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Well I have to say from the start I've been curious about Giddens. On the plus side DA drafted him. His arms are just freakishly long. And he dominated the D-league. On the other side, he was a #30 pick, had that Pruitt look on the court and no buzz at all. Hudson had seemingly moved ahead of him.

So last night was pretty interesting. He got a lot of rebounds. His defense looked excellent on CDR. He made some nice passes. And his offense was OK.

I can't recall Pruitt having this kind of game. It was pre-season and barring injuries, I don't see him cracking the rotation. Nonetheless, it was a good game.

i've been telling you guys, giddens got skillz.
yeah he's a bit wild out there ala Tony but he makes things happen all over the court.
i think his upside is a caron butler type player, a hard nosed physical 6-5 swingman.

ParticleMan wrote:i've been telling you guys, giddens got skillz.
yeah he's a bit wild out there ala Tony but he makes things happen all over the court.
i think his upside is a caron butler type player, a hard nosed physical 6-5 swingman.

Giddens wildness sends the ball out of bounds, Tony's sends the ball to the other team due to charges. I think Tony is a much better interior passer. But then, Giddens made a couple of nasty long shots last night and his stroke wasn't that goofy flat elbows out shot like Tony's. I used to be shocked when TA's jumper found its way thru the hoop.

i liked what he did yesterday, he didn't force anything, just got his numbers in the flow of the game. he should've been getting the bnall a lot more since he was open but they weren't looking for him.

i think he played a really good game yesterday. on offense he was a little passive but his rebounding is superior in terms of guards and he is a freakish athlete. if he can work on his dribble drive and keep that defensive intensity going he definitely can be apart of the second unit. also i really like lester hudson i think he is going to be a solid role player in this league one day

I thought he looked great too. Hustle, cutting to the hoop, rebounding and defense will get you playing time even if you are still passive and streaky from an offensive standpoint.

And let's face it, Scalabrini looked foolish trying to run around screens chasing a real SF. There's a spot for Giddens on that second unit because the Scal/SF thing is NOT going to work.

It is preseason. And it is the first game so the Nets were caught off guard.

I thought he did a great job shutting down CDR. I don't know how you score that. A defensive stopper is always nice to have. Just to be able to throw his six fouls at their star. It tires them out.

We'll see if he gets time tonight. Daniels may need another night off.

LongTimeFan wrote:...
I thought he did a great job shutting down CDR. I don't know how you score that. A defensive stopper is always nice to have. ...

I'm pleased JR was so active and grabbed as many boards as he did. I didn't actually see the game (since I have lousy Comcast out of state), but just looking at the box score, CDR going 7 for 9 from the field seems like nobody really shut him down. (Granted, reading boxscores is never a substitute for actually seeing the game.)

Forget his playing for a second, what's up with the shamrock tat behind his left ear? Is that thing permanent? What happens when he gets traded? Does he just say he's representing his Irish roots?

Mencius wrote:

LongTimeFan wrote:...
I thought he did a great job shutting down CDR. I don't know how you score that. A defensive stopper is always nice to have. ...

I'm pleased JR was so active and grabbed as many boards as he did. I didn't actually see the game (since I have lousy Comcast out of state), but just looking at the box score, CDR going 7 for 9 from the field seems like nobody really shut him down. (Granted, reading boxscores is never a substitute for actually seeing the game.)

CDR killed us in the first half when Giddens didn't play much. He played the entire 2nd and CDR couldn't even get the ball for long stretches.

C-West wrote:

Mencius wrote:

LongTimeFan wrote:...
I thought he did a great job shutting down CDR. I don't know how you score that. A defensive stopper is always nice to have. ...

I'm pleased JR was so active and grabbed as many boards as he did. I didn't actually see the game (since I have lousy Comcast out of state), but just looking at the box score, CDR going 7 for 9 from the field seems like nobody really shut him down. (Granted, reading boxscores is never a substitute for actually seeing the game.)

CDR killed us in the first half when Giddens didn't play much. He played the entire 2nd and CDR couldn't even get the ball for long stretches.

Ah, good to hear. I've always pulled for JR and thought his potential was at least as good as Billy's (limited sample size that I've seen). I like Billy too, but in my view, he's got a power forward's game in a 6'6 frame.

Anyway, good news about JR.

JR can play. He can rebound really well as he did his entire college career. He is a great athlete and can play some defense. For JR, it's just a matter of getting some PT in the NBA and getting his confidence going. He played well in the D league last year. I saw one of his games lives here in L.A.

Good game for Giddens last night--all because he was hustling at an incredible rate. Say anything about this game, but his conditioning and work ethic on the court is supreme.

Problem is, his game resembles Dennis Rodman, but in the body of a 6'4" shooting guard. He's still clueless on offense, but to his credit he didn't make any mistakes there--just moved the ball and moved his body.

Until he can hit a jumper on a regular basis, I don't think he'll see much time. Loved his rebounding and defensive attitude and energy--still needs to use the NBDL to get comfortable as a part of a team offense and work on his stand-still jumper--he still needs to dribble the ball a couple times to get his rhythm before he shoots; that won't cut it in the NBA.

Giddens seems turnover prone. That's one thing we can't have on this team. Turnovers have been a big problem for the Celtics during the Big 3 years.

When Giddens was in the second half I tried to focus on him. I don't want to say he was a game changer, but CDR was killing us in the first half. A couple of times Giddens just shut him down completely and CDR just gave up the ball. After that it didn't seem CDR tried to do much.

Daniels was sick, (stomach bug) so I don't think it is any bad reflection on him. But I thought Giddens did an excellent job on CDR.

I don't know who brought up Reed, but you really need a second game. Maybe a third in preseason, because no one is scouting us yet. These lte pick guys tend to catch the other team flat footed for awhile.

I hope we get to see him a bit more in preseason.

He finally showed something on the court. I thought he was a goner but Doc said there are minutes to be had for a hustling, rebounding defender who can play within the offense. So maybe there is a chance for him.

Cyclical wrote:Forget his playing for a second, what's up with the shamrock tat behind his left ear? Is that thing permanent? What happens when he gets traded? Does he just say he's representing his Irish roots?

He can always ask Chauncey for advice if that situation occurs...

He has a role in the second unit if he can make D his main focus.

ryaningf wrote:Good game for Giddens last night--all because he was hustling at an incredible rate. Say anything about this game, but his conditioning and work ethic on the court is supreme.

Problem is, his game resembles Dennis Rodman, but in the body of a 6'4" shooting guard. He's still clueless on offense, but to his credit he didn't make any mistakes there--just moved the ball and moved his body.

Until he can hit a jumper on a regular basis, I don't think he'll see much time. Loved his rebounding and defensive attitude and energy--still needs to use the NBDL to get comfortable as a part of a team offense and work on his stand-still jumper--he still needs to dribble the ball a couple times to get his rhythm before he shoots; that won't cut it in the NBA.

That's a bit unfair, Rodman had absolutely no clue how to score, Giddens was a top scorer in college. That's just not his focus right now. Still he hit a couple of nice j's. I think having the ability to shoot off the dribble is much more valuable than being a standstill shooter who can be shut down much more easily.

yes he's a bit turnover prone but i don't actually mind that, as long as he's trying to create something. nobody likes turnovers but the reason we are always high in turnovers is because everyone on our team makes the extra pass, or they try to actually do something with it, like push the ball or get to the rim. turnovers happen when you do that, it's ok. you can use Obie's trick to reduce turnovers which is shoot the ball as quickly as possible, but that usually results in a low shooting %. the C's focus on getting good shots, but that means a few more turnovers.

Giddens' offense isn't going to get him mins, it might decide whether he gets to keep them, but his defense is what is going to earn them.