All the reports out of training camp and preseason have been positive for Erick Dampier. And that's good because last year did not go so well. He averaged just 5.7ppg last year - his lowest scoring output since his rookie season in 1997. He also had fewer than eight rebounds per game, four less than in his final year with Golden State. So how will he do this season in the following categories?
- Points per game
- Rebounds per game
- Blocks per game
- Games Started
My prediction: 6.8ppg, 9.2rpg, 1.7bpg, and 25 games started.
Why 25? I'm not really sure. The optimist in me would like to think that after a month Dampier has played so well that he starts the rest of the season, but the realist in me is fighting that - so I picked a number sort of in between. All I can say about Dampier with confidence is that he'll play more minutes than Diop, he'll start more than zero games, he'll have his name mispronounced by Hubie Brown, and he'll be booed at some point during the season by the home fans.