Moving Forward – At Power Forward.

Moving Forward – At Power Forward.

Thanksgiving is a time for catching up with family, especially family whom have moved forward to their own homes and live elsewhere. From a Native American’s perspective, Thanksgiving is a time to get drunk and curse at white people for being inhospitable guests who don’t know when to leave. You could call the matchup between Ben Wallace and J.J. Hickson a reunion between a mentor whom moved on and his emerging mentee.

You could also view it from a more competitive perspective: The old slow-down, stifling Cavaliers vs. the new uptempo, high-flying Cavaliers. It was only a year ago that Ben was pulling down 7-8 rebounds, blocking a shot or two and controlling the paint defensively for the Cavaliers. Fans would often complain of the offense playing four on five or Ben’s unfortunate botched dunks, but his rotations and veteran tricks led the Cavaliers to team record-lows for opponent field percentage. All the while, he was known for working with Darnell Jackson and J.J. Hickson at the end of practices, teaching them how he prepares for game days, tricks of the trade in the paint, and generally how he made it in the NBA without many ball skills.
 
This year, J.J. has stolen the attention of Cavaliers fans with his flashy scoring ability and jaw-dropping athleticism. More impressively, his time this offseason with LeBron has made him a pick and roll force. In roughly 40% of the available minutes, Hickson’s eight points per game and nearly 61% shooting percentage seem to be exactly what Ben Wallace could never supply for the Wine and Gold.

Let’s take just a second to examine what Ben has been up to: In a surprise resurgence, Ben’s shooting percentage is up from 44% last year to 57% this year. He is pulling down nearly nine rebounds per game, with solid numbers of over 1.3 assists, steals, and blocks per game. I believe these three categories can be a little overrated for centers, but when the numbers are solid across the board, you know the player is filling the “glue guy” role pretty adeptly. Most impressively, he is third on the team in total minutes played, behind only Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon. For a guy who seemed to be retired just a few months ago, he is pulling a Rocky 5 on us. Of course, his greatest worth to the Pistons is the intangibles: teaching young players how to approach the game, supporting Coach Keuster, and reminding fans of the good old days.

J.J. needs to prove tonight that he has really learned some of those tricks Ben Wallace taught him last year. I want to see better decision-making, better rebounding, and better rotational defense against his former mentor. Those 3.3 rebounds per game are not acceptable for a starting power forward.  If Ben still had his afro, he would be pulling it out by the tuft knowing J.J. still doesn’t box out.  Show the old man that you learned a few of his life lessons, and show your thanks… don’t just say it.

Moving Forward – At Power Forward.

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