Nen

[Shady08]

Nenê is starting to concern me a bit. The last 15-20ish games he has been very soft and out of it. He is not finishing around the rim like he was earlier in the season when he was leading the league in FG%. I have also noticed on defense he has been very soft. I'm not quite sure what is going on. I especially noticed his soft defense in the Lakers game a few days ago. Bynum was getting way too deep and would just go right over top of him with ease while just standing there.

It seems he is not strong mentally as he was earlier in the season, you bump him around a little bit and he is totally out of sync and frustrated.

I remember two years ago when Nenê practically shut down Timmy D in the first round of the playoffs. TD was held to his lowest fg%, pts, and rbs in the first round than any other round that year (won the Finals).

Is this nothing or a cause for concern?

[The Answer_CO]

He just looks pissed off at all times. When someone is being physical with him, he backs down. He attacks, but passes the ball to someone else. He is not even looking to score when he gets in the paint. Maybe he needs some rest. I remember 2007 playoffs when he shut down Duncan, especially game 1. We need him aggressive.

[sportsmikegm23]

Nenê is starting to concern me a bit. The last 15-20ish games he has been very soft and out of it. He is not finishing around the rim like he was earlier in the season when he was leading the league in FG%. I have also noticed on defense he has been very soft. I'm not quite sure what is going on. I especially noticed his soft defense in the Lakers game a few days ago. Bynum was getting way too deep and would just go right over top of him with ease while just standing there.

It seems he is not strong mentally as he was earlier in the season, you bump him around a little bit and he is totally out of sync and frustrated.

I remember two years ago when Nenê practically shut down Timmy D in the first round of the playoffs. TD was held to his lowest fg%, pts, and rbs in the first round than any other round that year (won the Finals).

Is this nothing or a cause for concern?

You guys are 100% correct and it's a big concern... My thoughts are that he hasn't played a full season in a very long time and he's got alot of nagging bumps and bruises that are affecting him. I would think it would be very smart to rest him at Portland (even though we all would like to win the game) his healthy (mentally and physically) are extremely important for a good playoff run. If he keeps getting frustrated with all the banging... we are going to be in some trouble. I hope to see the Brazilian tank back to form during the playoffs.

[PeTBuLL]

My guess is about his lately performances with foul trouble, that´s for sure is coming on his head and his Defense is not right there...

And i agree with the fact that Nene is very weak mentally, he´s get upset in the past with guys like Olowakandi then we had the Amundson experiment and yesterday Diogu, common Nene you have to been better then that...

[blue steel]

He's been really weird lately. Hes not playing with the same, consistent defensive intensity. Offensively hes had some bad games, but his defense and rebounding has been worse. A few times last game I was yelling at nene threw my tv, he was just standing there instead of going for rebounds, not closing out, trying crazy passes that didnt even make sense.. Diogu owning him like that should provide some motivation, unless his in some weird mental state, then he should figure out how to get back to the beasting nene from earlier this year.

[Wigginstime]

Year G GS MPG
04-05 55 18 23.9
05-06 1 0 3.0
06-07 64 42 26.8
07-08 16 1 16.6
08-09 76 75 32.6

Nene is just tired and banged up. He just needs a little rest.

[biskvito]

I think sportsmikegm23 and Wigginstime are probably right. Rest the big man...

[Meloshow]

As Wigginstime said, he hasn't played this many games in a long time. For a guy that relies on his combination of power and athleticism to score, its all about conditioning to produce up the other end.

It is definetly a concern as we need him to play on the stockier back to the basket bigs in the playoffs to win ball games.

[pistonsnuggets]

Well he had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists on sunday
Good work!