Tj is a good defender since his college days. When you have allstar PF's going at you time and time again, even DWH/Asik wouldn't look good(their combined effort hadn't really stopped Aldridge in last playoff).
TJones undersized? TJones 6'9.5" 252 lbs 8'11" standing reach Griffin 6'10" 248 lbs 8'9" standing reach Love 6'9.5" 255 lbs 8'10" standing reach Davis 6'10.5" 222 lbs 9'0" standing reach The reason people think Jones is undersized is because he dribbles more than the guys listed above, so you see him "stooped" more. The reason he gets beat in the post has more to do with youth than size.
I think TJ is workable given that we are limited in resources to pull of a significant move and PG is probably more pressing at this time given Beverley's injury history. The only caveat here is if we would be able to find a player who represents both an upgrade at PF AND who can also play backup center since we are thin after Dwight and refs have decided Dwight will never get the benefit of the doubt anymore meaning more playing in foul trouble.
You need to factor in the minutes which is what I said. There is absolutely no way that is sustainable. They'd win 73 games. There is not even a game and a half worth of minutes to give an accurate or fair enough evaluation either way. Discounting sample size also leads to the conclusion that Casspi was practically the best defensive player on the team last year at the 4 and had the greatest impact.
LOL. I give you credit for creative thinking. But in reality Terrence is light in the pants compared to Blake, Zach, Love, Duncan, Dirk, LaMarcus, Pau, Taj, and many others. And most all of those guys, he still lacks overall length to hinder them defensively even in spite of Blake's alleged alligator arms. This is why we watch the games and don't just view numbers on a page.
I don't think it is a size issue. He has plenty of size if you're talking strictly measurements. Technically, he weighs enough and he is tall enough. Guys like Aldridge and Bosh are freaks that in any other era would have been centers. What he lacks is strength. He gets backed down and pushed around too easily. There are two ways he can make a serious jump. Either develop a consistent jump shot or improve his overall strength. I'm a I'll believe it when I see it type of person so I won't be holding by breath. I'm not sure yet that he is willing to put the necessary work in.
Height, weight, and wingspan aren't the end all be all of post defense. DMo is 265 pounds and a legit 7 footer and he gets pushed around even more easily than Jones. Meanwhile, Chuck Hayes was 6'6", 245 pounds when he first started with us and couldn't be moved on the block. Our guys now just don't have that strength.
I feel that we have to look at TJ with a little bit of context. He was a point guard during high school who had a tremendous growth spurt and then was moved to small forward. By the time he got to college, he became a center (prior to the brow) and now he is back to PF. Bottom line, he has not played this position for a long time and is just learning the other nuances, tricks of the trade, etc of this position. Kevin Love does not look that much stronger than others but he seems to be able to hold that spot because he uses techniques that he learned since he played the position since he was young. TJ took a completely different journey to get to where he is.
there's less and less traditional pf's in the league as the years go by. the league is getting full of tweeners now.
The link I posted covered 1541 possessions. Motiejunas has vastly superior defensive stats in defensive rating, XRAPM, and defensive impact (stats.nba.com) for the season. Watching Jones last season should show how bad he was at defense last season.
Are you kidding me? Things like length are not up for debate. T-Jones standing reach is plenty long enough to be a good defender. And how the hell is Dirk not light in the pants? His entire game is predicated on being able to make jump shots and drive when he pump fakes you. You never see him backing a guy down deep in the post and turning over the shoulder for a hook. He has no power moves. I can't even remember the last time I saw him fight for deep post position.
What is?? 6'8 and below = undersized [the good ol' Rocket days of Chuck and friends] 6'9 = prototypical size 6'9+ (where Jones falls) = 'big 4'
You do know that Dirk couldn't hold the post against a Girl Scout (exaggeration for affect) right? He gets pushed around more than a floor mop when trying to defend bigs. Always has, always will.
Yet many good PFs are 6'9" and under: 6'8" - Millsap 6'9" - Sullinger 6'8" - Faried 6'8" - Lee 6'9" - Randolph 6'8" - Young 6'8" - Diaw 6'9" - Amir Johnson I'm not saying that TJones is or will be a good defender....only that size won't be the reason either way. While TJones' may only be 6'9", his wingspan is 7'2". Add some sand in his britches and he will do fine.
Dirk dominates pretty much everyone. There are very, very few that can defend that crazy one legged jumper. But I thought we were talking about post play where TJs strength is an issue.
