Gorgui at PF?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I realize I'm late to the party on this one as several of you have been suggesting Gorgui can play PF for awhile. I was skeptical, but I think I was wrong. It's becoming clear that KAT and Gorgui can play together.

I'm loving Sam's rotations the past few games. G comes in at PF for KG at about the 6-minute mark, and then moves to center when Payne comes in for KAT at the end of the quarter. As Tim suggested in the GDT, G is helping us win games at PF now, but this may also be preparation for Pek returning in a week or two. If Pek is healthy and able to play 15 minutes at C, G is going to have to get most of his minutes at PF. His good play there seems even more important now with Belly unable to contribute anything except fouls at the moment.

Is it possible, or even likely. that Gorgui is our starting PF once KG retires?

[KiwiMatt]

Yep he has the skill set to be a starting PF in the NBA. Good fit next to KAT too.

[TAFKASP]

As reliable as his mid-range shot is along with how poorly he protects the rim as a 5 I have to think the 4 is the best place for him, especially playing next to KAT and PEK!!

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Absolutely. And that's because of both Dieng and Towns.

Dieng
I know a lot of us wanted us to start him at the PF spot next to Pek after we traded Love. He's a very good player, and I think he gets dismissed too quickly by some posters on this board. He was brought in as a backup defensive center and he's turned out to have a polished offensive game. I was defending his shooting in another thread, and I should have mentioned what the Brooklyn announcers mentioned: the fact that Dieng was the best shooter in the entire NBA last year between 10 and 20 feet. He's the third or fourth best FT shooter in the league this year. So offensively, he works far enough from the basket that Towns can still work on the post. I kind of miss the bank shot he showed last year, but he's been an efficient scorer so I can't complain. He doesn't always finish as strong as you'd like inside, but he plays the two man game well off the ball, setting picks, rolling, catching, passing out quickly, reposting, cutting for the dump pass, etc. He's a halfway decent passer, which is saying something for big guys these days. He's not quite as polished in the low post, but he's capable enough to punish smaller 4s at times. Meanwhile, his D never quite lived up to hopes, but he's still a good defensive player. He can make mistakes defensively, as people have pointed out for example, he doesn't seem to block guys from driving to the lane as much as you'd like. But he gets blocks and steals, fronts bigs well in the post, intimidates shots, deflects passes, and gets loose balls. And what's really important if he's going to play a lot with Towns, is that he's surprisingly quick and athletic. He doesn't look it because he's so big, but when he dives back down to his man after hedging on a pick, it's clear he has some lateral quickness. He'll need that if he's going to be guarding many stretch 4s. And he's also played most of his NBA career at the 5, so we know he can guard most centers.

Towns
I think Towns' versatility on both ends will also make it easier to play the two of them together essentially interchangeably at the 4 and the 5. Towns can score inside and out, which gives you offensively flexibility with Gorgui so they don't need to operate in the same space. It's also really exciting to have two bigs who can both shoot with range, opening up floor space for drives which is important because our 3 point shooting is not great from our wings and guards. Towns is also a good passer, with flashes of real vision, which offers more offensive flexibility. And defensively, Towns is also mobile (and long) enough to guard 5s and 4s when necessary. He's a better shot blocker, so defensively I would probably try to put Towns on whoever tends to score more at the rim. But again, Gorgui and Towns are a solid and flexible defensive unit as well.

Side Note
While I'm not counting on much from Pek, I think Gorgui and Towns can both play at the 4 next to Pek, for what it's worth. If (please) Pek is able to return to being the player he once was, I'd like to see that actually.

[worldK]

KAT and Dieng are a nice combo at the pf-c spots. I would like to see them be the permanent starting frontcourt of the team for the rest of the year. We know KG will start though so that is not going to happen. But if pek can come back and be healthy, then I would really like to see kg come off the bench for his 14mins a game and be paired with pek. Then we have KAT and Dieng starting for us.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

For the record, I like having KG start this season (and keep playing reduced minutes). Dieng and Towns will still play a lot together. But next season, I want Dieng and Towns starting.

[Lipoli390]

I was a big Gorgui fan coming out of Louisville. He was a good passer, very good defender and a decent shot. He met with a group of us (season ticket holders) his rookie season and I was really impressed by his intelligence, maturity and seriousness. He would make my Wolves All-Gameface Team. Watching him since we drafted him, I've been impressed by his competitiveness and his serious, no-nonsense approach to the game. He's the sort of guy who works relentlessly to improve and won't quit.

So I'm not surprised by how well he's doing. And I think he'll keep getting better.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The only reason Dieng is coming in at PF is because Bjelly has been so awful. Sometimes something positive comes out of adversity, and in this case, it's been a revelation.

I remember last year wanting Dieng to start at PF simply because I felt Young was best as a super-sub off the bench and it's better to have more size in your starting lineup. But Flip never budged. Gorgs is definitely more effective when he doesn't have to anchor the paint.

Drew, If Gorgui keeps this up, you might be right about him starting next to Towns next season.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I was a big Gorgui fan coming out of Louisville. He was a good passer, very good defender and a decent shot. He met with a group of us (season ticket holders) his rookie season and I was really impressed by his intelligence, maturity and seriousness. He would make my Wolves All-Gameface Team. Watching him since we drafted him, I've been impressed by his competitiveness and his serious, no-nonsense approach to the game. He's the sort of guy who works relentlessly to improve and won't quit.

So I'm not surprised by how well he's doing. And I think he'll keep getting better.

As I said, I was late to the party with Gorgui. I thought he would just be a shot blocker, and it turns out that is one of his least impressive skills (although he seems to be getting at least a block every game lately). But I remember your report after your meeting with him his rookie year, and I am also a fan of his character. I would add humility to the list of qualities you cite above...he doesn't seem any different after a game like today.

Drew makes a great point. What happened to the Duncan-like bank shot that he developed last year? that thing was money!

[kekgeek]

The thing I also like with gourgi playing the 4 is his biggest weakness defensively is holding, ground in the post. Now at the 4 he won't get bullied in the post be 4s and can use one of his strengths his mobility and PNR defense (Massive improvement)