camion
Member
Defense-first guys have an uphill battle, but a transcendent defensive player does have a shot. Time will tell whether Lively can reach that level, but he has a rare combination of size, agility and court awareness - all things that can’t really be taught. His passing is way ahead of where I’d expect at his age. He needs to calm down a bit but that will come.
The next step for him is to hit NBA 3s. He has good form but that’s not a reliable part of his game as of yet. If he gains the ability to stretch the floor on offense AND defend 1-5, look out.
Even if he never expands beyond a limited scoring role, though, he has game-changing ability on defense. I’d never expect to see a defense-first guy on 1st team All-NBA but I could see him being in contention for 2nd or 3rd team. Lots of work for him still to do to get to that level, of course, but imo the potential is there.
I have a dream.
Lively with a serviceable 3 point shot.