Joakim Noah

[Hodges]

He could very well be. He is learning though, however slowly. His boards have increased nearly every year he has been in the league (except his second season, which was a shocker across the board). Ive heard quotes from him saying that when he was playing in Italy, he was a SF, and subsequently was never taught rebounding. Boxing out, and the timing were all new to him when he got stateside.

Couple that with the fact that he only started playing C fulltime in his second season, and you can understand why he struggles with it. Add in the fact that he camps out at the three point line too often, and well, you can see where this is going.

A good comparison though is Mehmet Okur. Bargnani has averaged 3.8 threes a game since entering the league. Over the past 4 years, Okur is averaging 3.45 threes per game. Over that time he has averaged 7.35 rebounds per game. So thats pretty much what Bargers should be aiming for. Considering how much time he spends out on the perimeter, I dont expect him to ever grab 8+ boards a game. He is currently pulling down 6.6 a game, so not a hell of a lot worse than Okur over the years where they put up similar threes.

 

[mdc]

The Minge is a much more talented player than Okur though...if that was his ceiling I imagine Raps fans would be pretty disappointed and Colliflowerangelo would cry himself to sleep every night.

 

[Hodges]

Offensively he is by far the better player. Better shot-blocker too. But the point of me bringing up Okur wasnt to say thats his ceiling - moreso comparing him to someone who camps out on the three point line an equal amount, to truly gauge how bad/good his rebounding is.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

He's quality, and yes, if you're up against Dwight and Shaq he should start. But most of the time you're not.

But most of the time in the Eastern conference Finals and semi-finals you will be.

I really like Noah, but he needs 3 years in the gym before he can go against those guys.

And in terms of passing, I can only think (off the top of my head) Nene, Duncan and Gasol are better.

A good comparison though is Mehmet Okur. Bargnani has averaged 3.8 threes a game since entering the league. Over the past 4 years, Okur is averaging 3.45 threes per game. Over that time he has averaged 7.35 rebounds per game. So thats pretty much what Bargers should be aiming for. Considering how much time he spends out on the perimeter, I dont expect him to ever grab 8+ boards a game. He is currently pulling down 6.6 a game, so not a hell of a lot worse than Okur over the years where they put up similar threes.

Another comparison is Dirk. He only averages 2.5-3 threes per game but certainly doesnt spend large swathes of time down low (as indicated by his low off rebound total). He has averaged between 8.5-9 rpg over his career. His defensive rebound rate has been as good as Duncan.

IMO that is the gold standard for finesse, perimeter oriented forwards

 

[mdc]

He's a better passer than all those guys you named. I think with dudes like Timmy and Gasol they're solid more than anything, which when you're getting doubled a lot translates to assist. Brad Miller and Lamar are two that are clearly better, but there's not many. The problem is when people sag off you, it's pretty hard to rack up assists