Thomas Robinson: Wingspan = 7'3.25" Standing Reach = 8'10" Al-Farouq Aminu: Wingspan = 7'3.25" Standing Reach = 9'0.5" Same wingspan, but Chief as a 2.5" advantage in standing reach. BNM
I don't really disagree with you, just pointing out one of the main counters. The real question to me is do you somehow play much bigger with Nurkic/Collins/Harkless (coaching change?) or do you just start excepting the fact that Collins is your new NBA center and go Collins/Aminu/Harkless.
I don't see the small ball tag....Aminu has a freakish wingspan equal to Nurk's...Harkless is not small, nor is Turner. We have 4 legit 7ft players and 2 who are just under 7ft...we only really play small ball with a 3 guard lineup of Dame, CJ and Bazz and don't do that that often
Anyone notice last night in the 4th quarter that the guy who guarded Kevin Durant the best.... was a foot shorter than him? Certainly CP3 can't be matched up on him all game, but damn he was effective.
You mean, like basically every other team in the league (particularly when they start their fave playoff lineup of Steph, Klay, Iggy, Durant, Draymond)?
I'd definitely go with Nurk/Collins/Good Moe. Aminu is in the last year of his deal and may not be around for the entire season (may be moved at the draft or the deadline). Plus, we already know how improved our team defense was with Nurk manning the middle. As good as he was defensively for a 20-year old rookie, our team defensive actually declined as Collins' minutes increased. I'm not blaming that entirely on Collins, and he will presumably get better, but with his 3-point shooting potential, I see him as much more of an Aminu replacement than a Nurk replacement, especially unless he seriously bulks up, which may just end up slowing him down. Nope, definitely Nurk/Collins/Harkless for me, both short term and long term. Nothing against Chief, but he is what he is, and one of the main things he is, is a valuable trading piece as both an expiring contract and a reasonably priced roll player. BNM
There's still a whole lot of value in centers that can set good screens and defend the pick and roll. Nurk is great at both. There's also value in rebounding and so far, Nurk has proven to be a much better rebounder than Collins. Nurk is just bigger, stronger and takes up more space. Until/unless Collins bulks up substantially, he's going to continue to be pushed around by other PFs and completely over matched against other centers. And, do we really want him to bulk up and risk losing his lateral quickness? I'd prefer to keep both. Nurk has already proven he can completely transform our defense from one of the worst in the league to one of the best. Right now, Collins has the perfect body and developing skill set to be a stretch 4 in today's game. Keep both and use them both to their strengths. Nurk at the 5 and Collins at the 4. BNM
Trending, maybe I guess. I disagree that the right move is to go that small though. Nurk is actually mobile for his size and I believe he can develop a 3 point shot eventually (not that I want him to). Lets look at other teams though this past year: LAC had Jordan (Mobile but can't shoot) LAL had BroLo (Can shoot but not mobile) GS had Pachulia (Can't do either) Sac had WCS (Mobile but can't really shoot) Phx had Len/Chandler (Can't do either) Den had Jokic (Can shoot but not mobile) Minn had Gibson (Mobile but can't shoot) OKC had Adams (Can't do either, okay mobile wise I guess) Utah had Gobert (Mobile but can't shoot) Mem had Gasol (Can shoot but not mobile) Hou had Capela (Mobile but can't shoot) SA had Gasol (Not mobile anymore and an okay shooter) Dal had Mejri (Can't do either) Noel (Mobile but can't shoot) NO had Cousins (Decent shooter and fairly mobile) Chi had RoLo (Can't do either) Indy had Turner (Decent mobility and shot) Mil had Henson (Mobile but can't shoot) Det had Drummond (Mobile but can't shoot) Cle had Thompson (Mobile but can't shoot) Tor had Valanciunas (Can't do either) NYK had Kanter (Not mobile and doesn't shoot 3's) Brook had Jarrett Allen (Mobile but shot 15 3's all year so who knows) Philly had Embiid (Obviously good mobility and can shoot) Boston had Horford (Good at both but is getting up there in age) Mia had Whiteside (Mobile but can't shoot) Orl had Vucevic (Can shoot but not mobile) Cha had Howard (Mobile but can't shoot) Atl had Dedmon (Mobile but can't shoot) Was had Gortat (Can't do either) What part of that screams that we have to have a mobile center who can shoot 3's? I just don't get the reasoning behind forcing Collins to play center and dumping Nurk.
I don't disagree, but think they should cram Nurkic down their throat more and Collins needs to shoot a lot more threes (and oops). If we stay with two small guards dominating the ball and the shots, then Nurk is not as valuable as he could be and is exposed when he has to guard out to the three point line.
And those outside shooters will struggle guarding them inside, and he'll likely be better at protecting the rim.
Well considering I listed every team in the NBA, all four of them were on my list. LMAO. Since you missed it though: Capela is mobile but can't do anything on offense outside of 2 feet from the basket. Warriors play without a center but their true center sucks so they don't have options. They are one of the greatest teams of all time so it's hard to match them no matter what our lineup is.