Chansky's Notebook: Ridiculous Upside!

Theo Pinson has become the rage among two-way pro players.

A story on the SB Nation.com blog Ridiculous Upside promotes Theo, the former Carolina team star, as one of the best wing players in the NBA’s G League and highlights his breakout game when he was elevated to the Brooklyn Nets roster Friday night.

Two-way players are just that; they can be moved up and down from the minor league team of an NBA franchise to the big team. Pinson had appeared briefly with the Nets earlier in the season and averaged fewer than 3 points and 2 assists in 10 minutes a game.

He had been moved up again against the New York Knicks. Theo went in early and stayed in, finishing with his NBA high of 19 points, plus 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, going 5-11 from field, 3-5 from the arc and 6-6 from the free throw line.

His play with Long Island of the G-League has been stellar, averaging 20 points, 6.6 assists and 5.7 rebounds on 44 percent from field and 37 percent from the arc on almost 8 attempts per game. He is one of only three wing G-League players averaging 20 points.

The story does come with a back-handed indictment of his coaching at UNC, where he shot just 26 percent from the 3-point line on a total of 179 career attempts and just 31 percent on mid-range shots during his senior season. Videos compare Theo’s shooting style in college to today, claiming he had a hitch in his release and his feet weren’t aimed directly at the rim, which perhaps led to some shots sailing off target. But what do sportswriters know, anyway!

Like all Carolina players, assistant coach Hubert Davis works with their shot mechanics and Hubert was one of the best shooters as a college and NBA star. It is far more likely that, with his pro future on the line, Pinson spent the entire summer of 2018 in the gym, working on his shot with Nets coaches.

Whatever, his emergence as a possible star of the NBA is so exciting and refreshing. Yeah, Theo!