Boone demonstrated three weaknesses: (1) foul shooting. (2) no range whatsoever. (3) his tendency to get frustrated after making a mistake, stop, and curse at himself--while the play was still going on. (1) Last year, in Nov/Dec/Jan, his FT%s were 18%/28%/41%. After that point, he hit over 50%: 60% in February, and 58% in March (he only attempted 2 FTs in April, so we'll ignore that). He made improvement, and can hit 60% over the course of the season. (2) before he got injured this preseason, we saw him attempt and hit a mid-range jumper . . . keep those fingers crossed. (3) This one is all on him.
actually i have been to a few nets playoff games and it was loud as heck ^^ it was great to see everyone excited and cheering
He has no low post game, either. I thought he would be a better shot blocker and help defender than he is. He still makes way too many mistakes defensively - especially considering how intelligent he is. On the plus side, he is a fantastic rebounder on both ends, he is much more enthusiastic and competitive than he was in college, he works extremely hard and hustles every minute he's on the floor, he's improved his hands and he is a solid finisher on the pick and roll. He's a good bench guy, which is what they drafted him to be and all anyone expected of him.
No matter who starts the good news is we look pretty solid at the 5 spot. Lopez and Boone should be anchoring the middle for the foreseeable future and doing a good job. Production from PF and SF are the areas that can be an adventure night in and night out.
Believe me, I was at all of the playoff home games in the Finals years...the Staples center was just as loud yesterday and it was just game one of the regular season. GMJ quoted me in that FAIL thread saying that the crowd at the Meadowlands is one of the worst in the league. I stand by that statement.
