I don't know the man's game.......didn't watch Memphis at all. But I will say this.......he can't make our defense any worse. We suck, there is no where to go but up. Not expecting anything from him. As far as I'm concerned he was a throw in for the numbers to work. Anything we get from him is gravy. Here's hoping.
I don't understand how you get drafted #2 and at least somewhat good at the game?? Somebody must be a fool drafting him that high then.
Here are Hollinger's comments from ESPN: + Towering shot-blocking presence with long reach and impeccable timing. + Solid rebounder, but virtually devoid of offensive skills other than dunks. + Makes little defensive impact beyond blocks; must add strength, learn pro game. For the second overall pick, Thabeet was a crushing disappointment as a rookie. Certainly, he's a phenomenal shot-blocker. But he has virtually no basketball skills and seemed completely lost at both ends of the court, making it difficult to envision him eventually being part of a winning core. Obviously, he needs to improve on offense -- averaging 9.4 points per 40 minutes with one of the worst turnover ratios in basketball (22.5 turn overs per 40 minutes) isn't getting it done. But what's more vexing is how much work remains on defense. Thabeet blocks shots, but he's equally prolific with fouls (one every 5.45 minutes, the third-highest rate in the league) and was often overpowered by stronger players around the basket.
I haven't watched HT much in the NBA, saw more of him in college of course. It's done now, so I just try to look at it from a realistic stand point. Thabeet isn't going to come in here and replace Yao, in terms of impact/giving the team 20/10. Who expects that though? What I do hope is that he develops into a fantastic defensive center, that would be good enough, given how most critics have already dismissed him as ever being anything.
IIRC RA's contract is up at the end of this season. Does anyone realistically believe he will be back coaching the Rockets next season considering the mismatch between his skills as a coach and the youth/developmental needs so prevalent on this team?
Hasheem is like a lost puppy on the court. He has no clue where he is, and is about 2 seconds behind each play. Very slow, and so eager to block that he fouls the offensive player at the slightest fake. He is 3-4 years away from being a serviceable player, IF he works hard in the offseason and trains hard.
Damn. Really tough to have a positive outlook on this trade. I think I might have the same review of my own skills by Hollinger if the Rockets would let me swat at balls in the paint from Clutch the Bear's shoulders.
Thanks for all the reps guys. I've probably been rep'd more for this one thread alone than the rest of my posts combined. Cool. One final note, I am probably the one guy that believes that Thabeet can anchor a defense, but since it required more than what the grizzlies were comfortable with doing. We, or should I say hollins, was very much committed to marc gasol and he had no patience for any blunder thabeet made, and he certainly wasn't going to cut into marc's minutes for thabeet. Really thabeet is a nice dude that has been lambasted on the grizzlies boards since he got there. So, I hope the guy is able to find a home in memphis.
From this draft combine interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbaaIEEmEmI this guy says he hasn't played ball for more than 5 years, so now he hasn't played for 7 years. that means he has more potential once experience adds up right?
This was when he was sent to D-league <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/d7qCRZjM-Mk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Didn't Yao work on this with the Tennis Ball Drill. I would think that a summer/and lockout working on just that will make him better. On everyone dogging his rebounding, even if he does not have the natural jumping ability to jump fast nor the instincts to go to where the rebound will be, he can still be a good rebounder. He needs to get a lot more muscle and bulk on him, and then work on being as precise as possible at boxing out. Even Yao had issues with both of those issues, but he made the effort to get super strong (which possibly lead to his downfall and feet issues), and to be fundamentally sound by boxing at least his guy if not 2 guys out every play. Both of those things can be worked on. He may never be a Kevin Love type rebounder, but working on those things he could easily develop into a 9 rpg player, who even if he does not rebound the ball, he makes it a lot easier for his teammates to do by neutralizing the opponents bigs.
