Evan Taylor – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile

June 20th, 2019

Evan Taylor

SG – 6’5, 204lbs – Born 11th April 1996

   Agua Caliente Clippers   

There is always plenty of room in the college game for the defensive specialist who rarely scores. Be it at point guard, on the wing or in the frontcourt, it is a fairly normal sight; after all, the talent thins out considerably after the top few teams, even in the lower ends of the power conferences. Such players are genuinely helpful, but their professional prognosis is limited; after all, pro teams can be pickier.

In his first pro season out of Nebraska, Taylor tried to defy the trend. And he certainly brought his trademark defensive energy to the Clippers.

As a senior, Taylor posted only 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game, on a .532% true shooting percentage. Not numbers we would normally go for. Nevertheless, in a good frame for the wing, Taylor is fully committed to defence. He is pesky, he is savvy, and while it may not be the most readily reflected thing in the statistics, Taylor is an important part of the glue of any defensive unit. Flexible, versatile, intense and malleable. He gets after it.

It would be good if he could add some offence to go with that. Taylor has over time improved his catch-and-shoot ability, and while his three-point volume is always low, his efficiency seems to be consistently there now. That said, Taylor creates nothing, wishes not to handle the ball inside the arc at all, does not much wish to handle it outside of it either, and is purely an opportunity scorer. He has to be very open to shoot, and the lane has to be very open for him to drive it.

Is this going to be enough to make it at the G-League level? Seems so. Taylor did enough in his small role this year to earn a return. If he can keep making shooting and scoring improvements, it would help; his willingness to embrace the dirty stuff and forgo the need to prove his scoring ability is a virtue, yet he does need to offer more of a scoring threat than this to proceed.

– 20th June, 2019

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