As if we didn't need more evidence LaMarcus is terrible on defense...

[Dejounte]

https://baselinejam.blog/2021/02/05/the-best-bigs-at-defending-guards-5-takeaways/

https://baselinejamblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/tableau-scatter-plot.png

https://baselinejamblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/tableau-table.png

Could LMA make history by being the worst ever?

[DAF86]

Poeltl though <3

[spurraider21]

i thought his game would age better than this, but damn this guy really fell off a cliff. cant believe we were potentially close to moving him for wiseman

[John B]

i thought his game would age better than this, but damn this guy really fell off a cliff. cant believe we were potentially close to moving him for wiseman
He still can score, but his defense/rebounding is terrible.

[Down Under]

He just can't recover at all against any quicker guards. From the first game of last season, he just couldn't move the same.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

i thought his game would age better than this

yep was thinking today about how 2 years ago i would have put good $$ on older lma >> older ddr. with lma extending his career another 5 years by increasing his 3pt range, getting slimmer and surviving on D against fewer true big men .... and DDR being made obsolete by no 3ptr and not having the size advantage to slide down positions

/nevermind

[poopbox]

He still can score, but his defense/rebounding is terrible.

Nobody ever guards him...ever :rollin

[John B]

Nobody ever guards him...ever :rollin
Nah he still commands double/triple team. They can hide him in a small ball with great help defense Vassell/DJ/White if they must. But yup Aldridge is pretty much a defensive liability out there

[EasyMoney]

Him trying to block 3pt shots from the paint was evidence enough

[Chinook]

Aldridge really looked like he was losing weight during the bubble. He needed to double down on that and basically be a skinny, floor-spacing big who would live in inside sometimes through experience. It's so weird that he seemed on track to be that guy but by the time the season began was back to his old self body-type wise. I think the Spurs might've really planned to trade him to GS, and LMA stopped following the plan because he didn't think he'd be part of the team anymore. It makes you wonder if an Aldridge-to-GS deal was salvageable after Klay's injury. Like could the Spurs have added something to make it happen.

I'm not saying that adding a first would've been a no-brainer. Wiggins' deal is horrible, and the Spurs might've gone into the tax after the trade. But if they liked Wiseman enough to trade up for him, it's a shame they couldn't get something to happen.

[Dejounte]

No one can say the Wiseman trade was definitely happening had Klay not gotten injured. We'll never know. What we do know is if it did happen, it would have been highway robbery for the Spurs. Those kinds of lopsided trades almost never happen in the NBA. Spurs fans can keep dreaming like it would have been for real though. Makes it easier to be disappointed about something than nothing as we all know is what Spurs fans enjoy doing.

[Chinook]

No one can say the Wiseman trade was definitely happening had Klay not gotten injured. We'll never know. What we do know is if it did happen, it would have been highway robbery for the Spurs. Those kinds of lopsided trades almost never happen in the NBA. Spurs fans can keep dreaming like it would have been for real though. Makes it easier to be disappointed about something than nothing as we all know is what Spurs fans enjoy doing.

There's good evidence that it was in the cards. I wonder if PATFO knew how Aldridge would play if they would've paid whatever they had to to make GS agree. Or maybe GS wanted an unprotected first and Murray/White included. Even with LMA falling off, it's not clear that latter trade would've been worth it. The Spurs can still draft or sign an impact big next off-season. Trading for Wiggins and giving up what could've been a high pick in a great draft would've had a huge long-term effect on the club, and Wiseman doesn't look like an obvious superstar right now anyway.

[couchman]

Aldridge is so poor defending guards that we've seen opponents hunt him down for pick and roll plays early in the game almost every time.
If we're going to play him at all (I think he should be a bench player) then we should trap the ball handler anytime he is the target of a P&R play and start the backside defensive rotations from there.
I don't understand why we don't do this very often.
At the very least it forces the offense to put the ball in the hands of someone other than their primary option.

[Dejounte]

There's good evidence that it was in the cards. I wonder if PATFO knew how Aldridge would play if they would've paid whatever they had to to make GS agree. Or maybe GS wanted an unprotected first and Murray/White included. Even with LMA falling off, it's not clear that latter trade would've been worth it. The Spurs can still draft or sign an impact big next off-season. Trading for Wiggins and giving up what could've been a high pick in a great draft would've had a huge long-term effect on the club, and Wiseman doesn't look like an obvious superstar right now anyway.

I don't disagree that there was evidence; there were definitely whispers and leaks. My point is, we don't know how much of a sure thing it was or at what point of the process it was in. Been following the NBA too long to know that these insider scoops usually fall through for God knows what reason. It would have definitely been the kind of trade that would have brought in all fans of the Spurs who had little faith remaining in the team back to the fold. Like I said, highway robbery. Mainstream media would have been screaming like the "Spurs are back". That alternative universe just sounds too good to be true.

[R. DeMurre]

Richaun Holmes should probably rate even higher than he does on these charts-- he has the best DRtg of all starters on a very bad defensive team, and is the only player with significant minutes who doesn't post a negative DBPM... In addition to this, he has the highest ORtg on the entire team, leads them in WS/48, and accomplishes all of this with lowest Usage Rate of all the starters. The fact that Sacramento is currently 12-11 is nearly miraculous, and a lot of that credit has to go to the unheralded Holmes.

[Dejounte]

Richaun Holmes should probably rate even higher than he does on these charts-- he has the best DRtg of all starters on a very bad defensive team, and is the only player with significant minutes who doesn't post a negative DBPM... In addition to this, he has the highest ORtg on the entire team, leads them in WS/48, and accomplishes all of this with lowest Usage Rate of all the starters. The fact that Sacramento is currently 12-11 is nearly miraculous, and a lot of that credit has to go to the unheralded Holmes.

Bad news for the Richaun fan club:

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/01/richaun-holmes-hopes-to-re-sign-with-kings.html

[R. DeMurre]

Bad news for the Richaun fan club:

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/01/richaun-holmes-hopes-to-re-sign-with-kings.html

I saw that too... we'll see! The Kings are not in the best shape team salary wise, already at 105 mil for 2021-22 with only 10 players under contract. A front loaded long term offer would be hard for them to counter, and I don't know if Ranadive is willing to spend the money. He already let Bogdanovic walk for nothing, and is now considering trading Bjelica to save (not very much) money.

[exstatic]

No one can say the Wiseman trade was definitely happening had Klay not gotten injured. We'll never know. What we do know is if it did happen, it would have been highway robbery for the Spurs. Those kinds of lopsided trades almost never happen in the NBA. Spurs fans can keep dreaming like it would have been for real though. Makes it easier to be disappointed about something than nothing as we all know is what Spurs fans enjoy doing.

Steve Kerr strongly implied exactly that.

[JADG79]

Why we cannot trade LMA and two 2nd Round for Drummond. His defense is not the best but the guy is a magnet for rebounds and Jarrett Allen is the future in Clev. Allen for a 1st round pick was a gift and SAS did nothing as always to try to get that guy.

Clev will buyout LMA and he can sign with a contender.

[exstatic]

Why we cannot trade LMA and two 2nd Round for Drummond. His defense is not the best but the guy is a magnet for rebounds and Jarrett Allen is the future in Clev. Allen for a 1st round pick was a gift and SAS did nothing as always to try to get that guy.

Clev will buyout LMA and he can sign with a contender.
Drummond is old NBA. He’s a dinosaur from before the 3 point asteroid hit the game. He’s not even worth Poeltl money now, and he makes much more than that, like multiples. Sports go thru phases. I can remember when NFL teams HAD to have a stud RB. Now, RB is a position where you pick some guy in the 4th round and plug him in. NBA classic big men are the RBs of the league now.

[Chinook]

Drummond is awful. Like holy shit, it's literally Taurean Prince all over again. By no means would I want him on this team rather than Aldridge.

[JADG79]

If no Drummond, Who could be a defensive big man for LMA and his expiring contract?

Randle? But his value is off the roof right now.

[exstatic]

If no Drummond, Who could be a defensive big man for LMA and his expiring contract?

Poeltl is fairly elite defensively. Can switch, close out, rebound, and block shots.

[Collins21]

Aldridge has been horrible defensively but what about offense? We lose a lot of leads because Poetl can't score. No matter how good he is on defense you can't play 4 on 5 on offense. There were times during the Rockets game where in the 4th quarter they'd pass Poetl the ball and he could do nothing with other than turn it over. The Spurs need to a two way center. However Aldridge is an offensive asset to this team and you need scoring or the threat of it to win in the NBA.

[cd98]

All this tells me is that the Spurs need to trade DDR (he's going to play us into the playoffs or at least almost into the playoffs and ruin our draft position) and keep starting LMA and giving him tons of minutes. We need to be in the lottery this year and next.

[John B]

​
Aldridge has been horrible defensively but what about offense? We lose a lot of leads because Poetl can't score. No matter how good he is on defense you can't play 4 on 5 on offense. There were times during the Rockets game where in the 4th quarter they'd pass Poetl the ball and he could do nothing with other than turn it over. The Spurs need to a two way center. However Aldridge is an offensive asset to this team and you need scoring or the threat of it to win in the NBA.

I don't buy it. We have plenty of guys who can score to make up for Poeltl's lack of scoring. Granted, Poeltl needs to occasionally make aggressive cuts to the basket, put backs, hits his free throws. But Poeltl does not need to score a lot.

Rodman in his years with the Bulls deferred scoring and concentrated on defense and rebounds. The Bulls were 3-0 with him in the Finals.

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/HectorLedesmaTV/status/1358838201570504704

Rudy stressing the word "offensive" for Aldridge...

I wonder what he means by "people are where they are"?

[The Truth #6]

​

I don't buy it. We have plenty of guys who can score to make up for Poeltl's lack of scoring. Granted, Poeltl needs to occasionally make aggressive cuts to the basket, put backs, hits his free throws. But Poeltl does not need to score a lot.

Rodman in his years with the Bulls deferred scoring and concentrated on defense and rebounds. The Bulls were 3-0 with him in the Finals.

Referencing Rodman in the same sentence with playoff winning basketball probably will fall on deaf ears for Spurs fans. But the idea makes sense re: Yak.

[John B]

Referencing Rodman in the same sentence with playoff winning basketball probably will fall on deaf ears for Spurs fans. But the idea makes sense re: Yak.

Okay, Kobe and the rest of the Lakers :lol

The point is Poeltl need not to score a lot. As long as he corals the rebound, protects the rim. And Aldridge absence gives more touches to Demar who scored 30 pts the last 2 games, likewise more touches for White, DJ, Vassell, etc.

[The Truth #6]

Okay, Kobe and the rest of the Lakers :lol

The point is Poeltl need not to score a lot. As long as he corals the rebound, protects the rim. And Aldridge absence gives more touches to Demar who scored 30 pts the last 2 games, likewise more touches for White, DJ, Vassell, etc.

Yes. Exactly.

[The Truth #6]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/2/8/22271901/power-rankings-lakers-clippers-sixers-jazz

KOC breaks down this very question about Lamarcus. Jump to #12, where he has the Spurs ranked.

[r0drig0lac]

​

I don't buy it. We have plenty of guys who can score to make up for Poeltl's lack of scoring. Granted, Poeltl needs to occasionally make aggressive cuts to the basket, put backs, hits his free throws. But Poeltl does not need to score a lot.

Rodman in his years with the Bulls deferred scoring and concentrated on defense and rebounds. The Bulls were 3-0 with him in the Finals.
interesting, so we just need Jordan and Pippen, well, whatever, the analogy didn't make sense anyway.

[poopbox]

Nah he still commands double/triple team. They can hide him in a small ball with great help defense Vassell/DJ/White if they must. But yup Aldridge is pretty much a defensive liability out there


WHAT :lmao

[John B]

interesting, so we just need Jordan and Pippen, well, whatever, the analogy didn't make sense anyway.
The Bulls maybe a stretch, but I wanted to emphasize that yes you can play 4 to 5 and win even at the Finals.
With the Spurs, less touches for Poeltl can funnel more offense to Demar who scored 30 points the last two games. Also more opportunities for Keldon, Vassell, White, etc.
As long as Poeltl protects the rim, guards can stay with their men and avoid the onslaught of 3's, which has been the Spurs killer this season, unable to protect the 3's because of lack of interior defense.

[John B]

WHAT :lmao

You're not watching the same game if you don't see Aldridge getting double/triple team every time he touches the ball on the post.
Aldridge problem is not offense. He can score, but he's defensive liability and gives too many layups, offensive rebounds. Aldridge is the new Forbes

[RC_Drunkford]

People here still don’t understand spacing. Poeltl is an offensive liability cause he can’t shoot. Spurs need a 3-point shooting Center to open up the driving lanes

[The Truth #6]

People here still don’t understand spacing. Poeltl is an offensive liability cause he can’t shoot. Spurs need a 3-point shooting Center to open up the driving lanes

Or if not that, then a 3-point shooting power forward, which is what we hoped Luka would be, and obviously that is not happening.

[RC_Drunkford]

Or if not that, then a 3-point shooting power forward, which is what we hoped Luka would be, and obviously that is not happening.

you need 4 shooters. If you got DeRozan your Center has to shoot 3s cause it raises his efficiency. If DeRozan is out and we got 4 perimeter shooters starting than a big like Poeltl can start, but once you only have 3 3-point threats out there you’re in trouble cause teams will go zone

[The Truth #6]

you need 4 shooters. If you got DeRozan your Center has to shoot 3s cause it raises his efficiency. If DeRozan is out and we got 4 perimeter shooters starting than a big like Poeltl can start, but once you only have 3 3-point threats out there you’re in trouble cause teams will go zone

So you’re saying we have a poorly constructed roster??!? I’m being sarcastic. The deficiencies of this roster and how they fit together has been a challenge since DmDr arrived in my opinion. But I agree with your overall point about spacing.

[Sugus]

you need 4 shooters. If you got DeRozan your Center has to shoot 3s cause it raises his efficiency. If DeRozan is out and we got 4 perimeter shooters starting than a big like Poeltl can start, but once you only have 3 3-point threats out there you’re in trouble cause teams will go zone

IF you got DeRozan... :eyebrows