I thought it was interesting how one team could have so many players on both the "worst" and "best" list for man-defense (though no mention of Brooks, for either list). It seems like our team is composed of players with very defined strengths and weaknesses. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/manu-ginobili-san-antonio-spurs-nba-spark-to-the-offense-121610 Worst: 28 players named, including Kevin Martin, Brad Miller, and Luis Scola. Best: 21 players named, including Shane Battier, Chuck Hayes, Jared Jeffries. Also, I do think its a shame that Jared Jeffries can't get minutes for us. He can play.
Agree too many people equate being overpaid = suckage. Jeffries isnt that bad of a player, he is limited but he is in the NBA for a reason and has stuck around for a while. He has skill and doesnt always step of of his abilities. (though i wish he would dunk the ball instead of always laying it in i mean he is 6'10!) i get frustrated at players with overpaid contracts - not at the players but at the GMs who gave them those contracts...I mean if my boss said hey I'll double your salary and just do the same thing you're doing nothing extra...of course I would take it anyone of us would. Its not Jeffries fault he was given a huge contract its the GMs. Just because Jeffries makes as much as someone else would is a borderline or an all-star isnt Jeffries fault again. my only guess as to why Jeffries has hardly played is that he really isnt in the Rockets plans at all this year or even past the deadline and rather give that time to help develop the chemistry of the bench more - meaning Hill, Chase or Brad. The one thing about Jeffries is despite his height he isnt a shot blocker, he also is a charge drawer like Chuck. I guess in that aspect his greatest strength is redundant on a team with Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier on it. He probably would have seen the floor more if he was more of a rim protector
Agree with all the names. Brooks should be added to the first group. And I sure wished they would play Jeffries at the center position some. He has great defensive skills, super quick feet. I think he would be great with the second unit working the middle, overplaying, recovering, helping, and forcing the opponent into a faster pace so our young guys could run it down on the break. He's so active defensively and recovers so well and he uses his length tremendously well. Highly intelligent defensive player and very, very good outlet passer after capturing the rebound. Not to mention he's quick up the floor on the break. (God dog it, why can't he shoot a layup!!?!?!?).
I don't know, durvasa... I feel the same way about Fox News as Vincent Vega felt about Burger King in Pulp Fiction. Allow me to illustrate: Spoiler <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tMNCuj4KPqk?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tMNCuj4KPqk?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
I dont agree with the conventional wisdom that says Scola is a horrid defender. He shows hard on the high p-n-r, shows good defensive technique and is a big body. He is not a good leaper so no blocks, he gets lost on help D sometimes...but in no way is he bad enough to be considered worst in the league. At least the guy tries, which is more than I can say for quite a few players in this league.
Why would brooks be added to the first group? He's a fairly solid man defender. Not many point guards post him up anyways. If there is one thing he does good, it's staying in front of his man. The problem comes when his man doesn't have the ball. That's when he tends to sag a bit and gets too caught up watching the ball rather than his man.
But whose mins can he take? Certainly not any at the PF / C spot. The only minutes I could see him steal would be from Chase. But not only are we trying to develop / showcase Bud, but we also have TWil who would likely be next in line at that spot over Jeffries....I like Jared the defender too, but I just can't see where he could find time for us...
The Duncan-Olajuwon comparison at the end is pretty good read too, even though it's coming from Chuck-o.
I admit I've gotten frustrated with him this season, I've had WTF moments with his rotations but is not like he gets abused in man to man defense, I think he shouldn't be in this list but maybe deserves to be if it included rotations and rim protection.
Didn't even notice that, good catch: [rquoter] Q. Among several of my fellow Texans, there’s always a controversy concerning the respective merits of Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon, by far the two best big men ever to play for a pro team in the Lone Star State. What’s your opinion? Thanks. – Mike Smith, Baytown, TX A. Comparing these two is an exercise in comparing power vs. speed. Duncan is much stronger and has a more varied low-post attack. He’s also a better passer and has slightly better range on his jump shot. TD’s rebounding numbers are slightly higher (11.6 to 11.1) mostly because he spends more time in the pivot. On the other hand, Olajuwon was quicker in every aspect of the game. He could be involved in Houston’s running game either as a trailer or a wing-runner. He also had better defensive range and was a four-space rebounder compared to Duncan’s 3-space range. Olajuwon’s points-per-game total was slightly higher (21.8 to 21.1) simply because the Rockets mostly played a free-wheeling, iso-oriented game whereas the Spurs gameplan is more disciplined and deliberate. That’s why Duncan averages 15.8 shots per game as opposed to Olajuwon’s 16.9. Hakeem, of course, was the superior free-throw shooter—71.2 percent to Tim’s 68.7 percent. As far as their respective physical statures are concerned, both are 7-0, with TD five pounds heavier at 260. Yet because Olajuwon played most of his 35.7 minutes per game at center he was subjected to more physical confrontations than Duncan. That’s because at least half of TD’s 36.4 minutes/game were at the power forward slot. That’s also why Olajuwon’s peak seasons only numbered 12 while Duncan is still going strong in his 14th campaign. Overall, though, I’d have to go with Olajuwon because of his stupendous quickness, his versatility at both ends of the court, and his relative reliability from the stripe in clutch situations.[/rquoter]
If he could just dunk the ******* ball and be a better blocker he'd be a great rotational player for us, he has the height, length and even hops to do it, it’s not even funny, he just seems foolish to me. As The Yoyo puts it, too bad for him that his best skills are redundant here.
I thought Jeffries was fabulous shutting down Tmac. Tmac was just shooting over smaller defenders like Courteny Lee. I think Jeffries offense is better than Chuck, however, Chuck is a bruiser on the low post D area and better redounder. Once again, I believe D and Rebounding are crucial to the Rockets. We need a rim protector that can rebound at a high clip and I'm not sure that person exists.
His lateral footwork is awful. His guy blows by him constantly, plus you can totally overpower him in the post. I love Luis... but that's the truth.
Jared would be a real role player if we gave him for minutes. Right now he just isnt in the rotation and i think if he was he could be really effective just like Lamer Odumb in LA this guy could play at least 4 positions.
I think Courtney Lee is as good a man defender as any of the 21 on the list. Obviously you can't expect a writer to remember all of the good defenders in the league, especially one who was stuck on a horrible team last season.
In an earlier article, Rosen wasn't too complimentary towards Courtney Lee. I think he called him an average defender. Lee is very good against big PGs or quicker SGs.
