Al's Improvement

[Klomp]

Anone else notice how Al has improved in March? Ironically, it has been that same stretch that he has started alongside Darko.

Since March 8, which was also his first game back after the DUI suspension, Al has put up 4 double-doubles, averaging 19.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg

Is this Darko related or DUI related? Or maybe he is finally taking the trade talk to heart...

[Diggler]

It's probably both. Darko's presence does mean that Al plays where he belongs at PF, but the DUI probably is playing a bigger role. I think Al's biggest problem this year has been lack of motivation. What has he had to play for? W's have been almost counter-productive this year, and Khan has been reassuring Al that he's not going anywhere. Now that this incident has called his character into question, Al might feel like he has something to prove again.

[jade_hippo]

isn't it kind of sad that your franchise player has to get called out by a DUI to try hard? KG tried win or lose, blowout or rout...

[Narf]

isn't it kind of sad that your franchise player has to get called out by a DUI to try hard? KG tried win or lose, blowout or rout...

I'd say Al has a pretty big pass this year after the injury. The 2 years before it 19.3 and 9.3 would have been a terrible month for him. Now he only gets it when he "tries hard"? I don't think so. He's progressively gotten better all year.

[jade_hippo]

isn't it kind of sad that your franchise player has to get called out by a DUI to try hard? KG tried win or lose, blowout or rout...

I'd say Al has a pretty big pass this year after the injury. The 2 years before it 19.3 and 9.3 would have been a terrible month for him. Now he only gets it when he "tries hard"? I don't think so. He's progressively gotten better all year.

Now that this incident has called his character into question, Al might feel like he has something to prove again.

not the first person to say this or think this. you have to admit its rather convenient for him to start imposing his will a bit more after getting sent to the pokey for driving on the sauce. and i do give him a bit of a pass for being injured, and i do excuse a lot of his faults for having downright bad teammates too

[Narf]

isn't it kind of sad that your franchise player has to get called out by a DUI to try hard? KG tried win or lose, blowout or rout...

I'd say Al has a pretty big pass this year after the injury. The 2 years before it 19.3 and 9.3 would have been a terrible month for him. Now he only gets it when he "tries hard"? I don't think so. He's progressively gotten better all year.

Now that this incident has called his character into question, Al might feel like he has something to prove again.

not the first person to say this or think this. you have to admit its rather convenient for him to start imposing his will a bit more after getting sent to the pokey for driving on the sauce. and i do give him a bit of a pass for being injured, and i do excuse a lot of his faults for having downright bad teammates too

I do give some credence to that. But it's not like if he was as absolutely focused for the last 2 months it would have made much of a difference. We were starting Sasha to tank, everyone knows that including the players. Al put in his days work and said "well, I need to get better for next year I'll work on A and B and C tomorrow on the court" not "Let's do whatever it takes win tomorrow". I love Jefferson, but the man has faults. Lack of effort or caring about winning is not one of them IMO. I think he's just a product of this year on this team + playing back from injury.

[C.lupus]

Agree with Narf on this one. Before his DUI, Al was looking very banged up and tired. It looked like both of his knees were bothering him and he just wasn't moving well. The DUI provided him with a few days off to rest and I think that has contributed more than anything to his recent play. Having a legit C to play next to also helps tremendously.

[shrink]

CL's right. A third reason was that he had picked up another injury that was really hampering him. Because of the scheduling, his two game suspension allowed him to sit for over a week, and this probably helped him get healthy.

Jefferson has been improving in general all season, as he recovers from the knee injury and gets more comfortable with his new responsibilities in the triangle. Here's the monthly averages:

Nov FG 46.9%, 7.9 RB, 16.6 PPG
Dec FG 49.6%, 10.3 RB, 18.7 PPG
Jan FG 50.2%, 11.6 RB, 18.8 PPG
Feb FG 52.0%, 7.3 RB, 14.3 PPG
Mar FG 55.6%, 9.2 RB, 19.3 PPG

[dunkonu21]

Flynn has me impressed more than anyone lately.

[collin_k41]

You know, it may just be his injury, but the games preceding the DUI(most of february) it seemed like Al was not giving much effort, especially on defense. He definitely wasn't his normal self and I will give him a pass because of the injury but I really hope it wasn't just lack of effort on his part. I'm happy to see Al doing better and like most of you I think it's a combination of things including Darko playing Center, Al getting a week off to rest his knee, etc. I hope he can continue to gain confidence through the rest of the season. We really need some kind of spark before the season ends to fuel the guys throughout the summer.

[Diggler]

You know, it may just be his injury, but the games preceding the DUI(most of february) it seemed like Al was not giving much effort, especially on defense. He definitely wasn't his normal self and I will give him a pass because of the injury but I really hope it wasn't just lack of effort on his part. I'm happy to see Al doing better and like most of you I think it's a combination of things including Darko playing Center, Al getting a week off to rest his knee, etc. I hope he can continue to gain confidence through the rest of the season. We really need some kind of spark before the season ends to fuel the guys throughout the summer.

I agree. Whatever the reason might be, I hope Al can keep it up. Whatever our plans might be for this summer, Al finishing strong will help. It will improve his marketability if we plan to trade, or make free agents more comfortable if we plan to retain. With us having a comfortable cushion over GS for lottery odds and facing several playoff teams to end the season, this is the perfect chance for our guys to get out of their funk and show that they can play.