When and will nicholson take over the PF spot?

[freespirit9]

Lets be honest, big baby is not the future and watching him jack up shots and handle the ball in the post make me cringe sometimes. But hes been much better lately, and is our guy right now and for the forseable future?

But the more I watch andrew play, he seems to be our starting pf of the future. He scores in bunches when he gets minutes with very limited ISO plays ran for him. Usually catching in the high post and shooting a jumper or trying to drive. His averages per 36 are nice considering the lack of touches.

His defense is average and pretty bad against pick and rolls and cutters. But with a 7'4 wingspan and a 30inch vert, and 245lb build. he has room for improvement.

Most impressive is his footwork in the post, he seems to have a wide array of post moves and counters and gets his shot off pretty easily. I think he could really draw free throws at an awesome clip if he was used in the post more.

So with all that said, will he be our starting pf this year or next, or should we be looking for an upgrade at the pf spot ?

[Reverse_Angle]

whenever nicholson deserves to start. you do not hand out a promotion just because he is a rookie.

[freespirit9]

whenever nicholson deserves to start. you do not hand out a promotion just because he is a rookie.

never implied what your suggesting. but thanks for stating the obvious.i would however hand out a promotion to a rookie if he is the better option. and statistically hes playing better then the player ahead of him on a per minute basis. i did vote reserve tho, as big baby going to the bench would probably destroy his ego at this point.

Correction, glen davis per 48 is actually better. about equal per. hes rebounding more, scoring about the same, but less efficiently, and getting more assist.

but andrew hasnt been a primary offensive weapon, so the fact that his scoring average is about the same, would imply that he could produce more in glens role.

[MitchellUK]

I honestly don't see it happening any time soon. Good as he looks offensively, right now his defense is atrocious, his rebounding is subpar, and physically he just doesn't seem ready for anything beyond back-up minutes. All of those things might, and hopefully will, improve over the coming months and years, but I don't see him being ready for a starting role and load this season.

[AdamTheGreek]

It all depends when/if Glen gets dealt. Andrew off the bench is doing just fine right now.

[rcklsscognition]

Coming off the bench now is a great opportunity for him. He can spend the majority of the game on the bench, next to a coach telling him how not to play like Glen Davis on offense.

[freespirit9]

Coming off the bench now is a great opportunity for him. He can spend the majority of the game on the bench, next to a coach telling him how not to play like Glen Davis on offense.

[GameOver25]

Coming off the bench now is a great opportunity for him. He can spend the majority of the game on the bench, next to a coach telling him how not to play like Glen Davis on offense.

[Def Swami]

Not sure he'll get a chance to this season. Glen Davis and Al Harrington (when he comes back) are both ahead of him. If both get dealt, then yea. But, if a center comes back in return, either thru trade, free agency, or draft, I'd like to see us move Vucevic to PF.

[BadMofoPimp]

I seriously doubt Nicholson starts this year. I don't think he will be a starting caliber player in the NBA, but more of a role player for instant offense. I hate to say Drew Gooden type of player as Nicholson has more potential, but he reminds me of that type of role player.

But Harkless, this kid could be very good. Once he develops the basketball I.Q. to learn the plays and structure of the coaches system, he could be a starter at some point this year. The thing holding these two kids back is that they are often out of rotation which hurts the system. This is probably why they may not be starters anytime soon.

[Bensational]

i like to think that Nicholson's smarts are what have helped him to develop a nice offensive game, and i think that once he applies those smarts to defense he'll be much closer to becoming a starter.

i also think that Rob and JV are making a conscious effort not to allow these rookies to feel entitled, so we don't end up with another egomaniac. so i wouldn't be surprised to see them on the bench, albeit upgraded to 20mpg status, all the way through til March.

[BadMofoPimp]

I don't know. There are many rookies all over the league that probably deserve to start over these two. Heck, Drummond rarely cracks 15 minutes and he has dominated in some games. Just saying, people should not think that it should automatically happen anytime soon. Maybe, after the trade deadline, they may get a few more minutes.

If a rookie truly want to start, they should concentrate on lockdown defense before offense. There are tons of offensive players in the league like Wafer, Gooden etc etc.

[RookieStar]

I dunno if he is ready yet. We need to showcase our glut on the PF so we can trade them anyway.

[Bobby Ray]

Let him earn the time. I think developing him bit by bit will help him in the long run this season although i think next year it should be his position. With a season of basketball and an off-season developing his body and skills under his belt he'll probably be a beast next season and i can't wait to see how good he's gotten. Same thing with Harkless a year of experiencing an NBA season and working with the trainers throughout this season and the off-season will do wonders for him. Don't forget Vuc either people don't forget he's actually younger than Nicholson so he has untapped potential as well

[craig01]

Starting isn't important, what is important is that he warrants playing time beyond the normal developmental stuff.

I'd expect that's going to take a while