During our highlights on TNT Charles mentioned that our only flaw right now is we don't have a true low post threat. Greg is still a little raw and wont be that guy we can rely on for post scoring, ....yet LaMarcus likes his jumpshots and fadaways. He could be this guy but it's definitely not his comfort zone. Do we wait or do we go out and get that low post threat?
We wait. B-Roy and Miller have excellent inside games for guards. Also add in Martell driving to the rim. We're not sure about either of our big mean really. We haven't seen enough to say anything as Aldridge was in foul trouble for most of the game and unable to get into a rhythm. Oden was plagued with unfortunate feisty Rocket thieves and silly offensive fouls. Aldridge and Oden's post up games really just require a decent PG to get them in good positions. Both are young and still capable of improving tons. We're loaded with talent. It's seriously crazy talk now to think of adding any more big time players.
I'm sure Barkley didn't watch the game tonight. He said we don't get easy baskets but in fact, we got a bunch of easy baskets tonight. And Roy, at his best, is always an easy basket waiting to happen. The whole "we're a jump shooting team" complaint is a myth. I think it stems from the fact that our PF is a good spot up shooter. But he can also absolutely score inside. And he can finish on the break for easy baskets. As can Outlaw, Rudy, and, as we saw tonight, Webster. Not to mention Roy is one of the leaders in the league among guards for points in the paint.
Just like all last year, he is 100% right. Portland has a low post threat though, they just don't throw him the ball. In preseason, Oden was our leading scorer because the team made a point to get him the ball.
Barkley is right. Oden may eventually become a low post threat, but he isn't one yet. And I don't think penetrating guards like Roy and Miller really count as "low post threats." That term is usually reserved for big guys who battle with other big guys.
What I've noticed, for some reason, and maybe it is LMA, I don't know, but he draws a decent amount of contact going into the middle of the lane for his hook/runner shot, and never gets that foul call. Never. Not sure if he needs to flail or what, but that is a move that many guys like Bosh will use to draw a lot of fouls, and when Aldridge goes to it, he never gets a call.
This is a great point. I have thought for some time that when a player gets a reputation it sticks with them for a while. Aldridge has a reputation of being a perimeter guy. The refs probably need to see him flailing around inside to get some calls. Then they will realize that he is getting floued more often.
After 1 game, it has been concluded we have no low post threat? I'll consider this after 20 games. Call me then.
Probably so. Maybe yell like Roy does on some of those? I dunno. But when I watch the road games on TV, I see him do the exact same thing that every other PF does in those situations, spin into the lane, draw contact with the body which forces him away from the basket, and go up for his shot. I watch Bosh get 8 FTs a game doing the exact smae thing. There is a good chance a lot of it is reputation, and a portion is probably LMA not pushing into the defender, and settling for getting pushed away, and thus not drawing the foul. My thing is, he goes to that shot a lot, and can get it off whenever he wants. I think he is a good post threat, that would be mreo recognized for that if he got those foul calls.
And just like last year nobody else has much of an inside threat either. All the teams Chuck likes are jump shooting teams too. We have Brandon that can attack the basket, and LMA. posts up just as much if not more than Garnett or Rasheed. (But Boston does have PP) But even the teams that do have someone, ( Orlando ) they rarely go to them down the stretch for obvious reasons. They are too easy to double team. The games are still won by the guards/wings who can attack the basket in crunch time. Chuck is right every time he says it, but he should be saying it about 90% of the teams. (The Lakers being part of that 10 %) Having said all that we do need one more guy other than Brandon that can attack the basket. Our only hope there is Miller (and maybe eventually Bayless). Greg and LMA will be fine as low post threats. But I fear the Parkers, Williams, Paul's and Brooks, more than I fear the Duncans, Boozers, Garnetts, and Howards in crunch time. And crunch time is when it all happens.
Our starters haven't changed. We don't have a steady low-post threat, yet. Greg is only 21 and it's apparent he has a ways to go. He may or may not be available but I like the idea of taking a chance on Beasley. -Dime Magazine
To answer the post question...I do think he is right to a degree. But I also think we've taken steps to address it (Oden growth / LA growth / adding Miller). It'll just take time for that stuff to show. Chuck is also right that if the girl who gave you the best "job" in your life gives you a call and tells you to come over, you drop everything, drunk or not and head over...
Barkley pisses off Portland fans because he doesn't slobber all over the team, but he's dead-on right when it comes to analyzing how this team manufactures its points. At best LMA is a mid-post player, Greg (despite an effort to feed him in the preseason -- supposedly) doesn't get many touches no matter what kind of position he gets or no matter how many screens he rolls off of. This team is still for all intents and a purposes a pick-n-pop, drive and kick, jump shooting team with one guard who likes to attack the rim (not counting Miller because he's in a backup role). I've been slow to criticize Nate for the way he handles the offense over the past few years, but it's becoming increasingly clear to me that he lacks the necessary creativity to build an offense that incorporates his players' various talents into a cohesive whole that maximizes ability and is customized to personnel. I fear Greg is going to be Joel 2.0 and we're going to be talking about the same weaknesses and issues this team had last year as we move throughout the season and into April and beyond. I hope I'm proved wrong.
I think Chuck is spot on. He's not talking about guys who can find their way to the rim, he's talking about a guy you can regularly get the ball to in the post for relatively easy buckets, especially when you need to stave off a run like the one by the Rockets late in the game. Oden did get off one of the ugliest looking jump hook-ish (I think that's what he was trying for) shots that missed badly. Scoring on FTs and putback dunks isn't the same thing.
Our offense was also stagnant and our team looked horrible. I'm not saying it's all due to trying to feed Oden the ball, but we looked a lot better last night when we went back to setting up LMA and Brandon. With time, I think we'll get Greg involved again. He will be that low post threat that Barkley thinks we don't have.
It's not a myth. We don't attack the basket enough and the proof is that our starting PG last year has less FT's in his career than Andre Miller had last season. We don't push the ball because our starting PG last year is incapable of running a fast break. Andre Miller should cure those 2 things if he ever gets into the starting role.
