I am an adult. I’m a grown man, with control of my life and the ability to think through problems rationally and find common sense solutions.
Despite this, my attempts to temper my enthusiasm about RJ Hunter are failing miserably.
I’ve tried telling myself that I’ve only witnessed meaningless summer league games, and meaningless preseason games against hapless European teams and the horrible Brooklyn Nets. Myself doesn’t care what I tell it. I tell myself a lot of things about RJ Hunter aimed at taking a “wait and see” approach to him, but myself keeps flipping me off and doing a Ric Flair woo-and-strut imitation while wearing a green 28 jersey.
Myself is Donald Trump, and I’m the person saying I’d vote for him in the polls. I’m buying RJ Hunter, and I’m buying him big.
I don’t think he’s going to be rookie of the year or anything. I’m not THAT crazy. But I have seen enough to be fully confident in saying that when someone does the “we re-draft the 2015 class,” there’s no chance in HELL he makes it past the lottery. There are no numbers here to back me up yet, so I’m going to have to do the unthinkable in today’s world of blogging…
… I’m going off of gut feeling.
Hunter has consistently shown two things. First, obviously, there’s his shooting, which is NBA ready right now. The release is lighting quick… as quick as anyone in the league. We saw last night on multiple occasions that he’s so confident in that shot getting off quickly that he doesn’t even flinch when an opponent is bearing down on him trying to contest the shot. His shooting is pure and true from anywhere on the floor.
Make no mistake, Hunter is not a new generation three-point threat like Chris Bosh who can camp out in the corner and bury the shorter trey at a decent clip. Hunter is a threat to hit from above or below the break. Further, as I’ve said before, there’s no one on this team with his kind of shooting ability, so he will find time when his skills are needed. This is a good time for him to be on this Celtics team.
When a defender does run him off the line, there’s a second important aspect to his game; the ability to put the ball on the floor and make the right pass. We saw it in Las Vegas, and we’re seeing it now. When the defense presents an opening, he will find a teammate with the right pass. We saw both of these skills on display last night.
If you think I’m nuts, I’m not.
“I think it’s pretty obvious, just watching him, he really has a feel,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters in Brooklyn. “It just comes pretty natural — little passes, simple plays, being able to put the ball on the money to other people, understanding spacing, understanding where his opportunities are going to come. And he’s got a pretty good feel for the game.”
And that’s my point. This kid doesn’t look lost out there at all. Sometimes his shots won’t find their mark. Sometimes he’ll turn the ball over. He may struggle for long stretches this year as he finds the speed at which actual good teams play is unlike whatever he’s seen so far.
But that’s something he’ll get used to over time. Players can adjust to speed and timing. The skills he’s displayed, though, will carry him through that.
There are definite obstacles in his path. We all know he needs to get stronger. And we all know about questions about his defense. But even that has come along quite nicely so far. Said Stevens after the game:
“Defensively, he’s way ahead of where I thought he would be,” said head coach Brad Stevens. “He’s just long and active.”
And…
R.J. Hunter’s footwork on D is way, way better than I expected it to be at this point. Clearly working at it.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) October 15, 2015
So I’m buying the Hunter hype. I’m driving the bandwagon. I’m so on board, I might even get one of those sleeved #28 jerseys.
Well… let’s not go crazy.
