How exactly is a PF's ability to drive to the whole affect the outcome of a 7 game series against GS? In our system, how many times does a PF need to drive to the whole in order for it to be a contributing factor to a win/loss? It's nice to have cruise control on a car but if you barely use it, why buy a new car just to have that functionality?
We're trying to become a better team so we can beat Golden State. Ryan Anderson is a 1-dimensional player whose value is diminished in the playoffs. He's inconsistent. Upgrading from Ryan Anderson would be an obvious way to close the gap on Golden State. Being able to put the ball on the floor is a huge plus. Imagine how dynamic the offense might be with a player like Milsap or Covington at the 4 instead Ryan Anderson who's still in Memphis finishing off a series of pump fakes. I'll take basketball players over specialists any day. Give me someone that can hoop. I'm not trying to complain here, things are going great, but the goal is to constantly try and get better isn't it?
Anderson's hustle, defense, and rebounding has improved. He's hitting 41.1% of his threes, spreading the floor... Heck, he's starting to dunk a little bit. I like what he's giving us.
the problem is not andreson per se but the fact that ariza also aint great putting the ball on the floor
but thats your opinion on how it makes the rockets a better team. milsap for as good a player he is, isn't the ideal stretch 4 needed in this system that maximizes this teams personnel strengths. covington while improved isn't a frontcourt replacement. hes a wing player Ill have to disagree with the basketball players over specialists when building a team any day opinion. Talent isn't always a priority over fit.
Is it diminished though? If he is dragging Draymond Green out of the paint, I think that is the best possible result we can hope for. Millsap might just clutter the floor for Harden/Paul.
not to mention with CC and Nene next to him, the painted area and lanes would be even more clogged. just a disaster for harden and cp3 to operate with
Yes we are trying to get better but how does having a PF pull his defender to the paint work with our spacing and how many times does said player have to this every game for us to beat GS? Back to my cruise control analogy. Adding cruise control does not necessarily make your car better. Additionally, how many times did we turn the ball over when we faked a 3 ptr and drove to the basket? Luc and PJ has done that a number of times and each time, MDA looks at them to telling them to shoot it.
I pray that teams will gameplan on Anderson in the playoffs and pay less attention on Harden, Paul, and Capela.
Who will they guard Anderson with? i say it will be steph. If Anderson sets a screen, they're ok with steph switching onto harden/paul. If Anderson camps at the line, Steph gets to rest. i honestly can't remember how they've done it in the past, but if it's draymond, i have to assume we set anderson 30ft from the rim and play 4 on 4.
Steph pretty much has to guard CP3, because Klay will need to be on JH13. They have no one else that can check CP3. I would expect them to run Draymond at the 5 for most of the game, which is a huge part of why we grabbed PJ Tucker, imo.
But if they leave Anderson relatively open at the 3, I will gladly take 77% CP3 to Anderson all night. They'll have to do something unless they keep Draymond in the paint and dare Anderson to drop 30 pts on them and the road Ryno might just do that.
Eh, I don't know, it's not that hard to get him off his game. Game-planning Ryan Anderson doesn't mean double teaming or slanting the defense towards him or even funneling him anywhere. 1 defender simply has to keep enough distance between Anderson and the ball to close the gap, and that's pretty much that. He wont shoot if there's a body nearby. He'll shoot poorly, or not at all, then disappear as Dantoni is forced to reduce his minutes due to lack of contribution (he can only do 1 thing at an above average level for his position). He's a good fit here. Especially in the regular season. But he's not that good. It is what it is.
