Andrea Bargnani: Proving Himself to the NBA

[DunkinDerozan]

http://blogimages.thescore.com/raptorblog/files/2012/01/137673943.jpg

 

Bargnani is having an amazing season so far with career highs in PPG, FG%, RPG and APG. His defense has also improved significantly. He has begun to look like the allstar that the Raptors were hoping for when they drafted him with the first overall pick in 2006.

 

Andrea has recieved a lot of critisism throughout his first five years in the NBA, especially from Raptors fans. Since being drafted, he’s been consistently labeled as a bust and a mistake.

 

After last season, people were atleast convinced that he could be a top scorer in the NBA when he averaged 21.4 PPG. He showed a great improvement in his offensive game which was atleast something he could do. Now this season he is up to 23.4 PPG, good enough for 6th in the NBA. Looking at the stats, Bargnani is outscoring a lot of the top big men in the NBA including Aldridge, Bosh, Griffin, Lee and Stoudemire. Those are all guys who are considered as NBA allstars. His offense was never really the problem though.

 

The problem with Bargnani has always been his defense. He has never been known as a very good post defender, or any kind of defender for that matter. He’s always allowed guys to easily score over him in the post and he was rarely a risk to block a shot. In 2011/2012 however, Bargnani has much improved his defense. His blocking numbers are still low at only 0.7 BPG, but his biggest improvement is in his PPP (Points Per Possesion). Bargnani currently ranks tops in the NBA in PPP. Raptors fans know that Andrea being first in a defensive category most likely won’t last, but even seeing him in the top 10 or 15 would be great. Last season, he was ranked twenty-third in the category. A lot of his defensive improvement has to do with Dwayne Casey, the new Raptors coach, who has preached nothing but defense since coming to the Raptors.

 

Another major problem that Bargnani has always had has been with his rebounding. Being a 7 footer, you would think Bargnani would be a decent rebounder. Thats not the case. So when Bargnani only averaged 5.2 RPG last season, Raptors fans knew he was a liability when it came to bringing down boards. Especially considering he could only bring down 4.1 defensive RPG. That sure didn’t help the Raptors in their 19th ranked rebounding efficiency. Luckily he has shown an improvement in his rebounding this season. He’s upped his rebounds to 6.6 RPG. Plus his deffensive RPG is up to 5.8, which is nearly two more per game than last year.

 

So far this season, I feel that Bargnani has really proved himself to Raptors fans and NBA fans alike. He is making it increasingly harder to criticize him for his mistakes, because he’s making so much less. If he can continue his output on the offensive and deffensive ends of the ball, it’s only going to be a matter of time until he is known as one of the premier talents of the NBA.

[DunkinDerozan]

All comments are welcome. Let me know what you think. And I know it's pretty short, but I felt I got the point across without boring people.

 

Oh, and credits to Built Ford Tough for bringing it to my attention about Barg being first in the NBA in PPP and explaining to me what PPP means.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Nice to always see European players prove people wrong. Everytime any Euro comes to the NBA he is always regarded as a bust until he does something great.

[Check my Stats]

Bargs will never be a good rebounder, he doesn't crash the offensive glass nearly enough, which is understandable considering how far he plays from the basket. If he could average 6 defensive rebounds a game, I would consider that to be a success honestly.

 

And as far as Bargnani's defense, anyone remotely educated regarding Bargnani knows that for the past 2-3 years, he has always been a solid defensive player in terms of man defense, it is his help defense (or lack there of) that hurts him. Especially in today's NBA, when centers are pretty much expected to be able to protect the rim.

 

If the Bargnani we are seeing this year, is the Bargnani we are going to have moving forward, I honestly have absolutely no problem him remaining a Raptor (unless of course we can bring in Drummond or Davis, in which case gtfo). If Jonas is going to be the big it seems like, then Bargs should slot in nicely next to him. I have always been a huge Bargnani critic, but what we have seen from him this year has been nothing short of amazing relative to my expectations of him.

Edited January 26, 2012 by Check my Stats