He was a rotation player since he came in the league... He made an impact as a strong defensive presence the moment he set foot on the floor.
Yes, maybe, but he was also a 26 year old rookie when he came into the league. He knocked around college for several years before getting in his 4 years and getting drafted in the 4th round. By the way, I consider Hasheem will likely play in the league for 4-7 years after this season. He will either become some sort of presence or he'll always be able to pick up a couple $mil per year by some team taking a chance on him and seeing if they can get something out of him clogging the paint as a backup or a limited minute guy that has 6 fouls to give.
People are getting too enamored with blocks. A 7 foot 3 stiff who blocks 3 shots a game, but doesn't rotate, has zero offensive game, can't finish, fouls out in 20 minutes, can't hit free throws and can barely move is worthless. An NBA player is what he is at year 3 and this is year 3. Thabeet is not an NBA basketball player.
I like 'beet but TBH, this man is spot on...........sadly. After the numerous attempts that failed to land a Center. I'll just have to embrace what we've got. lol
What he said is completely accurate of how Thabeet's career is thus far. My belief still stands that he will improve with more playing time and become a serviceable center in this league.
You have no idea how important blocking is. It's not just the shots he blocks, its the shots he deters as well. Last year, ppl took it to our paint at will, with no worries. You HAVE to have a shot blocker in there somewhere to stop that from happening. It's why big men, no matter how ****ty they seem to be, get paid so much. They can just freakin stand there and it's creating defense. Chuck Hayes has to work three times as hard to make up for shot blocking deterring.
Thabeet was a rotation player his first year in the league and even started thirteen games. He showed improvement toward the end of the year. The problem was that he was never going to live up to the expectations of being a #2 overall pick. Memphis gave up on him in year 2 and sent him to the Rockets, where Adelman (coaching his butt off) was not inclined to disrupt excellent chemistry down the stretch and was trying to make the playoffs. the result is that Thabeet saw 4 minutes as a Rocket. Thabeet in his rookie season averaged 12 minutes a game and 2.3 fouls. So at 30 minutes per game, Thabeet is still out on the floor (on average). I think we should look at last year for Thabeet almost as an injury year. He was deprived of playing time due to factors largely beyond his control. I am looking at what he did his rookie year and hoping he can build off that. For all of the things Chuck Hayes did right, he couldn't do 7 feet worth a crap. Hayes was a no-offensive, no shot-blocking, fundamentally sound undersized PF playing center. The team will miss his passing skills but not his missed layups. I think people have become so enamored with his heart, work ethic and soundbites from Shane Battier that they forget what an ineffective center he was. Luis Scola and his cement block feet was having to jump at the start of games. Just thinking about that nonsense makes me nauseous. I look forward to a team that was very good the second half of last year returning largely intact with a true center on the court. Like many others, I wish the option was better than Thabeet, but since that's what they've got, I hope they give him a chance. There is plenty of offense on this team. Rim protection is something that they really need.
The O'Neal comparison is not apples to apples. JON was a servicable bigman who honed his skills and developed post moves to become an all star. Thabeet is a non NBA player who lacks every fundamental to the game. With a couple years of work he could turn into what Jordan Hill is now. And who cares? Better to develop Hill who actually has drive, fundamentals and a skill set. Hill is much much more likely to become something. Thabeet is a paycheck player. He will do just enough to have a contract in the NBA and thats it. He is a gimmick.
Chuck is far better at layups than Thabeet, you know. The other thing, and the thing I think people really have forgotten because Chuck was so damn good at it and because it's not that important in 2k12, is that shotblocking is not everything in defense. Far from it. Honestly, Thabeet's not a good defender. He blocks shots, but he's when it comes to fundamentals as well as strength, he's terrible. And that's the most important thing when it comes to defense. Thabeet will get minutes because we literally do not have another option, but I have no hope for him. He's gotten out of some crap African country, and he's a millionaire. He's happy, and will go do nature stuff or whatever it was in his video.
