MilesBridgesBetterThanZion 168 Posted October 16 He's locked in for 20mins as Rozier's back-up, standard waiver guy. But James Borrego started the 4th quarter last night against the Memphis Grizzlies with a lineup that included guards Terry Rozier, Devonte' Graham, and Malik Monk. They went on a 16-2 run in 3min & 45sec of game-time and this run put the game away to seal the Hornets the victory. They went 5-6 from three. 4 of the 5 made three-pointers were assisted - the lone one being Rozier's and-one. Borrego wants his offense to play at a fast pace with lots of ball movement and lots of playmakers. Rozier is big enough to slide over to the 2 on occasion, they could easily function and interchange between the 1 & 2 positions. Graham's super talented, and could potenially be in for a much larger role on this young experimental Hornets roster. Terry Rozier: 6-foot-1. Devonte' Graham: 6-foot-2. This is a small, quick, exciting back-court, Bacon likely wins the battle for minutes against Monk at the 3 , then throw in Bridges & PJ that might end up being the Hornets lineup for the majority of this season. Still a waiver guy, but i'm keeping an extra close eye on him. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hipriest69 816 Posted October 16 Nice.  I've been on Graham for a while and think he's one of the last "true sleepers" out there that most people don't know about / not high on.  But he's excellent as a last round pick / stream option for assists / steals.  I could see around 24+ min / night and lots of 3 guard lineups...and if it's a blowout?  Who do we think will be racking up garbage time stats?  Graham will likely be one of them ....honestly I'm in on most young Hornets players. In order (not counting Rozier) probably PJ, Bacon, Graham, Monk.   2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MilesBridgesBetterThanZion 168 Posted October 16 36 minutes ago, hipriest69 said: Nice.  I've been on Graham for a while and think he's one of the last "true sleepers" out there that most people don't know about / not high on.  But he's excellent as a last round pick / stream option for assists / steals.  I could see around 24+ min / night and lots of 3 guard lineups...and if it's a blowout?  Who do we think will be racking up garbage time stats?  Graham will likely be one of them ....honestly I'm in on most young Hornets players. In order (not counting Rozier) probably PJ, Bacon, Graham, Monk.   Gabage time slipped my mind, that'll be a huge factor considering these guys will be leading the charge for the best lottery position. Graham's situation is similar to Simons but there's more chance for extra minutes with the Hornets. Would you put Bridges ahead of Rozier? Ignore my username lol. Slow pre-season, and i'm very biased but thinking he'll come out very strong to start the season. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hipriest69 816 Posted October 16 (edited) Depends on format. Â For roto I would probably pass on Rozier as he'll kill your FG. Â But if you have a strong FG team you might be able to neutralize it to an extent, especially if you have a heavy big team and need counting stats. Â H2H Rozier for sure, he's guaranteed to kill it. Â Bridges I'm not so sure...he hasn't fit well preseason and he might be a better low-usage type that can get 1/1/1 on good FG, pretty much what he did last year when he got minutes at the end...but could also average 15 points and 7 rebounds or so, so maybe not so "low usage", but lower usage than Rozier. Â PJ actually seems like he might be primed to have a better season than Bridges, simply because he's a better basketball player at this point...makes better decisions, has higher IQ, is more evolved and better offensively...etc etc. Â But honestly I have no idea we'll just have to wait and see. Edited October 16 by hipriest69 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CFN 1,484 Posted October 24 (edited) Lifelong Jayhawks fan, he was the real deal in college, extremely hard worker. Wouldn't be surprised to see him have a mini breakout this year. Scooped him immediately after seeing his line so far + Rozier playing terribly. Â Dtae can play off-ball as well, he played 2Â of his 3Â years in college next to Frank Mason, and they shared ballhandling duties very successfully. Edited October 24 by CFN Typo 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johnnyapplebot 904 Posted October 24 Interesting but not a must add considering there has been zero hype on him. Hes currently owned in 0% in yahoo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hornrimmed_rambis 1,171 Posted October 24 I'm watching this performance. It's not the 3s I love, but the assists. He is playing better than Rozier. Rozier was benched for much of the 4th, and this guy was key in climbing back and ahead. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcflywalker 992 Posted October 24 Fluke? Dude is setting the wire on fire. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doomz 235 Posted October 24 1 minute ago, hornrimmed_rambis said: I'm watching this performance. It's not the 3s I love, but the assists. He is playing better than Rozier. Rozier was benched for much of the 4th, and this guy was key in climbing back and ahead.  yep. just look at the plus minus. rozier -18 graham +14 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hornrimmed_rambis 1,171 Posted October 24 He can play next to Rozier, pushing him to the 2. If he gets 25+ minutes a night, could be worth something. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MilesBridgesBetterThanZion 168 Posted October 24 Crazy, they'll run him out there with Terry & Bacon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raiiny 495 Posted October 24 Missed out on PJ can't let someone snipe this guy from me too. I think he's better than Rozier and might start over him eventually. The assists is encouraging. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hornrimmed_rambis 1,171 Posted October 24 Dropped Matisse for Graham, in case anyone is thinking about how to value him. He just looked great managing this team. Better than Rozier. If Batum will sit, they can both get decent minutes in the guard slots. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supersonics 95 Posted October 24 Dropping DSJ for him. Easy decision. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IDatDude 1,040 Posted October 24 Peace out Norman Powell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nishinga 23 Posted October 24 1 hour ago, Supersonics said: Dropping DSJ for him. Easy decision. Same. I have no clue what Fizdale is doing but I’m not staying to figure it out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johnnyapplebot 904 Posted October 24 He might turn into a 6th man gotta wait and see but all i know is that they paid rozier a lot of money so hes not going anywhere. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoop 335 Posted October 24 He had the best +/-Â of the night (+14), and Rozier had the worst (-18). Â He won't hit 6/7 threes every night and I doubt they'll give up on Rozier so quickly...but he's worth scooping up if you have a spot Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dfstout 934 Posted October 24 So the four guards that excelled tonight that a lot of teams can still pick up were:  D Graham- had best game, lotta coumters and 3s! but only 26 mins Bryn Forbes- starter, prob safest scoop,scored 20+ but low extras, can make leap Elf- low trip dub threat nightly but Fiz rotes are maddening Nunn- probably highest upside...pure walking bucket and coach loves him...  Graham had best game but is probably hardest to trust but all four are quality fun scoops...   Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lifschitz 1,949 Posted October 24 I'm on board. Color me super interested. I'm watching these highlights, I know it's the Bulls, but I'm in awe watching him, very impressive. What's more intriguing to me is a few things: 1. Look at their system in these highlights, they are pushing the pace, making quick passes, taking quick shots, it looks like a Brooklyn offense. They do little drives and stop about half way and kick back behind them to the shooter or swing, it's so similar to Atkinson's system. So many of these moves from Graham are coming within quick decisions, quick penetration and kick, quick shots, in and out dribbles right into a pull up, it's all with pace. So it's not even Graham as much as I see Charlotte suddenly being a gold mine for unexpected statistics. 2. Graham looked like their best playmaker. He's making cross court passes, inbetween passes (PJ Washington, back out to Marvin). 3. He can play next to Rozier. Rozier is an inefficient shooter on top of it. So he has a steady off the bench path to 25 min, and who knows maybe eventually they'll play a ton of small 2 guard together.  1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattshhh 40 Posted October 24 He's worth a flier, but I'm not high on him yet - his percentages last year were atrocious and he doesn't have much defensive potential. But if he outplays Rozier the next couple games, it'll be too late to get him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lifschitz 1,949 Posted October 24 9 minutes ago, mattshhh said: He's worth a flier, but I'm not high on him yet - his percentages last year were atrocious and he doesn't have much defensive potential. But if he outplays Rozier the next couple games, it'll be too late to get him.  He had a really high steals rate in college for a 6'2 PG, he averaged 1.5 steals his last three seasons. He has a near 6'7 wingspan, so that helps a little bit. Let's see if it sticks. What's appealing here is the system (fast pace is very helpful for 3 pt shooting/assist guards who can pull up as well as dish to a lot of stretch shooters like Marvin and PJ), and that it looks like he's worked really hard to improve. There's also this from Borrego post game today: https://www.thestate.com/sports/nba/article236588188.html  1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lifschitz 1,949 Posted October 24 (edited) That one play near the beginning where he splits the defense with a behind the back dribble and finishes an and1 scoop right handed layup, tell me that didn’t look like Lillard.. He said he’s been watching Lillard a lot, I’m not surprised. Edited October 24 by Lifschitz 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
