New head coach of the New Jersey Nets and former San Antonio Spurs’ guard, Avery Johnson, know a bit about playing with great NBA forwards. Especially since he played with Spurs’ Tim Duncan when Duncan was just a rookie in the NBA.
Now Johnson is working with a new NBA forward, rookie Derrick Favors, and he is seeing a bit of Duncan in the way Favors carries himself:
“He reminds me of Duncan in the way he’s coachable,” the New Jersey coach said in an interview with FanHouse about Favors, taken with the No. 3 overall pick out of Georgia Tech in last month’s draft. “Duncan was that way, very coachable, but also very skilled. Duncan came in with the left and the right hand and came in with the ability to shoot the ball. And this kid didn’t even go through college as long as Duncan. We’re just getting him after his freshman year.” (source Fanhouse.com)
Favors does have a long way to go to measure up to what Duncan has done in the NBA but with this comparison to one of the NBA’s greatest forwards, I am sure Favors feels no pressure.
