OT - Lopez is the real deal

[fumanchu]

I can't believe the Nets haven't won a game. Lopez is a beast! Very big, very strong and very skilled. And he's focused. As excited as I am about Greg, Lopez could end up becoming the best center in the league in a few years.

Sure I just witnessed his best game of the year, but if I was a Nets fan I would have something to be cheerful about.

 

[MIXUM]

he was easily the best player on the floor.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

He's like a 7'1" Yao Ming.

I still can't believe this guy fell to #10 in the draft.

 

[cdub503]

question.... how good is his brother? werent they pretty beast combo in college? i dont follow college ball at all but i can imagine two 7 foot freaks out on the floor being a good thing...

 

[Webster's Dictionary]

Lopez is definitely more offensively polished than Greg. I think Greg is more intimidating down low on defense. Given the choice, I think I'd still go with Greg, but Lopez is very skilled and a solid defender and top notch rebounder. When I see Lopez play, I think Rik Smits.

 

[Natebishop3]

He's poised. He has range. He is quick around the hoop. He has a nice touch. I'm very impressed. He'll be an All-star for years. If I were LeBron, I wouldn't mind going to a team with Devin Harris and Brooke Lopez.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

He reminded me of Duncan so much during that game.

Robin Lopez is a decent hustle/rebound guy, but has basically no offense to speak of.

 

[Natebishop3]

Hmm... that's a really interesting comparison. I can see a Tim Duncanish style to his game. The only real glaring hole is that Duncan used the glass a lot. Not many players use the backboard on shots anymore.

 

[Jayps15]

Living in NYS I get to see my 2nd favorite team the Nets alot and Lopez has been good this year, he's not quite as good as Yao offensively but in another 2 years I could see him getting there. His real problem on offense this year is being asked to do to much with everyone out, he's got a really high usage rate when his game just isn't quite good enough to handle that kind of pressure, that along with maybe not being quite as good an outside shooter as some think he is has led to low efficiency. He's not a dominant rebounder, LMA has a better rebound rate, and defensively he picks up a lot of blocks but just doesn't have the same effect of Oden in the paint.

I think a good comparison between Lopez and Oden is Yao and Dwight. Lopez is healthier than Yao but not as good defensively, Oden isn't as healthy as Dwight but I think he's got more moves on offense... and he can average over 60% from the FT line.

I think Lopez easily makes the all star team in the east unless the coaches really dis him for the losing, but I like my big men to rebound and defend so I take Greg long term.

 

[bobf]

He looked fantastic but 1 game = small sample size. PER and adjusted +/- say he's not even "very good".

 

[craigehlo]

I think the Yao Ming comparison is right on. Both play under control and have a pretty smooth jumper face up jumper if left open. Not as good a ball handler as Tim Duncan through.

 

[julius]

What is his PER? I wouldn't turn down Lopez, if we didn't have LaMarcus or Greg. The Nets have a solid player in the middle.

 

[Jayps15]

What is his PER? I wouldn't turn down Lopez, if we didn't have LaMarcus or Greg. The Nets have a solid player in the middle.

After last nights game his PER is up to 18.2, that's good for 14th among centers.

Greg's went up as well, 23.6, which just so happens to be higher than Dwight's. The only guys listed at center with higher PER's this season according to Hollinger are Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol. And Greg's up to 15th in the league (Durant is 16th).

 

[oldmangrouch]

Lopez is way ahead of Oden on offense. It is unlikely Oden will ever be able to match his range and versatility.

Is Oden a better defender? As a man defender, maybe. As a help defender - not really. Lopez moves well, and blocks as many shots as Oden without getting into constant foul trouble.

 

[Jayps15]

Lopez is way ahead of Oden on offense. It is unlikely Oden will ever be able to match his range and versatility.

Is Oden a better defender? As a man defender, maybe. As a help defender - not really. Lopez moves well, and blocks as many shots as Oden without getting into constant foul trouble.

http://www.82games.com/0910/09NJN13.HTM

http://www.82games.com/0910/09POR12.HTM

Lopez's range translates to a whooping ~35% from the field on his jumpers, and he doesn't have anything with his back to the basket that Greg isn't already capable of. He doesn't have a reliable turnaround fadeaway or a plethora of countermoves. He looks more coordinated and in control but Greg's interior FG%, not counting dunks or tip ins, is even higher than Lopez's and obviously once you do put those dunks and tip ins into the equation it's even more in Greg's favor.

All together Lopez scores 8.5ppg on the inside to Oden's 8.3, but Oden has an EFG% of 64.6% to Brooke's 58.5. So that tells me that the big difference in versatility is Brooke's jumper, now complaints about jump shooting teams and points in the paint aside, taking a 35% 2pt jumpshot as almost half your FG attempts doesn't sound like some offensive machine to me.

As far as the defense comment, if things like Oden's top 5 or league leading BLK%, DRating, Rebound Rate, and counterpart PER aren't enough to convince you then I'm not sure what else to say. He's had a profound impact on that end of the floor, plain as day, whereas Lopez picks up a lot of blocks but isn't considered a defensive stopper by anyone.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Greg has a higher ceiling but Brook is damn impressive

If you could re-do that draft I'd take Brook over Rose.

 

[MrJayremmie]

If you could re-do that draft I'd take Brook over Rose.

I definitely wouldn't. But I'd probably take him over Mayo and Beasley.

I think Rose is going to be superstar special, while I believe Lopez will be a consistent all-star, but not a superstar. He will be a tier below Dwight, which is still really good.

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

He is a good player. But just how much of an impact is he having on his team? You know Zach Randoph can put up 20 and 10 as well. Does that lead to wins? Not really. The game before Lopez came away with I believe 5 points and 3 rebs, I believe. So I can't say the consistancy is that much better than Gregs.

But no doubt, he is definantly a good player.

 

[bobf]

He's not having so much of an impact because he's not that good. He had a fantastic game yesterday. I'm guessing his PER for that one game was > 30.0. It was an anomaly.

 

[B-Roy]

He is a good player. But just how much of an impact is he having on his team? You know Zach Randoph can put up 20 and 10 as well. Does that lead to wins? Not really. The game before Lopez came away with I believe 5 points and 3 rebs, I believe. So I can't say the consistancy is that much better than Gregs.

Well, maybe if Brook wasn't surrounded by the worst pro players in the world, he would be able to get some wins. Honestly, look who they are playing.

And consistent? Look at Brook's game log http://www.nba.com/playerfile/brook_lopez/game_by_game_stats.html and Greg's game log http://www.nba.com/playerfile/greg_oden/, and then tell me who is more consistent.

 

[handiman]

Lopez is way ahead of Oden on offense. It is unlikely Oden will ever be able to match his range and versatility.

That's somewhat like saying Shaq couldn't match Vlade's range and versatility. In the end, who cares...

 

[hasoos]

Lopez reminds me a lot of a young Kevin Duckworth.

 

[ABM]

Yeah, Lopez really impressed me. His lowpost game and footwork reminds me a little of Tim Duncan.

Perfect comparison.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Vince Carter recently said Brook is a PF because he likes to shoot that mid-range jumpshot.

Is he watching the same player everyone else is watching? Brook is the epitome of a true center.

 

[Luther]

Well, maybe if Brook wasn't surrounded by the worst pro players in the world, he would be able to get some wins. Honestly, look who they are playing.

And consistent? Look at Brook's game log http://www.nba.com/playerfile/brook_lopez/game_by_game_stats.html and Greg's game log http://www.nba.com/playerfile/greg_oden/, and then tell me who is more consistent.

Brook scored 32 pts. on 25 fga last night. Greg had 18 on 11 fga. If Greg was to get as many touches as Brook does he would be putting up better numbers. We have so many options on offense that we don't NEED Greg to put up that many shots. NJ on the other hand is absolutely terrible and Brook is their first option on offense as of right now. That is why they haven't won a game.

 

[B-Roy]

Brook scored 32 pts. on 25 fga last night. Greg had 18 on 11 fga. If Greg was to get as many touches as Brook does he would be putting up better numbers. We have so many options on offense that we don't NEED Greg to put up that many shots. NJ on the other hand is absolutely terrible and Brook is their first option on offense as of right now. That is why they haven't won a game.

What are you looking at? The guy I was responding to was talking about consistency, and Brook has been undoubtedly more consistent than Oden on the season.

I don't know what you're trying to prove. Read the post I was responding to.

 

[handiman]

What are you looking at? The guy I was responding to was talking about consistency, and Brook has been undoubtedly more consistent than Oden on the season.

I guess it depends how you define consistency... Better overall numbers? Yes. But Lopez has had some huge disparity between his good and bad games.

 

[B-Roy]

I guess it depends how you define consistency... Better overall numbers? Yes. But Lopez has had some huge disparity between his good and bad games.

Not just that, but being able to stay on the court as well. And he's only had two bad games with a "huge disparity".

 

[handiman]

Look at his FGM and FGA ... he's way more up and down than his scoring totals indicate.

 

[Minstrel]

I don't think Yao is a good comparison for Lopez. Yao has such a massive base, he's the toughest guy to move off the block in the past decade or two outside of Shaq. I don't think Lopez will ever be as difficult to handle in the low post as Yao, and Yao is at least as skilled as Lopez. In addition, Yao is a true defensive cornerstone. By that I mean, he's not just a good defender, but the type of guy who anchors a strong defensive team, much like Duncan does. Lopez isn't a bad defender, but he's not that level of defender.

I'm not sure who I'd compare Lopez to. He's a good player with the potential to be a consistent borderline All-Star. That's very valuable. I don't think he'll ever be on the level of Howard or Yao (or Oden, whom I think will be at least at that level once he's playing 30+ minutes per game).