Player Grades: Mr. JJ Redick

[Ned Ryerson]

quote:

Fans Perspective: A lot of Magic fans love JJ Redick. There are often "We want JJ" chants at games and Redick jerseys are still seen around town from time to time. Without a doubt the guy still remains one of the most polarizing athletes today. It seems like you either love him or hate him. Some love his shot and his arrogance confidence. Others despise his pretty boy hair gel and confidence arrogance. Regardless, there is always something to talk about when it comes to Mr. Redick.

 

Expectations for 2010: With the emergence of rookie Courtney Lee, and the great play of Pietrus during the Cleveland and LA series, what does that leave for JJ? He is in the last year of his contact which might be attractive for teams trying to dump salary for the 2010 free agent class. At the same time, JJ proved this last season that he can produce and contribute, unlike other college stars like Adam Morrison. I expect JJ to be back next season and for him to have a similar season to the 08-09 campaign. He will have several DNP-CD along with a few spot starts and about 12 minutes off the bench. He will not be pleased with his playing time and will leave following next season.

 

Grade: Although JJ played the best basketball of his NBA career this last season, he has still been a disappointment for most Magic fans. Rookie Courtney Lee outplayed him on both offense and defense. Courtney shot 40% from 3 point land compared to JJ's 37%... And that is where JJ should dominate. Also, Courtney out shot Redick from the floor by 6%. That is a big difference. For someone who was as celebrated as Mr. Redick was out of college, and for as high as the Magic drafted him (11th) three seasons ago, he must be graded accordingly. C-

 

For the rest...

 

http://thepunsarestartingtobor...rades-jj-redick.html

 

At first I thought a C- is a bit harsh considering his D against Ray Allen and all, but when you think about all his hype I guess the C- is alright. Thoughts?

[Captain Hi-Top]

How many games a year can he guard Allen?

[ball junkie]

You can't deny the job J.J. did on Ray Allen...what I think is hilarious is that now the Celtics are trying to trade him, lol...

 

Anybody care to translate what message the Celtics and Danny Ainge are trying to convey?...Does this mean they think Ray Allen is washed up since he got held in check by our defensive stopper?

[Ned Ryerson]

quote:

Anybody care to translate what message the Celtics and Danny Ainge are trying to convey?...Does this mean they think Ray Allen is washed up since he got held in check by our defensive stopper?

 

I would think it is not as much JJ as Allen's obvious fatigue at that point in the season... Dude is getting old.

[Berto]

PEC will end you.

[Fultz4thewin]

JJ's start to the season is a Z-. started off the season 0-10 and didnt hit his first basket until the 11th game of the season. The rest of november was filled with several bad shooting performances such as Nov. 22 against houston, nov 29th against Indiana, and Nov 27th against washington.

 

Despite playing significantly less minutes, Redick's december was a lot better. In the 8 games he played in his shooting never went below 40%

 

January he continued to improve his shooting % and had a string of 4 double digit scoring games.

 

February was a step back for him as he had a terrible game every other time he got on the court. March and April continued that trend.

 

 

He really stepped up in the playoffs. game 6 @philly and the first 2 games @boston may have been his best 3 game streak of the season.

 

Overall I think C- is fair for him. His start to the season sucked but he played well in streaks. 39% shooting is something he really needs to improve on.

[SmackDaddy]

A C- is a bit harsh. A plain old C is more accurate.

 

When grading JJ you have to take into consideration what the expectations were of JJ THIS SEASON. Sure, he was drafted #11. Sure he was one of the most celebrated players ever to come out of the NCAA.

 

However, after watching him flounder during the first two seasons of his pro career, it is only fair that all the hoopla from three years ago be forgotten.

 

JJ outperformed the expectations of every single Magic fan with a few exceptions, PEC, Andie, and Jackjl or whatever dudes username is.

 

For those of us that live on planet earth, JJ just had as good a season or better than any of us would have expected. The reason why he only gets a C from me however, is that the expectations were pretty low to begin the season, and he still only posted an average season, even with lowered expectations.

[SmackDaddy]

Ahhh crap. The fact that there were 6 replies and 66 views at the time I made my post above only further proves that JJ is the anti-christ.

 

Forget anything nice I said about the guy and hide your children. We are all doomed!

[Emory889]

quote:

Originally posted by WPMagic:

quote:

Anybody care to translate what message the Celtics and Danny Ainge are trying to convey?...Does this mean they think Ray Allen is washed up since he got held in check by our defensive stopper?

 

I would think it is not as much JJ as Allen's obvious fatigue at that point in the season... Dude is getting old.

 

Agreed. Ray Allen is almost 34 and is owed something like 18 million next season. I would assume that has something to do with the Celtics looking to deal him.

[TreyTime]

I can't wait til PEC sees this...

[I love my PTSD.]

I give JJ a C. There are two converging factors.

 

First, JJ did play good defense this year and was a pretty good stand in when Lee got hurt.

 

Second, it seems like a lot of peoples expectations have leveled to something more reasonable. Those who thought he would absolutely stink the place up have learned that he has some real value. And those who thought he would be a perennial all-star if he just got a chance actuall saw him get his chance, and only have moderate success.

 

While he is still cheap, he is a good guy to have on the bench, and has proven he can step it up. I think his potential has a bigger upside than downside at this point.

[135BPM+]

I am a big Redick supporter and I feel that a C- is a very fair assessment of his overall performance in the regular season. He was given a shot at playing time and did not produce. However, up until this season, I would have to place him in the D- range. He was not even worthy of minutes up until this year. That being said, I would have to give him a B- for his performance throughout the overall playoffs when he was on the floor and given minutes. Other than Pietus, I think he gave the most consistent effort game in and game out during the playoffs for the minutes he was given. Overall he showed marked improvement on the defensive end and his shooting % did start to rise. Next year will be a telling season for Mr. Redick as a NBA player. I think he learned last season and thoughout this season what he has to improve on and bring when he is given the minutes to be able to stay on the floor and Stan did give him a few chances at big mins. during crunch time situations during the platoffs. A lot is made of the so-called JJ fans on this board of which I am definitely one. To me its about what tha NBA markets itself as being and that is entertainment. Redick is very entertaining to watch because you never know when he may go off for 3-4 3-pointers in a row. I can't wait to see Ricky Rubio from Spain play next year because he is so entertaining to watch. The same with Blake Griffin coming in. As a magic fan, I want us to win but lets just say I'd love to win with Redick on the floor. Hopefuuly JJ will contnue to improve and his fans will get to see alot of him next year. The bottom line is he is improving and his grade is finally on the rise.

 

GO MAGIC!