About 12 games ago I asked for more Zaza, and much to my surprise, Larry Drew has delivered. Averaging almost 19 minutes a game in his last 10 games, Zaza has contributed 7.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. That's good production off the bench, especially the rebounding for a team that has never been an above average rebounding team. His PER has risen from just under 11 to a much more respectable 12.64 in that same time. Perhaps more importantly, Zaza's recent play has enlightened Larry Drew on the fact that Josh Powell can't play (it was about 60 games too late, but better late than never I guess), relegating Powell to 2 appearances in that same time frame, and putting him in a suit in some of those games (and he looks so much better in a suit than in a uniform).
I bring all of this up because of Zaza's superb performance last night against the despicable Boston Celtics. Zaza was everywhere in the 4th quarter, chasing down the many errant shots from Joe Johnson (4 of 20 shooting for the game) and generally playing physical while getting under Celtic players' skin (see J. O'Neal tech). 15 points on 4-6 shooting, 7-8 free throws, and 10 boards (5 offensive). Zaza was doing work out there, putting a subpar J-Smoove on the bench for the entirety of the 4th quarter. Overall, Zaza's 23 minutes produced a +17 plus/minus and I think that number will surprise 0 people who sat and watched the game.
Larry Drew, it took you too long, but perhaps you are realizing you have only one backup big who has consistently shown he can play in the NBA. Plus, with the fact that your team shoots (and misses) a lot of jump shots, its good to have your best offensive rebounder on the floor more often to track down those misses. However, you seem to be learning, and lets hope that Zaza continues to reward the faith you have finally began to show him for the first time all year. This team still isn't going anywhere fast, but playing your best players can only help maximize what little upside you might have.
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