little Jake?

[Goldfield]

Is it me or is this guy playing ALOT better than last year?


I have allways liked the guy for his hustle, but now he seems to beable to ge some nice easy baskets and nice rebounds.


I am very pleased wth him as our second Center...

 

[George O'Brien]

Jake came on strong near the end of the season and was especially impressive in the playoffs against the Spurs. Apparently quite a few teams were interested in him and the Suns made re-signing him a priority.

From what I can tell, his biggest improvment has been in handling the ball. Last year he routinely fumbled passes and did not hang onto rebounds. He will never have hands the size and strength of Stoudemire or White, but he is catching the ball well enough to be an offensive threat.

Little Jake may be a bit stronger than last year. There were many games when big centers just pushed him around like he wasn't there. He is still not a big presence, but he has made progress.

 

[Goldfield]

He has impressed me...

 

[George O'Brien]

Even when he was pretty raw, Little Jake always played hard and was quite active. As he has developed, those traits are becoming more valuable as he can become a cutter to the basket and get scramble balls.

I think adding White has helped Jake a lot. Before they added White, Jake had to worry about getting into foul trouble and was not as agressive as he used to be. Now he can play with reckless abandon and cause havoc. The two are very complementary.

 

[Joe Mama]

I think Little Jake looks better than last year. I'm sure some of it is just familiarity with the team and Marbury in particular. He really is a very good finisher around the basket. I only wish he could start knocking down that midrange shot with some consistency. I think I've only seen him make one of them so far this year. It's kind of like Joe Johnson because the shot is good-looking. Just won't fall.

Joe Mama