http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...rustrated_by_slow_developme.html#incart_river This is why I wasn't high on him. I saw him play in Europe and he looked like a lightweight. Especially for an NBA center. Sure, he could dominate slow 6'9 euro centers (and I'm amused at all those who touted him as all-star material), but I think this quote tells it all.... Freeland’s offensive struggles are alarming — he’s made just 1 of 18 shots and has scored six points — and his learning curve has been steep. Faster players have run around him and bigger players have bowled over him. The other day, as the Blazers were walking to the team bus after landing in Brooklyn to start their season-long seven-game trip, Stotts quipped to Freeland: “They don’t have players like Jermaine O’Neal in Europe, do they?” ... “I just laughed and I said, ‘No,’” Freeland said, revealing his reply to Stotts. “In Europe you don’t have players like that. And, pretty much, the NBA is full of players like that — and better. Poor Joel.
I am not so sure centers in Europe are slow. They seem to be smaller and more active. Many of them play farther from the basket. The game is more open. At any rate it is a different game and there seems to be a bigger adjustment for big men who come over. Did anyone really say Joel was all star material? I find that hard to believe.
I still think he will contribute solidly at some point before his contract is up. Just a feeling I guess, but he did hold his own vs USA in the Olympics which was a pretty physical game. Maybe because he was used to team Britain. He is definitely overwhelmed now but I don't think he is a quitter and he will find a way.
Nobody expected him to be an all star. I think it's way too early to just write him off. I'd really like to see him play more alongside Aldridge. I'd like to see him in the high post, 18 feet out sort of position, with Aldridge on the block. Might make things easier on him than playing alongside Leonard or Hickson, who knows. A few minutes alongside starters should help with confidence, I think.
Yeah, good straw man there Blazer Prophet. Everyone But Me Thought He Was Going To Be All-NBA, But I Knew Better, Oh Yes. He has been shockingly awful, but it's interesting to know he can actually get the ball in the basket in practice games. So it's a lot to do with nerves. The question now is, is it career-ending nerves, like with Andris Biedrins, or is it fixable? As Emmy-Award Winning Newsman Kent Brockman would say, only time will tell.
600 minutes. I won't write off any of our bench players until they AT LEAST play 600 minutes. So, at this point the only player I'm writing off is Babbitt.
Why did Oregonian even write this report. It's pretty damn obvious the dude is in over his head. He looks like an oaf out there. There just is something seriously wrong with his game in the NBA. The dude just doesn't get it.
Clearly it's impossible for this to change ... I mean he's played what? fifty minutes total in the NBA? Sounds statistically significant to me ...
Even some of the worst players in the nba will shoot better than 5% from the field. So yeah; you are right; even though it was a sarcastic remark.
I think he's our 5th big right now. Aldridge, Hickson, Leonard, Jeffries, Freeland. He doesn't deserve much playing time, at least not for now.
Agreed. We could all watch him on YouTube. Are you going to any Stampede games (you're still in Boise, right?)?
You're wrong: in 1980 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went to London for the British premiere of Airplane! Then he came out of Great Britain.
Do you read this board? There were numerous posters who sang his praises until they were sopranos. And it was obvious (for those who watched him play) he was borderline NBA material. And what I meant was that the board is infamous for trashing a player every time they have an off game, lauding them as all-star material after every good game and grossly over evaluating rookies and euros. You and I both know I could name many players people here thought (and still think) are near NBA star status and they barely hang on in the league- if at all. So you can stop rotating wildly with your thimb up your ass as I was just poking a little fun at the people here who get all worked up over the players and their abilities (or lack thereof).
Seeing him abuse Noah and Ibaka in the qualifiers I thought he'd for sure make an impact when he came over. The game is clearly a lot faster than he was expecting. He should most definitely be in Idaho right now.
