Bismack and his subtle improvement

[SJackson1]

He his improving all the time and i think he can be a future star player for us !. He just needs to work on his post up game but that comes wth time and practice

[gamecocksmitty4]

I think Biz's improvement on passing from inside has been tremendously underrated. He's not making any highlight reel passes or anything, but when he gets an offensive rebound (which he's been doing a LOT lately), he doesn't make any quick motion or pass out. He has been patiently waiting and has found Henderson and others cutting several times. Like I said, it's nothing fancy, but I have not been worried immediately after he touches the ball like I was last year and the beginning of this season.

[SJackson1]

anther solid game for biz tonight, you can see improvement every time he steps on the court

[CatfanD]

I want to like Biz.... truly I do, but I just don't see where he's going to be a good NBA player. I hope I'm wrong. 43% shooting for a big man is abysmal, that's what Kemba is shooting. In the small percentage of games I've seen, he's had a horrible time finishing at the rim and his athleticism isn't off the charts at all. He does block shots, but it's pretty clear that's not helping the Bobcats become a better team on D. What is everybody expecting his potential to be as a player if his game pans out?

[dnbman]

I want to like Biz.... truly I do, but I just don't see where he's going to be a good NBA player. I hope I'm wrong. 43% shooting for a big man is abysmal, that's what Kemba is shooting. In the small percentage of games I've seen, he's had a horrible time finishing at the rim and his athleticism isn't off the charts at all. He does block shots, but it's pretty clear that's not helping the Bobcats become a better team on D. What is everybody expecting his potential to be as a player if his game pans out?

I have no doubts that he can eventually have the impact of a Ben Wallace, who basically was a nobody until he was 26 years old and traded to the Pistons. Biz is young and really raw, but he's turning into a great rebounder and shot blocker. He's starting to figure out how to get his points. I think he still has a ton of upside.

Don't forget that is rookie season was as a teenager with no summer or pre-season, beginning on the worst team in NBA history on a team with no clear direction in a shortened season. This is basically his real rookie year.

[QC Thundercats]

I want to like Biz.... truly I do, but I just don't see where he's going to be a good NBA player. I hope I'm wrong. 43% shooting for a big man is abysmal, that's what Kemba is shooting. In the small percentage of games I've seen, he's had a horrible time finishing at the rim and his athleticism isn't off the charts at all. He does block shots, but it's pretty clear that's not helping the Bobcats become a better team on D. What is everybody expecting his potential to be as a player if his game pans out?

The main thing with Biz is not to look at him from the perspective of a normal basketball player, one who grew up playing the sport with friends in a basketball playing country, then middle school, high school, AAU, a year or two in college, then a couple in the NBA. He didn't start playing basketball until 14, which is a freshman in high school, and he's only 20 now. To put that in perspective, I started playing ball at 8, and his current development in years would be where I was at 14.

At that stage of development from a basketball standpoint (not physically, of course) I could in no way have thought about competing with professionals skills wise, or even college players.

Plus, the Congo isn't really a hotbed of basketball, where there may not really be many available basketball courts, or competitive players to go against, or good coaches to teach him anything. So for him to be able to even play competitively in the first place, and go toe-to-toe with Dwight Howard, that is quite impressive to me.

But besides that, I still feel there is a lot of promise with his development of skills. 43% shooting is pretty bad for a big man, but that has to be taken into context with the development of his mind and body to properly make a move and get a good shot off. Footwork is the hardest thing for a big man to develop, and he is still in his infancy stages there. You can see his mind working in how to place his feet, how to get an advantage, and when to actually go up.

Because its still in the habit forming phase and not quite instinctual yet, he's going to be fractions of seconds off, enough for a good defender to get in position to stop him. This is what leads to his constant traveling and indecisiveness, and why he often gets out of position to make a good move in the first place. Its one of those things that once you figure it out, it opens up a whole new world. Most good big men with post up games don't really get there until college, maybe a decade into their playing careers. Thats 4 years away for Biz.

In actuality, his shooting form is actually pretty decent. He uses a consistent motion and doesn't have a lot of moving parts with his arms. His jumpers seem to fly straight, he just shoots it either long or short. Same with his free throws. And in close, when his foot work is right, he can shoot hooks with both hands, and actually has a decent touch. What makes the results so awful is when he starts using his brain to make moves instead of naturally, or when his initial move is stopped and he has to make a counter, and by then he starts to rush it, resulting into a Diopian brick.

Last, as to his athleticism, it is also directly related to his thinking to much. He is a freakish athlete, it just only shows when he's going on pure instinct instead of trying to figure out what to do with it. I saw one play where he soared into the air to block a layup, with the offensive player then passing it to a teammate on the other side of the basket to avoid the block, and in the very next motion, Biz jumped straight back to the other side to block the other guys shot with a full extension. I watch a ton of basketball, and maybe have only seen Hakeem and Ben Wallace do something like that.

He will make a freakish play every now and then, and it will start to become more frequent as the defensive side of the ball starts to slow down for him. That comes from experience and knowing what the offense is trying to do. If you just understand the context of his background and how he's developing, you'll actually become excited for him and enjoy watching his progress, instead of looking at him like a wasted pick who hasn't developed yet.

[spectre]

This is basically his real rookie year.

Oh no you didn't!

[Bosnian-Bobcats-Fan]

i love biz....and i love to see him do good he has definitely been playing better lately and it's fun to see him improve

[CatNation]

im just happy he got his per36 rebounding up to 10

hopefully he can build that up to about 12 which shouldnt be too difficult with a bit more bulk, bit better hands, more experience. if prime bismack can give us 8pt 12 reb 2.5 blk per36 thats not a bust at 7 overall even if he winds up a bench player. thats not even a very outrageous stat prediction. 2 more rebounds and 2 more points (hopefully a lot more efficiently in the future) over his current 20 year old raw self.

[Plowright]

George Karl said before the game against Denver that he thinks Biz will average a double double within 2 years... That's a pretty good compliment