POG vs. the 'Cats

[Neon Black]

Ok, so not so much a poll as a call to discuss Kanter's monster game, and the implications of the game in general.

This was the perfect night for Kanter and Favors to start - the Bobcats presented a challenge to the depleted Jazz but not a very serious one.

That said, Enes far exceeded my expectations tonight and he deserves the props. He was a monster out there. It may be a bad frontline he was up against, but 20-20 nights aren't a piece of cake against any opposition. His aggressive positioning before snagging every rebound is just phenomenal. He's not afraid out there in the least. If you can get past the stereotype that automatically accompanies a huge, dopey-looking white guy, you see that Kanter is extremely quick on his feet in post up situations. His smooth shooting touch is just another huge plus. I think he's getting a little better at not getting blocked 500 times a game, and his vision and IQ seem to be steadily improving.

A big thing for me was seeing where the offense would come from without Millsap and especially Big Al. If Al and/or 'Sap walk next year, it's a legitimate concern. Jefferson's brought consistent, clutch offense all season. But I truly believe (and this game helped reinforce) that the offense will open up significantly if Al is gone and that guys will step up every night. This was one of the most entertaining games for me all season. I loved the energy, the ball movement and I loved cheering for guys I know won't be gone in a few months.

Again, it was just the Bobcats. I know this lineup would struggle tremendously at times...but it's worth it. I can only hope that ownership is more willing to let Jefferson go this off season after games like tonight's. He's a great teammate and offensive player, but a team with him as the #1 or even #2 option will probably never be a serious contender. He may be willing to take less $ to play in Utah, as has been rumored, but even then I'm not sure his contract and on-court presence would only hold the Jazz back in their progression.

[Inigo Montoya]

you forgot big turkey, big turk and underkanter - they also had good games.

[Inigo Montoya]

on a more serious note - i like what the jazz does with kanter in terms of his development. since he was 16 everybody knew he has a great shooting stroke, can hit jumpers from outside, and that he will be a good pick&pop guy if needed. that was his main offensive weapon since the very start, and the turkish national coach even said last year that he is the best shooter on the turkish national team (including guards) in between dishing out corbin zingers. i think he was exaggerating, but his point was clear - enes can really shoot. in the profiles on websites before the draft the most common comparison was okur.

the point of this rather long intro, is that the jazz knew this is a skill he already has which is at a high level and will continue to improve, and decided not heavily exploit it and utilize it, and instead invested in him developing his post game and footwork. it was very easy to just use him as a p&p player from the get go and nothing more, but that would have probably made him play like that for the rest of his career and not develop other areas of his game. i like that the jazz made him a post up player with a jump shot to COMPLEMENT his game rather than being his main weapon. he could have easily become a byron mullens or even memo (which isn't bad, but he was a rather one dimensional offensive player). instead, kanter more and more looks to me like more mobile\agile version of al jefferson who gets to the line and plays better defense. and that is a damn good player.

this is why i don't like jazz fans calling for the jazz to just use favors in pick and roll situations. we all know he can do that. but using him like that now will just make him a very limited player offensively, when he can grow so much more in other areas offensively. this is why i'm more than willing to watch him take tough shots on post ups, or turn the ball over on both post up and face up situations, and why i don't mind him taking a mid range shot once in a while (i actually wish he'd do it more). because limiting him to mostly p&r's on offense will guarantee him turning into a deandre jordan and nothing more.

and back to kanter - i wasn't really surprised he had this game, i think we all saw flashes of extreme productivity from him in very limited minutes. and even though he did it against the bobcats - he played against bismack biyombo. now, i really don't like biyombo as basketball player. never have. never bought the hype on the guy. but the SOLE REASON for him getting drafted - let alone in the lottery - was his defensive ability\potential and his athletic abilities\physical measurables. and kanter killed him, and any other player on that roster, so he deserves credit for what he did in this game.

i also really enjoyed this game, and it was a while since that happened, even when we were winning. i think the way the C4 will win games is by playing average offense and good defense, with an advantage in rebounding on both ends of the floor. i just think we really need a guy who can really run a team, set players up and put up points in efficient percentage on offense. by now everybody knows who i mean. obviously we'd rather have marcus smart who have tons of potential and room to grow as well as great intangibles, great physical tools and great defense - but that's not happening most likely.

[Neon Black]

Yeah I think we're on the same page. While I never *expect* Kanter to go berserk I'm not *surprised* by it, either. Lots of fans write him off because of the way he looks or whatever, but clearly Kanter has always shown the ability to score and be an elite rebounder. I'm sticking by my position that we may have something extremely special in the kid...details like him being one of 2 players to get 20-20's this entire season, or having the best NIke Hoops Summit game since Dirk Nowitzki just enhance my hope for him. I'm not even convinced that Favors has a higher ceiling, as everyone seems to think. If pure athleticism always trumped other manifestations of talent and skill, then Javale McGee might be a better player than Kevin Love.

I like your point regarding the Jazz' development of players. It's not popular these days to have a positive opinion about anything the Jazz organization is doing, hence all the impatient, emo fans that are never satisfied. But truly, I think player development behind the scenes is underrated and a major factor on whether or not a player will reach his potential. I wonder how Favors would end up if he were still in New Jersey, where they didn't have the patience to work with him on the parts of his game that needed improvement. Everyone's been clamoring to let the young guys just start and get major minutes, but I don't think that's the correct path for either Kanter or Favors. They both have immense talent, but neither were exactly NBA ready, and the hard work and patience could really pay off. I'm not saying that that's the right route for every young player...I never agreed with Deron playing behind those scrubs...but I think it's right for these guys. I expect Favors will start next year and Kanter will assume Favors role off the bench...but who really knows.

[Neon Black]

Also, to be fair, Biyombo isn't really a dominant or even really good defensive player at this point. He was definitely drafted high because of defensive potential and grit, but he's pretty raw yet. He blocks shots here and there but isn't very sound in fundamentals and positioning.

STILL, that doesn't mean that it's easy to drop 23 and 20 on him, or whatever it was. It really was an amazing feat, and most bigs in this league will never, ever accomplish it even vs. the weakest defenders.

[Inigo Montoya]

don't get me wrong - i think both kanter and favors should play much more than they get to (easier said than done with this roster obviously), but i like the way they are used when they are on the court, in that the jazz let them get their offense in a way that is not necessarily their best skill or the most comfortable for them. i like it that they go to kanter in the low post and let him play with his back to the basket rather then just let him shoot jumpers, which we all know he can do. and i like they let favors try and get buckets in various 1-1 situations instead of just pick and roll him - which we all know he can do. that's real development - ON THE COURT, and not just in practice and behind the scenes. if favors stayed with the nets, i think he'd become just another guy. with the jazz, he showed flashes of potential to be a multiple time allstar. having said that, he still has to prove that he isn't just another guy. but if the jazz don't start favors next season, i'm gonna be super pissed.

i'm never big on somebody's skyrocketing his stock because of an exhibition game or games, be it biyombo or kanter. but i do like the fact that kanter broke dirk's scoring record in very limited minutes: 34-13 in 24 minutes. biyombo's rise from a mid - late 2nd round pick to 7th overall due almost entirely to one exhibition game was just pure stupidity and hype. even draft express bought the hype, and i respect DX, but that was some weak tea (look for the JonathanG post):

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1157290

btw, only two players had 20-20 games this season? that doesn't sound right. there's noah, vucevic and love, and that's just off the top of my head.

[Neon Black]

Then Locke led me astray...he mentioned last night that only 2 players had done it. Maybe it was something else and I misheard. Still, 20-20 games are hard to come by.

Like I said, the Nike Hoops Summit game enhanced my opinion of Kanter, among lots of other factors. Givony was high on Biyombo but his reasoning reached beyond that one great performance. I respect DraftExpress as well, but even he's wrong sometimes.

BTW, I was agreeing with your point about player development. By "behind the scenes" I wasn't implying only off-court development applied. The bulk of the instruction and planning goes on behind the scenes and obviously manifests itself on court.

[Inigo Montoya]

BTW, I was agreeing with your point about player development. By "behind the scenes" I wasn't implying only off-court development applied. The bulk of the instruction and planning goes on behind the scenes and obviously manifests itself on court.

i know, i was just elaborating further on that subject - we seem to be on the same page, like you said.

[reapaman]

Ok last night Kanter played great last night, theres no if ands or buts about it. With that said it still changes nothing for me. I'm still going with my orginal prediction that he can start for a bad team but is a backup for a good one. Last night, the majority of his shots were dunks and layups (a few jumpshots mixed in). To his credit a few of them came off of fakes in the post where he would turn around for the dunk which biyombo bit on everytime. Most of the vets don't bite on those fakes. And the only real post move (involving backing down his man) he did last night was blocked earlier in the game. Theres a reason that this guy was top 5 in getting his shot blocked (among qualified players) last year and is top 15 now (he was headed for top 10 again after some of the last few games but may have avoided it last night). Its great that he did this but its nothing new, I saw him do this in those pre-draft videos and even in the pre-season. He is not gonna score like that on a consistent basis.

So then what is he gonna do since his true post moves are way too raw and he gets blocked way too much for a guy of his size? Well lately he has been slowly moving further away from the basket and is shooting more jumpers. There has been around a 11% drop within the last two months in the amount of shots he has attempted in the post which is very steep and if this countinues it will lead to an imbalance in his shot selection and he becomes more Okur than Jefferson (which may not sound like a bad thing but he has a long way to go before reaching Okur level). In the toronto game he did have 18 and 8 (on 42% shooting) but he was blocked 5 time and gave up about 24 points, most of them to bargs who scored easily outside the post on Kanter (which is nothing new since him and big al struggle to defender outside the low post). Also, last night he had a lot of turnovers and so far this year his turnovers have doubled despite only playing a min and a half more per game. I know I come off as a hater but the issues I had with Kanter are still there and nothing was changed from last night.

With all that said to his credit he does take advantage of his oppurtunities which says alot about his personality and effort level unlike another big man we have. HOW IN THE **** DO YOU FOUL OUT WHEN BLOWING OUT THE BOBCATS!!!!! Not to mention you shoot 30%, WHAT TYPE OF CRAP IS THAT?!!!? That was inexcusable. Favors foulling problem may go away in a few years but right now people need to stop denying that its not the elephant in the room. Its huge and it can be detrimental to a team trying to win when a guy who suppose to be your best defender can't stay on the court because he's in foul trouble constantly. As many problems as I have with Kanter, he still stays on the court. Favors better watch it or Kanter will take his minutes.

[Neon Black]

Ok last night Kanter played great last night, theres no if ands or buts about it. With that said it still changes nothing for me. I'm still going with my orginal prediction that he can start for a bad team but is a backup for a good one. Last night, the majority of his shots were dunks and layups (a few jumpshots mixed in). To his credit a few of them came off of fakes in the post where he would turn around for the dunk which biyombo bit on everytime. Most of the vets don't bite on those fakes. And the only real post move (involving backing down his man) he did last night was blocked earlier in the game. Theres a reason that this guy was top 5 in getting his shot blocked (among qualified players) last year and is top 15 now (he was headed for top 10 again after some of the last few games but may have avoided it last night). Its great that he did this but its nothing new, I saw him do this in those pre-draft videos and even in the pre-season. He is not gonna score like that on a consistent basis.

So then what is he gonna do since his true post moves are way too raw and he gets blocked way too much for a guy of his size? Well lately he has been slowly moving further away from the basket and is shooting more jumpers. There has been around a 11% drop within the last two months in the amount of shots he has attempted in the post which is very steep and if this countinues it will lead to an imbalance in his shot selection and he becomes more Okur than Jefferson (which may not sound like a bad thing but he has a long way to go before reaching Okur level). In the toronto game he did have 18 and 8 (on 42% shooting) but he was blocked 5 time and gave up about 24 points, most of them to bargs who scored easily outside the post on Kanter (which is nothing new since him and big al struggle to defender outside the low post). Also, last night he had a lot of turnovers and so far this year his turnovers have doubled despite only playing a min and a half more per game. I know I come off as a hater but the issues I had with Kanter are still there and nothing was changed from last night.

With all that said to his credit he does take advantage of his oppurtunities which says alot about his personality and effort level unlike another big man we have. HOW IN THE **** DO YOU FOUL OUT WHEN BLOWING OUT THE BOBCATS!!!!! Not to mention you shoot 30%, WHAT TYPE OF CRAP IS THAT?!!!? That was inexcusable. Favors foulling problem may go away in a few years but right now people need to stop denying that its not the elephant in the room. Its huge and it can be detrimental to a team trying to win when a guy who suppose to be your best defender can't stay on the court because he's in foul trouble constantly. As many problems as I have with Kanter, he still stays on the court. Favors better watch it or Kanter will take his minutes.

I respect that and I knew you would say what you have. My arguments remain the same and I don't really feel like rehashing them again. I agree that Kanter is raw, gets blocked a lot, and needs to work on certain aspects of his game, but they're all things that can definitely, definitely be corrected. And I'm not following how if he shoots more from outside he's Okur, and if he plays inside he's Jefferson. Are those the only two player molds he can fit? You're assuming quite a lot regarding this "imbalance in shot selection". There are going to be all kinds of weird statistical trends whenever a player gets sporadic/low balances of minutes every game. It really comes down to a matter of opinion at this point, because neither of us have enough really evidence to KNOW how good he's going to be. I have my opinion and support it with all the positives, you have yours and support it with all the negatives.

If we flipped sides we'd be talking about Kendall Marshall.

[Inigo Montoya]

He is not gonna score like that on a consistent basis.

actually, i think this game showed exactly the opposite - that he can score like that on a consistent basis. he had a very good mix of offensive contribution. mid range shots, post up plays, offensive rebounds, baskets off assists and from running on the fast breaks.

his per 36 minutes is 16 and 10 at 54% FG. last night he got 44 minutes and put up a 20-20 game. i think he has the makings of a very good offensive player. if vucevic can put up a double double average, so can kanter. the magic are a bad team and vucevic is playing a lot of minutes on a bad team with sub par rebounders so his stats should be taken with a grain of salt, but i think kanter can be much better and has the makings of a very good offensive player.

he gets blocked a bunch, but so what - he is 20. he will learn how to avoid it and will adjust in time. same goes for his turnovers.

bargs gets a bad rep, which is mostly justified. but he is a tough cover defensively, especially for centers, since he plays so much on the perimeter.

as for favors - he has no reason to not use his fouls when he knows he only gets 20 minutes every night regardless of how well he plays. he does need to learn not to try and block anything that moves, but his foul trouble comes in no small part from offensive fouls, which again - will be lessened in time. as long as favors gets 20 minutes regardless of how well he plays or how many fouls he accumulates, his fouling is not an issue for me, and not an elephant in the room. it will only become a problem if he is counted on for more minutes. i do hope he's taking some notes from kanter though, and comes back next season with a more respectable jumper.

[Dry Fly]

So then what is he gonna do since his true post moves are way too raw and he gets blocked way too much for a guy of his size?

Develop them? The guy didn't play college ball and has a half of a year under his belt.

[reapaman]

I respect that and I knew you would say what you have. My arguments remain the same and I don't really feel like rehashing them again. I agree that Kanter is raw, gets blocked a lot, and needs to work on certain aspects of his game, but they're all things that can definitely, definitely be corrected. And I'm not following how if he shoots more from outside he's Okur, and if he plays inside he's Jefferson. Are those the only two player molds he can fit? You're assuming quite a lot regarding this "imbalance in shot selection". There are going to be all kinds of weird statistical trends whenever a player gets sporadic/low balances of minutes every game. It really comes down to a matter of opinion at this point, because neither of us have enough really evidence to KNOW how good he's going to be. I have my opinion and support it with all the positives, you have yours and support it with all the negatives.

If we flipped sides we'd be talking about Kendall Marshall.

I respect everyone opinons, I just wanted to get that out there now before the Kanter parade comes in like they did in the pre-season saying all the "haters" were wrong (yet they are no where to be find after he has strings of bad games).

And I'm just using okur and jefferson and an examples. He's more vlade divac to me.

So then what is he gonna do since his true post moves are way too raw and he gets blocked way too much for a guy of his size?

Develop them? The guy didn't play college ball and has a half of a year under his belt.

Saying the guy didn't play college ball isn't helping the situation, it is part of the situation. Since he didn't play college ball that makes him rawer and developing in the nba takes a very long time. So since he is rawer for not playing college ball than those that did play college ball then just makes developing longer. Plus he did practice with the team which I think is more important than playing versus crappy college competition but thats imo.

[Litany]

Ok last night Kanter played great last night, theres no if ands or buts about it. With that said it still changes nothing for me. I'm still going with my orginal prediction that he can start for a bad team but is a backup for a good one. Last night, the majority of his shots were dunks and layups (a few jumpshots mixed in). To his credit a few of them came off of fakes in the post where he would turn around for the dunk which biyombo bit on everytime. Most of the vets don't bite on those fakes. And the only real post move (involving backing down his man) he did last night was blocked earlier in the game. Theres a reason that this guy was top 5 in getting his shot blocked (among qualified players) last year and is top 15 now (he was headed for top 10 again after some of the last few games but may have avoided it last night). Its great that he did this but its nothing new, I saw him do this in those pre-draft videos and even in the pre-season. He is not gonna score like that on a consistent basis.

So then what is he gonna do since his true post moves are way too raw and he gets blocked way too much for a guy of his size? Well lately he has been slowly moving further away from the basket and is shooting more jumpers. There has been around a 11% drop within the last two months in the amount of shots he has attempted in the post which is very steep and if this countinues it will lead to an imbalance in his shot selection and he becomes more Okur than Jefferson (which may not sound like a bad thing but he has a long way to go before reaching Okur level). In the toronto game he did have 18 and 8 (on 42% shooting) but he was blocked 5 time and gave up about 24 points, most of them to bargs who scored easily outside the post on Kanter (which is nothing new since him and big al struggle to defender outside the low post). Also, last night he had a lot of turnovers and so far this year his turnovers have doubled despite only playing a min and a half more per game. I know I come off as a hater but the issues I had with Kanter are still there and nothing was changed from last night.

With all that said to his credit he does take advantage of his oppurtunities which says alot about his personality and effort level unlike another big man we have. HOW IN THE **** DO YOU FOUL OUT WHEN BLOWING OUT THE BOBCATS!!!!! Not to mention you shoot 30%, WHAT TYPE OF CRAP IS THAT?!!!? That was inexcusable. Favors foulling problem may go away in a few years but right now people need to stop denying that its not the elephant in the room. Its huge and it can be detrimental to a team trying to win when a guy who suppose to be your best defender can't stay on the court because he's in foul trouble constantly. As many problems as I have with Kanter, he still stays on the court. Favors better watch it or Kanter will take his minutes.

Your analysis and approach to evaluating players is wildly inconsistent evidenced by your love for apparent scrubs you endorsed early on vs players you ragged on.

Appears you are more concerned with being right than being accurate and fair and having your ego bruised a bit.

Is that accurate?

A backup big for a good team?

I'm not sure I can take anything you say seriously.

[Inigo Montoya]

I respect everyone opinons, I just wanted to get that out there now before the Kanter parade comes in like they did in the pre-season saying all the "haters" were wrong (yet they are no where to be find after he has strings of bad games).

i'm on the kanter bandwagon and i'm on the record. but the guy gets 15 minutes a game in non-continuous sessions. i can't expect him or anyone else to dominate in that capacity, and that's before we even bring all of the age, development and skills issues into the discussion. it is easy to have bad games in that role, and that's also part of the growing pains of a young player. but usually the role and opportunities he gets in games is so small that even if he's bad, it is insignificant and doesn't affect the game all that much, so we bother to mention the bad performances that do actually matter and affect the game. and yes, i'm mostly talking about earl watson.

[reapaman]

Your analysis and approach to evaluating players is wildly inconsistent evidenced by your love for apparent scrubs you endorsed early on vs players you ragged on.

Appears you are more concerned with being right than being accurate and fair and having your ego bruised a bit.

Is that accurate?

A backup big for a good team?

I'm not sure I can take anything you say seriously.

You can't say Its inconsistent based on guys I love during their first couple of seasons when I expected some of those guys to struggle before they succeed. I pick guys I like and guys I don't pre-draft and stick to them never waiver. I did the same with guys like harden and mayo even though during their first couple of years (longer for mayo) they were called bust by many. I believe I was right on the money with Favors and Hayward. Most people didn't like austin rivers, I don't either. If I'm wrong I will admit it and will do the same with Enes if he proves me wrong.

[reapaman]

I respect everyone opinons, I just wanted to get that out there now before the Kanter parade comes in like they did in the pre-season saying all the "haters" were wrong (yet they are no where to be find after he has strings of bad games).

i'm on the kanter bandwagon and i'm on the record. but the guy gets 15 minutes a game in non-continuous sessions. i can't expect him or anyone else to dominate in that capacity, and that's before we even bring all of the age, development and skills issues into the discussion. it is easy to have bad games in that role, and that's also part of the growing pains of a young player. but usually the role and opportunities he gets in games is so small that even if he's bad, it is insignificant and doesn't affect the game all that much, so we bother to mention the bad performances that do actually matter and affect the game. and yes, i'm mostly talking about earl watson.

Its not the bad games thats the issue, its whats happening during the bad games thats the issue. If he was just missing wide open shots then that could be an inconsistent and confidence minutes issue. But when you are blocked at such as high rate he has been for the 2nd year in a row, then theres is a huge glareing issue with your offensive especially when your 6'11. When your turnovers doubles to the next season in just one and a half more minutes of play which is unheard of no matter what age the player is, then theres an giant issue more than just youth. These type of things are consistent no what your minutes are just like his high rebounding is consistent. Its the same thing with favors, his high fouling is consistent no matter how many minutes he plays. Sometimes you gotta look at those underlying issues and you will see some real problems with a player.

[Litany]

Your analysis and approach to evaluating players is wildly inconsistent evidenced by your love for apparent scrubs you endorsed early on vs players you ragged on.

Appears you are more concerned with being right than being accurate and fair and having your ego bruised a bit.

Is that accurate?

A backup big for a good team?

I'm not sure I can take anything you say seriously.

You can't say Its inconsistent based on guys I love during their first couple of seasons when I expected some of those guys to struggle before they succeed. I pick guys I like and guys I don't pre-draft and stick to them never waiver. I did the same with guys like harden and mayo even though during their first couple of years (longer for mayo) they were called bust by many. I believe I was right on the money with Favors and Hayward. Most people didn't like austin rivers, I don't either. If I'm wrong I will admit it and will do the same with Enes if he proves me wrong.

You are being intellectually dishonest and that is obvious. You watch him with complete bias that is very clear in your "analysis."

"The only post move he made was blocked" is complete bull**** and you know it. Go review the highlights on the general forum and you'll see a number of post moves leading to scores or foul shots along with several jumpers and a baby hook shot, not just the put backs you reference to downplay his scoring.

The fact of the matter is he already has proven you wrong but you will continue to tout nonsense to preserve your ego. I've never seen you own up to being wrong and don't expect it to ever change. Even if Kanter becomes an AllStar you will marginalized that and explain why you are still right. This is clear in your comment that you "never waiver" which is what you are doing with Kanter which leads to you having to be dishonest.

There's no getting through to someone with your approach so we will just disagree and I'll enjoy Kanter becoming a premier big while you hang onto your hate and preserve that ego .

[Inigo Montoya]

Its not the bad games thats the issue, its whats happening during the bad games thats the issue. If he was just missing wide open shots then that could be an inconsistent and confidence minutes issue. But when you are blocked at such as high rate he has been for the 2nd year in a row, then theres is a huge glareing issue with your offensive especially when your 6'11. When your turnovers doubles to the next season in just one and a half more minutes of play which is unheard of no matter what age the player is, then theres an giant issue more than just youth. These type of things are consistent no what your minutes are just like his high rebounding is consistent. Its the same thing with favors, his high fouling is consistent no matter how many minutes he plays. Sometimes you gotta look at those underlying issues and you will see some real problems with a player.

i have to disagree with you there. kanter getting blocked is something that is going to improve and avoiding getting blocked is teachable:

it is easier to get blocked when you're spinning baseline and closing your angle to the basket. he'll learn to avoid that and leave himself an angle or to spin less to the baseline.

he brings the ball down too much, which gives the defense more time to gather and prepare to block his shot. it also gives the defense - mainly smaller players - an opportunity to steal\strip the ball. he'll learn to avoid it as well, in time.

he is not going hard enough to the rim sometimes which results in a block - that's also easily correctable.

he hasn't mastered and perfected how to use his body and frame to gain some separation from his defender, which leads to getting his shot blocked. that will go away once he'll learn how to incorporate a consistent baby hook shot into his offensive repertoire.

he turns the ball over because he doesn't keep his head up and watch the defense. this game vs the bobcats was a good example, when he was stripped by a help defender from behind. that will get better in time.

he turns the ball over because the keeps the ball too long instead of kicking it back out. he will learn to do that. even big al has.

HE IS ONLY 20. he has shown a big improvement from one year to the next, especially with his footwork and offensive skills. there is no reason to think he won't get better and minimize his blocked shots and turnover issues.

as for favors - he consistently gets 20 minutes on the jazz since he got here, so his fouls are consistent as well. not to mention both our back court defense is so porous and our other main front line defenders aren't great either - he has to sacrifice fouls as he covers for their mistakes. if we had better defenders around him, he wouldn't have to foul that much. couple that with his offensive fouls that will decline as he improves his offensive game and gain more experience. until he gets a real chance to play big minutes, i'm not worrying about his fouls. especially as he is one of the only bigs who try to defend.

[Litany]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQmsDXwDUso

I see a lot more post moves than just "the one post move he did was blocked"