AL FAROUQ AMINU

[fullcourtpress]

BEAST MODE

Just wanted to give my boy a shout out! I've always believed and stated, that the CP3 deal will ultimately be judged by HIS progress,

last night was just the beginning.

We were the worst fast-break team on Earth last year.

With Davis snatchin boards and gettin us out on the break, Aminu is gonna flourish. Screw Gordon, give em a tampon and let miller learn to play the two along with mason, rivers and vasquez.

The hater-b.s. the picayune wrote about miller taking his spot was insanity. Aminu needs to play and play often with utter disregard for messing up until he knows what he wants to do....... and that is take it to the damn hole and slam it, play D, and run the court. heck, our PG, SG, and PF all shoot three's so Aminu can take his time w that

[P Raff]

It's what I've been waiting for, but I'm not counting my chickens. He's gotta develop a shot. It's god awful right now. But he's a freak of nature.

Consistency. That's what I want.

[fullcourtpress]

you are right because we have been brainwashed by the modern hornet era. but some teams fast-break a lot more than us and have room for a dude that doesn't shoot three's very often. we have that room now because our PF, Andersen, is arguably the best shooter in the game; hence, Aminu simply needs to fly in for positioning on the weak-side after the shot is in the air ala dennis rodMAN.

heck, I'm ready for Mason to start cranking em up too. Sorry to sound so dumb, but despite the Gordon B.S. WE ARE GOING TO BE GOOD!
WE have the BEST COACH IN THE GAME, ecspecially considering our youth and all.


get used to
davis at SF
during clutch time (defensively)

Anderson SF on offense

heck, we may wind up with
starters
we are going to have 3 bigs in whenever it counts

pg vasquez
sg miller (just havin fun)
F anderson
F davis
C lopez of smith


bench=

a. rivers
r. mason
af. aminu
h warrick
j smith

[jawznola]

we need a scorer at the guard position, this was the whole point of Gordon coming back and drafting Rivers... unfortunately... both are stinking it up for us at the moment... We need a scorer who people fear

[HornetGuru]

if gordon misses the whole year it would be great for aminu and rivers to get the reps, without gordon we dont have a closer so i say screw it, let aminu and rivers develop by throwing them into the fire, they will better from it and get a lucky lotto pick and maybe land shazbazz, if not, a scoring 2 guard or trade the pick for a scoring guard.

[PLAY TO WIN]

big ups to aminu good game...i hope this the new normal for him....he just need to cut down on the turnovers

[BP225]

some teams fast-break a lot more than us and have room for a dude that doesn't shoot three's very often.

Every team needs a dude that shoots 3s often. Fortunately for Aminu that's now Anderson's job. The faster tempo/less half court game plan benefited both Aminu and Vasquez, so hopefully we'll see it more often.

[bojangles837]

On sports nation just now they had a greater offensive power pole between the warthog from halo and al farouq aminu. Thought it was pretty funny


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[RaisingTheBar]

I want to see more of this type of play consistently before I say he has matured/elevated his game. But if he keeps that level of play up I would give him a new contract soon.

[NemesisKING]

big ups to aminu good game...i hope this the new normal for him....he just need to cut down on the turnovers

And so does everybody else. But other than the occasional loose dribble, those turnovers weren't all his fault, Miller threw a bullet pass to Aminu who was wide open right next to him. Austin Rivers almost broke his ankles again trying to penetrate and threw low poor pass to Aminu at the last minute, right in front of a Spur defender.

Then you had the guards dribbling the shot clock out until they didn't have a shot and passed out to Aminu at the last minute.

Since Aminu doesn't command or demand shots, scores on hustle points and does the dirty work, he does need the guys who control the ball, those guys who do take shots to not put him in bad position. They also need to make sure they get it to him when he's open on the break.

I know there were a lot of plays we can point to as the difference in the game. The obvious ones, but i think a crucial play was on a break after a turnover, it was three on one.

Rivers was pushing, Aminu was ahead and behind the lone defender and River dribbled back behind the defender to pass it to Ryno, now had we been up big that would have been okay, or even if Ryno had been hot, take the roof off the building and energize the team and pull away, but we weren't.

Had he just hit Aminu on the lob, i believe that would have put us up by 6 or 7, but he missed and they came back and scored and to me that was the beginning of the end.

We don't have a closer right now and we don't have a creator at the PG position, either for himself or others, that means if we get a chance we have to increase the lead and take the easy points. And those points get no easier than when Aminu is open for the lob in transition, you have to get that easy assist for the team.

[goat gorilla]

I won't crown him yet. But I will admit during game one I said where the hell did this guy come from. I was ready to move on but I'm intrigued a little more now. He absolutely needs to improve several areas of his game(shot, dribble, passing). But it is apparent he is a bit more comfortable and is also dribbling better. I think Miller coming in and almost taking his spot made Aminu stop being hesitant and get aggressive which is exactly what he needed. I also think us not picking up the option was a reality check too. Hope his confidence rises and he gets a little swagger off this performance because his athleticism alone can get those type of numbers every night. If he gets a shot watch out.

[Pelicans78]

I was thrilled with his performance, especially with how aggressive he was. Showed alot more confidence.

[new city champ]

The lingering question with Aminu is position. He still seems like a tweener to me. In some ways he seems better suited to power forward, lacking 3-point range and the ability to create his own shot off the bounce, which are key for an SF. But then again he's a little undersized to go down on the block and he doesn't show a lot of back-to-the-basket, low-post moves . But Hornets seem not to worry about position so much and if he can play with the hustle and defensive presence he showed against the Spurs then not sure it matters. I can see he and AD forming the frontline on certain match ups.

[Eman5805]

Like someone said he's playing like someone whose option wasn't picked up.

[Perth_Hornet]

Like I said in another thread, he's a small forward who has no handles or shot. Two abilities you might say are what defines a 3 man. But he seems to be doing the things he does well, really well to start the season ie. using his length on defense and athleticism on offense. But he'll need a creator on court with him at all times because he's hopeless at that.

[fullcourtpress]

Like I said in another thread, he's a small forward who has no handles or shot. Two abilities you might say are what defines a 3 man. But he seems to be doing the things he does well, really well to start the season ie. using his length on defense and athleticism on offense. But he'll need a creator on court with him at all times because he's hopeless at that.

"handles" and a "shot" defining a 3 man?

a 3 man is a "forward" correct?

a 2 man is a shooting guard. I would say a shot does define a shooting guard


seriously though, SF is just the other side of the SG.

yes it's nice if they can shoot, but since the ball is usually shot from the right side, I like a 3 man that can slice in for the weak-side rebound. his game will come.

im sooo glad to have management that understands that it is idiocy to take teenagers, give em a chance and if they don't succeed call them a bust.

david west averaged 6.2 in year two at like 24 years old. he came on in his third year, after 4 years in college.

Aminu is 22. If he keeps getting time like this for two more seasons.....AND WORKS HARD AT IT.

He will be the stud people once saw in him

[Impose]

Yea all Aminu really needs to be a competent full time starter in the league is a spot up 3 so defenses pay for coming off him when Rivers/Gordon drive to the basket. I love what he brings defensively, his rebounding is fine, and he can finish the break. A quality starting role player is all we really need from him, anything more is a bonus.

[nolaslim213]

Very excited about what he has done in the 3 games so far this year. Very efficient and energetic. Great defense. It's just sad that it took a wake up call like us not picking up his options for him to get it together. Makes me worried about if/when we offer him a new contract.

[Impose]

Very excited about what he has done in the 3 games so far this year. Very efficient and energetic. Great defense. It's just sad that it took a wake up call like us not picking up his options for him to get it together. Makes me worried about if/when we offer him a new contract.

Well, in a glass-half-full kinda way it means we could lock him in long term cheaper than in another year if he keeps improving like this.

[luckyman]

Very excited about what he has done in the 3 games so far this year. Very efficient and energetic. Great defense. It's just sad that it took a wake up call like us not picking up his options for him to get it together. Makes me worried about if/when we offer him a new contract.

I dont think him not being extended had anything to do with his play. This is his first year as a starter. Only his 3rd in the league. Just a natural progression with good coaching.

[nolaslim213]

Well, in a glass-half-full kinda way it means we could lock him in long term cheaper than in another year if he keeps improving like this.

For sure, and I suspect he would welcome a 4 year/$15 million dollar contract with open arms - especially since Monty really helped to smooth out his game.

[nolaslim213]

I dont think him not being extended had anything to do with his play. This is his first year as a starter. Only his 3rd in the league. Just a natural progression with good coaching.

But he wasn't playing like this at all in the preseason. It's like the opening night game came out of nowhere, and he has kept it up ever since.

[rt0307]

But he wasn't playing like this at all in the preseason. It's like the opening night game came out of nowhere, and he has kept it up even since.

I was going to ask... was there any clue in the preseason that he would play as well as he has

I thought his time at the olympics may have been as needed... if not more so... than Davis'... but as someone said earlier... he's playing like a man who didn't get his option picked up

[luckyman]

But he wasn't playing like this at all in the preseason. It's like the opening night game came out of nowhere, and he has kept it up ever since.

He showed flashes during the pre-season, which really isn't a good time to judge. He really gave a forshadowing in that last pre-season game against Miami.

Still, I don't think his contract situation is as big a factor as him just finally getting the time as a starter adn this being his 3rd year, when many players start to turn a corner in their career.

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

He showed flashes during the pre-season, which really isn't a good time to judge. He really gave a forshadowing in that last pre-season game against Miami.

Still, I don't think his contract situation is as big a factor as him just finally getting the time as a starter adn this being his 3rd year, when many players start to turn a corner in their career.

So now that the team hasn't excercised Aminu's option does this mean we now have to go into a bidding war for his services next season?
Providing he keeps up his improved play that is.......do we still have dibs on his services for 2013/14 and beyond?

How does that all work?

Thanks