part two of the nba 2020-21 anything but regular season

I want to see something other than highlight blocks here or there.

He could just be a dude who likes offense!

so youre going to have to see him be a good defender before youre convinced its possible or likely ok thats... fine

most high level NBA players get to at least passable on defense, i mean even harden, kyrie, steph etc don't kill you on defense. it's a bit trickier w/ zion bcuz of his position but the odds are that he becomes at least fine. i'm not taking either side of this current debate, just saying

having watched almost every kyrie game for two seasons i can definitively say he is an awful defender up there with the worst in the league, obvs hes at a physical disadvantage, and the effort is often poor, but even when hes locked in on ball hes just a terrible scheme defender, constantly getting lost on switches getting cut backdoor the whole enchilada, suspect the same is true for harden but i havent watched him as closely and hes is bigger and very strong so that part isnt a problem

but anyway zion has all the tools and has already proven to be a basketball genius, i wouldnt bet against him

i kinda checked out of the blazers season a few weeks ago, just had that old sinking feeling.

most fans don't grasp that losing is what the regular season and playoffs are really all about. one winner. twenty nine losers.

i think with zion's defense the challenge is that his wingspan and standing reach (at least the most recent ones i could find) are nothing special. he's certainly not a defensive 5 and his best physical skills like explosion and second jump aren't as helpful on defense.

in theory he would be best as a switch defender which they could maybe try with him and hayes although initial returns will probably be ugly.

atheism is helpful on defense! idk whats gotten it to you all today

well atheism is helpful in all sorts of contexts

god never broke up a fast break

no atheists in foxholes

lol

lol @ atheism.

as usual, cad stating a better version of what I was trying to express.

still wrong tho

i mean he even has long arms, hes not center size is anyone saying hes a center idgi

i might be but i doubt it. one thing i feel like i've learned about defense over the past few years is that standing reach and wingspan(to a lesser extent), relative to position, are like much, much, more important than other things. so if i was told about an abstract guy who's a natural 4 and moves his feet really well but has the standing reach and wingspan of (checks notes.....) romeo langford, i think i would say hmmm sounds like an average defender who would be best at switching.

(again i'm pasting together measurements from old draft stuff which may be a little wrong but i don't think he's going to break the scale in either category)

hes 6-6 with a 6-10 wingspan how are you trying to make that into a bad thing its ridiculous, call him a small forward who cares, its prob more accurate to how he plays anyway, not a ton of 4/5s are primary ball handlers, and switchablity is also something worth considering

doesnt ben simmons have a short wingspan?

no defense is completely dependent on arm length

lol it's not "bad" i think it just closes an avenue or two for how you can be a really good defender.

all things considered he should be be to switch on to multiple positions and has the potential to be an extremely disruptive weak side defender

he put up ridiculous steals/blocks numbers in college, the one weird thing about his pro career to date is he has been pretty passive off the ball, i wonder if he isnt kind of spooked about getting injured / maybe nola told him to chill with the flying around the court

yeah that's one of the things that give me a little bit of pause. it could definitely come back but haven't seen it in the pros yet for whatever reason.

idk hes only played 77 games, not sure if ive mentioned that, nba defense often takes a while

The big problem for Zion on defense is his motor imo

Tony snell was 32/32 from FT last season and he’s 11/11 this year. He’s also shooting 52/57 from the field this season on a not entirely minuscule number of attempts.

52% fg 57% 3p I mean

Deni Avdijas leg injury looked real bad

curry worst game in yeeeears

JOEL EMBIID ALMOST DID THE IMPOSSIBLE 😳😳pic.twitter.com/O0XOyZ0mBR

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 22, 2021

xp he nearly triple doubled!

Oddest loss of the season for the Warriors. Second unit was terrific. 24 from Oubre. 22 from Poole. They were +17 in non-Curry minutes. But Steph Curry has maybe his worst game of the season: 18 points, 7/25 FG, 2/14 from 3, six turnovers, a -21 in loss to Wizards.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 22, 2021

the reason counting stats dont tell the story.

curry comedown game tonight

otoh cp3 28-3-8 with no turnovers in a big win vs the sixers :)

xp well yeah those are unpleasant numbers

trae young fucked up his ankle

do they make ankle goggles?

damn that embiid shot wouldve been an alltimer

told u guys not to buy into steph psyop, thank god my perfect brain is untainted

trae young fucked up his ankle

can’t believe I have to root for austin rivers now

2012 ncaa tournament / march madness / anthony davis appreciation thread / RIP gus johnson / shaka smart for ambassador to the UN

curse you, mr. jokic!

love a thriller gone wrong

phew

blazers have lost a bunch of one or two basket games lately, not that winning games matters when it comes to seeding

A little late to the convo but Zion's height/length aren't that dissimilar from PJ Tucker but he's quicker and more athletic despite having 40 lbs on PJ. If anything's gonna hold him back from being a great defender it's that he seems like just a really nice guy. He needs to get on twitter to learn the art of getting mad at imaginary takes.

that’s an interesting comparison. i think the main difference is that PJ tucker was able to take (and deal) a lot of punishment down low on defense bcuz the only thing asked of him on offense was to stand in the corner and shoot threes. zion would have to be in great physical shape and have good durability luck to play like that on defense while also being the pelicans’ main ball handler and creator. but maybe on switches or in certain line ups he’s be able to anchor himself in the post the way tucker did