If you think about it, these guys have no chance because they are thin. Brooks at most is about 140-150 and Martin is probably at 185 or maybe 10lbs lighter. Most of our guys besides Chuck, Battier, Luis, Lowry, and Yao can't guard no one due to lack of girth. This is something the Rockets coaching staff is probably considering. I mean it's nice to be skinny and fast but toughness needs to heft that can move as well.
this isn't boxing or wrestling 10 lbs does not make a big difference. they're guards not centers. (touch fouls)
They are getting bulldozed out there. Guards need to have the ability to slow down the penetration at least every other drive to the rim. In Brooks/Martin's case if they can't get the steal, simply try to get a charge but one that is set well before a blocking foul is issued.
The defense in the first two games, mainly the guard positions, has been atrocious. Every nice basket from the rox offense is followed be an ugly lapse in defense. Not only are the rox guards undersized, they are not playing with enough defensive intensity. I think a potential answer would be to move Kyle Lowry to starter if the defense doesn't improve after he has played in a few games coming off the bench. Lowry would provide a lot of toughness and intensity to the starting unit. The question would obviously be, how would brooks respond to being benched in favor of his higher paid backup. Either way, somehow the rox really need to improve the defense.
Tony Parker and Manu Ginobilli aren't exactly bulldozers, yet the Spurs won 3 titles. Their weight isn't why they're bad defenders (although Aaron is short which does hurt against taller guards). They don't bring it like like they need to on every play, and they don't have help at the rim, which compounds the problem. Both of them are more than capable of quality defense.
Dude how does getting heavier improve their ability to slow down penetration? They're moving too slowly. They're not being pushed around.
i dont see them getting bulldozed... they are getting beat or simply losing track of their man. defense is all hustle, keep feet moving stay on your man like glue. gaining weight wont help much for guards. especially any sort of gain they might get during the season 10 lbs at best. 10 lbs is not even a big weight difference for average people playing against each other. it will be nothing for athletes. not everyone is a freak like lebron or dwight that can carry massive amount of weight and still maintain their quickness. watch durant play then tell me again why brooks or martin needs to add any sort of substantial weight.
It's not just a matter of lacking bulk. Tayshaun Prince and Bruce Bowen are/were thin players. Kirlienko is/was known for his defense. Bowen did bulk up over the years but the point remains the same: It's not just about having "girth." Length matters, too. So does athleticism and most importantly, what's in between the ears. Using our own team, people correctly point out how bad Brooks and Martin are defensively but the worst man-to-man defender for his position may be none other than Luis Scola. That's debatable and most will probably disagree but Scola's defense is a real issue. He rebounds which is a plus but that's not what I'm specifically talking about. He'll get in a passing lane now and then or slip around a defender and poke the ball away but on the vast majority of possessions, his man-to-man defense is atrocious and again, possibly just as bad or worse for his position than that of Brooks or Martin. Players seem to literally walk around him at times. Bottom line: 3/5 of our starting lineup are bad individual defenders and Battier is slowing down (not as bad as some people are saying but he's not the same). Even a fully healthy Yao, which we don't have, can only compensate for part of that and only around the basket. Don't forget that Yao is an extreme liability on the pick-n-roll no matter who the helping guard is.
Still getting nightmare on how AB was at the paint (near the basket) guarding no one when Blake was near the top of the key...wide open. Talk about awareness =\
That's 5 guys in a 9-man rotation. In fact, Brooks and Martin are the only guys in that rotation that lack girth (plus 10-man Ish Smith isn't too big either, but he barely gets minutes and will soon lose them). The remaining guys -- Brad Miller and Courtney Lee -- aren't particularly skinny either. So, it's just 2 skinny guys and no clear-cut indication that their defense is any worse for it.
Martin is skinny but that shouldn't make you a bad defensive player, he needs to improve or keep putting up 27 a game. AB is just tiny, he is a small cat and we are just going to have to live with his limitations.
Dude get a clue. In this NBA with no handchecking mass and bulk won't help you. Lateral movement and defensive fundamentals will go farther.
The rents to damn high,and our guards are to damn skinny. I agree, we need to sign fat ass Stevie Franchise.
yeah they're skinny but fast (not battier) and so far nobody has taken advantage of them (like posting them up, its a lost art)
That being said, AB has a lot to improve upon as far as jumping for every fake. He needs to use his legs to stay in front of his man; I'm not sure why he thought he was Alonzo Mourning in the 2nd half of the Golden State game, jumping on top of jump shooters like he's a shot blocker.
