Dion Waiters (All-Rookie First Team)

[wuck]

I'm not able to watch the video, on mobile. Can someone summarize it? Was he really not watching film?

He said at the start of the year he hated watching himself on film. Didn't explain why, but clearly he didn't like it and he didn't make it a priority. But he has made it a priority as the season has gone along. He sees where he missed opportunities and the coaches have been helping him with shot selection. The timeframe and the motivation was not made clear, but it sounded like he now is taking far more advantage.

The whole video is worth watching.

[Jack Brickman]

I'm not able to watch the video, on mobile. Can someone summarize it? Was he really not watching film?

He never said he wasn't watching film. He said he didn't like watching himself on film. Big difference.

Basically the video boils down to:

1. He says he's finally learning to play at his own pace.
2. He's learning the value of watching game film and learning from it.
3. He's trying to be better about taking good shots and what the defense gives him.
4. He talked a bit about trying to jump into contact rather than contort to avoid it.

[KB]

I'm not able to watch the video, on mobile. Can someone summarize it? Was he really not watching film?

I took it too mean that before this season he had not learned how to watch film and understand what he was seeing/watching.

Every coach I've had made the whole team watch game film together at different points throughout a season

[Pioneer10]

And he puts up a stinker following his career game: regression to the mean.

That being said the shot selection still looks improved and he didn't put up many WTF shots.

[MGMT]

Yeah, he didn't do anything frustrating. Shots just weren't falling for him, simple as that. I would imagine completely overhauling your shooting form from head to toe must be difficult, let alone being consistent about it.

He is a bit erratic at times when he goes to finish at the rim; for example, he gets out of control and the ball doesn't even go above the rim.

None of the rookies are really consistent right now though anyway. I mean shit look at Lillard tonight how long did it take him to get his first field goal?

[TyGuy]

He lines up at the freethrow line very strangely. His shoulders aren't very square to the basket. He has his left foot way back and his right shoulder lined up but his left facing away.

[Jon]

Yeah, vets figure out how to play through games where their shot is off by finding other ways to contribute. Lillard did well in that respect by getting to the line 8 times and dishing out 8 assists.

[ClevelandOwnz]

lol dion cracks me up.

[narbar32]

Yeah, he didn't do anything frustrating. Shots just weren't falling for him, simple as that. I would imagine completely overhauling your shooting form from head to toe must be difficult, let alone being consistent about it.

He is a bit erratic at times when he goes to finish at the rim; for example, he gets out of control and the ball doesn't even go above the rim.

None of the rookies are really consistent right now though anyway. I mean shit look at Lillard tonight how long did it take him to get his first field goal?

Yeah some of his layup attempts, for a guy who can get to the bucket as effectively as he can, are just baffling. That one right-handed attempt with contact just in front of the hoop, coming from the side a bit, was a difficult shot, no doubt; but that was one where, like you said, the ball didn't even get above the rim. He had some others where the angle off the glass was just entirely off, as well. The obvious expectation/hope is that he'll improve in this area, but I guess it's just strikingly odd to me how his ability to get to the hoop -- which is thoroughly NBA caliber even now -- could be so far ahead of his ability to effectively and consistently finish once he gets there, considering the interconnectedness of those two skills. I would understand if it appeared to just be a matter of strength and dealing with contact, but his understanding of the glass and his coordination, especially with his right hand, sometimes just appear to be way off for a guy who's so good at putting himself in the position to practice and learn those nuances. That said, he also occasionally makes layups with very high degrees of difficulty and, again like you said, rookies are usually pretty damn inconsistent.

Anyways, I wonder how he'll respond to sitting the bench during crunch time last night. I could see him going off again, willing himself to the basket and to the line, and continuing to phase out the "fuck it" jumpers just to prove a point, but I could just as easily envision him sulking and trying to prove a point by actually increasing the amount of those jumpers. Whatever the result, I just hope that the "how will Dion react to ____?" -- whether it's lineup changes, coach's comments, good and bad games, getting or not getting the calls, etc -- won't become any sort of real and ongoing thing.

[Czvosec]

Someone posted the highlights of LeBron's first game, and damn if it didn't look like Dion (granted, in a the body of a 6-8 freak of nature). Fadeaway, contested jumpers, layups that were much more acrobatic than they needed to be (LeBron finished them because, again, 6-8 freak of nature).

Probably means nothing (in fact, it almost definitely does), but was interesting nonetheless.

[Jon]

Probably means nothing (in fact, it almost definitely does), but was interesting nonetheless.

That Dion is mentally still playing like an 18yr old fresh out of high school?

[CavsFaninNJ]

That Dion is mentally still playing like an 18yr old fresh out of high school?

yeah, if you go back young enough you find parallels between Luke Walton and NBA stars

[Lee]

yeah, if you go back young enough you find parallels between Luke Walton and NBA stars

For example Luke shares the same DNA and last name of a hof'er.

[Birdy89]

Future 6th Man of the Year candidate: Cavaliers G Dion Waiters

Waiters: What kind of shots does Waiters want to get? All of them. The explosive, burly scoring guard takes 17 attempts per36 minutes — a huge number for a rookie. Since the Cavs moved him to the bench nine games ago, Waiters has beaten up on second units with his big frame, totaling over 15 points in five of those contests. It may be a tad early to pigeon hole him, but turning Waiters into a scoring guard off the bench seems like a role perfectly suited for his skill and discretion.

First big off the bench: Cavaliers C Tyler Zeller, Celtics PF Jared Sullinger

Zeller: He’s just what everyone said he was — a 7-foot big man who can run the floor and shoot it a little bit. He’ll be a perfectly passable backup center for years to come.

Sullinger: Sullinger is almost like a Zach Randolph; a subpar athlete who gobbles up space and has a knack for pulling in offensive rebounds and finishing with creativity. Sullinger has been a surprisingly good defensive player as well — the Celtics are about 6 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor.

Probasketballtalk on NBC Sports had a rookie report from the first half where they kind of classified all the rookies based on their performances thus far.

Interesting to see that it is pretty much in line with the views of many on the board about the roles Waiters and Zeller are ultimately best suited to play going forward once we get out of tanking mode.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...rookie-report/

[Jon]

Hopefully we can call that the floor for those guys ... the rest depends how they develop and how much they can develop.