Hasheem Thabeet to RGV Vipers (UPDATE: Makes his debut)

Yes that is true. He seems a step too slow for some reason. I dont' know if it is because he has not played too many minutes in the past two years in the NBA. I hope he does improve because one thing he has going for him is his height, maybe Deke can teach how to play without having to jump to block shots.

 

Can someone make a highlight video of tha' beet down in the DLeague.

 

There are couple of The Beat highlights scattered throughout this clip from last night's game... he sinks a face-up J around 0:30 and then collects a loose ball and throws down a nasty dunk around 0:50:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a17G-tJxiIA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="640"></iframe>

 

^^^
Thanks

 

He doesn't look like a sluggish over sized 8 year old at all in that video...

 

That loose ball and throw down was pretty sick.

 

I honestly could care less if he has one or two nasty dunks in a D-League game. I want to know how he has been doing with his overall defensive game, controling the paint, shot block timing, and his help defense.

 

After only watching last nights game, I'll say he doesn't play big. He makes a difference in the middle just because everyone knows he's big, but plenty of times the guy he was guarding was able to get a shot off over him. The only blocks he got were on help side, he wasn't effective guarding his man. Also, he did a decent job on the defensive glass, boxing out, but he never grabbed a rebound outside of his area.

You can tell he is thinking a lot on the defensive end, and therefore is slow to react. He has a long long way to go, both offensively and defensively.

 

In the first quarter he seemed to do a good job when guarding his man in the post. I remember one possession in particular where the guy tried to get a hook shot up and ended up air-balling it because he was over-matched.

I didn't watch the end of the game, but I am starting to think that as he tired later in the game his play slowed substantially, to the point that he looked lost because he wasn't as aggressive.

 

He needs to get into NBA game shape and work on his foot speed. He should also not jump up to block shots. He needs a lot of work and I hope he improves as time goes by. With the impending lock out he will have to work on his own or get to Fonde and play some games.

 

lol

its a highlight with some of his moves

I followed him for almost three quarters, every step he made...believe me, he still looks like a kid out there...

he might have gotten tired later on, but I noticed that he doesn't go after the ball at all...I mean this guy should be throwing people around him while getting the rebound, but he's not

 

Thabeet had a pretty decent game tonight with 13 pts., 8 rbds., 3 blks. and 1 asst. in 22 minutes. +14(+/-). Looking good.

 

Vipers 122, Armor 103 Vipers Clinch top 3 finish
Game Highlights ^

 

Even though he didn't rack up a monster stat line, I really liked his presence in the paint. He made Reynolds kick the ball out a couple of times when he was able to drive into the paint with only Thabeet shadowing him.

 

The D-league playoff schedule is out and the Hasheem Thabeet led Rio Grande Valley Vipers start out playing the Bakersfield Jam:

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/2011_playoffs_schedule.html

All of the series are best of three with the first game played on the lower seed's home court and the second and third games (if necessary) being played on the higher seed's home court.

Thabeet has played in six games with the Vipers so far. With the playoffs, there are potentially as many as nine more games that can be added to that if the Vipers make it all the way to the finals. Every additional game Thabeet plays with the Vipers is a helpful step in the right direction. I hope the Vipers have to play all nine games so that Thabeet will have the opportunity to continue to work on his game.

 

From reading the reviews of guys who watched his game it sounds like he needs another 3 years to be effective.

 

I think he can work his way into the rotation with a summer of hard work. Like a poster mentioned earlier, he just needs to play more games.

 

I don't see it. I think the earliest date for that would be January, and that's with no lockout. I'd be happy if he would consistently improve, and be getting 5 minutes a game with the Rox a year from now.

 

They didn't show you any of that. And I agree that is what I am most interested in seeing. But I also was impressed with what I saw from that little highlight reel. I don't care if he tears up the d-league. What I do care is if he shows me things that are transferable to the NBA. ANd his shooting touch is because he will always be able to shoot over anyone. Also his athleticism is more impressive than I ever before thought possible. So those are two things that are positive in my book. The D/L is not the NBA but it is professional basketball. ANd he is playing and getting valuable experience that it seems he hasn't received much of lately.

 

Very well said. I too am interested in watching his reaction time, and whether he's out of position, how many fouls he's picking up, is he using his body to box out opponents in the paint, is he dominating the offensive glass, what's his touch around the rim look like, how is he in transition. All of these things are much more interesting to me than watching dunk highlight reels. The question is are his fundamentals improving? And what are the strengths of his game that easily translate to the NBA, and where is he being exposed? Its really hard to know from stats, the tape is what tells the true story. Would love to watch this past Sat.'s Vipers' game in full.