Cunningham Appreciation Thread

[KingSpeed]

I think he's one of the least appreciated players on our team. He is the perfect role player. No distracting ambition to be the man. He goes out there, boxes out, knocks down the open shot, finishes on the fast break, and plays better defense than he is given credit for. He had 2 critical blocks last night. And the fact that he has been able to effectively start at center for us from time to time has been astonishing. I'm very glad we have him and I hope we hold onto him for a long time.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Repped, I agree. Don't expect the majority of people here to agree.

 

[Rhal]

I like him a LOT more now that he has gotten confidence back in his jumper. The few games were he lost that it seemed like he lost confidence in everything. Would make bad passes, pick up stupid fouls, just overall looked like a D league player at his best. When he starts hitting those jumpers his game takes on a whole new level and becomes a great backup... now if he only grew 4 inches over this summer he would be the perfect 4/5 backup.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I've been on his bandwagon from mid season last year.

 

[Further]

I like him a bunch for what he is. If he were on a team as an 8th-10th man, he would be great. But with all these injuries he has been asked to do more than he is capable of. He tries hard and is team oriented, and for that, I really like him.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

I totally agree.

Dante is a fundamentally sound player (4 years at Villanova will do that) and has done pretty well when asked to play out of position.

I think he could exceed some expectations and surprise some people with more experience.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Many fans didn't appreciate Outlaw, and he was a far more valuable player.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Many fans didn't appreciate Outlaw, and he was a far more valuable player.

I think it's easier to appreciate someone who obviously tries very hard just to get by doing the dirty work. Especially cause he is undersized. Outlaw just took pull up jumpers.

 

[craigehlo]

So a mediocre tweener deserved a thread? This is truly a fan base with low expectations.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

So a mediocre tweener deserved a thread? This is truly a fan base with low expectations.

In your opinion, how good do you have to be to get your own thread on a fan's message board? Do you have to be a rotation player? A starter? An all-star? A all-NBAer? Just curious so I don't fall victim to your wrath at a later date.

 

[craigehlo]

In your opinion, how good do you have to be to get your own thread on a fan's message board? Do you have to be a rotation player? A starter? An all-star? A all-NBAer? Just curious so I don't fall victim to your wrath at a later date.

Let's have a DejJuan Blair appreciation thread maybe. Taken 4 draft sports later than Dante, he had 17 point and 14 points in a win over the Lakers. Meanwhile, Dante had a 6 points and 1 rebound as a starter in a loss to the Nuggets sans Melo.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I like him a whole lot more as the 9th or 10th man than I do as the team's starting center/power-forward, but I agree with the general premise that he does a lot of little things on the court that you like to see. It just underscores how far off the rails this team has gone with injuries that he's being asked to log major minutes lately.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

Let's have a DejJuan Blair appreciation thread maybe. Taken 4 draft sports later than Dante, he had 17 point and 14 points in a win over the Lakers. Meanwhile, Dante had a 6 points and 1 rebound as a starter in a loss to the Nuggets sans Melo.

So we can't start threads about our players if someone taken after them in their draft had a better game than them? I don't have the time to do that much research before posting.

All kidding aside, whats worse: someone starting a thread to say something positive about one of our lesser players doing well, or someone tearing that down because the team as a whole is a disappointment?

 

[craigehlo]

I like him a whole lot more as the 9th or 10th man than I do as the team's starting center/power-forward, but I agree with the general premise that he does a lot of little things on the court that you like to see. It just underscores how far off the rails this team has gone with injuries that he's being asked to log major minutes lately.

I suppose I agree. Dante is an undersized forward with a streaky jump shot. Nothing less, nothing more. He should be deep on the bench. But the fact that he's starting really underscores how poorly this roster is constructed by depending on oft injured centers.

 

[Pinwheel1]

You need guys like Dante on your bench. We often discuss "consolidation" to prevent too many young players from being unhappy on the bench. I hope Dante is never a "Throw In" to make salaries work. He seems like he is a versatile player that will be happy making a roster. A good soldier with a good basketball iQ.

 

[MickZagger]

Let's have a DejJuan Blair appreciation thread maybe. Taken 4 draft sports later than Dante, he had 17 point and 14 points in a win over the Lakers. Meanwhile, Dante had a 6 points and 1 rebound as a starter in a loss to the Nuggets sans Melo.

Pretty much sums it up for me. Its seems like he's regressed since last year.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I was really hoping when I saw this thread this morning that he had been traded

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Pretty much sums it up for me. Its seems like he's regressed since last year.

He hasn't regressed, he's just been forced to play more. Nobody here thinks its a good thing that he is playing so much.

 

[B-Roy]

Yes, let us appreciate an undersized forward averaging 9/6 per 36 with 8.6 PER.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

LOL! Like this forum could appreciate anything.

 

[Ed O]

Let's have a DejJuan Blair appreciation thread maybe. Taken 4 draft sports later than Dante, he had 17 point and 14 points in a win over the Lakers. Meanwhile, Dante had a 6 points and 1 rebound as a starter in a loss to the Nuggets sans Melo.

There's a Spurs forum. Feel free to "appreciate" him over there

I'm not a huge Dante fan, and I wish we'd taken Blair, it certainly seems like a reasonable idea for fans of the Blazers to post about a guy (Cunningham) who's doing his best filling in due to lots of injuries in the front court.

Ed O.

 

[Further]

Many fans didn't appreciate Outlaw, and he was a far more valuable player.

This is because Outlaw was asked to do much more than DC. Outlaw was not able to do what was asked of him, so people were not appreciative of him, but if he was at the end of the bench like DC, and only occationally asked to step up, he would have been better appreciated. If DC was asked to be a starter or 6th man, everyone would bitch about him.

 

[MickZagger]

He hasn't regressed, he's just been forced to play more. Nobody here thinks its a good thing that he is playing so much.

Not a very good trait to have as an NBA player.

 

[MickZagger]

LOL! Like this forum could appreciate anything.

Do you cringe at anything about the team thats not rainbows and butterfly's?

The team is 16-16. It definitely has some serious flaws.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Do you cringe at anything about the team thats not rainbows and butterfly's?

The team is 16-16. It definitely has some serious flaws.

I cringe at the "more cynical than thou" bullshit everyone has to post. Apparently appreciation is beyond the ability of those who gleefully remind everyone that the ship is sinking.

No fucking shit Sherlock, the Titanic is sinking. Forgive me for enjoying the band playing on.

Please fuck off.

 

[MickZagger]

I cringe at the "more cynical than thou" bullshit everyone has to post. Apparently appreciation is beyond the ability of those who gleefully remind everyone that the ship is sinking.

No fucking shit Sherlock, the Titanic is sinking. Forgive me for enjoying the band playing on.

Please fuck off.

I still support the team. Have since I was young, will until the day I die.

But, if I feel that the team has done something stupid personnel-wise, or a certain player isn't playing the way he should I think I should be able to vent on a message board.

The rainbows and butterflies routine grew old with me when I was about 14.

Many people had aspirations for this team to be a championship caliber team. Fans are disappointed. I don't think being a hall moniter type any time someone wants to vent about the team is really going to do any good.

But, more power to ya, I guess.

 

[jlprk]

This thread may be off to a faltering start, but in a few more pages we'll have some consistent cheering for this great man. Meanwhile, it's the Diss Dante thread.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Dante is a beast, he just needs to play with confidence and not hesitate to shoot when he's open.

 

[KingSpeed]

Dante is a beast, he just needs to play with confidence and not hesitate to shoot when he's open.

He never hesitates to shoot when he's open. I've certainly never seen it. And people who are throwing out stats and PER are missing the point. Good soldier and good BBIQ was the perfect way of putting it, thank you.

 

[jlprk]

Single-handedly, I converted this roast to a tribute for the great man.