Gil Finishing At The Rim

dlts20 · Post #1 » by **dlts20** » Sat Nov 6, 2010 3:01 am

Gil looked great tonight. Better than most expected. Its the best Ive seen him move in awhile. Obviously he doesnt have that killer 1st step anymore and sadly his lift hasnt returned at the rim but I do see one positive. When he goes left he's most likely not going to be able to finish. All he can do is jump into the defender & pray for a call but he's not getting it anymore because he doesnt get up high enough. The thing that upsets me a little about this is that I think he could still finish some going that way if he used his left hand. Its upsetting because Gil has a good left but he hardly ever uses it. Alot of guys in the NBA are like that.

Thats why I liked Livingston because he always finishes with the left on that side of the rim. Youre either going to make it every time or get fouled because they have to come across your body to block it. Speaking of Shaun, I really like Kirk alot but I have always said that Id much rather have Shaun for this team. If your going to play alot of 2 small guards in Gil & Wall then it would be great to have that 3rd guard be 6'7 like Shaun instead of another small guard in Kirk. That way when Shaun is in the game he can guard the 2 and there is no mismatch. He could also help the boards alot more. However, if Kirk shoots well then he may be the better option since he has the 3pt range that Shaun doesnt. Kirk by the numbers though has never been as good as a shooter as many thinks he is. He ususally has bad shooting numbers and thats without being a defensive focus for other teams like Gil always is.

Back to Gil. What Gil has lost with injuries he can somewhat makeup for it with strength & just being a vet that knows how to use his body. MJ lost his leaping ability with age but he still did alot of things by just knowing how to position his body. Gil sucks at the rim going left but if he goes right then he's atleast 50/50. Thats why its best for the screen guy to set it so Gil can go right. He's actually at his best right down the middle because he knows how to bring his forearms across your chest where he always draws the foul & can still go up to score like he did again tonight for that and 1

jivelikenice · Post #2 » by **jivelikenice** » Sat Nov 6, 2010 3:17 am

I think you'll see a little more explosion on the drives as he goes on. This was his first game after a very limited preseason and he has to get his feel back for the game. He also looked like he put on a few pounds since the ankle got hurt....

pancakes3 · Post #3 » by **pancakes3** » Sat Nov 6, 2010 2:12 pm

i agree with jive. Gil didn't look noticeably slower last night, just more hesitant to drive. there was one baseline drive he had last night where he beat his guy and tried for a banking floater. the dribbling, speed, etc. was there but the shot was WAY off - didn't even draw iron. so you could tell the physical aspects of his game are back... it's just feel for the basket, backboard, ball that's missing. he'll be back to all-star form within a month imo.