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Great Article about JJ
- Thread starter True Cards Fan
- Start date
myrondizzo
Hall of Famer
great article. diaw is 6'9' and 240 lbs. he's a perfect center for the suns.
devilalum
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Poor JJ
I'm not going to say Diaw is a better player but he might turn out to be just as valuable role player for the Suns as JJ was. I think we have to give Diaw a little more time just like we did JJ. He could be the perfect compliment to Amare on the front line.
I'm not going to say Diaw is a better player but he might turn out to be just as valuable role player for the Suns as JJ was. I think we have to give Diaw a little more time just like we did JJ. He could be the perfect compliment to Amare on the front line.
Chaz
observationist
Good article
Mike Monroe: $20 mil can't buy contentment
Web Posted: 11/20/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Body language reads the same, whether it is in English or French.
Watch guard Joe Johnson struggling through any of the winless Hawks' games, and his body language screams: "What did I get myself into?"
On the other hand, watch French-born power forward Boris Diaw sprinting, rebounding, passing and scoring for the Phoenix Suns, and his body language says: C'est magnifique!
Diaw was the player the Hawks tossed the Suns' way in order to accommodate a sign-and-trade deal that allowed Johnson to optimize his free agent deal after he opted to sign an offer sheet with the Hawks in August.
Through a quirk of the NBA schedule, both players visited the SBC Center last week. The looks on their faces and that telltale body language left little doubt who is happiest with his situation.
Johnson's words before Tuesday's Spurs-Hawks game were almost apologetic. Asked if he recalled the last time he had played at the SBC Center, in the Suns' Game 4 victory in the Western Conference finals, he said: "When I walked in the arena today, I thought, 'When was the last game I played here?' And after a second or two, I remembered. But that's all in the past. It's a new era, a new team, and I'm a new person."
A very wealthy new person, to be sure. His front-loaded contract is worth about $20million this season. But Johnson already has confided to some that the Atlanta experience has gotten him down.
Meanwhile, the Suns have made Diaw feel so welcome, he actually is interacting with his NBA teammates for the first time since entering the league in 2003.
"Boris is very, very happy now," said Spurs point guard Tony Parker, one of Diaw's closest friends. "It's the first time he's talked to his teammates. He feels the confidence his coach has in him. They give him the ball, and he's got a lot of freedom. (Mike) D'Antoni coached in Europe, so he knows how Boris wants to play. He's just playing free-minded, and it can make a big difference in a player when you play with confidence."
When the Suns made a trade that D'Antoni knew had robbed him of one of his best players, he knew the rap on Diaw: too passive to take advantage of size; strength and quickness rarely seen. But what D'Antoni discovered was a player who had been waiting for an opportunity to play a free-flowing game.
In other words, Diaw was perfect for the game the Suns play. And he was bigger than advertised, measuring 6-foot-9 and weighing in at 240. As fate would have it, he was the perfect player to plug into the vacancy created when Amare Stoudemire had to have knee surgery that will keep him sidelined until February at the earliest.
The Suns are working hard to help Diaw improve his perimeter shooting, His lack of confidence from that range is something he shares with his good friend from Paris.
"The biggest thing right now," D'Antoni said, "is not questioning whether or not he shoots. Let him be Boris Diaw. Where we're playing him, at the 4 and 5, is his natural position. Yeah, he has to get a little bigger and stronger to defend guys like Tim Duncan, but he is 6-9 and 240, and we think he can be a good 4 in this league."
Diaw missed a triple-double in the Suns' third game of the season, at Utah, by a single rebound, and went into Saturday's game against the Spurs averaging 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists. D'Antoni believes he will record several triple-doubles this season and eventually become "a consistent triple-double type of guy," especially when he learns how to finish better on drives to the basket.
He might want to consult Parker about that.
For now, Diaw is just happy to be out of Atlanta and into a more positive situation.
"I think the situation here is all different," he said. "I'm playing, and maybe my teammates see me as someone who can really help the team. I feel that trust, and I trust them, too. It's amazing how everybody on this team has the same goal. There are no personal goals, no complaining. Everybody just wants to win and go to the playoffs.
"It's so different when you start losing so many games. It's really tough. Even when players have good intentions, they try to save the team by themselves. They try but maybe not in a good way. And then, when you lose so much, maybe you just try to get something for yourself so you can get something out of it, because you are losing so much."
That's what Johnson is going to face in Atlanta all season, and why not even $20million can keep his body language from speaking volumes about his state of mind on the basketball court.
Moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]
Mike Monroe: $20 mil can't buy contentment
Web Posted: 11/20/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Body language reads the same, whether it is in English or French.
Watch guard Joe Johnson struggling through any of the winless Hawks' games, and his body language screams: "What did I get myself into?"
On the other hand, watch French-born power forward Boris Diaw sprinting, rebounding, passing and scoring for the Phoenix Suns, and his body language says: C'est magnifique!
Diaw was the player the Hawks tossed the Suns' way in order to accommodate a sign-and-trade deal that allowed Johnson to optimize his free agent deal after he opted to sign an offer sheet with the Hawks in August.
Through a quirk of the NBA schedule, both players visited the SBC Center last week. The looks on their faces and that telltale body language left little doubt who is happiest with his situation.
Johnson's words before Tuesday's Spurs-Hawks game were almost apologetic. Asked if he recalled the last time he had played at the SBC Center, in the Suns' Game 4 victory in the Western Conference finals, he said: "When I walked in the arena today, I thought, 'When was the last game I played here?' And after a second or two, I remembered. But that's all in the past. It's a new era, a new team, and I'm a new person."
A very wealthy new person, to be sure. His front-loaded contract is worth about $20million this season. But Johnson already has confided to some that the Atlanta experience has gotten him down.
Meanwhile, the Suns have made Diaw feel so welcome, he actually is interacting with his NBA teammates for the first time since entering the league in 2003.
"Boris is very, very happy now," said Spurs point guard Tony Parker, one of Diaw's closest friends. "It's the first time he's talked to his teammates. He feels the confidence his coach has in him. They give him the ball, and he's got a lot of freedom. (Mike) D'Antoni coached in Europe, so he knows how Boris wants to play. He's just playing free-minded, and it can make a big difference in a player when you play with confidence."
When the Suns made a trade that D'Antoni knew had robbed him of one of his best players, he knew the rap on Diaw: too passive to take advantage of size; strength and quickness rarely seen. But what D'Antoni discovered was a player who had been waiting for an opportunity to play a free-flowing game.
In other words, Diaw was perfect for the game the Suns play. And he was bigger than advertised, measuring 6-foot-9 and weighing in at 240. As fate would have it, he was the perfect player to plug into the vacancy created when Amare Stoudemire had to have knee surgery that will keep him sidelined until February at the earliest.
The Suns are working hard to help Diaw improve his perimeter shooting, His lack of confidence from that range is something he shares with his good friend from Paris.
"The biggest thing right now," D'Antoni said, "is not questioning whether or not he shoots. Let him be Boris Diaw. Where we're playing him, at the 4 and 5, is his natural position. Yeah, he has to get a little bigger and stronger to defend guys like Tim Duncan, but he is 6-9 and 240, and we think he can be a good 4 in this league."
Diaw missed a triple-double in the Suns' third game of the season, at Utah, by a single rebound, and went into Saturday's game against the Spurs averaging 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists. D'Antoni believes he will record several triple-doubles this season and eventually become "a consistent triple-double type of guy," especially when he learns how to finish better on drives to the basket.
He might want to consult Parker about that.
For now, Diaw is just happy to be out of Atlanta and into a more positive situation.
"I think the situation here is all different," he said. "I'm playing, and maybe my teammates see me as someone who can really help the team. I feel that trust, and I trust them, too. It's amazing how everybody on this team has the same goal. There are no personal goals, no complaining. Everybody just wants to win and go to the playoffs.
"It's so different when you start losing so many games. It's really tough. Even when players have good intentions, they try to save the team by themselves. They try but maybe not in a good way. And then, when you lose so much, maybe you just try to get something for yourself so you can get something out of it, because you are losing so much."
That's what Johnson is going to face in Atlanta all season, and why not even $20million can keep his body language from speaking volumes about his state of mind on the basketball court.
Moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]
