First let me say this is not a knock on Patrick Patterson. I like what I see of him. He will have a long and solid NBA career. That being said I think we missed the boat on Sanders. He is a raw talent that loves the game and just want s to get better. He brings everything we hoped Jordan Hill could do. Sanders looked great tonight. He scored 22 points on 9-14 shooting, 2-3 behind the arc with a last second 3 to tie the game. They lost but Sanders had 9 rebounds 4 blocks. One of them a clean block against Thabeet. He has very good court awareness only getting 2 assists but that's because his finishers suck. He's the first guy down the court on the break even though his stupid guards have no idea how to get the ball to him. And did I mention he plays the game with so much passion. His numbers don't tell the whole story. The kid is actually much better on Defense than offense. He challenges every shot. ran the length of the court to surprise a quick guard and block his shot. Did I mention he blocked Thabeet straight up clean! He is still so raw. He doesn't have any real low post moves but he seems like he has the feet to do it. Actually everything about him looks like he can improve. He looks like a poor mans Hakeem. Okay I know that will invite the flamers but man this kid reminds a lot of Uof H Akeem. Not as explosive but boy can he run. Yeah I know it is just one game and yesterday he shot 4 for 15 but this kid has such raw talent and hasn't actually figured out what to do with it. He is like a blank slate that is just waiting for someone to show him the way. I wish that could have been us. I know there is not point in crying over spilled milk and many will disagree but I really think we missed the boat not selecting. Patterson will have a long NBA career but Sanders might just be special.
I had him, Xavier Henry, and Paul George as draft steals. Larry Sanders has the size to play F/C. He could have bee our future C, if Yao retires after this season.
I've heard good things about him since the draft, and I'm sure he has looked good...but I've got two words: Summer League. See: Dan Langhi.
He doesn't even compare to Langhi. He has a 9'4" reach, 7'5.75" wingspan, 6'10.5". He's a shotblocker and rebounder.
Yeah I know it's summer league. But Dan Langhi was a shooter who couldn't guard his man. That is not the issue with Sanders. His best basketball attribute is how hard he plays defense. And how fast he runs the court. many times he was the first guy down the court going both directions. McHale was impressed with what he saw of him yesterday when he shot 4-15. The announcers never stopped raving about him most of the game. Some of it was his shooting they were very surprised with his range. But most of it was his hustle and hard play. ANd make no mistake about it, if he can block thabeet 3 foot jumper straight up (not whimpy weakside) he can block anyone in this league.
He'll do more in the regular season than Dan Langhi. Forget the summer league. He has all the physical tools, the work ethic, and productivity in college. Langhi was good in summer league, but he sucked in college. He could shoot 3s, but couldn't hustle for rebounds. Poor rebounding 3 pt shooting big men have very very high failure rate. That's why I wasn't happy about the Novak draft either.
We get it. I think you've made this point before. I just hope people don't follow this trend and make a knee-jerk reaction to every SUMMER LEAGUE game. The NBA dish is the only safe place anymore.
Disagree. Just cause he blocked a player with a very limited offensive game doesn't mean much. Match him up against a 7'6" center and see what happens! :grin:
yeah on draft night when our time to pick came along, I was hoping they were going say his name. he's got a nice shot it seems like and he can put the ball on the deck. that 3 he shot to tie the game at the end was unexpected. too bad there was still time left on the clock...
John Lucas Jr was a midget. It wasn't going to work in the NBA. Sanders has NBA size, athleticism, skill, and work ethic.
Wow you really like Sanders don't you? You launched a one-man campaign for him before the draft and now you're effectively saying Sanders will be a much better player than Patrick Patterson? Count me among those who disagree with you. Sanders might put out better stats due to increased PT, but I dounbt he'll become a better player. You're basing it all on his one game where he went off. How about PP's 8-9 game, where he shot 2/2 from 3? 8-9 is much more impressive than 9-14. I'm not saying Sanders won't be a good player, but please wait more than Sanders' first two games before saying we missed the boat on Sanders and should have picked him instead. Its not like he's tearing the hinges of summer league, you yourself said he went 4-15 the game after that. Does going 4-15 sound like a poor man's Hakeem? Chill out bro, knee-jerk reactions are never good.
I don't know exactly why but every time I read your posts back to me I get this vision of a moronic cretin vomiting. I don't see how you can read my post and come up with your responses. I can only imagine you dislike me or your some kind of tard that needs to take a 5th grade reading comprehension course. The first thing you say contradicts everything else. Yes I have been following Sanders long before the draft. My opinion of him is based on all of that. he shot 4-15 but that did not diminish my opiniion of him because I have watched him and know he is has a nice shooting stroke. Mchale and the other announcer who is also a shooting coach said as much. But I didn't need to hear that to know it already because I have been watching him and he has consistently shot above 50% from all over the floor. I knew that would continue. What I was impressed with was everything else he did against superior competition than he had previously played against. He has consistently shown the same skills for a while and to watch him do it here showed me his skills are very likely the real deal. Maybe I am wrong but it definitely wasn't a knee jerk reaction. As for you if I was drafting assholes you would be in my lottery and definitely maybe a knee jerk reaction! :grin:
He just assumes it's a knee jerk based on 1 summer league game, but they never mention his productivity in college against one of the best draft classes in years. 3 years of high productivity against strong competition is more important than 1 bad summer league game.
Had the Rockets taken Derrick Sanders instead of Patrick Patterson, OldManRock.... ..do you think he could play effectively alongside Yao Ming right away? Or eventually replace Yao if he cannot return healthy?
