Based on what? We keep getting killed from 3-point land, over and over and over again. Memphis just did it. Kennard got to shoot probably a career-high. How is it "easier to cover" for that? You guys argue at the same time that it's all about threes nowadays but then act like perimeter defense matters less than paint defense.
I think his point was that it's easier to hide ONE bad perimeter defender vs one bad bug man. Using steph as an example, you could out klay on the best scorer then put step on the teams worst offense since player in terms of creating shots (i.e ariza) and tell him to just park himself with that player in the corner. Gsw had great perimeter defenders like klay and iggy so curry could be hidden.
Perimeter defense and Paint defense are connected. If you have bad paint defense that's gonna make your perimeter defense worse and vice versa. Look at the Utah Jazz during the Gobert era, their perimeter defense wasn't that bad even if they had Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson and Conley Jr as their main guards and none of those guys are good defensively. We got KJ Martin, Tari Eason, KPJ and Jabari who are all decent perimeter defenders. We lack that big man down low who could be a defensive presence and allow these guys to really hound people on the perimeter instead they are out there covering for Sengun and leave perimeter wide open.
KJ Martin and KPJ are far from "decent perimeter defenders". Jabari has the potential, but has not been a good defender either. NONE of them is ever "covering for Sengun".
https://stathead.com/basketball/pla...end=-1&locationMatch=is&as_selections_comp=gt and here, sorted by defensive box plus minus: https://stathead.com/basketball/pla...end=-1&locationMatch=is&as_selections_comp=gt Destroys the narrative that KMJ, KPJ, Jabari or even Tari are decent defenders in the current system. The only starter the data shows as a "decent defender" is actually Alpi. It's utterly ridiculous to claim that us constantly getting killed from the perimeter is somehow Sengun's fault. The next time I see someone, anyone "covering for Sengun" will be the first. It's simply not true.
Bonus one: Since the usual suspects are clamoring for the Gobert type and claiming you cannot win a championship with the Jokic/Sengun type - when is the last time a team with Gobert won a championship? Thanks.
Gobert hasn’t won, but his archetype has won. Guys like Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol, Andrew Bogut, and Tyson Chandler. They’re all different offensively, but they brought great rim protection and anchored the defense.
Not a single one of those guys was remotely the best player on their respective teams. You could always add a role player like that to a team with Sengun. Plus, Marc Gasol was regarded as a bad defender when he started, just as Sengun is described by you guys now.
This is what I’ve been saying. He needs help against bigger centers, he doesn’t help the guards when screens are getting set, and he allows points in the paint all game!! Look how hard JJJ made things for us. Big men who can’t play defense are hard to win with. Watch Jokic get cooked in the playoffs and get sent him, just wait and see
Marc Gasol was a DPOY, but that’s true early on. Those guys had size and protected the rim. Look how Javale and Dwight were factors for the lakers. If you add a guy like that, then Sengun becomes your 4. Do you want him guarding guys like KD and Siakam? Absolutely not! He can improve, but he’ll always be bad bc he doesn’t have the tools! His defense instincts are also poor.
None of these guys at their peak was as good offensively as Sengun. Gasol is a great example that players can improve and narratives can change. Gasol was initially better on offense and worse on defense; later, that reversed. He was at best half an inch taller than Sengun, probably same height (I stood next to Marc Gasol in person, he was traveling to Berlin as a tourist with his partner, we were on the same flight). He was also not a better leaper than Sengun.
He was trying to avoid a foul in a situation where he was alone against two guys. There is a sequence with Jabari in the same situation, with the same outcome. What you might want to ask yourself is where the other four players are.
I say give us a new coach and a vet or two to see if there's improvement on his and the team defense. If sengun is still bad at defense, he's gonna b played off the court. I still think there's plenty of time to b a better defender. Sadly centers nowadays just get played off the court if they aren't fast enough in playoffs. We seen harden force coaches to yank their lumbering big man for a faster big man A lot of Folks are quite closed minded on the role of a center. Not everybody has to b the Dwight archetype to b successful as a center.
Sengun is not better than Gasol offensively lol. Not yet, but there’s a chance he will be. The NBA has also changed a lot too. Sengun is gonna get played off the floor unless he becomes a top 10 offensive player
