If he can be Mutombo-lite, it would be awesome. He fouls too much to stay on the floor, which happens alot with 1st/2nd year players. Give him 2 seasons, he should be able to stay on the floor.
It's much less a religious statement than it is a manner of expression. The same way people say "oh my God" when they're shocked. It means 'fate dealt him some good cards'. You don't need this explained, but here it is anyways.
This kid is a waste of time. He's been in the league 2 years and they they think they can improve his game in 6 months, enough to make a knowledgeable decision to pay him $11M for the next 2 seasons.
Yao ming always had skills. He might have fallen town and had people dunk on him, but at least you knew he had a good coordination since he could do offensive move. Why memphiss drafted him makes no sense. I mean did anyone watch dejaun vs thabeet in college?
First of all, it is highly doubtful that the Rockets pick up Thabeet's option for 2012-13 this October, so the "monetary investment" is really only his $5.13M salary for next year (minus the cost savings from trading away Battier's higher salary this season). Also, I think CD made a great point about how the Grizzlies' coaching staff may have quickly left Hasheem behind due to how much further along Marc Gasol was than him. Gasol really had a HUGE head start on Thabeet, especially with his professional experience in Spain. Plus, Michael Heisley is a notoriously cheap owner, so it is quite likely that he did not bother to invest in the additional coaching and training staff to give Hasheem the extra attention he obviously needed. I'm not saying that Thabeet will now turn into the next Mutombo. But at least there is some reasonable explanation for why he has not developed as hoped in his first season and a half and some rational reason to have SOME hope that he'll get better with this extra attention.
It is exactly the point. You have just shown how hard defense is to grasp for a 1st or 2nd year player. Even an offensively coordinated powerhouse like Yao seemed lost lost in his 1st year and 2nd. He seemed to really pick up his defense in his 3rd year. The Rockets won over 50 games that year, if I am not mistaken. It was a big improvement from his 1st year and another lottery season. His impact was more noticeable in that 3rd year.
Not every big man busts out within 2 seasons. Thabeet has been in the league less than 2 years. Some big guys don't really bust out until their 3rd season. Rockets can go for a 4 year player with no upside or they could have gambled and gone with Thabeet. They went with potential. Big men who came on strong, after their 2nd season: BWallace Andrew Bynum Brad Miller David West Al Jefferson Jermaine O'Neal Zach Randolph Dennis Rodman Mehmet Okur Dirk Nowitzki Chris Kaman Kendrick Perkins DeAndre Jordan The other position that seems to take time to learn is the PG position. Sometimes, those guys don't understand how to be a floor general until later on. Steve Nash Chauncey Billups Kyle Lowry Devin Harris These guys didn't hit their stride until their 5th-7th season, except for Harris who turned around in his 4th season. Learning the PG or big man position seems to take longer than a swingman position.
Agree, the kid went to one of the worst franchises in the league and not because I am a rocket fan, but he is now with one of the better franchises in the league. I see him turning it around next season, its not flukie when someone averages 11 boards and 4+ blocks in the big east and its hard for me to fade Jerry West.
I don't remember what CD said about Yao, but I do remember Yao saying that CD was the best big man coach for him, implying he was better then Ewing and Hakeem. I'm guessing it was because CD focuses on fundamentals and repetition, which is something Thabeet could use.
Anyone else noticed CD said that Adelman enjoyed this group of guys? Maybe we still have a hope to keep him next season. Am I reading too much into it?
I hope you aren't reading too much into the comment. I badly want Adelman to sign an extension, assuming he's offered one, and Morey should offer him one.
I'm religious too, if you were wondering. Was going over some anatomy/genetic material when I decided to read this thread. First thing that popped up in my mind. no offense intended
