It's not like Hibbert has an amazing year and then stopped trying. He had a pretty okay year and somehow (ha!) got a max contract. I don't get the impression that he was busting his hump for a contract then stopped once he got it - he never appeared to bust his hump at all. It could be that Hickson is just trying to secure a bunch of money and will fade once he gets it. Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think that's the case. Watching him play, he appears to be motivated by the game, by the ball, not by the money. He's doing dirty work, not just trying to pad stats. I think he has finally found a place where he's comfortable playing. And THAT could factor into his decision when it comes time to sign a contract. Kinda like Joel - he chose to come back here because he was comfortable here. I think that with some players that struggle finding a place in a dysfunctional team, stability and comfort means more to them than your average player.
You've said this before. Please give us further explanation to back up your statement that he has low BBIQ. I'm not saying I disagree with you, but I'm not sure I agree either. And just as a retort - I'd rather have a player with low BBIQ but lots of hustle than a player with neither.
...you must not remember how good Brand was at defense before his Achilles blew up - JJ Hickson is a perfect example of a role player needed on a championship roster, let the cake bake!
no kidding. Idont care if he produces by blowing bubbles with his ass..he is a big positive for this team..
I think JJ is the first case of "oops" signed by Olshey. He's too good. We should be trying to lose games to acquire better pick for ourselves at this point. He's actually helping us win games. If we continue like we are....we'll end up forfeiting our 2013 1st Pick to Charlotte and only have 12 million to spend in a mediocre market for free agents. Bleh!
I'm not sure how anyone can be complaining about what Hickson has given this year to the Blazers. He is limited, but he fulfills what he's asked to do very well, which is mainly rebound and score outside of the flow of an offense. Is he a tier-1 player? I don't think so, yet I think someone is going to come close to paying him as one next year, which will be a mistake, IMO. It's one reason why I think he may be moved at the trade deadline. May as well try and get a pick or two with an expiring back for him, instead of losing him for nothing.
We should dump the league's #6 rebounder per game (#5 per minute) because we can use that money to get a better free agent! http://bkref.com/tiny/kblUe ...uh, Earl Barron is #8...get him!
Notice that when Hickson has a bad game, we lose? And when he has a good game, we win? He is more vital to us than some realize. He's the biggest reason for our surprising success.
Hickson is massive for this team. Every rebound he snags effectively stops the chance of points for the other team. No-one else on the team comes close to Hickson in this department. In fact I half expect the other players to either bobble the ball, or not even be in good position in the first place. Seems he may be rubbing off on Aldridge too, as LMA has been getting more physical this past week or so. I hope we sign him long term this off-season.
He bobbles the ball much less often than Batum or Aldridge. I see him having better hands and more athleticism than either of them. Maybe his lack of errors is due to his limiting his actions to what will succeed. Here's an article from 2 weeks ago analyzing him. (The national media hasn't discovered him yet.) http://www.hickory-high.com/?p=5871
Hickson averages more rpg in losses than in wins this season. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hicksjj01/splits/2013/
Thats a nice little write-up about Hickson. He does have great hands - how many times do you see him come up with the board when in a crowd of tall timber.
Couldn't that be more associated with Aldridge and Batum having terrible rebounding numbers; which makes Hickson grab more? Basically it may mean that the losses are more on Aldridge and Batum not doing their fair share on the rebounding battle.
Of course it could. Of course, LMA only averages 0.5 less rpg in losses, which is basically a wash. I was making a glib reply to a glib post.
The reason I do say is because people are saying how bad Hicksons defense is. His traditional defense may not be the best, but his effective defensive rebounding (denying the offense the chance of another possesion) is a form of defense in itself.
