability to get into the lane; because of this he was able to either get to the rim or find teammates for good shots and with gunners like Peja Stojakovic and Marcus Thorton some of those shots are bound to go in. Basically, Collison landed in the perfect situation for him to showcase his talents while the holes in his game were slightly masked. Once he got his opportunity to start in Indiana we all saw the player that Darren Collison is, a change of pace backup point that you need to hide on defense.
Kevin: Ok, Ok, you do make some pretty good points but I think you are vastly underrating Eric Bledsoe's potential and the physical tools he has at his disposal. He is on the smaller side at about 6', but his wingspan comes in at a whopping 6'7" (per DraftExpress.com). He has the quickness of Collison but I would be willing to bet he could out-jump Collison; that with an extra 10 lbs on him. His defense is only going to get better as he gets older and his offense is far from hopelessly broken. Per 36 he had averages of 15-5-5 with 2.5 steals. Throw in his elite defense and those are some very Andre Iguodalaian numbers. Yes, he shot pretty bad away from the rim, but I have faith that someone can fix that jumper of his. Oh, and he is just 22.
Me: He did shoot around league average this past season. I don't know if that should give you that much hope for his jumper though. After Darren Collison man, I just don't believe in point guards that play behind Chris Paul. I would rather have Avery Bradley than Eric Bledsoe and even then I don't want Avery Bradley running my team.
Kevin: Really now?
Me: Yup. I would say that Avery Bradley has a higher ceiling than Eric Bledsoe. I think that the best situation
for Bledsoe is pretty similar to Collison, a change of pace backup point that can play some Tony Allen-ish defense. Bledsoe would feast on some of the backup point guards in the league right now.
Kevin: That, I can agree with you on. But I think that if you give enough minutes to Bledsoe he could give you above-average point guard play. I think that is enough production from the 1 spot to at least help a team make the playoffs.
Me: Well, I guess we have to agree to disagree.
Kevin: Indeed, but we will soon see with all the moves happening around the league. And when I'm right I will rub it in your face worse than when Miguel sat on that chick at his concert.
Me: .......What?
Kevin: Look is up.
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