Is the Future Now?
by Bryan Gutierrez on Jun 16, 2010 4:55 PM CDT
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PrintThe Dallas Mavericks enter the 2010 summer with a lot of questions that need to be answered. This seems to be the annual tradition in the off-season since the heartbreaking defeat to the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals. With the superstar crop of free agents on the market this summer, including their own star Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs have their eyes on being a big player this summer and landing a premiere free agent to compliment Dirk. Things will definitely look up for the Mavs if they are able to do that, but they don't need to look that far to find a piece to the puzzle that actually could provide a massive spark and give Dirk the help he truly needs.
The Mavs seriously need to help push the development of Roddy Beaubois. Behind Dirk, you could easily state the case that Beaubois is the most important commodity for the team with his versatility and scoring capabilities. He can shoot from nearly anywhere on the court and he can also use his speed to attack in the paint against the opposition. Beaubois ended his rookie season shooting 51.8% from the field, 40.9 from beyond the arc, and 80.8% from the free throw line. Reaching those percentages as a rookie put him in elite territory rivaling the rookie percentages of Larry Bird, Steve Nash, and Reggie Miller. When those three names are mentioned, you're discussing some of the greatest shooters the league has ever produced. There is a ton of potential with Roddy and he is seen as a critical piece for the future of the franchise.
Roddy was drafted by the Mavericks in the attempt to groom him as the point guard of the future and have Jason Kidd show Roddy B the Ins and Outs of the point guard position at the NBA level. For whatever reason, that never really had a chance to happen on the court over the course of the season. In retrospect, Roddy was heavily underused and that has to fall on the lap of Coach Rick Carlisle.
Kidd has been vocal this summer in support of Roddy. He's even discussed the idea of taking some starts off and coming off the bench to help the speed the growth process for Beaubois.
"I hope that's what we're shooting for, to develop Roddy and to give him more minutes," Kidd said. "I wouldn't be against coming off the bench some nights if it means Roddy continues to grow. The more minutes he can get now, the better it is for us, not only in the long term, but in the short term, too." DMN
The move is going to help Roddy and it would help Kidd as well. Jason isn't getting any younger and he needs to be in solid shape for the playoffs which wasn't the case for him this past season. Carlisle needs to continue grooming Beaubois for the position, while maintaining Roddy's scoring ability. Finding that balance for development and resting Kidd is a fine line and it might even sacrifice some of the regular season. It's not an easy job but that is why Rick is here. Fans are no longer interested about how the team finishes in the regular season, the Mavs need to bring results and have deeper runs in the playoffs.
Roddy is already back in Dallas working on his game trying to get better going into his second season. The transition from year one to year two is a very important time period in terms of progression for a young player and Roddy is taking every opportunity he can to get better, including playing on the Mavs Summer League Team and playing for the French National Team in the summer. Both instances will allow Beaubois to get more experience in running a squad from the point guard position.
Landing LeBron, Wade, or Joe Johnson definitely won't hurt the Mavericks chances, but they can't lose sight that they have a player in Roddy Beaubois who might be a key to the Mavericks future.
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It would be wise to start Beaubois
Not only will the he get his feet wet, but Jason Kidd can rest and be a better floor general.
Quitter's Proud United Member #11
I think part of the reason Kidd was absent in the playoffs
was that he was exhausted. letting Roddy start a few times would give him those games off without him having to take a DNP.
Those percentages are pretty outrageous
And you’d expect them to go down a bit with more PT/exposure, but if they’re serious about him being a PG and not at the 2, I would indeed hope to see him get a start here and there.
But you know how Carlisle is about playing kids (and many other NBA coaches for that matter)
They pretty much represent the fanwide Overrating of RB
Which i agree with. :>
"Mais put… Il est fou ce gars!"
Yeah
Fans do way overrate Roddy, but it doesn’t mean that he’s not talented.
by Brad Gardner on Jun 17, 2010 11:49 AM CDT up reply actions
True but...
People do overrate him, but the person in charge (Carlisle) severely underrated him. There were too many instances where he stuck to his guns and played experience over talent, i.e. Barea over Roddy.
by Bryan Gutierrez on Jun 17, 2010 2:18 PM CDT reply actions
Roddy is good, no doubt about that
But if he gets minutes like a starting rookie, he won’t put up those numbers.
The guys you mentioned(I’m not going to look it up, but im assuming) all got anywhere from 10-25 minutes a game as rookies. Roddy B barely played. Teams didn’t heavily scout him, and didn’t worry too much. If Roddy plays in the teens in minutes consistently for a month, defenses will start to notice him.
He’s great, no doubt. he can be great. But those numbers are awfully deceiving. And to compare him to Reggie Miller or Larry Bird is absolutely outrageous. That’s like Saying Sasha V is as clutch as Kobe because he just hit those 2 free throws in the finals.
~Karim!
not necessarily
and think about the talent that surrounds Roddy. It’s not as if teams can focus their defense on him once they do scout him. They can adjust, but Dirk is still the obvious # 1 and demands double teams. Beyond that, I’d still say Butler and Marion demand more attention than Roddy on a truly scouted roster.
At the same time, I’m not saying when Roddy hits 20+ mpg that he will remain a .50/.40/.80 shooter – but I am saying that it is at least feasible.
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on Jun 23, 2010 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions
No way
Marion demands more attention on a scouting report than Roddy IF he becomes a 15-20 minute a game guy. If he keeps getting under 5 minutes, then yes. But if hes a 15 minute, 8 or 9 point a game guy he’ll get more attention because Roddy is a pure scorer. more than Butler? No.
Also, thank you for proving my point that he is on a stacked roster offensive wise. That further proves my point because defense worried about him even less. You have to realize this. If Roddy goes up to scoring 10 points a game, Dallas won’t score 10 mroe than last year. other players numbers will go down. So lets say, FOR EXAMPLE ONLY! Dirk and Terry drop 3 or 4 points a game each next year to make up for Roddy’s 10 point increase. Defenses will spend a little less time on Dirk and Terry now that theyre 21 and 12 point scoreres, and more on Roddy, an explosive 10 point scorer.
By explosive i mean he can score 2 one night, and 25 the next. Similar to a guy like Odom for example. Odom gets 5 and 5 oen night for LA, and the next he gets liek 20 and 10, so teams scout and adjust to him a lot
~Karim!
by KarimTheDream on Jun 24, 2010 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions
what you're missing is Jason Kidd's stats and the ? at Center
if Kidd scores 5 ppg instead of 10 because he’s playing a little less and doesn’t have to be the shooter he was last year, there’s 5 more for Roddy; if we have a Center that still doesn’t top 8 ppg, there’s points for Roddy; I’d imagine Dirk + Marion + Butler (if he’s still here) + Terry (if he’s still here) will total around 66 ppg; add in Kidd + a Center + other bench players, and you get to about 86 ppg, maybe more. There are points to be had by Roddy, trust me.
And if Marion demands less attention, and Roddy’s getting more, he’s open for more shots. Either way, I don’t think you can assume Roddy’s efficiencies will take a dramatic drop. Maybe he won’t be a 15+ ppg scorer, but those efficiencies can remain.
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on Jun 25, 2010 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions
On the contrary
I DO think he can be a 15ppg scorer give the minutes.
I wont predict PPG stats or minutes for next year, but i will say this. If he gets enough minutes, and matures enough to be a respected player, his % will go down. Free throws will stay at 90. 3pt will drop little, maybe 38 or 37%, and his FG will sink to roughly 46% from the field. Which is still good for a slasher off guard.
I love roddy and want him to succeed. But 50/40/90 is something he cant keep up next year once he gets more minutes.
Howeve,r if his minutes up slightly, maybe to only 6 or 7 a game, he can. But if he goes to 15 or 20 minutes a game he wont. Unless of course he’s a Kidd type player and barely ever shoots. But if he gets his 20 mins a game, and plays as explosively as he did this year, always looking for his shot, hell be a 45/37/89 guy
~Karim!
by KarimTheDream on Jun 26, 2010 12:29 AM CDT up reply actions
The problem
The problem with that idea that he can be scouted, you can try to take something away but he still has enough in his arsenal to make you pay. With Rondo, you can lay off him and dare him to shoot…you can’t even think of doing that with Roddy, he’ll shoot without hesitation. He has effortless range and has a great first step, can accelerate, and finish with some versatile body english.
by Bryan Gutierrez on Jun 18, 2010 6:27 PM CDT reply actions
If your logic was correct
He would be a top 5 pick in the draft, and be scoring 25 ppg right now leading us to the finals. Of course Roddy can be stopped, thats why he gets the minutes he does. I don’t like Carslile either but i wont for one second think im smarter than he is. He knows why he did what he did, and if our players, if Jason Kidd respects him, i guess i will too.
Just because there’s no clear cut way to stop him, doesn’t mean he’s unstoppable. There are so many players that can’t be reasonably stopped. But sometimes you just find a way to force a bad game. Dirk is one of them. Guard him small, he’ll shoot. Guard him big, hell drive. Sag off, he’ll shoot, pressure tight, he’ll drive.
Like i said, he got those numbers because of lack of minutes. He’s a good player, no doubt. And as much as i love him and love Dallas im scared we’re expecting too much of this young fellow. I think he can be incredible, but all in good time. He can be a 15 point 5 assist and 2 steal guy n a few years. No doubt. In his prime, hell, he might even be a 20-8 guy. Who knows. but if we expect him to get in the teens in points and perform liek a beast this year, we’re asking too much! After all he’s a late 1st roudn pick in his second year! Slow down!
Still, i love Dallas. Don’t think i dont or that i dont want them to excel.
~Karim!
by KarimTheDream on Jun 18, 2010 6:39 PM CDT up reply actions
Minutes
He didn’t get minutes because Carlisle valued experience over talent. Roddy is the more talented player by far over Barea but JJ had been through the battles before. Carlisle has stated before that is his mantra, he always favors experience. There has to be a point where you realize enough is enough and be even more flexible. Carlisle pokes and prods pretty well but he definitely failed in that situation.
I didn’t say he was unstoppable but he definitely has a better offensive skill-set than someone like Rondo. Roddy is able to attack the lane, spot up and hit a long jumper, etc. Rondo has little confidence shooting a jumper and defenders just sag off of him.
I’m not saying I’m expecting him to just jump right out of the gate and tear up the league, but he’s going to be very productive and only get better with time. The fact that he was able to be a positive factor with little consistency in terms of game action is a very positive sign. If you don’t give him the time, you’re killing yourself and killing him.
by Bryan Gutierrez on Jun 18, 2010 7:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Rondo was good his first year
but was considered more polished; and was not anywhere NEAR as good as he is now. It took him some time. In fact, here are his rookie year stats: 41.8% shooting, 20.7% 3 point, 64.7% free throws. He never dropped 40 in a game his rookie year. I’m not sure he’s dropped 40 in his career yet.
Do me a favor – go look at all of the games Roddy played at least 20 minutes in. There are 14 – not TOO small of a sample size, and he had several more just under 20. Pretty damn good stats.
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on Jun 23, 2010 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions
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