Yeah, I think Taft supposedly has the game of Chris Wilcox/young Antonio McDyess. Physically, if you look at his level of strength/athleticism (not quite Amare's or even Jermaine O'neil's) it's really on par more with a guy like Nene or could be (Chris Webber), who is also a 6'10 F/C with huge hands, a good wingspan, good elevation, lots of strength, and is an above the rim player. During Nene's good streaks he looks like an athletic beast who dunks everything emphatically. The upside is definitely there. WFS93 will say Nene's more like Foyle in skill, but I don't think Nene is quite the shotblocker nor the flounderer in terms of scoring. I think Foyle can actually rebound better, but the bottom line is Nene would probably be a more imposing force in the paint on offense. Anyway, Taft is physically like Nene plays like a Chris Wilcox that has limited range, has better hands, runs the floor well and tries to dunk everything like raw players like Wilcox and Nene do. I think Taft will have his moments, but I don't think he's even Amare lite. That's like presuming Dunleavy's going to be the next Peja Stojakavic after watching the 2nd half of the season. Ike Diogu is probably closer to Amare than Taft is and REREM will agree with me on this one. Diogu, like Amare, is the type of guy that's going to make people work extremely hard on the defensive end by constantly moving and hopefully getting the other team in foul trouble. Taft is more laid back in what he does (he'll have flashes or hot moments in the open court, but he's really not the type to bring all that energy that Diogu or even Amare does). Is it presumptous to say that he can't improve his motivation. Yeah. But we haven't seen any improvements thus far in person and we only have some other person's word that he is doing well. I think it's very conjectural to say he's even remotely close to an allstar type player like Amare Stoudamire. I mean just by looking at the summer league stats board or writings based on some guy that claims he was there is just asking to bring up controversy. Hence, Wtwalker's "let's be realistic, keep things in perspective, and come back down to earth" posts after all these enthusiastic posts get written.
http://www.draftdaily.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=43&z=2 Looks like there's some optimistic outlooks on Taft that says his future game could be like Amare's right now, but it's just so hard to believe with what he's proven thus far. I think it's kind of funny because Amare right now doesn't even have an nba comparrison and when there are some raw F/C that come into the league they'll say he's Amare Stoudamire or such. Dwight Howard was last year's "Amare Stoudamire".
Honestly.. Amare's on his own planet right now. If he ever learns to score and pass from the post, he'll be the most dominating offensive player in the league.
Amare's ballhogging was what gave me the edge in points per game in our little yahoo fantasy league. Jermaine O'neil and Amare Stoudamire was one explosive frontline. <sorry randomness>
Maybe another comparison for Taft's offensive game is Stromile Swift, neither has much range, both like to posterize, mostly dunks or putbacks, both athletic freaks. They are also similar defensively, the only difference is Taft weighs much more than Swift so he doesn't get pushed around. I disagree with the Ike comparison to Amare though, Amare has almost no moves in the post, he just jumps higher and moves faster and is usually stronger than defenders and by the time the defenders are at the peak of their attempt to block his shot, Amare is back on the ground ready to jump again for the rebound. Ike on the other hand is slower and doesn't jump as high or as explosively, he uses a plethora of moves to lose his opponent and then finish.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post"> I disagree with the Ike comparison to Amare though, Amare has almost no moves in the post, he just jumps higher and moves faster and is usually stronger than defenders and by the time the defenders are at the peak of their attempt to block his shot, Amare is back on the ground ready to jump again for the rebound. Ike on the other hand is slower and doesn't jump as high or as explosively, he uses a plethora of moves to lose his opponent and then finish.</div> I didn't say Ike was actually compared to Amare, I said he's closer compared to Amare than Taft is to Amare at this point. Ike is constantly moving and that made him tough to guard at the collegiate level. I don't know what the deal is about people saying they saw him and that he looked slow. I think his athleticism should be okay. He's not a sloth, he's got a 9'1 reach and can jump fairly quick and high enough for the rebound over bigger players. He's decently athletic. But I getcha about the huge gap in physical skills and polish, it's just your points were taken out of context to something I was trying to say about Chris Taft.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">Maybe another comparison for Taft's offensive game is Stromile Swift, neither has much range, both like to posterize, mostly dunks or putbacks, both athletic freaks. They are also similar defensively, the only difference is Taft weighs much more than Swift so he doesn't get pushed around. I disagree with the Ike comparison to Amare though, Amare has almost no moves in the post, he just jumps higher and moves faster and is usually stronger than defenders and by the time the defenders are at the peak of their attempt to block his shot, Amare is back on the ground ready to jump again for the rebound. Ike on the other hand is slower and doesn't jump as high or as explosively, he uses a plethora of moves to lose his opponent and then finish.</div> I probably tossed out the Ike-Amare comparison first-so to elaborate....Both have a relentless,aggressive,active approach. Neither is a sprinter,yet they go full tilt-and with power,which to me equals explosive. To defend either guy you need a high pain threshold,these are clydesdales running downhill. Both guys have BB instincts,and a good wingspan,giving them the means to play taller than they are. There are some ways where they are different,but a lot of similarities. Taft is more of a back-in old school post up guy,at times like Dampier. Taft CAN run,fill the lane,finish...but hasn't put a big emphasis on that. He can be a physical guy,but his motor is slower than Ike or Amare. So far Taft has a few skills he relies on,and he's good with those,but he has to add many more to be much of a pro-which gets back to the big if,of what his work ethic will be. A bunch of lineups were suggested-and we will see all those,and more.-even if the starting 5 is set. When J Rich and Pietrus are both on the floor, think of them both as "WING" rather than a G + F,as they have many similarities. Technically,Pietrus is apt to be splitting SF time with Dunleavy,while J Rich,as an established star will get most of the SG minutes. In practice,they could switch matchups and roles seamlessly. While they are each about 6-6,they are strong and springy and quick. They can board and defend as well as a lot of SF's. When both are on the floor,an opponent needs to have 2 equally athletic guys to defend with--and some teams don't even have one.
