Last season and this season at this point are might and day. I have been thinking about the differences rosterwise, and the most distinct is we had Gerald Henderson last year who was a true sixth man for us. This year we have Evan Turner in his place. Aside from the fact we spent twice as much on Turner, then we would have just keeping Gerald, what are the differences between what they have brought to the team? While Evan Turner is obviously the better player, has he had the same impact as Henderson did last season? Would we have been any better off keeping Gerald?
One intangible I miss about Gerald is his toughness. Example, during this season's game against the 76ers, Plumlee and Gerald where fighting over a rebound under the basket. Gerald threw Plumlee to the ground and won the ball, and the battle.
Gerald brought veteran leadership and vocal leadership on the court.....Turner is not trying to lead.....he's trying to fit in ..big difference....I liked Henderson but the future is brighter with ET from what I can tell...
Gerald is a much better fit, and Portland should have kept him. Your statement that Turner is "obviously the better player" is inaccurate.
I like ET's production in these areas Assists steals rebounds Blocks Turner 165 42 189 17 Hendo 82 28 114 9
This season Gerald 29 years old ..6'5 215lbs 7 year vet 48% FG avg about 11/3/2 Evan 28 years old ..6'7 220 lbs 6 year vet 43% FG avg about 9.7/4/3 ET has improved markedly over the last couple months....couldn't make a shot first couple...at the seasons end we'll see who has better numbers..ET is a way better passer and ball handler
I wasn't sad to see him go because his production seemed to fall off at the end of the season, especially the playoffs; I wish we could have got someone better than Turner though.
I do think his playoffs production hurt him, while helping Crabbe secure his big offer from the Nets.
Henderson's more reliable outside shooting and his slashing ability gave our offense more of a boost than Turner's iso-heavy game. Turner is a slightly better defender but that's it, their production is basically a wash and I do feel that Henderson was a superior, much cheaper fit for our team needs.
My main issue with Turner that he doesn't consistently bend the defense (lack of shooting and quickness are the reason for this) with most of his assists coming either in transition our out top feeding someone coming off a screen. He's also very much a scorer in the pnr rather than a playmaker (he's pretty turnover when he tries too), which again has to do with the fact that teams don't view him as enough of a threat to guard it with more than 2 guys, thus limiting his passing options to basically the roll man where he's shown little to no chemistry with any of our bigs. His role has basically been versatile 1-3 defender / inefficient safety valve iso/post/pnr scorer, which is fine but not really that best fit or what I think Neil had in mind when he signed him on as the 3rd ball handler he thought this roster needed.
Hendo wanted the opportunity to start. It sounded like we weren't going to give him that opportunity. Which is too bad. I am a huge Hendo fan, since way back to his college days.
Sounds like he may have been taking lessons from Turner, who is a career 37.9% shooter in the playoffs.
Man, good question. I'd love to get Hendo back as filler in some sort of Nerlens Noel trade. I know. It's not gonna happen.... Overall, I like ET better. He has a lot funnier quotes.
Maybe, but as the stats I posted above for each player so far this year demonstrate....ET produces more in all of the other categories. I actually liked Hendo, but there is no way you can convince me that he is better than ET at this time. Cheaper yes, better...no.
