dont want to jinx him, but wow, he's been playing way past my expectations. i thought it would take a few weeks for him to start contributing, but he's already been a great help. he has some real nice moves for a guy of his size. got a chance to make it to the spurs and raptors games this week, and watched the jazz game...can't wait to see what this guy's gonna do this year. anybody else as excited about this guy's play as me?
I'm pumped. He's got a lot of qualities I admire in a player. There's just too many to list. The biggest is he's not afraid of contact, he's got very broad shoulders, lots of strength, he's fundamentally sound, can score with either hand, he reads plays quickly and he's got some real polished footwork. He could be pretty dominant in the paint against a lot of matchups that don't know how to defend up close. Lots of potential 3-point plays and the Warriors riding the free throw bonus. Baron will love attacking the rim once the other team is over the limit. On Ike's play so far: He's a smart guy that recognizes the benefit of keeping the dribble alive. So far I noticed when a defender tries to crowd him, he'll lower his shoulder, body bump and stun him for a bit while he manuvers to shoots over him. If Ike doesn't shoot, he'll fake like he's shooting and the defender might leave his feet or jump at him and he'll draw the foul with the up and under move. On offense he's like a cross between Shareef Abdur Rahim (pump fakes, all around game), Zach Randolph (spin moves, fadeaway shot touch) and Elton Brand (uses his body to create separation). Then another thing he likes to do is play from the high post and either set up people moving off the ball. He can do a few things from this position. He can pass, he can jab step and beat his defender off the dribble, or he can shoot the perimeter shot. He's got good awareness of the floor. The last thing he does is he moves well off the ball. He recognizes floorspacing and he's always where you expect him to be on offense. He stops on a dime too, gets off his feet quickly and is more agile than he looks. In a halfcourt setting, the deep position he gets in the paint really helps out the offense. In his second game, Ike was already drawing double team respect. Defensively, he's shown flashes of being pretty solid, but he's been very cautious in terms of foul trouble.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kensaku:</div><div class="quote_post">I like that he gets mad when he is called for a foul.</div> I like the fact he's an inside/outside player.
This is definitely exciting. Someone who knows how to score inside. When was the last time the W's had someone like that? Chris Gatling (don't say you don't remember his sweet left handed hooks!); Webber?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kensaku:</div><div class="quote_post">I like him more than you!</div> If you like him so much, why don't you marry him.
So far, I am very impressed with Diogu, and his enterence couldn't be better when we just lost Pietrus and need energy guy from the bench. I was worried how his post up games will translate to NBA, but so far, the result was very encouraging. He has good quickness and decent athletism, and judging from his smooth FTs, he should have good midrange game as well. Like Pietrus, his role for this year seems to be effective scoring player from bench. Let's see what he can do in regular game situation...
I think it's still going to be a period of adjustment for Diogu since he's a rookie. But he's impacting our team in a very big, noticeable way. He's got intangibles. He'll be talking to players, he'll be reading the ball movement, he'll be making adjustments on the fly, he gets deep position in the paint so we can get a good outside-in type of game or some fouls on the other team. He's very smart. I'm sure Barnett will give a lot of air time to admire his qualities, thereby jinxing him as he has done with Dunleavy over the years. "The thing I like about Dunleavy is... <CLANK!>" "Dunleavy... is really struggling tonight, Bob..."
Diogu has been playing great, way better than most of us have expected. But how do you think the Ws will do with a frontcourt of Murphy at 5 and Ike at 4. Offensively we'd be great but defensively that is a small lineup and not very athletic. Especially when you consider that they will also have to help on penetration by Dunleavy's man. As good as Ike has played, I don't think the Warriors can afford to give him many more minutes if those minutes are coming from Foyle.
i think it's a little premature to grant ike a starting spot, but i'd rather see troy and ike playing the frontcourt, with foyle (and ultimately bedrins) at center. i realize that means that dun's coming off the bench, but i think he'd be a really effective 6th man if monty had the balls to sit him down for a minute... one thing i've noticed about ike, is he has been setting a lot of pick and rolls up top, then getting the foul down low...thank god the man can hit from the line.
You cannot play Foyle, Murph and Diogu together. That would be like the Flintstones in the front court, they would be so slow.
I think Murphy and Diogu would seem pretty good in theory, but it means one or two scorers in the lineup would have to take a backseat. Both Murphy and Diogu are scorers. Baron Davis and Richardson are scorers. In these cases, it's good to have a few players willing to do the dirty work like Biedrins or Foyle or have the floor awareness that Zarko Cabarkapa has. The thing is if Foyle is starter and Troy Murphy is starter, we still have no inside presence. If we do Foyle, Ike, I think that's a lot better, but what does Foyle do if Ike is playing inside and Foyle suddenly gets in the way? This is why I hoped Zarko Cabarkapa could have been so much more. He's not a ballstopper, has great hands, he understands floor spacing and he's got good floor awareness and can take it inside and dish off the dribble. But Murphy and Foyle protect the boards. Murphy is the most consistent scorer in the frontcourt and Foyle is our biggest shotblocking threat. Biedrins could be a big time rebounder and shotblocker if he doesn't gamble on defense, but you want him inside as well. Biedrins is a lot more fundamentally sound than one would think, but he gambles so much on defense.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting philsmith75:</div><div class="quote_post">You cannot play Foyle, Murph and Diogu together. That would be like the Flintstones in the front court, they would be so slow.</div> Well we played A. Miles, Zarko, Dun, Ike, and Taft in the same lineup in garbage time. That was pretty interesting. That means Dunleavy played shooting guard, Zarko played small forward.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Well we played A. Miles, Zarko, Dun, Ike, and Taft in the same lineup in garbage time. That was pretty interesting. That means Dunleavy played shooting guard, Zarko played small forward.</div> While this is true, Zarko is alot more capable of playing the 3 than Murphy or Diogu, plus as you mentioned it was garbage time. I'm also impressed with Diogu, I love how he establishes such great position in the post early in the shot clock; the only thing that can stop him there is the other Warriors players' willingness to give up the ball. Hes very crafty in the post, we've already seen a spin move to lefty layup, short fadeaway jumper, a couple of tip-ins, contested bank shot over Bosh, several three point plays, plus the sweet throwdown off of the alley-oop from Zarko. Hes a great FT shooter and a nice shot blocker to boot.
Great position in the lane. How come other guys like Curry, Brown, etc. with the great hands and athleticism never figure that out? Get position, catch ball, put ball in basket. Would seem easy. Oh yeah, never forget that the PG and the others need to find you too.
Murphy has been playing C this year and last. In the Utah game Ike was matched up vs Ostertag and Collins,with Murph playing against their PFs,worked out well. Ike doesn't have straight speed in transition,but halfcourt,I think he's quicker than Dunleavy,and there will be a few matchups where he can play SF. On D,and the boards,Ike has looked good,but actually he's being a bit careful and cautious,and will get more effective as he adjusts to NBA refs.
I like the fact that Diogu gets to the FT line. Looking at the stats, the players who make the biggest impacts on offense on a consistant basis are mostly the players who can get to the line often or are just very very good shooters from the perimeter. On the Warriors as of now, the players who can get to the line the best are JRich, Murphy, Baron Davis, Pietrus and Diogu in that order according to FTA/game. However if you look at the stats per 48 minutes the order changes, first with Zarko as number one(but I don't know if that stat is very accurate for this analysis because he has only averaged 8.4 minutes per game) with 10.7 FTA per 48 minutes, then it's Diogu, Pietrus, Murphy, JRich, then Baron and Fisher.
I like everything that was said about Ike, but one thing I especially enjoy is how he's effective in limited minutes. Some players need a lot of minutes or are rythym players, and go on and off, which is bad for someone you are looking for off the bench.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">The thing is if Foyle is starter and Troy Murphy is starter, we still have no inside presence. If we do Foyle, Ike, I think that's a lot better, but what does Foyle do if Ike is playing inside and Foyle suddenly gets in the way?</div> No player in the NBA, regardless of position or style they play, should "get in the way" of another player. In this scenario, Foyle should have the presence of mind to clear the lane but also get in position to grab the offensive rebound. When a player gets position in the post to score, typically, any smart player would not "get in the way."
