Big Al's Paint: The Al Jefferson Thread

[ammofan]

Al's contract isn't bad. The man is averaging 20 + 10. Do some of you expect to pay a 20 + 10 player....5-8 mil? I don't understand what the issue is. Can't be the years. What is he on...3 year deal? Come on.

[fatlever]

i dont remember any hornets fans thinking campbell was an all-star and worth building around. and jefferson is light years better offensively and as a rebounder than campbell. elden was probably a better defender due to his length. i think elden might have been slower and lazier. i remember going to games and watching elden just shuffle back and forth between the 3pt lines.

[mrknowitall215]

Al's contract isn't bad. The man is averaging 20 + 10. Do some of you expect to pay a 20 + 10 player....5-8 mil? I don't understand what the issue is. Can't be the years. What is he on...3 year deal? Come on.

They expect Al Jefferson to be the perfect all-around player for $13.5 million, in which I've stated previously, if Jefferson was a defensive presence on top of being arguably the best scoring center in the league then he'd be able to demand a max-contract (excess of $15-17 million). I believe he was a good signing. Jefferson makes the same amount of money as Ben Gordon for Christ sakes, and less than Brook Lopez among other inferior players

[HornetJail]

I don't see why people think Al is a bad contract. Al is a 20/10 big man. His defensive shortcomings aren't enough to be detrimental to the team as we're a top 5 defense!

Here's a list of all players averaging 17/8 this season sorted by PER: http://bkref.com/tiny/iyheJ. Al is way above that, but this should give you an idea of the kind of company he's in.

Love (averages 26p/13r) - max contract, no real defensive game to speak of
Anthony Davis (20/10) - will undoubtedly receive a max deal once his contract is out.
Cousins (22/12) - max contract
Melo (27/8.6) - obviously a max contract, will likely receive 20M+
Blake (24/10) - max contract
Aldridge (24/11) - makes 14M a year, will make more on his next deal
Horford (18/8 though out for the year) - makes 12M, this was by far his best season
Jefferson (20/10.5) - $13M+/yr
Howard (19/12.5) - paid more than 20M a year
Pekovic (18/9) - makes similar money to Jefferson for a lot longer for lesser production
Millsap (18/8) - easily the biggest steal, only makes 9M, numbers boosted by injuries
Lee (19/10) - makes a bit more than Jefferson, even bigger liability defensively
Pau Gasol (17/10) - makes 19M, crappy defense, numbers are inflated in LA
Z-Bo (17.5/10) - makes $17M+, not a great defender

[Eoghan]

^ a lot of those guys got their contracts pre- new CBA. They won't be handing out many max contracts anymore.

[catch20two]

^ a lot of those guys got their contracts pre- new CBA. They won't be handing out many max contracts anymore.

Demarcus Cousins just got a max contract and Greg Monroe is looking for the max but more likely will get $13.5 just like Jefferson. There's two players that are just as bad as Jefferson defensively and are less proven players that are paid or about to get paid. And Pekovic contract was post new CBA.

[Radu_Hornets]

How would anyone say that he is overpaid ...?

He makes 13M$ a season, he is one of the best low post scorer in the league and he's the best scorer of the team.

Al this considering we have 13 millions for Ben Gordon...

[JDR720]

Al's contract is tied for 35th in the NBA, other players who have similar contracts

1-Tyson Chandler (14) only defend no offense
2-Andrew Bogut (14) only defend no offense
3-David Lee (13.9) smaller less skilled Al
4-Nene (13) nothing much
5-Josh Smith (13.5) complete screw head
6-Pekovic (12) good but can't defend at all
7-Tiago Splitter (10) say wha!?!?!
8-JaVale McGee (10.8) Shaqtin A Fool

Al is making 13.5, if anything we are under paying the best offensive center in the NBA and also a top 15 rebounder

[Liver_Pooty]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML160wA9mME[/youtube]

Lol. This sums up Al "Mr. Sprite" season

[fatlever]

FOX Sports Live ‏@FOXSportsLive 2h

The #Bobcats are now 9-2 when Al Jefferson scores 25+ points.

Colin Hoggard ‏@ColinWFNZ 2h

MOst importantly, Bobcats are 8-1 when Al scores 27 or more this season.

[mrknowitall215]

The Post-Up King: How Al Jefferson Schooled The Detroit Pistons



It’s weird that the Charlotte Bobcats are good this year. Sure, you can pin it on the Eastern Conference being weak if you want to. After all, with a 24-30 record, they’d make the Playoffs by the skin of their teeth if they started today. But there is no denying that they are much, much better. With the addition of Steve Clifford, their defense has received a much needed face-lift. As far as personnel goes, Kemba Walker continues to evolve, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is making his case as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, Gerald Henderson is proving that the mid-range game isn’t a lost art and it turns out that Josh McRoberts is pretty good at this point-forward thing.

And then there’s Al Jefferson.

This summer, the Bobcats got their franchise player. He’s a little on the old side at 29 and slightly overpaid at $40.5 million over three years, but he’s been a walking double-double for years now and has established himself as one of the best big men in the game. Unfortunately, it took him a while to get going with the ‘Cats. Over the first couple months of the season, he struggled with a nagging ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup and it took him some time to find his feet with his new team. Yet ever since the New Year rolled along, he’s been putting up huge numbers to the tune of 23.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. To no surprise, the Bobcats have been better with him on their side. And quite honestly, he deserved to be an All-Star, as he proved on Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons when he scored 32 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists in a 108-96 road win for the Bobcats.

While the numbers speak for themselves, it’s remarkable how much Al Jefferson has changed this team. Over the last few years, the Bobcats have dealt with some pretty shoddy bigs, such as Kwame Brown, Tyrus Thomas and DeSagana Diop. (I don’t think I need to remind you how bad they were/are). Adding Jefferson to the mix has given them a much needed offensive weapon down low, as well as a nice running mate alongside Kemba Walker. As a result, their offense has been much better.

It’s been known for years now that Jefferson is a killer on the low block, yet just how good he is down there often goes unnoticed. When he catches the ball in his sweet spot (which is anywhere within 10-feet of the basket) he’s hard to stop because he can score in so many different ways. He doesn’t just bulldoze his way to the rim or beat his defender with a quick first step. Instead he takes his time and makes a move depending on how he is being guarded, like a true veteran.

To prove that, let’s take a look at some of the things he did against the Pistons on Tuesday.

On this play, Andre Drummond cut off the baseline, forcing Jefferson into the middle of the court where there was supposed to be help defense.



Here was the situation for the Detroit Pistons: Kyle Singler couldn’t help off too much because that would leave Gerald Henderson open for a three or a long-two, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist forced Josh Smith to pick him up instead of helping out by making a strong cut to the basket and Josh McRoberts was in motion of going to the corner to held spread the floor. Therefore, with no help defense in sight, Jefferson took one dribble and pivoted into the paint. Before he rose up, he hit Drummond in the ribs with his bony elbow to create all the space he needed. Then an easy hook-shot.



Later on in the game, Greg Monroe defended Jefferson the exact same way, yet when he took that one hard dribble into the paint, Moose jumped at his right hand to cut off the hook. Instead of shooting a contested shot, Jefferson displayed perfect footwork by simply gathering himself and taking a step towards the basket for an easy lefty lay-in.

Here’s a video of both those plays:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaIxp78y32c[/youtube]

What’s most impressive about Jefferson’s post-moves, however, is that he has a counter to that strong right hook. As we’ve already seen, he can quite easily use his strength to back opposing centers down to get to his favorite spots on the floor, but he’s also able to use his quickness to leave his defender in the dust.

This play was a simple post-up for Jefferson and after making the entry pass, Ramon Sessions made a cut to the basket to prevent his defender, Rodney Stuckey, from doubling the post. Since Jefferson had already scored several times by driving middle into the paint at this point in the game, Greg Monroe played up on his left shoulder, exposing the baseline.



It’s important to note where Jefferson posts up. Any lower on the block and he wouldn’t have the room to spin baseline; any higher and someone like Drummond would have more of a chance of helping out. By stationing himself where he is, it gives him the option of using either one of his go-to moves.

Using his back to feel how Monroe was playing him, Jefferson dipped his shoulder in to make it seem as though he was setting himself up to make his normal move. Then he span baseline. Because Monroe was putting so much force into preventing Jefferson from backing him down, he lost his feet and had no chance of contesting the shot. Jefferson was left with a wide-open look a few feet away from the basket.



Here’s a video of him doing that exact move not once, not twice, but three separate times against the Pistons:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZw9QMRX3cY[/youtube]

The only thing that was left for the Pistons to do was to double Jefferson, but every time they did, he found his teammates open for good looks at the basket. On most nights against the Bobcats that might work because they don’t have that many offensive threats or people that can stretch the floor. But on Tuesday, Jefferson had a lot of help: Josh McRoberts hit three threes en route to 14 points, Gerald Henderson chipped in with 12, Kemba Walker scored 22 and Sessions gave them 12 points off the bench.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xzmvWxN0-8[/youtube]

This was a big win for the Charlotte Bobcats. Not only do their hopes of making the Playoffs stay alive for at least another few days, but they’re now 1.5 games ahead of the Detroit Pistons. With another win tonight against them on their home-court, they could extend that even further. But the best news for the folks in Charlotte is that 15 of the next 28 games for the Bobcats are at home and the winning percentage of their remaining opponents is 0.485. The Pistons on the other hand: 17 road games and a .511 winning percentage.

How far the Bobcats will make it this season remains to be seen. Defensively, they’re up there with the best in the league. Offensively, they’re…not the best. But with Walker and Jefferson, they’re good enough to win close games, which is something that couldn’t be said over the last few years. And they’re actually fun to watch. They can score inside and out, they’re unselfish and the ball movement has been very crisp as of late.

We can thank Al Jefferson for most of that.

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2014/02/19/ ... t-pistons/

[JDR720]

that was probably one of the best Al Jefferson articles i've read in a while

[Bassman]

I went looking for the Big Al thread and it was way back on page 2. Where is everyone? Just another ho-hum 30 & 10 night for the Big fella I suppose.

Big Al, Big Al, wherefore art thou Big Al?

I come to praise Al Jefferson!

The beauty and art displayed by a true post player, a game that has transformed a team from the outhouse to a decent condo, and a leadership quality that teaches these youngsters to BRING IT every game. Now THAT'S my Big Al!

Say what you want about his D, but he's even picked that up a notch.

How good would we be if we had a true scoring threat at the 3 and a deadly shooter at the 2? Add a starter quality PF to that, and my oh my!

So here's to you Big Al. A toast from your fan, who appreciates you and your game for the fine wine that it is.

[HornetJail]

I went looking for the Big Al thread and it was way back on page 2. Where is everyone? Just another ho-hum 30 & 10 night for the Big fella I suppose.

Big Al, Big Al, wherefore art thou Big Al?

I come to praise Al Jefferson!

The beauty and art displayed by a true post player, a game that has transformed a team from the outhouse to a decent condo, and a leadership quality that teaches these youngsters to BRING IT every game. Now THAT'S my Big Al!

Say what you want about his D, but he's even picked that up a notch.

How good would we be if we had a true scoring threat at the 3 and a deadly shooter at the 2? Add a starter quality PF to that, and my oh my!

So here's to you Big Al. A toast from your fan, who appreciates you and your game for the fine wine that it is.

nah nothing to report. just an average 30/10 game

[fatlever]

al's ppg by month

october: 13.0
november: 16.1
december: 17.7
january: 23.9
february: 25.3

what does he have in store for march and april?

[HornetJail]

al's ppg by month

october: 13.0
november: 16.1
december: 17.7
january: 23.9
february: 25.3

what does he have in store for march and april?

somebody start a GB thread

[catch20two]

It's becoming very clear to see that his slow start was just recovering from the sprained ankle and getting acclimated with his new team. I've already did it over a month ago but I'll apologize again for being so mad at Jefferson's play early in the season because I was disappointed. He went from being kinda underwhelming in November and December into the player I expected in January into exceeding my expectations in February.

[SpearNMgicHelmt]

The thing I've come to appreciate about Al is how much fun it is to watch him when he's on a roll. He's just got so many moves! He'll abuse his man one way. Then the next play, he does something else entirely to make his defender look useless. Sometimes, one move seems to be mentally setting up the guy for the next. It's not just that he's scoring buckets for us. It's how he's doing it.

My favorite types of players to watch generally are high energy defenders who shut down their man, rack up blocks/steals, and can outrun opponents on the break for dunks. Or players who zip passes to others for easy buckets. I love a sweet assist. But Al has really won me over with how entertaining his sophisticated post game is. He's not like centers who bull their way into dominating their defender. He does it with skill.

[JDR720]

I think Charlotte could be a good destination for shooters to play with Al, shooters love getting easy three's

[fatlever]

al gets some love from zach lowe today by making the "most watchable all-star team"

http://grantland.com/features/the-marc-gasol-all-stars/

WC Al Jefferson: Let’s make it official: We’re calling him Prof. Al Jefferson, PhD, Post-up University, from here on out. Big Al and Prof. Andre Miller are the only two players in the league to earn academic titles in this space.

Professor Al is having perhaps the best all-around season of his career, carrying a heavier burden than ever for a Charlotte offense that dies without him. He’s still holding court on the left block, tricking hopeless fools with Randolphian footwork and the league’s most unfair two-handed pump fake.

Charlotte has Jefferson doing things a bit differently on the margins, but the arsenal is the same — jump hooks, instant-release push shots, midrange jumpers, up-and-unders, and killer drop steps. Professor Al is shooting nearly 50 percent on post-ups, and here’s the remarkable thing: He never shoots left-handed, even when NBA fundamentals say he should. Take these floaters he likes to launch after spinning back to the left baseline:

This is a textbook lefty shot, but Jefferson always shoots it righty, even though doing so brings the ball back into traffic. He’s still not a good defender, but he fits better in Charlotte’s conservative scheme. We’re going to remember Professor Al as a delightfully unique player — an old-school post-up wizard who never turns the ball over.