Why compare Randolph to...
by Uwe Blog on Nov 30, 2009 2:17 PM PST
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Marion, Garnett, Odom, and Webber? He plays nothing like these guys. I understand that they all play(ed) their positions a little differently than the prototypes at their positions and had unique skill sets, but Randolph doesn't remind me of these guys at all.
The only guy in the league who really comes to mind is Josh Smith, but that isn't really that good of a match either. Randolph reminds me of Shawn Kemp his first two years in the league... bursting at the seams with athletecism and emotion, raw, out of control, and enthusiastic. He jumps through the roof and runs like a gazelle, but he's too skinny for the post. If he could learn the value of footwork and position, he could develop into a very, very good forward.
As far as Nellie not playing him consistently, would you? Randolph doesn't pass and hasn't seen a lane full of defenders he didn't like. He's a charging foul waiting to happen. I hope he learns to see the game, and I think Nellie hopes for that too when he benches Randolph.
All of that said, Randolph could be our golden ticket out of the lottery. He is also, hands down, the most entertaining player on the team, and probably one of the 10 most exciting players in the league. I hold my breath every time he touches the ball. Fortunately, he tends to shoot within 2 seconds of his first touch, so I'm not blue in the face.
This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!
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Props to Randolph, but...
Monta is “hands down, the most entertaining player on the team”.
It's kinda funny how...
you say “Why compare Randolph to…” and then you go ahead and make your own comparisons. Kemp was an athletic big guy who loved to dunk, but the similarities end there. Kemp was a better athlete.
At this point, I think the most realistic comparison would be “birdman” in Denver.
by lilboots on Dec 1, 2009 9:47 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
No!
He’s nothing like him. I don’t get why were giving up on hi. Did Atlanta ever give up on Josh Smith? Or remember when the Lakers were trying to trade Odom? Be patient and the rewards will come with him.
Rookie: "Why did you bench me?"
Nellie: "You're a rookie"
We can't give up on Hunter!
Did Detroit ever give up on Ben Wallace? Be patient and the DPOYs will come for sure!
I see what you’re trying to say, but the comparison just isn’t there (which I think was the point of this fanpost)
An empty barrel makes the most noise.
no one's giving up on him
hell- I contend that his development is critical to our team’s success!
I never said I gave up on him.
I’m just saying that at THIS POINT in his career, he’s pretty much as effective as Chris Anderson. He rebounds a little better I guess, but rebounding, dunking, and shot-blocking are the only things he can really do for us right now.
You’d be dumb to give up on Randolph right now. He should’ve stayed in school to improve his game and prepare himself a bit more for the pros, but we likely wouldn’t have got him then, but since we did, just keep in mind that he’s as good as a rookie out of college for the next couple of years, and that’s where the expectations should stay, bottom line.
props to Monta, but...
monta is our BEST player. Randolph is absolutely the most jaw-dropping. Hell, he’s even the most exciting player to blog about.
Randolph
Maybe he doesn’t need to be compared to anyone, then.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Nov 30, 2009 3:09 PM PST reply actions
Reminds me of Garnett
cause Garnett also takes those jumpers.
reminds me Stephen Jesse Jackson
-he is not a fan of Kobe
31 Y 6.5 ft 250 lbs 0 IQ
Fire Nellie! Fire Cohan! Fire Gregory! Fire David Stern! No need for explanations, just fire em all!
by Missing Barry
Randolph still needs to get older.
He’s made great strides, but his potential is still unlimited.
by HOLDEMUPGoldenStateOfOppression on Nov 30, 2009 4:24 PM PST reply actions
Where are these “great strides” you speak of?
by VERY VERY BUSY on Nov 30, 2009 4:45 PM PST up reply actions
Randolph still needs to get older.
I guarantee he will.
Thing A
by sam23 on Nov 30, 2009 6:08 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Anthony Randolph plays exactly like Anthony Randolph.
by Cpt. Jack in the Box on Nov 30, 2009 4:40 PM PST reply actions
which anthony randolph does he play like?
He doesn’t play like the Anthony Randolph in NBA Live 2010. That guy is a machine. Does he play like Anthony Randolph on GSoM? Cause if he does, he should probably be leading us to a playoff appearance.
I don't know
i mean i want the best for Randolph but he has really taken a step back in my eyes. He is still fun to watch because everytime he is in the game i’m excited of the possibilites that may occur with AR but he is not as exciting as he was last year. Last year when Randolph played i just knew he would do something exciting on offense with either a thunderous dunk or nice post move or if not he would make up for it on the defensive side of the floor. Now it seems as though Randolph has no offensive game at all and doesn’t really excite me on defense anymore. I’m not going to give up on him as i feel he will get it together and hopefully reach his potential of multiple All Star appreances but right now he still has a long way to go and is still just 20 years old. I pray he gets it together because he along with Curry are really our last hopes of stardom out in Golden State.
Golden State Warriors Fan 4 Life!!!
The Golden Future
PF: Anthony Randolph
PG: Stephen Curry
Can't wait until GS wins a championship!!!
Kemp?
Tough to say but they do have a a lot of similarities. They were 1 and done players (Randolph w/ LSU and Kemp w/Trinity CC in Texas). Both had so, so rookie years:
However, Kemp was in no way as physically under developed as Randolph was coming into the league. Kemp weighed a good 230 lb, Randolph 205 lbs soaking wet. Hell, he was dubbed the man-child by then Sonic announcer Kevin Calabro because he was such an imposing physical presence despite his young age. Now I’d admit that they do have nearly the same statistical production in each one’s rookie season. However, having grown up in Seattle and watching Kemp from the get go I’d contend that Kemp was much strong presence in the post.
That said, I’d love to see Randolph develop into a freakish storing and rebounding presence like Kemp. If only the Warriors had a hall of fame caliber PG join Randolph like Kemp had with Payton his second season then we’d have something brewing in the 510.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
randolph and kemp
were both out of control at first. That’s the comparison I see. So much talent, very little skill… can’t take your eyes off him though, or you might miss the backflip dunk from the 3 point line. Yes, Kemp became a prototype PF, with a very strong post game, and has the bulk for that. Randolph will not be a post player for a long time. But when I see him play, he reminds me most of a young Shawn Kemp, mostly because of the combination of cluelessness and potential.
Kemp was really a “none and done”. He signed with Kentucky, but there were issues with his recruitment, so was never there. I don’t think he ever suited up at the JC either. He wound up sitting out a year between HS and the pros so he was the same age as a one-and-done, but without any added playing experience.
Kemp was amazing. The only other player in the league now close to as big and explosively powerful is Stoudemire. Kemp wasn’t as skilled offensively, but seemed stronger and was a more tenacious rebounder and defender, at least until the lunch wagon parked in front of him and he gained a bunch of weight. “Bulking up” certainly didn’t help him.
kemp was also 21 when he entered
i doubt randolph will be that big @ 21 but you can already see a big difference from randolph today and randolph first day rookie year. Point being physical growth 19 to 23/25 is huge
Kemp was 19..
When the 89-90 season started… look at the trading card above. His b-day is November 26th, 1969. That makes him 19 on opening day and 20 for the rest of the season.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
He will be fine
Lets stop worrying about him. We knew he was a project so why are jumping the gun? Ad to answer your question I’d play him 30 minutes a night. He’s better than Vlad and Mikki easily and these guys are ahead of him. I’d let him develop since this obviously isn’t a year where we will be in the title conversation and are still young. With all the injuries why not let him run up some minutes. Yeah he plays like an idiot at times but he will get through it. All the guys you mentioned all had bad habits if there like AR or not and they were mainly allowed to play through it. But if you look at some of the game where he has gotten 30 or more minutes he has produced well. But other times he isn’t, inconsistency is expected for a 20 year old.
Rookie: "Why did you bench me?"
Nellie: "You're a rookie"
AR is most comparable too
AR in not as athletic as a young Kemp. Kemp does not shoot as well as AR. Maybe later on in his career maybe kemp had a little jumper. The most compareable with keeping age in mind is Rasheed Wallace. I believe AR will eventualy become a poor mans Wallace. Not only are they similar physicaly, basketball skill wise too but emotionaly. If AR can be somewhere close to Rasheeds career I wouldnt be surprised but happy.
Wallace is more of a shooter
I think the Josh Smith comparison may actually be alright. But AR isn’t the freak Smith is. AR if he settles down could easily be an all star but if he doesn’t he will always be good but not great.
Rookie: "Why did you bench me?"
Nellie: "You're a rookie"
I believe AR will eventualy become a poor mans Wallace.
Damn him with faint praise. When has the “poor man’s” anyone been a player you really want?
However, the similarities with Wallace a pretty far off in any event. Wallace was a high efficiency shooter but a poor rebounder. Randolph has yet to be in any danger of being a high efficiency scorer, but he’s shown every indication that he can be a beast on the boards.
The 3 point bombing Wallace isn’t the same player who came into the league out of UNC. Actually, he’s become a far less effective player as he’s taken more and more 3s.
The 3 point bombing Wallace isn’t the same player who came into the league out of UNC. Actually, he’s become a far less effective player as he’s taken more and more 3s.
I’ve seen it argued that he’s become more effective when he shoots more threes. WINVAL has him ranked as a top ten player of the past decade, and one of the top 5 players from 2003-06. The fact that Sheed has played significant minutes on teams that have made the playoffs for 13 years in a row.
It’s not necessarily because he’s shooting 3’s, but the threat of him shooting 3’s spreads out the defense, usually drawing an opposing big man outside with him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s been an above average defender for most of his career too.
I think there’s a strong case to be made that a motivated ’Sheed* was the best on ball post defender of the last 10-15 years. Maybe Garnett was better, but either way, ’Sheed was definitely in that elite class. He had the size, strength, length and athleticism to match up with anyone….
*’Sheed wasn’t always motivated, but it’s not like he was Baron-like either where he played good defense for about 5 possessions a game. He usually still gave solid performances, in my opinion, even when he wasn’t trying his hardest.
by Missing Barry on Dec 1, 2009 7:28 AM PST up reply actions
AR definitely taking steps backwards
I think the Vegas performance was a bad thing – last season he was hustling more on defense and on the boards. This year he thinks he’s an offensive star and he hurts his team with dumb fouls and turnovers because he forces the issue too much. Learn some post moves, focus on put backs and playing under control and let the game come to you!
Emotionally Inconsistent
He’s too out of control, he just needs to calm down. But about the comparison part, you’re right. He may do certain things that other stars do, but he shouldn’t be compared to them. Even the Lamar Odom comparison, a lot of people say that he’s going to be Odom or better than him, but when Odom was a rookie, he was far along as an NBA player than Randolph is right now in his 2nd year. But I would start Randolph over Radmonovic. Even though he’s emotional, I think Vlad is worse. I don’t know if it’s just me, but when Vlad plays he kinda bugs me…
I agree with the OP... He hasn't earned increased minutes.
Nelson has illusions of grandeur with Randolph at the 3, but knows he’s best when he plays close to the basket or cutting the hoop (without the ball).
His mid-range game can be really bad at times. What’s his identity?
An inside-out small forward…
power forward…
something else?
I don’t think that Nellie really has those visions of Randolph at the 3. He made one such comment after he was drafted, and seemed to use him there very sparingly early in his rookie year. Since then he’s been a 4/5 in a small-ball lineup.
His mid-range game can be really bad at times.
Those times are called “games.”
by jae on Dec 1, 2009 3:45 PM PST up reply actions
Haha yeah... games, times...
So if they do scrap the randolph small forward then he basically becomes a less polished Wright… maybe a better rebounder.
Are they going for a Ellis/Curry/Randolph/Wright/Biedrens starting lineup in the far future?
Chris Hunter never had a chance.
maybe a better rebounder.
Definitely a better rebounder. Wright was a shade under average for the PF position. Randolph is a superb rebounder.
by jae on Dec 1, 2009 9:43 PM PST up reply actions
why does scraping him at the 3 make him a less polished Wright.
That makes no sense. They are still completely different players besides for the fact that they are both thin and young and left handed.
by freerandolph on Dec 1, 2009 10:53 PM PST up reply actions
Because scrapping him at the 3 makes him a essentially a full time inside player...
…. and his inside game is less polished then Wright
…. and his inside game is less polished then [sic] Wright
His inside game on offense may be less polished than Wright’s, but it’s more polished than Randolph’s perimeter game. In the paint, he’s at least in position to exploit his one clear strength: rebounding.
Shot blocking! (Though he still hasn’t learned the whole blocking the shot without racking up fouls thing)
by Missing Barry on Dec 10, 2009 8:24 AM PST up reply actions
Yes, Randolph is also a good shot blocker. I didn’t mention this because it is far less important than rebounding and there do seem to be cases where players try to block shots at the expense of position defense, but if not the case, it can be an asset.
I haven’t seen the numbers for what percentage of his blocks result in a turnover. Some guys are great at blocking it back into play to spark their own offense. Others seem to go moster block out of bounds where their opponent gets the ball back. The latter has much less value than the former.
Yeah... but is anyone telling him that?
Randolph thinks he’s a playmaker and he wants to play like one. I remember him saying on draft night that he’s a guard in a forwards body. But when he plays like one it usually doesn’t go well.
When Randolph does things like box out and rebound and cut to the hoop without the ball he’s extremely effective. I just hope he wants to do these things and get away from things like his dribble/spin/fade-away baseline jumper he’s been loving lately.
Marcus Camby
I want him to play like Marcus Camby.
"We Deserve"
beans might be our best camby candidate
besides the skill set, he’s already piling up the early career injuries. AR as camby would be cool though.
by mc_socialscience on Dec 1, 2009 9:47 PM PST up reply actions
Kevin Garnett
I want him to play like Kevin Garnett.
Or Dwight Howard. I’d be fine with that too.
by freerandolph on Dec 1, 2009 10:54 PM PST up reply actions
stromile swift anyone?>
super athlete with alot of talent, but really lacked polish/basketball iq (I hate that term but its best wayt to put it) to ever grow into the player people thought he’d be…
I realize they both play a lot different, but i dunno if i believe Randolph will ever be more than an ‘energy guy’. He just lacks so much basketball polish and its stuff that’s hard to learn in NBa, stuff that should have been learn in youth, aau, high school, college. The concept he’s gonna grow from what he is now, to a dominant offensive presence is really questionable.
How about Tyrus thomas? A little shorter, thicker but more or less similar to him. Energy guy. My point is, he won’t be awful. But if he turns into a guy who rebounds well, score garbage buckets, not really a guy who creates his own offense, is that bad? No. But I wouldn’t think twice about including him in a trade for a more legitimate post player especially if they r on the younger side
Pretty spot on pessimistic view...
Sigh.
You have been DFiBrillated.
by Dubs fan in Boston on Dec 2, 2009 11:55 AM PST up reply actions
What do Swift, Thomas and Randolph all have in common?
They all went to LSU. Swift managed to play two seasons, while Thomas and Randolph were one and doners.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
that marcus thornton kid is looking good though...
granted he’s a 2nd rounder and a good bench scorer… not a lottery player
You know who else went to LSU? Shaq. That worked out pretty well.
by Missing Barry on Dec 2, 2009 1:53 PM PST up reply actions
Pistol Pete was pretty good too
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
wow... depressing
I hope we’re not looking at the next Stromile… I could see it though. Work hard Randolph! Please!
Swift never did anything much above average. He was a better than average shot blocker, but not stellar and blocked shots really don’t translate into wins that readily.
Randolph is an above average rebounder. That gives him an edge on Swift in terms of potential impact.
Doing something as important as rebounding real well makes you much more valuable than an “energy guy”. “Energy guy” is similar to “poor man’s ” in that it tends to get attached to guys who many like for some reason, but on actual analysis, doesn’t do that much for a team.
by jae on Dec 2, 2009 9:17 PM PST up reply actions
I'm not willing to go that far yet.
Randolph has shown plenty of times, and above all else, that he really wants to win. His army/family background should have instilled some drive/push to succeed. He’s also shown no evidence to be a dumb M*thF*kr…yet. Just immature.
He has all the physical tools to succeed (just like Ty Thomas and Stro), but it’s hard to make cross comparisons based solely on athletic ability while neglecting there are personality/background/passion and Intelligence difference amongst each individual.
Unless they are all robots. Then we’re all doomed.
Warriors, Stupidest franchise in the league.
I told Randolph that Bill Russell would tell him to keep that ball in play and start the break.
RANDOLPH: "I know. But sometimes, you gotta let ‘em know."
(MT)
Swift/Thomas comparisons
are ludicrous. AR is already better than Swift ever was. Thomas is a six eight guy with long arms and some hops. Good player but AR is a whole nother package. Don’t worry about AR. He’s gonna be pretty damn good. You can see him trying new things, testing his abilties. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. The jumper will be fine. If you watch him shoot it’s pretty obvious he has a nice touch, add that to his crazy size and athleticism you’ve got a package that has NBA gms drooling even if some Warrior fans can’t see it. (ask the Bulls if they’d swap Thomas for RAndolph) Obviously it was way easier in Summer league. He’ll come around. You can see he wants to be great just by watching him, unlike Thomas and Swift.
hard to tell with randolph sometimes
whether he ‘wants to be great’, or is too caught up thinking he just needs to show how great he is. The summer league with Smart’s very permissive coaching set him back as much as it helped, ‘cause it appears to have put him in a scorer’s mind set, which he should stay away from and learn to assess opportunities. His shooting % was a decent 46+ last year and has gone down a critical 4-5%, which should make it obvious to him to facilitate/blend more.
Randolph was two different players last year: an early season guy struggling to maintain a FG% in the low 40s who turned the ball over often and a guy who played more of a center role when Biedrins went down who shot close to 50% by rarely taking shots longer than 8 feet out. That averaged out to the not terrible for a rookie 46%.
by jae on Dec 4, 2009 8:50 AM PST up reply actions
AR comparison
I see him as more like Amare in that his length quickness and explosiveness will make him hard to stop inside. He will be more dangerous on the perimeter than Amare (he’ s already getting comfortable facing the hoop further out than Amare takes it (He likes handling the ball). In that sense he’s like Odom and he starts the break like Odom as well, effective dribbling end to end (although he’s still inconsistant there), but he’s faster and more explosive than Odom. Unfortunately he’ll probably never be an Odom/Webber type passing big (at least he hasn’t shown much passing ability yet). More of a pure scorer like Amare.
I think if people expect Garnett like inside presence they’ll be disappointed, he just seems like he is a little more of a finesse guy (not necesssarily all bad). He could still be a great defensive force based on his length, hops and intensity. He should get plenty of blocks, steals and rebounds.
Randolph is just 79 games into his NBA career. It’s wayyyyy too early to for anyone to throw KG or Kemp comps on the kid.
There’s no question his potential is off the charts, but my goodness, dude needs to add strength and develop a stronger basketball IQ. That comes in time, something that a lot of us tend to forget. For every Derrick Rose or LeBron James who comes in dominating, there are 7-8 kids like Randolph who develop at a much normal pace.
Trust me, he’s not going to be Jonathan Bender, but let’s just take a step back and see where this goes. He’s going to be a future All-Star; it’s just that it will be more toward 2012 than 2010.
Randolph is an average player at best..
Im one of the biggest Warriors fans I know and when I cant go to the game I watch all of them on TV but I am not sure what everybody else is seeing in Randolph that I am not seeing. Sure he has great potential but this is the NBA a lot of players have great potential but reaching that potential is a totally different thing. To me he has 1 good game every 7-10 games and the rest of the time he just looks lost out there. I hope he does turn into something special but right now he’s all hype and a couple of good dunks and swats on the Warriors highlights for the season. Nothing more….But I definately hoping for the best from Randolph sometime soon but probably not gonna happen this year
If anything we should be talking about A-Mo now he is a player who could be special with his shooting ability and how he has taken HUGE steps in his game from last year to this year. I can not say the same for Randolph.
God Willing...
Well, the one good thing for Randolph is he does rebound very well….
by Missing Barry on Dec 9, 2009 9:29 AM PST up reply actions
At best AR can be a better Marcus Camby
We all really wanted him to be an offensive juggernaut, realistically though he has no post moves, no jump shot, no passing, no court vision. His handles does not even compare to lamar odom. What he does good or could possibly improve on is rebounding, and maybe a mid range jumper. Forget about post moves, you cant really teach that, gifted players already come with natural post scoring abilities, watching him for two seasons, he’s a TO waiting to happen when he tries to post up. I hope he develops some type of skyhook or go to move but after the end of this season if this does not materialize he better have a reliable jumpshot and super garbage man abilities.
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