GT: Charlotte v. Washington 7:00pm

[BigSlam]

When I go to Okafor's page on NBA.com, it says "Given player cannot be found" at the top

18 is his fta record.

13 is his ftm record.

30 is his single game points record.

[BigSlam]

Thank GOD that happened because I was struggling for a highlight of the night until 7 seconds ago!!

[99problems]

A good finish to a horrible game, something to build on hopefully

A win is a win, but the last few minutes there were important

[ohara]

It wasn't pretty, but we got the win. That makes 3 out of 4 games now. I'll take it.

Terrific game by Okafor. I dont want to see him traded unless it's a steal for us. He is finally playing the way he showed us he could a few years ago. I'm very happy with his play now. Solid game by Crash, but no one else really stood out.

[TASTIC]

As a Suns fan, I watched this to see how Diaw/Bell went

Have to say...if Boris played in Phoenix like he's playing with you guys, he'd still be a Sun. I actually saw him open his mouth and yell at a teammate. That NEVER happened in phoenix, he was like a mute out there miming his way through games, blowing on his hands and nodding instead of barking orders. When he ran the break and dropped it off to Okafor, that's what we all wanted here in Phoenix.

That Augustin looks GOOD. SO fast it's not funny and much better handles then I thought. Bell...I'm not sure, he looked ok during stretches, but his shot has gotten even flatter and more like a line drive.

Okafor was a beast downlow. If Amare played like him and buried himself under the boards, he'd the FT attempts but actually make them...ah well

Cheers and good luck!

[BigSlam]

Bell...I'm not sure, he looked ok during stretches, but his shot has gotten even flatter and more like a line drive.

Tastic - hope you are hanging around because I want you to elaborate on this a little more.

I've been saying ever since he got here that I was amazed that someone who shoots as well he he does from down town shoots the ball as flat as he does. From what you are saying that has always been the case? He basically pushes the ball at the rim from his face!!

If I'm defending Bell I'm up in his grill all game. He can't take you off the dribble, doesn't post up and shoots the ball so low that I think I could get a finger tip on my fair share of his attempts.

I'm shocked that he's shot the ball so well in the past.

How did you think his D looked tonight compared to what you know from his time with you guys?

[fatlever]

missed the game. caught the last 5 minutes on the radio. sounds like one ugly game.

blatche, mcgee and songalia not match for okafor. the wiz dont have anything that resembles a center on that roster.

i see ammo got another well deserved dnp.

[spectre_]

If I'm defending Bell I'm up in his grill all game. He can't take you off the dribble, doesn't post up and shoots the ball so low that I think I could get a finger tip on my fair share of his attempts.

From my view his position isn't to take over and score...as he said himself he's an "opportunistic" scorer. With the PG/Boris ball movement/passing. Mek's newfound offense and the threat of the drives a player can't just stay in Bell's grill; he'll be reacting to the other players.

Therein lies the "opportunity".

[TASTIC]

Bell...I'm not sure, he looked ok during stretches, but his shot has gotten even flatter and more like a line drive.

Tastic - hope you are hanging around because I want you to elaborate on this a little more.

I've been saying ever since he got here that I was amazed that someone who shoots as well he he does from down town shoots the ball as flat as he does. From what you are saying that has always been the case? He basically pushes the ball at the rim from his face!!

If I'm defending Bell I'm up in his grill all game. He can't take you off the dribble, doesn't post up and shoots the ball so low that I think I could get a finger tip on my fair share of his attempts.

I'm shocked that he's shot the ball so well in the past.

How did you think his D looked tonight compared to what you know from his time with you guys?

He's always shot relatively low compared to other players, but he had more arch I think. Totally agree with the bolded part - this year I noticed he would try to get his man in the air by going to his right, then crossing over to his left and upfaking...didn't really work, and defenders saw straight through it. He's your prototypical one dimensional offensive player: Catch, shoot. Which is why it worked so well in Phoenix because we had Nash running the show and Amare/Diaw down low, or the backdoor threat of Barbosa - so Bell was always left open in a corner or an elbow.

His D tonight I think he showed a lot of energy and hustled, but the body wasn't following the mind. You can see his age now as he's using his hands a lot more to 'slow' the offensive player and fight through screens. He can still give the average perimeter player some issues, but put him against an athlete/good ballhandler (ie Roy, Kobe, Manu etc) and he has to get help D or resort to flopping/handchecking etc...
In saying that, he's handled the trade well and seems to be liked by his teammates from what I saw.

What are the thoughts on here about the possible Diaw/Bell to NY for Curry deal?

Personally, I think the Okafor/Diaw/Wallace frontline is good, with the potential to be very good. If a trade's going down, I'd look at moving Wallace for someone with some perimeter shooting like BMiller, Sheed or even Okur. You put Diaw on that low block with a guy like Carroll in one corner and Sheed in the other, you have yourself a tough team to defend.
Diaw's a real talent down low and as he's shown he can put up 15-18pts with enough touches, and the triple double threat is there every night. He's got a wide body - not cut - but he uses his size well, and can body up bigger players and obviously abuses smaller SFs who try to guard him one on one...

Merry Xmas all - good luck once again