How do you guy like Al Thorton so far?

[MJG]

Could be related to Nick Young though.

He's Nick Young -- but taller, with more aggression and ambition. In other words, not a great player, but a helluva lot better than Nick Young and probably worthy of a decent spot in the rotation. I assume he'll be starting now.

Yes, I think this nails it. He is to forwards what N1 is to guards. Solid man defender, low IQ, volume scorer, trigger happy, etc. He does have a lot more aggression to him though, which is quite nice for a bigger player.

[Wizards2Lottery]

He's already had two games for us with 6+ rebounds. When was the last time Nick had 5+ in any stat column besides points?

[no D in Hibachi]

He's already demonstrated that he's much more consistent than N1. He's a better man to man defender than N1 and contributes more than N1 does if he's not scoring. I also feel like Thornton can score in a variety ways. He's incredibly strong so he's a terror on the block. He can hit the J and I think his drive is better than most give him credit for. In fact, I think of him similar to Butler. Both came from LA after sort of becoming out-casts. Both players star had faded, but it's obvious they were both talented an needed a fresh start. I'm impressed with Thornton so far. Hopefully he continues to impress and the Wiz continue to win to make their good play legitimate.

[verbal8]

He's already had two games for us with 6+ rebounds. When was the last time Nick had 5+ in any stat column besides points?

Jan 10th 5 rebounds. He has only had 5 assists once this season. He had 5 TOs one game in the beginning of the season.
[url]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/429 ... 80iMKZPaB4[/url]

[cwb3]

Pump the brakes, fellas...it's only one game.

I'd like to see if he can put up this kind of performance over a 4-5 month stretch..if so (and I sure hope so as well), then we can christen him the second coming of Scottie Pippen

^^^^
Fixed that for you!

[cwb3]

He's already had two games for us with 6+ rebounds. When was the last time Nick had 5+ in any stat column besides points?

He may have broke 5+ in turnovers a few times! Of course Verbal beat me to it!

[TheSecretWeapon]

Obviously, there's plenty to like about his play so far. Seems to have some toughness and desire to defend. He's been reasonably productive so far and looks like he might be a solid rotation player.

He's probably not going to continue performing quite so well on the offensive end, though. His shooting is markedly better in his 3 games with the Wiz than it has been through the preceding 201 NBA games he's played in. What usually happens in a case like this is that he returns to his career level.

[fishercob]

Obviously, there's plenty to like about his play so far. Seems to have some toughness and desire to defend. He's been reasonably productive so far and looks like he might be a solid rotation player.

He's probably not going to continue performing quite so well on the offensive end, though. His shooting is markedly better in his 3 games with the Wiz than it has been through the preceding 201 NBA games he's played in. What usually happens in a case like this is that he returns to his career level.

Hater.

[LyricalRico]

Unfortunately, Kev is probably right about Thornton coming back to his averages at some point. But if he can at least ride this burst through the end of the season, we can flip him for something of value in the offseason.

[Hoopalotta]

Ryan Rusilo, or whatever that guy's name is who runs the ESPN radio/podcast 'NBA Today' bit put Al on one of his All-NBA teams.

It was actually the All-Not-An-All-Star team. He chose @ as the captain.

Did I mention he was cheap?

Seriously, he might not be Larry Bird, but he seems to have a good attitude and he's country strong. It's not like we were making a tweak for a title run.

I think this was a nice stop gap move that prevents the perceived 'need' to over spend on a vet wing this summer.

[likwitdesi]

Are we underrating him at this point? Opposing SFs put up a PER of 12 against him.

[go'stags]

I think we are to a certain extent. He needs to work on his jumper, specifically catching and shooting, and crash the boards consistently, but I thought he was a very good defender, with the ability to get even better. He just needs to consistently play with tenacity.

If we don't get a top 4 pick I would draft Wes Johnson, but if we don't get him I would have no problem at all with seeing Thorton at SF for another year, then possibly extending him. I think he has some more potential.