Minnesota Sports Forum

TRKO wrote:Horford is the better player, but Deng is the better fit. He fits the scheme and his versatility between the 3 and 4 gives us matchup flexibility.

Yeah, I agree with this take. Horford is a more versatile offensive player, and a very good defender also...and he's younger. But I listed several reasons above why I think Deng is a great fit. My opinion on our need for Horford would change, however, if two of these three things don't happen:

1) Belly proves that he can play like he did in Europe and how he played for us the last month of the year.

2) Super trainer Arnie Kander's assertion that Pek will return to the court in good health next season. All of us are skeptical when it comes to Pek, but Kander seems to be able to walk on water...so I listen when he talks.

3) KG is able to play the 15-20 minutes he played at the start of this season. There is some belief that KG could have more this season if wins meant much...next year wins will have meaning again.

If 2 of these three happen, I think we will have sufficient depth with our bigs that we won't have to pony up the big bucks Al will need, and instead spend less for Deng.

Yeah, I'm not betting on getting anything meaningful out of Garnett and especially Pekovic next season and in the future. Those two don't play any role in whether or not I go after Horford to be one of my starting bigs.

longstrangetrip wrote:

TRKO wrote:Horford is the better player, but Deng is the better fit. He fits the scheme and his versatility between the 3 and 4 gives us matchup flexibility.

Yeah, I agree with this take. Horford is a more versatile offensive player, and a very good defender also...and he's younger. But I listed several reasons above why I think Deng is a great fit. My opinion on our need for Horford would change, however, if two of these three things don't happen:

1) Belly proves that he can play like he did in Europe and how he played for us the last month of the year.

2) Super trainer Arnie Kander's assertion that Pek will return to the court in good health next season. All of us are skeptical when it comes to Pek, but Kander seems to be able to walk on water...so I listen when he talks.

3) KG is able to play the 15-20 minutes he played at the start of this season. There is some belief that KG could have more this season if wins meant much...next year wins will have meaning again.

If 2 of these three happen, I think we will have sufficient depth with our bigs that we won't have to pony up the big bucks Al will need, and instead spend less for Deng.

Our bigs were are biggest hole this year. You are placing a lot of hope in high risk scenarios. Although Belly played well for a bit, his overwhelming output was horrible this year. KG can give us 15-20. Then where are we? We need a real 4. I can't put much confidence in any of those scenarios, even with SuperKander.

I gotta ask, LST. Do you have a more recent statement from Kander on Pek than the one he gave a couple months ago when Pek stopped playing?

60WinTim wrote:I gotta ask, LST. Do you have a more recent statement from Kander on Pek than the one he gave a couple months ago when Pek stopped playing?

No more recent statement, Tim. I have seen him walking around in the last month without any hint of a limp, so that's good. But then again, he wasn't walking with any limp even as long ago as last fall. Kander's statement last February was very positive though. He said there was no issue whatsoever with the surgically repaired area, but that his discomfort rather was due to calf muscle weakness. He said that once he built up his calf strength again, the Achilles would no longer be an issue. Again, it's difficult to be optimistic about Pek, but having Kander positive about his prognosis gives me a lot of comfort. Pek's game has some flaws to be sure, but we also saw in the last Rockets game of the year how much we could really use his bulk in some matchups. Horford could help in this area, but not as much as a healthy Pek IMO.

Thibs with Barreiro today. I am listening to it now...

http://kfan.iheart.com/onair/dan-barreiro-11904/tom-thibodeau-interview-14636220/

Man, he says all the right things! With a significant improvement on defense, this team could be really, really good next year...

longstrangetrip wrote:

TRKO wrote:Horford is the better player, but Deng is the better fit. He fits the scheme and his versatility between the 3 and 4 gives us matchup flexibility.

Yeah, I agree with this take. Horford is a more versatile offensive player, and a very good defender also...and he's younger. But I listed several reasons above why I think Deng is a great fit. My opinion on our need for Horford would change, however, if two of these three things don't happen:

1) Belly proves that he can play like he did in Europe and how he played for us the last month of the year.

2) Super trainer Arnie Kander's assertion that Pek will return to the court in good health next season. All of us are skeptical when it comes to Pek, but Kander seems to be able to walk on water...so I listen when he talks.

3) KG is able to play the 15-20 minutes he played at the start of this season. There is some belief that KG could have more this season if wins meant much...next year wins will have meaning again.

If 2 of these three happen, I think we will have sufficient depth with our bigs that we won't have to pony up the big bucks Al will need, and instead spend less for Deng.

Another thing lost in the Horford/Deng discussion is its not a one against one. It's Deng and another quality player vs Horford. To me our money is better spent getting quality role players over one max guy. I think we have the marquee players, we just need top role players.

Massively undervaluing Horford's impact on both ends of the floor. Very few players have no obvious weakness. Horford is one of them. This shouldn't even be a tough decision if he wanted to come here.

60WinTim wrote:Man, he says all the right things! With a significant improvement on defense, this team could be really, really good next year...

Interesting, he rattled off the key 5 things he thinks are most important to winning basketball:

1. Defense
2. Rebounding
3. Keeping turnovers down
4. Playing inside-Out
5. Sharing the basketball

Some meat and potatoes stuff right there. I have a feeling we'll slow down the pace a bit, which makes me a little sad. It's tough to be a great defensive rebounding team and keep TOs down when you look to run, because it involves leak-outs and some risky passes occasionally. But damn, another coach could look at our very same roster and view it as the second coming of SSOL. That would be fun as hell, but probably less effective in the long run.

Thibs also emphasized the importance of maximizing free throws, layups, and 3-pointers on offense. Me likey!