Love at the top of Thorpe's list

horaceworthy · Post #1 » by **horaceworthy** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:18 pm

David Thorpe, trainer/ESPN.com analyst makes a list of his top rookies every week or so, right now Love's at the top of it.

Looking at the comments he's made about Love since we got him, he seems pretty high on our shiny new toy.

Some of the platitudes he's tossed Love's way:

"His game is special, but below the rim"

"He's a perfect fit (offensively) next to Big Al."

"Not just a brilliant outlet passer; he also makes quick and perfect passes from the pinch post. Al Jefferson will love running high-low action with him. And, yes, Minnesota's athletic wings will dunk more (as long as they race the floor), thanks to Love's uncanny ability to survey the floor and deliver a perfect 30-foot pass. The best rookie center of the summer."

"I like his upside on D, where he can learn to use his excellent feel -- and, hopefully, a soon-to-be-leaner body -- to cover ground more quickly."

To be fair, some of the negatives:

"Although Love is a better athlete than people think, he can stand to improve his quickness in tight spaces. Agility drills and defensive slide actions are good places to start."

"he has not been much of an enforcer defensively."

I know, nothing too earth shattering here, but it's nice to hear good things said by impartial observers with a pretty good track record when it comes to helping develop basketball players.

shrink · Post #2 » by **shrink** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:33 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/rookies/rankings

1. Love
2. Rose
3. Gasol

TMo519 · Post #3 » by **TMo519** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 2:48 pm

Love played the least minutes out of all that top 10 and had the best stats besides Jason Thompson. That's impressive, even for one game I know, but for the first game to have that kind of impact is impressive.

Foye · Post #4 » by **Foye** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:04 pm

Chalmers was pretty impressive, too.

I hope Love can continue playing like this. He'll be a great help if he can do it all season.

This years rookies seem to be quite good ^^

Post #5 » by **revprodeji** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:09 pm

There are many positive rotation guys, But I think it lacks the studs.

john2jer · Post #6 » by **john2jer** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:47 pm

He has a great first game in lmited minutes. Wouldn't the assumption be as the season progresses and he learns more about the NBA game, which he will do quickly because of his high basketball IQ, he'll improve those stats and get more minutes?

14 and 10 not out of the question? His +/- rating was amazing. Go K-Love!