Unfortunately (because now it’s going to make it sound like a bunch of after the fact bullshit) I never got around to posting it, but he did measure out with fine size and athletically. I actually had him as kind of a sleeper choice since he seemed to fit the profile of a successful player. After he was drafted I did a little more in depth statistifying on Taj and didn’t totally hate what I found. His rebound rate was quite good, and didn’t come through in his basic stats, which were pretty marginal. So I think I’m just gonna give credit where it’s due that Taj is maybe a very good pick. The only criticism is that maybe Blair was a better one. And obviously nobody would be complaining if we got him. But I’m not even 100% sold on that. I had lots of doubts on Blair coming in, and maybe playing next to Tim Duncan doesn’t exactly hurt him. To wit, Hot Spots suggests Blair has taken about 90% of his shots right under the basket. This is one fear I had of him coming in, especially with Noah as our center, who shoots about 80% of his shots right under the basket. What I’m saying is, these are two guys who should never be on court together. Gibson, on the other hand, is your classic PF who can hit an open jumper in the mold of PJ, AD, or yes, Horace Grant. And I'll say this too. I openly scoffed at comparing Taj to Grant, but they're statistically close to identical through their rookie seasons. Code: Rk Player From To G MP PER TS% eFG% ORB% DRB% TRB% AST% STL% BLK% TOV% USG% ORtg DRtg OWS DWS WS 1 Taj Gibson 2010 2010 37 905 13.3 .516 .496 11.5 16.3 13.9 4.2 1.5 2.9 14.0 17.7 102 103 0.4 1.4 1.8 2 Horace Grant 1988 1988 81 1827 13.0 .530 .501 9.8 18.2 14.0 6.7 1.4 1.7 12.8 15.8 109 105 1.6 2.6 4.2
paxson has drafted well. i even like james johnson, i just think he needs to fine tune his game and he could be a poor man's melo who could score at will in the post. as ive told u guys previously- u guys have young, cheap assets (noah, rose, taj gibson, james johnson and even thomas) who could be swapped for proven stars.
Gibson is an old rookie. 2 years older than Grant. I'm not so sure about the upside. Still a decent pick if except that Blair was there.
agreed. i remember many teams passing on him after getting those xrays. too bad his 4 years are during San Antonio's decline.
Taj was a fantastic pick that late. I'm not sure he's got that much upside, but I think he is a rotation player and sometime starter for the next ten years. He also seems to be a solid guy to have in the locker room.
If Blair was beasting enough for one season and make us look good, then this would help us a ton for free agents this summer.
While he's old, I do tend to think that a real professional training regimen, similar to what Noah's done over the past couple years, could do good things for Taj.
