Dion Waiters

[Kizzle]

Dion Waiters FG% last 30 days: 42.9%
Damian Lillard FG% last 30 days: 42.9%

Just saying.

Yep and weve all taken notice of him. You also have his PPG? I dont really care about that raw stat i look more at percenatges, but it is also good to have awareness of the raw stats too

[wuck]

From Jason Lloyd:

Cavs rookie Dion Waiters starting to understand what being a pro means

By Jason Lloyd
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published: February 7, 2013 - 05:57 PM

INDEPENDENCE: When the Cavaliers began winning with Dion Waiters in the starting lineup, coach Byron Scott stuck with it. Now after a brief stint on the bench, Waiters is entrenched again as the team’s starting shooting guard — despite posting better numbers as a reserve.

Waiters averaged 17.1 points and shot 44 percent in nine games off the bench, compared to averaging 13.5 points and shooting 37 percent as a starter. Scott believes there is a simple explanation for the discrepancy.

When he was coming off the bench, Scott immediately put the ball in his hands and told him to be aggressive. When he’s in the starting lineup, that role still belongs to Kyrie Irving.

“He probably gets into a better rhythm coming off the bench because I put the ball in his hands,” Scott said. “Off the bench, he comes out there and it’s like, ‘I’m going to give you the ball, this is what we’re going to run, put you in pick and rolls and be in attack mode.’ Whereas at the beginning of the game with Ky, I’m telling him to be in attack mode and with Dion it’s, ‘Hey, we’ll find you a way.’ Trying to create some things for him is a little bit different.”

The chemistry between Waiters and Irving has been a work in progress. It has been fluent at times and clunky at others. The Cavs are at their best when the ball is in Irving’s hands, but that means it is out of Waiters’ for the first time in his life.

“We talk to each other on the court almost every possession trying to figure out spacing, when it’s time for one another to take over,” Waiters said. “Just [try] to give him enough space to operate and do what he’s doing on the floor and vice versa for me and knowing where to be on the floor.”

Scott thinks Waiters has adapted better in recent weeks to playing without the ball. He made his first five shots and six of his first seven in the big win Wednesday over the Charlotte Bobcats. He is attacking the basket and driving the lane more frequently, which is where he is at his best.

“In the last 2-4 weeks he’s really starting to grow just from a maturity standpoint,” Scott said. “He’s really starting to understand what being a pro is all about. He’s really starting to put in the work before and after practice and it’s really starting to pay off. He’s playing with a lot more confidence right now. He understands what his role is, even as a starter.”

The Cavs believe the formula for a championship team includes two players who can create and an All-Star caliber big man. Irving has already proven capable of filling one of those slots, and the team remains confident Waiters could evolve into the other playmaker.

“When I was bringing him off the bench, it was just basically, ‘I need you to be aggressive and score,’” Scott said. “Right now he’s sharing the ball, getting to the basket and making some good decisions. I think right now he’s really starting to grow and hopefully he can continue to play this way for the rest of the season.”

[Kizzle]

From Jason Lloyd:

Cavs rookie Dion Waiters starting to understand what being a pro means

By Jason Lloyd
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published: February 7, 2013 - 05:57 PM

INDEPENDENCE: When the Cavaliers began winning with Dion Waiters in the starting lineup, coach Byron Scott stuck with it. Now after a brief stint on the bench, Waiters is entrenched again as the team’s starting shooting guard — despite posting better numbers as a reserve.

Waiters averaged 17.1 points and shot 44 percent in nine games off the bench, compared to averaging 13.5 points and shooting 37 percent as a starter. Scott believes there is a simple explanation for the discrepancy.

When he was coming off the bench, Scott immediately put the ball in his hands and told him to be aggressive. When he’s in the starting lineup, that role still belongs to Kyrie Irving.

“He probably gets into a better rhythm coming off the bench because I put the ball in his hands,” Scott said. “Off the bench, he comes out there and it’s like, ‘I’m going to give you the ball, this is what we’re going to run, put you in pick and rolls and be in attack mode.’ Whereas at the beginning of the game with Ky, I’m telling him to be in attack mode and with Dion it’s, ‘Hey, we’ll find you a way.’ Trying to create some things for him is a little bit different.”

The chemistry between Waiters and Irving has been a work in progress. It has been fluent at times and clunky at others. The Cavs are at their best when the ball is in Irving’s hands, but that means it is out of Waiters’ for the first time in his life.

“We talk to each other on the court almost every possession trying to figure out spacing, when it’s time for one another to take over,” Waiters said. “Just [try] to give him enough space to operate and do what he’s doing on the floor and vice versa for me and knowing where to be on the floor.”

Scott thinks Waiters has adapted better in recent weeks to playing without the ball. He made his first five shots and six of his first seven in the big win Wednesday over the Charlotte Bobcats. He is attacking the basket and driving the lane more frequently, which is where he is at his best.

“In the last 2-4 weeks he’s really starting to grow just from a maturity standpoint,” Scott said. “He’s really starting to understand what being a pro is all about. He’s really starting to put in the work before and after practice and it’s really starting to pay off. He’s playing with a lot more confidence right now. He understands what his role is, even as a starter.”

The Cavs believe the formula for a championship team includes two players who can create and an All-Star caliber big man. Irving has already proven capable of filling one of those slots, and the team remains confident Waiters could evolve into the other playmaker.

“When I was bringing him off the bench, it was just basically, ‘I need you to be aggressive and score,’” Scott said. “Right now he’s sharing the ball, getting to the basket and making some good decisions. I think right now he’s really starting to grow and hopefully he can continue to play this way for the rest of the season.”

Hopefully it gets to a point where they dont have to CHOOSE between them who will take over. Theyll KNOW. Also they should definitley start developing some chemistry. If theyve been practicing and communicating correctly they should get to a point where they know where each other like the ball and how. I play wit my friend and he knows I love slashing and catching and shooting. He'll tailor his game to me and me to him......That chemistry cant be forced tho, it has to come with practice and off court communication

[godfather]

Dion is shooting 38% from the field. I don't care how many points he is scoring a game, or what rank he is in terms of rookie scoring. He needs to be more efficient or else he is just another volume shooting guard.

I have been impressed this season with his play-making abilities though.

He's shooting close to what Westbrook shot his rookie year. The expectations people have of rookies is mind boggling.

[godfather]

If Dion played as many minutes, and had the green light to do whatever he wants out there, would he put up 18 ppg like Lillard? I think he would.

You're really painting yourself in a corner by comparing him to Lillard.

It's okay to be optimistic, but let's be truthful. He's not been as good as Lillard.

[Rob]

You're really painting yourself in a corner by comparing him to Lilliard.

It's okay to be optimistic, but let's be truthful. He's not been as good as Lilliard.

No he hasn't been, but he's also not a bust.

[CavsFan_23]

Thats not the point tho. Yes he can and WILL drop 18PPG and MORE in his career, but at what % will he do it at? Damien is at 18PPG now at 42%. Not world beating but definitly respectable for a rookie PG. Dion is at 14PPG 38%. Imo for a rookie being asked to do what hes being asked to do thats also respectable.

Imo Damien is overrated af..and people don't give Dion nearly the amount of respect he deserves. Just look who Damien has on his team...an all star at the 4, a knockdown shooter at the sg, a borderline max-player at the 3 (i dont think so, but GMs do), and JJ Hickson who is pretty good at the center. You cant afford to really "focus" all your attention on Damien because EVERYONE else in the starting 5 is a threat to score. In Dion's case you honestly only have to defend our guards, and more recently Tristan, so it's much harder for our main guys to score. This is also why I really hate the Kyrie and Damien comparison because Kyrie had NO one around him last year to take away defensive attention and he ended up putting up better numbers than Damien is putting up now.

And Idk about you guys but if we could re-draft this class I would personally still take Dion...even after seeing the development of Drummond. Dion's gonna be good.

[Ren]

Small bit about him from MSB:

Spending 10 games coming off the bench, Waiters learned how to direct the Cavaliers with the ball in his hand. But since he replaced C.J. Miles when the veteran fell ill seven games ago, Waiters has learned to play with Irving directing the play and the result has been more positive than expected.

"Right now he's sharing the ball, getting to the basket and making some good decisions," Scott said. "Right now he's in a good place. I'm pretty happy with where he is."

Waiters, too, can sense the difference both offensively and defensively.

"We're sharing the ball," he said. "We're vibing out there. We have each others' backs out there."

Also liked this quote..

Waiters will have a chance to build more team camaraderie with Irving and Zeller during the Rising Stars game, though there likely will be trash-talking aimed at Thompson. Waiters said he's been aiming most of his talk toward Irving since arriving in Cleveland.

"We trash-talk if it's raining or snowing," Waiters said. "We trash talk about everything."

[MattyFos.]

Haven't gotten much of a chance to watch the Cavs this year. Tough while being on 3rd shift. But I'm starting to make it a priority. What I hate most about Waiters now is what I love most about him in 3 years. The kid will shoot, shoot and shoot. He doesn't get timid when his shot isn't falling. He keeps on chucking. Trying to shoot himself out of a slump is a great mindset for a player. He's a hound.

[Bob Loblaw]

Yep and weve all taken notice of him. You also have his PPG? I dont really care about that raw stat i look more at percenatges, but it is also good to have awareness of the raw stats too

basketball-reference.com allows you to click on games in a player's game log to select a range of games. Here is his line over the last 30 days:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...-sum:pgl_basic

For those that can't get to that link, he's averaging 14.6 pts on .429/.306/.786 shooting in the last 30 days.

[pinoycavsfan]

[Ruken]

It's always funny to watch these type of debates, because you can always tell who actually watches the games and who just randomly checks a box score or a players stats once in a while.

This

He is playing a very different style now and his mechanics are different. He needs to continue to work at it though, I'd like to see his three point shot take a jump this offseason. While he is at his best driving he'll get looks when Kyrie drives so he needs to be more reliable out there.

[JiggleIt]

Going to the basket, the dude does look eerily similar to Wade. I get the comparisons. They don't share much else in common, but Waiters could learn a lot from Wade's game 8-10 feet out in particular. In that series alone, there were three baskets 7-10 foot baskets that I'd love for him to replicate 4-5 times a game. If the dude can put it together like this almost every game next year, the 6th man talk will go away.

I love trash-talkers. I've always wanted to know what's being said on the floor at the NBA level.

[Damage]

Going to the basket, the dude does look eerily similar to Wade. I get the comparisons. They don't share much else in common, but Waiters could learn a lot from Wade's game 8-10 feet out in particular. In that series alone, there were three baskets 7-10 foot baskets that I'd love for him to replicate 4-5 times a game. If the dude can put it together like this almost every game next year, the 6th man talk will go away.

I love trash-talkers. I've always wanted to know what's being said on the floor at the NBA level.

No you don't - You'd go all epilepsy

[kidduck]

Dion came into the NBA with a cocky confidence. It was easy to see he had a partial sense of entitlement. After all, he didn't even have to perform any of the workout jazz for any team before the draft.

All this was shaken once he experienced the speed of the NBA game and the skill level of the players. His prior bag of tricks wasn't fooling many NBA ballers. Then he showed a tendency to bark at the refs, never a good idea for a rookie. Combine these things and he ends up in Scotts' unofficial doghouse, coming off the bench.

He had to be thinking 'WTF?'

I give him credit for rolling with it and showing a willingness to work on the weaknesses in his floor game and attitude. The extra practice time shows Dion is hungry to raise his game. Let's hope we look at his game in another month and easily see consistent solid performances, cutting down on the stinkers. I'm wanting to see the effort game after game.

I also think he wouldn't mind getting his game up to a level where he starts getting some of the national love being thrown at Kyrie.


It will be interesting to see what kind of performance he has in the Rising Stars game.

Go Cavs!