Thornton ranked 6th of 10 players most likely to improve

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:51 am

The final pick of the lottery in 2007 out of Florida State, Thornton was a favorite of some before last season began and by the time the season rolled to a close, everybody liked him even more. With Baron Davis and Marcus Camby now on board, the 6-8, 220-pound Thornton will be even more effective coming off the wing with his power and speed. He averaged 12.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 27.3 minutes a game overall, but during the final dozen games he scored at least 21 points seven times, including a 39-point explosion, and three double-figure rebounding games as well. It's tough to establish yourself on a team that is going through transition -- and primarily failing -- as the Clippers always are. But with the new additions and the patience of coach Mike Dunleavy, this guy has a chance to be a special player and very soon.

Fox Sports

illastrate · Post #2 » by **illastrate** » Tue Sep 2, 2008 7:32 pm

Thornton will probably be the biggest benefactor of Baron's arrival. It's gonna be quite a sight to watch.

JJ LoDuca · Post #3 » by **JJ LoDuca** » Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:16 pm

^ Let the alleyoops begin....and them highlight reels better get ready!

Post #4 » by **thanumba2clippersfan** » Wed Sep 3, 2008 2:47 am

Thornton really have a chance to become the number two scorer this season. With Brand departing it really leaves room for others to step up.

GuyverX · Post #5 » by **GuyverX** » Wed Sep 3, 2008 3:06 am

Who's Brand?

mj_shoefanatic · Post #6 » by **mj_shoefanatic** » Wed Sep 3, 2008 10:27 am

Thornton's upside is a no-brainer.

TheNewEra · Post #7 » by **TheNewEra** » Wed Sep 3, 2008 3:36 pm

Off the bat we need Thorton to bring his strong A+ game to the team. Thorton is going to see more mintues this season so hopefully that means greater overall production. The whole team has to step up their game, espcially our starting line-up. If Cat, Thorton, and Kaman play as strong as we know they can we will be a strong playoff contender.

GuyverX · Post #8 » by **GuyverX** » Wed Sep 3, 2008 6:03 pm

Thorton can score 20ppg in his sleep...the question is can he do it efficiently? I think Baron Davis will help him out a lot for easy baskets and he won't have to launch every single shot that he comes across like last season. I love Thornton but the one thing that I didn't really like was how he became a chucker, taking ill advised, low % shots.

Post #9 » by **thanumba2clippersfan** » Wed Sep 3, 2008 7:27 pm

GuyverX wrote:Thorton can score 20ppg in his sleep...the question is can he do it efficiently? I think Baron Davis will help him out a lot for easy baskets and he won't have to launch every single shot that he comes across like last season. I love Thornton but the one thing that I didn't really like was how he became a chucker, taking ill advised, low % shots.

I also saw that from Thornton last season. He didn't seem to chuck up as many shots during the summer league. He has the talent to become one of our top scorers. It will be exciting to see how Thornton improves this season.

magicfan4life05 · Post #10 » by **magicfan4life05** » Thu Sep 4, 2008 1:31 am

I hope he has a great season this year. But is it a sure thing he will start this year or will there be any type of competition between him and Ricky Davis?

Post #11 » by **loflin3hree5ive** » Thu Sep 4, 2008 2:13 am

There is no reason for Thornton to be any lower than 3rd on this list except that the writer doesn't have the guts to put it on paper. Thornton and Baron Davis alone are going to make the Clippers relevent in 08-09 and own the highlight reel throughout the season.

CLiPPzWeRD42 · Post #12 » by **CLiPPzWeRD42** » Thu Sep 4, 2008 5:18 am

GuyverX wrote:Who's Brand?

He's that guy that couldn't stick an alley-oop if his life depended on it.

:lol:

I think Thorn can be a 20+PPG scorer this season, and can be in contention for M.I.P., like Bobby Simmons, except someone won't have to pay him 9 million, the following season..

I think Baron is going to make AT12 sick-wit-it!

illastrate · Post #13 » by **illastrate** » Thu Sep 4, 2008 4:34 pm

GuyverX wrote:Thorton can score 20ppg in his sleep...the question is can he do it efficiently? I think Baron Davis will help him out a lot for easy baskets and he won't have to launch every single shot that he comes across like last season. I love Thornton but the one thing that I didn't really like was how he became a chucker, taking ill advised, low % shots.

His shot selection improved as the season progressed. But of course, a lot of times he had to take ill advised shots because no one else on the team could score. Our offense was just anemic last season.

Like thanumba2clippersfan said, his shot selection was very good in summer league play, so it looks like we'll be seeing a smarter, more controlled, yet spectacular AT this upcoming season.