JaVale McGee

[pancakes3]

defensive footwork aren't as important to a power forward because, well... most modern power forwards don't have polished post games anymore. Only a handful like boozer, bosh, and duncan have legit, consistent big man moves. I think mcgee would thrive as a PF because of his size and quickness, plus his strength at weakside shotblocking will be amplified that much more. I'd rather stick Blatche at backup C than McGee for next season.

[BruceO]

So you guys were talking about McGee's combined vertical and standing leap. Is there a database of those numbers at the draft place somewhere, so you can see who is the highest "reacher" in the nba?

here you go, It's sortable. I was looking at this pre draft and its one of the reasons I went for

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-dra ... s=0&sort=6

1. The people who stand out for me. Shaq's combination I'd take over Javale.
2. Also some of the better defensive players have a faster lane agility than him. Players like Dwight
3. The good defensive players got his standing reach. Funny thing is Brendan's up there with him.
4. He's longer than Party John who had stood out even though party Johns taller
5. He's also longer than Chandler in standing reach by atleast 4 inches. but Chandler had more hops. by an inch. Still a 3 inch different.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Excellent, thanks. So let me crunch some numbers here...

Highest standing reach + max vert, for those with such measurements, are:

Shaq - 149
Solomon Jones - 148
Rudy Gay - 147.7
Tyrus Thomas - 147.5
Javale McGee - 147
Dwight Howard - 147

Lessee, 147 inches is: 12' 3"

Thanks again! Very informative.

[AgentOvechkin08]

Hopefully McGee can hit the weight room, cuz i saw howard a couple times just clear him out of the way completely like he was nothing. But if he can do what howard did and put on like 25 pounds of muscle and fill out kind of like Howard, We got ourselves a monster in the making.

Also to add to that, if we do really bad this year, and get the number 1 pick...

Him and Blake Griffin down the road, at the 4 and 5 is making me drool.

[pancakes3]

rudy gay... wow... that's insane.

also, check out the hops on farmar. 42 inches...

[omegatronic3]

So you guys were talking about McGee's combined vertical and standing leap. Is there a database of those numbers at the draft place somewhere, so you can see who is the highest "reacher" in the nba?

here you go, It's sortable. I was looking at this pre draft and its one of the reasons I went for

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-dra ... s=0&sort=6

1. The people who stand out for me. Shaq's combination I'd take over Javale.
2. Also some of the better defensive players have a faster lane agility than him. Players like Dwight
3. The good defensive players got his standing reach. Funny thing is Brendan's up there with him.
4. He's longer than Party John who had stood out even though party Johns taller
5. He's also longer than Chandler in standing reach by atleast 4 inches. but Chandler had more hops. by an inch. Still a 3 inch different.

Javale looks great on paper that's for sure. The highest standing reach of any active player. 32" vert..Amare who I consider the most athletic big in the league has a 35" and Howard has 35.5" so he's right up there with those guys. I'd like to see what Yaos standing reach is?

Then again these stats arent the be all since you have plenty of busts who look great on paper.

Some other intersesting stuff there. Nick Young looks great on paper he has a 39" no step vertical which is the highest in the league. 40" max vert.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

So is JaVale as good as Bynum was before he had his breakout year?

[omegatronic3]

So is JaVale as good as Bynum was before he had his breakout year?

i'd say he's at least that good if not better..mcgee is way more athletic...longer...beter shot...javales has more upside than Bynum.

[doclinkin]

So is JaVale as good as Bynum was before he had his breakout year?

i'd say he's at least that good if not better..mcgee is way more athletic...longer...beter shot...javales has more upside than Bynum.

Though Bynum has Kareem. I want a HOF big man tutor. Maybe for Christmas or something.

[Benjammin]

Bynum as an 18 year old was significantly thicker and wider than McGee is even now. They are very different body types. Bynum has more of an inside game (along with KAJ as a tutor). I think Bynum at 18 was at least 250 pounds and now he's close to 280. McGee as has been mentioned is more of a Camby body type, with the potential to get stronger to a Tyson Chandler type size.

To say that JaVale has more upside than Bynum is making a large leap. I agree with Doc that having a big man tutor for McGee and Blatche would be a good thing. Perhaps Phil Hubbard is already fulfilling that role to some extent.

[doclinkin]

To say that JaVale has more upside than Bynum is making a large leap. I agree with Doc that having a big man tutor for McGee and Blatche would be a good thing. Perhaps Phil Hubbard is already fulfilling that role to some extent.

Well that's true, Phil Hubbard has done wonders for Andray Blatche.

That is, I _wonder_ what, if anything, Phil Hubbard has done for Andray Blatche.

[nate33]

It would be nice if John Thompson would drop in a few times. There's no doubt Thompson knew how to develop big men.

[crackhed]

wonder what #34 hakeem olajuwon 's been up to lately?
he had the footwork, and he played defense.

[pancakes3]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/wnb ... pa01w.html

goooooood call on Dream. Fitting that Ewing is tutoring Howard, Kareem is tutoring Bynum... dare we dream that Hakeem will be willing to come teach McGee?

[doclinkin]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/m/mcgeepa01w.html

goooooood call on Dream. Fitting that Ewing is tutoring Howard, Kareem is tutoring Bynum... dare we dream that Hakeem will be willing to come teach McGee?

Hakeem has taught a summer 'Dream' camp in the past for FREE. Problem is his skill set is so unusual I doubt many Bigs can take advantage. Blatche was the guy I always thought could do it, have been calling for years for him to do it, but he's been a lazyass for the past few years and missed his chance to hit a Big Man camp when he was busted for trying to rent a cop on a two-for-one slob job.

For Bigs with high post skills I always wanted Swen Nater and Arvydas Sabonis to give pointers. Sabonis is a countryman of Songaila. But at this point I don't care, I just want somebody to teach the fundamentals of getting nasty in the post, and not the getting nasty Dray's trying to do,

[hands11]

wonder what #34 hakeem olajuwon 's been up to lately?
he had the footwork, and he played defense.

This is the kind of move I've been wanting us to make for a while.

I actually was predicting this kind of move was more likely to happen then actually firing EJ during the year. But who know we would only have 1 win so many games into the season.

Howard has Patrick tutoring him.

Hakeem would be awesome for both Blatche and McGee

[hands11]

#1 thing McGee needs to work on.

He thinks he can get away with keeping his arms straight up, knees straight and just standing his position under the hoop. He is getting nailed every time for the foul as people jump into his arms or he bumps them with his lower body.. I've even seen him close the distance on a player by approaching them with his arms straight up. This isn't going to work for him. Not in the NBA. I think I remember Haywood and Blatche trying the same move and getting called for the same fouls and having the same confused look on their face like, What ? I was just standing here.

He need to bump and then back off. Get some separation and get balanced with knee slightly bent, so he can then leap for the block.

Once you let an offensive player get right up next to you, a foul is sure to follow.

He needs to realize that with a little separation, he will actually deter more shoots because player will opt to not take the shot after double and triple pumps, for fear of it being blocked. And when they do take then, he will be in a coiled position ready to block it instead of getting called for the foul. After a while, most won't even try or they will get out of there game trying much more difficult shots.

Holding your position standing straight works better on players who are driving but even then, you need to flash to that position a sec or two before the player gets there. What he needs to do more is use the elbow bump, hip bump and step back separation. You can't elbow someone if your arms are straight up.

Once he gets this worked out, fouls will drop and he will be much more productive as a defender.

[WizarDynasty]

if blatche and mcgee had the offensive and defensive basketball awareness of songalia--shot adn wide base defensive stance of songalia...they would be allstars...both have weak calf muscles which is why neither has an explosive first step...need to hire specialist to help them build up that muscles to its max before they get to old.

[omegatronic3]

To say that JaVale has more upside than Bynum is making a large leap.

I wouldn't say it's a huge leap. Bynum has length and size but i don't think he's got a jump shot or off the charts athleticism. By definition upside is a players ultimate potential based on their skills and physical tools. Mcgees physical tools are off the charts so by definition his upside is off the charts. Whether he develops into a great player remains to be seen. Bynum is a nice player..i wouldnt say he was great as a rookie but he did show flases...much as Mcgee has.

[pancakes3]

Large leap of faith. That's some serious homervision to think that McGee's ceiling right now is higher than Bynum's. If you want to examine the pure physical tools, McGee's only advantage is reach. McGee may have an inch or two over Bynum but Bynum's got Shaq's frame. It's not just a prototypical Center's build, it's the optimal build. Commands a lot of room, long arms, big hands, carries a lot of weight on his rump area so he's basically immovable... this is starting to sound a little homoerotic.

McGee on the other hand is rail thin, could possibly put on a few extra pounds, but it won't come in the right places. He can lift and lift and lift, but he'll never have that heavy anchor of a lower body that set the foundation for Shaq's unstoppable spin move. However, that's not to say the McGee won't be a great center in his own right, but he's definitely at a disadvantage to Bynum if it comes to 1-on-1 low post domination. Bynum doesn't have to try to get half his rebounds because probability dictates he'll get rebounds just by taking up so much room down low. Of course, this all means diddly since Biedrins is leading the league in boards right now, but if it came to a Bynum-McGee heads up trade right now, i'd give myself whiplash from pulling the trigger so fast.