Camby's a good defender, but absolutely horrendous guarding the pick and roll. Last night, clips were up by four with twenty seconds to go. Ben Gordon runs around a pick set by Drew Gooden (Camby's man) and drills the three while getting the and-1. Camby was about eight feet away from the play, not wanting to contest Gordon at all. I'm not saying he has to switch every time someone uses a pick, but at least show a little on the damn play. Chuck Hayes will show and sometimes even switch, Scola will show and sometimes even get a steal. Meanwhile, DPOY Camby can't even get a hand up. The sad thing is that Roger Mason buried the clippers on the exact same play earlier this year. Camby didn't learn, he just wants the block.
I agree. Randolph seems like the kind of player who gets good numbers but doesn't help his team win. Kaman is alright and Camby has his strengths...but overall that's not that great of a frontline. I mean in theory throwing Davis in the backcourt should make a strong team but he's streaky to the max. Clippers really suck, and there's no way they're making the playoffs this season.
Exactly. The Nuggets defense has improved over last year even though this "great" defensive player is no longer their starting center. Hmmm.
People just assume that great shot blockers are great defensive players. But think about this. If you can average 3 blocks a game, you are consider great. But how many defensive possession do you have to play per game? You can go after shots all night and get 3 blocks yet leave your man wide open.
I didn't say all shot blockers are bad defensive players. I only said that one can have great shot blocking numbers without being a good defensive player. Do you know which two players have more bpg than Hakeem? One is Mark Eaton. The other guy is named Manute Bol. Ever heard of him? Great defensive player ... NOT.
Drawing charges should be considered a stat, it's much better compared to shot blocking. If you draw a Charge, the opposing player is charged with a foul, a turnover, and the ball will ALWAYS return to the defending team. Whiles when you block shots, the ball has a chance of going back to the attacking team, not only that but depending on how the ball is blocked. An attacking player or rebounder could easily pick up the ball and score. This is why players like Hayes are so underrated, his type of defense is more valuable than smacking the ball all over the court.
This is getting a little out of hand. Okay, if you're hating on Camby due to any combination of: 1. His salary, 2. DPOY or 3. His rather weak 1-on-1 defensive abilities that's fine. You can make an argument there. What plenty of you are missing is shot blocking goes hand-in-hand with shot altering. That's an equally important contribution and something Camby is among the best at. Somebody that can defend the paint like that and clean the glass the way he can is invaluable regardless of his rapidly declining 1-on-1 abilities. The guy turns 35 this season -- it happens. What's your worst case scenario? That you have arguably the best weak side defender in the NBA on your team then? I would take any player that can block shots like that and grab 10 offensive boards in a game on my team. Hell, he could potentially help put the Rockets over the top. His salary is, of course, the deal breaker but don't kid yourself into thinking he wouldn't help us out tremendously.
