Oh yes I have, in his rookie year you were all over the guy....come on now.....you even admitted he was better than you thought he would be.....and that was LATE last year. I am glad you got on the bus...but no revising history....... DD
Tmac and one of our smaller contract guys for New Orleans' bigs (West, Okafor) would be nice. Or use West to help get Chris Bosh.
Dude, you never called him a scrub but you were certainly questioning whether he was even starter material. Come on now....you did not like him Leeb....it was not to your Battier levels, but it was definitly a "We need to trade him for Camby and..." type of deal. DD
If charges were better than blocks, Dikembe wouldve been on the bench during the 22-game win streak (post-Yao). The only reason Morey is claiming this falsehood, imo, is because we don't currently have a legit paint protector/intimidator. Granted, charges are valuable, but no one fears interior D because of what is, in every way, a judgement call (Set in front of man? Outside the circle? Square offensive player up?) by referees.
You're not getting every call in your favor in crunch time when you don't have a superstar. So yes we still need a shotblocker.
Are you kidding me? You were one of the biggest Scola haters here. I'm pretty sure you were the one who came up with the whole "Scrubola" nick name.
Huh? How can you think that a block is better than a charge? Charge = 100% turnover + opposing player with an extra foul. Block = turning a layup/jumpshot(maybe ~60-70%) into a 0% shot and maybe possession of ball. Taking a charge is a skill. Yao doesn't have that skill(nor the calls either even when he does have position). Deke's ability to block/alter shots >>> anyone else's ability to get charges. Hence why he started over Hayes.
You can never have enough of those. We would be able to play more Webber/Divac sets if West jumped on board
When people criticize Scola I think back to Juan Howard and count our blessings. We cold still be in that sinking boat, people wake up and appreciate what we have, we could done a lot worse then Scola !
Because this is an area that box scores don't properly reflect the effect the play(s) have on the game. It speaks not to the intimidaton, excitement, and fast break igniting abilities of having a paint protector. I suspect that deep inside Morey sees the inherent value in having a goalie, as well. I don't think he was meeting with Thabeet in the offseason to discuss his offensive prowess. How many charges per game do you think Hayes was getting? Maybe 2-3? And how many "low strips"? Maybe 2 or 3? So let's give him 6 denials, plus the 3 fouls he'd rack up on opponents. Valuable? Unquestionably. Now let's look at Deke. He was capable of swatting 3- 4 shots a game in limited minutes. Now, an accomplished shotblocker like Deke could block to a teammate, thus igniting a fastbreak on many of those. Let's say out of 4, it succeeds in igniting a successful fast break twice. That's 4 points (nevermind the "and 1" possibility, which would give an extra point, plus put a foul on the opposition. You and I both know it happens, though...). Now factor in how many times players will have their shot altered by Deke (4-5 minimum). The beauty of a shotblocker truly lies in the awkward shots and long jumpers he forces opponents into taking, since they don't want to get rejected. Most shotblockers alter at least as many shots as they actually block. For the greats, even moreso. For the great ones, they inspire offensive pushoff fouls, as well. Lastly, factor in the emotional lift a denial gives a team vs a charge. The entire arena erupts for a big block leading to a possession. Teammates get pumped up and get out and run the break! On a charge, it's great, too, but doesn't "inspire" the team/crowd the same way, nor strike fear into the opponents. Make no mistake, if an elite shotblocker becomes available, we'd be foolish not to inquire as to his availability.
this is off topic, but on the charges vs. blocks debate, here are some thoughts: there is an embedded debate within this argument about tanglibles vs. intangibles ie. blocks alter the confidence level of both teams, but with charges you have additional tangible benefits that come with fouling out players and getting the ball back. with charges, however, there is a sort of intangible in that you rely on the ref to make the call. now this might be true for any call, but for charges there's a finer line and they say it's one of the hardest if not the hardest call for a ref to make. there's very little time to tell if the def. player has his feet planted, so there's a good better chance that the foul will be called against the player trying to take the charge than the one trying to block the shot (actually, i'm not sure how true this is because players who get clean blocks seem to get called on fouls all the time too, esp. if it's a star). one slight adv. left out of this debate for blocks is that some turn into easy fast break points when they're deflected the other way; there's a lower chance of this happening, but it's almost always better than a turnover because there's a higher chance of scoring. i guess, in the end statistically, charges more reliably give your team the advantage, and that's what morey's saying (and implicitly saying blocks are overrated stats because of the excitement they generate). from a fan's perspective, blocks are way more exciting than charges (especially when you consider that it's kind of a "sissy" move compared to a power block) and there's nothing worse than seeing a player play defense by relying on flopping and offensive fouls. i guess a player's job is to provide his team with whatever advantages he can, but still, it seems really cheap to be constantly making contact and exaggerating the fall. this is what makes soccer unbearable to watch sometimes. it takes the game out of the players' hands and forces the refs to often make game-altering decisions (ie. penalty kick or award freethows/turnover in crunch time). just my two cents...
i love deke, but how often do you think the coach gets pissed off because he's wagging his finger instead of running up the court to play offense?
In isolation, a charge may be more valuable than a block shot, though even that is arguable. Teams that are quick to loose balls and get out and run very well may benefit from a shot-blocker that keeps the ball in play. It helps fuel their offense. A charge, on the other hand, will guarantee a stop / change in possession and its an extra foul on the other player, but it also creates a dead ball situation (no transition opportunity). I don't think charges result in team fouls either (unless I'm really spacing out here). Of course, the value of a potent shot-blocker goes well beyond any isolated blocked shots. Yao blocked maybe 2 shots a game, but we all know the type of impact his mere presence had in the lane. The threat of his shot-blocking and size meant far more than the actual blocks. Charges are very good defensive plays, but like leebigez and others said they don't have that same overall impact.
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