what we didn't have this year - power forwards

[Blazer4ever]

Meyers - DNP, Caleb - DNP.
If Davis was playing it was mostly as the Center. The rookie played some but not much. Aminu is small ball 4, the same as Harkless.
Discuss

 

[tlongII]

Harkless is a 3. Aminu is a 3/4.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

It’s been pointed out that AFA as PF played pretty well. I tend to think he’s more naturally a 3, but the NBA is more and more homogeneous in terms of positions so while I’d love for Collins to bulk up and be the starting 4 so Aminu could slide down to 3. I don’t know if it’s vital. Though a healthy Moe Harkless as your 6th man could be dangerous which could help strengthen their bench.

 

[blue9]

Vonleh was a PF...

 

[Reep]

It's difficult to tell what direction to go. Once Collins matures and adds some muscle, I would like to see some Collins-Aminu-Harkless 5-3. I think that lineup is most like where the NBA seems to be headed. If we keep Nurkic, then they probably should focus on Turkic-Collins-Aminu/Harkless 5-3. I like how he works the PnR with Dame, but they don't take advantage of it enough to make it a major threat.

I'm not sure the classic power forward fits in the NBA anymore. You need to be able to shoot the three and cover players on the perimeter. Collins and Aminu fit that description fairly well.

 

[Strenuus]

You're right. We were really missing Thomas Robinson.

 

[Reep]

I wonder if Karl Malone would have been an all-star in today's NBA? I'm really not sure.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

I wonder if Karl Malone would have been an all-star in today's NBA? I'm really not sure.

I imagine so, he was so strong and never got hurt.

 

[Reep]

I imagine so, he was so strong and never got hurt.

But, he couldn't shoot the three and would have had some trouble covering many of the stretch fours we have today.

 

[BBert]

Harkless is a 3. Aminu is a 3/4.

And Meyers is strictly a 5; Collins is a 4.

 

[KingSpeed]

But, he couldn't shoot the three and would have had some trouble covering many of the stretch fours we have today.

He could shoot. Maybe he could shoot a 3. He never tried.

 

[Reep]

He could shoot. Maybe he could shoot a 3. He never tried.

He tried a few times . . . each year. It was a different game back then, but his bullying in the pain wouldn't work as well today. Stockton probably would have been a bigger star though.

 

[Pinwheel1]

So I just looked at the box scores for the remaining 8 teams. Here is who they list as their starting PF

Boston: Horford -but he played mostly at center as Marcus Morris got more minutes than Baynes.
Phil: Dario Saric
Cleveland: None listed as they start Love at center
Toronto: None listed
GS: Green
Houston: None listed
Utah: Crowder (A guy we wanted at SF)

The league has changed

 

[Sarni]

So I just looked at the box scores for the remaining 8 teams. Here is who they list as their starting PF

Boston: Horford -but he played mostly at center as Marcus Morris got more minutes than Baynes.
Phil: Dario Saric
Cleveland: None listed as they start Love at center
Toronto: None listed
GS: Green
Houston: None listed
Utah: Crowder (A guy we wanted at SF)

The league has changed

Utah played Crowder at PF because Favors was on restricted minutes.

Toronto have Ibaka. Their backup Siakam is also a very talented player.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Utah played Crowder at PF because Favors was on restricted minutes.

Toronto have Ibaka. Their backup Siakam is also a very talented player.

I didn't say they did not have PF's on their roster, just that they were not starting them. Is Ibaka hurt?
Siakam is talented, but none the less he is 6'9 230....and he did not start either

 

[Rastapopoulos]

He could shoot. Maybe he could shoot a 3. He never tried.

One All-Star game they paired NBA players up with WNBA players to try to score as many points as possible and Malone parked himself behind the three while the nippy little WNBA-er rebounded his shots. It was funny.

 

[BonesJones]

What isn't relative: positions.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

So what you're saying is that we HAD them but we didn't PLAY them. Kinda makes you wonder why we drafted Swanigan, huh.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

What isn't relative: positions.

Um, positions are PRECISELY relative.

 

[CupWizier]

He tried a few times . . . each year. It was a different game back then, but his bullying in the pain wouldn't work as well today. Stockton probably would have been a bigger star though.

Malone had an outstanding mid range game as well and would have been a dominant player in todays game as well. Duncan didn;t shoot the 3 and Aldridge doesn;t really shoot the 3 but they have been top power forwards in todays game. Talented players adapt just fine.

 

[BonesJones]

Um, positions are PRECISELY relative.

Nope. What's relative is having a cohesive 5-man unit where each player components to other to make up for their individual weaknesses and to build on their strengths.

Obviously, a team with all 6ft Pgs isn't gong to be a good 5-man unit. You need balance. But positional labels? Nah. They're not relevant. They're helpful when determining roles and the assortment of players on the court, but when it comes to building a lineup, they're not relevant.

 

[Sarni]

Yeah I don’t think the three point shot is that necessary. If you can make it up by having insane inside game, good defense and great rebounding skills, you can get away with not being a good shooter at power forward.

Favors has had a successful year and he can barely shoot either. He has worked on his corner three but it’s still far from reliable. I think, though, if you have someone like that as your main power forward it’s good to have a stretch four on the bench to be able to give your team another dimension. Utah for example solved Favors lack of shooting by having a complete opposite of him, Jerebko, coming off the bench.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Yeah I don’t think the three point shot is that necessary. If you can make it up by having insane inside game, good defense and great rebounding skills, you can get away with not being a good shooter at power forward.

Favors has had a successful year and he can barely shoot either. He has worked on his corner three but it’s still far from reliable. I think, though, if you have someone like that as your main power forward it’s good to have a stretch four on the bench to be able to give your team another dimension. Utah for example solved Favors lack of shooting by having a complete opposite of him, Jerebko, coming off the bench.

This is very true as long as you can guard the 3 pt line. That is the bigger issue for the more traditional slower PFs. In the playoffs the better teams like GS and Houston will eventually force them off the court if they can't keep up.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Meyers - DNP, Caleb - DNP.
If Davis was playing it was mostly as the Center. The rookie played some but not much. Aminu is small ball 4, the same as Harkless.
Discuss

Depends on what you expect out of the position. Our PFs provided excellent defense, with Aminu as the starter and Collins as the back up (with Vonleh getting minutes early in the season when Aminu was injured). Our PFs were 5th in the league in rebounding. So, in the traditional PF sense we got what you expect to get from the position (rebounding and defense).

Where our PFs were lacking was the scoring department. Part of that is with Dame, C.J. and Nurk, there are only so many shots left over to divide between the two forward positions. That combined with poor shooting (last in FG%, 20th in 3FG%) meant our PFs were 29th in the league in scoring.

I've been saying for a couple years now, that for a team built around Dame and C.J. to be successful, we need 2-way players at the forward positions that are at least average on both sides of the ball - ideally above average both ways, but average offensively with above average defense would also work.

We hope to see Collins grow into that type of player. He's already very solid defensively, which is impressive for a 20-year old rookie big man. His offense clearly needs some work. He shows flashes, but he needs to become a consistent threat at the offensive end of the floor.

Harkless, post all star game/pre injury was also giving us that kind of 2-way play at the SF position. The question is, can he deliver that on a consistent level over the course of an entire season + play offs. He's teased us with this potential in the past only to pout and disappear for months at a time. Hopefully, he has finally matured and can be more consistent moving forward.

Who we draft or acquire using our trade exceptions will tell us who the organization believes in more - Collins or Harkless. They seem very high on Collins, given his youth, attitude and upside. Going forward, I'm more concerned about the SF position that I am PF.

BNM

 

[dviss1]

I wonder if Karl Malone would have been an all-star in today's NBA? I'm really not sure.

Karl Malone would have no trouble scoring in this NBA.

 

[Reep]

Karl Malone would have no trouble scoring in thus NBA.

Yes, but could he define in thus NBA? He wasn't slow, but he wasn't the speediest forward in the league either. I didn't say he couldn't score. I just am not sure he would be as successful.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Yes, but could he define in thus NBA? He wasn't slow, but he wasn't the speediest forward in the league either. I didn't say he couldn't score. I just am not sure he would be as successful.

Meh, one of those pointy elbows to the face of today's smaller, lighter stretch 4s would render the point moot. A Malone elbow was capable of taking down a plodding brontosaurus like Joe Klein. Imagine what it would do to today's svelte 6'9" 220 lb. gazelle-like "power" forwards.

BNM

 

[BigGameDamian]

Karl Malone would have no trouble scoring in thus NBA.

Either would Barkley or Kevin McHale.

 

[riverman]

We have more bigs this season than I can remember in ages......Jared Jeffries used to be our center...JJ Hickson used to be our center....Chief is our starting PF and Collins is our backup...what we don't have are a lot of true vets on the bench...young team...Swanigan is our development 4 guy in my book for a couple of years down the road....Karl Malone was a rare, rare talent...a true ironman...guy was in Lebron shape if not better...Derrick Coleman came close to Karl as a force but now everybody is playing small ball...Draymond Green is the new standard for PF....he shoots the 3 and is undersized for a 4 like Barkley was....when Zach Collins puts on 35 lbs of muscle he'll be playing more 5.....Ed is a PF by nature...just more like Buck Williams than Lamarcus Aldridge

 

[Wizard Mentor]

In their last game, GS's frontcourt was
Iggy (listed as SF)
Durant (listed as SF)
Green (listed as PF)

who all played the lion's share minutes. My guess is that Iggy played SF, Durant played PF, Green played C.

So, which "real pf" do you want guarding Durant?

My Answer: none, I want Aminu guarding him.... who we have as our starting PF.