OJ Mayo’s athletism

here’s the thing with OJ, he is a very good athlete overall. But after watching him play at USC and in the league, I don’t care what his combine numbers are, he is not a very explosive athlete in my book. He often settles for runners and floaters in the lane. He doesn’t have that blow by you speed or break neck change of pace that the elite athletes have. He often setles for tough contested shots becuase of this.

I’m not sayin he is a bad athlete in comparison with most the league, but when you discuss what might keep him back from being a truly great all-star, the athleticism is the one problem I see.

Yes he tested better then alot of people at the combine but it still doesnt mean hes a better athlete? People tested better then derozan this year and we all know is was a better athlete then almost everyone in this draft. Let me ask you if you wanted to pick either rose or mayo for a dunk contest who would you pick? If you wanted a running back which one would you choose? Who are you more scared of when they come down the lane rose or mayo? All the answers are Rose! The combine really has nothing to do with athletic testing its your athletic ability and how u use it in your game. You can compare mayo to james harden, they both were rated as 2nd tier athletes going into the combine then boom they have crazy numbers, but we’ve all watched their game you never hear mayo/harden with the infatic slam? They only use it when they have too, thats why there going to age well and the top tier athletes usually have trouble later in their careers

eric gordon’s athleticism > OJ’s athleticism

proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok1M19A3avU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htefheXxfnU&feature=related

No he is not the most athletic player in the league, nor is he close to Rose in athleticism. Rose is a top tier athlete and maybe the most explosive pg. But OJ is an above average athletic he just has a smooth game that relies on skills more than athleticism.

proof- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58cE6VPULDI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKn3hdBxrmQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx9mwc1gZ-8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bdOnNXTtb4&feature=related

OJ Mayo is an average athlete at the NBA level. He isn’t very explosive at all. His 1st step is mediocre. When has OJ Mayo ever made a play by using strictly athleticism? All good-great level athletes in the NBA have done that (not that its good to develop that habit or anything…). He’s a good player because he has a very high skill set with the ball and he’s a very good defender. Yes, he has a high vertical leap and he tested well at the combine but that doesn’t make you an elite athlete. Anyone that saw him play last season can see that he doesn’t always find the way to the rim when he tries, which “elite” or even above average athletes with his ball-handling skills never have trouble with. So I don’t think he’s anyhting more than average athletically at the NBA level.

As a fan of the Grizz I may be a little biased but I think that OJ overall is a good but not great athlete. The issue with that is that as a two guard he is undersized and usually undersized guards are extremely explosive and athletic (D-Wade, Monta Ellis). I think that OJ is a smooth player. He uses his skills and BB IQ to play instead of relying purely on athleticism. But, I also believe that he is much faster than he is given credit for. Now he isn’t as quick as Wade, CP3, or Derrick Rose at all but he is quick. He isn’t slow I just think he plays the game the way he sees it. Another thing about OJ is that I’ve seen him split double teams with a quick burst of speed that would even shock the hell out of me. And, also in the open court OJ Mayo is also pretty fast as well. I think that when compared to other players his height he doesn’t seem as fast or athletic as people think he should be. Overall I think that he will be a player that will make the people of Memphis proud. He is much more technical than a person like Rose, LBJ, and Wade.

By the way Clippers I like Eric Gordon but, at the same time I honestly believe that you are a OJ Mayo hater. I’ve even seen you post a blog talking about how OJ Mayo isn’t a good player and how Eric Gordon is way better.

proof: http://www.nbadraft.net/node/5306

westbrook has actually shown more explosion then either rose or mayo to be honest with you..mayo is explosive and a above average athlete but its just not shown because he settles for jumpers..the same was the case with ray allen..in his prime he was a very good athlete but since his jumper was so nice he didnt show it as much as say a wade. when you have a jumper like that you tend to not show youre jumping ability as much but when youre jumper is not that good then you look like a better athlete…look at the guys people name as great athletes most of them dont have a consistant jumper…rose,rondo,westbrook…you dont see people gushing about cp3 pr dwill because they can hit that jumper consistantly even though both are pretty good athletes

mayo=brandon roy

people used to always say he was an average athlete until he started catching alleys with his head over the rim in the all star game

mayo can do the same thing, youtube provides proof.

his style of play limits his athleticism simple as that… hes a spot up shooter…

Brandon Roy’s head over the rim? Dude, you post some wacky shit. Roy has improved his athleticism since entering the league, he’s now a good athlete who can put a sneaky dunk on someone, but he’s not coming down the lane with the defender thinking he’s crushing it. OJ Mayo’s a decent athlete at best, and I’d bet a million fucking dollars his combine numbers were inflated. Joe Alexander has vids tapping his head against the rim and they put his max vert at 38′ I believe. By the math his running vert is AT LEAST 41″ and change. On the other side, they listed Mayo’s [and Roy’s] vert at 40″ and while Roy can definitely get up better than Mayo, neither of those guys is what you’d consider highlight reels. A true 40″ is Vince Carter, Jason Richardson type shit. Don’t believe everything you read.

Mayo is a good NBA athlete overall… I think he’s slightly above average.

You’re right about Roy having underrated athleticism, but Mayo is nowhere near equal to him. Roy is a great, not elite, NBA athlete. Mayo is slightly above average. That’s all.

why would mayos numbers be inflated?..his usa camp numbers were 40inch also..like someone said his style of play makes him seem to not be as good as a athlete as he is.

In my opinion, his syle of play is dictated by his athleticism, not the other way around. The reason he settles for jumpshots is because he doesn’t possess the explosion, change of pace/direction and finishing ability to get to and finish at the rim. That’s why Mayo doesn’t get to the free-throw line very often either.

i cant agree with that because alot of players that have good jumpers tend to stick with that …ray allen could jump out the gym but he stuck mainley to his jumper because it was so good then add to that that its easier and less physical demanding to make a jumper instead of driving to the hole.when players jumpers get better they start driving to the hole less..when kobe was still in his prime he started to rely more on his jumper and less on his driving. its like how some people say a player cant go left but if hes scoring all the time or most of the time going right and no one can stop it then he figures why go left…oj scores 20 plus by not goin gto the hole much or trying to jump over players so he figures why do it. ive seen a couple of times ( one in particular) where he went blew past some one rose up above a 6’10 guy and dunked on him. so its not like he cant do it but thats just not his game

since you don’t look at things before you comment and obviously know nothing about brandon roy here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QB2ZM1KF1c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsMAAWQoepg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxxEhLZf_Oo

jpostaboy..the problem is just because someone doesnt see a player do it alot they think tht the player cant do it…like when someone doesnt see a player dunk alot they figure they cant do it much or arent athletic enough to do it…one point is dwill ..alot of people think he cant go bang on people but he can he ‘s said he just doesnt because he likes to save his legs for the fourth quarter.

q hodges I know what exactly what you’re saying, mayo or roy aren’t the dwayne wade type, where they are going to drive and smash on someone, they are more of the midrange pull -up jumper type. he’ saying i post some wacky stuff and i provided him with facts lol

I hear what you’re saying, but I think the reason Mayo settles for the jumpshot, unlike Allen and Kobe, is because he just doesn’t have the athleticism to consistently get to the rim and FINISH. Allen and Kobe take a lot of jumpshots, but they’ve already shown on a consistent basis the ability to get to the rim and finish, especially Kobe. Being able to absorb that contact and finish is major. I just don’t think Mayo has enough of that ability to do it consistently. Can he do it sometimes? Yes, of course. Can he do it consistently though? I don’t think so. The NBA regular season is 82 games. That’s why he’s just an slightly above average athlete in my book. In my opinion, you can’t always rely on the jumpshot. When your jumpshot isn’t falling, you have to be able to get to the rim and to the free-throw line.

and if i remember correctly I posted actual stats from the nba draft combine. and none of the people anyone was saying were the highest vertical

and that includes me and you.

I’m sorry, Mayo isn’t a great athlete. Whether he saves him legs for the 4th quarter or not lol. Deron Williams shows a 1st step, change of direction ability, and straight line speed that Mayo doesnt have. And Deron Williams isn’t a great athlete either. He’s a great player, but just because he has good dunks running full speed at the rim doesnt mean you can’t be considered an average athlete by NBA standards.

oh no q hodges, i’m not saying he’s a classic kobe, ray allen type of athlete, i’m just saying,it’s there. He’s above average, but people try to make it seem as if he’s mark madsen or rasho nesterovic as stephen a. smith would say a petrified puppy lol

I think it’s the whole body language and training thing.

like i did long jump in track , with no training i could jump a 20 with the right body form and training i got almost 22, it’s like potential, you just have to unlock it. It’s there he just has to learn how to unlock.

but I see what you’re saying and I agree q hodges.

i agree on that.

im starting to wonder how many peopel have actually watched a bunch of mayo games..ive watched 30 this year and he showed that he could go past players and he does have the athletisim to drive past and dunk on people..hes just so comfrotable shooting the jumper that he doesnt do it. ive seengames where hes driven past and dunked on people so no ones gonna convience me that he cant do it because hes already shown before that he can do it and he can do it on a consistant bases but thats not his game..his game is pull up jumpers and midrange. he does need to drive more but any grizz fan that has watched the games you see that he gets a half step in front of guys on the drive then takes a hard dribble and pulls up or takes that step back and pulls up instead of driving to the whole. does he rely on his jumper too much yes but he only finished his first year in the leauge where he was dominate at times and very good at other times so im not too worried abou thim getting to the lane because eventually he will learn to do that more. a player with the work ethic he has will eventually learn to get better at things that he isnt that good at right now

eactly…so saying he doesnt have the above average athletisim makes no sense..makes more sense to say he cant sustain it for a long time like some other players

UGH, you’re not getting it. It has nothing to do with his conditiong level, it has to do with he’s not athletic enough to pull that shit off. He can get by people but it’s more with ball fakes and a shifty handle, not burst or explosiveness. he facts are he’s just an average NBA athlete. Anyone who disputes that has their blinders on.

If you don’t think that OJ Mayo is not a good player like most of you people talking S### about him then just say it and let it be. Because, I know most of you don’t like him anyway.

Exactly! He has a very strong build and good handles, but I see him get his drive cut off alot for someone with all of that working for him. That means he’s not that good an athlete, aka average for NBA standards, as we keep saying over and over again lol..

No one doubts that he can get to the rim on the break and dunk, he’s an NBA shooting guard. That’s almost expected when your 6’4″ and you have a head of steam. Getting to the rim in transition and getting to the rim off the dribble in a half-court set (which you play in most of the time in the NBA), are 2 totally different things whether you believe it or not. And Mayo hasn’t been nearly as effective in college or the NBA at getting to the rim off the dribble as he was when he was in HS. He almost always needs a pick or screen to get to the basket. Think about it:

He has a strong frame. He has good handles. What else do you need to get to the rim? And finish? Quickness and/or athleticism. He doesn’t get to the rim much, as evidenced by his lack of free throws and his poor ability to finish at the rim. He’s reliant of his shot because he can’t get to the rim consistently or very effectively. Face the music…

ehhh. i think saying he can’t get to the rim is absurd, why does everyone think he cant get to the rim? Because he isn’t blazing fast? Neither is Paul Pierce or Deron Williams but they get into the lane at will.

see i cant agrue with iggy or white because ive actully seen him blow by people before with first step and not just ball fakes so theres no real arguement because ive actually seen it. its like tryna tell me the sun doesnt exist when ive seen it for myself. also in highschool he took more jumper then he drove. im pretty sure that most of the people saying he cant get to the rim hasnt watched more then one full nba game. youre right mike mike people are saying he cant get to the rim because he doesnt do it at will.

Its funny how we are arguing about how athletic he is and how quick he is when in reality he would probably bust our asses athletically and getting up and down the court. I do agree that he isn’t the most athletic but on other websites they say that he is very, very athletic. It all depends on how you view him I think that he will be a great player soon. And, most of you guys don’t.

dont get me wrong he doesnt have the same blow by speed and first step that some of the other 2 guards have but he does have the ability to get to the rim

i think just about everyone agrees he will be a good to great player the disagreement is his athletisim

Jesus Christ the reading comprehension level on this site is astoundingly low. PEOPLE: OJ MAYO GETS TO THE RIM BASED OFF OF SHIFTY HANDLES AND OVER POWERING SMALLER GUARDS. HE DOES NOT POSESS A QUICK FIRST STEP OR ELITE LEAPING ABILITY. HE SHOOTS JUMPERS BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY HE’LL BE EFFECTIVE. HE’S LEARNED TO HARNESS THAT ABILITY. MODERATELY QUICK AND ABOVE DEFENDERS HAVE NO PROBLEM CUTTING OFF HIS DRIVES. HE GETS MIDRANGE JUMPERS AND BEYOND OFF BECAUSE HE HAS A QUICK RELEASE AND THE ABILITY TO CREATE JUST ENOUGH SPACE TO GET HIS SHOT OFF. HE DOES NOT POSSESS THE PHYSICAL TOOLS TO BLOW BY OR JUMP OVER ANYONE. FACE THE GODAMNED FACTS AND STOP BEING ARGUMENTATIVE. HE’S AN AVERAGE NBA ATHLETE.

No need to argue, we’ve said in as many ways as I can. He gets to the rim, the AVERAGE athlete in the NBA can get to the basket. No one said he doesn’t get to the rim at all. But to CONSISTENTLY get to the rim, he needs a pick/screen. Plain and simple. I’m sure if he could get to the rim consistently, with his strength and handles, he would make a living there. But he couldn’t consistently. He has every tool he needs to get to the rim, except above average athleticism. The stats show it, everyone sees it. I know for a fact if he could he would. Yes, he has dunks on Youtube. Whoop-dee-doo. Do you want a cookie? The AVERAGE NBA athlete does. But that doesn’t equate to above average athleticism for NBA standards, especially when your running full speed and your 6’4″.

Look anyway I seen this stuff with my own eyes no one can tell me otherwise

We’ve all seen him play before…and you wont me to believe he’s some threat as a slasher.

Yea. Every coach in the NBA gameplans to stop OJ Mayo from slashing to the basket.

It’s about time people woke up and realized that he’s just an average NBA athlete. I know he was quick in high school, but that’s because he had an older and more mature body than his competition. By his senior year of high school, he had stopped maturing and his peers started to catch up. You really can’t say much about his vertical. Sure it was high, but he hasn’t shown the ability to fully utilize it. Jordan Farmar recorded a 42-inch vertical at the 2006 draft combine. Ben Gordon could do windmills and through-the-legs dunks in high school. How many eye-popping dunks have we seen them pull off in games?

http://www.losangeleslakersonline.com/jordanfarmar.php

Omg yessss….I used to wonder why when Ben Gordon was a rookie on NBA Live 05, he had a high-flyer icon. But then I saw his HS dunks on Youtube and I saw where they got it from. I honestly have NEVER seen him dunk in an NBA game, so I thought it was a glitch.

I don’t really blame Ben for not dunking anymore, though. It can put crazy damage on your ligaments. It’s smarter to use your vertical to hang in the air ala Brandon Roy.

OJ’s is definitely a great but not elite athlete… Who cares? He’s got skills and has talent to take it to the next level… OJ is an All-Star in the making IMO… Besides, what’s the use of being a freak athlete if you end up being Gerald Green? I would rather have a great athlete like OJ (no explosive athletic ability) but can score anytime, anywhere than having a superb athlete but does not know how to use the gifts… (Gerald Green? Tyrus Thomas?)

MemphisBoy14 you may not like this, but it really does seem like you are a biased OJ Mayo fan. i don’t recall anyone saying that he isn’t a good player, the argument people are making is that Mayo is just a slightly above-average athlete.

posted by MemphisBoy14:

“Its funny how we are arguing about how athletic he is and how quick he is when in reality he would probably bust our asses athletically and getting up and down the court. I do agree that he isn’t the most athletic but on other websites they say that he is very, very athletic. It all depends on how you view him I think that he will be a great player soon. And, most of you guys don’t.”

1) wow… OJ Mayo is so athletic than you’re comparing his athletic ability to those who are not in any way a professional athlete like he is? yes i agree that he would probably outrun me and everyone else who posts here, as would every AVERAGE athlete in the NBA would. even Jacque Vaughn would “bust our asses athletically”, I’m guessing he’s a top tier athlete as well?

2) are you basing his athleticism on his statistics from the combine? there’s much more to athleticism than your vertical leap. change of direction speed, body control, strength are all other factors that determine how athletic a player is. Monta Ellis’s vertical leap is only 35 inches. can you seriously tell me with a straight face that OJ Mayo is that same kind of slasher that Ellis is and can blow by defenders like Ellis? and what’s next, OJ Mayo is more athletic than Ellis who is arguably one of the most athletic players we have in the NBA today?

3) after reading all of posts in this topic, I haven’t seen a single post saying that they think OJ isn’t a good player. the only argument that is being made here is that he is just an AVERAGE athlete. but your supporting your claim that he is athletic by some youtube videos. like Iggy said, an AVERAGE NBA shooting guard can do that. and AVERAGE NBA shooting guard can blow by defenders once in awhile. the issue with Mayo is that is doesn’t do it consistently, which explains why he settles for too many jumpshots and only gets to the foul line 3 times a game. I’m pretty much restating what 3 other guys have been trying to explain to you.

you act like if Mayo drives by a defender ONE time and dunks on a big ONE time it makes him an elite athlete. guess what, I’ve seen other shooting guards like Jason Terry, Aaron Aflalo, and even Mike Dunleavy do it once before. does it make them an elite NBA athlete? of course not. and don’t ask me to show you youtube videos, they don’t mean everything.

but to you, Mayo driving and dunking once in awhile and a few damn youtubes videos gives you another evidence to classify Mayo as an elite athlete.

just because someone doesnt dunk alot doesnt mean they arent athletic..just like you can measure athletisim by there vert you cant do it just by there dunks either..for some thats just not what they make part of there game..ben’s strength is his jumper the same with mayo which is what they do…..a smart player knows he doent need to dunk alot if he can jut save energy and lay it up if its not getting blocked

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/dunk-o-meter/yearly