ESPN Rookie Study

pacershereiam · Post #1 » by **pacershereiam** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 5:12 pm

Does anybody have ESPN Insider that they can see and tell me what they say Rush and Hibbert should study?

xxSnEaKyPxx · Post #2 » by **xxSnEaKyPxx** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 6:00 pm

By David Thorpe

Brandon Rush should study Danny Granger:

"A nonfactor for most of the season, Rush has shown some big-time scoring ability recently. Still, he can learn two lessons by watching his teammate Granger, who averaged just 7.5 ppg as a rookie and had to prove himself in Year 2 before securing his spot in the rotation.

First, Rush is not going to be handed consistent rotation minutes heading into next season, so staying poised and prepared is a must. Second, he's taken just 60 free throws all season, so watching Granger get 6.7 free throws a game should point out some areas that Rush needs to work on."

Roy Hibbert should study Pau Gasol:

"Hibbert is so huge that he can get away with things that don't look great. But he lacks the craftiness that is required of bigs who can't just use their strength and explosive power to move opponents and score on them with regularity.

Gasol is as crafty as they come. He'll bait an opponent into jogging back on defense, only to suddenly spurt ahead for the easy dunk. Or he'll use a series of fakes and, just when it seems he's ready to shoot, add one more to finish the deal. Hibbert would learn a lot by watching Gasol in action."

Post #3 » by **count55** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 6:03 pm

Brandon Rush - should study Granger...ability to score and get to the line

Roy Hibbert - should study Pau Gasol for his craftiness...to offset his lack of strength and quickness.

Both make sense, to a degree. Hibbert's is more apt, in my opinion. Rush, meanwhile, should certainly study Danny, but the comments displayed a degree of ignorance about the Pacers situation and Rush specifically. He said Rush won't be handed steady rotation minutes next season, which means that he doesn't realize that Daniels will be gone, and Junior will be gone for most of the year. Second, he focused on scoring. While Rush needs to become a more consistent shooter, and should improve his ability to draw fouls, his forte will be defense....completely ignored in this discussion.

xxSnEaKyPxx · Post #4 » by **xxSnEaKyPxx** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 6:05 pm

Count, where is everyone getting the idea that Dunleavy won't play next year? Did I miss something?

Post #5 » by **Miller4ever** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 7:07 pm

Dunleavy will most likely miss a large chunk of play at the beginning of the nest season, maybe even half the season.

Post #6 » by **count55** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 8:20 pm

He won't be able to start working out on the bionic leg they replaced his with until late August. It will take at least six months from then to stop running in circles (as one leg is faster than the other), but the real delay will be the amount of time it takes him to get used to the sound effect and slow-mo that occur when he actually uses the leg. That's been known to take a year.

Also, I don't know how long his commitment to the OSI is, and I hear that Oscar Goldman is a real ball-buster.

Post #7 » by **Scoot McGroot** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 9:21 pm

count55 wrote:He won't be able to start working out on the bionic leg they replaced his with until late August. It will take at least six months from then to stop running in circles (as one leg is faster than the other), but the real delay will be the amount of time it takes him to get used to the sound effect and slow-mo that occur when he actually uses the leg. That's been known to take a year.

Also, I don't know how long his commitment to the OSI is, and I hear that Oscar Goldman is a real ball-buster.

Well, when you combine his two NBA contracts, he is a $60 million man....

I guess that's inflation for ya..