"I am concerned we have not heard anything about Diogu..." To answer your question Dunleavy was on a Bay Area local sports radio show yesterday. When asked about Diogu, Mike said he looked very very good. He's still having some transition issues adjusting to the plays and players but Mike said Ike will be a "great" player.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AnimeFANatic:</div><div class="quote_post">He's 272 lbs now. With that weight and his athleticism he can post up some centers</div> I hope that is what he turns out to be. Imagine a player like Amare as your center, a PF like Brand, a lockdown defender in Pietrus at the SF, Jrich and Baron in the back court. That would be nice combo for the next few years...
In one hand, I am darn glad to see Monta playing very well. In other hand, if we have a problem with mins in training camp, I have no idea what will happen in regular season...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post">"I am concerned we have not heard anything about Diogu..." To answer your question Dunleavy was on a Bay Area local sports radio show yesterday. When asked about Diogu, Mike said he looked very very good. He's still having some transition issues adjusting to the plays and players but Mike said Ike will be a "great" player.</div> Mike knows how to talk to the media. He has had experience and good training from living with his dad into what to say and what not to say. But maybe we can share Dunleavy's optimism about Diogu as well. Hopefully.
I'm not expecting Taft to do a lot this year,if he puts out effort and learns some skills,that's a step. If he can be a banger,and give some D,he may get a small role. That Ellis is showing a lot of quickness and creativity as a scorer is great.,I want to see point G skills too,but if Ellis is that quick,he can be a matchup problem for some slower veterans as a 2 guard for now. If you could blend the best of A Miles and M Ellis you'd have a damn good G,perhaps they will learn from each other?
Taft's got to learn some new post moves that's for sure. So I agree with the fact he will probably see very little time on the floor unless he's Erick "contract year" Dampier-like on defense. I think he can block a whole bunch of shots, defend the post but he won't go after the rebound like Foyle, Murphy or Diogu would. He's a bit too calm. He's a possible presence though if he can make people fearful of driving the lane which I think he will eventually.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Taft's got to learn some new post moves that's for sure. So I agree with the fact he will probably see very little time on the floor unless he's Erick "contract year" Dampier-like on defense. I think he can block a whole bunch of shots, defend the post but he won't go after the rebound like Foyle, Murphy or Diogu would. He's a bit too calm. He's a possible presence though if he can make people fearful of driving the lane which I think he will eventually.</div> I pretty much agree on all those points. I think Taft has alot of potential to be a beast on defense, he was one of the best shot blockers in Pitt history and from his performance at summer league he played some very solid defense and got alot of rebounds. The guy gets feirce once he gets the ball near the basket, hes got the Kenyon Martin or Amare attitude where he is going to go for a monster slam dunk every time. The problem now is getting him to play like that with or without the ball as well as on offense and defense. From what I read he was itching to posterize Marty A or whatever other hyped up rookie he could get his hands on. Worst case scenario would be that this guy turns out to be Melvin Ely, decent post defender off the bench with a big body but nothing spectacular. Best case scenario: well, he looks alot like a young Amare now with the few post moves but a ton of athleticism. I wont go that far, but he could be a great player if he was focused and learned some post moves.
Run BJM, I think he tried to posterize that Wizards guy Peter John Ramos, who is 7 foot 3. It looked like Taft did a reverse 180 dunk on top of him and he injured his back.
I sure would like to see that high light. I have not seen taft play yet even with those SL DL games we had this summer...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Run BJM, I think he tried to posterize that Wizards guy Peter John Ramos, who is 7 foot 3. It looked like Taft did a reverse 180 dunk on top of him and he injured his back.</div> Yeah I remember watching that game. From reports about the game against the Cavs Taft was dunking and blocking shots all over Marty A. I really like his potential.
