Hollinger's "The season's early surprises, from 1-15"

"10. Spencer Hawes, Kings
In his second pro season, Sacramento's 20-year-old 7-footer is turning into a force at both ends. Although Hawes tends to favor his high-arcing jump shot instead of operating in the paint, he has hit enough of those shots to make it work. He has converted 54.0 percent from the field thus far, including a 7-for-7 night in Memphis on Tuesday. He even has splashed down 10 3-pointers in 23 tries.

Meanwhile, Hawes has blocked 25 shots in just 366 minutes, one of the best rejection rates in basketball, and he has vastly improved as a rebounder. His 17.57 PER is a major improvement on his mark from his unimpressive rookie season. Should the rebuilding Kings opt to jettison Brad Miller, Hawes would appear to be more than ready to take over the starting gig."

about 3 years ago The Ghost of Dick Bavetta 11 comments 0 recs |

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Nice

My only complaint about Spencer is his tendency towards ticky-tack, weak fouls that get him in foul trouble and thus reduce his time on the floor. He’s got to learn when to lay off. Otherwise, what’s not to like about his sophmore campaign?

p.s. Ok, I do wish he’d operate a bit more from in the paint; but I believe that is as much the fault of his teammates and the coach as himself.

by Kusian on Nov 20, 2008 3:57 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Small Issue

Something I’ve noticed is that Spencer jumps ALOT to try and block a shot, which seems to put him out of position if he misses. I don’t have any stats to back it up, but when a guard is driving, I think it opens spencer up to a lot more fouls calls from body contact, being slightly out of position, coming down on the guy, etc. I would love him to stay planted on smaller guards, a la Duncan. Again, nothing big, just caught my attention.

And I'm like one of the most ghetto-ist guys in the NBA. - Ron Artest

by Kingsfan banished to AZ on Nov 20, 2008 4:23 PM PST reply actions

good observation

by Kusian on Nov 20, 2008 4:35 PM PST up reply actions

I’m just so excited that the Kings have a guy that can block shots – the first one since Keon Clark in 2002-2003. Now let’s hope Spence doesn’t follow Keon’s many other firsts as a Kings/NBA player.

Shut up and Coach

by Carl on Nov 20, 2008 5:01 PM PST up reply actions

No Police Badge Stocking Stuffers for Xmas?

by hozr on Nov 20, 2008 7:01 PM PST up reply actions

That was Olden Polynice

But Keon has had his own, all too frequent interactions with law enforcement.

Shut up and Coach

by Carl on Nov 21, 2008 11:18 AM PST up reply actions

I stand corrected

(pun intended)

by hozr on Nov 21, 2008 1:31 PM PST up reply actions

Don't complain about the fouls

At least one King’s player leads the league in something

What I’m curious to know is how he’s affecting shots with his fouls. Is he affecting them or are there a lot of And 1’s happening? How many FTs are being made from players he sends to the line.

www.mancancook.net

by vfettke on Nov 20, 2008 5:05 PM PST up reply actions

#15

A little bit of a bite seeing Javale McGhee on the list, but JT feels pretty damned legit, so no regrets.

And good for Javale, another local kid with game.

Rocks are free, and slingshots easily stolen.

by andy sims on Nov 20, 2008 8:42 PM PST reply actions

JT's really not "surprised" anybody

Except those who said he was a bust. I’m not sure Hollinger said that.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Nov 20, 2008 10:28 PM PST up reply actions

Good for Hawes

To add to banished

Yes, Hawes should stay down on the guards – just generally hold his position more often against everyone, use his size and positioning to change the shots.

Going for a block on every shot looks great – but you draw fouls and are usually leaving the basket open.

Still, he’s doing great.

Cisco? Cisco? CISCO!!!! #*$!%! !

by lietothegirls on Nov 21, 2008 12:15 AM PST reply actions