Howard Smith – USATODAY Sports
From this point forward, Michael Carter-Williams is not a top ten point guard.
Yea, I said it.
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It’s not that I don’t buy that he is an NBA level talent that can overachieve, but let’s not go overboard. As is the case with any rookie, the extended season scares me. Consider this: Carter-Williams has played five games in the last seven months and will play 77 in the next five months. He also suited up just 66 times for the Syracuse Orange in his two collegiate seasons. I worry that he will hit the rookie wall and struggle to produce when you need him most.
Also, don’t rule out the fact that seven of his first nine games were played at home, giving him a sense of comfort and taking the impact of traveling out of the equation. Again, this is something that is hard to quantify with numbers, but it must be considered when projecting statistics moving forward. Something that isn’t so hard to describe numerically is Carter-Williams’ fast start from three point land. He has made as many three pointers one week into his NBA career (nine) as he did in his final seven weeks as a collegiate. He never had a pure stroke at Syracuse, and while I don’t doubt that he has made some subtle adjustments, expecting him to continue at such an improved rate with a deeper three point line and better defenders is simply unreasonable.
Lastly, this is still a bad basketball team. The Philadelphia 76ers were projected to win 17 games this season by Vegas (I gave them 21 wins), and the roster hasn’t changed. They are going to struggle to score points, and with the early season surge Carter-Williams is no longer going to catch defenses off guard. As the season wears on, the scouting report on the Sixers point guard will improve and coaches will begin to key on him. He’s a nice player, but he’s not going to rack up elite numbers much longer and will not be a top ten option when all is said and done.
Top ten point guards: Chris Paul, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Ricky Rubio, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams, and John Wall
Always talking fantasy sports @unSOPable23
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