There is a part of me that wouldn't mind seeing how Cole would look as our starting Center. It would be the classic "token" starter, where he'd probably play no more than 18 minutes a game or so. But I wonder how our defense would look with him starting and bringing Dieng off the bench. The problem is Cole is so limited offensively and he is very foul prone.
I've been thinking about the same thing. It would not surprise me if it helped establish a better defensive start/tone for the whole game. Towns does not seem to have a strong base, which causes him to struggle against the bigger, stronger guys. Until he addresses that, playing next to a big physical (if limited) teammate might be a good option. However, as you mention, the issue would be that would put two starters on the floor who can't shoot, which might pose spacing problems offensively.
I agree with this take, and would be interested in seeing Cole in that role. While I have been disappointed with his offense (where is the guy who was so effective in the pick and roll last year in LA?), his rebounding and defense have been impressive to me. I think Thibs did a good job in signing him so cheap, although I'd like to see a smoother performance on offense...man, he puts up some wild layups at times.
I think it was Zach Lowe who was commenting on that even when he was with the Clippers. Or previous team...
Q you mentioned Aldrich being foul prone. He has a high foul rate but I think a chunk of those are sort of intentional in a couple ways.
1. He is a bench guy and there understands he can play very aggressive and if he gets in foul trouble...eh it's no big deal. If he was starting like you said you wouldn't probably be playing him big minutes but you would probably want him to dial it back a bit. Would that affect him negatively?
2. He gives up fouls intentionally around the basket to stop a fast break etc. some of them are smart fouls but I'm starting to not like giving up those fouls letting teams get into the bonus can be a bad thing and only 5 fouls per quarter it doesn't take long.
I'm certainly not suggesting Cole doesn't foul a lot or is prone to foul because he is but some guys foul a ton because they are clueless or overmatched. That's not quite the case with Cole. I could see him playing a starting role somewhat similar to what Bogut did last year with GS where he fouled at a pretty high rate and played around 20mpg.
There is a part of me that wouldn't mind seeing how Cole would look as our starting Center. It would be the classic "token" starter, where he'd probably play no more than 18 minutes a game or so. But I wonder how our defense would look with him starting and bringing Dieng off the bench. The problem is Cole is so limited offensively and he is very foul prone.
I've been thinking about the same thing. It would not surprise me if it helped establish a better defensive start/tone for the whole game. Towns does not seem to have a strong base, which causes him to struggle against the bigger, stronger guys. Until he addresses that, playing next to a big physical (if limited) teammate might be a good option. However, as you mention, the issue would be that would put two starters on the floor who can't shoot, which might pose spacing problems offensively.
I agree with this take, and would be interested in seeing Cole in that role. While I have been disappointed with his offense (where is the guy who was so effective in the pick and roll last year in LA?), his rebounding and defense have been impressive to me. I think Thibs did a good job in signing him so cheap, although I'd like to see a smoother performance on offense...man, he puts up some wild layups at times.
I think it was Zach Lowe who was commenting on that even when he was with the Clippers. Or previous team...
Some of it is his shooting motion it just looks awkward. One of the last couple games he just lost the ball going up a couple times and Jim said he just need to gather himself first. Its nice to have another player of his ilk that can hit FTs. After a slow start there he is back to knocking them down at a fairly healthy percentage for a big.
If KAT was still a rookie I'd give him a B-. But from last year to this year he and Ricky have seen the most dramatic dip in their stats. KATs shooting numbers have been great for a guard the problem is he's a center. The explanation for our dramatic downgrade in performance seems simple, KAT played like an all-star at the end of last season. So far this season he's been an inefficient volume scorer, which is even worse from the 5 spot.
thedoper wrote:If KAT was still a rookie I'd give him a B-. But from last year to this year he and Ricky have seen the most dramatic dip in their stats. KATs shooting numbers have been great for a guard the problem is he's a center. The explanation for our dramatic downgrade in performance seems simple, KAT played like an all-star at the end of last season. So far this season he's been an inefficient volume scorer, which is even worse from the 5 spot.
C- at best
I wouldn't label him an inefficient volume scorer with a TS% of .567. I do agree that given his skill-set and talent, it should be better than that.
3 of our 5 starters have actually gone backwards in PER and WS/48: Rubio, Dieng, and Wiggins.
Dieng is actually having a career low season in these two advanced stats. Wiggins is doing better than his rookie year, but below where he was last year. Oh yeah, and Wiggins has never even broken the .100 WS/48 barrier, which signifies the average player for that particular stat.
KAT and LaVine have ticked up in both measures, but not in a "breakout" fashion. And these stats don't reflect very well that they are part of one of the worst defensive 5-man starting units in basketball.
And then Rubio is by almost any measure having a career-worst season thus far.
