What are our expectations for bellinelli and wright ?

cdubbz · Post #1 » by **cdubbz** » Sat Jun 7, 2008 2:24 am

This has probably been discussed billions of times. oh well. Are these guys going to finally hit the rotation on a regular basis? I know our team isnt final yet, but if we had the same team as last year, do these guys see the court? We all know bellinelli can score, but can he do the other things like defend, some pg duties, and create for others. I like the idea of a sharp shooter coming off the bench, but belli just doesnt have the defense to do it. It would be nice if he could be a sasah vujacic type player...but realistically he will only shoot threes like sasha and not play the good defense like him. Brandan Wright should see more minutes this year around 20-25 mpg which he should have gotten the past season. Hopefully he worked on his game all around and gained atleast 10-15 lbs this off season.

Twinkie defense · Post #2 » by **Twinkie defense** » Sat Jun 7, 2008 6:33 am

Abyss Impact · Post #3 » by **Abyss Impact** » Sat Jun 7, 2008 6:42 am

Wright will be backup PF for Harrington getting 25 minutes per game.
Belinelli will be backup SG for Ellis getting 15 minutes per game.

Twinkie defense · Post #4 » by **Twinkie defense** » Sat Jun 7, 2008 6:44 am

Are they on the Warriors roster? Those guys can never replace Pietrus.

BROWN · Post #5 » by **BROWN** » Sat Jun 7, 2008 5:09 pm

Wright should help us big time on the boards, help Andris down low to guard big forwards/centers. Should change allot of shots, no more easy layups.

Belinelli should get his form back, and whenever he's open should knock down the three, maybe like a Brent Barry type of player.

mistatwo mayn · Post #6 » by **mistatwo mayn** » Sun Jun 8, 2008 1:33 am

I see Wright starting.... playing 20-25 minutes.

I expect Belli to gobble up 15 minutes AT LEAST.

Anything less is a failure.

WarFan · Post #7 » by **WarFan** » Sun Jun 8, 2008 3:34 am

I want to see Wright get 20+ minutes and hopefully starting at some point during the year. Between him and Biedrins I want to see at least one of them on the floor at all times and both of them on the floor for at least 10 minutes a game.

Belinelli depends more on who stays and who we draft, but 15 minutes sounds good to me.

Post #8 » by **FNQ** » Sun Jun 8, 2008 4:07 am

I have no expectations for Beli. He appeared to be a long way from being an NBA contributor. However, since we invested in him, I'd like to see him get enough floor time to acclimate himself to the game. Drafting him and immediately benching him didn't help, although he didn't help himself by refusing the D-League assignment, which could have been hugely beneficial for him. I personally think he was afraid of getting embarassed by the much more athletic D-Leaguers, but thats just speculation...

For Wright however, I dont know what I expect. I expect him to be more toned, and thats about it. I expect less of the deer in headlights look he got at times, and I expect him to play himself into 30+ minute games once in a while, Nellie be damned.

But overall, I expect Wright to play a lot like he did last year - getting early and good position down low, using his length to bother shooter and get rebounds, and using his outstanding frame to protect himself from shotblockers. I also expect cdubbz to hate every minute of his success.

GSW2K4 · Post #9 » by **GSW2K4** » Sun Jun 8, 2008 4:37 am

I don't know about minutes, but I want to see both players establish a style of play.

Beli absolutely needs to tighten the mechanics of his shot to the point where he consistently gets the same motion. If he can consistently come off the bench and knock down 1-2 threes/gm coming off screens I'd be happy. He's shown that he can get himself open off the ball and get his shot off quickly. A good indicator of success for him would be making it into the top 25 3pt shooters in the league and given his current skill level, I don't think it's a stretch.

For Wright, I would like to see him become a more consistent defensive presence because I think the offense will come as he bulks up more and gets used to playing with NBA bigs. That means getting good position for rebounds, playing help D, and making sure he's in the right position. He already has great shot blocking instincts. If he gets into the rotation, the guy will easily get 10-12 ppg just off put backs and fast breaks. If he can get himself into the rook-soph game, that would be a good indicator of success.

If I was a betting man, I would say Wright will accomplish his goals more easily simply because he seems to have a work ethic that makes it hard to keep him off the court and he's more necessary for this team's success. I think the clock on Beli starts ticking in summer league to see if he can discipline his game compared to last year.

Subaculta · Post #10 » by **Subaculta** » Sun Jun 8, 2008 5:02 am

510Reggae wrote: I personally think he was afraid of getting embarassed by the much more athletic D-Leaguers, but thats just speculation...

I would think that after his past experience playing against the Kobe and company a few years back in the World tourney... he's not going to be afraid of DL scrubs... I'm sure it was more of a questions of whether he wanted to be riding buses down in less then glamourous Bakersfield.