One More Positive from Boston Game

[Lipoli390]

We’ve discussed a lot of positives from last night’s game. I mentioned Naz Reid’s play overall among the positives in my game report. But I should have specifically mentioned Naz Reid’s defense. I just finished watching the video replay and noticed just how terrific his defense was. He started out in the first quarter with a great one-on-one stop against the much taller Porzingis followed by a one-on-one defensive stop of Jaylen Brown. Those two players in the first quarter alone illustrate Naz Reid’s defensive versatility, although he’s generally not at his best against big centers. Flash forward to the third and fourth quarters where he completely neutralized Hauser while also making some great defensive plays against Brown on a switch. His offense is ahead of his defense, but his defense also continues to improve. He’s nowhere close to reaching his potential on either end of the floor in my view.

[60WinTim]

It's also notable that both Nowell and Naz were very foul prone last year which really hurt their defense. Nowell is gone and Naz seems to have made great strides in that area. It's amazing how he seems to play more like a wing now!

[Q-is-here]

I think part of Naz's improvement has to do with his position and players he's on the floor with. This is the first season he's playing primarily PF. In past seasons, he was often the lone big man on the floor and simply didn't have the size or strength to protect the paint playing alongside guys like Prince, Nowell, and little Jmac.

He's proven much better as a perimeter defender versus interior defender. It's made a huge difference.

[Lipoli390]

I think part of Naz's improvement has to do with his position and players he's on the floor with. This is the first season he's playing primarily PF. In past seasons, he was often the lone big man on the floor and simply didn't have the size or strength to protect the paint playing alongside guys like Prince, Nowell, and little Jmac.

He's proven much better as a perimeter defender versus interior defender. It's made a huge difference.

I agree completely, Q. I remember posting a long time ago that Naz seemed like far more of a PF than a center based on his size, strength, mobility and agility. In fact, I’d say his next best position after PF is SF. As Tim noted, he often plays like a wing.

[KG4Ever]

I think part of Naz's improvement has to do with his position and players he's on the floor with. This is the first season he's playing primarily PF. In past seasons, he was often the lone big man on the floor and simply didn't have the size or strength to protect the paint playing alongside guys like Prince, Nowell, and little Jmac.

He's proven much better as a perimeter defender versus interior defender. It's made a huge difference.

Q, you made the point I was going to make. Naz as a rim protector is not good. I watched Tatum kill the Wolves in the paint and Naz was helpless to stop him. On the other hand, I did see some good defensive play out of Naz on the perimeter. He probably pairs well with Rudy and I'd be curious to see what those stats look like. If there is one need on this roster, I think its a backup center who can protect the rim for when Rudy is off the court.