Halftime of the Lakers game, and with JMax in foul trouble and Dice out with injury, Samb made a surprise entrance into the game early in the second quarter. He immediately made a HUGE IMPACT and played the rest of the quarter, several of those minutes with Amir. Samb is contesting EVERY SINGLE SHOT on defense, closing out on jump shooters, getting a hand on passes in the lane...it's unbelievable. This guy is an absolute whirlwind of energy...and he even hit a jumper when they left him open! If this quarter is any indication, Nazr might be no more. FREE CHEICK!
Re: Cheick Samb tracker This was all part of the plan Flip is a freaking genius..... This move will win him coach of the year!
Re: Cheick Samb tracker I agree Dlev. The way he orchestrated the injuries to CB and Dice and then got J-Max and Sheed in to foul trouble was a thing of genius.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker Actually I don't think Sheed's in foul trouble...Yahoo says he has only 1 foul. But he was getting hot at the refs and looked like he might be on the verge of getting T'd up. So Samb came in...and never came out for the rest of the quarter!
Re: Cheick Samb tracker Yeah, that was what I meant. Not so much foul trouble by the numbers (although I thought he had more than 1?), but he was very close to getting T'd up when he was taken out.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker Unless management can dump Nazr for a low level second round draft choice, because that is probably all we can get for him, Cheikh will go to the D league once Dyess returns, so Cheikh can get the minutes that he needs game in and game out. But one never knows with injuries. As long as Dyess is out Cheikh will stay and when Dyess comes back who knows if there might not be another big that is out so Cheikh will stay. It is exciting indeed. Especially to have his coming out party against the Lakers who as everyone know traded him for Mo. In fact the Laker announcers commented when Cheikh entered the game that the Laker fans have been chuckling a smug chuckle over this trade for the last two years. He who laughs last laughs loudest and I don't think it will be the Los Angeles crowd, on this deal.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker Samb was intimidating out there. I'd probably have him skip the D-League and just try to get him 10 minutes every other game or so, depending on his results. He need to be paired up with Dyess or Sheed... somebody that can box out and get the balls that he is tipping.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker I agree TaShawn. He didn't look out of place at all out there. He was a lean, mean, ball swatting machine! We need more than just Sheed on an island in the paint. It just gets him into foul trouble, pissed off, T'd up and off his game. I'd like to see Sheed and Dice play OPPOSITE each other and take turns working with AJ, Samb and J-Max.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker I can't believe what we saw tonight... AND we still have Stuckey to look forward to. If Flip Saunders can develop all of these weapons and incorporate them into a swarming attack, then we will truly be a team to fear.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker No question Samb and Amir in the paint was double trouble for any Laker attempting to take it to the hole. Those two were beasts together. Samb does need to work on his conditioning though. When he was taken off the court it was clear he was huffing and puffing. Maybe Flip could use him a little like he uses the zone, stick him in their for short periods to take the other team off their rhythm (Drive and kick-type teams). Another thing that really bothered me with the game was the fact that Odom was having his way with the offensive boards. Maybe with a bulkier Samb we could more easily check that. Samb needs to go up for both the blocks and boards. One thing is CLEAR. With Amir and Cheikh, the Pistons interior defense has a very very Bright future. I always thought that the shot block was one of the most exciting elements of interior defense. I think the reason the NBA altered their rules is because they wanted the game to be more entertaining, by making an effort to pick up shot blockers Joe D has positioned our team to have a solid stable of EXCITING shot blockers. You won't hear this from me often, but i was happy with this loss.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker I was very surprised when I caught a little of this game to see the young guys playing.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker You are correct about Cheikh needing to improve his conditioning. He also needs to add more bulk with emphasis on lower body strength so he can hold his position on both offense and defense against the bigger guys. He needs to fed a study diet of these Carl's Jr. and some muscle building supplements musclephotos.com
Re: Cheick Samb tracker Samb was not open when he took that shot. A defender was right up on him. Of course, since the defender was dwarfed by Samb, it was easy to miss this fact. Samb shot over the guy without a care in the world. Not many can block his shot.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker One of the Laker announcers last night kept referring to Cheikh as weighing 195 pounds. He must have been looking at an old Laker roster or press clipping. Pistons Dude: Cheikh Samb Shows Potential Cheikh Samb NBA Basketball at CBSSports.com
Re: Cheick Samb tracker So far I have seen that he is a shot blocker, can rebound and has a jump shot. Very good potential. He probably will spend the year in the D-league though, Amir could have played last year. This team is still very conservative with the young guys.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker PISTONS CORNER: Samb, 7-footer from Senegal, makes most of minutes as unlikely hero The article also mentions that he'll probably go down to the Mad Ants next month.
Re: Cheick Samb tracker He definitely has potential to play regularly in the NBA. I think his future success will be based on his weight and strength. The greater his weight and strength the greater the chance he will have of becoming an effective, if not good, NBA player.
