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Anthony Bennett

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Read the first 2640 posts here - Ben

I wish he could've at least lost 10 pounds in the preseason, I mean, he's 20 years old, his metabolism should be at an all-time high right now... I think he'll be fine eventually, but where is the hunger to improve and get better both physically and as a player?? I mean, you can see it in some players right away, even at 20 years old IMHO.....

If he has the burning desire to be the best he can be, then he's doing a pretty damn good job of hiding it.
 
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Re: Welcome Anthony Bennett

All this sympathy talk and "he's just a kid" is bull. Man the fuck up, lose the baby fat, get yourself in shape, stay after practice to work on your shot. DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN GO ON TWITTER AND SAY YOU'RE GONNA GO GHOST. Wtf. We send younger "kids" off into war and nobody is making excuses for them. Screw what people are saying about you. MAN THE FUCK UP ANTHONY BENNETT.

Pretty sure I have read that he has been the last player off the court on practice days and I know for a fact he said he was going to the gym on their off day on Sunday. Do people think he is just sitting at home on the couch playing video games and stuffing his face with unhealthy food 24/7?
 
Re: Welcome Anthony Bennett

When you try to force anything, it never goes right. Bennett is thinking so much that he's one large DERP right now. He's lost his court awareness, he's letting other people blow by him for rebounds, missing defensive assignments. All he ever wants to do is jack up threes. I don't like him shooting that shot at all, but he's capable of doing it...... IF he's not thinking and just reacting.

You people are crazy, his jumpshot form is not broken. The only thing missing from his shot is confidence. He's thinking so much out there right now.

You have to shoot the ball like you want to make it. It's a difficult thing to understand unless you have went through a shooting slump. Eventually, when the mind turns itself off and you start reacting again, you'll be able to effortlessly drain jumpshots or hit straight golf drives. The moment you start thinking about your mechanics, whether it's going in or not, what the crowd thinks of you etc you're going to miss the jumper or you're going to shank your golf shot at the last second.

Good shooters shoot it and assume it's going in. It really is an automatic thing.. Bennett is not at all automatic right now, he's painstakingly deliberate. He's thinking so much out there, perhaps he is falling prey to justifying his draft positioning. He's doing a nice job of that right now.



Basically, this kid needs a reset. He needs to be put in the game when he doesn't feel like he can make a critical mistake. He also needs to engage himself a little more in the offense. If he's not touching the ball, he might set a mediocre pick and fade away from the hoop.

Whether or not this kid realizes it or not, he's not really best served to be an Antawn Jamison. He's not Zach Randolph either. He needs to play the role of Brandon Bass. Hit mid-range jumpers and rebound the basketball. After he does those basic things, then he can start mixing it up going inside/outside. Right now, his tendency is always to try to establish himself by hitting a three pointer first. That's just not a good strategy to me.

Maybe it's a good thing that he has to go through this. I don't know I feel some positive is going to come from this. If he's struggling so hard like this, I see him exploding and going on a scoring rampage once he finally gets this monkey off his back.
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

Just checking in as someone who had Bennett rated as clear cut #1 prospect in 2013 and predicted him to be a superstar...

The start has been a disaster, but at this point you have to trust the logic instead of your short term emotions. To trust the tools in the plane saying you are right side up when it feels you are upside down. It's brutal he hasn't scored a FGA yet, but realistically, it will come in the next 3 games at worst and then things should proceed normally.

The scoreless drought roots from a combination of things. Bennett's shoulder surgery both has him in poor shape in addition to the other issues related to not playing basketball for that long a time. He's clearly struggling with confidence and nerves increasingly every game with the drought. The Cavs offensive system clearly is in disarray, helping lead to the awful Irving, Waiters numbers for what they're capable of, along with other slow offensive stats from players like Jack and Bynum. And then there's probably a huge scoop of bad luck involved in 15 shots in a row not going in, especially that none of the 3s did. Only because of all these factors together - Bennett's physical condition, nerves, an offense that's been disastrous and bad luck, not just any of them isolated, do you have 0-15. Note that this is the most misses that have ever occurred to start a career, period. While that may seem the opposite of encouraging, it shows that this is a freak event and not because Bennett is that bad. Look this is a guy who put up 22 pts per 40 minutes as a freshman at UNLV, despite a bad shoulder the second half of the year. He was 14 pts+ per 36 in preseason. He's not going to just be Rafael Araujo or Jan Vesely offensively in the NBA. Looking at his talent level, there's still no reason to believe his floor is any lower than what Derrick Williams has been his first two years. Or put it this way. Bennett not scoring his first four games is like Jennings dropping 55. Does it make any sense that a player who eventually became as mediocre as Jennings dropped 55 and averaged 25ppg his first few weeks? Of course not! Like Bennett, many things had to happen - great luck, great confidence, hilarious bad defense against his jumpshot in the 55pt game, etc. It was a freakish, weird event and eventually things went back to normal. Likewise the Bennett thing is just a fking weird NBA moment. In the long run an athletic, fluid, jacked PF with a 3pt jumpshot, should be just fine. Hopefully this actually plays in Bennett's favor by putting a chip on his shoulder and setting him on the right track work ethic wise.
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

Hopefully this actually plays in Bennett's favor by putting a chip on his shoulder and setting him on the right track work ethic wise.

I think everyone can agree with this part. It's clear he's taking it hard, but on the plus side he's been spending extra time in the gym.

As long as he's not sulking, I am not so bothered by the shooting woes. But tonight, things clearly got to him in the 2nd half, he started to forget about his defensive responsibilities, and then he hung his head on the bench. Hopefully he'll come around soon.
 
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Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

AB is going to score 10 points against Milwaukee on Wednesday.. He will get a couple buckets playing when we are blowing them out at the end of the game.
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

What a disgusting fatbody. Fat fat fat fat.

I bet he is crushing some ihop right now.
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

I think everyone can agree with this part. It's clear he's taking it hard, but on the plus side he's been spending extra time in the gym.

As long as he's not sulking, I am not so bothered by the shooting woes. But tonight, things clearly got to him in the 2nd half, he started to forget about his defensive responsibilities, and then he hung his head on the bench. Hopefully he'll come around soon.

This is what gets me. I'm rooting hard for the kid and have not gotten down on him for his offensive woes, but his attitude on the bench tonight was upsetting. I noticed when Bynum went to the bench everybody gave him a high five, except for Bennett who sat there with his head in his hands. I can understand his struggles and think he will break out of them, but I don't understand the attitude especially when your team wins a game.
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

I can see the comercial now: "I can't buy a bucket on the floor, but I can buy a bucket of pancakes at ihop!"

Wait, why didn't anyone tell me that I could have been buying buckets of pancakes instead of getting two orders?
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

Hi I am Anthony Bennett. I get buckets. Of syrup at IHop.
 
Compared to where he was the start of preseason, he already looks much better conditioned. The next time he's on the floor, he should stop being stupid and just TRY driving to the basket. No jumpers until he has a FG under his belt.
 
Re: Anthony Bennett - Still A Work In Progress

Compared to where he was the start of preseason, he already looks much better conditioned. The next time he's on the floor, he should stop being stupid and just TRY driving to the basket. No jumpers until he has a FG under his belt.

Stop being stupid? Come on, people. Go back and look at where Bennett is getting the ball. He got the ball in a good spot once last night. And it was so late into the game that there was a ton of pressure to capitalize on his opportunity, so he was completely over thinking and lost his handle.

His only touches come on spot up three point attempts, and that play where the guard brings the ball up the court and tosses it to the big at the elbow who then proceeds to pass it to another perimeter guy coming off a screen. His touches are way too limited and sporadic for him to get anything going.

Will people actually feel any better if Bennett makes one of those spot up threes? I won't. It means nothing. We didn't draft him to be a spot up shooter. I can't start judging him until we start running plays for him. Even then, can't really judge him til he gets in shape and the game slows down for him.

But calling him out for "not driving" is just naive. Don't oversimplify what's going on when he's on the floor.
 

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