Al thornton

[pmklings]

Al thornton is a beast, there is no denying it. What kind of year do you guys think al thornton is going to have. I think he is going to bounce back and could be a possible allstar. what do you guys think?

[BoomFizzle]

Thornton is not a beast and there is no way in hell he is an all star next year. In fact he should get less minutes this year and his stats should therefore drop.

[clipperdrew]

Al's a freakish athlete, hands down. But going into this season he's probably going to be the 4th scoring option at best. I think he'll average around 13-15 PPG, but scoring at a more efficient rate.

[GuyverX]

Thornton is a beast...if you never need to play D or pass the ball. He had a promising rookie season but really regressed last year. I look for Rasual Butler to get the start eventually and Thornton will be the spark off the bench.

[PlinkingPanda]

Being an All-star is based on nothing but popularity, so it doesn't really matter whether or not he becomes one. He just needs to play smart and learn how to use his athleticism to benefit the entire team rather than focusing on just offense.

I think he's like a poor man's Melo. Well before last season at least. I still like him and still believe he can improve his game. Whether he does or doesn't I'd still like him around. If he just focuses on his offensive game I'd love for him to become a Maggette type player off the bench. Getting the team in foul trouble and getting free points at the line can sometimes overlook bad defense. Especially when you force the opponents good players to sit down due to overfouling.

[mkwest]

Thornton has beast-like athleticism, but lacks a well-rounded game. Most have soured on him after high expectations last season. I think he has some legit reasons for the dropoff, but I won't get into that.

I'd never say never, but I don't think he'll be an all-star any time soon due to all the competition at the forward spots (e.g. Duncan, Dirk, Melo, STAT, Durant, Gasol, Jefferson and West just to name a few).

Last year, throughout the month of March he played like we all want him to (18pts, 6rbs, 1 stl, and just under a block while shooting 55% from the field) . This gives me some hope for him, and I do expect a better season even if his numbers dip. I just hope that he's made good use of his summer after recovering from his injury.

[SportsFan215]

I always thought the Clips should sell high on Al this offseason, coming off scoring 16 ppg and still having 2 years left on his rookie contract. Now his trade value will fall if he comes off the bench behind Butler (which he should). He would flourish in a running system, like the Suns, Warriors, or Knicks.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I would love nothing more than for Al to be an all star, but he must prove it to us. I mentioned before that he needs to work on his all around game. We will soon see what type of player he has become this season.

[kombayn]

I always thought the Clips should sell high on Al this offseason, coming off scoring 16 ppg and still having 2 years left on his rookie contract. Now his trade value will fall if he comes off the bench behind Butler (which he should). He would flourish in a running system, like the Suns, Warriors, or Knicks.

He's not coming off the bench, he flourish being on the floor with EJ and Blake.

[jgustav1]

I always thought the Clips should sell high on Al this offseason, coming off scoring 16 ppg and still having 2 years left on his rookie contract. Now his trade value will fall if he comes off the bench behind Butler (which he should). He would flourish in a running system, like the Suns, Warriors, or Knicks.

It wouldn't be possible to sell high on Thornton this offseason, given his off year. The Clippers need him to bounce back as a starter this season.

[ClipperEric]

I love Al Thornton, he's my favorite player in the entire league. But I wouldn't call him an All Star.

Last year wasn't a great year for him but look at all the problems we had. We had so many injuries, different line-ups and journeymen that our offense was never fluid and usually quite pathetic.

I'm sick of all these posers calling him a black hole or selfish or whatever. Al was usually left with the ball in his hand, the clock running down and no movement by any teammates. So he had to jack up a lot of turn-around jumpers.

If the team can stay healthy, keep a consistent line-up, and maybe start to run a bit, then Al's percentages will increase. His scoring may be down though because we may actually have more options on the court.

[BoomFizzle]

37.4 mpg 1.5 apg 6.3 ast% - A
35.1 mpg 2.3 apg 12.9 ast% - B

Okay so we have player A and B. One is Zach Randolph, regarded by many as the biggest blackhole in the league, the other Al Thornton.

Now take a guess which player is which?

[thanumba2clippersfan]

Is Randolph player A?

[BoomFizzle]

haha I wasn't acually expecting anyone to answer but Player A is Thornton, B is Randolph.

[og15]

Being an All-star is based on nothing but popularity, so it doesn't really matter whether or not he becomes one. He just needs to play smart and learn how to use his athleticism to benefit the entire team rather than focusing on just offense.

I think he's like a poor man's Melo. Well before last season at least. I still like him and still believe he can improve his game. Whether he does or doesn't I'd still like him around. If he just focuses on his offensive game I'd love for him to become a Maggette type player off the bench. Getting the team in foul trouble and getting free points at the line can sometimes overlook bad defense. Especially when you force the opponents good players to sit down due to overfouling.

Well the All-Stars off the bench are picked by the coaches, so it is only a popularity contest for the starters. And even taking that into account, it is generally the top players in the league that get picked as All-Stars anyways since they get popular for being good.

Also the sad thing is that he is a poor man's Melo while being a year older than Melo. Personally I don't see the poor man's Melo comparison, I see more of a Hackim Warrick with more range, less attacking the basket, and a less efficient player comparison.

[BoomFizzle]

I would say he was a slightly less athletic Outlaw. Both have talent but take bad shots and don't pass the ball.

[scratch21]

i want him to be like Outlaw exactly

[BoomFizzle]

Call me crazy but I would much rather have a team orientated player like Martell Webster


1.3apg 16.6ppg 1.5to 5.4rpg 45%fg per 36 mins ast 6.3% - Outlaw
1.4apg 16.2 ppg 1.8to 5.0rpg 45%fg per 36 mins ast 6.9% - Thornton

Just checked the stats for Outlaw and Thornton. As you can see, based on last season Thornton and Outlaw are very very similar stat wise despite Thornton only being a sophomore.

[og15]

I agree, I think the only difference between them was that Outlaw posted a .540 TS% to Thornton's .502 TS%. Obviously like has been mentioned many times, Thornton has quite weak scoring efficiency.

In terms of passing though, I don't think Webster is doing much in comparison to them if we base it on APG (1.5 assists / 36 mins and 7.0 ast%). A guy like Webster would be nice for this team though, he's listed at 6'9 making him a big SF, and if he can defend well along with his great outside shooting, he'd be a nice piece.

[scratch21]

AL is gonna win 6th man of the YR