me either, yet. did capela seem game ready when he played only 12 regular season games as a rookie, but then broke into the playoff rotation? joe might not look it yet, but he's got 2 nba skills already in shooting and shot blocking. if he is able to add muscle for rebounding and finishing through contact he can earn nba minutes. i think he can get there during the season or over next summer. to get real minutes he will have to take those skills and add IQ. defensive rotations (he's late to figure out the play sometimes), 1-1 defensive positioning against all 5 positions so he can switch everything (he's got the quickness to keep up with F's and length to recover against guards), and PnR variations on both ends. all that IQ comes with time. clint got his skills and strength by his second year (similar to what we see with joe), and got his IQ in his 3rd year. took it all to another level in his contract year. joe is in his second year so maybe by the end of this one he will have enough nba skills, and maybe by the start of next season he will have some of that IQ so he can make the rotation. its up to him, but he seems hard working enough that he should become at least a rotation guy if not a starter. if joe reaches his potential, he and capela will shut down the paint on D, and we can still play 4-out on O, and still switch everything on D.
There's one additional skill that I fear he is lacking and that is the right mentality for the NBA game. Yao got it. CC may have had it from the outset w/his refusal to be stashed that 1st year. JH/CP/Melo, they all got it big time. Can ZQ prove it and prove me baseless in my overriding concern? Do it, young fella, do it big time - - I am/we all are rooting for you!
true! what i like is that he talked about "solving problems" on the court. that last year he wasn't able to and with time spent in the D-league he saw an improvement in his on court problem solving. now, its not nba competition which would be higher level problems needing to be solved at a faster rate, but it shows he at least KNOWS he hast to work on that.
I'd like to see him get maturation time with the Big Club; shame he can't be stashed in the CBL 'til March...
