Considering where he was drafted, I think he could very well be the STEAL of last years draft. The guy is a freak and can do it all! Athletic, huge hops, can shoot the mid range shot (probably can extend his range to 3pt if he worked at it), fantastic rebounder on both ends, solid free throw shooter, and has a great attitude & work ethic. I would take him in a heartbeat over Joakim Noah, Brandan Wright, Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young who were all big men who were LOTTERY picks! He is the player that made Bonzi expendable. And I just LOVE watching this guy play. It is so refreshing to have a YOUNG exciting up and coming player on your side! So good riddance to Bonzi and his attitude, I'd much rather have Landry get those minutes anyway!
I don't remember Bonzi having a bad attitude at all this yr. Stop being bitter about last yr. if that is what you remember about Bonzi in Houston.
How again did Landry make Bonzi expendable? Bonzi occassionally due to Scola or Landry getting into foul trouble played the four out of necessity but the majority of the time his role was to be the swingman 2/3 backing up Shane and McGrady. If there is a player he made expendable, it was Chuck Hayes.
I agree about taking him over those other players, although Young is more of a small forward. Landry brings much needed toughness and he's more athletic than I initially thought. It was tough losing Bonzi but Landry getting more PT is a positive.
You can say that now.. but we're going to miss bonzi when Tmac reverts to hoisting up jumpers, which he did last night, they just started going in. we're going to miss having a GUARD in the post abuse smaller guards.. but landry is good...
relax there....carl landry is nowhere near to becoming the steal of the draft yet. Look at what paul millsap is doing. would you consider millsp to be steal of the draft? to be steak of the draft....you hav to be like boozer, arenas, maurice williams, or catino like.
If last night is any indication, Landry will get the biggest boost in playing time with Bonzi gone. He played 25 minutes which is probably a season high. He is versatile & athletic enough to guard 3s & 4s, and maybe even 2s in certain situations or matchups if necessary. Plus you really go based on matchups rather than sticking to positions anyway. So the way I see it, he may not be taking Bonzi's "spot", but definitely taking his minutes.
yeah, i'd say millsap was probably the steal of the 2006 draft. drafted in a similar position as landry was in this past draft!
it it has to be the steaK of the draft lol jk...but seriously landry is great but i still think its too early to call him the steal of the draft, and about the bonzi trade....we will see its true effects in the playoffs when we need a big rebounding guard/swingman to help get key possessions
What's so crucial about having a guard in the post? We have two strong post players already: Yao and Scola. Putting a guard in the post only forces Yao and/or Scola outside, where they are not as effective. It's more important to have a well-balanced offense than to have good, but redundant, players. Bonzi's problem was that he didn't shoot outside well enough to be useful when either Yao or Scola was being posted. The main way he scored points was off of finishes (which Landry does better), and the occasional offensive putback (which Landry can also do). Even his postup efficiency was not that great. His effective FG% was the worst of anybody in the rotation. His defense on guards was nothing special, either.
Landry is making the most of his situation ... lots of open lanes to the basket when you are playing alongside players like Yao and T-Mac. He has great quickness and explosiveness around the basket. I don't know if he'll ever evolve from a super-sub role player (what he is right now) to a bonafide scoring option you run plays for. I do think he can be every bit as good as Udonis Haslem, though ... which is good enough for us.
That's not a sufficient enough correlation. Landry backed up Scola and Yao. If Yao and Scola weren't on the court together, Landry was there for at least one of them. That has nothing to do with Bonzi's minutes.
What I don't understand is in all the scouting reports they talked about Landry not being quite as athletic as other big men, and that being one of his negatives, but all we see on the court is him pulling off these incredibly athletic moves. You think maybe the reports were premature considering he was battling back from an ACL injury? I speak from personal experience when I say that the last little bounce in your step from that kind of injury takes forever to come back. Maybe he's finally got it all. It'll be interesting to see what he comes with next season. I think a good scout will be able to judge his improvement over the offseason and fairly accurately predict if he'll be a career quality sub off the bench or the next Boozer. Here's hoping for the latter...
In terms of production vs draft position Landry is probably leading his draft class. In terms of overall ceiling, well there is a reason he was drafted in the second round. True he could overcome his size, but i would think his upside is Clarence Weatherspoon in his prime. (remember we had him in his last years) I just dont see Landry making alot of improvement unless he improves his range and handles.
I agree, except Landry>>>Udonis Haslem Super role player who is heads up, can finish around the basket (like Bonzi) and can defend pretty well, especially for a rookie.
Do you have a stat to show this? I could be wrong but I remember differently. After Landery started to take off, I remember the occassional time at PF due to matchups or due to Scola or Landry being in foul trouble.
i still think Scola and Landry gets their offense going is b/c of the presence of Yao, yesterday's game(or All games) Yao drew so much attentions from the opposing team, which leave good looks for Scola and Landry and theyr able to knock down those shot, i mean come on, who would leave Landry un-guarded right under the basket and let him dunk all game if Yao was not playin ( BTW landry did put up a good stat while Yao is resting)
There seems to be a trend of athletic, big, mobile, slightly-undersized power forwards playing well i.e. Carl Landry, Paul Millsap, Jason Maxiell, Brandon Bass; all have similar body builds.
Landry looks a lot like Boozer to me. Actually he is more aggressive than Boozer. Both play mediocre defense. Both are very efficient whenever they are given the chance. So far, Landry is having a better rookie season than Boozer. Also, Landry performs better in the 4th. that's the definition of a future star.
