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Trevor Booker

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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#581 » by dobrojim » Thu Mar 8, 2012 4:16 pm

Ruzious wrote:
Nivek wrote:Games like this are why I wanted Booker in the starting lineup. It's hard not to love a guy who plays that frigging hard.

What impressed me is that he did it playing 38 minutes. If he was just an energy guy (like I used to say), he'd tap out after 25 or so.


I would have guessed higher minutes although I guess he did come
out in the first half.

I can't remember him coming out in the 2nd half. He was
EVERYWHERE. Agree with Consor that he was the best player
in the game last night.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#582 » by Severn Hoos » Thu Mar 8, 2012 4:21 pm

I hear Lazar Hayward was called up from the D-League.


Oh wait - isn't this the ITYA thread?
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#583 » by Nivek » Thu Mar 8, 2012 4:21 pm

Here's the list of players in b-r's box score database that had a game of exactly 18 points, 17 rebounds and 9 field goal attempts:

- Buck Williams
- Charles Oakley
- David Lee
- Trevor Booker
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#584 » by DCZards » Thu Mar 8, 2012 4:31 pm

Here's a quote from Booker during the NBA combine, before he was drafted by the Zards. He's living up to his words and attitude.

"One thing that people can't take away from me is how hard I go on the court," Booker said. "With my energy, my passion. I'm going leave everything on the court. I'm going to get after guys. I'm going to make guys better in practice."
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#585 » by Nivek » Thu Mar 8, 2012 4:40 pm

David Thorpe, who does some analysis work for ESPN and trains a number of NBA players, says that energy is a skill every bit as much as shooting or ball-handling. Before the draft, Thorpe said Booker would be a lottery pick if his neck was an inch longer.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#586 » by tontoz » Thu Mar 8, 2012 4:45 pm

On the season Booker is shooting 38% from 10+ feet compared to 15% last season.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#587 » by nate33 » Thu Mar 8, 2012 5:03 pm

tontoz wrote:On the season Booker is shooting 38% from 10+ feet compared to 15% last season.

Last year, Booker made 5 out of 31 attempts from 16-23 feet. That's a shooting percentage of just 16.1% and a shot frequency of 1.05 shot attempts per 36 minutes.

This year (through last Sunday), Booker has made 16 out of 38 attempts from 16-23 feet. That's a shooting percentage of 42.1% with a shot frequency of 1.53 shot attempts per 36 minutes.

So Booker has more than doubled his shooting efficiency while also boosting his attempts by 50%. That is truly a phenomenal improvement. If Booker can maintain a 42% shooting percentage from that range, it would make him one of the better perimeter shooting bigs in the game on a percentage basis.

The only question is whether or not he can make that percentage with more attempts. Right now, he pretty much only shoots the jumper when wide open. It'll be interesting to see if he can get good enough to hit that shot with less wind-up time and with a player closing out on him. For comparison, Drew Gooden averages 41.6% from that range but manages to get up 5 shots per 36 minutes. Udonis Haslem averages 34.6% from that range but shoots 2.8 times per 36.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#588 » by closg00 » Thu Mar 8, 2012 5:07 pm

Next for Booker? ball-handling/dribble imnprovement. If he can improve his shot, he can improve his dribbling.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#589 » by tontoz » Thu Mar 8, 2012 5:28 pm

nate33 wrote:
tontoz wrote:On the season Booker is shooting 38% from 10+ feet compared to 15% last season.

Last year, Booker made 5 out of 31 attempts from 16-23 feet. That's a shooting percentage of just 16.1% and a shot frequency of 1.05 shot attempts per 36 minutes.

This year (through last Sunday), Booker has made 16 out of 38 attempts from 16-23 feet. That's a shooting percentage of 42.1% with a shot frequency of 1.53 shot attempts per 36 minutes.

So Booker has more than doubled his shooting efficiency while also boosting his attempts by 50%. That is truly a phenomenal improvement. If Booker can maintain a 42% shooting percentage from that range, it would make him one of the better perimeter shooting bigs in the game on a percentage basis.

The only question is whether or not he can make that percentage with more attempts. Right now, he pretty much only shoots the jumper when wide open. It'll be interesting to see if he can get good enough to hit that shot with less wind-up time and with a player closing out on him. For comparison, Drew Gooden averages 41.6% from that range but manages to get up 5 shots per 36 minutes. Udonis Haslem averages 34.6% from that range but shoots 2.8 times per 36.



He has taken quite a few desperation shots at the end of the clock, like that 3 yesterday. There have been times when his man is up on him and he uses a jab step to freeze the defender before shooting. He hasn't done it much but i think he is clearly working on that. But if a man is rotating trying to close out on him i would rather he try to get past him off the dribble. A shot fake could really come in handy if he keeps hitting those shots at a reasonable clip.

I dont think he is going to be taking too many jumpers off the dribble which will limit his attempts. The 2s he plays with also prevent him from getting a lot of looks. Sometimes he will get the ball within shooting range and not even look at the basket. He isn't that aggressive looking for his shot.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#590 » by nate33 » Thu Mar 8, 2012 5:49 pm

closg00 wrote:Next for Booker? ball-handling/dribble imnprovement. If he can improve his shot, he can improve his dribbling.

meh. I put dribbling way down on the list. I don't care much if my PF can dribble. I want him to shoot, defend, and hopefully develop a post up game. For now, he should continue to hone his jumper while working on blowing up the pick and roll defensely. If he masters those two skills alone, he can start in this league for a long time.

Over time, I'd like for Booker to incorporate his incredible explosiveness into his post up game. Charles Barkley used to back into players, get them a little off balance, and then do a turnaround jumper where he would jump really high while drifting sideways and a little into the defender. The defender was forced to back off or be called for a foul. Booker has the strength, the low center of gravity, and jumping skills to execute this move.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#591 » by Nivek » Thu Mar 8, 2012 5:53 pm

I agree with nate. As long as Booker can handle enough to make post moves, he's fine. He's a guy I'd love to see learn to use his strength and physicality as an asset in the post. I wouldn't want him worrying about shooting that long 2 with more frequency. When wide-open is often enough for me.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#592 » by nate33 » Thu Mar 8, 2012 6:01 pm

Nivek wrote:I agree with nate. As long as Booker can handle enough to make post moves, he's fine. He's a guy I'd love to see learn to use his strength and physicality as an asset in the post. I wouldn't want him worrying about shooting that long 2 with more frequency. When wide-open is often enough for me.

I'm not calling for him to jack up contested shots like Blatche or anything. I would like to see him improve the speed of his release so that he could be effective in a pick-and-pop rather than solely on the kick-out. It would make him a much greater offensive threat.

Don't get me wrong though. I'm absolutely thrilled with the improvement Booker has shown so far. The guy has obviously been putting in a lot of work.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#593 » by REDardWIZskin » Thu Mar 8, 2012 6:06 pm

closg00 wrote:Next for Booker? ball-handling/dribble imnprovement. If he can improve his shot, he can improve his dribbling.


I'd say that's a start, if he can get his Jump shot to be like a David west type of consistency from 15 ft then people would have to honor him and try to close out on him. Then it would be a luxury if he could give a pump fake and gather himself into a controlled 2 or 3 power dribbles toward the rim. With his explosive leaping ability he could really have an impact. He may actually already be able to do it but to be able to do it under control and maintain his explosiveness would make it a weapon.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#594 » by Ruzious » Thu Mar 8, 2012 6:07 pm

Nivek wrote:David Thorpe, who does some analysis work for ESPN and trains a number of NBA players, says that energy is a skill every bit as much as shooting or ball-handling. Before the draft, Thorpe said Booker would be a lottery pick if his neck was an inch longer.

So if Chris Bosh had Booker's neck, he'd have been a late 1st rounder? :)
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#595 » by tontoz » Thu Mar 8, 2012 6:25 pm

Bosh's standing reach is 3" higher than Booker's.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#596 » by Nivek » Thu Mar 8, 2012 7:02 pm

Ruzious wrote:
Nivek wrote:David Thorpe, who does some analysis work for ESPN and trains a number of NBA players, says that energy is a skill every bit as much as shooting or ball-handling. Before the draft, Thorpe said Booker would be a lottery pick if his neck was an inch longer.

So if Chris Bosh had Booker's neck, he'd have been a late 1st rounder? :)


Yeah, maybe. I've said it here before, but back when I went to games on press pass, I ate dinner one night with Jerry Krause. He's the first person I ever heard talk about neck length. He said he didn't want guys with long necks because it's wasted height. :D
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#597 » by DCZards » Thu Mar 8, 2012 7:09 pm

REDardWIZskin wrote:I'd say that's a start, if he can get his Jump shot to be like a David west type of consistency from 15 ft then people would have to honor him and try to close out on him.

I'd be overjoyed if Trevor could develop West-like consistency on his jumper. West is one of the best shooting PFs in the game.

Charles Oakley comes to mind as a PF who went from a mediocre to fair jumpshooter at the start of his career to someone who could be counted on to consistently bury the 15-18 foot jumper. I loved Oak's agame. No one, absolutely no one, outworked or outhustled him. Oak would regularly put his body on the line diving after loose balls. While Oak was a couple of inches taller and had more muscle and brawn than Booker, Trevor is far more athletic.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#598 » by nate33 » Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:50 pm

Trevor Booker recently tweeted:

"I'm not sure what the diagnosis is, but it feels like I'm running with a nail in my foot," Booker said afterwards. "It's been going on for two months now, but it's just getting worse."

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With that kind of symptom, it's probably a nerve issue. My wife had a nerve issue in her foot a couple of years ago, she said it felt like her sock was always scrunched up under her foot. It hurt more when she ran and she couldn't wear heels.

The good news is that if it's a nerve issue, playing on it shouldn't make things worse. If Booker can take the pain, he'll probably be okay to finish out the season and then have surgery in the offseason. Unfortunately, as with almost any kind of foot surgery, the recovery time is pretty long. Booker could be out of commission for at least 3 months, which would affect his offseason work.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#599 » by Nivek » Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:49 pm

Honestly, if Booker needs surgery, I'd rather he get it now than wait for the offseason. Then he can have a headstart on rehab and he can spend more time working on his jumper. There's no point in running him out there on a painful foot. It's a lost season, and even in pain he's going to hurt the tank. This is the perfect reason to shut him down and start Vesely.
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Re: Trevor Booker 

Post#600 » by Zonkerbl » Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:56 pm

Plantar fasciitis.

No cure. No treatment. Career ending.
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