by Fenix on Sat May 20, 2006 3:24 am
Add small hands, limited coordination, suspect work ethic and injures (bad back) to that list. Yes, Paxson, he's completely worth of that contract.
As for T-Mac: he doesn't have the purest form on his jumpshot, but it goes in anyway (from halfcourt or midrange, he doesn't care). He can take anyone off the dribble, penetrate to the basket, finish in variety of ways, post up his guy... His offensive repertoire is trully remarkable. Probably the most talented offensive talent on this side of Lebron. Ballhandling ability is almoust unnatural for someone his height and is very Pippen-like in this area when he uses it in combination with his passing ability and plays the role of a primary playmaker/initiator on the Rockets (let's get something straight - he's nowhere near Pippen's level, just similar in body and skill set). He's the whole package, has a decent b-ball IQ and he learned how to not over do it.
Defensivelly, he has all the tools to be a stopper (lateral quickness, athleticism, length, coordination, reflexes), but he uses them only when motivated. He can be either a complete stud on D (see Dallas-Rockets last season when he guarded Nowitzki) or a complete dud. He made an improvement since coming to Houston, but I would have to see him defending well for the whole season before calling him anything more than 'above average' on defense.
Psychically, he's a monster. Standing at a legit 6'8 (and I mean really legit 6'8, not like Gerald Green, who's actually 6'6) with a superb wingspan/reach to go with and elite mix of athleticism and strength, he's really in a class of his own. From players who are in the League right now, only Lebron, Dwight Howard, a young Shaq and a healthy Amare are comparable with him in terms of psychical dominance.
His weaknesses lie in his head - he lacks killer instinct and that inner drive trully great players have. He's also a bit dumb/selfish or whatever you want to call it and his back is really giving him trouble. It remains to be seen if his current injury can be fixed and if it will anyhow affect his game.
"Sometimes a player's greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team." (Scottie Pippen, #33)