makes me wanna hit the gym right now….

he will become the rod smith of the nuggets

I absolutely love his dedication and work ethic, it’s exactly what the Nuggets need. I know downtime is needed, but I really do wish more of the team would adapt an attitude similar to his. My only grip with him, and I’m sure others feel the same way, is when he goes outside of himself and tries to do too much. Hesitation dribble, between the legs, spin move into two defenders, turnover.

He wants to be more of a playmaker, creating shots for teammates. He wants to do a better job of finishing around the rim.

I’m glad he’s working on it, and I’m not going to knock him, every player should try to add to their game in their months off, but I just don’t see him developing into a playmaker. When he’s out there attacking, it looks like he’s thinking too much about what to do.

Basketball is read and react. When Afflalo’s attacking, it looks as though all his moves are predetermined, and he’s going to do them regardless of how well/bad he’s defended. Like in his mind, he says “I’m going to jab right, cross step dribble left, spin back right, then take it to the rack”, even if he could just go to the rack on his first step, or the defender has taken away the spin.

Just reading that article makes you want to sign Afflalo to a lifetime contract as a Nugget. I just can’t tell you how much I love reading that. I think if Afflalo developes a better handle on the ball, more agility and a mid range jump shot he would be a 17 ppg scorer. If he can become a Rip Hamilton kind of player, where he is constantly slashing and pulling up for mid range jump shots he would be unstoppable. The great thing with Afflalo is all the hard things (defense, 3 pt shooting & attitude) he already has mastered. Once he gets his game a bit more refined, he’ll be a great member of this team for years to come hopefully. Also, this is why we need to trade JR now, becaus Allfalo is likely going to be better than him next year anyways, making JRs roll diminish even more.