Azubuike Eyes Return

[Paul1355]

So we gonna act like Donnie G made the decision to bench Randolph? The least Antoni could do is give ARan some garbage minutes, smh @ his stubborness

And lets not forget, Azubuike might be ready to comeback but does Antoni plan on giving him any minutes?

I agree

Look Randolph is an idiot and he shoots too much I know but the system promotes shooting so Randolph is essentially playing to his weakness and exposing it.

Randolph can be a shotblocking and REBOUNDING presence but he gets cauht up in impressing the fans and coaching staff on offense and should just play like Ronny Turiaf, not looking for the shot.

His rebounding is something that I feel Mike D is ignoring. Randolph is a good rebounder and his past numbers prove it and the last time he played i remember him grabbing 9 boards.

So idk what teh hell Danotni is doing with teh short roatation with not enough size.

Turiaf is good but only for 20 min cuz he cant stay on the floor and Amare just is not a center

We need Mozgov or Randolph to play a few min a game at least.

[KingStarbury3]

The whole point of the David lee trade, was it was the best trade available for a prospect, a defensive big man, and a shoot guard all with expiring contracts after this season.

The expiring contract idea, to uphold the cap room was one of the smartest moves a GM can ever make.

Donnie took the miss of 2 max salary free agents, turned it into a trade for some prospective players, and a big man; and maintained the overall plan of signing 2 max players going into 2011.


It was notttt trading LEE for TURIAF

it was trading LEE for Carmelo/Chrispaul/D will/ D howard. CAPSPACE.


if you look around the league, yeah we could of gotten better value for LEE, but no one that would be as big as those 4 aforementioend free agents, and none that would have an expiring contract this summer.

thats all there is to that.

I wasnt saying anything bad about what donnie g did.....i dont know how u got that from "So we gonna act like Donnie g made the decision to bench randolph?" I was defending the azu-randolph-turiaf for Lee trade, I agree with what u said. I like what Donnie did I just wish that he would give randolph some minutes and ill be the first to admit he didnt play well at all before but hes 6'11, we know hes better then what he showed and even if its just garbage minutes he should be gettin some playin time

[Crazy⑧s]

It ain't over yet for Kelenna Azubuike .
Azubuike returned to practice Wednesday and said he believes he finally is on the verge of impressing the coaching staff enough to get him back on the court for a game. He may get his chance now that Shawne Williams likely will be suspended for a fight with the Hawks' Marvin Williams late in the game. Both players were ejected.
Azubuike would be a logical suspension replacement for Williams, though the rehab on his knee, on which he had patellar-tendon surgery, has been filled with stops and starts. He returned to scrimmages in mid-November, then shut it down again in December as he worked on his gait. Azubuike simply was not explosive enough in scrimmages for D'Antoni to consider playing him.

Azubuike said he feels that has changed.
"The difference this time is we've done a lot of strength work right to the injured part," Azubuike told The Post. "It's to a point it feels normal to push off it where before it was still that foreign feeling when I pushed off it. And we're doing stuff in the weight room to get that same feeling. When I get on the court it feels normal.


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Interesting! Can't see how he's a necessary piece though sadly.

[ronoranina]

Well I'll say this...

As good as Fields has been, if Azzy were healthy he'd be starting and we'd be better off for it.

[petescud]

I'd love for Azzy to be ready by playoff time...Crap if he's ready now...awesome

[Crazy⑧s]

Well I'll say this...

As good as Fields has been, if Azzy were healthy he'd be starting and we'd be better off for it.

And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!

Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?

[mafra]

With SW suspended, Chandler hurting and Amar'e questionable... and being that NYK is playing DET next... I would think we should see AZZY next game if this report is accurate. ESPECIALLY if we build a nice lead.

[la2ny]

And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!

Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?

Better Believe he is. I've seen him in alot of games being on the westcoast and he's really skilled. Plays great D too. If he didn't get injured I don't believe GS would have traded him and I believe they most likely would have traded Monta by now to have a backcourt of Curry-Azubuike. The kid can ball, his stats before he got hurt were starting to reflect what they thought he could be. Also I believe he hits the three better than Laundry and is/was more explosive.

Also wouldn't it be great to be able to have the option to bring him or Landry off the bench. We'd be just that much deeper.

[petescud]

From what i remember he is super athletic....i mean more so then 95 % of our roster

[elcol]

this guy is one of the best defenders in the league, solid 3 point shooter and fast break. hope to see him back

[ronoranina]

And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!


Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?

Idk if I can enlighten you Crazy, but I'll do my best..


Let me start of by saying that I like Landry Fields, ALOT.

When I say Azzzzzzy would be the starter I don’t say it lightly. I’ve thought it out.

I should also say, that like AR, I’ve watched Azzy a handful of times and feel like I have a good idea of what he can and can't do..

I believe Azubuike would have cracked the starting rotation on a Mike D coached squad for a number of reasons:


1. Azzy is a real good 3 pt shooter. Mike D prizes knock-down three ball shooters who can space the floor. In the 08-09 season during which he started 51 games and played a total of 74, he shot .448 and made 94 threes. 45%.... That’s friggin’ solid. On a Mike D coached, SSOL squad he would be an asset for sure. When you watch him shoot, you see why. His mechanics are sound. Fields is an adequate guy from behind the arc, but Azzy is better right now, or at least was..

2. He’s not just a camper. This guy takes to the whole and finishes w authority. He’s explosive and has a knack for getting in the teeth of defenses. He can lay- in w either hand and often times will end a drive w an emphatic dunk. I’ve seen him dunk in traffic a handful of times, nastily.

3. The guy is flat out fast. He runs the floor better than Landry for sure IMO. He would be ideal spotting up for threes and getting the ball and taking to the rim in transition.

4. Defensively, Azzzzzy was showing tenacity. He has a knack for coming up behind players and swatting the ball away, ala D.Wade or Lebiactch.. He can also get ya a steal or two per game. On this end of the floor, technically I think the two are a wash. Physically though, Azzy has a slight edge due to him being the better athlete.


Overall, I think Azzy was the better two way player. I think, based on the trajectory he was on and if healthy, he could have averaged 15- 18 ppg. on this team. He was the center piece in the trade of Lee and he would have fit in nicely.

Now Fields has shown he’s smart, efficient and timely. He shoots an amazing .528 from the field. Mostly due to his effective board crashing and subsequent put-backing, and his savvy at finding open spaces in the defense which he’s deftly exploited for easy lay-ins. He’s also taken 115 threes and made 45 for a percentage of .391.

Azzy kicks ass on offense in a more traditional way. He is the better slasher, (due to his explosiveness and solid handle) more explosive inside scorer and better shooter from deep. He would help our offense overall score more because we could space the floor better. He would also make teams pay at a higher clip. Azzy could easily have 70 or more threes at this point in the season.

Both players are good. But Azzy has more experience. Because of his talent-makeup I really think he could have become the kind of player that could propel this offense into more consistent, unpredictable dominance. He was also nothing to sneeze at defensively either and would have helped us there also.

I truly hope he can crack the rotation and help us this year.

[Crazy⑧s]

Enlightening!

Here's to a healthy return and a speedy adjustment.

[malik singletary]

yea azzy was the truth 4 real but i doubt he will ever be back to his old form i just cant see it even if he does return his explosiveness and leaping ability will be gone.

[SSj4Wingzero]

I know Azubuike can shoot, but I dunno if he'll ever have his athleticism and explosiveness. Let's hope he does...

[Sprewell-Houston]

From what I've heard and read he's a very good shooting guard, who can defend, hit 3's and play the game the right way.

Fields has been great for a second round pick, but it seems like Kellena has more natural ability than Landry.

The question is how much of that talent can be fulfilled after such a tough injury (although STAT's injury was a lot worse and he recovered 110%).

He could be a great role player come post season to defend the likes of D-Rose or D Wade. Those type of guys, because Felton is too slow for them and Fields too inexperienced.

I hope Mike D'Antoni plays him a bit, I'm looking forward to see him play since he arrived here in the summer.