late reply here, but what the hell...
funny how a lot of sportswriters (or maybe writers in general) feel the need to come up with penetrating insights, and if they don't have any then they try to manufacture them. this guy's 'shocking exposé' of the article is that kristic is a stiff:
Quote:
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Now, I know that statistically he had a good year last year, but this guy is a fraud. He isn't nearly as good as he's been made out to be, and Indiana and Miami made that abundantly clear in the playoffs. He has absolutely no command of his man on defense, and his entire offense exists of sticking twelve-foot jumpers. He is allergic to the paint, averaging six boards and three free throw attempts per game, and even then he shot below 70% from the stripe. He can't handle the ball, he can't rebound nearly well enough to carry a fast-break team, and he's the best they've got in the middle.
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in the first place, how do you get off calling a young, developing center a "fraud"?? the guy was clearly developing as the season went along, and now has an offseason free of responsibility to work on his body/toughness. how do you in good conscience call a young man who has not yet reached his potential a fraud? especially in a league filled with very few true centers? it's a very unintelligent observation IMO.
as for man defense- he was clearly improving as the season went along and again should be more muscular for next season. also he seemed to be developing in the paint so the idea that 'he's only good for 12-foot jumpers' is not valid to me. not to mention, players who can hit midrange jumpers reliably are quite valuable so that talent should be recognised, not belittled. as for rebounding, no question as a center he should be getting more, and it's quite possible he'll never reach average figures in rebounding. altho once again, the added muscle should help.
last thing i'll mention, and to me this helps show the guy has an agenda with krstic, pointing out that he only hits 70% free throws at this point in his career is absurd. the more game-time free throws he takes the more comfortable he's going to get and the better his average should become. the league is full of veterans who steadily improved their free throw % with practice and experience. i mean give me a break, complaining about a second-year player only hitting 70%?? there are centers who've been in the league for ages and can
still barely hit a free throw- wallace and shaq, anybody?
a Nets season preview
