|
Hunter Acquisition Will Help Hornets’ Playoff Push Authored by J.T. Magee - February 1, 2006 - 1:54 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Final Thoughts On The 2008 NBA Draft This year's draft was decidedly more calm and casual than the Oden/Durant showdown, which made for a more candid and personal experience.
Grading The Deal: Knicks Sign DuhonThe Knicks overpaid for a below average starting point guard, but the move should still pay dividends.
 |
Oh Danny Boy
Danny Granger, who has just three years of NBA experience under his belt, will undoubtedly be the man in Indiana beginning this summer.
|
 |
$10 Million For Five Players?
The Orlando Magic will be limited by the NBA's Luxury Tax in terms of filling the remaining spots on their roster. It is also possible it could cost them Keyon Dooling or Maurice Evans.
|
 |
Raptorland’s New Carnivore
The Raptors are bringing in a player who will have an immediate impact (unlike Hibbert or whomever the Raptors would’ve drafted at 17), plays a position of need (unlike Ford,) and carries a reputation of intimidation (unlike Nesterovic).
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
Although they were a good team considering they are starting two power forwards and their backup center was a second year player who is most likely going to be a journeyman, the Hornets were playing .500 ball.
Expected surprise teams like Golden State aren’t living up to the hype, in part because of their rotations, the Hornets came up as the underdog.
This sn’t about how surprising the Hornets have been, everyone knows how good and surprising they are. This is about Steven Hunter, who is going to make the Hornets a playoff team. If they were a borderline playoff team before, they are a bona fide playoff team now.
Hunter is, by no means, a great center. He lacks the low-post game that is desired. He lacks a decent shot. He isn’t the greatest rebounder due to his frame. He can be pushed around by the bigger centers down low, which can and has created problems for him in the past. But he brings a few things the Hornets lost when Chris Andersen was essentially banned from the NBA.
Hunter is a consistent shot blocker and a hustler. He can run, something that will help the Hornets, especially Chris Paul because he loves to push the tempo. Hunter, nine times out of ten be trailing Paul, but those nine times out of ten, he will be ahead of his man coming down the floor. It helped him stand out in Phoenix and earn him the contract he signed with the Sixers in the off-season. He will show the rest of the league, with 25 consistent minutes a night, that he can be a major factor for a team like NOK.
He isn’t the greatest rebounder, but he’s going to play alongside two very solid rebounders in David West and P.J. Brown, the craftiest veteran in the game excluding Cliff Robinson. This will make the transition easier because he can let either one of them get the rebound while he beats his man down the court for an easy shot. This will also open up the game on defense and allow the Hornets’ guards to play a defense that can funnel the opposing guard to Hunter. Most of the time, this may not work, but if executed properly, Hunter can easily get two blocks a game this way.
As I’ve stated before, he has no low post game. Except for one move: the right-handed hook. He still needs to work on his release and timing on the hook, but he’s shown a lot of improvement on it and it is his go-to move in the post. If Paul and Speedy Claxton want to get the most out of this, they’re going to want to get the ball in a place where he only has to make a maximum of two dribbles. Any more than that and it’s a likely turnover. Most of the time, he is not the go-to guy in the post, but he is a guy that can score down low, something they never really got, or tried to get, out of Andersen.
Hunter may not put up a lot of stats, but the few box scores that he puts up are efficient because he only needs to contribute in four areas: field goal percentage, points, rebounds and blocks. All stats will look like: minutes, points, FG%, FT%, rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers and blocks.
Here are his regular stats:
17.7 point, 4.95 rebounds, 51.4%, 60.9%, .95 blocks.
Here are his stats per 40 minutes (percentages stay the same):
11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks.
Don’t be surprised if he actually averages 2 blocks per, once he gets accustomed with the team.
Those numbers don’t look like much, but those numbers will go a long way in helping get P.J. Brown some rest for the playoffs and it will give hunter a chance to prove himself. Those are his total numbers for the whole season, but here are his numbers when he gets over 20 minutes a game. One thing that’s worth noting that, ever since Samual Dalembert returned from his injury, Hunter only played in two games where he received over 20 minutes per.
27.9 points, 8.85 rebounds, 58.2%, 65.1%, 1.23 blocks.
Looking at these numbers, and it become clearer that he shoots the ball better, which helps make up for the amount of turnovers he commits. His TO numbers may look high, but there have been six games where he received less than ten minutes. But they still are a concern, nonetheless. The blocks make up for it, though. Here are his per 40 numbers, with the percentages staying the same:
12.68, 7.71, .77, .32, 2.09, 1.76.
Again, the turnovers are a concern, but considering how well he plays in the only four categories he really produces in, and it says that the Hornets found a player that can fill the void that Andersen left. And then some.
It may seem like, after looking at decent numbers and that he may have more weaknesses than turnovers, he is coming into a situation where he fits perfectly. He may be the first big off the bench, but he is really the only true center they have and one of only two 7-footers. The other, Maciej Lampe, will never play another game for the Hornets unless they lose everyone up front. Hunter can play; he just needs a situation that can help both him and the team that’s acquiring him. Thanks to a low-cost gamble, the Hornets found their man. And, at the worst, the 8th spot in the playoffs, where they will have the unfortunate task of having to match up with either Dallas or San Antonio. |
