Harangody #55 - a born Celtic

[clover]

Harangody appears to be another one of Ainge's highly underrated 2nd round picks. Add Luke to the list that includes Ryan Gomes, Leon Powe (via trade from Denver), Glen Davis (via trade from Seattle), and Bill Walker - who is turning into a gem in NY.

Minus Walker, they havea ll found their way into the Celtics rotation early. They have all been productive players and widely recognized as steals in their respective drafts.

Harangody has a high basketball IQ. What some fail to understand is that the art of rebounding heavily involves basketball IQ. It is not solely predicated on hustle. Harangody's ability to bang in the post for second chance points and versatility in terms of range on offense reminds me of Ryan Gomes. Harangody may actually be more mobile, because he seems comfortable as a perimeter player, whereas Gomes is kind of limited to spot up duty as a long distance scorer.

I was trying to convince another person early in the summer that Harangody would be battling for a rotation spot this year. The other guy told me I was crazy. I think that if Harangody continues to play smart basketball, he will get more PT than anybody was ever expecting. Surely I could be completely wrong, but I think given the injury prone frontcourt we've got, Harangody will be relied on to provide duty anyways. Erden doesn't look ready to me and Harangody seems to have the bulk to play in the post, though undersized, and IQ to defend at this level.

That's the thing, with the likely injuries, almost everyone who makes the team will have a strong chance to play. And it's nice to see Gody adjusting.  His first couple of games were painful, but I think he's going to be just fine now.

[LooseCannon]

ShamSports called Harangody the "Skillz Train".

[Birdbrain]

I plan on calling him "The Gody".  It just feels better to refer to him with the article "the", as though somewhere there are multiple Godies running around and this is THE Gody.

I got a patented on G.O.A.T-y during his freshman year at ND.

Rebounding numbers in college only tell a portion of the story since at ND they strictly play zone due to lack of athleticism throughout the team.  In the pros playing more man his hustle, strength,and BBIQ will aid in that department.  Add the fact that he's added more muscle and I suspect by the 2nd half of the season if need be he'll be part of the rotation.  

[Surferdad]

...
Harangody has a high basketball IQ. What some fail to understand is that the art of rebounding heavily involves basketball IQ. It is not solely predicated on hustle. Harangody's ability to bang in the post for second chance points and versatility in terms of range on offense reminds me of Ryan Gomes. Harangody may actually be more mobile, because he seems comfortable as a perimeter player, whereas Gomes is kind of limited to spot up duty as a long distance scorer.
...

I think the Gomes comparison is a very good one. They are both 3/4 tweeners, guys who played the 4 in college but are a bit undersized in the pros yet not quite quick enough for the 3.  Gody seems to be a better outside shooter now than Gomes was as a rookie (but give Ryan credit for working on his outside shot to the point where it is respectable).  They are both high BBIQ players and scrappers who have a nose for the ball.

This board is so fickle.  During camp, people were already calling Harangody a bust. Now that he's had a couple of good pre-season games against scrubs, he is being annointed as a regular rotation guy.  The truth is probably somewhere in between.  Expect him to spend plenty of time up in Maine and probably shuttle back and forth depending on injuries in the front court.  At this point, I see him as a journeyman who may catch on as a rotation player (but maybe not with the C's) who could perhaps start with some team.  In other words, he is the next Ryan Gomes.

[thirstyboots18]

I am not fickle!  (at least about Luke,  )  I have been a fan since summer league, and I have higher expectations of him than you do.  Basketball IQ and a nose for the ball, paired with hustle will, I think, turn him into a very good NBA player...hopefully with the Celtics.  I think he may be a rookie that gets a chance from Doc...hope so, anyway.  Mentoring from PP and KG won't hurt him, either.

[Cman]

...
Harangody has a high basketball IQ. What some fail to understand is that the art of rebounding heavily involves basketball IQ. It is not solely predicated on hustle. Harangody's ability to bang in the post for second chance points and versatility in terms of range on offense reminds me of Ryan Gomes. Harangody may actually be more mobile, because he seems comfortable as a perimeter player, whereas Gomes is kind of limited to spot up duty as a long distance scorer.
...

I think the Gomes comparison is a very good one. They are both 3/4 tweeners, guys who played the 4 in college but are a bit undersized in the pros yet not quite quick enough for the 3.  Gody seems to be a better outside shooter now than Gomes was as a rookie (but give Ryan credit for working on his outside shot to the point where it is respectable).  They are both high BBIQ players and scrappers who have a nose for the ball.

This board is so fickle.  During camp, people were already calling Harangody a bust. Now that he's had a couple of good pre-season games against scrubs, he is being annointed as a regular rotation guy.  The truth is probably somewhere in between.  Expect him to spend plenty of time up in Maine and probably shuttle back and forth depending on injuries in the front court.  At this point, I see him as a journeyman who may catch on as a rotation player (but maybe not with the C's) who could perhaps start with some team.  In other words, he is the next Ryan Gomes.

Agreed on many counts.  I guess part of what will determine whether he plays much will, unfortunately, depend on injury situations to our key players. 

[Chris]

...
Harangody has a high basketball IQ. What some fail to understand is that the art of rebounding heavily involves basketball IQ. It is not solely predicated on hustle. Harangody's ability to bang in the post for second chance points and versatility in terms of range on offense reminds me of Ryan Gomes. Harangody may actually be more mobile, because he seems comfortable as a perimeter player, whereas Gomes is kind of limited to spot up duty as a long distance scorer.
...

I think the Gomes comparison is a very good one. They are both 3/4 tweeners, guys who played the 4 in college but are a bit undersized in the pros yet not quite quick enough for the 3.  Gody seems to be a better outside shooter now than Gomes was as a rookie (but give Ryan credit for working on his outside shot to the point where it is respectable).  They are both high BBIQ players and scrappers who have a nose for the ball.

This board is so fickle.  During camp, people were already calling Harangody a bust. Now that he's had a couple of good pre-season games against scrubs, he is being annointed as a regular rotation guy.  The truth is probably somewhere in between.  Expect him to spend plenty of time up in Maine and probably shuttle back and forth depending on injuries in the front court.  At this point, I see him as a journeyman who may catch on as a rotation player (but maybe not with the C's) who could perhaps start with some team.  In other words, he is the next Ryan Gomes.

Agreed on many counts.  I guess part of what will determine whether he plays much will, unfortunately, depend on injury situations to our key players. 

Yeah, if he is playing really at all, it is probably a bad sign for the team in general (same can be said for Semih).  But he is quickly showing that he is a guy who can be counted on as a nice insurance policy for when the inevitable injuries occur. 

Going forward, I absolutely agree with the Gomes comparison.  I also think he will have some of the same growing pains Gomes had his first few months.  He still has to learn how to adjust to the size and speed of NBA players and learn how to be effective.  It is one thing to do what he did last night against the Knicks, who basically play SF's at the PF spot, but once he is going to need to learn to be effective inside to compliment his outside game against legit PF's, and that will take a little while, just like it did for Gomes (and Big Baby for that matter).  He is a guy who is really going to benefit a ton from going against KG in practice every day.

[Birdbrain]

I guess I can see the Gomes comparison if Gomes was a better rebounder.  Gomes is more of a 3 only while Harangody has the size and strength to play the 3 and 4.  Maybe the 4 more so. They have similar athleticism and range but, Harangody has the build to play PF in the NBA.  He also will not get embarrassed athletically which if often assumed with a big white player.

Anyway it shouldn't come as any surprise if he gets PT this season (more than likely 2nd half) if you watched 1 game of ND the past 4 years. 

DA you made my day with this pick.  He's a perfect 2nd round selection.   Learn from the best while adding the youth the C's need off the bench. 

I consider more of a BBD clone with more range and less athleticism.  They are both great offensive rebounders out of sheer will.

[the_Bird]

I think we're more apt to see Semih.  If Shaq's already having problems with his sore hips, he's going to be sitting out a few games and shouldn't be playing much more than 20MPG anyway.  JO will obviously pick up most of the slack, but there will be games when Shaq's not available and they'd rather have the seven footer in there instead of having BBD play out of position.  

Not saying he'll be a *rotation* player, but Semih looks like he couple handle a few 10 or 15 minute stints on nights when Shaq needs to rest.  

As to Baby Heinsohn, I really don't see him playing a lot of the SF, he really looks more like a stretch 4 to me, which means playing behind KG, BBD, and in some cases behind JO.  I can see him spending time in Maine just to stay sharp and work on his game, but I see him as being less likely to be on the 12-man active roster.

[Greenbean]

...
Harangody has a high basketball IQ. What some fail to understand is that the art of rebounding heavily involves basketball IQ. It is not solely predicated on hustle. Harangody's ability to bang in the post for second chance points and versatility in terms of range on offense reminds me of Ryan Gomes. Harangody may actually be more mobile, because he seems comfortable as a perimeter player, whereas Gomes is kind of limited to spot up duty as a long distance scorer.
...

I think the Gomes comparison is a very good one. They are both 3/4 tweeners, guys who played the 4 in college but are a bit undersized in the pros yet not quite quick enough for the 3.  Gody seems to be a better outside shooter now than Gomes was as a rookie (but give Ryan credit for working on his outside shot to the point where it is respectable).  They are both high BBIQ players and scrappers who have a nose for the ball.

This board is so fickle.  During camp, people were already calling Harangody a bust. Now that he's had a couple of good pre-season games against scrubs, he is being annointed as a regular rotation guy.  The truth is probably somewhere in between.  Expect him to spend plenty of time up in Maine and probably shuttle back and forth depending on injuries in the front court.  At this point, I see him as a journeyman who may catch on as a rotation player (but maybe not with the C's) who could perhaps start with some team.  In other words, he is the next Ryan Gomes.

I dont understand how people lump the whole board together like everyone has the same opinion. Some people said he was a bust while many others liked what they saw from the summer league. Im sure for the most part people have stuck to their original opinions.If you see two opposite opinions being vocalized over time it doesnt mean that the board is "fickle", it just means you are seeing two different groups of people vocalize their opinions at different times.

Okay the rant is over.

I like Harangody. He has a quick release which makes up for his lack of athleticism. He can be a nice shooting weapon off the bench.

The way he defends will ultiamtely determine his fate in the NBA. The pre season is a difficult place to judge how a guy is doing defensively but he doesnt look lost out there.

He isnt a star or anything but he can be a solid role player in this league. Gomes is a decent comparison but he is bigger than Ryan so he might have some more upside as far as being able to handle PF's.

[Chris]

I guess I can see the Gomes comparison if Gomes was a better rebounder.  Gomes is more of a 3 only while Harangody has the size and strength to play the 3 and 4.  Maybe the 4 more so. They have similar athleticism and range but, Harangody has the build to play PF in the NBA.  He also will not get embarrassed athletically which if often assumed with a big white player.

Anyway it shouldn't come as any surprise if he gets PT this season (more than likely 2nd half) if you watched 1 game of ND the past 4 years. 

DA you made my day with this pick.  He's a perfect 2nd round selection.   Learn from the best while adding the youth the C's need off the bench. 

I consider more of a BBD clone with more range and less athleticism.  They are both great offensive rebounders out of sheer will.

I think you are underrating Gomes' rebounding ability (or overrating Luke's).  In College, Gomes was a very good rebounder, and very comparable to Luke.  He has not been as good in the league, because his size has become an issue that it wasn't in college.  I think we are going to see the same thing happen with Luke when he starts playing against actual big men, instead of the SF's maquerading as PF's that the Knicks threw out there.  

Basically, they both are guys who will chase down boards, and have a nose for the ball, but neither can be elite NBA rebounders, simply because they do not have the size and/or athleticism to be that.

[Greenbean]

I guess I can see the Gomes comparison if Gomes was a better rebounder.  Gomes is more of a 3 only while Harangody has the size and strength to play the 3 and 4.  Maybe the 4 more so. They have similar athleticism and range but, Harangody has the build to play PF in the NBA.  He also will not get embarrassed athletically which if often assumed with a big white player.

Anyway it shouldn't come as any surprise if he gets PT this season (more than likely 2nd half) if you watched 1 game of ND the past 4 years. 

DA you made my day with this pick.  He's a perfect 2nd round selection.   Learn from the best while adding the youth the C's need off the bench. 

I consider more of a BBD clone with more range and less athleticism.  They are both great offensive rebounders out of sheer will.

I think you are underrating Gomes' rebounding ability (or overrating Luke's).  In College, Gomes was a very good rebounder, and very comparable to Luke.  He has not been as good in the league, because his size has become an issue that it wasn't in college.  I think we are going to see the same thing happen with Luke when he starts playing against actual big men, instead of the SF's maquerading as PF's that the Knicks threw out there.  

Basically, they both are guys who will chase down boards, and have a nose for the ball, but neither can be elite NBA rebounders, simply because they do not have the size and/or athleticism to be that.

Agreed. Neither Luke nor Gomes can ever be more than average due to their size and lack of athleticism. Although Luke has more weight on him to carve out some space.

[Phil125]

I want him to drop 15 pounds and do the video for a month:

Then he can be a solid 3 backing up Pierce.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ZkY7tnpRs

[Greenbean]

I want him to drop 15 pounds and do the video for a month:

Then he can be a solid 3 backing up Pierce.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ZkY7tnpRs

Why would you want him to be a 3? Theres no way he can defend 3s even if he loses some weight.

He could be an effective stretch 4 though if he can body bigger guys like BBD. Unfortunately for him we are pretty deep there.

[Fafnir]

I guess I can see the Gomes comparison if Gomes was a better rebounder.  Gomes is more of a 3 only while Harangody has the size and strength to play the 3 and 4.  Maybe the 4 more so. They have similar athleticism and range but, Harangody has the build to play PF in the NBA.  He also will not get embarrassed athletically which if often assumed with a big white player.

Anyway it shouldn't come as any surprise if he gets PT this season (more than likely 2nd half) if you watched 1 game of ND the past 4 years. 

DA you made my day with this pick.  He's a perfect 2nd round selection.   Learn from the best while adding the youth the C's need off the bench. 

I consider more of a BBD clone with more range and less athleticism.  They are both great offensive rebounders out of sheer will.

I think you are underrating Gomes' rebounding ability (or overrating Luke's).  In College, Gomes was a very good rebounder, and very comparable to Luke.  He has not been as good in the league, because his size has become an issue that it wasn't in college.  I think we are going to see the same thing happen with Luke when he starts playing against actual big men, instead of the SF's maquerading as PF's that the Knicks threw out there.  

Basically, they both are guys who will chase down boards, and have a nose for the ball, but neither can be elite NBA rebounders, simply because they do not have the size and/or athleticism to be that.

I still think Harangody can and will play Scal's role for us. The exception is that I don't trust his defense as much, but his rebounding more than makes up for that deficiency.