The Official Dion Waiters Thread

[Melo15]

That is such a stupid rule.

[Arch Stanton]

With Dion returning tonight, now is an apt time for this link. A Mr. Ed Manly occassionally emails me, whenever he publishes a new article at his blog, laughingcavs.com. The post this weekend focused on Dion Waiters early season performance relative to several other NBA rookies-past.

Interestingly, the first 1035 possessions of Waiters’ career are vaguely reminiscent of Dwyane Wade, however the Heat rookie did shoot many less threes, with an associated higher frequency of shots at the rim. Regardless of anything that Jim Boeheim or Byron Scott have said though, Mr. Manly (or me) do not condone tying All-NBA / Finals MVP expectations on Dion. A few all-star games would be cool.

Also, the bottom of the article features a table that compiles information on 26 perimeter-playing rookies over their first 1035 possessions, from the last ten years. Dion’s PER languishes, but he is similar to Eric Gordon, Jason Richardson and Russ Westbrook. Going to another set of advanced stats, the Cavs-rook ranks 6th in usage, while staying above fifteen players for offensive rating, largely thanks to a miniscule turnover rate. Areas that hurt him include the third-lowest free throw rate and the worst offensive-rebounding percentage.

Give it a read. The article is thoroughly researched and offers a fairly comprehensive glimpse of how previous stars performed early in their careers.

(Spoiler alert: Kyrie possesses the highest PER, and the best offensive rating combined with second-highest usage. He was also 19, younger than at least three-quarters of the list. That’s a baaaad man.)

Pass it around:

[ottograham14]

The Cavs want Dion Waiters to be more aggressive getting to the basket.
Waiters will return to the lineup on Tuesday, but he had fallen in love with the 3-point shot before going down. Over his last six games played, he's launched a ridiculous 41 3-point attempts, and the Cavs want him to do a better job of getting to the rim. "I'm better at attacking and putting those defenders on their heels," Waiters said. We'll see if it translates to a change in his game.

http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/...l-player-news/

[Arch Stanton]

http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/...l-player-news/

The one interesting aspect of Waiters missing these shots is that our bigs are either getting the offensive rebound or air ball and turning them into points.

[Melo15]

Here's an article about Waiters and some quotes from him regarding the team and how he's approaching the 2nd half of the season: http://www.hoopsworld.com/dion-waite...tm_source=t.co

It's crazy that he's already played more games this year than he did in 2 years at Syracuse. Waiters has improved his shot selection lately and had some nice games. Hopefully throughout the 2nd half he can continue to improve and our team can get better at closing out games. I'm sure Irving, Waiters, and Thompson will be excited to get back on the court after having such a successful weekend in Houston.

[CavsYanksDuke]

This guy's such a bum.

[BornInOhio]

I feel like now is an appropriate time to mention that Dion has officially pulled his field goal percentage up to 40% and he's up to #4 on the NBA.com rookie ladder. In the month of February he's averaging 13, 3 and 3 on 52% shooting.

Way to go Dion!

[Arch Stanton]

I feel like now is an appropriate time to mention that Dion has officially pulled his field goal percentage up to 40% and he's up to #4 on the NBA.com rookie ladder. In the month of February he's averaging 13, 3 and 3 on 52% shooting.

Way to go Dion!

Yeah his PER is at 13.02 now.

[Melo15]

Love how he abused the Hornets perimeter defenders yesterday. He got to the rim whenever he wanted but he also kept his head up and made some really nice passes. The game is slowing down for him and his confidence has never faded. I'm really liking how he's progressing.

[ottograham14]

Dion Waiters shot 6-of-10 from the field for 16 points with three assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes against the Hornets on Wednesday.
The days of Waiters shooting in the 34-percent range from the field seem to be in the past. In his previous seven February games, 46 percent of his shot attempts have been at the rim and he’s made 72 percent of those attempts to help buoy his field goal shooting to 51 percent in that span. His arrow is pointing up and he should be owned in all leagues.

http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/...ll-player-news

I am loving that bolded part. Half of his game should always be at the rim and he should be converting around 3/4ths of those.

Also got to love Jon Barry, He did not hold back last night especially when the DWade comparison was brought up. Or the MVP chant, lol.

[ClevelandSpider]

http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/...ll-player-news

I am loving that bolded part. Half of his game should always be at the rim and he should be converting around 3/4ths of those.

Also got to love Jon Barry, He did not hold back last night especially when the DWade comparison was brought up. Or the MVP chant, lol.

I like when they kept mentioning we might have to breakout the "WITNESS" shirts again...wouldn't that be funny if LeBron did come back in 2014, but by that time we had a huge Kyrie poster on the building where his witness one used to be...I was impressed with TT, he looked like he was trying to hard at times, but I like his offensive game and Waiters looked like the real deal last night, have a good chance to keep it up Sat nite against a pathetic Magic team

[Arch Stanton]

Thorpe now has Waiters ranked 5th amongst rookies. Here is what he had to say about Waiters:

Feb. 15: He has a chance to be a very productive player and can make the All-Star Game if he's on a winning team. His talent is special enough to warrant All-Star consideration. He should study how Paul George evolved his game to understand the best plan going forward.

The top 10 are as follows:

1. Lillard
2. Drummond
3. Davis
4. Nicholson
5. Waiters
6. Barnes
7. Beal
8. MKG
9. Roberts
10. Henson

13. Zeller

[ottograham14]

Thorpe now has Waiters ranked 5th amongst rookies. Here is what he had to say about Waiters:



The top 10 are as follows:

1. Lillard
2. Drummond
3. Davis
4. Nicholson
5. Waiters
6. Barnes
7. Beal
8. MKG
9. Roberts
10. Henson

13. Zeller

I can only dream that one day Waiters can play defense like Paul George. I'm hoping that Thorpe was suggesting on the offensive end where I can see that development but I don't see him ever being on that level on the defensive end. But I am hoping I am wrong on that.

[Arch Stanton]

Dion Waiters now ranked third amongst Rookies!!! Behind Lillard, and Davis...

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/players/rookies/rankings

[Arch Stanton]

Thorpes analysis...

March 7: Waiters has All-Star talent. He isn't quite the athlete that Dwyane Wade is, or the shooter J.R. Smith is, but he has a lot of both of their talents with some Eric Gordon mixed in. If Waiters reaches his potential, he is someone who will be dynamic off the dribble, attacking relentlessly and earning six-plus free throws a game, at minimum. His explosion step is impressive and his body can play through contact on his way to the rim, like Wade.

Waiters just has to learn when and where to shoot, focusing on making shots and not just taking them. His slashing ability and good feel for finding teammates means he can be an excellent playmaker, and partnering with Kyrie Irving is giving him a great glimpse of how a player can balance scoring and playmaking for others. In Cleveland, he may ultimately be forced into a Jason Terry/Manu Ginobili-type of role, which would suit his talents perfectly.