he's had a stretch of three great games. He didn't score alot in philly, but it wasn't needed and he still grabbed 13 boards. The game against New Jersey was just great. The last 3 games he's averaging 16 ppg, 13 rpg, and almost 3 blocks. On the season: 11, 8.3, 1.3.
Big Al has finally gotten his chance, in different ways. One reason is that all of our centers are injured so he has gotten all the minutes there. Another reason is that he was motivated a little from the trade rumors, he realized how badly he wants to stay in Boston. And third of all, he is injury free! He got his ankle fixed, he tapes now, and he's in good shape. That, mixed with his god given talent, maturity, and work ethic will continue to produce good things for Al and the Celtics organization. Some Celtics fans have hopped off the Al Jefferon bandwagon because he hasn't had his breakout year yet, I am happy to say that I have never lost faith in him. Big Al without injuries = good things. EDIT: Another thing about Big Al. THE TEAM NEEDS TO GET HIM THE DAMN BALL!!!
yeah, I think him dropping that weight really helped. He's staying out of foul trouble because he can actually jump to block a shot, and he's alot more mobile on both ends and in pursuing rebounds.
Heres what I say about Al: Its about f*cking time. I was so patient with this kid, and I was getting sick of it, and he finally breaks out. Hopefully now that he is playing very very well he can stay injury free and keep contributing. I also think its no coincidence that the team has been winning since he has started playing as well as he has the past few games.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Dec 14 2006, 05:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Heres what I say about Al: Its about f*cking time. I was so patient with this kid, and I was getting sick of it, and he finally breaks out. Hopefully now that he is playing very very well he can stay injury free and keep contributing. I also think its no coincidence that the team has been winning since he has started playing as well as he has the past few games.</div> 1. Um... yeah! When you get a big man out of high school as a mid first round pick, he most likely needs a couple years of seasoning before he can bust out. 2. Note that the only thing really keeping him back were his ankle problems. This past summer he got it surgically fixed. 3. He has NOT broken out yet. If you believe that him averaging 11 and 8 in his 3rd year is his break out year, you've got another thing coming my friend.
He hasnt broken out yet, hes got solid numbers so far, but until he proves he can keep these stats up for half a season or a full season for that matter, we are still unsure. Everyone thought Morris Peterson broke out when he dropped 50 and then he just returned to his mediocre ways.....dont judge so quickly.
That's a valid question, DRob. I think sometimes people get a little carried away with someone being a SG or SF, or a PF or C. But in this case, I think the center position has helped Al out a lot for these reasons: - He has dropped 30+ lbs. since last season, and he's much quicker than most centers in the league. - He doesn't have to chase the tweener PF's (the PF's who play the mid-range game and shoot some three's) around, he gets to stay in close to the basket at all times on both ends. Therefore, his rebounding has taken a huge jump because not only is he a skilled rebounder, he's always around the basket now. I think Big Al can be developed as a center. I think he's better suited to be one because of his game and his skills. He shouldn't be chasing all these tweeners around all the time, he needs to be around the basket all the time.
