Well, he's light footed. He's a pesky defender like sasha, not a lock down one like Bruce Bowen or prime Artest. Harden has more bulk but as long as he tries he does the job. KLay doesn't have the defensive instinct of ariza or Avery on Celtics so I don't see how being much more hyper and light footed automatically makes you a good Defender.
He's a great defender to me (although I don't watch his every game). Remember, he guards the best perimeter player on the opposing team (even guys like Lebron). You can't fault him if he can't stop those guys sometimes b/c he also has to carry his load on offense. It's like Lebron can't stop some players he guarded, but that didn't mean he wasn't an elite defender. Klay takes a huge burden off of Curry b/c he guards the elite PGs too, while Curry never has to guard anyone which allows him to conserve energy for playmaking and offense (he's like Ariza AND Beverley for the Warriors). Klay shut down Harden this year with no help, while dropping 25+. And Harden didn't guard him on the other end. He's an integral reason why the Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the league.
I can't believe Rose hasn't been benched. I guess they figure he will need to put it together for them to win a championship.
Definitely dropped off a bit, but is still freaky fast and has the ability to make difficult layups. He should be the primary reason why Chicago is so good, but it seems like they are succeeding in spite of him. I'm willing to see how he looks in the playoffs before totally writing him off Edit: Rose is now deferring to AB, goodness gracious
Rose is a good player when Butler is playing. Without that offensive threat, he has to do too much and just isn't in shape to do so. Not a 1 man wrecking crew and that's fine, Chicago just has to nurture Butler as the primary
Oh, I'm definitely not writing him off. I just think all the talk of "well if Rose gets back to superstar status the Bulls can be elite" is silly. It's very clear he's far from that level. Luckily for Chicago...Jimmy Butler has stepped up as another capable star for them.
What Rose has is the TMAC syndrome: playing scared of an injury. He still has that elite athleticism and quickness. But he plays scared, and afraid to fail. He restricts himself to the perimeter way too much nowadays, esp. after multiple injury scares this year. If he doesn't want to play all out, he needs to evolve his game.
What I notice about the Warriors that will benefit them long term is their depth. Curry and Klay rarely play more than 35 minutes per game. Their legs will be fresh in the playoffs.
If Butler is the Bulls primary creator in the playoffs, they are doomed. No amount of "nurturing" will turn him into something he isn't. Rose has to be the #1 guy on offense when the real season begins. However, because of Butler & Gasol, he doesn't have to carry the same load as 3 years ago.
All that time injured, how is Rose's jump shot so bad? It's all he should have been working on if he couldn't run.
God I hope chicgo pulls this one off if the refs don't step in. That was a clear foul on iggy on mirotic earlier in the game
