Time to sit BBD and give Shelden Some Run

[Chris]

Anyone else notice that Shelden just wasn't very good at anything on defense? His man to man was iffy and his rotations were usually off as well. There have been a few games where Davis has been the best defender on the whole team.

Yes, Davis is a significantly better defender than Williams.  Davis is really only an average defender overall (although he is above average against certain matchups), but Williams is significantly below average.  He is better than Mikki Moore and POB were last year, but that is saying very little.  Maybe he is still learning the system, but he was absolutely a liability out there.

Baby's % of shots blocked so far is sort of an aberration. Last year getting starter minutes he only got blocked 8% of the time. From the eyeball test, it's been happening a lot less lately. I feel very, very comfortable with this guy playing in this 4th bigs rotation slot. I know playoff rotations are usually 8 deep, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Doc use a 9 player rotation, cutting out TA's minutes only.

Eh, Baby has always had a lot of shots blocked, and he always will.  He is kind of like Antoine Walker in that way.  The thing is, even though he gets a lot of shots blocked, he is still a net positive on offense, particularly since the majority of his shots that are blocked are either off of offensive rebounds, or bailouts from a bad offensive trip.  And I would much rather see him have a few shots blocked, than watch Williams fumble those passes away and never get them off...or Wallace launching ugly 3's....or Perk hold the ball in the post for 5 seconds before turning it over.

It is painful to watch, I know, but when it comes down to it, Davis is the third best offensive player, overall, of the C's big men, despite the fact that it's ugly.

[ssspence]

Shelden doesn't offer much else other than defensive rebounding though. BBD crashing the offensive glass is important, we need more offensive boards.

I think there's also an argument that we need more defensive boards. The Cs still give up too man offensive boards.

I'm not in favor of benching Davis for Williams, but there's no doubt Glen needs to improve in certain aspects. He's providing the opposing team too many blocks and strips underneath -- which not only negate his offensive boards but provide the opposition energy / fast breaks while milking his confidence. That flatfooted, repeat upfake is terrible -- he needs to either go straight up with the ball or send it out to be reset.

Meanwhile, Glen is at his best shooting that 13-15 foot jumper. Considering the offensive struggles of the second unit, why don't the run some sets for it and get him going? maybe with nate's ability to get to the paint it will free him more often....

[Fafnir]

Shelden doesn't offer much else other than defensive rebounding though. BBD crashing the offensive glass is important, we need more offensive boards.

I think there's also an argument that we need more defensive boards. The Cs still give up too man offensive boards.

We do need more defensive boards, but I think our deficiency on the offensive glass is more critical. Especially from our bigs, add in the fact that BBD is better than Shelden in all the other aspects of the game....

[Chris]

Shelden doesn't offer much else other than defensive rebounding though. BBD crashing the offensive glass is important, we need more offensive boards.

I think there's also an argument that we need more defensive boards. The Cs still give up too man offensive boards.

We do need more defensive boards, but I think our deficiency on the offensive glass is more critical. Especially from our bigs, add in the fact that BBD is better than Shelden in all the other aspects of the game....

Yeah, I really think the C's would be shooting themselves in the foot by taking a step back in every other phase of the game, just for a small improvement in rebounding.  Yes, it is a weakness, but putting Williams in might just mean there are fewer defensive rebounds to get, since they would be scoring more easily.

[Birdbrain]

The problem with the OP is that he's not better than BBD on offense or defense.  Other than those 2 things he's great.

If you really have your heart set on seeing Williams and his great hands, footwork, and defense then point yourself in Sheed's direction.  He's most under performing of the bigs and he would be the more logical choice since neither he or Williams can cover anyone that has any athleticism and is not a big stiff.

[Evantime34]

I feel like a lot of posters are just tired of BBD getting blocked. Well a lot of those blocks come on offensive rebounds. I would rather have him give us an extra chance with an offensive board than just watch the team get the rebound.

I would really like to see him take the free throw extended type jumper that really allowed him to score in the playoffs last year.

[Greenbean]

It's taken a lot longer to integrate BBD into the 2nd unit offense than alot of us expected. Every one thought he would simply duplicate his scoring output from last years playoffs off the bench. Unfortunately teams are either keying in on his jumper and taking it away or that shot is just not available with the personnel on the 2nd unit. I think it is a little bit of both.

That being said, BBD provides alot of energy , offensive rebounding, and sold defense to the 2nd unit. That should not go unnoticed. Shelden would not be an upgrade.

[Birdbrain]

I feel like a lot of posters are just tired of BBD getting blocked. Well a lot of those blocks come on offensive rebounds. I would rather have him give us an extra chance with an offensive board than just watch the team get the rebound.

I would really like to see him take the free throw extended type jumper that really allowed him to score in the playoffs last year.

I get that sense as well and when they change the rules to reflect a block is worth less than missed shot, I'll care.

[Birdbrain]

It's taken a lot longer to integrate BBD into the 2nd unit offense than alot of us expected. Every one thought he would simply duplicate his scoring output from last years playoffs off the bench. Unfortunately teams are either keying in on his jumper and taking it away or that shot is just not available with the personnel on the 2nd unit. I think it is a little bit of both.

That being said, BBD provides alot of energy , offensive rebounding, and sold defense to the 2nd unit. That should not go unnoticed. Shelden would not be an upgrade.

Why would anyone assume that a player would duplicate the same output playing 25 less min a game?

[Fafnir]

I feel like a lot of posters are just tired of BBD getting blocked. Well a lot of those blocks come on offensive rebounds. I would rather have him give us an extra chance with an offensive board than just watch the team get the rebound.

I would really like to see him take the free throw extended type jumper that really allowed him to score in the playoffs last year.

I get that sense as well and when they change the rules to reflect a block is worth less than missed shot, I'll care.

The problem isn't that a blocked shot is worse than a miss, the problem is a lot of plays that'd be dunks or at least shooting fouls end up being misses.

Compared to Shelden, yeah BBD is a better option. But compared to a big like Perkins who will go up stronger and higher....

[Evantime34]

I feel like a lot of posters are just tired of BBD getting blocked. Well a lot of those blocks come on offensive rebounds. I would rather have him give us an extra chance with an offensive board than just watch the team get the rebound.

I would really like to see him take the free throw extended type jumper that really allowed him to score in the playoffs last year.

I get that sense as well and when they change the rules to reflect a block is worth less than missed shot, I'll care.

The problem isn't that a blocked shot is worse than a miss, the problem is a lot of plays that'd be dunks or at least shooting fouls end up being misses.

Compared to Shelden, yeah BBD is a better option. But compared to a big like Perkins who will go up stronger and higher....

I wouldn't be surprised if Perkins plays more and Baby plays less in the playoffs. For now it seems as though Doc is trying to keep Perk's minutes down for whatever reason.

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

It's taken a lot longer to integrate BBD into the 2nd unit offense than alot of us expected. Every one thought he would simply duplicate his scoring output from last years playoffs off the bench. Unfortunately teams are either keying in on his jumper and taking it away or that shot is just not available with the personnel on the 2nd unit. I think it is a little bit of both.

That being said, BBD provides alot of energy , offensive rebounding, and sold defense to the 2nd unit. That should not go unnoticed. Shelden would not be an upgrade.

No; nobody thought that he'd simply duplicate his scoring output from last year's playoffs  Why?  Because he's not starting and playing 30+ minutes a night.

Teams are not keying on his jumper either--with the addition of 'Sheed, Doc decided to move Baby closer to the basket, meaning he's going to have to live off putback attempts, and the occasional post up/end-of-the-shot clock dump off to get his points.  It's not that he's had trouble integrating, it's that Doc asked him to play a whole new role this season.  To his credit, he's successfully changed his game from perimeter dependent to more inside centered. 

Personally, I'd love to see us incorporate Baby more along the lines of what he did last season, especially if it took some jumpshots and 3s away from 'Sheed.  Baby can be a very effective scorer, and a pick-and-pop with him and Nate could be a devestating combination.  Nobody sets picks like Baby, and he's going to be open all day with the way Nate can turn the corner on a pick.

[Birdbrain]

I feel like a lot of posters are just tired of BBD getting blocked. Well a lot of those blocks come on offensive rebounds. I would rather have him give us an extra chance with an offensive board than just watch the team get the rebound.

I would really like to see him take the free throw extended type jumper that really allowed him to score in the playoffs last year.

I get that sense as well and when they change the rules to reflect a block is worth less than missed shot, I'll care.

The problem isn't that a blocked shot is worse than a miss, the problem is a lot of plays that'd be dunks or at least shooting fouls end up being misses.

Compared to Shelden, yeah BBD is a better option. But compared to a big like Perkins who will go up stronger and higher....

Well I won't argue there.  Perkins most assuredly even subtracting his need to wind up is better finisher on most nights.  BBD draws more fouls though which can be beneficial with regards to getting teams in the bonus and then having Paul and Ray handle the ball more.

[RonnieG]

Time to sit Sheed more

[Chris]

Time to sit Sheed more

Sheed has actually been playing significantly better in the last few weeks.  He is taking much fewer 3's, has been doing some damage in the post, and has a little pep in his step defensively.  So I would say the time to sit Sheed has past.