Definitely, Artest was not springy, but was as strong as an ox. He had a left hand that struck like a viper, as well, and frequently used it to disrupt the dribble. His shooting was a tad underrated imo, as well, because you couldn't just leave him open on the perimeter. Agreed that if Amen develops a respectable jumper it's a wrap. His handle is already developing nicely as he is starting to incorporate a nasty pullback jumper in the midrange. I know a few posters don't consider him untouchable, but I consider him THE most irreplaceable and thus untouchable player on the roster. Cheers!
I think of Amen as more of a mini-KG. A "kg" so to speak - capable of shutting down 1-5 with a an intensity and voracity that can be absolutely contagious. Quicker? Not so sure about that. Faster? Absolutely. No question. Straight-line Amen is a blur, but prime Ron Ron was as laterally quick from a defensive posture as I've ever seen. He shuffled side to side like a crab, get never coming close to crossing or tripping over each other. If Ron/Metta/Panda weren't BS crazy, I'd love to have Amen under his wing in the off-season.
What part of Smith's game do you think they'll miss the most, considering Amen will absorb those minutes and opportunities? I don't expect Amen to play the exact same role that Smith did, because he's a far superior ball handler, and the offense will look different because of that.
Amen is playing 29 mpg. The most he will "absorb" Jabari's minutes will be something like 7 or 8. Jabari plays 31 mpg. Who is going to absorb the remaining 20-some minutes of Jabari's absence? As to the question of what part of Jabari's game they'll miss the most, it is true that Amen will likely be able to pick up Jabari's defense, what Amen won't be able to "absorb" is Jabari's shooting/spacing. Our success this season has been predicated on defense and rebounding. Jabari is one of the pieces that has been providing in those two categories. We are already missing Tari, Jabari's defense and rebounding will be sorely missed. Also, we are already one of the worst shooting team. Losing a shooter like Jabari will make us even worse.
Interesting parallel. Detroit are now inserting a Thompson into the starting lineup as a result of a bone break. I reckon both twins will prove themselves in this time and never return to a bench role. A shame we didn't trade for Ausar while he was inactive and people forgot how good he would be. 48 minutes of Thompson would have been incredible for our defense first approach.
Amen will absorb Jabari's minutes. Who will absorb Amen's. I stated earlier Amen will move into the starting line-up and will make up for Jabari's defense and rebounding with that unit. He won't spread the floor as well, but Ime's offense wasn't using Jabari correctly anyway. It will hurt our bench with Tari out. It also hurts us in that it snuffs out any chance of the correct starting unit of Amen, Jalen, Dillon, Jarbari, and Sengun. It is also probably going to force a stupid trade, because Ime/Stone are stupidly all in on the playoffs this year and won't be patient.
What has this 2nd in the West team, which has made zero panic moves, done to be called stupid twice? The arrogance of this board is unbelievable.
Agreed. I was completely against Amen as the pick but now didnt even watch the last because he wasn't in it.
Maybe I went a little over board. I think Stone has done a great job. However, we won't be 2nd for long unless Ja stays hurt. After January , I predict we will be 6th or worse. At that point, I think the pressure will be on to make a trade to try and get us into the playoffs, which is fool's gold to me. They should be all in on developing our young core, instead they are playing FVV 35+ minutes. Now that Jabari is hurt, the pressure will be on to make a trade and I don't see an in-season trade that won't be a waste of assets. I hope Stone remains patient and stays the course until the off-season and Ime smartens up with his rotations. Of course, if Ant or Giannis become available in season, then go for it. As far as being arrogant, that's just silly. The fun of this board is playing coach and GM. It would be a very boring place, if all we did was Rah, Rah, Rah because we are a 2nd seed after 1/3 of the season and an easy schedule. I'm happy with our progress, but not delusional about how good we are with one of the worst offenses in the NBA.
I didn't say we should all be Rah Rah Rah, and the complaints about the offense you made earlier in the post are perfectly legitimate. But it absolutely is arrogant to assert strongly that 'they are using Jabari wrong' or 'they are running the offense the wrong way' given how much more information they have. I know brevity is prized, but a caveat of 'from what we can see' or 'based on the data we have' would be MUCH more accurate. Especially when the evidence for the total impact is incredibly good - you can argue sustainability, but that is just speculation. For now they have the results on their side and could easily argue the offense/defense tradeoffs are part of the winning formula. To disagree is fine, but to call them stupid or simply assert that they are wrong is arrogant. It is what drives me most insane about people like BtG -- projecting absolute certainty about something about which you know relatively little compared to those making the decisions. Finally, you assert over and over again that we have one of the worst offenses in the NBA, but that is just factually incorrect. But I won't bother arguing about that as you have been clear in your opinion that offensive rebounding is the driver and is unsustainable. That is defensible (though not proven), but it is simply wrong to say the result so far is one of the worst offenses.
23/16/3 in his first game back in a win against the team I despise the most. Welcome back is an understatement.
16 rebounds as a guy who might be a backcourt player?! Are you kidding me! This kid is something special.
