Quote:
Originally Posted by Gozer
I haven't watch a Raptors game yet this year, but I couldn't help but chime in that I've always given Bargs the Curry excuse - he takes the other guy out of the play.
Is he doing that well this year, holding down the opposing center on the offensive glass?
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I'd say yes, 90% of the time, but every now and then he looses his focus and lets his guy through. There are times when he boxes his guy out about ten feet from the basket but still leaves Evans or Johnson outnumbered in close; in those situations, it doesn't matter if he takes his man out, he'd be more effective actually going for the rebound himself.
Really, it needs to be all about positioning and reading the rims for him. I suspect his vertical is below average for his height (he's lost almost every tip-off this year, and even his dunks come from his lateral quickness, not his ability to get super-high). He actually rebounds very well against less agile power-forwards where he's got a decided size advantage. For example, first time they played Philly, Brand was having a great game against Evans, but Bargnani was able to effectively limit his offense and keep him off the offensive glass, which allowed Reggie to just out-hustle Philly's mediocre centers. So it'll be an ongoing challenge for Triano to figure out the right matchups.