For all the flack this guy takes, he is doing a sensational job in PnR defense for the Olympic team. Perfect footwork, perfect timing on the step out and step back to effectively cover both the penetration and the roller. This guy is just flat out underrated.
In the NBA, Diaw is not underrated at all. Except for one year with Phoenix, he's under-performed his ability his entire career. If he truly cared about basketball, he could have been a repeated All-Star. Instead, he turned into a lazy, fat passive tub of lard.
That's the beauty of the 82 game NBA schedule, it exposes the talented underachievers and separates them from the hard workers dedicated to their craft.
So basically what you're saying is that he can look like a talented player if he wants to, rather than the overpaid, overweight anchor that he's been since hitting the jackpot in 2006? The word you're looking for is not "underrated" - it's "underachiever".
He's the kind of guy that needed a good coach around. His skills are special for a PF but he's not really a PF, that's the thing. Undersized. I'm not so sure he would have been a perennial all-star.
And he's not very good at any of them, due mostly to disinterest, which is how you end up on the Bobcats.
