I see you, Trinidad. I see you. http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/04/14/2014-pbt-awards-all-defensive-team/
Nice. Bev is definitely getting noticed this year. It's a shame that the Westbrook injury is what put him on the map, but it's pretty remarkable that he was able to parlay that attention into mass respect for his defensive abilities.
A Blazer fan here. Beverly is definitely deserving of recognition. I think he pushes the boundaries of the rules, but if the officials don't call it, then he's staying on the right side of it. From the Portland perspective, he's the key to the series. He drives Lillard nuts and takes him out of his game. And if you disrupt Lillard, you take us out of our offense.
It's going to be a fun series and be a lot tougher than most Rockets fans realize. Plus you guys have been playing pretty well and we have been going the other way. Given we haven't been healthy. I think the defining match up will be Howard. If Howard can dominate then i feel pretty good about our chances. LA scares me though, we don't have a 4 that can guard him.
Welcome! That's what we love about Bev. He plays an old school game and says to hell with these hand checking b*tch rules. If they call it, they call it but it's not gonna stop him from getting in your head.
Beverley plays defense how all coaches wish their players would play. In fact, I did some cleaning up today, and came across and old packet I got sometime in high school from my basketball coaches that he handed out to the team. This particular section is titled "How to win games", and under the defensive section, #1 is "A good stance and ball pressure is where it all starts". Beverley is always pressuring the ball. And trust me, when you are playing against a guy who is pressuring you all game, it's very frustrating. Even if you are protecting the ball well. It's exhausting mentally because you can't let your guard down and relax for just 1 second. You feel smothered and like you are in a constant fight. Beverley doesn't wait for his opponent to make a move and he just reacts. He goes on the offensive while playing defense and tries to make his opponent do what he wants him to do. I don't think he's pushing the boundaries at all.
Sweet. He deserves it, despite what a certain group of "fans" here believe. It probably would be a toss up between him or Westbrook, but since Westbrook was out for so long this year (how'd that happen again???) it is Bev. Learning basketball from Rick Torbett DVDs > learning basketball from high school packet. just trollin'...
I think we're going to see a lot of games like the last one our two teams played where we lost in OT. Both of our offenses can get white hot and either build a lead or lose one. As for the level of our play, our recent record might look okay, but it hasn't been against great competition. We've really struggled getting Aldridge back in the flow of the offense. At the beginning of the season, he would get his points and the team would rise with him. Now, either LA is getting his and the team is struggling or he disappears. I assume Stotts looks at the matchup and sees LA as the biggest advantage we have. Lillard hasn't been able to figure out Beverly and Parsons seems to love playing against Batum. As for Howard and Harden, we only hope to contain them; they're going to get theirs. We have a rep as a jump shooting team, and that's fair, but doesn't really describe our offense. We are all about ball movement. When we're playing well, the ball doesn't hit the floor often. There are three or four passes and then we find the open man in rhythm. When we're struggling, it's a lot of iso. Where you might be surprised is how often we use the P&R with Lopez. He has his limitations, but he's had a career year with us. However, I think Howard will put him in foul trouble and he'll be lucky to play 20-25 mpg. If you want an offensive comparison, think of the Mavs a few years ago. LA doesn't have Diggler's range, but he can hit the mid range. As for our defense, it's usually not much to write home about, but we do rebound well. If you want to stop us, play with hustle and scrap or pound the hell out of us. Those teams kill us. It's why we have sucked against GS and PHX (the quick, and scrappy) and MEM (the physical). As for me, I'm stocking up on the booze and the Tums. I think I'm going to need a healthy dose of both. You match up really well with us. Ironically, we don't fear SA, LAC or OKC, but a healthy Rockets team scares the ***** out of us. One more thing. When you hear us b****ing about Harden's flopping, it's not that he flops so much, but that he acts like he's been shot by someone behind the grassy knoll. It's just so Ginobiliesque, who we can all agree we hate. Just flop like Battier (IMO the absolute Master of All Time) and it wouldn't be so ridiculous.
Why is Lin not on those lists? Haha... Bev is the best defensive guard in the league, even better than Paul. Dude is such a menace against other guards.
Crazy that a team with two potential All-Defensive team candidates is as bad as we are on defense. Goes to show that it truly is a team effort, one guy can't carry a defense.
But we weren't bad when they actually played. It's the games that they missed where our D has looked pathetic. They have carried us to a top 10 defense.
Ranked top 10 in defense with Bev and Howard. Without those two, 23rd or worse.... If Bev stays healthy, he will drive Lillard insane.
You been an NBA fan for at least a decade and still don't know that regular season awards are voted on before the playoffs?