Interior Defense (1 Viewer)

[HailBlazers]

Think it will be improved? Dame mentioned how many shots were getting blocked in pickup and how tough he had to work to get to the rim.

 

[TBpup]

They are certainly quicker and more athletic this year but while that can contest more shots, lack of experience often leads to being so far out of position as to have no chance at a rejection. I think they will get better as time goes on and there will be a highlight stuff here and there but it will likely be rough at first.

 

[Reep]

Think it will be improved? Dame mentioned how many shots were getting blocked in pickup and how tough he had to work to get to the rim.

I think it will be improved, but different. Instead of funneling everything to Lopez I think there will be more teamwork. Assuming you start Plumlee, the center position will likely be only so-so for shot blocking. But, he will get a lot more help from the PF and SF position, both of which will have very tall or long players helping. Imagine the collapsing of any two of Leonard/Davis/Vonleh/Harkless/Aminu--all of who have a wing span of at least 7 feet.

 

[Trackjack]

We are long we guys that plays above the rim last our bigs play below the rim.

 

[Mediocre Man]

You misspelled inferior

 

[blue9]

2014 // 2015
Dame < Dame
Wes > Henderson
Nic = Aminu
LMA < Whoever starts at PF
Rolo < Plumlee (I'm guessing here.)
CJ < CJ
Leonard < Whoever the back-up PF is.
The rest of last season's roster < The rest of this season's roster.

Yeah, we should be better. But it's still up to Stotts to implement a competent defensive system.

 

[Mediocre Man]

LMA was a pretty damn good defender.

We will be worse at that spot

 

[Reep]

2014 // 2015
Dame < Dame
Wes > Henderson
Nic = Aminu
LMA < Whoever starts at PF
Rolo < Plumlee (I'm guessing here.)
CJ < CJ
Leonard < Whoever the back-up PF is.
The rest of last season's roster < The rest of this season's roster.

Yeah, we should be better. But it's still up to Stotts to implement a competent defensive system.

Mostly agree, but I think you are underestimating LMA's defense and overvaluing Nic's. Nic has his moments, but his overall defensive stats seem to show that outside of those moments, he was just okay.

 

[Trackjack]

LMA was a pretty damn good defender.

We will be worse at that spot

He still play below the rim and he was good defender when he wanted too.

 

[Trackjack]

Mostly agree, but I think you are underestimating LMA's defense and overvaluing Nic's. Nic has his moments, but his overall defensive stats seem to show that outside of those moments, he was just okay.

I think nic was a average defender but really how many good defender are there in the league. The good defense teams are just that they team defense.

 

[blue9]

LMA was a pretty damn good defender.

We will be worse at that spot

LMA was only good when guarding his man - he was an awful help defender. And since defense is a team sport, LMA was a terrible defender. Whoever starts in his place will be better simply because they'll put effort into it.

 

[riverman]

We're going to be better across the board defensively, and our bench is going to be much, much better at holding or building a lead

 

[blue9]

Mostly agree, but I think you are underestimating LMA's defense and overvaluing Nic's. Nic has his moments, but his overall defensive stats seem to show that outside of those moments, he was just okay.

I would say that most people remember the lapses more than the good defense because it was always popular to hate on Nic. And people are also selectively remembering last season, rather than his entire body of work. He was good more often than he was bad, and defense isn't something that can be measured in statistics. Nic, more than any other player, made jump-shooters out of guys like LBJ/Durant/etc, and while they may have made those jumpers that's still exactly what you want to do with those sorts of players.

 

[riverman]

I think Aminu will provide great defense in place of Nico.. very few players have Nic's skillset so it won't be the same at all.

 

[Trackjack]

I think Aminu will provide great defense in place of Nico.. very few players have Nic's skillset so it won't be the same at all.

I believe Aminu might better defender then Nic because he better off the ball defender.

 

[Mediocre Man]

LMA was only good when guarding his man - he was an awful help defender. And since defense is a team sport, LMA was a terrible defender. Whoever starts in his place will be better simply because they'll put effort into it.

So good at guarding his man...poor at covering up for the shitty perimeter defenders....equals he is a bad defender....got it

 

[blue9]

So good at guarding his man...poor at covering up for the shitty perimeter defenders....equals he is a bad defender....got it

Yup. Because team defense is more important than individual defense. Nobody can effectively guard the perimeter one-on-one, so you need the rest of the team - especially the PF and C - to rotate on defense. LMA never left his man, and would instead concede uncontested lay-ups while sticking like glue to someone who wasn't a threat to score.

 

[tester551]

He still play below the rim and he was good defender when he wanted too.

That is exactly the issue. He hardly ever wanted to be.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

If we're specifically talking about interior defense, rim protection, etc., I definitely think we'll be better this year. I think Plumlee is comparable to Rolo defensively (although probably not as cerebral a team defender), but Ed Davis is absolutely superior defensively to anyone else we had, and I think Aminu is going to provide an added interior defensive presence that was lacking last year (as will Harkless, to a lesser degree). The only caveat to that is that if these guys don't figure out how to work together well on the defensive end, their individual prowess will be pretty irrelevant.

 

[HailBlazers]

If we're specifically talking about interior defense, rim protection, etc., I definitely think we'll be better this year. I think Plumlee is comparable to Rolo defensively (although probably not as cerebral a team defender), but Ed Davis is absolutely superior defensively to anyone else we had, and I think Aminu is going to provide an added interior defensive presence that was lacking last year (as will Harkless, to a lesser degree). The only caveat to that is that if these guys don't figure out how to work together well on the defensive end, their individual prowess will be pretty irrelevant.

Hope you're right, I love a team that protects the paint well.

 

[Natebishop3]

So good at guarding his man...poor at covering up for the shitty perimeter defenders....equals he is a bad defender....got it

Well, when you run a defense that switches on screens..... yes. He was horrible at getting out on the shooter after someone like Dame was screened off his man.

 

[Natebishop3]

Case in point

 

[BlazerCaravan]

It'll be more enthusiastic but quicker to foul out. It's a good thing we have so many front court fouls to give now.

 

[Natebishop3]

It'll be more enthusiastic but quicker to foul out. It's a good thing we have so many front court fouls to give now.

Yup. We have so much depth in the front court that we could go back to the old Knicks/Pistons days and just lay some wood on people in the paint.

Leonard fouls out? Play Vonleh.

Vonleh fouls out? Play Davis.

Davis fouls out? Play Alexander.

We won't really start getting desperate until Aminu has to play power forward.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

We're going to be better across the board defensively, and our bench is going to be much, much better at holding or building a lead

agreed, in 2 years...

 

[HailBlazers]

Yup. We have so much depth in the front court that we could go back to the old Knicks/Pistons days and just lay some wood on people in the paint.

Leonard fouls out? Play Vonleh.

Vonleh fouls out? Play Davis.

Davis fouls out? Play Alexander.

We won't really start getting desperate until Aminu has to play power forward.

Which he did a lot last year.

On Al-Farouq Aminu, and the rest of the Trail Blazers' small forward rotation

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Good point; but by the time you're at Aminu @ PF, you're out of PF's.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Good point; but by the time you're at Aminu @ PF, you're out of PF's.

No when PattyC is in at PF, we are out of PFs.

 

[dviss1]

2014 // 2015
Dame < Dame
Wes > Henderson
Nic = Aminu
LMA < Whoever starts at PF
Rolo < Plumlee (I'm guessing here.)
CJ < CJ
Leonard < Whoever the back-up PF is.
The rest of last season's roster < The rest of this season's roster.

Yeah, we should be better. But it's still up to Stotts to implement a competent defensive system.

I disagree with Nic = Aminu. IMO Aminu is a better defender and commits on the defensive end.

 

[Orion Bailey]

LMA was a pretty damn good defender.

We will be worse at that spot

Disagree

LMA was only good when guarding his man - he was an awful help defender. And since defense is a team sport, LMA was a terrible defender. Whoever starts in his place will be better simply because they'll put effort into it.

This!

LMA a good defender? Even on his man? Id say average to slightly above average, but def not top teir. He never put his hands up. He slaps at the ball getting fouls and busting his thumbs up. Rarely sprinted back on defense, but rather had that lazy Rodman gazelle gallop that drove me nuts.

Ive been pretty impartial on LMA and his meaning to this team, though I know he meant alot, lets not get overzealous. Wes, Robin and Nic were the core of our good D last year. It had nothing to do with LMA.
I think Pop is going to find that D from LMA is not the same as D from Duncan.

Spurs, though a playoff team, very overated in my book. OIder the hill team trying to keep the old alive, when they are the ones who should have retired and hit the reboot.
They will start the season out hot... for a change. then fade as they wear down and Parker start tossing up brick after brick. Just my prediction based off of LMa's less than stellar D.