Robin Lopez should be Hornets Mike Karney/Heath Evans

[MichaelMcNamara]

Lopez will have his good games and he will have his bad. Personally, my issue with Lopez has never been that I think he is a bad player, but rather, I think that his presence on the court forces several other players to play "left-handed" so to speak.

When Lopez is on the court, his defender is in the paint because Lopez doesn't have the versatility to step out and constantly knock down the jumper and his decreased athleticism has actually made him a poor pick and roll player according to Synergy stats (and Phoenix Suns fans). With Lopez down low, that forces Aminu and Davis outside and it gives Gordon and Rivers another obstacle to get through in the paint. Compare a Lopez/Davis frontline with an Anderson/Davis frontline and you will see what I mean. Davis can knock down the jumper and Anderson is the best three-point shooting big in the league. When Gordon beats his man off the dribble, who is going to leave their man to help out?

That being said, there is room for Lopez on this team, much like there was room for Mike Karney and Heath Evans on the Saints. Brees and the Saints pushed the ball up and down the field in three or four wide sets, ran the ball well out of the singleback, etc., but Karney and Evans were instrumental in certain situations and against certain teams.

The Saints tended to go with a fullback on 25-35% of plays and I would be more than happy seeing Lopez on the floor for that amount of time (12-17 minutes). Give the Hornets a power dimension to go along with what should be one of the best spread/motion offenses in the league in 2 years. That's fine with me. What I don't want to see, and what I worry we might see, is a situation where Anderson, Smith, and Lopez all get equal minutes and the Hornets don't get to take advantage of some of their biggest strengths. Imagine the Saints in a base offense, running I-formation 50-60% percent of the time. That is, and has always been, my worry with acquiring Lopez.

Thoughts?

[Kibner]

I can agree with that. We also need to have Davis or Smith in at all times in order because Lopez and Anderson aren't mobile enough to threaten as shot blockers when they need to leave their man to challenge a shot in the paint.

My only quibble about Lopez from last night (when it comes to playing his role) is that he tends to overly focus on his assignment and loses awareness on what is going on around him. This caused him to miss several opportunities for tipped passes, steals, and blocks around the rim that he was actually in good position for if he was paying attention to something other than his man.

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[PELICANSFAN]

While there are potentially some valid concerns, I'll wait a few games and see how he fits with the Hornets and how they use him.

[Smow-]

Based on the structure of his contract (particularly with the team option after this season) it appears he is somewhat of an experiment for the Hornets. If he performs above expectations and evolves into a viable option, we can keep him around. If he fails, we will more than likely be in position to draft a top center next year. Using your anology, we need at least one pure center on the team to fill the role.

[smcgull]

From what I heard, on the radio, it seemed he did better than expected. I just would like him to keep that level of play.

[Euphonetiks]

Saints FB comparisons are a stretch. Could have made your valid points without them.

[DiMaggio dunks]

As long as he doesn't develop Heath Evans mouth, I'm cool with it

[PelsFan2313]

Based on the structure of his contract (particularly with the team option after this season) it appears he is somewhat of an experiment for the Hornets. If he performs above expectations and evolves into a viable option, we can keep him around. If he fails, we will more than likely be in position to draft a top center next year. Using your anology, we need at least one pure center on the team to fill the role.

My sentiments exactly. Well said. Look for us to make a big run at Pekovic next year, especially if Lopez fails to meet expectations.

[Brian]

Mike Karney was a one-dimensional lead blocker.

Heath Evans was a big halfback essentially who was adept at running the ball and receiving it and he was decent in blocking. He was a far more accomplished threat in terms of running with the ball. Light years better than Karney.

Comparing Karney to Evans is like comparing Devery to Colston. They're completely different players with completely different skillsets who play the same position.

[THRILLHOUSE]

When Lopez is on the court, his defender is in the paint because Lopez doesn't have the versatility to step out and constantly knock down the jumper

You lost me early on. If you include small ball centers like Pau Gasol, Alrdidge, and Bosh, you may have a point. But out of legit centers, you really don't have any that can knock down jumpers consistently. Even considering that, we have "small ball" centers in Anderson and Davis, the former being a fantastic jump shooter.

[42]

I read the premise of the post, abstractly, to be regardless of the strengths and weaknesses of the players referred to, the team using player X should be using him in specific situations, not as part of the standard attack.

For the Saints, any fullback subtracts from the basic idea: Brees to whoever, dink, dink, TD. Fullbacks are clealy necessary for a number of reasons. You can't do the same thing all the time anyway since predictability helps the defense stop you.

Lopez is the change of pace / situational player, as I read the premise. Thus, indications of heavier usage worries the poster, right or wrong.

[MichaelMcNamara]

You lost me early on. If you include small ball centers like Pau Gasol, Alrdidge, and Bosh, you may have a point. But out of legit centers, you really don't have any that can knock down jumpers consistently. Even considering that, we have "small ball" centers in Anderson and Davis, the former being a fantastic jump shooter.

Exactly- this is the way the NBA is heading. The Celtics finally started playing at their potential when they went to Bass at the 4 and KG at the 5. Portland's best units had Aldridge at the 5. The Heat finally realized that traditional positions dont matter and are playing Bosh at the 5 to get more spacing. OKC was much better with Collison and Ibaka at 4 and 5 than they were with Perkins and Ibaka.

You put your best players on the floor- and more importantly- you give them the best chance to succeed. Gordon, Rivers, Vasquez, and Aminu would all benefit from the extra space they would have to operate if an Anderson/Davis combo were on the floor (as compared to Lopez and whoever else)

[MichaelMcNamara]

My sentiments exactly. Well said. Look for us to make a big run at Pekovic next year, especially if Lopez fails to meet expectations.

I wouldn't mind going that way (love Pek), but should we spend 10 mil on a situational guy? Anderson, Smith, and Davis should get at least 90 minutes IMO. That doesn't leave a ton of minutes for another big unless you put Davis or Anderson at the 3, which I think would be a mess.

Remember, Lopez is costing us about 10 million this year (we had to take Warrick to get him). Personally, I would have taken a 2 million dollar big to fill that 15 minute role (Haywood-type) and used the rest of the money to fill the wings with young guys with upside who can push Aminu.

Haywood, Gerald Green, and Jeremy Evans or Lopez and Warrick? I would have taken option A. And if something similar presents itself next offseason, where we can add a true point or a small forward, I would rather spend my money there and go cheap with my fullback, uh... 4th big man/backup center

[BP225]

I wouldn't mind going that way (love Pek), but should we spend 10 mil on a situational guy?

Absolutely not. For what we truly need Lopez to do, I'd have rather given Gray $3.5 per to come back and be a matchup center.

[PELICANSFAN]

Absolutely not. For what we truly need Lopez to do, I'd have rather given Gray $3.5 per to come back and be a matchup center.

Disagree. Lopez is a low risk, high reward gamble on a young big. Gray is not worth even $3.5 million. He is more of a Dickau type that fans like. He also has heart problems.

[AD23forMVP]

The spacing on the floor isn't bad at times because of Lopez, it's bad because we still have a team that's trying to learn how to play together and where they need to be, tendencies, etc. It will get better. I like having Lopez out there, it's already clear that teams will try their best to pull Davis away from the rim, we need someone that can protect it. You say that teams are moving away from the 90's brand of ball, which is true, but that doesn't mean you just leave it in the dust. Having a guy like Lopez that can give you 20 or so minutes a night is a plus. You bring up teams like Boston and Miami, but lets not act like those teams don't have huge holes at center, that's a reason why they suddenly got better when they put their best players on the floor. Because they took off players that don't really deserve minutes to begin with, would you put Lopez in that category? Probably so, you did compare him to Joel Anthony after all (which is a horrible comparison by the way), but I wouldn't, he's serviceable and has his moments like we saw on Tuesday.

[PELICANSFAN]

Remember, Lopez is costing us about 10 million this year (we had to take Warrick to get him).

Can't look at the deal in a vacuum. To do the deal, we unloaded Jack's $5 million salary as well. So, bascially we dumped Jack (to give time to Vasquez and Rivers to develop) and took on Warrick in order to get Lopez (young big with potential on a cap friendly, partially guaranteed contract). We could have still found a way to sign Green if we wanted him, but apparently Monty was not interested.

[Pelicans78]

Aaron Gray was good for Toronto last season. Solid center and he's lost a alot of weight. But a healthy Lopez has been proven to be better. He's not really great at anything other than energy level, but he's a low usage guy who can score baskets by being active. He's decent at setting screens and making some jumpers. If he can get back to his 2008/2009 form, then he is a pretty solid starting center.

I do agree that our best lineup on the floor will have Davis and Anderson at the frontcourt. It will make life much easier for Gordon as well. Having a frontcourt of Lopez/Davis/Aminu will make scoring alot tougher for Gordon.

I think Miller will be pushing Aminu eventually for that SF spot. Aminu appears to be a defensive specialist at best which is still valuable and why I would keep him. His offense will make him a liability to start at heavy minutes.

[Eman5805]

If Miller keeps knocking 3s, I don't see how he doesn't get way more PT.

[Pelicans78]

If Miller keeps knocking 3s, I don't see how he doesn't get way more PT.

I imagine he will if he's a consistent shooter. If he wants to start, he's gonna have to prove he can defend well. Not as well as Aminu, but well enough where's he solid and his shooting can be another asset for Gordon and Rivers.

[BP225]

Disagree. Lopez is a low risk, high reward gamble on a young big. Gray is not worth even $3.5 million. He is more of a Dickau type that fans like. He also has heart problems.

I agree that Gray isn't worth that much but you'd have to overpay since he wouldn't be getting as many minutes as Toronto will give him. And I realize Lopez is better, but with Anderson, Davis, Smith and Lopez, someone's potential is getting wasted. I'd rather have Gray when we need to supersize and let Anderson/Davis/Smith maximize their minutes the rest of the time.

[PELICANSFAN]

I agree that Gray isn't worth that much but you'd have to overpay since he wouldn't be getting as many minutes as Toronto will give him. And I realize Lopez is better, but with Anderson, Davis, Smith and Lopez, someone's potential is getting wasted. I'd rather have Gray when we need to supersize and let Anderson/Davis/Smith maximize their minutes the rest of the time.

Nah, Lopez is well worth the additional $1 million or so. He has much more energy and stamina than Gray and can block shots. Gray's health is scary as well. Lopez may develop into a solid rotational player (and we have non-guaranteed contract years to try him out).