if we were able to get an Uncle Spliffy out of this draft, that would be huge in the overall scheme of things for the future of this team. Throw him into a DeLorean and bring him to the future and you’re talking the perfect fit with Ayton.
yeah. If he projects to that, we probably have one of the best front courts in the NBA even if Ayton never reaches the peak we want him to.
Cliff was an underrated rebounder, he took care of his area and was one of the best I've seen at blocking out for his teammates. Not that he was a great rebounder, just that his low average doesn't tell the full story especially since he spent much of his career on the perimeter.
I didn't like Cliff at all when he was in Portland. But for me, he became that guy I loved once he played for my team. And through the years, he's the only player I can say I hated elsewhere but loved him as a Sun. West was very limited but you knew you'd get tough non-stop effort from him every time he took the court (until the refs gave him the 6 count). I have mixed feelings on Raja Bell though. I know most everyone here applauded his cheap shot on Kobe but I thought it was nothing but low class. If I ran this league, a non-basketball attack like that one would have had the player out of the league for a prolonged period.
I liked the addition of Cliff Robinson. The player who I disliked elsewhere but liked as a Sun was Danny Ainge. I don't condone the approach Raja Bell used against Kobe but I understand it. The referees were not calling fouls on Kobe while he persistently elbowed Raja in the face. Raja was a very good defender and Kobe was making him pay the price for defending him. This is what happens when referees swallow the whistle. Make no mistake, Kobe was fouling Raja consistently in the face with his elbow until this incident and getting away with it.
My son was playing in a rec league and him and another kid were escalating their pushes and shoves. The ref was oblivious and there were three of them. I yelled real loud to have them watch #22 which was my son! They kept ignoring me even though EVERYONE heard me. So I got up and started walking towards the closest ref, when a full fledged fight broke out. They were both kicked out of the game. Then the ref came over to me, and said, "You were trying to warn us for like 3 minutes weren't you?" We both kind of laughed about it!
I liked Cliff a lot because he was versatile... and then would hate him every playoffs where he consistently couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.
Frustration builds up for sure when fouls are consistently not called. For a moment I thought you were going to say you got kicked out of the game.
So. For comparison's sake. The difference is that Jalen is by far the better rebounder. However, JJJr was a one-and-done while JS is coming out as a sophomore. These are two of the most versatile bigs to come out of college in a decade.
JJJ is a little more athletic and JS is a better rebounder. I also think I prefer JS’ stroke from deep. Even if JS can’t do a great job of defending the perimeter, Ayton can. Then they would be a dominant duo protecting the rim. They would be an amazing defensive duo all together if JS can show to be able to guard the perimeter.
My High School coach wasn’t super happy after the game when he turned to me as captain and asked if I had anything to say after getting kicked out of the game, expecting me to apologize, only for me to instead ask “Did they end up reversing the call after I got kicked out?” in my defense... they did and we won! getting kicked out of the intramural game and having to go in front of a disciplinary board to grovel, lie and apologize to keep from getting kicked out of the league in college was probably a bit much.
