maybe it was, but there was no gun to their head forcing Neal to deal Batum or sign Crabbe and Turner for an average of over 36 Mil per year for the next 4 seasons. Time passing isn't casting a favorable light on NO's judgement. STOMP
I have really liked what I've seen of Noahs ability to defend on the perimeter when he has been caught out there (or is caught on a switch). His length and agility really gives other players problems. He really is surprisingly nimble, can dribble, and has range out to three. At 6' 9" he is limited height wise (like Chief), but makes up for that with length and strength. With todays smaller PF position, I'd like to see him lean up a little to around 230 - 235, which may give him a little bit more explosiveness and a chance to utilise his agility and dribbling on offense. Whilst he does have excellent footwork, he looks a little 'heavy' when he's out there - and looks like it limits his quickness. Chief is struggling. Maybe it's time to give Vonleh a chance to play some extended, uninterrupted minutes.
I think the main thing Vonleh needs is a steady diet of touches and a long leash. He looks miles better on offense (especially in the post) than he did last year. Alas, I don't think it's going to happen here. Stotts seems averse to playing young guys extended minutes and prefers his forwards to play away from the hoop.
I find that frustrating, especially with guys with the strength/body of a Vonleh. It's evident too, that a guy like CJ - who can break down offenses at will - often finds himself the only offensive player near the hoop once he has gotten past his first defender. Makes it nigh impossible for the nice little dump off assists to big men - when they're parked out at the three point line.
The thing that frustrates me watching Noah is that he always floats to the weak side. When the ball gets swung around, he ducks under the hoop to the weak side where hes not in position to do anything helpful. He should hold his position & post up.
Everything about the way he's been used/developed has been frustrating to me. Hopefully some playing time will free up after the deadline.
And what's ironic, for the first half of last season, Stotts started him. I suppose the mindset, at the time, was prioritizing player development over better shots at wins. We may want to return to that strategy.
How about this starting lineup: Plumlee Vonleh Aminu Harkless Dame I know it seems devoid of talent, but this gives us 3 people who can switch up on everybody, Plums only has a problem against quick guards and Dame is ok against taller guys (my own eye test only). As i understand it, our interior defense is actually top 10 in the league in amount of points scored on so maybe this lineup would give us more defensive flexibility. I might even try: Vonleh Aminu Harkless Turner Dame. I hope Stotts will try it sometime in the future.
Was going to post the exact same thing. It's probably a good defensive unit to try - but where does the offense come from? The way Harkless has been shooting the 3 makes this worth looking at , but is his ball-handling good enough? You would have 3 guys that could cover for each other at SG, SF, PF if a switch occurred on defense.
Stotts plan is to try to have the paint devoid of bodies so Dame and CJ can drive to the hoop. I understand the premise, but to Have Vonleh in the paint would mean a major change to our standard game plan of picknroll for our guards. In order for Vonleh to plant himself in the paint prior to the ball entering,. we need to start posting him up and do the in and out thing, ala Malone/Stockton. I am not opposed to this, because I think the NBA is weak on interior PF's right now, so Vonleh could probably make some ground there. But it will kill the guards penetration abilities. Vonlehs man will rotate and good teams will continue to rotate. I am not opposed to this at all, but then we MUST have CJ be our 6th man or trade him. Cant have two ball dominant guards with no D and great range play with a post up PF.
That's what we say when Dame goes down, but i think Plumlee shines in creating offense when he plays with one PG. It's something that we need to experiment with in order to see if it's working. I like what Gregg Popovich is doing, i don't think there's one possible lineup of Spurs players that coach didn't try already.
Outside of dame/CJ, no player has more talent worth developing than Vonleh. We keep talking about how perfect Paul Millsap would be, but guess what, we have a much younger version of him already on the roster. The way Vonleh runs the court, his work on the boards, the way he competes on defense, and even the threat of a perimeter shot reminds of Millsap. His post up game also screams to be developed and utilized. I hope his insertion into the lineup is permanent. We are not a contender. Developing Vonleh is more important at this stage than the honor of getting swept by Golden State or San Antonio.
Yes, and not just 20-25 minutes of getting out of the way either. Run some plays for him. How's he supposed to develop his post ups if he never gets to work on it during the game? It's time. I'm so over this team not having a post presence, on either side of the court.
Don't forget who his coach is. It's imperative that we waste as many years as possible of a players development.
I've got to say I agreed early on but our post protection has been very good over the recent stretch of play...better than I ever expected...
That's because the team is committed to stopping easy buckets, but the tradeoff are wide open looks from outside. And we still get killed on the boards consistently. Plumlee needs help.
recent podcast posted somewhere here has Mason listed as actually providing top rim protection contrary to what we tend to talk about when it comes to him...Vonleh and Plumlee rebounded well...I don't see that as a problem..we don't get second chance pts much though
i like the combination of Vonleh and Plumlee, but I can't see Plumlee here long term for financial reasons. Everyone keeps throwing Crabbe in trade scenarios but this team can't afford to lose a shooter. Nobody will trade for Turner. All of this will leave us in luxury tax hell next season. Olsheys got quite a job coming up.
