Starting Small Forward

[BBert]

I don't see Gasol covering young stretch fours, and heaven forbid he gets stuck on a SF or a guard away from the basket. I'll be satisfied if he can hold his own for 6-8 minutes at Center, and very happy if he can do it for 10-12.

 

[tlongII]

No way Pau starts unless we have a ton of injuries.

 

[riverman]

Hes slowed down a ton.

He had foot surgery last season and according to him is now 100 percent....you can start Nassir at PF if you want young legs but Pau is better at all aspects.....he can throw a lob pass full court for one...he's not out of shape...Jimmy Connor made the semi finals of a Grand Slam tennis tournament in his 40s...and that's a game of running. I personally believe he'll start at PF this season. Paul Millsap is no sprinter either.....I stand by my projection that Pau will be our starter..how many 7 ft players have dissed out 14 assists or blocked a guys shot 3 times in a row on a possession?....Pau has. He's more skilled than Nurk at this point. I'm excited for him to share the court with Dame and CJ....I've said before....older players who keep their careers on track play smart basketball....it's why they play at 39 ...Tim Duncan says hello

 

[BonesJones]

He had foot surgery last season and according to him is now 100 percent....you can start Nassir at PF if you want young legs but Pau is better at all aspects.....he can throw a lob pass full court for one...he's not out of shape...Jimmy Connor made the semi finals of a Grand Slam tennis tournament in his 40s...and that's a game of running. I personally believe he'll start at PF this season. Paul Millsap is no sprinter either.....I stand by my projection that Pau will be our starter..how many 7 ft players have dissed out 14 assists or blocked a guys shot 3 times in a row on a possession?....Pau has. He's more skilled than Nurk at this point. I'm excited for him to share the court with Dame and CJ....I've said before....older players who keep their careers on track play smart basketball....it's why they play at 39 ...Tim Duncan says hello

Nobody's saying Pau is out of shape, or not skilled. Offensively, he could easily play the 4. Defensively, he'd get crushed. That dude has 0 lateral quickness, not bevause he's out of shape, but because he's 39.

Pau has played C exclusively for the last 4 years. Tim Duncan played C exclusively at the end of his career too. Hell, Meyers has much more lateral quickness at this point and he couldnt play PF.

 

[CupWizier]

Nobody's saying Pau is out of shape, or not skilled. Offensively, he could easily play the 4. Defensively, he'd get crushed. That dude has 0 lateral quickness, not bevause he's out of shape, but because he's 39.

Pau has played C exclusively for the last 4 years. Tim Duncan played C exclusively at the end of his career too. Hell, Meyers has much more lateral quickness at this point and he couldnt play PF.

Leonard couldn't play defensively at PF (and the same, but not as bad at center) because he is a step or 2 behind the play. Gasol's advantage is he has played at a high level for a long time. What he has lost in quickness he has gained in knowledge and knowing where to be and when to be there plays a big role in playing defense. Leonard had very limited anticipation skills.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Nobody's saying Pau is out of shape, or not skilled. Offensively, he could easily play the 4. Defensively, he'd get crushed. That dude has 0 lateral quickness, not bevause he's out of shape, but because he's 39.

Pau has played C exclusively for the last 4 years. Tim Duncan played C exclusively at the end of his career too. Hell, Meyers has much more lateral quickness at this point and he couldnt play PF.

Knowledge and experience play a part though . Knowing where you should be before you are there is half he battle of movement. Meyers never know where to be so h was slow. Gasol will know where to be several steps ahead, which gives him a much better start.

 

[Orion Bailey]

I think Gasols D is underated.

 

[illmatic99]

Here are the current PFs in the west:

GS- Draymond
DEN- Millsap
HOU- PJ Tucker
UTA- Bogdanovic
OKC- Gallo
SAS- Gay
LAC- Kawhi/Harrell
SAC- Bagley
LAL- Lebron
MIN- Covington
MEM- Jackson Jr.
NOP- Zion
DAL- Porzingis
PHX- Saric

Who the hell is Gasol guarding? Hell, Zach is gonna have a ton of trouble with these guys.

 

[illmatic99]

This is why Little's, and to an extent, Hezonja's development will be crucial for this team moving forward. The old mainstay PF position has gone from endangered to extinct. These guys playing the 4 now are all mobile, face up shooters who can create. It's just comprised of taller SFs, and our roster construction is going the complete opposite way while we're filling it with centers.

Just glancing at the east, it's even worse with guys like Giannis/Siakam/Tatum/Simmons/Durant/Gordon etc all playing the majority of the minutes there.

 

[CupWizier]

Here are the current PFs in the west:

GS- Draymond
DEN- Millsap
HOU- PJ Tucker
UTA- Bogdanovic
OKC- Gallo
SAS- Gay
LAC- Kawhi/Harrell
SAC- Bagley
LAL- Lebron
MIN- Covington
MEM- Jackson Jr.
NOP- Zion
DAL- Porzingis
PHX- Saric

Who the hell is Gasol guarding? Hell, Zach is gonna have a ton of trouble with these guys.

Gasol is in the 10-20 minute role and will likely be on the floor with the other teams reserves.

 

[riverman]

Nobody's saying Pau is out of shape, or not skilled. Offensively, he could easily play the 4. Defensively, he'd get crushed. That dude has 0 lateral quickness, not bevause he's out of shape, but because he's 39.

Pau has played C exclusively for the last 4 years. Tim Duncan played C exclusively at the end of his career too. Hell, Meyers has much more lateral quickness at this point and he couldnt play PF.

I'm not putting Pau out to pasture just because he's 39.....if there's an obvious mismatch you just sit him for Zach...pretty simple...my point at the beginning of all of this discussion is he's deserving of a starting spot just like Lamarcus would be if he came back over younger, quicker players.

 

[Reep]

Isn't this a thread about the small forward position? I will go out on a limb and say that I don't think Pau should play small forward.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Isn't this a thread about the small forward position? I will go out on a limb and say that I don't think Pau should play small forward.

HHAHAHA. NICE!

 

[riverman]

Isn't this a thread about the small forward position? I will go out on a limb and say that I don't think Pau should play small forward.

Yeah. I listed
My starting lineup thoughts plus the sf slot. If it’s an issue it’s on me.

 

[BonesJones]

Knowledge and experience play a part though . Knowing where you should be before you are there is half he battle of movement. Meyers never know where to be so h was slow. Gasol will know where to be several steps ahead, which gives him a much better start.

Of course, but it doesnt make up for 0 literal quickness. I hope he plays some PF so that we can see..

 

[Orion Bailey]

Of course, but it doesnt make up for 0 literal quickness. I hope he plays some PF so that we can see..

I tend to agree I think he is too slow to defend most PF's, but I certainly would like to see he and Whiteside and he and Nurk on the court together against certain lineups. I think we will make up our deficiencies on the other end and just overpower some lineups.

Then when Nurk is healthy, lets see Dame/CJ/Gasol(Collins even)/Nurk/Whiteside


Just for a moment even!

 

[CupWizier]

Of course, but it doesnt make up for 0 literal quickness. I hope he plays some PF so that we can see..

Nobody has zero lateral quickness unless they are frozen in place, lol.

 

[oldfisherman]

What? I was under the impression that any big that tried to play defense during the regular season, automatically got called for a foul.

 

[BonesJones]

I tend to agree I think he is too slow to defend most PF's, but I certainly would like to see he and Whiteside and he and Nurk on the court together against certain lineups. I think we will make up our deficiencies on the other end and just overpower some lineups.

Then when Nurk is healthy, lets see Dame/CJ/Gasol(Collins even)/Nurk/Whiteside


Just for a moment even!

 

[BonesJones]

Nobody has zero lateral quickness unless they are frozen in place, lol.

In a basketball sense, not that literal.

 

[CupWizier]

In a basketball sense, not that literal.

basketball sense?????? How does one have zero lateral movement in basketball sense?

 

[BonesJones]

basketball sense?????? How does one have zero lateral movement in basketball sense?

Compared to other basketball players. Youre taking this way too literally.

 

[CupWizier]

Compared to other basketball players. Youre taking this way too literally.

I'm taking it exactly as you are saying it. Now it might be more realistic if you said, he has limited lateral quickness or is slow moving laterally, but I can't read your mind as to what you mean as I can only read what you write. I'll use a baseball example for you. Player A is lightning quick, but gets horrible jumps when stealing and often gets thrown out. Player B has average speed but is great at reading the pitcher and gets excellent jumps and is a very successful base stealer even though player A can easily beat player B in a 50 yard sprint. Quickness is a nice strength to have as sometimes it can make up for other deficiencies, but there are many other factors as well.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Player A is lightning quick

Nobody can be as quick as lightning, it's phisically impossible.

Pardon me if you meant something else, but I'm taking it exactly as you said it. I can't read your mind as to what you mean as I can only read what you write.

 

[CupWizier]

Nobody can be as quick as lightning, it's phisically impossible.

You might be taking taking this too literally.

But in this case, it was appropriate.

https://www.yourdictionary.com/lightning-quick

 

[BonesJones]

Nobody can be as quick as lightning, it's phisically impossible.

Pardon me if you meant something else, but I'm taking it exactly as you said it. I can't read your mind as to what you mean as I can only read what you write.

 

[BonesJones]

I'm taking it exactly as you are saying it. Now it might be more realistic if you said, he has limited lateral quickness or is slow moving laterally, but I can't read your mind as to what you mean as I can only read what you write. I'll use a baseball example for you. Player A is lightning quick, but gets horrible jumps when stealing and often gets thrown out. Player B has average speed but is great at reading the pitcher and gets excellent jumps and is a very successful base stealer even though player A can easily beat player B in a 50 yard sprint. Quickness is a nice strength to have as sometimes it can make up for other deficiencies, but there are many other factors as well.

I'd much rather you do your normal shtick than become a semantics warrior who can't figure out context on his own.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Nobody can be as quick as lightning, it's phisically impossible.

Pardon me if you meant something else, but I'm taking it exactly as you said it. I can't read your mind as to what you mean as I can only read what you write.

Electrons are physical, and lightning is made up of electrons. So it is physically possible to be quick as lightning. Which is roughly 1/3rd the speed of light, depending on conditions. Now if anyone is “literally” that quick, no probably not now, not ever, but it is within the laws of physics for physical objects to move that fast.

Though this is all completely irrelevant and way too literal to the overall point that was being made, because someone else was taking something literally.

 

[SIeepwalker]

You might be taking taking this too literally.

But in this case, it was appropriate.

https://www.yourdictionary.com/lightning-quick

Point is what you meant was obvious. It's also obvious that Bones thinks Pau lateral quickness is very limited, and not that he expect him to literally not be able to take one step. Otherwise he would be on a basketball court, he would be in a wheelchair (I guess he could play wheelchair basketball)

 

[SIeepwalker]

Electrons are physical, and lightning is made up of electrons. So it is physically possible to be quick as lightning. Which is roughly 1/3rd the speed of light, depending on conditions. Now if anyone is “literally” that quick, no probably not now, not ever, but it is within the laws of physics for physical objects to move that fast.

Though this is all completely irrelevant and way too literal to the overall point that was being made, because someone else was taking something literally.

God dammit you fucking nerd