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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jun 14, 2006 17:18:17 GMT -5
How long before Al Jefferson and Gerald Green become proven players?
They may be dependable players this coming season, but I'm talking proven players--as in teams having to prepare against facing them.
2 years? 3 years? 5 years?
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Jun 14, 2006 19:05:40 GMT -5
I think we will see a lot of improvement this year but next year is when they will come into their own as proven players.
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Post by VI_CelticsFan on Jun 14, 2006 19:11:25 GMT -5
By the time GG is in his 3rd year (which means Al is in his 4th year), they will be proven players.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jun 14, 2006 21:02:14 GMT -5
Pierce was pretty much a proven player by the time his 2nd season came along. He was nearly a 20 ppg scorer in Year 2. But of course, we had absolutely no one in front of him blocking his way, so he got to play a lot (averaged 35 mpg as a sophomore, 34 as a rookie).
In Year 3, he was scoring 25 ppg and was a legitimate star player.
Things will be different for Gerald Green because he has star veteran players in front of him. He will not be getting 30+ mpg like Pierce was when he was a young pup. So his development may take a while longer.
If Gerald gets 15 mpg this year (up from 11 mpg he had as a rookie), and 20+ mpg in his 3rd season, it'll possibly be in his 4th season that we will see him make his grand entrance as a proven player who can put up a good amount of points on any given night. By Year 4, he may very well force his way into the starting lineup, and that happens to coincide with Wally's contract expiring that same year.
Gerald has Pierce, Wally, and Tony in front of him, and he'll take some time to get his share of the minutes. But he'll learn the right way, like playing as a team and not just being an individual scorer. He'll be forced to play within the team concept or else he won't be given much playing time. He'll have to prove himself as a productive bench guy first, and then his role will increase. Part of the reason why Pierce struggled with the team concept when Doc became coach is because he was thrust into the lineup from his rookie season and was given free reign of the team and he could do whatever he wanted to. Because of this, he's picked up some habits that were hard to break. Gerald won't be able to pick up bad habits because Doc will make sure it doesn't happen.
Jefferson was supposed to learn a lot this past season, and be a big factor in his 3rd season. But his second season was cut short because of ankle injuries. This is a setback, and now, he will have to prolong his breakout year a year longer.
No one should be surprised if Jefferson has a coming out party this season (his 3rd), averaging 15 ppg. If he's changed his attitude toward conditioning and training, he'll be a much improved player over last season. If this season is Jefferson's coming out year, than next year will be the year in which he becomes a proven player. He's got less people blocking his way into the starting rotation, so he will get the playing time.
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Post by Celtic17 on Jun 15, 2006 22:31:27 GMT -5
By the time GG is in his 3rd year (which means Al is in his 4th year), they will be proven players. I agree with El on this one. Maybe they will all kick in, with Perk, by February of '07... D, we need D, without fouls.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jun 16, 2006 3:48:11 GMT -5
Anyone here thinks Gerald will work better playing alongside Wally more than Pierce?
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