Rip City Current, Pt 3: Paddling Upstream: Terry Stotts never ceases to amaze me! Nico hurt his knee and AC filled in admirably, especially on the defensive side of the court. Next game Aldridge got the Blake, Meyers crunge and stayed home while the Nets came to town. Who took his starting spot? Non other than one of the most controversial bench players over the last couple of seasons, Meyers Leonard! You could hear the collective groans from Bieber haters all the way to southern Oregon. Matched up with KG, he got a really good lesson at the 4 and rebounded well, made some shots and at times, looked downright comfortable in his own skin. He’s growing a stache for “movember” to support prostate cancer. (Just how that helps is still a mystery to me) Joel Freeland has impressed me with his rock solid defense. CJ has improved defensively and just as you think he’s not shooting well, he makes a couple and survives the bench cut. Damian Lillard. What can you say about the guy? He’s stepped into the role of floor general and just beasting on both sides of the court. After the first two games, I was left scratching my head with the bench rotations. Once again, Stotts has shown he’s unafraid to experiment and give guys an opportunity to earn minutes. At 7-3 I feel much better about the way things are unfolding. In the past, I was critical of Kim Hughes the big man coach but he’s definitely proven me wrong. If you must eat crow, use a lot of hot sauce and it tastes just like a Tijuana burrito. Threads comparing players have been raising their avatars on the board so this weeks list is a player comparison. As usual, please chime in in the comment section. Riverman Just who in the hell do these guys remind you of?: • Will Barton • Meyers Leonard • Joel Freeland • Dorell Wright • Victor Claver • Allan Crabbe • Thomas Robinson • CJ McCullom
Will Barton reminds me of a young Stephen Jackson or even Latrell Sprewell when he was in Minny Meyers Leonard reminds me of a young Tom Chambers or Channing Frye Joel Freeland reminds me of Nick Collison or Kurt Thomas Dorell Wright reminds me of Luke Walton Allen Crabbe reminds me of a Suns era Grant Hill Thomas Robinson reminds me of JJ Hickson or Craig, "the Rhino" Smith CJ McCullom reminds me of Joe Dumars or even a bit of Nate McMillan in his Sonics heyday Victor Claver reminds me of Rudy Fernandez only because he'd rather be in Spain than the NBA right about now
With a tip of the hat to MM, here it goes... barton: Biebs: Freeland: Wright: Crabbe: Robinson: CJ: Claver:
