There has been a lot of discussion about what kind of player Randolph will be in this league. Some imagine him becoming a long SF with a wicked crossover and a smooth outside shot, and he himself seems to be one of them. Personally I think that mentality is exactly what's wrong with his game.

Despite his recent improvement he is still shooting 43.9% from the field which is really bad for a guy who spends most of his time at PF and a good amount at center.

He is also turning it over 3.4 times per 36 minutes, second only to Jackson.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that the guy doesn't have any skill dribbling the ball. He appears to have a smooth handle when dribbling in the open court, but I believe it's more a question of mentality. He doesn't know when to pick it up and get it to a guard. He has a bit too much confidence in his handle (and his outside shot for that matter).

Now that I've drilled the guy for his weaknesses, how about I give him some credit for what he does well.

He has been a very good rebounder so far. He's pulling 11.6 per 36 which is more than respectable. He's also blocking 2.6 shots per 36 second only to Turiaf (man that guy gets a ton of blocks).

So lets see... he's got big man size (yes he's thin but it doesn't seem to hurt him much), his strengths are suited to playing PF but for some reason he sees himself as a SF. It seems to me a shift in mentality alone could greatly improve his performance.

As JAE has pointed out to me in the past making the mental jump of improving your shot selection and not forcing the issue by dribbling the ball into trouble is not an easy task. Many players never put it together mentally and learn how to play to their strengths.

So I've been thinking about players that came into the league young, lean and raw trying to play outside with a similar frame and similar game to Randolph. The guy that jumped out at me was Tyson Chandler.

Now Chandler is bigger than Randolph (7-1 to 6-10) but has shown the kind of maturation process that I would love to see from Randolph.

His early years in the league on the "Baby Bulls" he spent a lot of time on the wing, handling the ball and shooting outside. On defense he was talented but reckless blocking over 2 shots per 36 but racking up a ton of fouls (sound familiar).

After his first few years on the Bulls I questioned whether or not he would be an effective player in the league. His rookie year he averaged only 8.9reb per 36. His FG% cracked 50% only once in his first four seasons including 03-04 when he shot a miserable 42.5% in limited time due to injury (he still showed better shot selection overall than Randolph through his early career). He also turned the ball over a lot for a big.

Then something happened. A shift in mentality. Slowly over time I think he began to be seen as more of a natural big man, likely because he began to see himself that way.

His rebounds increased steadily over his career along with his FG%. Now he has a career FG% better than 55% including his first two seasons on the Hornets where he hit better than 62% of his FGs (thank you Chris Paul). He now has a career average of 11.6reb per 36. His turnovers and fouls declined too as time went on.

What caused the shift in his play? I don't know, but the difference was evident even to myself who only watched him casually.

The big question here is can Randolph make a similar mentality shift and start playing to his strengths. I don't think Randolph will ever be a center or play in the mold of Chandler but I would like to see a similar maturation occur.

In my mind I like to imagine Randolph as a lean but strong rebounding PF who is athletic and skilled enough to get around bigger fours but gets a lot of his point off of put-backs and open court dunks (as a trailer, or on the wing, not leading the break himself). I'd love for him to learn his limitations and allow the guards to handle the ball under pressure and stop taking the outside shot.

If we are going to be successful with him we need him inside. He is our strongest rebounder not named Andris. He could be a very effective big man in this league if someone could convince him that he's not Magic Johnson.

Now to be fair he has shown more restraint as of late. Of course he has been effectively playing center with Andris being out and Turiaf running into foul trouble. Is it a coincidence that as he's played more inside he has been a better player. I don't think so. If he could continue to progress this way he could really be a quality player.

Somebody get this guy some game tape of Tyson Chandler bricking shots and turning the ball over his rookie season, and then show him some game tape of Chandler rebounding, blocking shots and throwing down Chris Paul lobs in a Hornets uniform. Somebody tell this guy he is not a point guard, shooting guard or small forward. There is nothing small about his game. This guy is a power forward, and personally I hope he can learn to play that way.