Posted by TMS:

omg, how the hell am i backtracking? how can i possibly say that D Lee is comparable to Kevin McHale in his prime dude? i can only compare these guys relative to the same stages in their careers... i think D Lee can become just as good a player as McHale... you wanna tell me i'm crazy, fine... we have a difference in opinion... but to tell me i'm deluded if i think i can possibly compare these 2 guys is ridiculous... Lee is a fantastic young player.

Posted by kam77:

Just to add, McHale may be the best i've ever seen at being able to create a shot, and make a shot in the low blocks. He was a machine. You could have a jungle of arms and elbows around him but he would position his body so well that he'd be able to get a put-back or pivot and score when backing his way down on his man. I was young when i watched him and wasn't watching with much sophistication, but it is often said he had amazing footwork which makes sense to me since i remember him as automatic down low.

[Edited by - kam77 on 03-02-2007 2:00 PM]

Posted by TMS:

i have a feeling when D Lee is retired, people are going to look back & regard him as 1 of the most tenacious rebounders they've ever seen, & 1 of the most intelligent players in their all around game also... i think he has the talent, ability, work ethic & the right mindset to make himself into a star player in this league.

Posted by TMS:

how about reading my post the way it's written & not inserting your own definitions?

Posted by TMS:

in fact, i think D Lee is the closest player i've seen to Kevin McHale in a long time... he has the same type of intelligence, grit, energy & hustle that McHale played the game with... McHale was a much more polished scorer, but i think Lee will also develop that part of his game... Lee is already a better rebounder than McHale ever was also... he's destined for stardom in this league, mark my words... some great players have started their careers by being recognized as great 6th men off the bench, & i don't see why it would be a bad thing for Lee to follow in those footsteps.

notice the bolded words... they are meant in the FUTURE tense... as in, he WILL become a great player SOMEDAY... the only thing in the present that i brought up in comparison to McHale was his grit, intelligence, energy & hustle, & about the rebounding, & the truth is he IS already a better rebounder than McHale... now stop trying so damn hard to play Devil's Advocate here so you can prove to me how much you know about basketball... you're interpretation of my comments was completely off.

[Edited by - TMS on 03-02-2007 2:12 PM]

Posted by TMS:

the problem is you took the first sentence & completely ignored the entire body of the post that elaborates on that point... whatever dude, think what u wanna think... there's no convincing you of anything anyway

Posted by TrueBlue:

The fact that Ben Gordon averages 21pts/gm in just under 31min of play. He's the only player in the league doing this.

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by islesfan:

If Lee is only coming off the bench, behind Jerome James, because Isiah wants some kind of credit then I hope like hell that Barbosa wins it.

wow, you'd actually rather begrudge a good kid like D Lee getting league recognition for the job he's done this year just to spite Isiah?

No, because Lee would be getting it for the wrong reasons. Isiah is already on record for requesting credit if Lee wins the award. He's rigging Lee's eligibility for that reason. Why else would Lee be coming off the bench behind less deserving players? Is Lee really a 6th Man if he's replacing James after 4 minutes and then playing most of the game from that point out, including starting the second half? It's the letter of the law vs the spirit.

Lee deserves all the recognition in the world for being a very good rebounder and giving great effort every night but like I said, IF he's only eligible for the 6th Man Award because Isiah is looking to take credit for it, then I hope he doesn't get it.

I have to agree with Isles, just for the sake of argument(and I am using a more exaggerated case to emphasize the point), what if a player like say, Ron Artest, was the guy instead of Lee. Sacramento bought him in, and he is doing very well, but not as great as they thought while starting. Let's assume that the situation regarding management is the same as the Knicks current situation.

Now Artest comes in and he isn't playing like the best all-around player in the league. In order to justify getting Artest and to say he was the one behind it, he coach brings Artest off the bench behind a guy like John Salmons-a guy who probably isn't really earning his MLE contract. Well he starts Salmons for a couple of minutes then puts Artest in for the rest of the game. Sure, Artest was "technically the sixth man", but he really wasn't.

I don't speak for Isles but I personally would prefer for Lee to win the award clean as opposed to being set up to win the award.

I hear you, but IT always intended to start Frye. It was not until Frye had his struggles that this all became an issue. Lee is a rock coming off the bench and IT wants a shooter or solid defender out there with Curry at the start of the games. So I think for most of the season, the 6th man award had nothing to do with IT's decision not to start Lee. Now, however, as Lee's game has evolved, I think the 6th man award is more of a factor in why he is not starting. Either way, I don't think Lee was a lock starter for this team at the beginning of the year, so I don't see how, if he wins the award, it would be tainted.