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So can we officially say we got the best player in a good draft?

Who’s the last rookie to go for 50?
 
In fact, I think Iverson might be the only rookie to ever score 50. Not sure, though.
 
NAOS said:
In fact, I think Iverson might be the only rookie to ever score 50. Not sure, though.
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Wilt had 5 games of 50+ his rookie season. Including a now hard to imagine 58-42-4 game.

Of course, Brandon Jennings dropped 50 in his rookie season a few years ago, but it was hardly a harbinger of things to come for him.

Kareem did it, Rick Barry did it, Elvin Hayes did, and Earl the Pearl did it. All of them just once.

Other than the rookies mentioned on ESPN, a few others have scored 40+ in the last 25 years. Charlie Villanueva, Jason Richardson, Elton Brand, Kerry Kittles, Shaq, Walt Williams, and most improbably, Rodrigue Beaubois in 2010.
 
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I don’t know about Tatum, but Mitchell has a complete game. If he’s not scoring, he’s contributing to the game in every other way. Typically rookies influence the game if they score as they have other liabilities.

Anyway, before the season we were talking more about his realistic outcome as (eventually) being Avery Bradley caliber. He’s already better than AB, sans a little lower FG% which I presume will go up from here on out.
 
This draft was really good. I think we got one of the best. But I think it's too early to claim that we got the best.
 
Jeditiger said:
Harpring last night: "There's not a lot of rookie in him."

Which is exactly what I was thinking a few minutes before I heard that. That was fun to watch.
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Harp is stepping up his game lately. That's something about Mitchell, he seems to make those around him better.
 
"Because I have already watched it 97 times, I would like to discuss Mitchell’s move at about the 3:00 mark of the third quarter (2:16 in the video above). He tries to run his defender into a Udoh screen. The defender, E’Twuan Moore, lunges to get over the screen, because, by that point, Mitchell had already punished the Pelicans for going under screens by dropping in a few pull-up threes. Mitchell reacts instantaneously to Moore’s lunge and spins back towards the center of the court, which is exactly where modern NBA defenses don’t want ball-handlers going. Moore is toast, but look at what Mitchell does to Cousins, there: with just one dribble to accelerate Mitchell is on top of him, and darting right into a slick Eurostep move, followed by a gorgeous scoop layup. That’s expert-level pick-and-roll ball-handling. Next time you watch Bradley Beal retreat to half court when his defender fights over a screen like that, I want you to remember Mitchell stringing together reflexive dribble moves, incredible footwork, and blazing quickness to completely eviscerate the Pelicans defense. That’s what I’ll be thinking about, while I am ramming my head into the microwave and frantically mashing down all the buttons."
 
Quin talked about Mitchell making the right reads. So not only is Mitchell a gifted athlete and shooter, he is highly intelligent and takes what he's instructed to do in practices and implements that in game situations. In his interview, Mitchell cited the 3-21 game as something he never wants to see again. Sounds embarrassed by it still and that it's a motivating factor. I think we have little to fear of him turning into a chucker.

If IT doesn't return, a Rubio to Cleveland deal makes a lot of sense for both teams.
 
I don't foresee any difficult in Mitchell hitting 46%/38% very soon in his career.

I think the big test will be how good of a passer, or playmaker he becomes. He's already destroyed most critics' expectations of him for his career (Lowe had a tweet about that), but the next question becomes-- how good? How good of a passer/playmaker will he become?

Because if he hits Harden-level passing (personally I don't think he will, Harden's extra bit of height really does make a big difference IMO) we are looking at a future superstar. Especially given the defence that he plays.

May he play long, and avoid injuries for even longer.
 
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