Glad you found the numbers to back up what my "EYE" test has been saying to me all along. Let me be the first to go out on a limb and say "I prefer Gordon's defense to Beverleys"! (Don't all shoot me at once) I don't understand how Bev sold MDA on him being a starter and Gordon being this supposed 6th man. Just because your team doesn't have enough talent, I don't think the answer is to put one of your best players who should be a starter on the bench to make up for it. Bev should really only be playing like 14 minutes a game max with his skills. This rest is all huff and puff without the results necessary to deserve more minutes than that. Bev has refused to take so many open 3s this year, primarily because his release is too slow and defenders close in on him making him nervous about his ability to even get off the shot, and 2nd because he seems to have lost confidence in his ability to be a good 3pt shooter. It frustrates me to no end that MDA can't see this and continues to start Bev because he has this grand design to make Gordon a bonifide 6th man. Gordon is a great starting companion next to Harden and together they could both average over 20pts for the season with each playing 34 to 38 minutes per game. Bev is fools gold as a starter, and has been since he first got here. If MDA doesn' reduce his minutes and start bringing him off the bench, I hope Morey steps in and trades him as soon as possible.
Of course you wouldn't think Bev contributed much because like I said he does the little things that do matter for teams to win. It doesn't show up in your basketball reference links you have to see to try and support whatever agenda you have. That something basketball IQ minds see which doesn't apply here sorry at the end of the day it's about the team and whether wins are being translated. Sick of seeing pointless threads singling out individuals just to find a reason to complain about something.
Apply that logic to Beverley defense, and you'll see all the 'little' things that he does wrong, not right.
yeah i guess hustling for those extra lose balls for possessions and energy is completely the wrong things to do. I sure hope you don't play at the organized level because you would probably be one of the worst teammates to play with.
High energy doesn't mean good defense, in most cases it's the opposite because that means you're not playing as disciplined (ex. Brewer, Westbrook.) Beverley is not a good team defender and he lets his man blow by him too often to even consider him a good man to man defender. So only positive about him is hustling, which makes him a bench player at best.
Did you realize your scientific experiment also says Beverley has the Team's Highest ORtg at 125. He is Second Highest in the entire NBA. So he's the best offensive player, right? Bev is a +8 right now (ORtg - DRtg). Further, According to your link: Rockets are a 125 ORtg with Bev On the Court Rockets are a 110 ORtg when Bev is Off the Court ------------------------------------------------------ DRtg is a horrible stat Also, you should check out the control group for using DRtg stats from last year. Avery Bradley (1st Team Defense) was ranked 18th among guards in the NBA. Korver was #3. Also, Butler (2nd Team Defense) was #17. ------------------------------------------------------ Scientific Eye Test How about a little scientific eye test: I guess you didn't notice in the last game that Bev was switching onto Gobert on the PnRs and actually stopping entry passes by fronting him very aggressively. But the rest of the team failed to cover the perimeter. And when he didn't switch to front Gobert, we failed to guard Gobert. Have fun with that worthless individual stat -- DRtg. And have fun forgetting to compare to the ORtg of the player and team at the same time. ------------------------------------------------------ Bottomline Bev is a +8 right now (ORtg - DRtg). So, your glorious scientific stats say he's 2nd best player in the League at ORtg. So, how useful are those stats?
this is strictly floor balance. It's not always about having the most talent all at one time. Bev didn't sell MDA on being a starter. That's just a coach who understands what he's doing and what puts the team as a whole in a good position to win ball games. Bev doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective. Obviously harden is having the years he is having for a reason. The ball is in his hands because he opens up so much for the team. Gordon's #1 strength is to score the basketball and off the bench without Harden, that puts him in the ideal position to do so which is versatility for the team and speaks for the team's depth. Whether he comes off the bench or not is irrelevant, he still plays basically "starter" minutes and is in the game when it still matters. You put your players in roles where they are most likely to succeed, not just for the sake of who is more talented than the other
Are you really that stupid or just trying to mislead people? Since when Beverley was known for his offense? If players like Ben Wallace or Tony Allen at their prime both post high ORtg and DRtg, which one do you attribute? Beverley's DRPM is also the worst among our starters, which you conveniently left out.
LOF strikes again. Bev is fine, better off coming off the bench and play his relentless style without risk being injured all the time.
to have good team defense you have to have a capable team defense concept prioritized. You can go on and on with whoever is on this team on why they're not a good team defender. But at the end of the day it starts with the system itself and that's what I can see you don't understand and should be starting your complaints about. Not another thread of one individual just for the sake of complaining
Basically since "The Numbers are Clear" thread, which was before your time. Good offense is the right player, taking the right shots. Beverley understands this, which is why he is an effective offensive player.
What part of 'our defense was not as bad when Bev was out, and got significantly worse since he joined' statement do you not understand? let's flip the script and say it was Harden that was the variable here. What would your reaction have been? You clearly have "Beverley = good defender" prejudice in your mind, which is clouding your judgement.
People love to hate on role players like Bev and Ariza but the fact is that they do the little things that don't show up on BBALL reference and which allow James Harden to do his thing. Ultimately these little things they do like guard the opposition best wing, guard the opposition PG, hustle, grab a board here and there result in winning and the 11-7 record. Bev is not the problem. Would an upgrade be preferred? Yes obviously but as things stand he performs his role just fine
We are aware he is coming off a surgery and came back earlier then expected? Would be nice if people gave him more then a few games to get his game together.
Dont't put Ariza and Beverley in the same sentence, ever. Ariza is legit and a good player. Beverley on the other hand is a fraud.
Could you point to a specific play or set of plays which illustrate how Beverley has completely destroyed our defense?
This is the one legitimate counter argument, Beverley's injury might be affecting his poor defense, yes. But given his poor defense the last 2~3 years, I have serious doubts about that.
I wouldn't have said anything because at the end of the day like I said its about the team. And I certainly wouldn't take 7 games where they won 5 of them to start a thread and make a big fuss about it because that's just not enough especially if you didn't even bother to watch every single game. If you were able to read earlier I already said Beverley's defense isn't as good as it once was and you were just staying the obvious that so many of us know. I couldn't careless about your individual agendas. If anyone has their own personal prejudice it's clearly the OP here. I've already had my share of criticism of Beverley myself over the past couple of seasons but in this particular case I'm not going to slam him based on what you're trying to say
What is the possibility that Beverley's lack of ability to play sound team defense - like being slow on rotations, always getting caught at the screens, and even his short reach not really bothering the shooters - is affecting our defensive performance as an unit?
