Calling someone fools gold because you don't think they will be able to win it all with them as the top player is very harsh. Would you call guys like Barkley, Malone, and Ewing fools gold? And while their careers aren't over they have certainly been in the league long enough would you call Durant or Carmelo fools gold?
None of the players you mentioned had obvious defects that make/made them a total liability in crunch time. Drummond is fools gold because he only makes 40% of his free throws, which in turn, means he's got to go to the bench in crunch time when the opponent fouls him and sends him to the FT line. This man is not even Shaq good from the free throw line. Shaq at least hit 53% of his free throws during the regular season and right at 50% in the playoffs. This man shoots 40% from the free throw line during the regular season. Come post season, that number is likely to slip to around 38% or less with the added pressure and added exhaustion from having to play much harder than in the regular season. Understand something here. If Shaq had been a 40% career free throw shooter....he would have wound up playing about half the minutes in the post season than he actually did and he would have been benched throughout his career. At 50% it was bad enough. Shaq undoubtedly cost himself at least 1 title with his crappy free throw shooting. And he had to exit way too many games in crunch time. Drummond is a whole nother league below Shaq in the free throw shooting department. He's a 40 percenter. Let that sink in. He's a 40 percenter. What that means is every possession he burns at the free throw line his team collects a measly .8 points. Look up the numbers for yourself. At least Shaq was 1 point per possession on all those free throws. It's too wide of a margin. It's too much decrease in efficiency. And the worst part is when he goes to the bench because he can't hit his free throws...his rebounds and finishes go with him. That's why he's fools gold. He simply has to get that FT percentage to 55% or above or else he'll lead his team to ultimate failure. They'll simply fail on a bigger stage than a bunch of regular season games.
No his work ethic is not the problem. His problem is his disinterest during games. Which hasn't shown yet this early season but has shown repeatedly in the first 3 years. As I said he many times not only was lost in defence but also didn't run back esp if the guards failed to involve him in offence. For sure if you watched the Pistons in the last three years you must have noticed. I have seen many Pistons fans mention it repeatedly. It is a red flag. Yeah...not sure if it's Contract Year Syndrome right now. He didn't get the extension with his consent to save 12mil in capspace next season, after sitting at the table with Tellem and SVG. He knows he will get his max. It's certain at this point even if he has a minor injury. Bogut may not be a franchise player but my comparison was in regards to his defensive awarenss and instict. He had it even as a rookie. All elite defensive Centers had it as far I know. Anyone got any example of a center who in his first three years had no concept of team defence and suddendly turned into DPOY caliber??? As for the hacking, there are some interesting things I saw in twitter yesterday by some journalists. Namely saying that the proposal to change the rules were denied because it was on the basis of three players and with a possible rise of Drummond to stardom they may change them. I hope not because I think players should learn to shoot FTs and it's a part of the game as shooting. I think bballholic makes some very good points in this thread but it's the way he says them (absolute) that seem to you bad and him as a hater. Listen, it's only been 6 games. It's much more wise to remain sceptic and wait for the player to prove his change over at least 41 games than go all "hottake" on such a small sample and proclaim his arrival. Drummond has serious flaws and his FT isn't the only one. And these flaws are fundamental.
Neither is correct. Drummond is a legit NBA player with some pluses to his game. He's a role player though, not a team-carrying superstar. Unless and until he gets his FT shooting percentage to or above 55%. Canaan is a scoring small guard. He is electric at what he does well. He is terrible at what he doesn't do well. He's a role player too. He serves a definite role in the NBA as a scorer. Not a good defender. Never will be a good defender. And his best role would be to play the point for a team that doesn't run pick-and-roll but rather lets him break down his man and create/finish. There are other ways to play the game besides pick-and-roll. Canaan happens to be one of those guys that operates best if you give him the ball, spread the floor, let him break down his man, and then everybody starts moving. Whichever NBA team figures out how to use Canaan correctly will have a player on a low salary that is highly productive.
I think there is a huge range between "role player" and "team-carrying superstar", though. He hasn't yet proven he's a superstar, but surely he's something more than a mere "role player". If he's averaging 15 ppg and 15 rpg by the end of the season on a strong team he's probably a very, very good player, even if he's not carrying his team to a championship a la Hakeem or Shaq.
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I sometimes wonder if jopatmc is as stubborn and arrogant in his personal life as he is on this BBS. I really hope not, as if so he must REALLY be insufferable.
He's very, very good in his role....finishing off the roll and rebounding the basketball. He's probably one of the top 2-3 players in that role in the entire league. But he's one of the worst FT shooters in the entire association. And he's at best, less than a top 15 paint/rim defender. I don't see how we can get around him being a role player. His skill set is limited, even for a big, in today's NBA.
This thread is about Drummond. State your case as to why you think Drummond is a true great big man. Otherwise quit wasting bandwidth.
We could make millions with a sitcom that stars jopatmc, tinman, hotballa and paulftsk . Wouldn't even need a script, as the madness would unfold itself automatically.
I liked the 3 pick n rolls, Howard tries to do too much on the pick and is to slow to roll. Drummond is not over committing on pick and trying to grab the picked player (looking at your Howard). His looked effortless and quick, very nice. I love Howard but have been disappointed with his use of the PnR. There is no reason Harden and him shouldn't have the most deadly PnR in the history of the game.
Comedy??? Comedy is that pic of some kid high on weed, leaning against some sports car that his friend's daddy owns.
As if to prove my point. You're not a mod. You're often wrong. And your attitude is the reason why, even when you occasional get one right, NOBODY here takes you seriously.
