Ok...I am going to draw a massively thin line here and not merge/lock this thread with the other one on the basis that this one is about Rosen ripping our guys again while the other one really was a thread about the whole list. (a little scouting, BTW, also revealed that Charley thinks Bibby/Bonzi is one of the worst backcourts in the league
). In any case, the old thread was located here:
http://www.kingsfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8316 .
And prepare to be enlightened, because here are the words of the man, the myth, the legend himself regarding Peja and SAR. Even when I generally agree with him on something and make similar points, which is rare, I find him to be an insufferable *** who picks players to hate and then becomes completely irrational about them:
No. 2 Peja Stojakovic
Peja can shoot the lights out as long as no one's in his face — and as long as a ballgame isn't on the line. His defense is abysmal, and too many of his passes are up for grabs. But Peja's shortcomings are much more evident in the playoffs than they are in the regular season. Granted that the competition is at a higher level in postseason games, Peja's comparative stats are alarming:
Regular SeasonPlayoffsFG%.465.4193-point FG%.398.354Assists2.01.3PPG18.517.3Fouls1.82.2
Even Chris Webber, another infamous choker, derided Peja's habit of folding in the playoffs.
Besides the increased competition, there are several reasons why a player routinely fails to deliver in postseason play:
- A lack of confidence that manifests as a (justified and therefore self-fulfilling) fear of failure.
- An inability to hone his concentration.
- A stubborn mind-set that refuses to make necessary adjustments.
- An absence of inner resources (physical, psychological, and/or emotional) that can boost his game to the next level.
- Or just a lack of courage.
Whatever the reasons may be, when the going gets tough, Peja is long gone.
No. 3 Shareef Abdur-Rahim
This guy's been in the league for nine years and, despite his otherwise impressive numbers, has never come close to playing on a winning team. Indeed, the cumulative record of Abdur-Rahim's NBA employers shows a winning percentage of less than 40 percent. As the venerable Hubie Brown always says, "Beware of guys who put up good numbers on bad teams." Why is this so? Because players on inferior teams have no pressure to succeed and gifted players on bad teams get more touches and more shots than they would on a contending team.
So it is that Abdur-Rahim, while a talented low-post scorer, needs lots of one-on-one spacing and one-on-one time to do his damage. His efforts, then, tend to make spectators of his teammates.
Moreover, Abdur-Rahim is one of the least physical power forwards in the league and can be bullied from pillar to post. His defense consists of risky attempts to steal incoming passes, or to poach the passing lanes. To sum things up, Abdur-Rahim was not nearly the savior that long-suffering Portland fans hoped he would be.
