Penberthy wrote:
This team's future depends more on Clarkson and Randle's growth than kelly's and davis'. Especially davis, he is just a very poor man's Jordan Hill.
Nonsense. Clarkson has a built-in limit on his role with this team, that's Kobe and Lin. Clarkson is going to be brought slowly, and that's the proper play for him.
Randle? Hasn't a proven a thing yet, except that he can't rebound yet, not even in the D-league. What exactly will be his role? We don't know. He has already been thrown into a trade rumor though, lol. But I'd be more than happy to see him grow into an asset or a player, but the idea that he's somehow going to displace Kelly? Nonsense, until Randle proves that he can fit with the four other starters on our team, which is highly suspect until he can get that jumper going.
Ed Davis isn't a poor man's Jordan Hill at all. You obviously haven't watched much of either. Jordan Hill is much more of a conventional big man, back to the basket with solid post moves. He has an OK jumper too. Excellent rebounder, shot blocking is ok. Jordan Hill is a good all-around center, as good as you can ask for from a non-superstar big man, but for him it's just about getting those minutes and staying healthy.
Ed Davis? That guy is limited. He's not a conventional center. He a great athlete who gets most of his points by diving to the basket and dunking the ball. He doesn't have a legit back to the basket game, nor a serious jumper, and that makes him a limited player until he can prove otherwise. He'll eventually be an offensive liability down the stretch, especially with his atrocious free throw shooting.
They're just very different players.
Even so, there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
SF: Randle- 10min
PF: Boozer: 20min Randle- 13min Kelly: 15min
C: Hill- 28min Davis- 15min Kelly: 5min
In what world do you see Randle playing 10 minutes of small forward a game? With Wes Johnson, Nick Young, X, and even Kobe?
Boozer isn't going to play only 20 mpg - if he is, you'd better let him know so he can start demanding a trade right now. He thinks he's going to start, and if he's going to start, he's not going to play only 20.
Kelly won't play any center, not with Davis and Sacre on the team.
Jordan Hill averaged a CAREER HIGH 20 minutes per game last year, and we saw how well his body took that. I think its a safe bet that they will keep his minutes under 30, OR we can expect him to miss some games.
Almost all players miss games. He played in 72 games last season. And how many games did he miss to D'antoni just not playing him? And he averaged only 21 mpg over the year, because D'Antoni killed his role from Dec-Feb (although Kaman and Pau all bitched about minutes and role). It was feast or famine, and in Nov, Mar, and Apr, Hill played close to starter minutes and put up some sick numbers.
The only year that Hill was legitimately hurt was '12-'13.
So all the talk about Hill breaking down is nonsense, because the reality is that he played most of his career under a coach who hated playing conventional bigs, who had a deep big man rotation. So unless he has nagging injuries or major debilitating injuries, I would love to hear why Jordan Hill is such an injury risk. I expect him to play 30 mpg under a coach who knows how to use him, and I expect the steady minutes and role to make him a MIP candidate next year. There's a reason why the Lakers have offered him a 2-year 18m deal, and also a reason why that second year is a team option. He's gotta prove it, yes, but there's also reason why he's a good bet.
Boozer is not here to win us the championship, he is here to mentor the other 4 on how to be professional bigs in this league, and to go up against in practice every day. Having him is not a detriment, its a big advantage. Did he limit millsap or taj's growth? No, he did the opposite.
Mentor them in what? The school of Shareef Abdur Rahim, loser basketball of shoot jumpers, grabs some boards, collect a paycheck? Contract scandals? Bitching about minutes and role?
Millsap, good for him, didn't follow Boozer's footsteps. Millsap is a tireless worker who also isn't afraid to change his game, aka become a three point shooter and a stretch four to stay in this league.
“OH! Caruso parachutes in! You cannot stop him - you can only hope to contain him!” -Kevin Harlan, LAL-GSW 4/4/19
