[southeasy]

Moon totally smothered Marion to death tonight.

i know shawn has an already weak offensive game but Moon is that dude tonight.. owned marion with like 4 blocks on him, Marion finishes with 5 points in 33minutes.

anybody who tells me bargnani is soft after he takes an elbow to the face and falls on his head, gets up and hits 2 free throws can now suck my ****

we gave Miami about 10 free points in the 4th there.

Maceo Baston looked good in more garbage time showing positioning & range on that hook, we already know he can dunk.

[Balzac]

Homer much? He takes an elbow and sinks two FTs, great. But anyone who watches Bargnani knows he plays soft.

[billfindlay10]

Originally Posted by Balzac

Homer much? He takes an elbow and sinks two FTs, great. But anyone who watches Bargnani knows he plays soft.

Actually anyone who watches him has seen an improved aggressiveness going to the hoop and a willingness to take charges and rebound the ball. He may not be a Charles Oakley, but he is by no means a cream puff.

[seifer0406]

Bargnani is still soft as pudding, but compare him with last season he has improved in the toughness department. Still a long way to go before people mistakes him for Amare, but by his own standards he is getting better.

If Bargnani can figure out how to finish around the basket or at least get to the foul line, his play would improve dramatically. He misses at least 5 close ones a game and those shots are all make-able shots.

[firstrounder]

yeah he usually has no finish whatsoever on his drives to the basket...cant make a running layup for the most part

[seifer0406]

I think theres still hope for Bargnani to learn how to finish though. He has enough touch to shoot 3s and put the ball on th floor, he should see some results if he focus on practicing finishing around the basket.

[Balzac]

Compared to last season and the early part of this season he has been more aggressive. But overall he's still a soft player. "Soft as pudding", as seifer states. I think a key for him is to learn when to be aggressive. Sometimes he's way too aggressive and gets called for a charge/travel/or forces up a ugly shot. He definitely has enormous offensive potential.

[southeasy]

ehh Sorry, not a homer at all.

one of least bias toronto supporters around, i watch more NBA games then raptors games, i just know the kid bargnani is not soft, he's shown willingness to defend the biggest guys on the court, will take any shot, he isnt afraid, as stated he's coming around on the rebounding & aggressiveness part.. 12 early points tonight before that last drive sent him out of the game (once again not by bargnani's admission, he wanted to play) but as precaution they had to take him out.

Bargnani is no softer then last years "MVP" dirk nowitzki & i watch alot of dallas games, it's all about experience in the league, big rebounding numbers & dunks don't make you tough, and that's what the kid is working on

[Balzac]

That's because Dirk Nowitzki is soft. He's a dirty player, but he's also soft. When I think of a player who isn't soft, I think of Charles Oakley, Dwight Howard, Michael Jordan, those Isiah Detroit teams. C'mon, Bargnani doesn't even try to rebound on the offensive end even if he has a shot at it. Sometimes he just looks as the other team grabs the rebound.

[ballocks]

call me crazy but i like what i've seen out of andrea these past few games. he's taking flack for looking ridiculous on a lot of his drives to the basket but, seriously- and i've believed this the entire time- that's the only way he'll ever learn what works and what doesn't. at least he's trying and these are battle scars i'm willing to share with him. in fact, i even enjoyed the 'embarrassing' play against rashard lewis. that's how you learn. no fear, no ego.

he has no experience playing 'this' style of basketball against bodies this big, strong, athletic and raw. he still has to learn an "nba dribble drive" for andrea bargnani, an "nba finish around the hoop" for andrea bargnani, etc. it's not there yet but you gotta start somewhere, right? tony parker and paul pierce weren't born with the innate gift to finish around the hoop amongst the trees. at some point they learned. andrea's finally displaying the courage to learn and to get better.

he could do what he was doing before and never improve. it's always easier to shoot the jump shot. the fact that he's clearly (finally) trying things outside of his comfort zone is a relief for me. i literally don't care if he goes 0/20 by taking it to the hoop every time and either getting blocked or throwing up a prayer over his left shoulder with his eyes closed while tears roll down his cheeks. you improve only by learning to do things that lie outside of your comfort area. it sucks that he's on a learning curve and the rest of the team isn't but you don't cry over spilt milk. you wait for him. and i'm willing to wait if he continues doing what he's been doing.

waiting for him to even try was the painful part. what we've seen of late marks progress. hallelujah.

peace

[narrator]

The Miami Heat: the cure for the common losing streak.