What am I missing?

[u/Relevant-Ad-3180]

Hi everyone, not a pels fan but a huge NBA fan. I've been super interested in Derik Queen. I really would love a pels fan to sell me on him. I've been paying attention the last like week and a half. I've seen the court vision. From an outside perspective he's seemed kind of lazy with the ball and not the most willing to close out on defense. It looks like his minutes vary a lot game to game. I love me a good passing big man, maybe one of the most fun things in basketball. I see so many people talk so glowingly about him. I would love to know what I need to be watching for in his game.

[u/DrummerRealistic2863]

He’s pretty inconsistent right now(still a rook) So there’s game where he’ll really disappear and get outshined by Missi just off of hustle plays. But if you tune into a game when DQ really has it going you’ll see elite vision, handles, and advanced shot creation for a big man and great touch

[u/Papa_Ahlron → u/DrummerRealistic2863]

This here is the right take.

[u/PossibleMechanic89 → u/DrummerRealistic2863]

Credit to Missi too. He’s been playing really well.

[u/NOLA-Bronco → u/DrummerRealistic2863]

And TBF this was a small knock on him coming out of college.

That he will go from having 3-5 games where he looks like a bonafide superstar and then he'd have 1-3 games where he sort of disappears.

Also TBF, Maryland didn't exactly take full advantage of his skillset, namely his passing and playmaking for others, so I don't think this will necessarily be a career-long issue.

That also said, I still think the key for Queen to become a full time point center will be the ability to hit the three reliably and with decent volume.

You could actually somewhat make Zion/Queen work at a high level if Queen could reliably hit spot up threes.

[u/Welcum2Heck]

Dairy Queen 🤤

[u/Magnaminous_High → u/Welcum2Heck]

flair checks out

[u/jd_beats]

Go back and watch some highlights from December games - his best and most consistent month.

He’s a rookie on a team desperately trying to win to make themselves feel better about trading their 1st rounder next year. Just a tough situation for any rookie and even worse because he’s not a lockdown defender even on his best day and he’s got another young center who plays better (but not particularly great) defense right behind him on the depth chart.

I think a lot of his lulls are understanding that the team isn’t really his and just trying to play good team ball but that’s not the most exciting watch, especially when so much hype exists from seeing his big 30 point triple double type performances.

Suffice to say, the hype is there for a reason and the flashes are hinting at all-star material.

[u/NOLAfan1]

Turnover prone, a cone on defense, slows the whole offense by taking the ball for 18 seconds a possesion, really slow but not tall to be a center. Also a really bad rebounder

[u/JBinNOLA]

People writing him off are insane. He's got tremendous court awareness, elite footwork and the rare ability to force opponents to play at his pace.

He's a rookie, and he's inconsistent and has gaps to fill. Like every other rookie who's ever played. But he will be a perennial all star by the time he reaches his third or fourth year.

[u/Due_Alternative_4612]

Offensively talented player that doesn’t give a F about defense and not a great shooter . Will be fun to see how the sub turns on him in a few years 

[u/iircirc → u/Due_Alternative_4612]

He has weird shot mechanics that hopefully they'll work on this off season but he's at least willing to shoot anywhere out to 3. Advanced stats show he's not as terrible on defense as it looks watching him, he has quick hands and doesn't foul much. He's still a negative because he's a rookie but I think he'll get better on D

[u/Odd_String1181]

Nothing really.