Do You guys think that ZAZA can get any better?

[Wurider05]

We seem to forget the fact that he is only 21 years old. How much better can he get in you honest opinion?

[Vafan]

He should get better. Remember he is still younger or about the same age as guys like Noah and Aldridge. One thing people forget is that our team is very young. Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Zaza,and Marvin Williams all should still be in school yet they are already solid players in the NBA. Kudos to BK for getting young talent in here. The future is very bright.

[Diesel]

You know the Hypocrisy here about Zaza is thick.. So many people want to give Marvin all kinds of chances and opportunities and Zaza... people have decided is a BU.

The funny thing is that Zaza is young and was very productive.

11.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg is not bad. And Zaza plays tough. I think if we invested some time into Zaza, he could become a 14/10 C. That's not bad at all.

The thing about Zaza is that he can score at his position. I think we get him a defensive PF and we have something.

A lot of people would not want us to get a defensive PF unless it meant that we sent Zaza to the bench...

That's crazy.

[AHF]

Can you imagine a college team with a frontcourt of:

Marvin Williams

Josh Smith

Zaza Pachulia

It could have happened! Wow. They would be so good in college that it wouldn't even matter who the guards were.

[Dragitoff]

yeah, Royal Ivey could have run the point for that team! Sorry, I had to do that.

[AHF]

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yeah, Royal Ivey could have run the point for that team! Sorry, I had to do that.

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Royal would have been too old last year! You don't think he was early entry did you?

[Diesel]

Actually, I was thinking about UConn's recruits. I don't know what they promise...

but think about it.

At one time.. they had:

Okafor, Villanueva, Gordon, Boone, Gay, Williams, and Armstrong...

Do you realize how stacked that is for one team at one time??

[exodus]

Zaza was among the top 5 in the league at getting his shot blocked and picking up offensive fouls.

He doesn't finish well near the rim, his jumper is very erratic and he is turnover prone.

His defensive rebounding sucks and his overall defense is a joke.

He has to get better just to justify his $4 million per year.

[vdunkndunk]

Zaza can improve in subtle ways--like increasing his field goal percentage, outside shooting, and defensive rebounding. But I don't think he'll ever become the defensive force we need at center. I do think he could become a much better, or much more efficient, scorer.

[AHF]

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[Zaza] has to get better just to justify his $4 million per year.

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You are kidding right? Please tell me you are kidding when you look at the market for FA big men that pays any big man with a pulse huge sums of money and conclude that Zaza isn't justifying his $4M salary!

[Diesel]

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But I don't think he'll ever become the defensive force we need at center.

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The strawman here is that we need a defensive force at C.

That's not true. We need a defensive player in the frontcourt. Al/Zaza is just a bad mix for 2 of the three frontcourt players. However, if Zaza moves up to solid on defense or close to solid.. that's should be fine. We don't need to go out and sell the farm on what we may think is the next Deke. Because 9 times out of 9.5, it's not. I think we need to focus on just strengthening our front court defense and that can be done by getting a defensive PF...

If it were possible to get JO here to Play PF, I think he and Zaza and Smoove would be a very good frontcourt. If we drafted Landlord... I think he and zaza would be fine together.

But don't think that our best move is to try to find a Big C, move Zaza to the bench and keep a Sf at PF....being our best move.

That's more ridiculousness.

[exodus]

Salary valuations are certainly debatable in the NBA but the fact is that Zaza is way overrated by many here.

Defensively he completely sucks and Chris Paul gets as many defensive rebounds as Zaza does.

He isn't anywhere near as good on offense as people make him out to be. How many times did Zaza drive into the lane and throw up a shot from his hip trying to draw a foul? He would either miss by a mile or pick up and offensive foul.

He is a huge reason why the Hawks interior D was the worst in the league last year.

[Lascar78]

I agree with your overall analysis, but his salary is about fair. Centers get paid.

I would look at Zaza like this:

offensive rebounding: outstanding

defensive rebounding: very average

man defense: subpar

help defense: nonexistent

passing: average

jumpers: average

face to the basket game: above average

back to the basket game: average

finishing tough plays: subpar

toughness: outstanding

character/drive: outstanding

He is what he is, a big, young guy trying hard. In order for me to accept him as a long term starter at the C, he just has to find a way to kick his defense up a few notches, and hopefully his defensive rebounding too. He is streaky on offense but I'm ok with that, and would expect that to improve as he gets used to the league.

As I've said many times before, I see Lue and Zaza right now as good backups where we don't have starters. I don't think Zaza will ever be an all-star or anything, but with work he could become a good NBA starter.

[AHF]

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Salary valuations are certainly debatable in the NBA but the fact is that Zaza is way overrated by many here.

Defensively he completely sucks and Chris Paul gets as many defensive rebounds as Zaza does.

He isn't anywhere near as good on offense as people make him out to be. How many times did Zaza drive into the lane and throw up a shot from his hip trying to draw a foul? He would either miss by a mile or pick up and offensive foul.

He is a huge reason why the Hawks interior D was the worst in the league last year.

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There is some truth to your points but I strongly feel that every team in the NBA would add him to their roster at his current salary if they could after seeing his play last season. For a 21yo big man who can compete on the floor, that is a great deal.

[Popeye]

I would say that Zaza is above average passer for a big man.

[Diesel]

Some people here can't appreciate a good player until their playing somewhere else.

Zaza has lots of room for improvement.. namely FG%, defense.. however, I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water.. I think he's been very serviceable and I think he can be better.

[AHF]

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Zaza has lots of room for improvement.. namely FG%, defense.. however, I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water.. I think he's been very serviceable and I think he can be better.

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I think that is spot-on.

[Dragitoff]

I was joking. No, I know Royal Ivey wasn't an early entry. The comment was made about it not mattering who the guards were.

[AHF]

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I was joking. No, I know Royal Ivey wasn't an early entry. The comment was made about it not mattering who the guards were.

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I gotcha.

[chillzatl]

then it's a good thing that he's young and still has several years worth of improvement in him. Unless you know of a stat that says otherwise?