BlazerCaravan

If he only started 4 times last year, getting on him for having 7 assists only three times seems a little unfair. If he had started 41 games, then yeah... but 4? I dunno, it just seems like using statistics to paint a picture dark where logic would paint it a little lighter.

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wastro

I'll be happy with Jack as the starting point guard for all of the reasons listed beforehand.

Early on in the season, the offense just looked lost and stagnant with Jarrett at the point. But I think it was just a combination of youth and inexperience; he'll have a better grasp of things this year, and playing on a healthy ankle will help tremendously.

mook

why did he start only 4 times? because he wasn't doing a great job of running the offense, as evidenced by his assist numbers.

he averaged 20 mpg. played in 79 games. he had ample opportunity to set the world on fire with some decent assist numbers, and it didn't happen often.

that said, if you are going to have a weaker distributor at PG, it's a good idea to have a strong one at SG. I think we've got that in Roy.

Captain Chaos

Why not compare Jack to Terry Porter? The comparison is very good...we are talking at the same stages in their career here...not when TP was a vet. And Jack will probably be the Blazers starting PG. I don't buy your comment about him being a career back-up at best. He will be starting so that kind of squashes your theory or prediction.

JFizzleRaider

You can't always judge a PG in his first year in the league, especially when he was playing on a bum ankle.

If you go back and look at Payton, it took him a couple yeats to become the beast that he is, same as Nash. When Nash first came into the league, he was kind of written off.

Jack should become an above average PG when all is said and done. Nate McMillan obviously had some input in which PG he wanted to keep for the future, so I'm sure he had the best idea of who could lead this team for the years ahead

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Diable

If Jack had stayed in school and had a season pretty much like his last year at Ga. Tech he probably would have gone no lower than fifth in this year's draft since Atlanta needed a PG or a center.There's no reason not to believe he's going to get substantially better.In almost every case PGs take a year or so to become acclimated to the NBA game and even longer to play up to their potential.I always liked Jack and Portland did really great to pick him up so late in the first round.He would have been the best point guard in this year's draft by an enormous margin,but of course last year was an extraordinairily good draft for his position.

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GOD

Back when we drafted Jack I was so excited to get him. I think he will do pretty well this year, but what really excites me is how much he continues to learn. Watching him in college from one game to the next, he would really incorporate new strategies or moves often. I think he will be the type of player who in 4 years, all the sudden we realize is one of the top PG's in the game. He is a very smart player. However, the one thing I never see him turning into is a scorer. He had a good outside shot in college and was great at taking it strong to the hoop, but he just never made offence a big part of his game. He was efficient and a good distributor, better then his number of assists shows.
I think Terry Porter is an excellent comparison, and I really think he will be just as good. Not this year or next, but he will turn into one heck of a PG.

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BlazerCaravan

His assist number depend a lot on who he was playing with -- as the worst-scoring team in the NBA, it's hard to rack up the assists, and if you're coming off the bench, you might not be playing with Zach or Dixon or whoever was grinding out a few points. You can pass the ball well, be a goo distributor, but if they're tossing up brick after brick, it's all for naught.

Plus, Jack's time was also split as a 2 to Blake's or Telfair's 1. I'm not saying he'd be Magic Johnson when he starts some games and plays 24+ minutes, but I think that, with some starting-level shooters, some NBA-level scorers around him, his numbers will look better.

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Fork

A lot of why he didn't have stellar assist numbers is that he played SG at least as much, if not more, than he played PG.

Yet, he still averaged 5.5 assists per 40 minutes, just a half an assist less than Telfair, who allegedly had incredible 'court vision' whatever that is, and who played point guard exclusively. I wouldn't criticise Jack's assist numbers too much.

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mook

I never thought Telfair demonstrated great court vision either. of the two, I thought Jack ran the offense a little better because he played at a pace that the rest of the team could utilize better.

when I think of Jack, the first thing I think of is him driving toward the middle, drawing contact and still having strength to finish. that's why I like the Andre Miller comparison.

however, his assists seemed to be more of the Damon Stoudamire variety--they happen as a consequence of him handling the ball a fair amount, not because of any brilliant ability to distribute the ball.

keep in mind I'm not trying to say he's hopeless, or that he has no shot at being an elite point guard. I'm just trying to answer the question posed.

Jack, where he is right now, isn't really what I want in a starting PG.

YardApe

How can you want or not want anything on a kid who's played on a bum ankle all year and in doing so still won the starting PG spot with toughness and heart?

Jack is a stud, and he'll be even better than Porter in a few years and I have a ton of respect for Terry in saying that.

Jack is a finisher and an unselfish PG who loves to play defense. He's young and talller than any PG we've had in over a decade so let's give him a chance to lead his team.