Quote from: IndeedProceed on Yesterday at 02:32:19 pm
Forgive me, Al Jefferson.
Quote from: NBC Sports' Pro Basketball Talk
The Jazz’s real problem has been their defense. Last season, the Jazz ranked 11th in defensive efficiency. This season, they rank 2oth. There are a number of reasons why the Jazz aren’t playing as well defensively as they did the last season, but the biggest one is likely Al Jefferson.
There’s a lot to like about Al Jefferson’s game. At 26 years old, he’s one of the few remaining pure post-up players in the NBA, and his jump hook is a thing of beauty. He’s capable of scoring from the block in a way that most young players simply aren’t taught to anymore, and that’s why he was the centerpiece of the trade that got the Celtics KG.
However, no team has ever been able to play decent def,ense while starting Al Jefferson, and that hasn’t changed now that Jefferson is in Utah. Starting in the 06-07 season, when Jefferson first became a starter for the Celtics, here are the number of points per 100 possessions Jefferson’s teams have given up when he was on/off the floor:
06-07 Celtics: 108.5 with Jefferson/102.8 without Jefferson
07-08 Timberwolves: 116.0 with Jefferson/103.9 without Jefferson
08-09 Timberwolves: 112.3 with Jefferson/113.2 without Jefferson
09-10 Timberwolves: 113.1 with Jefferson/111.2 without Jefferson
10-11 Jazz: 112.0 with Jefferson/101.3 without Jefferson
As you can see, the only teams that didn’t play significantly worse defense with Jefferson on the floor were the 08-09 and 09-10 Timberwolves, and that was only because they were so bad defensively Jefferson wasn’t able to do much damage. +/- is a very dangerous stat, but Al Jefferson has started for six seasons for three different teams, and all of them have played horrible defense when he is on the floor.
None of this disputes anecdotal evidence, either: Jefferson can block shots, but he’s extremely slow-moving on defense, doesn’t expend much energy on that end, and has long been considered a defensive liability.
Jefferson also primarily has been paired with a less in shape Perkins (pre-KG), Kevin Love, and Paul Milsap. None of those guys are specifically known for their help defense. Now you pair him with KG and things change.
The last few years Shaq was known as a liability on defense. Perk was known as a great defender... And when you exchanged Perk for Shaq was the Celtics defense really affected? Nope. Why is this? Kevin Garnett!
The maniacal defender he is still, and still one of the best help defenders in the NBA. Only Howard might be better. You can yell and scream Rajon Rondo's presence all you want but see below:
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According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Celtics are averaging 101.9 points per 48 minutes with Garnett on the court, while their opponents put up 91.2 points per 48 minutes. In other words, the Celtics outscore their opponents by an average of 10.7 points per 48 minutes with him playing.
But when Garnett is not playing -- both when he has missed games and when he is on the bench -- the Celtics put up 97.1 points per 48 minutes compared with their opponents' 95.0 -- just a 2.1-point advantage.
KG covers up mistakes so well not even the video cameras catch them sometimes. On top of that when KG is out Big Al will be playing with Haywood at C, who is arguably the best shot blocking big man he has ever played with.
Against Stoudemire teams have to play very good TEAM defense. No one will be asking Big Al to go out there and shut down Stoudemire. But it's not like Bogut is super quick to begin with anyways. He's not going to blow by Jefferson but rather attempt to shoot over him.
Depending on your pace how many touches will Bogut see on the block anyway?This is still a question you haven't answered... How fast will you play? Amare has shown if he doesn't play fast he isn't as effective and gets unhappy.
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They were winning boat loads of games under Mike D’Antoni and Stoudemire was one of the most dynamic big men in the league paired wih Steve Nash.
Then general manager Steve Kerr gets the brilliant idea to bring in a not-so-mobile, aging Shaq with the idea that the Suns needed to do something other than run-and-gun. Oh yes, they need a slow, plodding presence in the middle to compete with the Spurs and Lakers. Right.
It hasn’t worked out so well, as you may have heard, and Stoudemire has gotten lost in first-year coach Terry Porter’s slower, more methodical offense.
Now those rumblings have come back: It appears the Suns front office is now more willing to trade Stoudemire because he’s probably their most valuable piece, “appreciation for him locally is declining,” whatever that means, and the Suns are flat struggling.
http://rumorsandrants.com/2009/02/memo-to-paxson-do-something-worthwhile-and-get-amare.htmlBogut definitely isn't the most mobile guy... Defensively I agree Bogut can have Amare's back when he gets beat, which he will a lot, but offensively they aren't as good a fit as you are making them out to be. Bogut is good in the halfcourt but he doesn't play fast.
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But I'll be darned if the hard-nosed, old-school Skiles isn't adapting big time before our eyes. Folks, your Milwaukee Bucks are runnin' like Nellie's Warriors and pushin' it like D'Antoni's Knicks. Check out what the Bucks have done the past three games: 121 points versus the Pistons, 124 versus the Rockets and 122 versus the Pacers.
Yes, that's a small sample size, skewed by the fact the Detroit game went to OT and that Indiana barely defends at all. But something's happening here.
Actually, someone's missing here: Andrew Bogut. Bogut has a stress fracture in his back and may not return this season. So Skiles is adapting, not because Charles Darwin had a birthday this week, but because without Bogut, the Bucks' only options in the post are Francisco Elson and Dan Gadzuric. And "Elson," "Gadzuric" and "NBA-caliber starting center" are some more words that simply don't go together.
"With (Bogut) out, we're going to have to play a faster pace," Richard Jefferson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "That means more shots and more possessions. … Because there's so much up and down and so many points from fast breaks, it's going to make the scores a little bit higher."
http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/basketball/fba/story?page=nbaforecaster08week17See when Milwaukee has Bogut they are more of a grind it out half court team. That's not the system that Amare thrives in. He doesn't want to thrive in it either.
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When asked whether he felt Porter's new system was helping that cause, Stoudemire said, "I'm not sure."
When told it wasn't good for him to feel that way, his response: "It ain't great!"
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"You're not wrong in that we're not where we want to be yet," Nash said. "We're not running as much as we would like to. We've got some work to do.
"We emphasized going inside and our half-court game for six weeks during training camp and the preseason. That's what you're seeing. If we play too methodically for all 82 games, it's going to wear guys down. No doubt.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=smith_stephen&page=Stoudemire-081128You're doing a GREAT job selling your team. I applaud that and am enjoying the challenge of the debate, but the fit with Bogut and Amare is greatly exaggerated.
I think you would have been better off getting a guy like Noah who runs the floor well and plays well in the same style as Amare.
Topic: 2011 CB draft: How does my team look?/division rankings (Read 591604 times)