Because, he's supposed to be able to defend players 7" and 80 pounds larger than him, right? You know what, maybe it's not his fault that someone expected him guard Boris Diaw.
What defense? It was even worse later in the game when he allowed Ginobili an uncontested layup off a simple inbounds pass 30' from the basket. He BETTER score a ton...
Of course Diaw is bigger but CJ provided no resistance at all. Dame would have at least fought him. Heck, Tim Frazier would have tried harder than that.
I could be wrong, but he looked utterly baffled. Like, "how the hell did I get here?!" baffled. CJ's very intelligent, and often highly intelligent people operate on analysis rather than instinct. Dame's instinct is to fight in every situation. CJ's MO is to analyze situations and then respond with the most appropriate action. Faced with Boris Diaw's massive backside, CJ was backed into the paint before he was even able to comprehend the situation, let alone the response. The comments for this team about experience apply more to CJ than anyone else, I believe. For the moment, he's collecting data. His defense will improve as his speed of data analysis does.
CJ is 6'4 and Diaw is 6'8. 50lbs difference. If you play basketball i'd encourage you to find someone who is only 4 inches taller than you and 50 lbs heavier than you and see how funny it is to let him post you up from that range. I would've fouled THE SHIT out of Diaw and not let him embarrass me like that! this is worse than a 360' dunk on your head!
The good thing is that Henderson looks to be a very good defensive SG. And smart too - I saw several instances of him getting great defensive positioning.
I'm 6'5", 230. If Karl Malone posted me up, even from the arc, I'd be lost. Well, really, I'd be flattened. CJ's biggest error was not taking the charge. However, the next time that situation presents itself, I doubt he makes that mistake again.
Buck Williams weighed less than that. Granted he was 6'8" but that made him even less stocky. Malone will tell you Buck battled him as hard as anyone.
CJ vs Boris Diaw You vs Karl Malone, 2nd best PF of all times and top 5 all time in scoring. Yep ITS EXACTLY THE SAME.
Buck was also a hell of a lot stronger than I am, so that's really not a great analogy, especially since I was responding to a post specifically about someone posting me up. But I appreciate the effort and the reply.
OK--if Boris Diaw posted me up, I'd be in bad shape too. I'm bigger than CJ, and I'd probably get moved with ease. However, like I said, I'd also take the charge. Give him time, CJ's defense will come around. All I'm really saying is that his inability to slow down Big-ass Boris is not the best indicator.
Yeah, screw CJ. He's been a starter now for nine whole games and he doesn't have defense entirely figured out yet! It. Takes. Time.
I don't think it's gonna get better with time. He's not athletic\strong\tough enough imo , maybe he and Lillard can get better under the right coach, i don't know...
Yes...but I was referring to weight and heart, not that of Malone, Buck, CJ, Diaw and you, one of those things is not like the other.
He'll get better with more PT. Everybody does. That said, I still don't see him as the starter once Henderson is back at full strength. I think CJ will be a Jason Terry-style 6th man splitting time at backup PG and SG, at least for a couple of years while he develops his game.
I wasn't even mad at CJ for this. I did however get pissed when Crabbe let old assed ginobili beat him to an offensive rebound not once, but twice before scoring. If I'm Stotts I'm cutting crabbes minutes after that play & Hendos contribution last night. As far as the CJ play goes. As far as I'm concerned it's a great example of how weak our team defense has been.
But CJ's a superstar! Seriously though, this is why Henderson will take his place in the starting lineup very soon.
There will come a time when the Blazers will have to decide between Lillard & McCollum. Offensively it's very fun backcourt to watch! Defensively there not good enough and at times terrible. The match is just not championship caliber.
i can only imagine how many times that is gonna be shown in the breakdown sessions. and how much shit the rest of the team is gonna give him about it tbh i really noticed that play as well, it totally stood out - i was like - "did this mahfucker just go into his post move at the 3pt line, shuffle in for 15 feet, then pop it in effortlessly whilst a mosquito was getting a free ride on his back?..... yes"
