bleedspeed177 wrote:Good to see AP have a solid game. Hopefully he has a solid month like Dieng did last year and we will have our backup bigs moving forward.
Good, we have our backups, now we just need our starters and we'll be set! That's how most teams are built right? You trade 1st's for bench guys, and 2nd for starters. 2 is a bigger number then 1
Alex, I can't help but laugh. Your caustic comments and "crabby Glen" profile pic make for an entertaining combination. Good stuff.
It was nice to see those highlights since I missed all but the first quarter last night. It looks like Payne had a very impressive 3rd quarter. He certainly plays hard and that's half the battle.
The givens for Payne are that he is long, athletic, and always works hard, and that is a good start. He was not a great rebounder or shot blocker in college, so I've been surprised about his performance in these areas so far. He certainly has the physical skills to be a rebounder and rim protector, so perhaps we're not seeing a mirage. But on the other hand there is a lot of college data to the contrary...we'll have to wait and see.
He was a good shooter in college too, but those results haven't translated into the pros yet. And I agree with some of the posters here who talk about his slow, unusual release. I don't remember that being an issue in college though. Again, we need more data.
The only conclusions we can reach about AP so far are positive ones about his physical attributes. The jury is still out on everything else. although last night was quite promising.
I could be totally wrong on this comparison he reminds me of Tristan Thompson, hard worker and a good rebounded, lengthy and seems like a good defender, both can knock down a jumper even though I think payne will be better at this. Both not known for their free throw ability.
I could be wrong because I have not watched Thompson play that much this year but he came to my head
LST - his rebounding and block numbers don't stand out, but some of that is due to his lower minutes per game than what you might normally see. His per-40 numbers compare just fine with the likes of Taj Gibson, et al...
I'm really high on what Payne can be on this club. And I watched most of the Pelicans-Nets game tonight. We dodged a bullet dumping Thad. The fact that we got KG is icing on the cake. Payne will quickly be an upgrade on what Thad was able to give us.
How about Thad's other nine or so games with the Nets instead of cherry-picking tonight? Right, I forgot, it's board policy to hate Thad regardless of context.
"Payne will quickly be an upgrade on what Thad was able to give us." -- This made me chuckle too. Payne the new GOAT.
Camden wrote:How about Thad's other nine or so games with the Nets instead of cherry-picking tonight? Right, I forgot, it's board policy to hate Thad regardless of context.
"Payne will quickly be an upgrade on what Thad was able to give us." -- This made me chuckle too. Payne the new GOAT.
You took the bait, hook, line and sinker! ;-)
I'm really looking forward to the Suns' game tomorrow. The Suns were short-handed when we beat them after the all-star break. It was Payne's first game, and Markieff Morris really went off on us. It should provide a benchmark on how we are progressing.
Just to bring it up... lots and lots and lots of posters on here wrote off Shabazz as well.
As crazy as it sounds, I also think Payne's jump shot could work to his advantage if he is able to drive to the basket the way he did in this game. That wind up could really get guys to commit, and if they don't because they are afraid of his drive, it gives him the space to get the shot off.
Loving what he's showing so far, hopefully if at the very least, he can be a high energy well rounded first big off the bench.
