Los Angeles D-Fenders at Albuquerque Thunderbirds
The good news for Kevin Pittsnogle is that the D-Fenders don’t really have a center who will demand a lot of his defensive attention, and also that it’s hard to miss all of your shots two games in a row. At some point one of them is going to go in. Los Angeles also doesn’t have a lot of players who can challenge Pittsnogle’s outside shots, either because they’re more post-oriented (Longar Longar) or because they’re not tall enough (pretty much everyone else on the roster). I know the Thunderbirds won in a walk last night with Pittsnogle playing terribly on the offensive end, but he could end up being the key player for them tonight.
via Previewing Tonight’s Action, with some Rematches – Ridiculous Upside.
Not going to lie. I assumed Pittsnogle was still handing out gold stars and hanging out in West Virginia. I mean, you gotta realize, every D-League coach I’ve talked to about Pittsnogle opens up his answer by shaking his head. This is what happens when college teaches a big man that he needs to be a dominant scoring option by being a high-volume range-shooter. At least Andrea Bargnani keeps himself in elite condition.
I want to root for the guy, to say he could warrant a call-up because of his ability with a renewed emphasis on defense and rebounding (seven last night, we won’t talk about that 0-10 thing). But Pittsnogle has never approached the pro-game as one he needed to adapt himself to, it was just a matter of people realizing how good he is. You want to make it on a roster? Drop your conception of what you think you are and embrace what the coaches tell you you are.