Superstar numbers sure, but his impact on the floor isn't what the numbers suggest. He is slow on defense, can protect the rim, but not good at helping on D because of how big he is. I agree that Butler is a different guy this year. I still think any offense ran through Noah isn't going to be an effective offense. Not to mention McD has stunk it up recently. Snell isn't a bad shooter though so there's that.
I think fans of gritty losing basketball don't appreciate what it means to have a Gasol who gets us lots of easy baskets.
I've sighed in relief plenty of times when the team would have a broken play and just toss it to Gasol and have him bail us out. It's very valuable having an offensive big. I don't think Gasol/Noah make the optimal pairing because they are both slow.
I don't think Noah is slow. But it does seem he and Gasol are a bit thin and can be pushed around by heavier and more athletic guys.
Noah is slow when he's playing the 4. Gasol is slow when plays the 4. Both guys can't play the 4 spot at the same time.
Gortat is slow, but big and strong. 12 points, 12 rebounds on 6-9 shooting. Nene is quick, plays the 4. 0-4, 0 points, 6 rebounds, 6 fouls. Just like we have to match up against them, they have to match up against us
It seems like that would be the case, but actually the Gasol/Noah combo is better on defense than the team overall. Big Man Combo - Min - DefRtg - +/- (per 48 min) Gasol / Noah - 992 - 99.6 - +4.1 Gasol / Gibson - 691 - 103.2 - +3.2 Gasol / Niko - 366 - 102.5 - <-3.2> Gibson / Niko - 495 - 99.0 - +6.7 Gibson / Noah - 337 - 105.1 - <-6.3> Noah / Niko - 351 - 95.5 - +9.8 The team's total Defensive Rating for the season is 101.6, and not surprisingly our two best PF/C combos include Mirotic since he leads the team in Defensive Rating: Mirotic 99.1 Noah 100.2 Gasol 102.3 Gibson 102.7
Washington is a hot mess right now. Wittman might have down syndrome. They have no perimeter threats at all, and Beal is injury prone.
Without their starting backcourt and one of their best reserves, the Chicago Bulls were going to need a team effort Tuesday night. That's what they got. Nikola Mirotic scored 23 points to lead the Bulls to a 97-92 win over the Washington Wizards. It came without former MVP Derrick Rose (right knee), all-star Jimmy Butler (left elbow), and trusted reserve Taj Gibson (left ankle), but the Bulls still managed to improve to 4-2 on their season-high seven-game homestand. Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400579185
Yeah, I'm afraid for the Kirk that the spin cycle and Lebron bear hug will end up being his two defining moments with the Bulls.
I like how when Kirk loses his man, he runs around with his arms straight up, hoping the pass will hit him by accident.
I like that too. It's what my coaches always told me to do when I chased my man. Beats hell out of quitting.
Oh hell, I ought to be less subtle/more honest. What Hinrich is doing on those plays is to block the passing lane. Anyone who has ever been coached in post-grade school basketball would recognize that. It's textbook defensive technique. Criticizing a player for doing this exposes the critics' lack of relevant background. If anyone with a backgound in playing/coaching basketball would like to challenge this, feel free.
You will get no argument from me. He should never be in a situation where having an epileptic seizure on D is the best move lol.
To ignore the fact that he routinely fails to keep himself in between his man and the basket is ignorant of how defense is supposed to be played. It's ok once in a while to get beat, these are world class athletes after all. I played plenty of basketball, through college intramural. Varsity in high school. I had a great coach, too, who made it to head coach in the NBA and college.
Jeff Bzdelik. We called him "Buzz." He was head coach of the Nuggets, then went on to be head coach at Air Force, Colorado, and Wake Forest. He coached me the year I graduated high school, through June of 1978.
That's an awesome story man. I just googled him and he has such an impressive coaching resume, damn. He's a lifer, he's also an assistant with the Grizzlies right now who are a good team. Not much of an NCAA guy but Wake Forest is an impressive place to be a HC, too. Granted I know jack about NCAA basketball.
