Dennis Rodman on Bargnani's Rebounding: "That's Sad"

[Built Ford Tough]

Informed there was a certain 7-footer who plays in Toronto who is averaging just 4.9 rebounds per game, Rodman initially responded with a “that’s sad” comment.

 

But as far as he’s concerned there is nothing Andrea Bargnani has to learn, no technique he has to master to get those numbers up so they aren’t so “sad” looking.

 

As far as Rodman is concerned all he has to do is make the effort to rebound.

 

“It’s a mindset,” Rodman said of rebounding. “If you want to do it, you can do it. I mean I was only 6-foot-6 and 220 and playing against guys 7-foot, 280 or 290 pounds. It’s up to you if you want to go do it. If you want the money, that’s cool but it’s all about the love of the game. It’s more effort to go get the ball.”

 

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/13/rodman-thinks-nba-players-paid-enough

 

The article is actually about Rodman's thoughts on the lockout, but I thought this little extra bit was worth posting.

 

I'm not expecting any sort of discussion out of this since we all know that Rodman is right and Bargnani's rebounding is sad.

[Sħãlïq™]

Completely agree with Rodman. That's pathetic, to be honest. <_<

[Real Deal]

Fine, I'll play the devil's advocate to get the discussion going.

 

To be honest, Bargnani is actually an underrated reboundehahahahaha, nevermind, I can't do this.

[fish7718]

When one of the greatest rebounders of all time is calling you out, you know it's time to go improve your rebounding...

[Check my Stats]

Some of the responsibility has to be put on the Raptors organization as well. There is no accountability for our team, ever. Sure it'd be nice if players were always self-motivated, but a lot aren't. If Bargnani is hurting us (which he clearly is), then he needs to get his ass plotted on the bench. I guarantee you if he missed extended minutes/got less shots we would see him at least making an effort.

[Real Deal]

Some of the responsibility has to be put on the Raptors organization as well. There is no accountability for our team, ever. Sure it'd be nice if players were always self-motivated, but a lot aren't. If Bargnani is hurting us (which he clearly is), then he needs to get his ass plotted on the bench. I guarantee you if he missed extended minutes/got less shots we would see him at least making an effort.

Do you think Bargs would actually react that way? He seems like the type of player that would sit and sulk, kind of like Rudy Fernandez...but I don't know.

[Built Ford Tough]

Do you think Bargs would actually react that way? He seems like the type of player that would sit and sulk, kind of like Rudy Fernandez...but I don't know.

 

I honestly can't get a read on the guy sometimes, which is absurd since he is entering his 6th season.

 

When he is playing for Italy during the summer, he shows plenty of emotion, passion, etc... and even has moments where he dominates not with his perimeter shooting, but by doing damage 10 feet and in.

 

Then he comes to Toronto and has moments where he shows the same type of fire as he does with Italy, but then he has extended stretches of time where he becomes the passive, emotionless robot that most fans know him as.

 

 

 

To be perfectly honest, I think he needs a change of scenery. Call me naive, but I still think he can be a pretty good player for a contender, but it is clear that no matter what he does in Toronto, he has lost the support and trust of the fans. Moving him to a team with great veteran presence like the Mavs would do wonders for his game in my opinion. Of course, learning the ropes from Dirk wouldn't hurt either.

 

I'm just hoping that Casey can get through to him and make him more of a complete player like he did with Dirk, but I'm not holding my breath.

Edited October 20, 2011 by The Great BFT

[Real Deal]

I honestly can't get a read on the guy sometimes, which is absurd since he is entering his 6th season.

 

When he is playing for Italy during the summer, he shows plenty of emotion, passion, etc... and even has moments where he dominates not with his perimeter shooting, but by doing damage 10 feet and in.

 

Then he comes to Toronto and has moments where he shows the same type of fire as he does with Italy, but then he has extended stretches of time where he becomes the passive, emotionless robot that most fans know him as.

 

To be perfectly honest, I think he needs a change of scenery. Call me naive, but I still think he can be a pretty good player for a contender, but it is clear that no matter what he does in Toronto, he has lost the support and trust of the fans. Moving him to a team with great veteran presence like the Mavs would do wonders for his game in my opinion. Of course, learning the ropes from Dirk wouldn't hurt either.

 

I'm just hoping that Casey can get through to him and make him more of a complete player like he did with Dirk, but I'm not holding my breath.

I wonder if Bargnani still has this idea that his expectations are far too high, and that's changing the way he approaches each and every game.

 

What did we know with Dirk? Nothing. Nobody gave a damn about Dirk when he was drafted, not even the Bucks. I'm not even sure if Dallas knew what they were getting themselves into by trading Tractor for him. At the time, it was a high risk, medium reward (if that makes sense in the NBA). It wasn't that Dirk was hyped as much as LeBron was, but that Dirk came into the league as this "soft, white guy that acts like Larry Bird" and worked his ass off becoming "the next Larry Bird."

 

I think Bargnani is too interested in what people think of him as a player. I think he feels he needs to lead the Raptors to the playoffs, win a series or two, and ultimately, be THAT guy. I just don't see him being that guy. I see Bargnani being a borderline all-star (much like Lamar Odom) that has to take a backseat to a superstar to start getting that respect.

 

Maybe he doesn't want that...but, in turn, he's going to struggle.

 

Now, that may change if Toronto actually had a superstar to put next to him...but I didn't see much change when Bosh was there, although CB is not a superstar to begin with.

 

Good idea with the change of scenery. Toronto deals him to a playoff team, he becomes a second option that ends up tagging with an assistant coach that works on post play and a defensive-minded coach (or assistant) that can push him to become a better defender, and his career finally takes off from there.