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     Saarang Kurra Bewarse Username: Saarang Post Number: 1401 Registered: 04-2015 Posted From: 66.25.5.81 Rating: N/A |
"At age 17 and 18, he was tearing Europe up, and that is not easy," says Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni, who has two decades of experience as a player and coach in Italy. "You don't do that against men as a kid. I didn't know how good he'd be in the NBA, but whatever they were saying, he's the real deal." "Perhaps there was an idea that there was a ceiling on him," Kings coach Dave Joerger said before Sunday's game against the Mavs. (It was a comment he clarified the next day, saying it was not intended as a shot at the Sacramento front office that chose to pick Marvin Bagley III over Doncic.) "I don't see it, unfortunately for us. But he's great for them and he's great for our league." One high-ranking team executive projected Doncic to be similar to Hedo Turkoglu, a playmaking forward who struggled to defend and create his own shot. The perception in that case was that Doncic would be good enough to be a foundation piece on a contender but not a centerpiece. The reality: Doncic's numbers now (18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game) compare favorably to the best season of Turkoglu's career. The only NBA rookies to average an 18-6-4 line over the past four decades? Grant Hill, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. And it has never been done by a teenager. The only teen forwards to average at least 18 points per game are Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kevin Durant -- and they all had true shooting percentages significantly lower than Doncic's .558. Doncic has a chance to be the only teen other than Anthony to lead a playoff team in scoring -- and doing so with Dallas fighting for a spot in the loaded Western Conference.  |