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Dante is a complete wuss.

Jamezz

Jamezz

Well-Known Member
Is the name of a thread that was closed in the General Forum. I think this statement is a bit harsh. Yes he showed that he was very timid during his rookie season when it comes to attacking the rim but if that 1st Summer League game is a sign of things to come we should all be somewhat excited. The injury was clearly due to happen sooner rather than later, so it's safe to think that after the surgery his knee will be stronger than it was before he got injured. I just hope that his mindset is the same when he comes back than what we saw during that game.
 
I am more concerned with his mental game than his physical came upon his return. I hope his just hinted at aggressiveness is not hampered or stopped by this injury.

This injury or any injuries were not clearly going to happen. There is no way you can tell if an injury will happen or not.
 
Stoked said:
I am more concerned with his mental game than his physical came upon his return. I hope his just hinted at aggressiveness is not hampered or stopped by this injury.

This injury or any injuries were not clearly going to happen. There is no way you can tell if an injury will happen or not.
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It wasn't a very aggresive move which got him injured, that's why I think something had been building up on his knee prior to that action.
 
Obviously Dante listened to his critics, and pushed himself. In his first SL game he was a lot more aggressive. He got hurt on a drive.
Onto FIBA when he returns he gets hurt in his 2nd game back on another move to the hoop. Maybe hes just better suited for the game
he displayed all year, and didnt get hurt. The Jazz staff has raved about how hard he works. That is a good sign. This is a huge test for a kid.
 
Jamezz said:
It wasn't a very aggresive move which got him injured, that's why I think something had been building up on his knee prior to that action.
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Something may have been building but freak accidents happen all the time. Still no way that it was clearly coming.

Either way I hope he rehabs in SLC and is around the team. Like Burks was last year.
 
Dante was switching numerous times on bigs and putting up great fight denying the ball on the post, fighting for rebounds against them, boxing them out. I didn't see any wussiness in defense. I will leave this one here, of him switching on 260 pound Bogut, who's one of the dirtiest rebounders in the league(locks hands, pushes people, etc) denying him the pass on the low post, and then boxing him out of the way so Favors can grab the rebound:

[gfy]UnawareImpishBirdofparadise[/gfy]

I remember him doing that type of thing with numerous other bigs.

The problem was that he was very passive in offense and it could be taken as him being wussy. I'm not sure that's the case, but I also don't have a great explanation for his lack of offensive aggression and reluctance to take any contact on offense, when on D he was taking charges regularly, switching on bigs, fighting them for position, boxing them out, etc...

My biggest hope is that this injury won't make him even more hesitant to attack in the paint.
 
I'm trying my hardest not to think about Dante this year.

I just really hope he doesn't turn out like Brandon Rush.
 
I think his offensive passiveness was more a thought out choice than unwillingness to engage his physical play. He knew his limitations and played to not hurt the team.
 
Stoked said:
I think his offensive passiveness was more a thought out choice than unwillingness to engage his physical play. He knew his limitations and played to not hurt the team.
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Maybe he saw SL, and FIBA as a chance to change his game up a little more, and test himself. The talent is there, but maybe the kid bones/body just arent. He could still work his way into an NBA mans body. He certainly has the height for it. I thought I recall people from the Jazz org saying he was playing within the offense but still wasnt aggressive enough. Certainly many commentators over the year talked about it.
 
However, sometimes his passive play, and unwillingness to engage hurt the team. After a strong start he had a very down year by most general NBA people.
 
Stoked said:
I think his offensive passiveness was more a thought out choice than unwillingness to engage his physical play. He knew his limitations and played to not hurt the team.
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This is kind of what Gordon Hayward would do, back when he looked like a teenager. He still overthinks things every once in a while, but he's gotten a lot more aggressive and confident ever since he evolved into Captain America.
 
Xsy said:
This is kind of what Gordon Hayward would do, back when he looked like a teenager. He still overthinks things every once in a while, but he's gotten a lot more aggressive and confident ever since he evolved into Captain America.
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True. It takes time. Dante is still a freaking kid. Although, I worry about his nature/demeanor, there is no denying the run the team went on with him as our starter to close the year.
 
I always thought it was the fear of mistakes. The kid seems like a perfectionist. Gets on himself when he misses a shot or throws a bad pass. I think he knew that going to the rim with his build was not going to help the team win. But the summer league game against smart was an eye opener. Smart is known for his defense. And he was going by him almost every play.
 
themanknownassting said:
But the summer league game against smart was an eye opener.
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Or it was a fluke/exception. One summer league game (well almost one game) is not the best sample size imo.

I agree that it was really cool to see though. Just not certain that one summer league game proves that he made big improvements to his offensive game
 
Jamezz said:
It wasn't a very aggresive move which got him injured, that's why I think something had been building up on his knee prior to that action.
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Actually, look at the play. It was an aggressive move in driving and then coming to a jump stop. You can do that 1000 times with no problem. However, when I watched the play, it looks like he landed awkwardly on that one foot and it was planted kind of in front of his base. I replicated it slowly and felt the strain on my knee. I can only imagine what would have happened had I been running and did the same.
 
fishonjazz said:
Or it was a fluke/exception. One summer league game (well almost one game) is not the best sample size imo.

I agree that it was really cool to see though. Just not certain that one summer league game proves that he made big improvements to his offensive game
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And don't forget it was a SUMMER LEAGUE game. Plenty of summer leagues stars never sniff the NBA. Or if they do, they're end-of-the-bench players. Not saying that's Dante. But he has to prove it against the big boys - not the JV.
 
Stifle Tower said:
And don't forget it was a SUMMER LEAGUE game. Plenty of summer leagues stars never sniff the NBA. Or if they do, they're end-of-the-bench players. Not saying that's Dante. But he has to prove it against the big boys - not the JV.
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In which he went against A starting NBA PG. Yes it was only one SL game but he also went against another up and coming PG not some Dleague scrub.
 
Stifle Tower said:
And don't forget it was a SUMMER LEAGUE game. Plenty of summer leagues stars never sniff the NBA. Or if they do, they're end-of-the-bench players. Not saying that's Dante. But he has to prove it against the big boys - not the JV.
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And we have the 2 or 3 games he played with Australia, where he was mostly nonexistent prior to the injury.
 
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