I've been hard on Nic, but for good reason. I think this is the year Nic won't be battling nagging injuries. I also think his "scoring" won't be as important. With that said, I think Nic will have a pretty stellar year. I think he will average: Over 14 ppg. Over 8 rebounds per game. Over 5 assists per game. Over 1.25 blocks per game. Over 38% from three. Over 44% from the field.
if your last two are overs, then your ppg is waaaay too low. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the 17-18 category
and if he's getting 8 rpg, then LMA isn't getting 10. Lopez and Robinson will take away from that as well.
I disagree... I think as a team, we will have a lower FG %, which gives us more rebounds to go around. I think Lopez will be more a "team oriented" rebounder, getting around 6 a game. Our SF will benefit the most on the rebounding end, because I believe Aldridge and Lopez are both really good help rebounders. The only reason why I believe Aldridge will grab 10 boards a game is because I think he has a fire under him. I think he knows we have a good chance at being a playoff team and bought into this "defense and rebounding" philosophy.
I put his points low because I think the starting core will have Damien and Aldridge handling the big load on offense. It doesn't mean batum is lower quality, but that he isn't required to score more. And in the end, it's about how efficiently he scores 14 points.
I think Nic will be our third leading scorer, and I expect continued quality play like he was capable of before his wrist injury last year. He'll flirt with triple doubles all year, and some nights he'll get them.
Key to Nic's production is not as much consistency as it is his health. If he's healthy, he will contribute in a big way. I'm hoping having a C behind him who can block shots can allow him to take more chances and pressure guys on the perimeter.
Did you get a chance to watch the Golden State game? He completely took Curry out of the game. He was soooooo intense on the defensive end. If he does that, I will fall in love with his game!
