[RUDEBOY_Participant]

I love Thabeet & Robin Lopez’s defensive skills…Both are long ,athletic shotblockers that can run the court extremely well..Both are limited on offense..

Robin Lopez

For a young big man Lopez knows how to play physical without committing silly fouls..After being inserted into the starting lineup Lopez averaged only 2.4 fouls a game..Suns assistant coach Bill Cartwright says Lopez has gotten more comfortable and plays with more intelligence since becoming a starter..His quickness,energy,hustle and tenacity makes him the West coast version of Joakim Noah..With Stoudemire gone to New York ..The Suns will count on Lopez alot more this year…Lopez shoots free throws well for a big man 69% last season..Playing with a point guard like Nash who knows when to get teammates at spaces on the floor to be successful..Plays well in the pick & roll..Has a decent faceup game..After becoming a starter Lopez averaged 13 points and 6.8 rebounds…

Hasheem Thabeet

Thabeet struggled the early part of last season..He was constantly getting pushed around in the post..By centers and sometimes much stronger smaller players..And showed no offensive skills..He became the highest draft pick ever to be sent down to the D-League..But Thabeet said that was the best he felt since being in college..Sitting and not getting any playing time was hard..But going there gave me my confidence back..This year i expect 25 to 30 mnutes from Thabeet ..And finishing in the top 10 in shot blocks..The Grizzlies played Gasol & Thabeet together a few times..And might do it more often this season in certain matchups….

 

[llperez]

i think lopez will easily have th bigger impact. He is almost the only interior defensive present the suns have and i think they will play him close to 30 minutes a night. Thabeet is still backing up gasol and i dont see him getting much more then 20 minutes.

[JoeWolf1]

 Yeah, I say Lopez, I think Thabeet will be much improved from last season, but since Lopez will be starting and getting more minutes for what is most likely a playoff team I’d say his impact will be greater as a whole, he’ll probably be around a 14 pt 8 rb 1.8 blk guy if I had to make a guess.  I do think Thabeet will have more of an impact blocking shots, If he gets around 20-25 mpg like I think he will, I think he could be in the top 5 or 6 shot blockers in the league next season at over 2 a night.

[JNixonParticipant]

Lopez. It won’t even be close probably. I expect like 9 ppg, 7 rpg, and 1 bpg from Lopez while providing energy and those types of intangibles.

I was not impressed with Thabeet in the SL. He hasn’t improved much at all, and he still struggles to score when he’s contested (which happens alot, since he doesn’t have the mobility and motor to free himself for offensive rebounds, loose balls, etc etc). I think Thabeet is on his way to being a bust, but it’s still early though

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Yeah Its not gonna be close because Lopez played well at the end of the last season and will bring that positive energy and confidence with him into this season.

Plus Lopez has a defined role for the Suns, energy, hustle, rebounds, blocks, defense, and garbage points.

Thabeet is just lost in the sauce probably just as confused as to why Memphis drafted him as Memphis is as to what to do with him.  I dunno if you could of taken him second, by in retrospect he’s better then Thabeet anyway.  But Holiday was clearly the best fit in my eyes.  I just thought he would bring perimeter defense, size to the backcourt, and had the ability to come in a play either guard position.  Now after the season he had in Philly it is obvious he is one of the most promising young pg’s in the league but to me even during that draft it was obvious to me their most pressing need was a defensive minded guard.  Or at the very Least Jordan Hill I thought would of been a nice selection because he can play power forward and center and will give energy.  

I just couldn’t see Thabeet getting any playing time because Marc Gasol is really, really good.   And he is your starting center in Memphis.  And Thabeet has a longs ways to go before he gets as skilled as him.

[TheWizardParticipant]

Lopez. Lopez is going to have the starting nod on day 1 while Thabeet is playing below Gasol, Randolph, and Haddadi. If Thabeet shows that he has improved a lot over the summer and earns a lot of playing time, I could see this question being really close.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Easily Lopez.

[Mr. JewboyParticipant]

 ".Lopez shoots free throws well for a big man 69% last season"-

69 is considered good? i mean its a nice number but as a percentage from the FT- even for a big man its horrible

[JNixonParticipant]

69% from the free throw line isn’t "horrible" for a big man. It’s mediocre, but it’s not that bad at all.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Lopez easily. Thabeet still isn’t ready.

[HitsterParticipant]

This coming season I’d guess that Robin Lopez will see 25mpg plus which should enable him to put up 10ppg, 6 to 7 rpg and over 1bpg. His output may well increase now that STAT has moved on as he’ll surely be Phoenix’s starting C with Frye coming from the bench.

Thabeet will play behind Gasol again and his offensive game will never match Lopez’s but defensively he has much more potential as a rebounder, blocker and shot changer. Although he is a year older than Robin Lopez he took up the game much later and is still learning. He could have the upside of being a top defensive player or could pan out to be a shot blocking specialist like Diop at the Bobcats.

I’d assume that Memphis may try to play Gasol and Thabeet together long term but much depends on what Z-Bo does this year and how his and Gasol’s contracts are sorted out next summer.

 

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 Considering that most centers average around 60-65% on Free throws. 69% is just above the average, which is okay. Now if it was lower than 60% than there would be a concern and he would be considered a horrible free throw shooter, but since Lopez is higher than 65% that’s not bad. Not great but not bad, therefore most teams would not mind having a Center that only 69% of his free throws. And most might even consider having a Center that makes that many free throws is a luxury and would do anything to get there, because their luck at Center is so bad.

Lopez will definitely have the better year. Now I have a better question: Who would you rather have as your back up Center, Robin Lopez or Roy Hibbert. Both are not bad shot blockers. Lopez is a better rebounder than Hibbert, but Hibbert is a better scorer than Lopez. 

[sc0rebuckets11Participant]

lopez.

 

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