Everything Pascal Siakam

[golden]

well i challenged your assertion that 'defense can't be taught', which is an objectively absurd thing to say, and never asserted that bad defensive players frequently become good ones. it's pretty rare for a player to turn any aspect of their game from a weakness into a strength.

but most good defensive players were not very good in their first year or two. often they had the tools, but had to learn how to play nba defense. kind of like we're all hoping scottie will become an elite defender after an inconsistent rookie year.

andrew wiggins and devin booker come to mind as players who became good defenders later in their careers after years of playing bad defense, off the top of my head. i'm sure there are others

Yeah, this "defense can't be taught" convo must be some weird new-age take. For years, I heard coaches like JVG and Butch Carter say completely the opposite, i.e. that scoring & offense was a god-given talent, but they could coach guys how to play defense within their systems.

That said, I can see how the rise of the 3-pt shot can improve scoring/shooting ability through sheer hard work and repetition. Those are the guys the Raptors are drafting... hard workers. Those would be the same type of guys who would probably dive on the ground for a loose ball. That's more about selecting guys with a hard-working, coachable character types, than a fundamental inability to teach certain player defense, offense or anything else.

[Kagemusha]

Defense can't be taught?
Compare the defense of Dallas pre- Jason Kidd with that of 2022.
It's night and day.

[The Claw Reborn]

What stupid takes? that Draymond is not a franchise player? that Klay is washed up? and that Poole is 1 dimensional?

I'm convinced you have no clue what you're talking about.

Haha…have a good day.

[The Claw Reborn]

Oh you're going with the Masai doesn't make any mistake narrative?

Masai traded for Carroll, he signed Yuta, Svi, Thomas, Baynes.....guys who were supposed to be rotational players. How did that go?

And since Claw refused to answer my question. I'll ask you this instead since you mentioned it. Name me an area of the game that Trent has gotten better at? i'm not talking since he became a Raptor. I'm talking since he was in college.

I will pass these “wise words” from the Great DanH to you the the Great One…

“It is not what you believed, it is just math”

Enjoy your day.

[golden]

Defense can't be taught?
Compare the defense of Dallas pre- Jason Kidd with that of 2022.
It's night and day.

Coaches like Mike Fratello, Scott Skiles, SVG, JVG, Larry Brown, Thibs, Steve Clifford, etc... have made entire careers out of teaching defense and quickly improving teams on that side of the floor. Granted, they also burn out quickly, but the point remains... defense can be taught.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Defense can't be taught?
Compare the defense of Dallas pre- Jason Kidd with that of 2022.
It's night and day.

who the hell said it can't be taught

[chris]

who the hell said it can't be taught

t-rex

Also, defense is not something you can teach. It's either you have it or you don't.

[saints91]

The effort/motor, and intensity T-Rex is talking about can't be taught, I get that, all GREAT defenders have that. Defensive fundamentals, knowing the rotations, understanding where to push a guy, understanding of the game definitely can be learned.

Gary most likely will never be a GREAT defender, but if he's average, or slightly above, I'm happy with that. Gary isn't lazy, he's a willing defender, he just has to play more composed, and play within the system.

[The Great One]

t-rex

Nope. I was talking about 1 on 1 defense NOT team defense. Can a bad defender like James Harden suddenly become a good defender if he "works" on it? nope.

Of course team defense can be taught. You can hide bad defenders if you have a good system.

[The Great One]

The effort/motor, and intensity T-Rex is talking about can't be taught, I get that, all GREAT defenders have that. Defensive fundamentals, knowing the rotations, understanding where to push a guy, understanding of the game definitely can be learned.

Gary most likely will never be a GREAT defender, but if he's average, or slightly above, I'm happy with that. Gary isn't lazy, he's a willing defender, he just has to play more composed, and play within the system.

Yep. 1 on 1 defense. It's either you have it or you don't.

[The Claw Reborn]

Yep. 1 on 1 defense. It's either you have it or you don't.

I agree. Derozan is, thus he is a one trick pony LOL

[golden]

Nope. I was talking about 1 on 1 defense NOT team defense. Can a bad defender like James Harden suddenly become a good defender if he "works" on it? nope.

Of course team defense can be taught. You can hide bad defenders if you have a good system.

Basketball is played 5-on-5, not 1 v 1. The team result is all that matters.

Raptors have elite to all-NBA defense level individual defenders and a supposedly elite defensive coach…. and yet we gave up historic ORTGs to the Sixers in the opening games of the playoff series this year, effectively losing the series. How do explain that?

[TrueTorontoFan]

The effort/motor, and intensity T-Rex is talking about can't be taught, I get that, all GREAT defenders have that. Defensive fundamentals, knowing the rotations, understanding where to push a guy, understanding of the game definitely can be learned.

Gary most likely will never be a GREAT defender, but if he's average, or slightly above, I'm happy with that. Gary isn't lazy, he's a willing defender, he just has to play more composed, and play within the system.

yeah for all the energy I give gary I have never said he is lazy.. I think he has physical limitations that stop put a ceiling on his lateral quickness.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Basketball is played 5-on-5, not 1 v 1. The team result is all that matters.

Raptors have elite to all-NBA defense level individual defenders and a supposedly elite defensive coach…. and yet we gave up historic ORTGs to the Sixers in the opening games of the playoff series this year, effectively losing the series. How do explain that?

the reason why I have been harsh is because you need everyone to be in sync for our defence to work no weakspots... its a high wire act... when everyone is synced up it looks close to unbeatable.... but if there is a player who can get targeted and then you start getting additional break downs then you see major problems..

I do think nurse will likely be more aggressive this year with it because he said as much in the interviews he has had right when koloko got drafted.. but I wouldn't mind him switching to a SLIGHTLY more conservative style.

[The Great One]

I agree. Derozan is, thus he is a one trick pony LOL

Not really sure what you want me to say. Unlike you i'm honest. DeRozan is a SHITTY defender. One trick phony? nah you don't even know what a one trick phony means. DeRozan averaged 6 assists/game the last 4-5 seasons. As for that "one trick" that one trick that he possess is elite because that is going to be his ticket to the HOF.

Can't say the same about Trent who'll likely be a career 6th man. 1 assist/game his first 3 years. 2 assist/game last season. Is that the improvement you're talking about? lol.

Try again.