Here's our WC competition. Of the 13 teams, 4 have their franchise player at PF. I think we can count on them to score and rebound and everything else regardless of who is defending them. I count 6 guys (with Xs) that do not have any considerable advantage over KT, imo. The remaining guys (Howard, Lewis, Gugliotta) might play better than average against KT. As I've said many times before, you don't use Shaq (or, in this case, Duncan) as the measuring stick. Looking at the list below of starting PFs in the WC, I'd say the average guy (by process of elimination) is Gugliotta. Can Kenny keep up with Gugliotta? Dal Howard Min Joe Smith x Den Scott Williams (McDyess) x SAS Duncan Mem Swift x Uta Malone LAL Samaki Walker x Sac Scott Pollard (Webber) x Sea Lewis Pho Gugliotta Por Wallace GSW Fortson x LAC Brand
Gotta agree with Drex22 and add that there is way too much KT dissention. KT is not a starting PF--bottomline. He is a Tier 2/3 player anyway. Everyone knows it. His role should be similar to SA Rose's role coming off the bench, but we are here due to MO T's injury and a rook in the bull pen. KT is closer than anything we have right now, until Griff comes along. I think Rudy and those guys are building KT's confidence with the "great defense" talk. Rudy is not going to come out and say "ahhh, Kenny is not what we need in that position" and blow his player confidence. We are merely buying time, until Griff can get his NBA legs underneath him and I pray it will be soon, because his D is better than KTs. Had MO T no gone down, Kenny may be more of an after thought on this team. Based on what I have seen in three years of KT, he is effective against the mid to low level post players and can occassionally make a big stop against the biggies. he can also be effective slashing to the basket abd breaking down the big men in the league and slower schlepps. But, he is better than most of your Tier 2/3 players at that position.
KT is keeping MoTaylor and Eddie Griffin's spot warm. He is trade bait and nothing more. I appreciate the effort he has shown so far, however, his man has scored at will on him in the 1st 3 quarters. So any stop in the 4th Qtr is a blessing. Both Brand and Rahim ran out of gas. Late in the season this will not happen and they will continue to torch KT until Eddie becomes consistent. KT's future is on the bench when MoTaylor comes back and EG starts playing. If KT was all that, the Rockets would not have traded 3 1st round picks for EG. I look forward to Tmorris and Egriffin getting consistent playing time. It's time to cut our losses with Walt and KT.
Ummm... no. Brand and SAR scored easily because they're two of the best PF's in the league. And the go-to-guys on their respective teams. KT plays some above-average position defense, rebounds well, and has some nice moves... terrific passer. That's everything you want from your 6-8th man off the bench. Trade bait? Goodness. Your another one of those star-seekers, then. A team needs solid, good subs as well. KT fits that description, easily.
KT's defense at the end of the Atlanta game was outstanding, but for the first three quarters, he was torched. Rahim did not slow down until Griffin came into the game. With that said, I think KT is an above average defender. He works hard and he isn't afraid to use his body to bang. The problem is that when a power forward gets post position, KT is helpless unless he is able to slap the ball away a la Karl Malone. At 6'7, he just doesn't have the size to play with the big boys in the paint. They just turn and shoot right over him. As others have said in this thread, the bottom line is that Kenny is not starting material. He is a great asset to have coming off the bench, though.
Karl Malone used to be listed at 6'9", but he's been listed as 6'10" for a long time. Also, Karl Malone has big muscles.... and a good shot, and hard elbows.
The one thing that I did notice about the Clipper game on Thurs. night is the play of Kenny Thomas. I think that overall his defense is going to improve, and he is going to relish the void left by Mo T. Its been 2 games for the love of Christ...... I think he has done well so far in Mo's absence. DD
Maybe everyone needs to put KT in perspective. He is really the 6 to 8th player on the team. He is a substitute as per his status as a 2nd/3rd tier player. He is fundamentally sound with his footwork, passing, rebounding etc. You could say he is a good defender vis-a-vis his peer group (2nd/3rd tier players). He is not an All-NBA anything, including defender, and I don't think anyone has asserted this. Also we should keep in mind that 'franchise' players regularly light EACH OTHER up. One superstar 'shutting down' another does not happen that often. Usually the stars get their stats no matter who they are (unless you're DC and Malone is coming to town -of course DC not a star anymore but...). Especially at power forward. As such you can hardly expect KT, as a 2nd/3rd tier player, to shut any of those guys down. Any more than you can expect Kato to shut Shaq down. KT is what he is, a solid player contributing to his team after an unfortunate injury. There is nothing wrong with that.
