I also love the argument saying JO has no lift... And Big Baby does? I dont care if JO can dunk more than Baby but on the defensive end JO can get up to block and effect shots, Baby doesnt have that ability. The length of JO and Shaq are going to help us greatly this season. Many fans on this board greatly underestimate JO and he seems to be unfairly judged by his playoff performance this past season. JO has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, yet, he has proven he can put up 20 and 10 with 2 blocks a game. He is only 32. Yes he came out of High School so he has some mileage on him, but he is far from being a washed up journeyman.
Jermaine *is* a washed up journeyman at this point, and he got his MLE deal based off past accomplishments, not based on his actual value. The days of 20/10 and 2 blocks are long gone, buddy, don't bring that up; it's not germane (or Jermaine) anymore.
JO's lack of heart and toughness is major read flag, and that deficiency of character is at the heart of his injury problems the last 4 seasons. We also have the fact that he's starting this season like he ended the last one--injured. I don't blame players for getting injured--it happens. But I do blame them for not giving a crap, and I'm pretty sure JO doesn't give a crap anymore and that's why his body is breaking down around him. If I had been in his shoes, after a bad showing to end the season, and after signing with a great team like the Cs, I would have worked out like crazy, probably finding a new trainer and taking my eating and sleeping habits to a new level in hopes of getting past my injury history once and for all. I probably would have shed some weight too, since that takes pressure off knees and ligaments and helps guys extend their career. What did Jermaine do? He came into training camp out-of-shape, and suffered three minor injuries in 2 weeks and now looks like he'll miss the beginning of the season. That's been the story of his career.
The lack of ups on the offensive end is interesting and it probably has to do with his injury history and how it's changed his body. He's had shoulder and knee issues, and my best guess is that having the ball in his hands and with a guy being physical with him causes him to lose balance and that loss of balance affects the height of his jump, something that prevents him from getting the proper height on his jump and makes him come up front rim time after time. He would need a total body makeover to regain his ability to jump powerfully with the ball in his hands and with a guy bumping him, and as I mentioned before he doesn't have the commitment to the game anymore to make that kind of sacrifice. So, while he can still jump well enough to be a good/great shotblocker and solid rebounder, since he has both ups and length, he is really unable to translate that length and ups to the offensive end, making him very Perk-like when he tries to create his own shot.
Now, Baby doesn't have the natural leaping ability or length of JO, meaning he's going to have his troubles rebounding in traffic or blocking shots. But what he does have is great balance and footwork, meaning he can take a bump and still jump with power and balance and convert a shot. What it means in the overall team scheme is that Baby has the ability to create his own shot and finish in traffic (because he has balance and bulk to create the blue sky), while JO--even though he does have ups and length--cannot. JO came here under the auspices of being a low post threat--unfortunately, he really isn't anymore. He's nothing more than a glorified jump shooter on the offensive end, while Baby can do everything else much better.
If I was being generous, I'd call JO a rich man's PJ Brown. Like Brown, JO can stick an open jumper, rebound the ball, block shots, and play good team defense. In that sense, JO's a good guy to have around, just like PJ was. But like PJ, I expect JO to do a whole lot of sitting the bench come playoff time, and hopefully for us he has PJ's knack of making big plays in key moments when he does get a few minutes here or there. Because that's about all he's going to get if everyone else is healthy.
Topic: So who do we get for big baby now? (Read 34030 times)