
At the same time, no one can miss the potential Bamba has -- he clearly has a nice touch on his jumper and sets an excellent pick offensively and you can see the wheels turning defensively. Its just the wheels are turning really slowly sometimes. He gets bullied on the block by his man and has been extremely slow to react off the ball on a consistent basis despite his obvious talent and length. He's also just flat out not helping us on the boards -- 2.5 rebounds per game over the last 7 contests is not getting it done.
I realize this may well not be a popular opinion but I would like to see Birch replace Bamba in the rotation on a temporary basis so that Bamba can get some inspiration from the bench. This is not a comparison between the 2 players -- clearly Bamba has way more potential than Birch but I have been a little disappointed with his motor and drive and I wonder whether having to compete for minutes will help that.