I want to post this after B. Lopez just had the best game of his career. so this won't be one of those over reaction after a bad game.
I don't really want to say Lopez is overrated, after all, he's just a rookie. but do people use a different standard for centers nowadays? The competition at C in the League almost none-existent. Besides Yao and Dwight Howard, most of the Centers are really offensively challenged, they are more there to defend the paint. Andrew Bynum, some experts considered him to be the 3rd best center in the league, is only averaging 12.3/8.6. I think Lopez averages about that when he starts. If that's the stats for a PF, he probably won't even be mentioned in the top 15. He is playing against 6'10" guys who has no offense on a nightly bases. besides the lack of competitions, Lopez is only shooting .485, thats after his 11-16 great shooting performance, that's hardly good for a center.
A lot of fans are ready to make him a franchise player and are no doubt that he will be averaging 20/10 for many years to come. And some compare his game to Tim Duncan. While I can see some similarities, but Duncan was a dominant force when he first came to the league. This is not a thread to bash Lopez, I think he will be a great player for the Nets for a long time. But do people have too much expectation for him?
I don't really want to say Lopez is overrated, after all, he's just a rookie. but do people use a different standard for centers nowadays? The competition at C in the League almost none-existent. Besides Yao and Dwight Howard, most of the Centers are really offensively challenged, they are more there to defend the paint. Andrew Bynum, some experts considered him to be the 3rd best center in the league, is only averaging 12.3/8.6. I think Lopez averages about that when he starts. If that's the stats for a PF, he probably won't even be mentioned in the top 15. He is playing against 6'10" guys who has no offense on a nightly bases. besides the lack of competitions, Lopez is only shooting .485, thats after his 11-16 great shooting performance, that's hardly good for a center.
A lot of fans are ready to make him a franchise player and are no doubt that he will be averaging 20/10 for many years to come. And some compare his game to Tim Duncan. While I can see some similarities, but Duncan was a dominant force when he first came to the league. This is not a thread to bash Lopez, I think he will be a great player for the Nets for a long time. But do people have too much expectation for him?