Dion Waiters

[Tornicade]

Not sure why encouraging your young SG to develop a midrange game is bad advice.

not sure either since kobe and dwayne wade take about 5 shots a game from 3-15 feet.

[JiggleIt]

Mid-range game is a lost art. If Waiters can develop one, he'll be among only a few SG's that have one. Great advice from Scott and something that prolongs guys careers well after their athletic primes, especially if they can score from the high post. (See Jordan, Kobe, Barkley to name a few)

[theSTEREO.]

Mid-range game is a lost art. If Waiters can develop one, he'll be among only a few SG's that have one. Great advice from Scott and something that prolongs guys careers well after their athletic primes, especially if they can score from the high post. (See Jordan, Kobe, Barkley to name a few)

And, his midrange game is where that fadeaway shot can be deadly for him. He's not gonna have as much space to operate in midrange, but that step back lean actually makes his shot unguardable, and he seems to hit em at a pretty good clip.

[Nathan S]

Mid-range game is a lost art. If Waiters can develop one, he'll be among only a few SG's that have one. Great advice from Scott and something that prolongs guys careers well after their athletic primes, especially if they can score from the high post. (See Jordan, Kobe, Barkley to name a few)

Sorry, but it should be common knowledge by now that for 95% of players, the midrange jumper is the least efficient shot in basketball. Dion Waiters is no exception. If you think shooting more from midrange is going to help his efficiency, you're out of your mind.

Also, you note that it's a tool to prolong a player's career beyond their athletic prime. Can't Dion put that on hold for ten years and work on other parts of his game, like finishing at the rim, that would pay major dividends right now?

[Czvosec]

Fine, the true LEAGUE AVERAGE (every player in the league) is 62.6%. Either way, my point still stands.

In any event, I'm done with this. It's pointless.

[Czvosec]

Sorry, but it should be common knowledge by now that for 95% of players, the midrange jumper is the least efficient shot in basketball. Dion Waiters is no exception. If you think shooting more from midrange is going to help his efficiency, you're out of your mind.

Also, you note that it's a tool to prolong a player's career beyond their athletic prime. Can't Dion put that on hold for ten years and work on other parts of his game, like finishing at the rim, that would pay major dividends right now?

Just because the mid-range game is the least efficient doesn't mean it should be ignored. Scott wants him to use it because it will open up other areas of the floor. Now, if Waiters starts taking a majority of his shots from 18-20 ft, then there's an issue. But you would still like him to have it in his arsenal to keep the defense honest.

[Off-Season God]

Just because the mid-range game is the least efficient doesn't mean it should be ignored. Scott wants him to use it because it will open up other areas of the floor. Now, if Waiters starts taking a majority of his shots from 18-20 ft, then there's an issue. But you would still like him to have it in his arsenal to keep the defense honest.

It's true that the midrange shot does help keep defenses honest. Otherwise, defenses will merely pile in the paint as soon as a player with no midrange game passes the three-point line because they know that the ball is coming to the hoop or passed. Having a midrange game keep a player closer to the player the whole way through the defensive process, whether that is inside or outside the 3-pt line, thus making drives even easier.

I saw Dion miss an easy lay-up tonight. I asked myself, "how on earth did he miss that?" Dion has shown some elite slashing ability, but his finishing leaves things sour in the whole picture. I hope he figures things out.

[Tornicade]

He is hearing the footsteps. probably his own. Until he figures out to tune that out. he will be inconsistent around the paint.

[MoFlo]

"Scott has encouraged Waiters to look for midrange shots so the shooting guard isn't relying solely on his outside game or is at the mercy of waiting for a referee's whistle when he drives to the basket."

Jesus, what terrible advice. If this is actually what Coach Scott is telling Dion to do I'm seriously concerned about him as a coach.

That's not terrible advice in the least bit.

He's telling Dion to not depend on the ref's whistle, that he'll get those calls once he's established his game inside there, and that he shouldn't get discouraged & fall in love with the 3 ball when he doesn't get those calls.

I'm sure he's not discourging Dion from going to the rack, but encouraging him to expand his game & look to pull up instead of going to the rack expecting calls. Not sure what the terrible advice is there.

0 turnovers in 37 minutes as one of the primary ballhandlers...

He's been very impressive taking care of the basketball, especially as you stated, being one of the primary ballhandlers on this team. He's averaging just 1.8 turnovers per game, has never had more than 3 turnovers in a game, and has just 9 turnovers in the 7 games where he's played 30+ minutes.

[Numbers Guy]

The shots will start to fall at a higher clip.. I'm damn impressed by his ability to create for himself and others. I can't fathom how we are so critical of his game, however. Has it been so long since we've had an actual SG that we don't know how to treat it?

I hope we start running him off screens.. I think he'll be deadly that way. Beal was touted as the "next Ray Allen," but to this point, Dion has actually fit the bill a lot more.. not that he will be Ray Allen, he is just the stereotype in terms of running a shooter off screens.

[Doc Shakalou]

Sorry, but it should be common knowledge by now that for 95% of players, the midrange jumper is the least efficient shot in basketball. Dion Waiters is no exception. If you think shooting more from midrange is going to help his efficiency, you're out of your mind.

Also, you note that it's a tool to prolong a player's career beyond their athletic prime. Can't Dion put that on hold for ten years and work on other parts of his game, like finishing at the rim, that would pay major dividends right now?

It's never a bad thing to add more weapons to your game. Never. If he has a consistent midrange game then defenders won't be able to sag off of him, making it easier to attack. MoFlo covered it about as well as possible. If he isn't getting calls and his shot isn't falling when he attacks, he shouldn't resort to just jacking up 3s.

Attacking the rim was what he did best at Cuse. Right now he's just adjusting to the size and athleticism of NBA bigs, it takes time. Kyrie had the same problem. It's not like layup drills will fix the issue, he just needs more experience against NBA bigs.

I still can't fathom how you think it would be a bad thing to add a midrange game.

[Czvosec]

The shots will start to fall at a higher clip.. I'm damn impressed by his ability to create for himself and others. I can't fathom how we are so critical of his game, however. Has it been so long since we've had an actual SG that we don't know how to treat it?

I hope we start running him off screens.. I think he'll be deadly that way. Beal was touted as the "next Ray Allen," but to this point, Dion has actually fit the bill a lot more.. not that he will be Ray Allen, he is just the stereotype in terms of running a shooter off screens.

They actually ran him off a few screens tonight, and I remember seeing him get a wide open jumper off one. I thought, "Wow, they should do that more often," particularly the play that Boston loved to run where Allen ran off Garnett or Bass and if the defensive big helped, he would dump it off to KG or Bass for the easy two. I can definitely see Dion doing that off screens.

I'm pretty much on the side that thinks Dion has been pretty damn good thus far (and remember, I was one of the MOST critical when he was picked. I'm on the verge of eating crow). I think the best thing about how he's played is that we've seen the groundwork for what should be a very effective 2-guard. He's shown the ability to get to the rim, he can shoot off the bounce, he's a good three point shooter, and he's a willing passer. I'm excited about him and his future here.

[NIkeL]

I think the thing i'm most impressed with is his D. I'm loving the effort and that's something you just don't see very often in a young rookie guard.

[JiggleIt]

Sorry, but it should be common knowledge by now that for 95% of players, the midrange jumper is the least efficient shot in basketball. Dion Waiters is no exception. If you think shooting more from midrange is going to help his efficiency, you're out of your mind.

Also, you note that it's a tool to prolong a player's career beyond their athletic prime. Can't Dion put that on hold for ten years and work on other parts of his game, like finishing at the rim, that would pay major dividends right now?

I don't get the vibe that you're worth my time. Others appear to be willing to spend theirs on you though, so feel free to spin in circles with them.

[Lee]

How anyone can not like what we are seeing from both rookies is beyond me. If dion can finish the year shooting 42/38 his rookie year, that would be great. Kobe his 2nd year (not first) was about a 42/34 guy, Harden 40/38. My point is typically a wing player improves his shot selection from his rookie year and his shooting goes up. Without Kyrie, he will have a tough time getting his shooting percentage above 40%, but once Kyrie is back, that should help allot.