Posts tagged AndreaBargnani at FanHouse

Ryan McNeill of Hoops Addict has a great little post on Andrea Bargnani's pro struggles as seen through the eyes of Sam Mitchell. There's talk about the struggles Dirk Nowitzki and Rik Smits faced in adapting to the NBA style early in their careers, but the best snip is when Mitchell talks about Bargnani jumping off the wrong foot.

"It's a lot of technical things with Andrea. It's the weirdest thing, someone told me they teach players to jump off the wrong foot when they drive to the basket in Europe. I'm right-handed and I'm trying to jump off my left leg, every time. Andrea's right-handed and a lot of times he plants with his right leg. Jay Triano was telling me they teach them that over in Europe because a lot of times if they take that extra step they call them for traveling. So we've been trying to break Andrea of something he's been doing for how many years? We're trying to get him comfortable jumping off the left leg when he shoots with the right hand. The right leg when he shoots with the left. Now I know it sounds simple, but if you haven't done it... you watch him. Most of the time when he gets stuck going to the basket he's thinking 'I need to be jumping off the other leg' and he gets caught jumping off the wrong leg."

So the difference -- the gulf, if you ask Juan Carlos Navarro -- between the way European and American referees call traveling is to blame? I'll buy it. Bargnani's top characteristic, for an observer, is awkwardness. He seems clumsy, mechanical on the court. You assume it wasn't that way on Treviso.

However, plenty of Europeans have been able to adapt quickly. Which camp will Danilo Gallinari fall into to? (Don't answer that, there are Knicks fans present.)

Every May-June-July-August, there are somewhere between 15 and 29 NBA teams who seek significant improvement. Most lottery teams qualify as candidates, traditionally joined by first-round flame-outs (Dallas, Toronto) and soon-to-be has-beens (Phoenix, Cleveland).

Unsurprisingly, the Nets -- wildly uneven in the roster, wildly uneven in the win-loss ledger -- seek significant improvement. How are they going about it? Sending Jigga to Secaucus is part of the plan; apparently, trading for someone/everyone completes the manual. Bravado beat writer Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger passes on these rumors.

They have made some cursory inquiries with Phoenix (about Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa), more substantive discussions with Toronto (about Andrea Bargnani), and there has been some dialogue with Denver about Carmelo Anthony.

M. Moore discussed the wild 'Melo rumor Monday when it broke by the hand of The Bergen Record's Al Iannazzone (who insisted NJ was near a deal for Andres Nocioni in January). That a second reporter on the ground confirms the existence of two-party talks bolsters the imagination. The inclusion of other wildly disparate talents (Barbosa? Il Mago? whaa?) sets the ray to WTF.

A blockbuster return seems to depend wholly on a top-3 victory in tonight's draft lottery, a victory NJ is quite unlikely to actually receive. Bargnani, Diaw -- this tier of players, still confounding, seems more in line with reality for Rod Thorn.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Raptors-Magic game tonight.

1. Sultan Of Swat: Dwight Howard had 8 blocks last game. That's today's "Matt repeats himself so you can let that sink in" phrase of the day. Dwight Howard had 8 freaking blocks in a playoff game in Toronto on Saturday. Chris Bosh can get all the mid range J's and weakside layups he wants. It's been clear from the start of this series that Howard owns the paint in this series. If the Raptors are going to pull out the semi-miracle and pull this thing back to Canada kicking and screaming, they're going to have to attack the basket and get some fouls on Howard. Because letting him sit back there, legal or not, is only going to result in more jumpers, which you can't rely on in a game like this.

2. Dónde Está Jose?: You remember Jose Calderon, right? The guy all the Raptors fans wanted to start after Game 2, before TJ Ford scored 21 points to help the Raps take Game 3? The guy who in that same game had a dou-ble-dou-ble? Yeah, well, if you see him, holler at your boy, okay? Because Calderon vanished in Game 4. 2 points, 5 assists, 1 for 7 shooting in 21 minutes. I kept searching a box score for something tangible I could attribute the Game 4 Magic win to, beyond my own observations watching the game which were a. Dwight Howard is not of this world and b. Rashard Lewis can pop off when he wants to. The only answer I can come up with Calderon. He's got to step up and be the man tonight along with Ford if the Raptors want to win. Well, that and ...

Bryan Colangelo hadn't quite recreated Phoenix North over the past two seasons in Toronto, but he did borrow the European emphasis on having a ton of shooters on the roster. Drafting perimeter-based big Andrea Bargnani with the top pick, signing Jason Kapono to the full mid-level ... Colangelo's got shooters. But shooting, oddly, was the problem with Toronto's offense in its Saturday loss to the Magic.

Chris Bosh shot 16-26 for 39 points. Everyone else in white? 36% from the field, and 14% from three. Kapono did fine (12 points on 9 shots), but Bargnani sucked got destroyed, Jose Calderon sucked, T.J. Ford and Anthony Parker weren't remotely efficient, Jamario Moon (who yanked a groin) added little offensively.

You can attribute quite a bit Toronto's failings to a monstrous Orlando defense, with Dwight Howard blocking eight (!!) shots, including the clincher with 2-1/2 minutes left when Ford took it to the bucket. Rashard Lewis hit a three on the other end, and the Raps went into foul mode. The Magic can seal it at home Monday, and you have to think that even if Detroit comes back to vanquish the frisky Sixers, Orlando will have reason to think it can get to the conference finals.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Magic-Raptors Game 3 tonight.

1. JK- OMG: Jason Kapono has been lights out in this series for Toronto, and with Sam Mitchell promising a revamped lineup, it's likely he'll get a start tonight. They need him to continue his hot shooting during this series (66% from the arc) if they want to get this puppy back on the leash. Kapono makes for a difficult matchup for the Magic because he's actually got some size on him. If the Magic decide to focus on shutting him down by assigning him a larger player (like, oh, say, Hedo Turkoglu) , then someone's going to have to step up for the Raps. Someone unselfish. Someone who's humble. Someone who's not T.J. Ford. Someone like ...

2. Joooose, Jose, Jose Jose ... : Well, then. Thanks for your time, Mr. Ford. Don't injure your neck on the way to the bench (seriously, we like you, don't want you get hurt, glad you're back) . Ford has been apoplectic in this series, and it's clearly time to go to Jose Calderon. Calderon is averaging 14 points and 6 assists in this series, and for a team that desperately needs instant offense, Calderon is the best option. He needs to produce on both ends of the floor, though, because the Magic's back court has matched the Raptors' guards' intensity.

Seems like everybody's getting suspended these days (see: Thomas, Tyrus; Nowitzki, Dirk: Harrison, David), and considering Alexander Johnson is the only one who delivered a hit so vicious it broke three teeth and shifted others, he had to have known he'd be getting a call from Stu Jackson. He's been suspended one game, and will serve the punishment tonight against the Warriors. (Andrea Bargnani, meanwhile, remains day-to-day, although fortunately X-rays ruled out a facial fracture.)

Is a suspension warranted? If this was 1995, no chance. But since Dirk just got one, I guess Johnson had to, as well. I just wish Jackson had mulled it over a bit longer and announced his decision on Saturday when the Heat face the Hawks "twice" -- first their 51.9 second replay of their December match followed by an actual game. After all the hand-wringing about who'd be eligible to play, wouldn't it have been fun to throw this monkey-wrench into the mix? Would Johnson have been forced to sit both games out? Would he have been eligible to play in the replay but not the real game? We'll never know.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Isiah Thomas has had some trouble deciding whether his pair of expensive, no-defense, all-offense-and-even-then-not-a-great-amount-of-offense big men can mesh together or not. While Zeke's mind is susceptible to visual coercion, Fact and Reality are not: This ain't working, man.

Witness: Zach Randolph -- 28 minutes, 7 points of 2-13 shooting, 5 rebounds. Eddy Curry -- 26 minutes, 12 points on 4-11 shooting, 5 rebounds. Nary a block between them. And the opposing bigs? All-World stud Chris Bosh shoots 7-11 for 17 points; Andrea Bargnani goes ballistic for 25-7-5. Isiah! It's not working! !!!

Also receiving votes:
Those Phoenix small forwards get good credit for the Suns' bludgeoning at the hands of Detroit -- Grant Hill went scoreless and assistless in 26 minutes; Boris Diaw put up a magical 2-2-0 line in his 21 minutes. Linton Johnson III was easily the best Phoenix SF on Sunday. Frightening.

Ben Wallace debuted for Cleveland and kindly offered 12 and 10 in 34 minutes. And Jason Kidd finally had the game everyone in Dallas has been waiting for -- 12 points, 17 assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.

As we inch closer to All-Star 2008 in New Orleans, the lineups for the weekend's events are starting to fall into place. Today we found out who will be participating in the "T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam," and just like last year, it's looking like it's going to be an easy win for the Sophomores.

The Rookie squad will feature Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Al Horford, Luis Scola, Mike Conley, Juan Carlos Navarro, Yi Jianlian, Sean Williams, and a very busy Jamario Moon.

The Sophomores will load their roster with Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Daniel Gibson (aka Boobie), Jordan Farmar, Andrea Bargnani, Ronnie Brewer, Paul Millsap, and an equally busy Rudy Gay.

So after looking at the lineups one right after the other like this, how can you not see another Sophomore blowout? In Vegas the Sophs won by 41 points, and although I don't expect the spread to be quite as big this time, it's still a mismatch, and one that the league should change if they want to make this an interesting event.

My solution would be to mix the Rookies and Sophomores up by conference, and play the game East versus West. While that might not always give you the best game, it would be exponentially better than what we have now. I just think that the Sophomores have too much of an advantage every year having that additional season of NBA experience under their belt. By mixing the teams up and playing it by conference, we're likely to get a much more competitive game.

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

Considering the malaisial murmuring in June 2006, last year's rookies weren't that bad. Andrea Bargnani showed fire most expected to be absent; LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy will be undisputed stars of their team this year; Tyrus Thomas and Rudy Gay shocked and awed in spurts. Certainly, the class seems better than 2000 (the most recent abomination). In fact, it might eventually be considered a good class. But...

The class of 2007 is going to blow those guys out of the water. Even with Greg Oden taking a rain check, the talent infusion is overwhelming. Kevin Durant, natch, is already the alpha and beta in Seattle. Al Horford might start at center for Atlanta opening night... and no one seems to be questioning the call. Mike Conley has a double-double under his belt; Brandan Wright's adjusting to life above the rim; Nick Young is fitting in with the Wacky Wizards; Javaris Crittenton might steal minutes from Jordan Farmar; Joakim Noah's gotten rave reviews. I'll see your Jorge Garbajosa and raise you Luis Scola and Juan Carlos Navarro.

You know, I think the freshmen might break the sophomores five-year win streak during All-Star weekend. And this isn't to disparage the 2006s -- it's just that each stud rookie from last year will most likely be trumped this year. As in Durant > Roy, Horford > Aldridge, etc. 2007 won't eclipse the LeBron/Melo/Wade/Bosh class of '03... but it's certainly a favorite for #2 of the oughts.

View all of our "Most Likely" previews.

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

I became a Raptors fan last season. They went about re-building their roster the right way, bringing on a brilliant GM and letting him orchestrate a rather unique plan that basically consisted of flooding the roster with as many foreign guys as possible.

There was more to it than that, of course; Bryan Colangelo also had the balls and foresight to trade Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford, which not only defied conventional "never trade big for small" wisdom but also seemed like a huge risk given Ford's injury history. Plus, he found diamonds in the rough in Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa, undervalued veterans who were playing in Europe that every other team in the NBA had a chance to sign but didn't.

So what happened? The team quit being "Chris Bosh and some other guys" and actually became a team. Ford had a breakout year, the Euros (Garbajosa, Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon) all found a productive niche and Parker started every game he played. The team survived a mini-scare when Bosh missed time with a knee injury and managed to win without him, which was just unheard of in the past. By the end of the year, they had claimed their first division title with a convincing 47-35 record. But if things were so peachy, why am I down on them this year?