And God I wish I hadn't seen him. He was dreadful in his season debut for the Hawks. 5 minutes, 2 rebounds, 2 points, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 missed layups. I never thought I would see the day when I was disappointed that Jason Collins was taken out of the game. However, after seeing Etan Thomas on the court, watching the Magic bigs take advantage of him, and wailing in misery for five whole minutes, I have come to the conclusion that Etan Thomas is far worse than Jason Collins.

Now, I may be jumping to conclusions. After all, it was his first appearance after sitting for the first seven games. But I look at the headlines and see that Erick Dampier is now without a team. The biggest rumors? Dampier to the Heat, now that the potential with Houston fell flat. Let's look at this from nonbiased standpoint. The Heat are struggling to rebound. They need a big who can matchup underneath with the likes of Perkins, Shaq, Howard. Sound familiar? Dampier is not much of an offensive threat but he can effectively bump around underneath with other massive men. Let's face it. Is Etan Thomas much of an offensive threat? Personally, I'm not really sold on his defensive prowess either. Thomas' career averages of 6 points and 5 rebounds over 18 minutes a game are similar to Dampier's averages of 8 points and 7 rebounds in 25 minutes. Dampier is older, slightly bigger, and since he was a starter for years with the Mavs and Warriors, he has the experience battling underneath with some of the elite postmen in the Western Conference. Is he the long term answer to the Hawks troubles underneath? No, but he gives them a veteran presence who is better than Jason Collins and Etan Thomas for this season.