I have been pleasantly surprised by this kid on defense. And though his offensive touches have been limited he hasn't looked terrible. Against the Raps we proved in the first two quarters that we have a whole lot to learn about team d. Carter among others scored easy baskets in close that Z just couldn't stop. Most were the fault of missed assignments and bad collapsing. However, when Diop was in the game his d was impressive! He altered shots and even made some plays out on the perimeter. One thing can be said for the kid. He does change the inside game. He looks extremely aggressive when he gets in there, especially compared to Boozer and Z. From what I have seen of him he rarely looks foolish on d. The same cannot be said for Boozer, Z, and Bron. It wasn't just this game where his d was solid. He can block shots and his d clearly gets the fans into the game. Needless to say the Cavs are very dependent on their home crowd. Am I giving this kid too much credit or does he excite some others down in the post? Could this kid play like a Theo Ratliff or a Mutombo in several years or do you guys expect little out of him? His offensive game leaves some to be desired but so does that of many second- string centers. What do you guys think?
Segana is the man. When he is in there he protects that hoop like a goalie. He makes the offense change their shots and contests every 15 footer. He blocks layups and his long arms grab important rebounds. He has all the tools to be a great defensive stopper like, Theo, or Dikembe but he isn't that bright.
Diop does look good on D. I can see Silas giving Diop more time, assuming his growth as a player continues, which it should. There are times Boozer and Z are burned so badly, you really don't have a choice but to give Diop some run. I hope he works hard this summer and comes back even better.
Diop wasn't too impressive against the Grizzlies last night. He had some decent games early in the year but really hasn't done too much lately. I don't see him as anymore than a 12-15 minute a night backup in his career. 3 years in the league and he still looks lost at times. He can be a decent backup but you would expect more from the 8th pick in the draft. Sorry, I just can't get too excited about a guy who averages 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in his 3rd NBA season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NarlCavs:</div><div class="quote_post">Diop wasn't too impressive against the Grizzlies last night. He had some decent games early in the year but really hasn't done too much lately. I don't see him as anymore than a 12-15 minute a night backup in his career. 3 years in the league and he still looks lost at times. He can be a decent backup but you would expect more from the 8th pick in the draft. Sorry, I just can't get too excited about a guy who averages 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in his 3rd NBA season.</div> He's young still and just a junior, give him time, if he's still like that past Senior time then, only then can you truly worry. I mean look at Ratliff, he just blocks and everyone loves him, that's such a difficult aspect of the game, and the Grizzlies are a great team, it's difficult guarding their effective offense, especially whilst having such a great coach as Brown at their side.
The guys 21 years old and dont get more than 13 minutes a game. Diop can play defense but his offense dont worry me too much, i see him sorta like Big Ben a presence on defense and his offense will gradually come like Big Ben's. Diop made a bad decision coming straight out of High School to the League if he went to college he would have been a much better player. The most minutes Diop has got in a game are 31 and you cant do much thats not even 3 quarters and you guys blame him for averaging 2.3ppg and 3.5rpg.
I still have concerns about Diop. I don't like his demeanor on the court. He seems almost polite out there. I have yet to see a nasty streak exhibited, and to be a defensive specialist, that would seem to be a requisite. He almost slouches out there. For as well as he does on defense, he needs at least a hint of an offensive game. Please don't tell me he has a jumper...because that is far from consistent. The kid can't make a layup if his life depended on it. A 7 footer needs to have at least basic skills to put the ball in the hoop, and so far, Diop has not even shown flashes of this. I hope this summer is spent heavily on adding more muscle and at least a baby hook or a basic drop step.
his offensive scoring is pretty low but he seems to have a knack for getting the offensive rebound i say give him a little more time, he's still young - how many centers made the jump from hs to nba and had an immediate impact? it seems like even big men out of college need a little more time to develop than others
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mr_Infante:</div><div class="quote_post">Segana is the man. When he is in there he protects that hoop like a goalie. He makes the offense change their shots and contests every 15 footer. He blocks layups and his long arms grab important rebounds. He has all the tools to be a great defensive stopper like, Theo, or Dikembe but he isn't that bright.</div> Where he grew up (in Senegal I believe) the only thing they played was soccer!!! So yea I see him as a goalie sometimes too, Mr_Infante. DeSagana was playing very good at the beginning of the season. His defense was awesome(and he would also hit the occasional open jump shot which made the fans go crazy!), and it looked like he even encouraged Z to pick up his game some because he was in there in the final minutes instead of Z in the earlier games of the season. Until Gana hurt his knee, he was a big part of the team. He has seemed to fall out of the rotation and Silas doesnt seem to put him in as much which really disappoints me. This kid can block shots like crazy and I'm sure his rebounding and scoring will improve with minutes, IF THEY ARE PROVIDED TO HIM. Get him in the game more often Paul!! We all know how much Paul increased Mihm's level of play in so little time, so I am looking forward to what he can do with DeSagana in the off-season. Don't give up on Diop so soon, its only his 3rd year and he's still very young(and out of highschool).
