I don't agree. Rafer makes critical mistakes and tend to take more shots late in the game when it matters most. He also throws up random floaters like he's still in New York. And passing the ball to T-mac all the time isn't good basketball IQ, it's just him being passive, considering he is the one that should be creating for the team. Anyways I don't wanna turn this into another Bash Rafer thread. Sorry I brought it up.
Snyder was drafted at no.6, then he should have skills, but I do not see a consistency in him. I do not think he can have much play time in this team.
He was drafted with pretty good company. Before him was Al Jefferson (15) and after was Josh Smith (17). Other people in the draft: Dwight Howard, E. Okafor, B. Gorden, L. Deng, A. Iguodala, A. Biedrins, J.R. Smith, J. Nelson, Delonte West, Kevin Martin, A. Varejao, and V. Spanoulis(jk). Some guys on this list like Howard, Deng, Iguodala, Jefferson, Smith, Nelson, and Martin are really looking for a breakout year or looking to be an all-star this season. Maybe its also Snyder's chance to break out also? (not really on an all-star level; just as a significant role player)
Kirk can handle the rock solid for a 6'6 guy, his shot is what killed him. If he improves his shot maybe a little assistance from Calvin Murpthy, he is a better option than Head. Head is to one dimensional and short. If Kirk improves his handles he may be a upgrade over Bonzi, but that will be tough if Bonzi is in shape, also Bonzi has edge knowing coach A system.
well he has talent...not skill. Meaning he has the physical tools (tall, athletic, explosive, etc). He lacks skill in dribbling, passing, shooting etc. the hand injury really did hurt him and it took forever for him to get any kind of touch back.
I hope Snyder succeeds, but No 16 pick don't mean jack. Marcus Fizer was #4 pick and amounted to jack. There are a ton of no. 16 picks that did jack in their NBA career. There is a reason why he got traded for nothing by both Utah and New Orleans. Kirk needs to fix holes in his game big time if he wants to be a useful player on a winning team.
So, I was confused between talent and skill. Yes, he lacks skill in so several areas which make him difficult to be a star.
I thought he deserved a chunk of Luther's minutes last year. He was the best on the ball defender of any of the guards or SF including Tmac and Battier. He also at least made an effort to get to the rim although I think breaking his hand early on killed his rythm and feel for the game. I liked JVG and never criticized him at all last year EXCEPT for his not using Snyder more often.
The "Wayne" mentioned in the interview is Wayne Hall, T-Mac's personal trainer. Some of his other clients are Marquis Daniels, Mike Miller(T-Mac's old pal), Udonis Haslem, Marquis Daniels, and Zaza Pachulia. Here is Wayne's website with a TMac training video. Hall Strengths link T-Mac and Wayne Hall
I didn't think Snyder's on the ball defense was very good, at all. Actually, my impression was that he got torched defensively almost every time he guarded a strong offensive player. I really liked his ability to get to the rim and finish, and his ability to draw fouls. He seemed pretty good at the drive and dish game as well. But poor shooting and lack of general court awareness did him in. I do hope he gets another chance this year.
Interesting. Every time I watched him on the perimeter he reminded me of the focused, lighter Tmac of 2 years ago. He had his knees bent, his arms spread and seemed determine to not get beat. He usually succeeded from what I saw. Maybe I was too focused on how he defended on the ball and missed him making mistakes on team defense or closing out on shooters or something along those lines.
I would agree with this. He didn't do well in JVG's defensive rotations, but he did do a decent job man-on-man. Though to be honest. There really wasn't enough minutes played by him to truly evaluate how he would do consistently against a faster player. hopefully he will get enough minutes in pre-season to prove he has worth on the court.
My perception could be off. He was always looked like he was focused on playing solid man defense. But, for whatever reason, he didn't seem to actually get a lot of stops.
Again, he relies on his physical tools to defend. He doesn't crowd players, he doesn't force them into awkward positions. There was this Lakers game when Bullard showed a clip of Battier guarding Kobe vs Snyder guarding Kobe. If memory serves, Battier actually held him to a sub-par performance while Kobe actually went off when Snyder was in the game and on him.
