He had 32 points tonight, but what really impressed me was, not only did he take a mere 13 shots, but he also shot 20 free throws (of which he made 18)
. Obviously, he's improved as a shooter and scorer, but tonight's line is definitely Pierce-like with his slashing ability (but no, I'm not comparing him to Pierce. They're two very different players, but in terms of getting to the line, they're quite similar, imo). The question is, though, is he only playing this way because it's a contract year, like Jeff Green appears to be doing, or has he become an elite player now? His stats have improved each season, but this is quite the quantum leap. Thoughts? Also, I think that gms should maybe start to consider that seniors can still improve once they make it to the league, instead of just dismissing them as 'finished products.' Just look at Wesley Matthews, Butler, Henry Sims, and Chandler Parsons. One first round pick (Butler), one second round pick (Parsons), and two undrafted players (Matthews and Sims) all taken in the past 5 years have become good to excellent players on good teams. Well, except for Sims, although that's not his fault.