<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Premier)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GrandKenyon6)</div><div class='quotemain'>Oden and Jefferson. That is going to be a scary duo.</div>
Unfortunately, they both operate in the same space on the court. </p>
Where is Prem with his lengthy explanation?</div>Here:</p>
..."<span class="main"><span class="spacing">Modern NBA defenses require either the power forward or the center to have the ability to defend the pick and roll, along with the more perimeter-oriented players in the league, namely Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Mehmet Okur, etc. Oden has the ability to do so, but he is more effective as an interior defender, closing off penetration and defending the low post. Jefferson is best, defenisvely, at center because he doesn't have to worry as much about defending his man, so that he can hide his weakness in defending outside the low post and defending stronger, quicker opponents, since Jefferson is not nearly conditioned enough to defend Elton Brand or Kevin Garnett, for example. In a possible Oden-Jefferson tandem, the need to defend outside the low post would require Oden to guard the pick and roll and the high post big men, negating his defensive impact that would have improved the Celtics if he could stay down low and play more team defense. So, in this situation, the Celtics would not be able to use Oden's biggest attribute and since he is superior to Jefferson and infinitely more valuable, that does not make much sense to me. The Celtics are best suited to match Jefferson with a quicker power forward that can play excellent defense against the opposing big men who prefer to stay outside the low post, but still strong enough to adequately defend the bruising power forward generation that is seemingly dying out. Since Oden is a better player than Jefferson, if the Celtics end up with the first selection and elect to take Oden, it makes more sense to utlize Oden and accomadate his needs rather than construct a defense that would best serve Jefferson. In addition, it's difficult for a slashing team to have two low post players on offense. Oden and Jefferson both are less effective ten feet away from the basket, so to have one of them there in a less comfortable area doesn't best use their offensive talent. Primarily, Pierce is a slashing wing player that is at his best when he is using two-dribble drives to draw fouls and get to the line. With Jefferson and Oden both in the post, it's easier for the big men on the other team to shut off penetration and limit the Celtics offensively to a grind-it-out game that places emphasis on something they do not do well, perimeter shooting. You do not have someone to spread the defense. In modern NBA, more teams are shying away from the bruising power forward and center combination and you see more teams having at least one of their starting big men have the ability to step outside to about sixteen feet, at least, and hit the jump shot. This removes a help defender from the interior, giving Oden or Al more room to work and allowing Pierce and company more lanes to penetrate. Oden and Jefferson is not the best combination possible."...</span></span> </p>
</div> That's an excellent breakdown of why the Knicks are going to be terrible this year.</p>
Interesting stuff. My answer is that I'd probably put both of these players out of their comfort zone. I'd force Jefferson to spend a decent portion of the game guarding faster PFs, and and I'd force both of them to start developing a little bit more of a step back game. Granted, Oden's got a lot to learn, but by all accounts, both these guys are hard workers, and there's no reason to think that they wouldn't adapt to complement each other's skills. </p>
