Quick Poll - Rank The Bigs

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don’t allow circumstances to ‘shatter’ their confidence.

But I agree teammates need to rally around each other. But the excuse makers on this board first said the player in the 34 jersey needed better front court help around him. And last night I read he is struggling because he is not used to the talent surrounding him. Ha-ha, first his teammates weren’t good enough, now they are too good!

Jackson is certainly building a credible case for him self and that bears watching. It will be interesting to see which emerges as the better player as the season progresses.

You can use his name.

Whiteside is going to get exactly what he needs in practice while he develops his body to NBA readiness. Until then, having a player of JT’s ability as the number 4 big is a luxury. He’s 2 games into his third year, and never projected as more than a blue-collar pro. Chill with the suggestions that he’s a bust.

Let me just say how much I admire your patience and perseverance in dealing with idiotic criticism. You know who you are a dealing with but you continue to try and make good arguments hoping for people to understand. I’m definitely not able to do that (that’s why I haven’t been stepping up as much when it comes to this crap). As much as it annoys the hell out of me, I’ve decided to ignore all this negativity as I don’t think it’s worth getting upset over it.

I’m not really concerned if this sound like me kissing ass because I truly believe it takes a lot to read this bullshit every single week and still be patient enough to try to deal with it. Mad props to you sir.

but how much time has he devoted to skills development vs. conditioning? I honestly don’t know the answer but he doesn’t seem to be progressing in that area. Has he spent any time working on his left hand? He’s had access to 2 big man coaches with Truck and SAR and most recently a 3rd in Otis so he has to have spent a significant amount of time on skills but we haven’t seen him actualizing it yet. It’s early in the season yet but it’s quickly becoming a red flag as you yourself pointed out. It’s way too early to throw JT on the trash pile but at the same time it deserves scrutiny.

To reiterate what others have said, there have only been three games so far this season. You are making large-scale generalizations and comparisons between two players after extremely limited minutes. Jackson MAY be playing better than JT, (you can argue that, I won’t) but 3 games do not make a career.

Both players have their drawbacks, their frustrations etc., but you are making a mountain out of a molehill, and you don’t have nearly enough information regarding Jackson with this team to make that decision. What happens if he turns out to be more inconsistent and frustrating than JT? What happens if he turns out to be injury prone, or clashes with players in the clubhouse? What happens if he is just playing out of his mind now, but then comes down to Earth in a few weeks? Are you really willing to bolster one player with such little evidence at the expense of a durable long-term big man who the team has invested considerable time and cost? What happens if he gets tired of working so hard and gets lazy half way through the season? i am not saying that any of these scenarios are solidified, but you have to acknowledge that any of them are certainly possible without further evidence to the contrary. Bonzi Wells had some great 3 game stints, should we lock him up too?

Lets not let frustrations blind us to the things are players are doing right. JT is a great and consistent rebounder and a fierce competitor and teammate. Yes, he needs work defensively and at finishing around the hoop, but the whole team does, and he has never shown any aversion to hard work.