Brook Lopez The Next Tim Duncan?

[wilt]

-= original quote snipped =-

Yes, spacing makes a difference. But its not like a team can't thrive with two 7' in the middle. Look at the repeat Gators.

That

[Malinhion]

That

[Jonathan Watters]

I don't understand what you're saying here.

Well, like I said, do a search for my posts and you'll eventually understand the argument.

Yes, spacing makes a difference. But its not like a team can't thrive with two 7' in the middle. Look at the repeat Gators.

So what you are saying here is that Lopez had as much space to work with as Horford or Noah. That's a new one...

Maybe if he was a good three point shooter?

You're making this too easy. =P

Yep, no effort on your part to look at the Stanford offense and understand why things were done the way they were. If you are unwilling to account for context, there's very little you can say that isn't either common knowledge or flat out wrong.

[QUOTeYao Ming
Career FTM-FTA (%): 2089-2528 (.826)
Career 3PM-3PA (%): 1-9 (.111) [/QUOTE]

So you've found a 7'6 guy with a good FT% that doesn't shoot 3's. Do you honestly think this is an argument?

Hypothetically, how desperate do you have to be to quote the T-Wolves' brass in support of an argument?

I'm not desperate at all.

I have statistics and plenty of reasoning behind everything I've said. It is well known by some that Lopez has range beyond what he showed in college, and from what I saw in college it would make sense that he does. I figured a quote from a GM might be more effective than repeating arguments I've already made half a dozen times in the last month.

And once again, you are comparing him to a guy that shot 40% from the line last year and hasn't shot above 60% since 03-04. If you honestly think Lopez is as unskilled as Kwame Brown, that is your right. But it is my right to call you out on something you can't back up with a shred of reason.

[wilt]

you don

[Jonathan Watters]

wilt wrote:
That

[GSW2K4]

And GS, if you think playing with an offensively inept, tied to the low block 7-footer actually HELPED Brook offensively...it makes sense why you wouldn't buy the usage argument, because you aren't looking at what spacing and extra attention mean to offense...not in the least bit.

Basketball is a game of spacing, movement, and passing in my opinion. So I do pay attention to that.

But when evaluating a college player for NBA potential, you also have to look at what he was able to do given the circumstances. Evaluating a player based on what he might have done in different circumstances typically doesn't go very far in terms of NBA potential.

Given the circumstances, Lopez does not show the ability to react well to defenses, use a variety of moves to score, or quick footwork. Those are things that show up even when a player is double-teamed and surrounded by poor teammates (what I consider feel for the game). He got by mostly on being bigger and that's not going to cut it in the NBA.

If you're going to use workout comments as support, take this from Jim Peterson who worked out with him:

"Post moves, he still needs some work there. He needs to learn some technique."

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/ji ... 80604.html

And for more: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/dr ... lopez.html

I'm trying to take a balanced look at the guy -- he's a great college player, but not a top 5 draft talent, yet not a stiff. Defensively, he'll be a presence, but not as a great shot blocker like a Chandler or Okafor. That's because he doesn't have the quickness and timing of those guys.

It's not like there's some hidden ability that Stanford kept under wraps. He has potential to do many of the things you and others think he will, but doesn't have it yet. You can't continue to disregard report after report about weaknesses that will have a major impact on his NBA performance.

[wilt]

he's a great college player, but not a top 5 talent

yeah, but who else is ? Like said, neither of Mayo/Gordon/Bayless played showed all that much playing the point. Then you have guys like Randolph and Jordan who are underdeveloped either skillwise or physichally, an international, a possibly undersized PG in Augustin rated in the Top 11 along with Kevin Love.
Again i

[GSW2K4]

-= original quote snipped =-

I mean, worst case for all 3 and especially Bayless and Gordon could be Leandro Barbosa. Is that more valuable than a 15/9 Center that plays defense ?
Even if you say they at least turn out to be Ben Gordon i

[Jonathan Watters]

Given the circumstances, Lopez does not show the ability to react well to defenses, use a variety of moves to score, or quick footwork. Those are things that show up even when a player is double-teamed and surrounded by poor teammates (what I consider feel for the game). He got by mostly on being bigger and that's not going to cut it in the NBA.

If you're going to use workout comments as support, take this from Jim Peterson who worked out with him:

"Post moves, he still needs some work there. He needs to learn some technique."

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/ji...80604.html

And for more: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/dr...lopez.html

I never said he was a perfect post player. Far from it, in fact. If you would continue to quote from that article, you would see that Peterson goes on to say that he would be optimistic about polishing off Lopez' post game.

As for how he reacts and the complexity of his offensive game, I guess we just have to disagree. I think it takes more than a size advantage to do what he did, and for his team to have the level of success that it did, if he were only big. And I think the issues you have with his post game will be partially masked because he isn't going to be force-fed the ball and will get a lot more one-on-one situations.

The fact of the matter is that Lopez is only a sophomore, and we aren't talking about a DeAndre Jordan type here. Jordan flat out wasn't good enough to get on the court. Be afraid, be very afraid of Jordan's feel for the game. But Lopez was probably the best 2-way player in a very tough league and in a situation that wasn't suited for him to display what he can do. The fact that he still managed to accomplish as much as he did tells me that this guy is far from a finished product when it comes to offensive feel for the game.

[BBen]

It surprises me the type of arguments people make on these boards. I mean, if you have ever played basketball before you would know that you can't just be big and expect to be good. Haven't you ever played ball against that tall guy who gets pushed around and never seems to do anything except grab the ball and do tips? This is not Lopez. He's highly skilled and if someone like Bogut can go #1 why can't Brook go #3?