It just hit me that maybe the injury was not such a negative for Landry. It forced him to work on his outside game and now he looks way more comfortable shooting the jumpshot. There was times last year when he didn't look comfortable shooting. If he can make that shot he will get loads of playing time this year.
I did not see any signs of a post up game, yesterday or last season. And yes he's always had a jumper, but it looks really smooth this year. Very noticeable improvement.
Landry look really solid last night. He lost over 10 pounds in the off season and it's showing. Not that Landry was fat but I think that's helped him out a lot. As for a post up game, He didn't really have one last night. I think that's something he'll have to develope during the season and in the off season.
The only post ups I remember him doing last season ended in the patented Eddie Griffin spin around jump shot that is way too easy to block. I don't think he has much of a post up at the moment (at least not that I've seen). But with his athleticism and natural instinct for the game, I definitely think it could be something he develops (or maybe it is already developed and we just haven't seen it yet). I'm not sure what some of you posters saw last year that made you think he was uncomfortable shooting from the outside. I think that was what really set him apart from the outset and what won him more PT as a rookie. I remember his breakout games were ones in which we were struggling offensively and he came in and took several wide open jumpers created by McGrady that he consistently swished like it was nothing. That hasn't changed, but I do think he might have extended his range a bit. And even outside of these specific discussions of his skills, the offense just seems to run SO much smoother when he is on the floor. He has such a good instinct for moving without the ball. From what I saw, the backups and 2nd stringers looked just as good as the starters last night and I think it was largely because of him (and some because of Aaron Brooks...but he had some pretty rough patches as well).
Our most powerful lineup would be Tmac at pg Artest at 2 Battier at 3 Landry at 4 Scola at 5 We would own the floor. Dunks and D all night long
I didn't see last night's game. From what I saw last season, and what posters who watched last night say, Landry doesn't have a post game to show yet. But it is good to hear from him saying that he's learning the footwork from Scola. I am pretty sure he will improve. Should he be the starter? It's hard to say at this point. He and Scola bring different things to the table. I think regardless of who starts at the 4, the 4-5 front line will be a 3-man rotation of Yao, Scola, and Landry. If Adelman is serious about limiting Yao's wear and tear, Yao will probably play in the lower 30s in the regular season. Landry and Scola will share the remaining minutes, about 28 mpg a piece, with Hayes and Artest playing spot minutes situationally. Scola will be the primary backup C, splitting his time about evenly between PF and C. If Landry doesn't have a solid post game, he can't be the go-to guy down low. His game is more suitable for playing off of a good post player like Yao or Scola. The good thing is, both him and Scola play well with Yao. And they play well with each other. So if health is not an issue, the 3-man rotation will be rock solid. Who start at the 4 is not that important.
OMG....who do you guys want landry to develop a post game so badly?! The truth is, his height somewhat limits his postup potential, because it's easier to block his shot. Besides, with yao, tmac, ron, scola all good at posting up, there isn't much room nor need for landry to post up. From our standpoint, it is much more useful for Landry to develop range, because a) it complements yao better, and b) it suit landry's strength because having a respected jumpshot means more penetration/driving opportunity.
exactly the truth. Mid-range jumper is the king of the offense. the best weapon in any offensive system.
if Landry plays like this for the beginning of the reg. season, its going to make it incredible hard for rick to keep him on the bench.. Excellent post game, nice jumper ( i was amzed actually) he couldn't shoot any where close to that last year. This guy is only going to improve and i am very optimistic.
With all due respect, I couldn't disagree more. A back to the basket game is a major hole in Landry's toolbox. The guy is quick, he is strong, he is an amazing finisher, he has decent handles for a 4, and a true 4, IMO, needs that back to the basket post-up game. Is he effective without it? Of course! But I see no reason, with Carl's talent and skill level, that he cannot add that to his game. He should and I think he will.
Usually a post up game is the last thing that a young player picks up.......look at Dwight Howard. Carl Landry will develop one in time and it's kinda selfish of us fans to be talking about it now when he's just kicking off his second year in the league.......we should just be happy that he does everything else very well. He'll learn how to play in the post eventually.
David Robinson had a HOF career, and he never developed much of a post game. Amare Stoudamire is, in my view, the best offensive big man in the game today, and he doesn't have much of a post up game either (not in the classic sense, at least). I tend to agree with you on this.
gotta disagree.. Robinson had a pretty solid jump hook to the baseline on the left side, and you'd see him shoot the fadeaway on the block a good amount. Sure, he was a great faceup guy and a jumpshooter, but he had a solid post game too I think.. Amare, I agree, though he's slowly incorporating more and more post game.. eventually I think you'll be able to say he's a solid post player. But I guess I agree with you too on what Carr Bombed said in that the post game is the last thing a young player picks up usually.
yea i completely agree with you. Scola does need to have the ball in his hands to be effective. Even after getting rebounds on missed shots if hes covered by 3 players he'll still try to put it back up instead of passing it back out to the perimeter. i think landry would be a better starter
This is why I was a bit shocked that people were claiming that he had shown a post-up game. Carl is already 24 or 25 I believe - while it certainly doesn't preclude his development, I just don't see him adding such a drastic aspect to his game this late in his development. I think people on this board (and fans in general) tend to too easily make the assumption that a certain player can just simply develop a certain facet to his game. You see this alot after the draft. "Oh, Donte Greene is still young, he'll develop handles" or "Dwight Howard will add a post up game." While players certainly improve in certain areas such as general ballhandling, that is very different from incorporating that skill as a full blown facet of one's game. As far as ballhandling, I honestly can't think of a single player that has developed the ability to put the ball on the floor after coming into the league - it's really a skill that you become most comfort with as a young kid while you develop. It is obviously common to add a postup game once in the league as many guys are able to do it, but I think most of the guys with dependable post-up arsenals had it in college. Obviously, Hakeem would be the huge exception to this rule. Carl I think at this age, it would be quite a stretch to expect him to develop anymore more than a jump hook.
