I guess it depends on how you'd define very good. I'd say Dalembert qualifies. Javale McGee. You might be able to make a case for Al Jefferson. It is rare though.
Roslolian, just went I think you've got it, you say something like this that makes me do a face palm. This is his first year getting consistent and significant mins. Sanders, like Ibaka, is a PF-C hybrid. He's listed as a PF sometimes, a C at other times, and sometimes both. Sanders is a much better overall player than Greg Smith. There is no comparison between their skillsets. The only thing Asik does better than him is set screens and Omer is a slightly better rebounder. But the slight rebounding and scoring edge he has over Sanders may be a result of the Rockets' uptempo offense and/or the fact that he plays more mpg. The Larry Sanders show is much more athletic, runs the floor better, has better hands when it comes to catching the ball and better handles when it's come to dribbling, is a better finisher, has more of an offensive game, better shot blocker, higher fg%, and has a higher per. Not to mention he's making less than $2 million a year while Omer is making over $8. The reason he doesn't showcase his jumper a lot for the Bucks is...well two reasons...Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Having a gazelle like Sanders run the floor given the Rockets' current style of play would be more ideal than having a slower, plodding unathletic player like Asik. What you have in Larry Sanders is a Serge Ibaka type player. Lol @ DMo being 10x the prospect that Sanders is....C'mon Man!
Patterson was a nice prospect coming out of Kentucky and winning a championship. He was good in his rookie year, but not since then. I still prefer Fareid over Sanders.
(Nice "projection" there on the "play it safe" thing.) I'm not playing it safe, I'm just actually being HONEST in saying I didnt have much opinion on Larry Sanders before. Playing it safe would be saying "YEAH, he's ATHLETIC as HELL and protects the paint - WHY'S MOREY MISSING THE BOAT AGAIN?" joining ALONG in the support so I can blend in. Thats a "FRONT RUNNER" all the way. And its my opinion a CENTER/PF who only shoots at 43% isnt that good, over a PF shooting 56% and actually heavy in the rotation (their first year). Patterson regressed, but Sanders didnt improve either. Thats advantage Patterson. I'm not gonna say Patterson is playing better when he's not lol Now Sanders is performing better than Patterson. And looks to be the better player going forward. NOW this year Sanders is FINALLY shooting a high % from the field like a big man should, and way increased his rebounding with it. Why would I not give credit for that? I don't have agendas for or against players. Keep in mind I created a "Patrick Patterson" group here for fun, and have no problem trashing Patterson's weak soft game.
And I give CREDIT where credit is due A Larry Sanders projection before his rookie season, way to go Though the "crow eating" stuff isnt anything to do with anything in my opinion. But whatever makes you happy
you could probably say this about the vast majority of draft picks Would be interesting to find out what percentage of draft picks turn out to have been the Best Player Available in hindsight (and which teams pick them).
The Larry Sanders Show with 17 points, 13 rebs, and 6 block shots tonight...Beast. Edit: Bucks’ Sanders Is a Sudden Sensation http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/s...larry-sanders-is-a-sudden-sensation.html?_r=0
If we pair Asik with LSanders, I think we can compete against the frontcourts of OKC (Perkins, Ibaka), Spurs (Duncan, Splitter), Grizz (Gasol, ZBo), Nuggs (McGee, Faried), Jazz (A. Jefferson, Millsap), LAC (DJ, Griffin) and LAL (Dwight, Gasol, E. Clarke) when the playoffs come. Moreso than J. Smith and Millsap, he's perfect piece to the growing collection of young players we have currently have. What would we be an even swap with the Bucks?
Well considering the game PPat just had I think it just shows you how the grass sometimes seems greener on the other side. I'm not taking a dump on Sanders, however at this point I still think Ppat is better than Sanders. In fact, Kwame and co. might think this is insane but IMHO he would be getting no burn/sent to the dleague on our team, and he'd be a horrible fit on this squad. Fact is, he's putting up stats however his team is downright horrible, it just doesn't seem that way because the East is really bad right now. The Rox are something like 16-5 against East opponents, that's how weak the East is. And even in that pathetic conference, Sanders is averaging 52% FG...that's crazy bad for a big man with no post moves and no shooting ability. So everyone saying he'd be a good fit because he's athletic and can finish on the rim...he'd be like Perkins on offense instead of Tyson Chandler. He doesn't get to the line as well, only averages less than 2 free throw attempts a game. So I dunno...is he elite at defense? Maybe, but my money's still on Asik/Greg Smith being better players over all. I mean, let's be real here, our rookies like Tjone/Dmo would probably look just as good or even better than Sanders if they got all the PT they could handle. Again, I'm not saying Sanders is a bad player. I just think he's been overhyped a bit and we actually have players who are comparable to him, they just aren't getting as much burn.
In the same amount of minutes, Larry Sanders gets 4 more rebounds and 3 more blocks than Patrick Patterson. Very simple statistics, but his ability to rebound and protect the rim are so much more valuable than ANYTHING Patterson brings, imo. Hell, his rebounding and shotblocking skills are DREAM-esque. Larry Sanders is no scrub around the rim either. He is certainly in development, but he has soft hands and can finish with either, and his midrange jumper has a very bright future. He does a FANTASTIC job of keeping the ball high on all his finishes, ala Pau Gasol. Tough to stop when you have Yao Ming's wingspan. When this guy starts playing 34-38 minutes, he will be 12 rebounds and 4 blocks every single night. Bucks scored.
Number one reason Larry is a better player than Patrick in my opinion? If Patrick is off on his jumper, he is completely useless. Larry Sanders will ALWAYS rebound and protect the rim at an elite level as a bottom line. You got to love that out of a PF/C...
