khans2k5 wrote:I'm gonna just throw up a small red flag on these signings. Vonleh and Bell haven't been anything special on defense and both are now our guys who are supposed to be defensive pieces next to KAT. This could be a real bad front court defense again. We're gonna need a lot of buy in and a lot of improvement from all the bigs on the team to make this not be real bad. On paper I like the moves and in theory if everything goes right these are good fits next to Towns. I'm a bit worried on what it's actually gonna look like on the court. There's a good chance it could be real bad.
Fair take, I kind of agree. I would have preferred a more proven defensive big like Ed Davis or even Dedmond. But these guys are worth a shot given their age and price.
A few years ago weren't Ed Davis and Dedmond sort of like the guys we just signed?
As for a drop off defensively from what we had last year to these guys this year...sure it's possible. These guys might not be any good period. It's also worth noting that the Taj Saric PF combo wasn't exactly locking anyone down. Taj was solid and he had some terrific moments but he wasn't solving any problems consistently on that end. We didn't replace any guys on a watch list for all NBA defensive team or anything. They weren't the answer next to Towns either. The downside of these guys is likely much steeper offensively compared to Taj and Saric.
khans2k5 wrote:I'm gonna just throw up a small red flag on these signings. Vonleh and Bell haven't been anything special on defense and both are now our guys who are supposed to be defensive pieces next to KAT. This could be a real bad front court defense again. We're gonna need a lot of buy in and a lot of improvement from all the bigs on the team to make this not be real bad. On paper I like the moves and in theory if everything goes right these are good fits next to Towns. I'm a bit worried on what it's actually gonna look like on the court. There's a good chance it could be real bad.
Fair take, I kind of agree. I would have preferred a more proven defensive big like Ed Davis or even Dedmond. But these guys are worth a shot given their age and price.
A few years ago weren't Ed Davis and Dedmond sort of like the guys we just signed?
As for a drop off defensively from what we had last year to these guys this year...sure it's possible. These guys might not be any good period. It's also worth noting that the Taj Saric PF combo wasn't exactly locking anyone down. Taj was solid and he had some terrific moments but he wasn't solving any problems consistently on that end. We didn't replace any guys on a watch list for all NBA defensive team or anything. They weren't the answer next to Towns either. The downside of these guys is likely much steeper offensively compared to Taj and Saric.
Sure. Most bigs that became good defensively took a few years to get that way and it can be really hard to predict out of college (as compared to great college wing defenders for example, which seems to translate a bit more reliably to the NBA). But just because Davis and Dedmond became effective defensively doesn't mean Vonleh and Bell will (although it does look like Vonleh has made some real progress these last couple of years especially).
I also agree that Taj was not a great defender. Not bad, but not great. I just think he was a great overall veteran presence to the team and so his impact went beyond the stats. Saric was a good defender fundamentally, but like Bjelica, got discriminated against for being a white European. For some reason that disqualifies you from touching anyone.
khans2k5 wrote:I'm gonna just throw up a small red flag on these signings. Vonleh and Bell haven't been anything special on defense and both are now our guys who are supposed to be defensive pieces next to KAT. This could be a real bad front court defense again. We're gonna need a lot of buy in and a lot of improvement from all the bigs on the team to make this not be real bad. On paper I like the moves and in theory if everything goes right these are good fits next to Towns. I'm a bit worried on what it's actually gonna look like on the court. There's a good chance it could be real bad.
Fair take, I kind of agree. I would have preferred a more proven defensive big like Ed Davis or even Dedmond. But these guys are worth a shot given their age and price.
A few years ago weren't Ed Davis and Dedmond sort of like the guys we just signed?
As for a drop off defensively from what we had last year to these guys this year...sure it's possible. These guys might not be any good period. It's also worth noting that the Taj Saric PF combo wasn't exactly locking anyone down. Taj was solid and he had some terrific moments but he wasn't solving any problems consistently on that end. We didn't replace any guys on a watch list for all NBA defensive team or anything. They weren't the answer next to Towns either. The downside of these guys is likely much steeper offensively compared to Taj and Saric.
Sure. Most bigs that became good defensively took a few years to get that way and it can be really hard to predict out of college (as compared to great college wing defenders for example, which seems to translate a bit more reliably to the NBA). But just because Davis and Dedmond became effective defensively doesn't mean Vonleh and Bell will (although it does look like Vonleh has made some real progress these last couple of years especially).
I also agree that Taj was not a great defender. Not bad, but not great. I just think he was a great overall veteran presence to the team and so his impact went beyond the stats. Saric was a good defender fundamentally, but like Bjelica, got discriminated against for being a white European. For some reason that disqualifies you from touching anyone.
NBA Irony:
White European bigs are soft.
White European bigs aren't allowed to touch anybody.
It's a very weird phenomenon, year after year. I've always said there's no worse target than being a 7' rookie from Slovenia.
khans2k5 wrote:I'm gonna just throw up a small red flag on these signings. Vonleh and Bell haven't been anything special on defense and both are now our guys who are supposed to be defensive pieces next to KAT. This could be a real bad front court defense again. We're gonna need a lot of buy in and a lot of improvement from all the bigs on the team to make this not be real bad. On paper I like the moves and in theory if everything goes right these are good fits next to Towns. I'm a bit worried on what it's actually gonna look like on the court. There's a good chance it could be real bad.
Fair take, I kind of agree. I would have preferred a more proven defensive big like Ed Davis or even Dedmond. But these guys are worth a shot given their age and price.
A few years ago weren't Ed Davis and Dedmond sort of like the guys we just signed?
As for a drop off defensively from what we had last year to these guys this year...sure it's possible. These guys might not be any good period. It's also worth noting that the Taj Saric PF combo wasn't exactly locking anyone down. Taj was solid and he had some terrific moments but he wasn't solving any problems consistently on that end. We didn't replace any guys on a watch list for all NBA defensive team or anything. They weren't the answer next to Towns either. The downside of these guys is likely much steeper offensively compared to Taj and Saric.
Sure. Most bigs that became good defensively took a few years to get that way and it can be really hard to predict out of college (as compared to great college wing defenders for example, which seems to translate a bit more reliably to the NBA). But just because Davis and Dedmond became effective defensively doesn't mean Vonleh and Bell will (although it does look like Vonleh has made some real progress these last couple of years especially).
I also agree that Taj was not a great defender. Not bad, but not great. I just think he was a great overall veteran presence to the team and so his impact went beyond the stats. Saric was a good defender fundamentally, but like Bjelica, got discriminated against for being a white European. For some reason that disqualifies you from touching anyone.
NBA Irony:
White European bigs are soft.
White European bigs aren't allowed to touch anybody.
It's a very weird phenomenon, year after year. I've always said there's no worse target than being a 7' rookie from Slovenia.
Yeah, Marc Gasol is the only one that seems to have overcome this barrier. It's the art of jostling and positioning without fouling. Whenever Bjelica or Saric try to do what Gasol or Draymond do as a matter of course, it's an immediate whistle.
khans2k5 wrote:I'm gonna just throw up a small red flag on these signings. Vonleh and Bell haven't been anything special on defense and both are now our guys who are supposed to be defensive pieces next to KAT. This could be a real bad front court defense again. We're gonna need a lot of buy in and a lot of improvement from all the bigs on the team to make this not be real bad. On paper I like the moves and in theory if everything goes right these are good fits next to Towns. I'm a bit worried on what it's actually gonna look like on the court. There's a good chance it could be real bad.
Fair take, I kind of agree. I would have preferred a more proven defensive big like Ed Davis or even Dedmond. But these guys are worth a shot given their age and price.
A few years ago weren't Ed Davis and Dedmond sort of like the guys we just signed?
As for a drop off defensively from what we had last year to these guys this year...sure it's possible. These guys might not be any good period. It's also worth noting that the Taj Saric PF combo wasn't exactly locking anyone down. Taj was solid and he had some terrific moments but he wasn't solving any problems consistently on that end. We didn't replace any guys on a watch list for all NBA defensive team or anything. They weren't the answer next to Towns either. The downside of these guys is likely much steeper offensively compared to Taj and Saric.
Sure. Most bigs that became good defensively took a few years to get that way and it can be really hard to predict out of college (as compared to great college wing defenders for example, which seems to translate a bit more reliably to the NBA). But just because Davis and Dedmond became effective defensively doesn't mean Vonleh and Bell will (although it does look like Vonleh has made some real progress these last couple of years especially).
I also agree that Taj was not a great defender. Not bad, but not great. I just think he was a great overall veteran presence to the team and so his impact went beyond the stats. Saric was a good defender fundamentally, but like Bjelica, got discriminated against for being a white European. For some reason that disqualifies you from touching anyone.
NBA Irony:
White European bigs are soft.
White European bigs aren't allowed to touch anybody.
It's a very weird phenomenon, year after year. I've always said there's no worse target than being a 7' rookie from Slovenia.
Yeah, Marc Gasol is the only one that seems to have overcome this barrier. It's the art of jostling and positioning without fouling. Whenever Bjelica or Saric try to do what Gasol or Draymond do as a matter of course, it's an immediate whistle.
Don't forget the quick whistle on the first dribble 17 feet from the hoop... that's another tried-and-true favorite call.
To be fair, that one extends beyond foreign white guys, as G. Dieng will confirm.
Don't worry though, Dieng has been working on it and as long as he starts his move by hopping 3 steps backwards/sideways first... that split second before he puts the ball down going to the hoop will begin to go uncalled. ahem... ahem...
