Sunday, March 27, 2011

Arglebargle

Joseph Casciaro at the increasingly sycophantic RaptorBlog makes a great suggestion ("Parting with Andrea") but writes:
As for Bargnani, those who have read any of my posts will know that I don’t think his “potential” is an issue. He has the natural talent, size and versatility to be a 25 and eight type of player, with a block per game in there too....
My opinion on Bargnani remains that if he is a power forward playing beside a true, defensive centre (like the aforementioned Chandler), then he is an NBA All Star
Sorry, the idea that Bargnani would somehow be an All Star in the right situation is ludicrous. Even ignoring his horrid on-ball defense, once his rebounding woes are factored in he struggles to keep himself above an average player (average player, not average starter) - and that's ignoring the worst part of his game, D.

Moving him to the 4, where he could show off his matadoring skills against more athletic players, would be to invite disaster.

Bargnani, for all that I'm sure he's a nice guy, is a pillow-soft Euro with some silky skills. He's the basketball equivalent of Alexandre Daigle and the Raps got stuck with him - and yet he finds defenders of his play, by the busload. Heart, determination and the willingness to work on one's game are also part and parcel of talent, and Andrea hasn't got it. I wish him well; let's please cut bait.

As for the half-hearted defence of Colangelo, yuck.