Official 2018-2019 training camp thread

ET is a legend on Instagram at least haha

 

Seems like everyone on the team loves Simons.

 

How could you not? The kid seems very down to earth and humble.

 

You rang FAMS?

 

There are some big dudes on this team.

 

Collins is going to be a beast in a couple years when he fills out.

 

Did he steal your lunch box today? I'm sorry.

 

Okkkayyy

 

Holy shit. Wow. Good. That means that I expect better things from him this season.

 

I hope so. He’s been in shape before only to get sloppy once the season started. A guy like him can’t afford to get off track, not even a little bit. My hope is he takes that backup center job away from Meyers.

 

I hope that being in shape increases his speed. Because he is old man slow.

 

It's funny to hear him talk about how he wants to play off the ball more so that teams can't load up on him as easily... Basically what I've been asking for all summer.

 

A 6'8 guy who can't get off the ground and isn't known as a good defender as our backup C?

No thanks.

 

Rbs, Ast, n hustle will keep him on the court but if he can craft a post game (prayer I know with our staff) we could have a player, a la Zbo.

I'm pulling for him, 'Big time.

 

Swanigan actually graded out pretty decent defensively in limited minutes last year. He was first on the team in opposing teams ORTG. I know it’s a team stat, but it at least shows he wasn’t a liability. The players ranked behind him are guys most would agree are good defenders; Nurk, Baldwin, and Vonleh.

Yes he has athletic limitations, but he’s also got length, while instincts and IQ can mask a lot of those limitations he does have. Turning the fat into functional strength will help as well. I know I’d rather bank on him than Meyers.

 

Yeah, but it was a small sample size and at least half was against bad, garbage time players. Plus, he was playing PF, not C. I wouldn't put credence into those numbers.

All those reasons you stated are valid points as to him being a solid defender at PF, I just don't think he can ever be more than awful defensively as a C. J.J. Hickson was more athletic and taller and he was horrible to the point that Robin Lopez was a huge acquisition.

Granted, if Biggie plays, it'll mean Zach is the backup C and usually playing with him, which I like. If you have a Derrick Favors or a similar plodding, smaller C, then maybe you can get away with Biggie guarding him and you could have Zach guard 4s. Still, I think about Biggie as our main rim protector and I cringe.

 

Power forward, center, call it whatever, point is Meyers isn’t on the court.

 

But Biggie as our last line of defense would be just as bad. We'll miss Ed.

 

I think Collins will get all of Ed's minutes at backup center and will also be our primary back up at PF. In other words, I'd like to see Zach playing both behind Nurk at center (about 18 - 19 MPG) and beside him at PF (another 8 - 9 MPG). So, about 30 MPG for Chief (same as last season), 28 MPG for Nurk and about 26 MPG for Zach. Since he will be backing up both front court positions, I could actually see Zach getting a couple more MPG, but I'm being conservative. I'm hoping Zach's play will help us get over losing Ed.

So, that adds up to about 84 minutes out of a possible 96, on average. We will also see some small ball line ups with Harkless, Turner or possibly Layman at the 4. That pretty much leaves table scraps for Meyers and Biggie to fight over. I think they will both get a chance and how much they play on any given night will depend on match ups and who is playing well that particular game.

The scary part will be injuries or foul trouble for any of our top 3 bigs. Those are the situations where at least one of Meyers or Biggie will be required to play significant minutes.

BNM