bradley, wafer, harangody in nets game

[jsingh1699]

watched the second half of the nets game yday (clearly i missed the best part in the first half). but it was good to see bradley, wafer, and harangody get a good chunck of minutes in the fourth. just wanted to see what other people thought. here is what i took from the game.

bradley - he is clearly a quality nba defender at this point. he can give full court pressure and stay with his man the entire time. altho the nets were not trying that hard, he was being very aggressive on the ball. with west out, i really think doc should consider inserting bradley into games along side rondo with the opponents have a small backcourt in. it will allow rondo to have it a lil bit easier on defense while bradley can focus on the main guy. i think hes perfect for guarding guys like wade, dwill, westbrook. he wont shut them down completely, but he'll give 10 minutes of very aggressive D.

wafer - hes not as bad as i thought. he was clearly the leader of the team in the fourth. he was very aggressive offensively (driving and not afraid to shoot). he bricked a bunch of shots but that didnt stop him from being aggressive. when he penetrated, he started some nice ball movement. and a big thing was he was trying hard on defense. he isnt the best defender (definitely not as good as bradley) but the effort was there which was nice to see.

harangody - yeah this guy is terrible. that or he just was very scared and timid out there yday. he doesnt look controlled when he has the ball. my guess is he was excited/anxious. but from what ive seen, if theres one guy to be cut, its him.

also, very impressed with erdin. seemed like whenever he touches the ball, he goes straight to the rim. now if only he can work on his free throw shooting.

and, anybody see that alley-oop daniels dunked? i had no idea he had that kinda lift.

[wdleehi]

If Wafer is not hitting shots, why is he on the team?



He is a short term-er.  He is here until his contract become fully guaranteed because at that point, his trade value drops. 

[xmuscularghandix]

Harangody isn’t terrible, and Wafer isn’t better than you thought. 

Also, Erden was shooting his FTs fine until his thumb and shoulder got beaten to hell. He’s constantly in pain out there, i really like the fight in this giant Turkish rookie.

[Mencius]

Not sure if he'll remain on the team the whole season, but Wafer's defense is clearly better than it was a couple of months ago.  Probably partly effort and partly knowing the system better.  He's a good offensive player, but I think he has a hard time playing within a system, to the point where, he defers all the time when in with the hall of famers, even when he ought to shoot, and when he's with the scrubs, he dominates the ball.  I don't think he's a lost cause, and I suspect that if Ray or Paul are out with injury for a couple of weeks or so, he'd put up more than respectable numbers.

Wafer clearly has great on ball skills.  Moves his feet tremendously.  He needs to quit reaching so much.  Wade, Williams, or Westbrook would have him fouled out pretty quickly if he defended like he did yesterday with the reaching (and I loved how he stayed in front of his man, and the time that he completely frustrated and then stole the ball from the other rookie from Texas, James is it?).

I'm still not convinced that Gody can guard anybody in this league, but hoping he can.

[Silent Storm]

The assessments of Harangody and Erden are way off. Harangody is a high character and high IQ player who has the potential to be very efficient. He has a nose for the ball and is not afraid to get physical. Erden has several injuries and I'm not sure if that's the reason he's struggling with finishing around the rim right now, but it seems like every time he attempts to attack the rim he either misses or the ball is jarred loose. This could either be a result of his injuries or a sign that he needs to hit the weight room.

[pearljammer10]

The assessments of Harangody and Erden are way off. Harangody is a high character and high IQ player who has the potential to be very efficient. He has a nose for the ball and is not afraid to get physical. Erden has several injuries and I'm not sure if that's the reason he's struggling with finishing around the rim right now, but it seems like every time he attempts to attack the rim he either misses or the ball is jarred loose. This could either be a result of his injuries or a sign that he needs to hit the weight room.

These assessments of Harangody and Erden are what is way off. Harangody is a terrible terrible basketball player. His shot is awful, he looks lost on both defense and offense. Yes, he hustles but who wouldn't in his situation? Anyone who is fighting for a spot to play on a good team is going to hit the floor for a loose ball, does that make him a hard nosed talented player? Certainly not...

And Erden either misses or gets the ball jarred loose because he is getting hammered every time he goes to the hoop. How can you put fault on Erden for losing a ball when he gets hammered and goes to the line? He isnt the best player on the floor, yet, at the same time he isnt hurting us out there. He is playing well in his minutes.

As far as Wafer goes, I dont mind him either. His defense was supposed to be a weak point at the beginning of the year but he has improved that greatly. He is very aggressive and up in the defenders face, doesnt commit dumb or numerous fouls. His outside shot hasnt been falling at a high rate but he has provided some nice offense by driving to the hoop for a layup and penetrating and dishing. He isnt going to be a start but I think he is fine to play 5 - 10 minutes a game when the starters need a rest or if he needs to fill in for injury.

[clover]

I'm worried about Gody too, encouraged by Bradley and Wafer, and impressed with Erden's fight.  First in coming over here, then in playing hurt, and also in apparently so winning the support of his team.

[clover]

Grande last night said he thought Bradley should be up in Maine. 

I think Gody's the one who is hurting for being down here.  But with three team members out injured of course they can't go anywhere.  But maybe in a couple of weeks they can dress JO again at least--and ship Gody up where he belongs.

[thirstyboots18]

Harangody isn’t terrible, and Wafer isn’t better than you thought. 

Also, Erden was shooting his FTs fine until his thumb and shoulder got beaten to hell. He’s constantly in pain out there, i really like the fight in this giant Turkish rookie.

TP, xmuscularghandix.  Erden's injuries have definitiely affected his FT shooting.

Wafer looked a little more comfortable last night thouugh, I even thought I saw him smile.  I hope he does really well until Delonte gets back and can find a place on another team.  Harangody (one of my favorites) didn't do much yesterday...I did see him get a rebound.  I hope he gets sent to Maine so that he can get some playing time. I love Avery's defense.  This kid will only get better and that is exciting...I think he is going to contribute this year.

I was really excited to see Nate start to "get it"...possibly he will always be a shoot first guard, but he made a few really impressive passes.  

[MBunge]

Nice to see Bradley and Wafer getting extended minutes after barely getting on the court in the Cleveland blow out.  Hopefully, that will give Doc the confidence to put them out there against good teams in close games until Delonte gets back.  They need to be able to play at least 5 to 10 minutes combined, just to give the starters a blow.

Mike

[kozlodoev]

Erden has several injuries and I'm not sure if that's the reason he's struggling with finishing around the rim right now, but it seems like every time he attempts to attack the rim he either misses or the ball is jarred loose. This could either be a result of his injuries or a sign that he needs to hit the weight room.

Erden has a bum left shoulder and a bad right thumb. The shoulder, in particular, is bothering him a lot, I think, as he appears to constantly look for ways not to use his left arm unless he absolutely has to.

I think he'll be just fine once he gets healthy, but the way he plays through injuries is commendable.

[jpd985]

Erden has several injuries and I'm not sure if that's the reason he's struggling with finishing around the rim right now, but it seems like every time he attempts to attack the rim he either misses or the ball is jarred loose. This could either be a result of his injuries or a sign that he needs to hit the weight room.

Erden has a bum left shoulder and a bad right thumb. The shoulder, in particular, is bothering him a lot, I think, as he appears to constantly look for ways not to use his left arm unless he absolutely has to.

I think he'll be just fine once he gets healthy, but the way he plays through injuries is commendable.

He doesn't complain about it either or make excuses. Like a certain susperstar did about his elbow during the playoffs.

[GranTur]

Gody will learn where to be on defense and offense. His hustle and energy is showing right now. The biggest question is if he has offensive moves he can score on his own with. I haven't seen him put it on the floor more than 4 feet from the basket considering he just launches a jumper whenever he gets the chance.

Avery has impressed with his energy and defensive prowess. His jump shot looks potentially solid. The question for him is how he can perform when he puts the ball on the floor. All I can remember him doing with the ball is pulling up. I'd like to see more slashing and passing.

Wafer is more rounded of a player than people think. He's athletic, can shoot, slash, and has now shown decent on-ball defense. He's bought into our team (according to Doc) and he's okay insurance if we get even more injuries on the wing.

Semih is an interesting specimen. I don't know how much his shoulder and thumb are truly bothering him. He's shown some good fight and smart passing. Isolation offense is the biggest concern but we'll see. I see him as an effective role player when he's healthy.

[guava_wrench]

Harangody seems to always be a spaz. Reports seem to indicate he is also a bit of a spaz in practice. That is partly just the way he moves.

Bradley's lateral movement on defense is top quality. I haven't seen anyone any better at sliding through picks, though it is possible that it is partly due to the guys setting picks not being that great. I loved how he didn't jump on a pimp fake, but did manage to challenge it aggressively. I have no idea how his offense with play out and I don't know anything about his team defense, but he clearly knows how to play on the ball defense.

Predictably, Wafer looks much better when he is confident on offense. Hard to evaluate him without him facing legitimate defenders, but I am not so quick to discount him as some are. If Sheed returned, I would probably favor dumping Harangody before Wafer.

[moiso]

Bradley reminds me of Tony Allen as a rookie, with a better jump shot.  His defense is very exciting; his point guard play on offense is lacking.

I think Harangody will stick in the league, but he's not going to be a rotation player on a good team anytime soon.  His upside might be a Ryan Gomes, Matt Harpring type some day.  I like his toughness and nose for the ball.  We still havn't seen what he can do close to the hoop because he only seems to take long jumpers.  Maybe thats a good thing, but we really don't know yet.

Wafer looked good last night.  I've never seen him that aggressive on defense.  Perhaps overaggressive, but it's nice to see his mind set changing.

I have nothing to add about Semeh.  He has looked the same all season.