papalrep wrote:Everybody who ripped Bazz when we drafted him over the undersized shooting guard (forget his name), raise your hand
everyone's hand would go up except mine.
Bazz just needs refinement, but his style of play is contagious. Love to see him make the most of his PT.
My hand wouldn't go up either wolf. I was so excited on that draft night. I was lobbying for Bazz even before the draft. I am very happy to see him having success.
My hand isn't up in the air either. Even though I knew of Shabazz's shortcomings after going to several UCLA games that year, I also knew that he had an extraordinary ability to score that I believed would translate to the NBA. I was sold on him as a sold lottery pick after the Chad Ford pre-draft article describing what a hard worker and off-the-charts explosive leaper he was. This was a guy who was deemed to be a top five pick until two things happened...the media found out he was 1 year older than they thought, and he didn't properly celebrate a win...smh. Muhammad still has his flaws, but I saw definite signs of improvement tonight. I was never very high on CJ McCollum...great performer in the lower level Patriot League, but just not built for the NBA game...and he has had even less success than I would have forecast. To think that Flip turned that 9th pick into both Muhammad and Dieng, both of whom are individually better than McCollum, has to be one of the greatest drafting coups in recent history.
papalrep wrote:Everybody who ripped Bazz when we drafted him over the undersized shooting guard (forget his name), raise your hand
everyone's hand would go up except mine.
Bazz just needs refinement, but his style of play is contagious. Love to see him make the most of his PT.
My hand wouldn't go up either wolf. I was so excited on that draft night. I was lobbying for Bazz even before the draft. I am very happy to see him having success.
My hand isn't up in the air either. Even though I knew of Shabazz's shortcomings after going to several UCLA games that year, I also knew that he had an extraordinary ability to score that I believed would translate to the NBA. I was sold on him as a sold lottery pick after the Chad Ford pre-draft article describing what a hard worker and off-the-charts explosive leaper he was. This was a guy who was deemed to be a top five pick until two things happened...the media found out he was 1 year older than they thought, and he didn't properly celebrate a win...smh. Muhammad still has his flaws, but I saw definite signs of improvement tonight. I was never very high on CJ McCollum...great performer in the lower level Patriot League, but just not built for the NBA game...and he has had even less success than I would have forecast. To think that Flip turned that 9th pick into both Muhammad and Dieng, both of whom are individually better than McCollum, has to be one of the greatest drafting coups in recent history.
My hand isn't up either. I thought getting Bazz at the spot we did was a heck of a value especially in what was supposed to be a poor draft. I also thought Burke was overrated and was annoyed by the experts that said we should have kept him cause he was gonna be so good or whatever. Then he went out and shot worse from the field than Rubio AND MCW who you know like can't shoot. This year he is shooting percentage wouldn't win a batting title. He has been a part of a team winning games and has a stretch of game pilling up assists so I'll get off his back.
Back to Bazz its a fun transformation that Bazz went from heralded stud to the bust his ass off guy you pull for sort of underdog type. Some of that is flaws in his game but the past few months its because how hard he is working out there. That Knicks game shows he does have some talent and his physical gifts came though also. The Wolves have some quirky players on their team in terms of their games and Bazz is a prime example.
Q12543 wrote:Stoudemire gave a clinic on why Gorgui sucks at one-on-one defense. Simply put a shoulder into him and he goes toppling backwards 5 feet. It's amazing how weak his base is.
The worst thing Dieng could have done last night is get in foul trouble knowing we have no other big men available behind him. I'm assuming that's part of the reason Gorgui wasn't more aggressive. I thought he really came through for us when we needed him to log big minutes. He wasn't perfect by any means, but I certainly think he was effective. Right now Gorgui's PER rating is tied for 6th for all NBA centers. He's been a rare draft pick for the Wolves that is actually exceeding expectations IMO.
It's not about lack of aggressiveness. It's about the fact that when an opposing big puts his body into Dieng, Gorgui easily loses his balance and gives up too much ground. The book on him is to body him up aggressively and he'll give way. Somehow the likes of Marcus Camby, Larry Sanders, KG, and Chris Bosh have learned how to play Center with fairly narrow frames, so this isn't necessarily a weight issue. Gorgs weighs around 240 or so these days. It's about the strength of his base and overall balance. He gets knocked off his base too damn easily.
Otherwise, yeah, his team/help defense was pretty impressive last night.
Q12543 wrote:It's not about lack of aggressiveness. It's about the fact that when an opposing big puts his body into Dieng, Gorgui easily loses his balance and gives up too much ground. The book on him is to body him up aggressively and he'll give way. Somehow the likes of Marcus Camby, Larry Sanders, KG, and Chris Bosh have learned how to play Center with fairly narrow frames, so this isn't necessarily a weight issue. Gorgs weighs around 240 or so these days. It's about the strength of his base and overall balance. He gets knocked off his base too damn easily.
Otherwise, yeah, his team/help defense was pretty impressive last night.
My point was that they needed him to stay out of foul trouble last night so he could play big minutes with both Pek and Turiaf out. Bodying up = more contact and probably more fouls. He was a +22 last night. They needed him to stay on the court. If he gets in foul trouble or fouls out, we don't win that game.
McCollum was shooting 46% from 3 this year before going down with an injury in only 13 minutes a game (not much time to get in much of a rhythm). While I like how hard Bazz plays you can't say we couldn't use the extra ball handler and shooter on this team. Overall it was a good trade to make though because Bazz and Dieng both look like guys that belong in an NBA rotation. Good job by Flip, but don't act like McCollum is a huge bust yet because his shot is starting to fall which is going to make him a valuable rotation player off the bench moving forward as well.
I wasn't a McCollum or Burke guy either at the time of that draft. I think at the time I was lobbying for the Greek freak and Gorgi but was OK with the Shabazz pick. I remember having to defend Flip for those picks as many were ripping the crap out of him and calling him "dull" and "worse then Kahn." etc.
khans2k5 wrote:McCollum was shooting 46% from 3 this year before going down with an injury in only 13 minutes a game (not much time to get in much of a rhythm). While I like how hard Bazz plays you can't say we couldn't use the extra ball handler and shooter on this team. Overall it was a good trade to make though because Bazz and Dieng both look like guys that belong in an NBA rotation. Good job by Flip, but don't act like McCollum is a huge bust yet because his shot is starting to fall which is going to make him a valuable rotation player off the bench moving forward as well.
Khans, you're right that CJ was hitting his threes this year, but his overall shooting percentage dropped to only 37%...not very good. And he's never been considered much of a ball handler...only .7 APG last year and 1.1 this year.
But the real problem with CJ is not his inconsistent shooting or his poor assist rate, it's his terrible defense. The reason he can't get consistent minutes is that he can't guard anyone. I admit I haven't watched any Blazer games this year so maybe his D has improved (like Bazz), but last year I saw several, and his defense was horrendous.
I'll still take either Shabazz or Gorgui over CJ...and Flip was able to get both!
to be fair, the Wolves have needed (and still do) a backup point guard for the longest time. Burkes number's looks pretty bad, but I think he's in a role that's a little too much for him. Being asked to do too much for a bad team could explain those numbers. I think he'd look a lot better in a lesser role as a backup to Ricky.
Just the same as if Bazz was a starter on the Jazz right now, I'm guessing his numbers would be pretty bad
alexftbl8181 wrote:to be fair, the Wolves have needed (and still do) a backup point guard for the longest time. Burkes number's looks pretty bad, but I think he's in a role that's a little too much for him. Being asked to do too much for a bad team could explain those numbers. I think he'd look a lot better in a lesser role as a backup to Ricky.
Just the same as if Bazz was a starter on the Jazz right now, I'm guessing his numbers would be pretty bad
I agree we need a backup PG, but I think Shabazz would put up fine numbers as a starter. He seems to thrive in that roll.
(BTW - Jose Calderon has not even played this year yet for the Knicks so they know what they have at PG without him.)
alexftbl8181 wrote:to be fair, the Wolves have needed (and still do) a backup point guard for the longest time. Burkes number's looks pretty bad, but I think he's in a role that's a little too much for him. Being asked to do too much for a bad team could explain those numbers. I think he'd look a lot better in a lesser role as a backup to Ricky.
Just the same as if Bazz was a starter on the Jazz right now, I'm guessing his numbers would be pretty bad
I agree we need a backup PG, but I think Shabazz would put up fine numbers as a starter. He seems to thrive in that roll.
(BTW - Jose Calderon has not even played this year yet for the Knicks so they know what they have at PG without him.)
I think Corey Brewer is the perfect comparison for Bazz. When Brewer was first drafted by the Wolves, he looked like a huge bust. It was because he was asked to do way too much for a bad team. It wasn't until he found his role with Denver as a hustle guy off the bench did he become valuable. If you ask Brewer to do more then that, then he's gonna struggle. Exact same thing with Bazz.
