| 04 April 2011
The Colangelo regime and the Bargnani era go hand in hand. BC and Gheradini made Andrea the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, and he has blossomed into a rather impressive spot up offensive shooter, but his overall game ends up bringing the rest of the team down. His rebounding troubles have been well documented, as he continues to only average in the neighborhood of five rebounds per while standing seven feet tall.
When he is on the floor, Jay is forced to run sets for him on the offensive end in an attempt to get him involved in the action. Constant pick and rolls from the top of the key which lead to him flailing in the air while trying to draw a foul. He is half decent at drawing fouls, but watching him do so is seriously painful.
He sat out the Raptors most recent game, an impressive win over the Magic, and the Raps looked better off without him. They were able to run non-stop and let their guards take the lead. Jerryd and DeRo both had huge games as the athletic bigs were able to get them the ball and keep it alive. Ed had a big game on both ends of the floor, including a thunderous dunk over Brandon Bass. James Johnson was running on the wing and distributing the ball to everyone, not just the big tower in the middle.
Andrea is locked up long term, with four years left on his deal and $41 million owed to him. This hardly makes him the most overpaid player in the league, but he is certainly amongst the most frustrating. He shows no effort on the defensive end of the ball, and is regularly outmuscled by guys much smaller than him. Imagine if we could mix Andrea and Reggie Evans into one player? It would be perfect.
Colangelo has his contract coming up for renewal at the end of the season, and all indications are that he will have it extended. It is unlikely that he will take cents on the dollar for a player that he has treated as a pet project, and considering the Gheradini-Bargnani-Treviso connection, the likelihood of a move being made is even more unlikely.
But just imagine how nice it would be to see the Raps run every game? They currently have the fourth worst record in the Association, and they are battling it out with the Wiz and the Kings for the 3 through 5 draft spots. The Cavs have first overall locked up, and it appears that the T-Wolves have second overall secured. The Raps will find themselves somewhere in that top five and they will be in position to grab a real big man.
Perry Jones, the 7-foot frosh out of Baylor would be a nice athetlic addition to the frontline. Enes Kanter, the man who was not allowed to play at Kentucky, but still has elite skills at 6'11 and has some international flare that the Raps love. There are a handful of real international prospects in this years draft as well, but all three resemble big man who can't bang in the paint, so it might be best for the Raps brass to shy away from them.
Bayless continues to show flashes of brilliance when he isn't forced to come off the bench behind Jose. When he is given the reigns, he can blow by anyone and being a score first point is not necessarily a bad thing in the league these days. DeMar is growing into an impressive player before our eyes, and he needs to just lock down on D to become elite. James Johnson has played a great all around game for the Raps and could be the athletic wing that they have been lacking in recent years. Ed and Amir are a solid 1-2 combination at the four, as they can both come into the game and provide some energy on both ends of the floor. But then there is the black hole in the middle of the paint who refuses to play solid positional defence and hovers around the perimeter on O.
Andrea is happy to launch ugly pull up shots from all over the court rather then get into the paint and muscle for some points. What makes it even more frsutrating is watching a player like Galinari, who has a similar all around game to Andrea, but he is willing to makes cuts off the ball, drop dimes to his teammates and get in the paint. No one has been able to figure out what is keeping Bargs from developing something resembling a defensive game, but as long as he is on the team, we have to find a way to work around it.
If the Raps draft one of Perry Jones or Enes Kanter, they will hopefully challenge Andrea for some minutes on the inside and show us how a big man is supposed to play. CB4 was just the same, as he was happier to launch jumpers from the elbow then get in the paint. We have rid ourselves of one, now we need to find a way to work around Bargs, as he is unfourtunately not going anywhere anytime soon.
| < Prev |
|---|
