E.T., Go Home!

tsaogrip drops E. Thomas, picks up D. Cook

We've discussed center and poet Etan Thomas here, and DaQueen here.

In the previous post, we thought E.T would produce between 6/6 and 9/9, and, as yet, he's not even close to the lesser of these levels. Rght now he's at 5/4, but that's including his 'impressive' 10/8 first game. Since then, he's only gotten to 6 PTS or REBs just once each. He hasn't been in foul trouble, and yet he's only averaging 15 minutes a game. Presumably he's still recovering his conditioning after missing last year, but the emergence of J. McGee (and the still ineffective presence of the Blatche-Dog) seems also to be conspiring to limit Thomas's minutes.

On the other hand, D. Cook, though not starting for MIA, has been averaging over 25 minutes, and has emerged as a serious source of 3's, hitting 3 or more in his last 4 games. With the Matrix not scoring, and rookies Chalmers and Beasley inconsistent, Cook has become one of the team's best offensive options. Hes also chipping in 4 boards or so. As we mentioned in discussing Chris Quinn, D-Wade's penetrate and dish style can be very good for the numbers of perimeter shooters (Kapono, Damon Jones). Being Wade's backup limits his minutes potential, though Dwyane is nursing a sore ankle, and may very well miss a few games (or be removed early when MIA is getting spanked).

Judgment: 3s are not an area of need for Tsaogrip, while BLK and REBs probably are, but Etan is certainly not getting it done (indeed, DQ is outrebounding him of late!). Thus, we approve.

Da Queen no more

thenopp cuts cook, picks up Corey Brewer

 

Daequan is discussed here, and is still not very good - after his 2 13 point outings to begin the season (as mentioned in the previous post, against the Knicks and in a blowout), he's scored 3 and 6 in his last 2.

C-Brizzle was a bit of a disappointment as the 7th overall pick last year (6/4/1 with a STL). This year, he's improved across the board (8/5/2 w/2STL), likely due to more minutes. He's stil not shooting very well, and gets into too much foul trouble to be relied on.That said, he was drafted that high for a reason, and has the talent to be a pretty good defensive contributor.

Judgment: Brewer's a much more rounded contributor than Cook, but there's a danger that he loses his starting job (if MIN, as apparently planned, goes with Al-Jeff, K-Love, Miller, Foye, and Telfair). If C-Bizz starts getting 18 minutes instead of 28, he'll be back on the Wire in no time.

Clipper Droppings

thenopp drops Eric gordon for DaeQuan Cook

Eric Gordon, the 7th overall pick in the NBA draft, is 19, and played 1 year at Indiana. While he looked OK in the preseason, there's no reason to think he's ready to contribute yet. He's shown nothing in his first two games, even with B-Dizzle ailing.

DaeQuan Cook has had 13 points in each of his first two games. I would caution that those points and minutes have come in (a) an extremely uptempo game against the Knicks, and (b) a blowout victory over the Kings. Backing up injury-prone Wade isn't a bad place to be, as the Heat will likely limit Wade's minutes. Cook is a fine shooter, and should be good for 8 or 9 PPG

Judgment: Gordo looks useless for a while, so this is a risk-free move for thenopp. A few more points won't hurt, but it looks to me that rebounds are in short supply in noppTown.