How do we fix our defense?

[Lupe]

Patterson off the bench needs to stop. I dont think hes that good when hes not on a floor with Lowry or Derozan so wtf?

But is this really the problem on the defensive end? I mean I think most of us would agree Siakam is a better defender than Scola, so I'm not sure that's where the issue lies.

[KHD]

I was only talking specifically about DeRozan. He doesn't need to be an elite or even great defender given what he does on the offensive end of the floor. You can use all those examples but a lot of those guys played with at least 1 other perimeter player who didn't play great defense: Parker, Curry, Mills, Ginobili, Barea, Ray Allen in Boston, Richard Hamilton in Detroit, etc.

I actually think most or all of those guys were better defensively (or at least, "less bad") than derozan except for barea simply due to size.


anyways, the point stands that no, derozan doesn't need to be a great defender. but the guys he plays with need to be at least above-average since he is very sub-par, and currently Lowry and Carroll are pretty bad. and our bench guys aren't doing much better, sadly.

[KHD]

It's not a popular opinion here. But I'm of the opinion that Jonas needs to go unless we're going to significantly revamp our offense. He isn't being maximized offensively as a post-up option, and as a result the inadequacies that he has when it comes to play Casey's style of defense from the center position aren't overwritten by his offensive production. The problem is you can't just be silly and swap him straight up. I just think this team would get so much better if you got a legitimate rim protecting bigman with great foot-speed and lateral quicks and any sort of remotely comparable offensive talent to JV at PF.

Either that or we need to significantly change how we play on both ends, and Casey's not really going anywhere and has a great relationship with Masai so the first option seems more feasible, especially given that even if you change him out you could just end up with a really crappy coach to replace him.

Not saying JV is a bad player at all. He's excellent on the offensive end, and ok on defense. The problem is we need better than ok in that position given our personnel and gameplan.

well no shit, that player is named anthony davis.

[tDotted]

Look, you don't need to have a prime Dwight Howard at C to have a good defense. The Hawks, Grizzlies, and Hornets have all proved that in the past year

[MACK11]

The perimeter defense is softer than a marshmallow. This team lets anyone go right into the paint anytime they want

[Barolt]

I was only talking specifically about DeRozan. He doesn't need to be an elite or even great defender given what he does on the offensive end of the floor. You can use all those examples but a lot of those guys played with at least 1 other perimeter player who didn't play great defense: Parker, Curry, Mills, Ginobili, Barea, Ray Allen in Boston, Richard Hamilton in Detroit, etc.

All those guys you mentioned, Parker, Curry, Mills, Barea, Allen and Hamilton, weren't/aren't extremely competent defenders, but they work hard on that end.

Watch Curry on defense, he's overmatched at times, but he tries. DeMar just gives up on defensive plays.

[Barolt]

But is this really the problem on the defensive end? I mean I think most of us would agree Siakam is a better defender than Scola, so I'm not sure that's where the issue lies.

Except, once again, just like last year, substitute Patterson for Siakam and like magic, the defense becomes good!

[lewro]

I'd argue we haven't seen many weak defenders at all on championship teams, and if any it's almost never more than 1 on the court at a time. I'm assuming you're referring to Kyrie, last year, because other than him and maybe Steph I can't think of any weak defensive guards playing on recent championship teams. Kevin Love and Dirk Nowitzki won 'chips as big men recently though, and neither of them is exactly a defensive stalwart.

Dirk and love we're paired with tt, lbj and Chandler tho. That's a good mix of stretch 4 with good defenders.
Ive been saying this for a couple weeks, we are building around demar so he needs a rim protector behind him. He doesn't pass to jv but he can throw lobs.

[lewro]

Except, once again, just like last year, substitute Patterson for Siakam and like magic, the defense becomes good!

Bc you have a good defender behind demar

[Sinbad]

All those guys you mentioned, Parker, Curry, Mills, Barea, Allen and Hamilton, weren't/aren't extremely competent defenders, but they work hard on that end.

Watch Curry on defense, he's overmatched at times, but he tries. DeMar just gives up on defensive plays.

This is the most frustrating thing with him. The effort just isn't there. Bad defenders can still be somewhat productive so long as they try, but he won't even get in a stance and he dies on screens all over the place.

[Lupe]

I think that assessment is a result of watching DeRozan every single game and watching those other guys only on occasion. Just my two cents. People been waiting for him to have some non Kobe-esque games though to start levying blame though.

[Sinbad]

Dirk and love we're paired with tt, lbj and Chandler tho. That's a good mix of stretch 4 with good defenders.
Ive been saying this for a couple weeks, we are building around demar so he needs a rim protector behind him. He doesn't pass to jv but he can throw lobs.

It's not just a rim protector he needs. He needs a bigger wing to take the tougher defensive assignment so he can hide on defense, he needs a solid defensive PG so he doesn't get torched too often on switches and doesn't have to come over and help, and he needs knock-down shooters because he can't stretch the floor on his own. Everyone has to compensate for what he doesn't do. That's a lot to ask of everyone else while he's allowed to slack on defense.

[Lupe]

Wasn't DeRozan on the team last year?

[Barolt]

Wasn't DeRozan on the team last year?

Yeah, and we had the exact same defensive issues with our starting lineup last year, with the exact same solution(start Patterson), and DeMar was a big part of the problem there as well.

In fact, last year, our defense was better with Scola on/DeMar off than it was with DeMar on/Scola off.

[lewro]

Look, you don't need to have a prime Dwight Howard at C to have a good defense. The Hawks, Grizzlies, and Hornets have all proved that in the past year

This is why I proposed Marc gasol in the trade thread. Its good that we all recognize the problems but how do we fix it?