Quote:
Originally Posted by ghazi
One case for Damp being an underachiever is he averaged 12/12 and had a PER of 20 during his final contract year with Golden State and hasn't come close to replicating that production since.
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That's the only one I've heard that makes any sense, and I still think it's bogus (not directed at you obviously, ghazi.) His numbers were inflated that year because GS had dealt away both Arenas and Jamison that offseason. The only guy on that team who could score was J-Rich and so Damp has never had that many offensive touches before or since. It was also the only year he had in Golden State where he wasn't splitting minutes with Adonal Foyle. Since coming to Dallas, he's also never gotten anywhere near the 32 mpg he got in 04.
For the life of me, I just couldn't understand (still can't to this day) what people thought they were getting in Dampier. People accused him of underachieving when he didn't average a double double in Dallas. Nevermind that his numers in 05 were actually
better than his career numbers. I just don't get it. When someone calls Dampier lazy, that implies that he's capable of playing much better than he is. I don't see it. I've never once seen Dampier on court and thought "Psh, he could've ran faster for that rebound" or "Good god, he didn't even try to contest that shot!" (God knows, I thought those things quite a bit about Shawn Bradley, who the Damp-haters around here ironically seem to love.) I just don't see the illusion than Dampier is somehow capable of giving more than he is. Is he not running has he could? I don't buy it. He hustles for every rebound, every loose ball etc... I have no idea why people think he's capable of more. Does he have some super secret skills that he just chooses not to display because it takes too much energy?
I just don't believe it. The truth is, I don't think the Damp-hate around here has nearly as much to do with Erick Dampier as it does with Steve Nash. If the Mavs had acquired Damp one year before or after losing Nash, I don't think there would be any such notion that Damp is lazy. Damp is merely a scapegoat for losing Nash.