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Will Andrew Nicholson become a good shot-blocker/help defender like he was in college?

One of the big reasons I liked the draft pick of Andrew Nicholson on draft day was his college stat line/scouting report, which showed that not only was he offensively gifted (the dude hit 43.4% of his 3 pointers his senior year!), but he was one of the most prolific shot-blockers behind Anthony Davis in last year's draft, averaging a respectable 2.0 bpg in his 4 year career, with a high of 2.6 bpg his freshman year.

Andrew has not fired a single 3 point shot this year--I can understand that given Jacque's love affair with his bigs shooting mid-range jump shots.

What I do not understand is why Andrew's shot-blocking talent has not really affected our team/help defense in the few games that I have been fortunate to catch this season. After BBD went down on Dec 19th, our interior defense really seemed to go into the toilet. I mean we are getting mauled by such beasts of the paint as Robin Lopez and Tyler Zeller. Seriously.

When can we expect (or can we expect?) Andrew to develop into some form of defensive presence or potential stopper? Do you think this is dependent on him adding more strength so he doesn't get pushed around so easily? Is it a case of inferior opponents in college over-inflating his perceived ability? I know it took Dwight from years 3 through 5 to develop into a real world-class shot-blocker, so could it be a learning curve issue with Andrew?

I am asking you all, because I am sure you have seen more games than me, and you can better assess Andrew's strengths and weaknesses. All I can see is the occasional game here and there, and his statline in the box score. What do you all think?



This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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