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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 29, 2006 17:43:30 GMT -5
Ainge mentioned in a recent interview that this is going to be a big year for some of these young kids. This is the year they need to step up their games and separate themselves from the other young kids. This could be the season which determines who is staying and whose is going to be trade bait. In this group of young kids are:
Delonte, Jefferson, Tony, Sebastian, Gomes, and Dwayne Jones.
Gerald, Rajon, Leon, and Ray will be given more time to prove their games.
Doc is looking to establish who the core players are going to be, and it sounds like this year is going to be a weeding out year.
Perkins was already given a new contract (he gave us the hometown discount) so we know he's going to be here for at least 5 more years.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 30, 2006 6:18:56 GMT -5
As we heard from Ainge in the recent FSN interview with Dickerson and Tanguay, we don't have an established 8 - 9 man rotation like the Celtics and Lakers of the 80's, where the players in the rotation knew their roles. And Ainge doesn't want Rivers to have an established 8 - 9 man rotation unless these 8 - 9 guys are good enough to compete for a title (the jist of what I'm interpreting from what Ainge said). To get to this point, young players will need to step up and be clearly better than the rest of their competition.
Jefferson needs to prove that he is head and shoulders better than Gomes and Scalabrine and everyone else in the PF competition (or vice versa for Ryan Gomes, or the other guys). We need one of these guys to step up big time and claim a roll in the rotation that can compete for a title.
Delonte needs to step up and prove that he is head and shoulders better than Tony Allen and Gerald Green, or vice versa for Tony, and for Gerald. One of these guys needs to step up and prove to be better than the rest.
One of the PG's (Rajon, Bassy, Delonte) needs to establish dominance over the others. We need one clear cut winner at PG.
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Post by Roadrunner on Sept 30, 2006 7:55:57 GMT -5
This will be the year for AJ to put up or shut up. Though, I really think G2 will have the best year of the developing players.
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Post by longtimefan on Sept 30, 2006 9:32:03 GMT -5
While I have never seen him play, from what I have read , I'm thinking Rondo has a real chance at proving himself to be the steal of the draft, and and top shelf NBA point guard for years to come. Sure would solve a lot of problems, and solidify our direction.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 30, 2006 16:29:54 GMT -5
RR, this is certainly a big year for Al. Like Ainge said, the potential word (that Eja loves to hear so much ;D ) cannot be used anymore for Al. He needs to show what he's got this year, or at least show big improvements. I think Al is up to the task. Last year, after returning from his 1st ankle injury, he really started to get on track and it appeared that he was going to finish the year really strong, as he was putting up double doubles while looking more and more comfortable on the floor. But then the second ankle injury occurs and derails his season.
LTF, Rondo has the talent and abilities to be the steal of the 1st round (drafted at 21). If he develops a consistent jumper, there's nothing stopping him from being a top shelf PG--nothing except himself, that is. If Telfair also lives up to his vast potential, we could have a problem (but a good problem) having 2 stud PG's on our hands.
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Post by eja117 on Oct 2, 2006 14:33:19 GMT -5
You know that part of the movie Pulp Fiction where Vincent tells Jules "I'm a race car and right now you got me in the red. Its dangerous to drive a race car in the red cause I could blow" and then Jules says and I quote
"You're gettin' ready to blow? I'm a mushroom-cloud-layin' !!!GREENIAC!!!! Every time my fingers touch brain I'm "SUPERFLY T.N.T," I'm the "GUNS OF NAVARONE."
That's how I feel about the evil pword. I mean seriously. If the last pick in the draft has serious tremendous upside potential than what the freakin hell does the first player taken have? Anti kryptonite-nuclear fission-machine gun-hitman-Mount Everest-potential potential?
It makes me wonder if they think a guy like Gomes has downside potential seeing as how he played 4 years. I don't get it. Can these guys even speak english? Is it good to be a 4 year player and have experience or good to be a high schooler with TREMENDOUS UPDSIDE POTENTIAL? Why don't we talk about everybody this way. Vote for this guy. He has TREMENDOUS UPSIDE POTENTIAL. Never mind skills. Or a brain.
Tremendous upside potential. As useless a phrase as anything that starts with the word "true" or "could" or "would" or "should".
Personally I think Pitts has a lot of potential. Now I'm gonna go watch my sister play field hockey. She has more potential that AL J. (Well she produces on the field sometimes. And hasn't gotten hurt in 3 years).
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 2, 2006 16:57:40 GMT -5
Kevin Garnett had big upside potential. Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine Oneal, Shaquille Oneil, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russel, Wilt Chamberlain. All these guys, before coming to the NBA/ABA were all about big upside potential. They did not come into the NBA as guaranteed Hall of Famers (excluding some of the names mentioned above).
But why did their respective teams draft them? Because the owners and guys who were in charge of drafting saw the big time potential in them. Had they not had this evil P-Word, they would be different players. Had Larry Bird not have big time potential to be someone great, he would have been another Joe playing basketball.
Michael Jordan vs. Isaiah Rider. Both had potential, but one clearly had more potential than the other (I venture you don't need me to clarify which player I'm talking about).
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Post by eja117 on Oct 3, 2006 6:44:24 GMT -5
This is all monday morning quarterbacking. Jonathan Bender was drafted 5th so I guess he had tup. You can't just point to the guys that were successful and say those are the ones who had tup and the others didn't. You have to go by who had tup on draft night (of course nowadays that's everyone). And if there is upside potential there must be downside potential. Darn it I have to go. I'll be baqck and with as much pword as ever.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 3, 2006 10:43:17 GMT -5
But that's the gamble you have to take. You shouldn't pass off a guy with high potential for a player who is a safe bet just because you fear that evil P-word. Its that P-word that gives the player the potential to be a big time player.
Sure you can look at Jonathan Bender and point to that as the reason why you shouldn't take high schoolers. But you can also point at the ones who have made it big and say that their potential really stood out and the gamble had to be taken.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 3, 2006 10:49:33 GMT -5
I agree Derren. You can point to Kobe, Garnett, O'Neal et al to show that drafting players on potential out of high school is a good thing. It wasn't until O'Neal's 5th year that his potential became star quality play.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 3, 2006 11:03:48 GMT -5
Right. And with Danny's eye for talent, even raw undeveloped talent, I don't mind him taking chances on high potential but unproven young players. To brush off a high potential player because up to that point he's only about potential could mean you miss out on the next Hall of Fame type player.
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