When I see blanket baloney on this board - one of my favorites is "Posey's defense wasn't very good last year" - when the truth is closer to what Billy posted, I'm going to call a poster on it.
The real comment is "Posey wasn't as good as you people make him out to be against LEBRON and BRYANT" which are the two players many of you are afraid of.
First of all, that is false. There are plenty of comments which refer to Posey's overall defence and overall game. Lots of comments saying Tony Allen is a better player and a better fit, that Big Davis is a better fit, etc.
Secondly, let's start with Bryant. When exactly has Posey defended Bryant? I've asked this before and all I got were a few plays, most of them resulting from switches and when Posey was recovering from helping. I remember a couple of minutes here and there in LA, but that's all. The only single time that I remember Posey guarding Kobe for extensive minutes, having the chance to get on a defensive rythmn with him, was in game 6. And frankly, I found absolutely ridiculous the suggestion he wasn't very good. He frustrated him so much that Kobe has one of the worst quarters of his entire career, scoring only 1 point. What exactly was POsey supposed to do, defend the technical free-throw? So, I'm not going to say something like ""Posey wasn't as bad as you people make him out to be against BRYANT", a line of argument I find dishonest, but I have no problems in being blunt and saying that whoever says that Posey's defence on Kobe wasn't good during the Finals is just making up stuff.
Third, what does "Posey wasn't as good as you people make him out to be" mean? Who are "you people" and they make Posey to be exactly what? Why can't the concrete arguments be discussed? I personally think that Posey's defence last season was very good, like it has been his all career. He was never a individual stopper on the perimeter (he's not some sieve either), but he's extraordinary defensively on other aspects.
This has been discussed this season ad nauseam. We're not going to get into the details of the matter every time. Various people have made the same observations, and it's not only about Kobe scoring, it's also about he being allowed to get into the lane and finding people when our defense starts helping him when they otherwise wouldn't. It's not about a player scoring, sometimes you have to notice the types of looks a player is getting and how they're getting them... players do miss shots they should make you know.
Many have made Posey to be this Kobe and LeBron stopper that he isn't (if you don't feel that way, then clearly this is not addressed to you so don't worry about it, but some do). It was first and foremost our team defense. And when Kobe was concerned, Pierce and Tony are better defenders on him, and Ray can be argued on it too (though at times he found himself overmatched). Kobe is too crafty and quick for Posey, Kobe was going wherever he wanted with him. Seriously, why are people so offended by the notion that Posey had trouble covering Kobe and LeBron? Posey did many good things out there, and sure in some stretches he did an adequate job on them, but overall he isn't the stopper many here want to believe he is when these two are regarded.
And no, people who believe Posey wasn't good on Kobe are not making stuff up. I'm not going to do your homework for you, but there were various times that Posey couldn't keep up with him, ate a jab step fake, or gave him enough space for him to either drive past him (forcing our defenders to rotate and leave someone like Paul open) or shoot an uncontested jumper. If you don't believe it to be so, then that's your option... but many have made the same observation that I have so I don't think I'm on the wrong, and I don't doubt that many get different perspectives on things, so you can believe what you want. That he was good on a game or a quarter doesn't absolve the various times he couldn't defend him well, especially in LA. It's like a boxing match, you can have some good rounds against the guy, but overall you're still getting beat. Posey was great against Odom, Walton, Radmanovic... but is it so hard to fathom that Posey simply wasn't good against Kobe (though sure had some good moments against him)... one of the most dominant players in the last decade or so?
Listen I like Posey and would love to have him back, I just don't feel he would've had that big of an impact defensively against this two players. I didn't feel his contributions on this regard to be as great as some believe it to be last season. I liked his contributions with us more elsewhere, just not in these two particular cases. And we haven't even brought up Rip Hamilton (but I think we can all agree Posey was horrible against him).
Topic: We haven't solved the problem (Read 19068 times)