In unrelated news, looks like this will be the last year of Inside the NBA on TNT. For shame. End of an era tbh.
let's say three years from now the Spurs are back in the mix to win the West.
so, what will be the main challange on the defensive end? stop Jokic, stop Luka, stop SGA, stop Ant. we might add Booker to this list. Lebron, Curry, KD are out.
Spurs already have an answer for Jokic, so a big defensive guard (like Castle would be) is the most glaring need for a future play off run.
Washington are taking this rebuild slow.
Show was better, pre-Shaq. Technically, one of the other networks could buy out all of the contracts except Charles. His contract states that he is free if TNT loses the media rights.
Next year’s draft will make the Wemby tanking year look tame.
Why are you assuming Sheppard isn't a defender? He led the SEC in steals, he had the best DRtg & the best DBPM on his Kentucky team, had a huge amount of blocks for a guard, and tied for first in maximum vertical leap at the draft combine... There's a decent chance that if he plays PG, he could actually be a defensive asset, and not a liability at all, especially playing off of Wembanyama.
New feature on TaT. Combine participants have some measures on their profile pages now.
Too bad ESPN is involved at all. Disney drives everything into the ground and their coverage is trash.
I'll speak up. In college, Sheppard was not a good man-to-man defender. He was consistently blown by on the perimeter and does not navigate screens well. While he does have good leaping ability, and swatted a few three-point attempts, it's widely thought that he gamed the jump portion of the combine by not extending his arms all the way up for his standing reach. Not a big deal either way - he can jump.
What he's really good at are his hands and quick reactions, poking balls, deflections. Very good defense in transition. He freelanced too much in help defense, but this might have been a coaching decision.
His lack of lateral quickness will hurt in the NBA, not to mention his size. I'm generally baffled by his incredible defensive metrics. He did win possessions out of nowhere with steals, but he's not a shut-down defender in any sense.
DAL is where we would have trouble. Sochan + Wemby matches up well with the other top teams. DAL can force switch unto anybody, were good as dead if you have a Trae Young defender in there. It is no coincidence Luka 70 point game was against ATL.
Kinda of helps when your backed up by two of the best NBA defenders in Timmy and David
You listen to people around here and the Spurs had no business winning with an undersized TP even with a generational big man. Heck throw in Avery Johnson and the Spurs have yet to win a championship without an undersized starting PG.
People will say times have changed but Steph Curry has two rings without Durant as the top option despite being a smallish PG. Yes Trae Young is not a Curry level player but he would be the second option behind Wemby.
Jamal Murray just won ring as a second option. Kyrie won a ring as a second and is competing for a second one. Mike Conley is the starting PG for the Wolves.
The 'you cant win a ring with a undersized PG' is a total and complete myth upon further review.
At some point in the last decade, someone convinced Kenny Smith that he is a draw. Since then, that show is three guys shouting over the top of each other.
Undersized isn't the issue. The Spurs had basically one starting-caliber traditional point guard since Rod Strickland left, and that's Avery Johnson. Dejounte turned into the closest thing since then, and I don't think traditional point guard was his selling point.
Kobyz is a longtime post account
#4 should definitely be either Risacher or Buzelis, because neither will make it past 5. Get one of the only true 3/4 tweeners in the draft and then draft whichever guard is available at #8 (Dilly, Sheppard, Topic, Castle, Knecht).
Also, I disagree Dilly is star or bust. He could definitely be a microwave type guard off the bench.
If you go all the way back to 1994 (30 years), there have been 4 good defensive PGs on the winning championship team. Ron Harper, Billups, Kidd, and Jrue Holiday. That's the entire list.
This is where I'm at. Luka is 25. SGA is 25. Ant is 22. You're going to be facing those dudes in the playoffs every year for the foreseeable future.
The other thing is that there are multiple avenues for Castle to be successful. Worst case, he's a 1-3 switchable, on the ball defensive pest. Best case, he's your point guard of the future. Somewhere in the middle, he's a plus on offense as a connective piece and develops an outside shot you have to at least respect.
You could maybe add 2006 Gary Payton to the list but otherwise I agree.
These "Defense is BAD" takes are hilarious.
The Spurs are a top defense with Wemby on the court. Upping his minutes should improve the overall defensive metrics by a lot. What the Spurs need is shooting, shooting, more shooting and then some more shooting, tbh.
That's clearly the most obvious route to improving the team in a significant way.
Risacher can shoot and defend. That's why he should be our #1 target, tbh.
What makes you think that?
Because I'm confident the PATFO's Big Board will have Castle ranked above all those players.
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