5th
Finally, Andrea Bargnani is going to be a star. If you like Dirk Nowtizki and Mehmet Okur (both All-Stars), then you’ll love Bargnani because he might be better.
(By the way, Dirk is SOOOO exposed. Who knew Stephen Jackson could completely take the MVP out of his game? I know Steve Jack can defend, but that’s more on Dirk than Jack. Listen, I love the 12-point emotional rescue in Game 5, but Games 1-4 and the 2-for-13 in Game 6 prove he’s a great player, but not a champion. I said it after last year’s Finals and I’m still saying it, Dirk will not win an NBA championship. He may win big with the German National Team, but he won’t get a ring with the Mavs. Sorry, Mark and Donnie. Dirk has come up small in the biggest moments so often that he’s telling the press about it. Who does that? I like Dirk. He’s always been real cool to me, he plays hurt, he’s hit plenty of game-winning shots and you gotta give the man his due … he’s the best 7-foot shooter in league history. But he’s gonna follow in the footsteps of Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing … not Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal.)
I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that Bargnani is going to emerge as more clutch than Dirk, but I can say without hesitation that he will develop into a face-of-the-franchise type of player. A max-contract player.
Bargnani’s release is butter. But it’s not just butter, it’s the butter you get with the bread at Outback. How great is the Outback bread and butter? If I were still a poor college frat boy, I’d be having it for dinner most nights.
Bargnani wowed the crowd — yes, even the Nets fans — with his wide array of shots, ranging from long bombs to tough five-footers on the move. He moves gracefully for a dude his size, he shows promise as a defender, and his length creates problems for the opponent at both ends.
Trust me, freaks, Bargnani is special.
