Thanks, HCP. Would be pretty sweet if LA uses that bulk to propel himself to the all-star level. His development has stagnated since his sophomore year.
No kidding. This is great news. Year after year he's pretty much done the same thing. Which is good enough to be a quality player on a championship-caliber team, but not really lead a championship-caliber team. It's the difference between Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber. Can't wait to see how he produces for us this year. If he and Oden can stay healthy, man, that's a lot of length and a lot of strength.
HCP, please measure (or get a coach to do it) Elliott Williams' jump. Verify standing 41" and running 48".
Agreed--in all reality, if LA really is a rocked-up 265, he's probably thick/strong enough to play a legit 5 (if necessary). I mean, how many (non-scrub) centers in this league weigh much more than that? Shaq, Yao, Oden, Bynum, Hibbert, Perkins...anyone else? That's a monster front line we're putting out there.
HCP! I know as a dude you don't think about it, but was LMA's legs pretty ripped too? I heard people talking about Oden's problem might have been he put on a lot of upper body, but not much lower body strength.
That's a good question. I have had to wonder if part of LMA's problem is that he doesn't have a strong enough base.
He's growing a beard so he can be like Kevin Love. He's a softy trying to put off a gruff exterior. Amare isn't fooled by this.
I'd call lack of strength a weakness, but I don't necessarily believe that LA has an overall "problem". He's a very good PF and fills whatever role he's asked to fill. I look forward to seeing him develop over the next few years. He was drafted as a project; that he played his rookie year was a surprise to many fans.
Plus, he's starting +20 right now, so even with weight loss he should end up +10 by the end of the season.
It was doubtful if LA would be able to even make an impact his rookie year by many fans and media types. Even the front office didn't expect much of him. I know it is easy to forget these things, but it did happen.
Don't be silly. This is clearly a picture of Paul Beaty, AP - who was so good that basketball-reference does not have the mathematical capacity to list his accomplishments!
