With summer league play over (job well done Shelden and Acie,
nabbing All-RMR
honors - and Al Horford might have if he hadn't hurt his ankle), and
nothing else really going on until the start of training camp in October, I
thought this would be a good time to take a look at the Hawks roster and check
out everyone's status on the team. It should be a good way to kill some time
over the next few weeks and help bridge the gap until the season starts!
Today we continue the series
with center Zaza Pachulia. How do you
think these players will do?
Leave your answers in the
comments!
Zaza
Pachulia
2007 Stats: 12.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg (2.8 offensive), 1.5 apg, 47% FG, 79% FT
2007 Highlights: The Hawks big man had several nice games for the
Hawks, putting up 13 double-doubles to finish second on the team in that
category. His best handiwork though came in a
100-97 win over
Washington on March 7, when he popped for a career-high 27 points and 12
rebounds. His performance was particularly important considering it was the
first game the team played after losing Joe Johnson to a calf injury that would
eventually end his season. ZP had other gems as well, including 22 and 12 in a
late-season
win over Boston and 23 and 10 in a
close home loss
to the champion Spurs.
What he needs to work on this summer: Zaza has long been known for his
prowess on the offensive glass (he finished 17th in the league at 2.8 per game).
Now he needs to round out his production on the defensive end better as well.
The Hawks have had trouble in the past with giving up second chance
opportunities, so the more defensive snags Hawks big men like Pachulia can get,
the better the team will do.
Outlook for 2007-08: Zaza had a somewhat up-and-down season last year,
losing his starting spot to Lorenzen Wright for a spell while recovering from
injury. Still, he had several stretches of impressive play, especially right
after the All-Star break. Though he is still just 23 years old, Zaza will be
counted on to be one of the veteran leaders of the frontcourt for young guys
like Al Horford and Shelden Williams.
With so many bigs fighting for playing time (the team still employs
Lorenzen Wright and Solomon Jones) it will be interesting to see how
all the minutes are divided. But as long as Zaza
continues to pound away on the glass, you can count on him being out there for
extended periods of time.
