Post#26 » by Bruteque » Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:16 am
It's been hilarious watching Nocioni relentlessly hit the spots to put himself in position to receive kickouts every play, then get visibly deflated and almost have an aneurysm right on the floor when he doesn't get the pass. He may just be too easily frustrated to play with Evans and Hawes. It's too bad, really. In most games, Evans is simply more effective with Nocioni on the floor instead of Casspi or Greene.
In terms of offensive spacing, Evans is essentially a ballhandling SF. Even though Casspi has the range, mentally Casspi is a forward not a swingman, and he has the tendency to creep in unconsciously closer and closer to the basket when he is supposed to be spacing the floor. Theoretically, Greene is the best fit because he is a true swingman despite his great length, and he can guard big SFs for Evans, unlike Nocioni, Garcia, or Udoka.
Unfortunately, despite having the highest potential, Greene is mentally shakey. If he starts a game well, he is very effective, but if he misses a few shots early it's like he starts to play to avoid touches. He would hit the open spots while avoiding open passing lanes so he wouldn't have to receive a pass and shoot. When he goes into avoidance mode he becomes almost dead weight on offense.
Greene is like the anti-Nocioni. Nocioni could be shooting 1-for-9 and he would still think his next shot is a sure thing and would keep hitting the passing lanes hard to put himself in position to receive passes (and if he starts to become frustrated after not getting the "wide open" kickouts a few times, he starts chucking up shots every time he touches the ball). It's hard not to wish that you could take some of Nocioni's (over)confidence and put it in Greene. Even though Casspi is the rookie, he plays with a lot more confidence than Greene does.
