Jimmer's first (official) start
ESPN.com’s Rick Reilly admitted he was wrong for saying Jimmer Fredette would never start a game.
But that was during the exhibition season when Fredette indeed started, scoring 21 points against the Warriors.
Fredette’s first official start came Tuesday night in Philadelphia. That one wasn’t so convincing. Playing for the injured Marcus Thornton, The Jimmer played 24 minutes, making just two of seven shots and committing three turnovers. He finished with seven points in a 112-85 loss to Philadelphia.
Nevertheless, Reilly did miss on his prediction. He offered to pay $5 thousand to Fredette’s favorite charity if the ex-BYU star started a single NBA game in his rookie season. So even if the exhibition season doesn’t count, Tuesday’s game did.
In the Kings’ 10th game, he got the call when Thornton sat out with a thigh contusion.
Agree with him or not, Reilly is a wonderful writer. I never thought his column last spring on Fredette was nasty, just funny and maybe a little snarky. espn.com
Thirteen months ago I said Fredette would have a nice NBA career, but never be an All-Star. deseretnews.com
I also predicted he’d go in the late first round. He ended up being picked 10th.
I wasn’t being mean, just voicing an opinion. So was Reilly.
At the same time, I could never figure out why Reilly thought Fredette wouldn’t start a game. Even though the draft hadn’t yet occurred, why would a team as bad as the Kings pick the national player of the year and then bench him for the entire season? It’s not like cracking Sacramento’s starting lineup is all that tough. It is tied for the worst record in the Western Conference.
The things we writers say on deadline.
From my own experience, I can only admit that a lot of times what sounds like a good idea at 10 p.m. doesn’t sound so great by the next morning — even to the writer himself.