Minnesota Sports Forum

By Position:

Center
Dewayne Demond
Kyle O'Quinn
Epke Udoh

Forward
DeMarre Carrol
Ronda Holiis-Jefferson
Dante Cunningham

Guard
Corey Joseph
Mario Hezonja
Alec Burks
Garret Temple

KiwiMatt wrote:By Position:

Center
Dewayne Demond
Kyle O'Quinn
Epke Udoh

Forward
DeMarre Carrol
Ronda Holiis-Jefferson
Dante Cunningham

Guard
Corey Joseph
Mario Hezonja
Alec Burks
Garret Temple

Bring Dante back?

apollotsg wrote:

Q12543 wrote:
Why can't KAT play this role?

Because he panics with the ball in his hands once he picks up his dribble. He starts frantically swing his arms around and rarely makes the correct outlet pass - nor have I ever seen him successfully pass the ball once he starts driving.

KAT gets far more defensive attention than Jokic because Jokic has Murray, Millsap and Harris on the court with him. Having said that, I agree KAT needs to improve his poise. But you'll note that his passing improved a lot last season and he was far less prone to panic by the second half of the season.

apollotsg wrote:

Q12543 wrote:
Why can't KAT play this role?

Because he panics with the ball in his hands once he picks up his dribble. He starts frantically swing his arms around and rarely makes the correct outlet pass - nor have I ever seen him successfully pass the ball once he starts driving.

I think this is the answer too. KAT could I suppose, probably nowhere near to the quality that Jokic does. But that would still require far better shooting in our guards and wings which kind of gets back to the same problem and need for someone of DLO's quality in the same way Denver needs Murray.

Luc Mbaha Moute would be a sneaky good pickup. And there is a familiarity with Rosas with his one year in Houston. Of course, it would be dependent on his health. He had meniscus surgery back in March.

JaMychal Green would be cool, but I suspect the Clippers will end up retaining him using Bird rights once they spend their big FA money...

thedoper wrote:

apollotsg wrote:

Q12543 wrote:
Why can't KAT play this role?

Because he panics with the ball in his hands once he picks up his dribble. He starts frantically swing his arms around and rarely makes the correct outlet pass - nor have I ever seen him successfully pass the ball once he starts driving.

I think this is the answer too. KAT could I suppose, probably nowhere near to the quality that Jokic does. But that would still require far better shooting in our guards and wings which kind of gets back to the same problem and need for someone of DLO's quality in the same way Denver needs Murray.

Joking plays the center position like a Rubio type PG. The Spacinf does help but I think there is a special talent that's pretty rare in history with him. Towns is more like a good SG. Yeah he can pass and make plays but he isn't gonna be THE guy with the ball in his hands.l to get other guys looks. I could see him be guy like Webber Brad Miller or even Love like Adelman used them playing from the elbows etc. Towns should have the ball more and I expect that will happen going forward.

monsterpile wrote:

thedoper wrote:

apollotsg wrote:

Q12543 wrote:
Why can't KAT play this role?

Because he panics with the ball in his hands once he picks up his dribble. He starts frantically swing his arms around and rarely makes the correct outlet pass - nor have I ever seen him successfully pass the ball once he starts driving.

I think this is the answer too. KAT could I suppose, probably nowhere near to the quality that Jokic does. But that would still require far better shooting in our guards and wings which kind of gets back to the same problem and need for someone of DLO's quality in the same way Denver needs Murray.

Joking plays the center position like a Rubio type PG. The Spacinf does help but I think there is a special talent that's pretty rare in history with him. Towns is more like a good SG. Yeah he can pass and make plays but he isn't gonna be THE guy with the ball in his hands.l to get other guys looks. I could see him be guy like Webber Brad Miller or even Love like Adelman used them playing from the elbows etc. Towns should have the ball more and I expect that will happen going forward.

Excellent analogy, Monster. I hadn't thought of that way, but it's perfect. Jokic really is a one-of-a-kind center in the mold of a great playmaking PG. The SG analogy is a good one for KAT. He's a good passer and will get even better, but he's not a virtuoso playmaker like Jokic.

KAT may not be Jokic as a passer, but he's another level as a scorer, so you can still run an offense through KAT where a lot of possessions end with KAT shooting instead of passing. His assists would still go up though because we'd be running more elbow and high post stuff through him versus endless high screen and rolls with Teague (yuck!).

Think about how Adelman used Love in 2013-14. It was by far his best season as a pro and the Wolves had a top 10 offense, despite Corey Brewer and Ricky Rubio being the 4th and 5th options offensively! KAT can see over a defense better than Love and is a more versatile scorer.

We need to recognize KAT for what he is - an elite offensive talent that struggles with consistent defense. So let's maximize his offensive skills by running the offense through him and minimize his defensive short comings by getting him some rugged big man defenders. These guys aren't that expensive anymore (Dedmond, Ed Davis, etc.).

Q12543 wrote:KAT may not be Jokic as a passer, but he's another level as a scorer, so you can still run an offense through KAT where a lot of possessions end with KAT shooting instead of passing. His assists would still go up though because we'd be running more elbow and high post stuff through him versus endless high screen and rolls with Teague (yuck!).

Think about how Adelman used Love in 2013-14. It was by far his best season as a pro and the Wolves had a top 10 offense, despite Corey Brewer and Ricky Rubio being the 4th and 5th options offensively! KAT can see over a defense better than Love and is a more versatile scorer.

We need to recognize KAT for what he is - an elite offensive talent that struggles with consistent defense. So let's maximize his offensive skills by running the offense through him and minimize his defensive short comings by getting him some rugged big man defenders. These guys aren't that expensive anymore (Dedmond, Ed Davis, etc.).

Agreed, Q, and I'll add that one way to potentially improve Towns' defense is to actually help him on the offensive end. I think he just might not have the energy to carry an entire offensive load and be a defensive anchor. There are zero bigs in the NBA that are the sole scoring options on their teams that are also expected to be the centerpiece of a good defense. Everyone that you can think of has help. I'm not intending to make excuses for him, rather I'm suggesting that if we paired Towns with another potent scoring option that it could relieve the weight and pressure that's on him on the offensive end and wind up allowing him to place more focus on the defensive end.

Camden wrote:

Q12543 wrote:KAT may not be Jokic as a passer, but he's another level as a scorer, so you can still run an offense through KAT where a lot of possessions end with KAT shooting instead of passing. His assists would still go up though because we'd be running more elbow and high post stuff through him versus endless high screen and rolls with Teague (yuck!).

Think about how Adelman used Love in 2013-14. It was by far his best season as a pro and the Wolves had a top 10 offense, despite Corey Brewer and Ricky Rubio being the 4th and 5th options offensively! KAT can see over a defense better than Love and is a more versatile scorer.

We need to recognize KAT for what he is - an elite offensive talent that struggles with consistent defense. So let's maximize his offensive skills by running the offense through him and minimize his defensive short comings by getting him some rugged big man defenders. These guys aren't that expensive anymore (Dedmond, Ed Davis, etc.).

Agreed, Q, and I'll add that one way to potentially improve Towns' defense is to actually help him on the offensive end. I think he just might not have the energy to carry an entire offensive load and be a defensive anchor. There are zero bigs in the NBA that are the sole scoring options on their teams that are also expected to be the centerpiece of a good defense. Everyone that you can think of has help. I'm not intending to make excuses for him, rather I'm suggesting that if we paired Towns with another potent scoring option that it could relieve the weight and pressure that's on him on the offensive end and wind up allowing him to place more focus on the defensive end.

Offensive help as in, mmmm, who could it be.....ah, what the hell, I'll just throw out a name - D'Angelo Russell?

The thing is though, those possessions that end in assists, especially from the elbow and extended, he may hardly have to use any energy at all because the idea is a bunch of off ball screening and movement is supposed to free up cutters or shooters. I don't know what you think, but Jokic to me does not come across as a world class athlete at peak fitness level. He lumbers out there. But he saves a ton of energy in some of these Denver sets where he hardly has to move. It's everyone else doing the work!