LofJ wrote:The good thing about Lance in comparison to Henderson is that he actually takes 3 pointers. Hendo is allergic to them, as we all know.
I'm a huge Hendo fan...I'm really, really hoping we keep him around this season, as I think he'd be a great leader for the second unit as the sixth man. Solid scorer, good defense on the wing, high energy, high character, and leadership.
But yes, I agree. Even with his improvement from long-range, he still passes up way too many open threes. I imagine if he had taken many of those shots he passed up, he could have averaged aroun 37% from range. It's too bad.
I'm hoping spacing will help Lance get a lot of space to shot threes. It's not his strong point, but he's not bad, either. And he actually had a higher PPP on three-pointers when he actually had a hand in his face, as opposed to wide open shots. I think that was kind of a fluke last season, and I think he'll benefit from open threes. And like you said, he's not afraid to shoot them.
I was majorly against signing Lance this offseason. I thought for sure we'd have to offer up at least a 4/48 contract to grab him. So his contract loosened my apprehensions a bit. As did the fact that his teammates do seem genuinely bummed to see him leave, and the fact that MJ laid down the law on him pretty hard the night they met. His press conference was also good. It makes me believe that Lance, while a part of Indy's locker room, may not have been the focal point of the issues. I think he may have just been caught in the swirl of the whole fiasco.
I will never, ever forgive him for some of the things he did in the past, and I know that the stairway assault charges were dropped, but we live in a guilty until proven innocent society, and while I wish I had the ability to think differently, I don't. I think it's almost certain that he pushed that girl down the stairs. And the groping thing was proven. That's **** that had better stay in his past, and it's stuff that I'll never be able to get over, no matter how good he becomes for the team.
But I don't mind (most) of his antics on the court. I actually enjoy them. He has to cool it with the blatant flopping, but the little dances, the fiery competitiveness that got him T'd up (a lot of the techs were stupid, anyway. Especially that one against the Heat where he got thrown out of the game after literally saying nothing to Wade). But like MJ said, there has to be a line drawn. And he can not pass it.
If he stays true to his on-court passion, adds in some character, some fire, and some good scoring, I'm okay with him. If he starts dragging bull into the locker room, if he starts flopping all over the place and looking like a total idiot on the court, or if he starts playing like he's the alpha-dog on the squad instead of running our offense through Al, then I will not be happy.
But I think he understands now that he doesn't have much wiggle room. He signed a VERY team-friendly contract, and knows he has to prove to Charlotte and the rest of the NBA that he's worth max money in three years time. I think he'll work out fine.
Just two cents from a guy who didn't want him here. I'm okay with it now after learning the terms of the contract, hearing about the conversation he had with MJ, Ewing, Cho, and Cliff, and his press conference. I won't be his number one fan, but I'll cheer for him as long as he behaves.
