Height/ Weight
Drexler 6'7, 210... Fields 6'7, 210 pounds, deep

Final Year In College
Glide at U of H - Southwest Conference Player of the Year (1983) 16 points, 3.2 assists and 10 rebounds on 35 per cent shooting, 35.

Fields at Stanford - All-Pac-10 First Team selection as a senior with 22 points, 9 rebounds and .49 per cent shooting... Led Pac-10 in scoring and rebounding... his 704 points in senior year marked third-highest single-season total in school history.

College Totals
Drexler - 14.4 points, 3.3 assists and 9.9 rebounds in three seasons at Houston
Fields - 11 points, 2 assists and 5 rebounds in four seasons at Stanford

Vertical Jump
Drexler - 44 inches, damn
Fields - 39 inches, that ain't no joke either

NBA Rookie Season
Drexler (82 games) 17 minutes avg 7.7 points, 3 rebounds .45 from the field .25 from three point range
Fields (11 games) 28 minutes avg 11 points, 7 rebounds, .58 from the field .32 from three

Playing style
"Drexler was famed for his speed and finesse on the court, and his easy-going and quiet demeanor off the court. At Houston, Drexler became known for his exceptional abilities as a finisher, but generally was not considered a great shooter. During his pro career Drexler developed a much more well-rounded game, becoming an effective post player. His extraordinary leaping abilities allowed him to be an acrobatic dunker. Drexler was versatile, and he was consistently among the leaders at his position in points, rebounds, assists, and steals."

Fields is recognized for his finesse and non-stop energy on the court, and his easy-going and quiet demeanor off the court. Expect Fields assist totals, due to excellent court awareness, to increase with experience

I'm jus sayin

TMS wrote:

Marv wrote:

TMS wrote:

Bippity10 wrote:Love this guy. He just plays at a different speed then everyone on the court. When shots go up, you have a few guys standing on the perimter watching. YOu have a couple guys in the paint standing and waiting for the ball to hit the room, and then you have maybe one or two guys trying to box out. Then you have Landry. No matter where he is on the floor, you can see him streaking as fast as he can to the spot where he thinks the ball is going to go. This stuff is innate and doesn't go away.

As for his game, its really odd the assessments peopel have of him. A week ago we had 3 articles saying he wasn't an athlete. I'm pretty sure he's leading this team in dunks right now and definitely leads the team in pretty floating drives to the hoop. We keep hearing how he has no ball skills. Can't dribble, can't shoot. Yet he hits shots off the pick, open, drives by people fairly regularly. We keep hearing he can't play D and yet he has done a very solid job on some of the leagues best scorers. What is it about this guy that people keep expecting him to fall apart?

I actually see the opposite of some of the critics. I see a gleam in his eye. I have a feeling that at some point either this year or next he's going to realize that he's tough to guard and is going to stop deferring to some of the more passive guys on our team. I think this and his work ethic are going to help him continue to improve pretty fast. He seems the opposite of Gallo to me. I think Gallo could be a devastating offensive player right now. He's just too awkward to guard. He gets fouled everytime he drives to the hoop and his jump shot should be dangerous. I just think he lacks that killer confidence that I think Landry has. He's content to be a secondary guy. I think at some point Landry will not be. People keep trying to label him a role player, I can't understand why I'm seeing more

he really looks like a younger version of Shane Battier... very heady player on the floor, can knock down the open J, not overly explosive yet athletic & smooth, very solid defensively & seems to have that knack for being in the right place at the right time... just a nice all around player... i hope he can stick around w/this franchise for years to come, God knows we could use more players like him.

MUCH more offensively talented than shane battier.

Battier averaged 14 / 5 / 3 / 2 his rookie season... i'll say Fields is a much better rebounder than Battier but not as good a defender, but that can come in time... i do see similarities there as rookies, both looked like seasoned vets the minute they took the floor.

See your point, but I agree with TMS that Fields has better instincts on offense than Battier, but they are similar players in that they have one of those does everything good, old school type of games. Fields needs to continue to work hard, but if he can really make improvements in his overall game, such as his shooting, he will become a solid starting caliber 2-3.

Another bargain pick-up for a team was Ish Smith the Wake Forest PG has shown some potential and went undrafted

loweyecue wrote:

Bippity10 wrote:

Andrew wrote:

Bippity10 wrote:He seems the opposite of Gallo to me. I think Gallo could be a devastating offensive player right now. He's just too awkward to guard. He gets fouled everytime he drives to the hoop and his jump shot should be dangerous. I just think he lacks that killer confidence that I think Landry has. He's content to be a secondary guy.

No to get off topic here too much but I disagree with you on thinking Gallo is content being a secondary player. To me Gallo exhibits the traits of someone who does not know how to play well when he is not "the guy". I have seen it and experienced it in different sports. A high level player on a team where he is the best player, plays lights out, but put him on a team where he is maybe the 2nd best player and he defers. I think we saw this last season towards the end when Gallo was the goto player in games. Now we are seeing him adjust to playing with Amare. I wonder if he ever had to be a complimentary player in Europe.

Now back to Fields and his awesomeness.

The only reason I disagree is that the team has been begging him to play like he did in Europe. There is no need to defer. Do all the things he did in Europe. We don't have another superstar here and there is plenty of room for two stars on every team, so he shoudl not be deferring to anyone. Maybe to Amare in the final minutes of a game, but for the bulk of it, we are beggin him to be "the other guy". Sometimes he is(usually when someone is talking smack to him) and sometimes he's content to stand on the perimeter and give interviews were he says "I don't need to get a lot of shots, I am about team"

By the way, love Landry

Yes but for him to do everything he also needs to touch the ball more often. Its not like Felton is looking for him on offense. That HAS to change. He can call for the ball and cut to the basket for all he is worth but unless the ball handlers can spot him and exploit that it pays no dividends. I think he may be confused about his role on the team because people expect him to do so much but then he is not given the ball often enough.

You forgot to say love Landry at the end of your post.

Very good observations on Gallo being second fiddle and PG not looking for him right away. Felton is not looking for him because Felton does not have that skill. Felton is not your typical PG. He is your "I'll get in your face and drive on your arse" type PG. TD I think has no periphiral vision and is tainted a little by Dudu last year.

Oh yeah. I love Fields and his mom is hot too.

The alternate pick-and-pop can be run just as effectively because both have jump shooters skills. Since a successful pick and pop relies on a ballhandler who demands constant defensive attention and a teammate with an accurate jumpshot, Fields and Gallo make perfect partners in crime.

Until Landry Fields shows some major regression in productivity, use him. So far, he only appears to absorb information and improve.

TMS wrote:
Battier averaged 14 / 5 / 3 / 2 his rookie season...

battier may have scored as a rookie, but i think fields seems to have a better skill set, offensively, than battier. i see him as superior in handling the ball, and with his creativity going to the basket.

PresIke wrote:

TMS wrote:
Battier averaged 14 / 5 / 3 / 2 his rookie season...

battier may have scored as a rookie, but i think fields seems to have a better skill set, offensively, than battier. i see him as superior in handling the ball, and with his creativity going to the basket.

i'm not saying he's an exact clone... there's obviously some differences there, but in general they're both very heady players that can do everything you need them to, play some offense, play some defense, make the smart pass, the smart cut to the basket, the hustle play, rebound the ball... just 2 very smart basketball players that looked like they've been playing in the NBA for years even as rookies... i really like what i'm seeing out of Fields & i wouldn't be surprised to see him turn himself into an All NBA type defender in the coming years like Battier is now... he's just got a nice feel for the game & demonstrates great instincts w/o the ball.

Among the Knicks with more than 100 shot attempts, Fields is also the most productive shooter with a .553 average. Next is Amar'e at 50% and Felton at 47%.

Gallo's show start has his shooting percentage stuck under the 40 per cent waterline at .397 but that is a temporary condition. The fact he is learning the joy of driving in the paint will increase his numbers and percentages. But The Answer Man did not come here to praise Gallo, he came here to celebrate a rookie who is making Donnie Walnuts look like a genius.

Expect Fields assist numbers (1.4 per game) to climb with experience.

You wanna run a pick and roll, or just run?

misterearl wrote:The pick and roll should be run between Fields (an excellent passer) and Gallo (an excellent finisher... and better ball handler than Stoudemire)

The alternate pick-and-pop can be run just as effectively because both have jump shooters skills. Since a successful pick and pop relies on a ballhandler who demands constant defensive attention and a teammate with an accurate jumpshot, Fields and Gallo make perfect partners in crime.

Until Landry Fields shows some major regression in productivity, use him. So far, he only appears to absorb information and improve.

"Yet their success stills depends on the offense, which improved significantly after D’Antoni tightened his rotation and de-emphasized Felton as the primary playmaker in favor of more ball movement.

The tweaks turned Felton into more of a scorer while spreading around the playmaking duties. It was not unusual to see Gallinari and Landry Fields running the pick-and-roll, instead of Felton and Amar’e Stoudemire. It was a subtle indication of D’Antoni fitting his playbook to his personnel. In Phoenix, Steve Nash dominated most possessions.

“Steve can be the end-all guy,” D’Antoni said. “He can have the ball to start with, and when it leaves his hands, it’s over with. I think we have a team where the ball has to move more. We have to involve more people and get people open.”"

- Howard Beck, NYTimes

stanleybostitch wrote:

misterearl wrote:"Yet their success stills depends on the offense, which improved significantly after D’Antoni tightened his rotation and de-emphasized Felton as the primary playmaker in favor of more ball movement.

The tweaks turned Felton into more of a scorer while spreading around the playmaking duties. It was not unusual to see Gallinari and Landry Fields running the pick-and-roll, instead of Felton and Amar’e Stoudemire. It was a subtle indication of D’Antoni fitting his playbook to his personnel. In Phoenix, Steve Nash dominated most possessions..."

- Howard Beck, NYTimes

I wonder if D'Antoni reads these boards, almost like he's taking the collective advice of the group. Or maybe he's just not the unflexible my-way-or-the-highway coach he's sometimes made out to be here.

he definitely listened to us about blocked shots in the offseason. went from 29th to 1st cause of all the posting on the boards.

tj23 - the annointment of any rookie is never a good idea. In 2007, the next big thing Greg Oden was the number one pick the same year our beloved Wilson Chandler was an afterthought.

How can you suggest that Fields has an inconsistent shot when he leads the team in shooting percentage?