After his disaster class yesterday, I’ve seen a lot of reactionary comments that he’s not the guy or will never be the guy. But all I’m trying to say is that this is basically his SECOND year. How was Ant in his second year? How is Paolo? And who were their teammates and how much spacing did they get compared to Cade now?
Image Cade on the Magic right now instead of Paolo who has Franz, Suggs, Fultz on the side. Look at Paolo’s first 4 games this year and how much spacing he gets yet he still had those stats. Now imagine if Cade had Kat or Gobert and actual vets who can score like Ant has. Ant is currently making his massive leap in his FOURTH year. He doesn’t have teammates like Hayes, Stew, etc.
Looking at Cade’s games this years, I would honestly say that he’s doing FINE for being his second year only with the team he has. He’s exhausted forced to play 38-40 minutes a night. We’re overreacting because we’ve been losing for years and since Cade has been out for a year we FORGOT that this is his second year. Also, having 3+ crucial teammates out for several of his games doesn’t help either.
He’s not a heliocentric point guard like Luka. When he and the team get this he will improve in all facets. He should play off ball and receive it on the go and not in isolation or regular pick and role. In a stagnant offense he’s very bad. Even for a second year. As his career progresses he can be more on-ball. Right now everyone’s expecting him to score 23-25 points a night so he is forcing shots.
This is not a learning curve issue. His speed won’t get better. His handle is loose because of his coordination level not just bad decisions. He fumbles balls in tight spaces that highschool point guards don’t. Because he’s not a point guard. The reason he plays worse in the 2nd half or 4th quarter is not fatigue. Other teams adjust while he doesn’t. He gets doubled because it’s effective. I believe his shot will get better with proper shot selection and his turnovers will go down if he is more of a scorer on the go who can pass and not a player that has to create in a stagnant offense.