When he steps onto the court next season he will look like Squatch. Devastating news for the kid though.
Loud noises....damnit. That just sucks for Swift. He was just starting to get some more confidence in himself and being more aggressive on the court. Last season when he was getting into a groove, he broke his nose. This year, it's the knee. Just bad news.
Man, this sucks, I was hoping to see how he'd improved from last season. He was fairly impressive. So are you guys going to start Petro, of put Wilcox at C and start Nick Collison?
At this point, Hill said that he is going to go with Petro at center. He says that he'll take a look at Sene, but it's more than likely that Petro will be starting. Collison and Wilcox will see more PT together probably.
I really shouldn't be feeling as bad as I do, considering that I don't know him personally, but I'm hurting right now. Things like this can really stunt the development of a tempramental kid. This kid's confidence has always fluctuated but I honestly feel that if he would have gotten the minutes he would have cemented himself as our top center for years to come. Now, it is quite possible that he may be best served as trade bait. I am really disappointed for the kid but I think that we will benefit from Fortson getting more minutes. Sad day for the Supes.
<div class="quote_poster">Iron Shiek Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I really shouldn't be feeling as bad as I do, considering that I don't know him personally, but I'm hurting right now.</div> If you're a true fan, you hurt with the players. I am absolutely gutted for Rob at the moment, really showed signs last season of developing into a high calibre NBA centre, and to have a year taken away from him is cruel. Hopefully he spends a lot of time with Nick, who went through a similar thing (albeit in his rookie season) and has bounced back - with four years college experience I feel he had a much more mature outlook on the year lost to injury than most rookies would, and he will be able to give Rob a lot of support. I hope we pick up his contract option now too.
Bob Hill demanding an extraordinary effort from Bobby in preseason games doesn't help either. Swift got hurt basically trying to do whatever it took to impress Hill. You can't knock Swift for that, but at the same time you would like to see players going into the regular season healthy. If the ball goes out of bounds in a preseason game...oh well. Rather that than have your future cornerstone center out for the year. I am unbelievably mad right now. More mad than I was when Flip got traded for Mike Wilks.
I think you are reading into it a bit too much to be honest, Shiek. I'd rather take the positive view - I want to see young guys like Swift diving for loose balls. The fact that it's a preseason game makes it even better, as it proves the kid wants to win and wants to play hard and impress. At the end of the day you can just as easily do a knee landing after a rebound. Come and watch Australian rules football down under - the most common serious injury is a knee, and the majority look completely innocent, and half the players end up walking off by themselves. No need to play the blame game, it's a freak accident.
I'm not blaming anyone, I just hate to see players get hurt in the preseason. You can't avoid it unless you sit players out. I understand where you are coming from completely, Dez. I just wish Bob had enough confidence in this roster (and they him) that they didn't have get pushed to the limit in training camp. Hard practices isn't what makes team great in the NBA. Player management and effective game strategy plays more of a role. To be honest, I am just venting because at the collegiate level I practice my guys extremely hard because we aren't talented enough to try to turn the light switch on in a game.
Damn, I was sniffing an argument and you backed down, fam. From what I have heard, Swifty needed someone to really get under his skin and push him. You've got Ray making cryptic comments about his inability to play through injuries and Hill stating he needs to see more fire from his bigs (I assume he meant Swift and Wilcox specifically), and it's a damn shame that Swifty injures his knee doing exactly that. But how many bigs do you see dive for loose balls every night who don't get hurt? Tonnes. Just pure bad luck and it's up to Petro to step up and build on last season.
<div class="quote_poster">Sir Desmond Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Damn, I was sniffing an argument and you backed down, fam.</div> Don't worry. That won't happen too often. Let the sleeping dog lie. No matter how bad the circumstance one thing you really can't blame a coach for is a player injury--unless of course you are Bob Knight, Dave Bliss, or Woody Hayes.
hey, knight only hits his players when they deserve it...its motivational...suicides, free throws, get slapped around, more suicides, more free throws, get verbally abused...its a training regimen
1. Gilbert Arenas- Gilbert Arenas is such a great player and point guard because of so many reasons. The guy can flat out score. He is a point guard and can still average around 30 points a game. He can pass the ball too. Averaging about 6 assists a game, maybe need a little more from a former Wildcat. He shoot’s 82 percent from the free-throw line and gets there a lot. He is one of the top guys in minutes in the league playing about 42 minutes a game. Arenas is a very determined player. During the off-season he was working on what he needed the most: defense. He said it himself that his defense isn’t where he wanted it to be so he trained hard over the summer to improve so that his game could be taken to a whole new level. Arenas may shoot too much for a point guard but as long as his shots go in, his teammates are fine with it, and his team wins it’s all good. Gilbert is a team player and does what is needed for his team to win, even if it means he has to be the star player or a role player and most of the time Gilbert Arenas will not be the role player. He has a great attitude off the court and one of the best to set foot on an NBA court. Arenas is a fun player to watch cuase of his determination and will to get better. Gilbert may be recognized as a scoring point guard that should move to the two guard position. IMO, he will do better as a shooting guard. Arenas is a young player at the age of 24 and still has a chance of more improvement and be one of the best guards in history once his passing and defense gets better. Arenas is one of the most underattred players today. He is a superstar in the making. He has a lot of progress so far and the future is looking very bright for Gilbert Arenas. 2. Jason Kidd- Jason Kidd? Where do I start? This man is a definition of a point guard. If you look up point guard in the dictionary you might see his picture there. J-Kidd is exactly what you would love to get from a point guard and more. All you want is passing and some defense, Kidd will give you so much more with his rebounding, quickness, scoring, and unselfish play. He is one of the players you would die to play with. Jason Kidd made Vince Carter, Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles, Richard Jefferson, and Nenad Krstic better players. Take Kenyon Martin for example, when he played for the Nets along side Kidd he was having career years. Now he is in Denver and he hasn’t been playing the same. Kidd’s defense is amazing holding the opponent’s best scorer to fewer points than they normally average. Kidd’s stellar defense isn’t the only thing he is good for. He is also an outstanding rebounder for a point guard and has a killer 3 point shot. Kidd is a triple double threat every night. His career averages of 14 points, 9 assists, and nearly 7 rebounds are astonishing. Kidd has been one of the best rebounding guards ever. He is getting older now. At the age of 33, Jason Kidd stands 6 foot 4 and 193 pounds. With Steve Nash winning back to back MVP’s, many people have forgotten how good Kidd is and that is a shame. Jason Kidd is considerd as one of the best point guards in the history of the NBA and a future hall of famer. 3. Steve Nash- The 2 time MVP is back and wants another chance for the championship and another MVP. Steve Nash has had 2 career years back to back in the last 2 seasons. After leaving Dallas and signing with Phoenix, he hasn’t been the same. His scoring and passing has gotten much better. Dishing out about 10 assists a game, while scoring around 17 points a game. He has been hitting his free throws like always, making 90 percent of his free throws the last 2 seasons. This sharp shooting point guard has been a challenge for Jason Kidd to compete with. The only reason I could see Kidd ahead of Nash is just because Nash’s defense is bad. Once he improves his defense he could be the best point guard in the league. Steve Nash like Jason Kidd, made players around him much better. Getting Boris Diaw the Most Improved Player Award and himself back to back MVP’s. Steve Nash is 30 years old and an inspiration to players who are struggling in their late 20’s. Steve Nash was an average player, until he got to the Phoenix Suns and made them title contenders and himself the Most Valuable Player. Like I said before, when Steve Nash develops a defensive game I will consider him as one of the best point guards ever. 4. Chris Paul- Chris Paul, 21, is the future of NBA point guards along with Gilbert Arenas. Paul is one of those players that come once in a while. He is so talented. He has his great passing skills averaging about 8 assists a game as a rookie. He also could score with 16 points a game. For a little guy (6 feet) Paul is a great rebounder too, about 5 boards a game, and let me repeat it the guy is 6 FEET! Chris Paul made 84 percent of his free throws last season, but only shot 28 percent from behind the arc, and made 43 percent of his field goals. That is one of the areas in which Paul needs to improve on, shooting. He can also learn to play some defense. He is an average defender but he can swipe the ball. He gets 2 steals a game. Chris Paul can be compared to Jason Kidd. He can do a little bit of every thing. Before you know it, Chris Paul will be the best point guard in the league, once he makes it to the playoffs and get more experience. Chris Paul is a born leader. He nearly led the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets to the playoffs. He made David West a much better player and got him to be a close runner up for the Most Improved Player award. Paul himself won the Rookie of the year award. It might be soon when Chris Paul wins the MVP award. 5. Allen Iverson- When I first hear Allen Iverson, I think of a player who has a lot of heart. I think of a scoring champion and a great passer, defender. A superstar. I think of a player who deserves so much more than he is getting. Iverson is one of the hardest players to build around. He is so demanding of the ball and such a big scorer it is hard to play with him. Iverson’s real position is shooting guard but since his team reall doesn’t have much point guards it is his duty to play has one. Iverson is one of the best scorers in the NBA. Averaging 30 points for almost ever season he has player. He can also get the assists with a career average of 7 assists a game and 2 steals a game. Allen Iverson’s first love was football. He played running back in high school and point guard/shooting guard. He said it himself that his first love is and always will be football. Allen Iverson is getting older at the age of 31, his numbers are slowly declining and he won’t be as good as he used to be. Winning an MVP in the 2000-2001 season. Allen Iverson is one of the best players of all time. Considered a ballhog by some, considered as a shooting guard or point guard, in my books Allen Iverson is a hall of famer. 6. Chauncey Billups- Last season Chauncey Billups was 3rd place in MVP voting behind Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Lebron James. Billups is a sharp shooting point guard. He is one of the stars on the Detroirt Pistons, leading them to consecutive NBA finals appearances during in the last 2 years (before this year). He was the Finals MVP in the one they won against the Los Angeles Lakers. Like Chris Paul, Billups is a great leader and playmaker. Improving the offensive games of Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Richard Hamilton and made him get recognized. Billups is gifted offensively and defensively. He has been averaging 17 points per game and 7 assists per game the last few seasons. Billups led the Pistons to 64 wins this year and to the eastern conference finals. After losing to Miami in the playoffs, Billups, 29, has been criticized for not being a pure point guard. Honestly, my thoughts on the situation is that, under Flip Saunders Billups is now learning to be a pure point guard and getting his teammates involved averaging 8 assists a game last season. We will just have to wait and see if Billups plays like this in the next couple of years.
Wow this sucks. He was the Sonics' best defensive center who could probably get double double very often. I think he was touted to have excellent footwork for his age and he blocks shots and rebounds well. He might have even scored well with either hand. That is key for any paint player. From Alonzo Mourning to Chris Kaman, great to good centers need to score with their off hand so they can be more effective in the pivot. I guess the Sonics will go with Collison or Wilcox depending on what they need. I like Collison because he's well versed in big man skills, but he's not really a starter. Wilcox has more upside, but he may be both good and bad in some games, especially playing against bigger guys in the post and also not being able to pass, dribble, or shoot that well to be a power forward. I think maybe Petro and the other center rookie guy from the Belgium league, who started playing basketball last week, aren't ready to play starter just yet.
Then again, what do I know? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The most responsibility lies with Sene, who will transform from a project stealing minutes at the end of quarters to a 15- to 20-minuteper-game player. Hill said he is leaning toward starting Sene because Johan Petro has been working well with the second team.</div> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/290329_swift28.html
