Minnesota Sports Forum

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I think the other massive difference is that Bazz doesn't dribble much and is pretty decisive, which is why he doesn't turn it over a ton (didn't in college either). He either puts the shot up or kicks it back out. He has had a tendency to jack up ill-advised shots in the past, but not last night.

I think this is something that will really show his progression in the pros. I am thankful for now he has someone like Love to look up to. Love had skills as a passer coming into the league but he has made a huge leap this year. I think having that example on the floor will only help promote improvement with Bazz's decision making. I was saying at draft time that the UCLA connection to Love was one of the biggest reasons I wanted Bazz. I am happy that Shabazz showed last night that he belongs on an NBA floor. Now he has to prove that he has the maturity to stay there.

I think his decision making will come along fine. He'll never be a great passer, but simply making simple kick-outs and keeping the ball moving is good enough. I'm more concerned about his development on defense and long range shooting. If he can be a 3 & D wing AND be able to post up and rebound, he will be extremely valuable to this franchise. Too early to tell, but last night was an eye opener.

Camden0916 wrote:

kms789 wrote:Is it just me, or is Bazz kind of a SF version of Barea? I say that because you are always going to know he's on the court--for better or for worse. He's going to attack the basket and go for offensive rebounds, regardless of results. I like the offensive rebounding, but it can also hurt you when a team has guards who leak out a lot.

Maybe it's easier to say he's the antithesis of Gelabale.

What the hell? I'll take the guy who attacks the glass and is a big time rebounder over the guy who plays it conservative and falls back while the shot's in the air. Extra possessions are so huge for us. I don't get the Barea comparison whatsoever. JJ's useless if his shot isn't falling. Shabazz is still going to get boards, hustle and give good effort on defense (looked good last night).

I don't think he's like Barea at all. Almost all Bazz's shots were at the rim. Or at least close to it. You cringe every time barea goes up against everyone cause they're all so much bigger. Barea is as much I a black hole as anyone in the league. Especially at the end of quarters.

I should add I don't dislike Barea nearly as much as the majority of Wolves fans. He's a terrible fit here, but can be useful in the right situation.

The only comparison I'm making is that if Bazz gives you 20 minutes, he's probably putting up 10 shots, whether that's 1-10 or 6-10. On this team, that's what they need right now. It was pretty awesome watching him play last night. I'm just pointing out he's put up 46 shots in 88 minutes this month. Usually flaws get overlooked in rookies, and that's fine, but he could easily get the Barea treatment from fans if those shots don't go in.

kms789 wrote:I should add I don't dislike Barea nearly as much as the majority of Wolves fans. He's a terrible fit here, but can be useful in the right situation.

The only comparison I'm making is that if Bazz gives you 20 minutes, he's probably putting up 10 shots, whether that's 1-10 or 6-10. On this team, that's what they need right now. It was pretty awesome watching him play last night. I'm just pointing out he's put up 46 shots in 88 minutes this month. Usually flaws get overlooked in rookies, and that's fine, but he could easily get the Barea treatment from fans if those shots don't go in.

The difference is how Shabazz is getting those shots. Cutting, flashes in the post, fastbreak layups, offensive putbacks. Doesn't NEED the ball to score. JJ is the primary definition of a chucker, ballhog, black hole on offense, volume scorer, etc. He can't clean his own shot up like Shabazz can. JJ can't work in the post and get an efficient look almost every time down there. I'd much rather have Shabazz play iso basketball than let JJ do the same.

Looks like I missed a heck of a game last night. Cam, thanks for posting the Muhammad highlights. He looked a lot like the guy many of us saw in college...not always pretty, but a relentless motor and volume scorer.

longstrangetrip wrote:Looks like I missed a heck of a game last night. Cam, thanks for posting the Muhammad highlights. He looked a lot like the guy many of us saw in college...not always pretty, but a relentless motor and volume scorer.

How about his rebound and assist to Brewer at the end of the game? That was very selfish of him to want an assist on his stat line.

thedoper wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:Looks like I missed a heck of a game last night. Cam, thanks for posting the Muhammad highlights. He looked a lot like the guy many of us saw in college...not always pretty, but a relentless motor and volume scorer.

How about his rebound and assist to Brewer at the end of the game? That was very selfish of him to want an assist on his stat line.

Yep, needs to be benched! Actually after that great play as the players go to the bench for a TO, you can catch a glimpse of Adelman...he doesn't look happy.

Camden wrote:Shabazz highlights from last night for those that missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM_XlRcnP4Q

Thanks for post Cam. Things that I took away from those highlights. 1) He looks pretty athletic. 2) Last night, he had a very good inside game. 3) He is a beast on the boards for being a SF 4) That offensive rebound then dish to a cutting Brewer for the layup was absolutely sick. 5) The guys seems to understand how to impact games.

Looks like I just got run over by the Bazz hype train. It wasn't even supposed to be an insult to him. I mean Barea was a big part of a Championship team, it shouldn't be that offensive to say Muhammad is that caliber of player.

markkbu wrote:

Camden wrote:Shabazz highlights from last night for those that missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM_XlRcnP4Q

Thanks for post Cam. Things that I took away from those highlights. 1) He looks pretty athletic. 2) Last night, he had a very good inside game. 3) He is a beast on the boards for being a SF 4) That offensive rebound then dish to a cutting Brewer for the layup was absolutely sick. 5) The guys seems to understand how to impact games.

That's what I took from the highlights too, and is very much the way he scored in high school. At UCLA he was actually a good outside threat too (3-point % equal to CJ McCollum's career college average), and it will be interesting to see if he can round out his offensive game with threes too.