I'm guessing I just got used to him making a couple steals every game, so it seems like he doesn't have the same defensive presence that he had pre-injury. Maybe rust? Or am I being too hard a critic? As my girlfriend could attest to you, he's my favorite Spur(non-Big 3) so don't think I'm just hating on him.
his not the only one of the team that allows their assign player blow past them in transition, where the help defense is fkn slow on the switch....
blame the other 2 perimeter players on the court thats been living on a reputation that they play some sort of defense.....lol parker, green
That's true for some situations, but even when he's taking someone one on one, he doesn't look as dominant(don't crucify my hyperbole) as before.
I know this is his second year, but dammit I was drunk and talking mad to some friend's of mine about how he was our elite perimeter defender and blah blah... and it just hasn't seemed that way in the past few games.
Damn my jinx.
edit- Splits has seemed like a better defender to me lately.
Offense too
I really didn't want to bring up his o cause Pop really doesn't let him do anything other than shoot corner 3s. lol
His defense is fine tbh just a few games ago we were praising him for his D on kobe...he also played pretty damn good D on Rudy Gay last game...He just had a bad game today tbh it happens
Last edited by Floyd Pacquiao; 01-19-2013 at 12:34 AM.
He got plenty of steals post-injury too, so I don't think it's injury related.
Spurs fans have overhyped his defense a bit but he's progressing well. Still makes mistakes but he has good focus, the requisite skills and the dedications ... so he'll eventually get there. But it takes a lot of seasoning to become an elite perimeter defender in the NBA.
Popovich is turning him into a turd tbh
favorite moment this game was when Kawhi picked up a foul on a pumpfake and pop immediately subbed him in for that TOSB Jackson
great teaching lesson for Kawhi
watching Jackson go hero from the bench while he stands in the corner on offense
Holy , I hate when Pop pulls that crap. He makes a simple mistake and pulls him... lame. I mean, who am I? Pop is the man, but damn that annoys me.
edit- Please excuse my drunken grammar.
Remember Kawhi in his rookie season he used to drive to the rim, take jumpers and we were saying "ohh even Kawhi drives and RJ doesn't, isn't Pop who is making RJ just a corner shooter..."
KL is too good to be given a limited role, while some heroes on the team love to chuck up shots where there stats are misleading due to the volume shots they are allowed to take....
Pop let Kawhi dominate in summer league and we saw what hes capable of
even if it isnt the same compe ion he had the moves
dont know why he lets Jack go iso/post up and never once draws that up for Leonard
we have no idea what hes capable of doing in the nba because he never lets him
ive seen kawhi pull off a few post moves but it happens once every 5ish games and we all know hes automatic in the paint
also has the best mid range percentages on the team
I'd love to see Kawhi take more control in offensive sets. He seemed more fluid in the offense pre-injury. Something just seems a little off right now.
Leave Gary Neal alone... lol
seems like he has regressed from his rookie season...looks familiar with the correlation with blairs career path...
The simple mistake you refer to is a cardinal rule that Pop has been preaching for YEARS defensively: "NEVER foul a jump shooter." I remember a few years back reading that Pop makes the players run wind sprints in the next practice if they fouled a jump shooter in the previous game.Holy , I hate when Pop pulls that crap. He makes a simple mistake and pulls him... lame. I mean, who am I? Pop is the man, but damn that annoys me.
edit- Please excuse my drunken grammar.
If Pop preaches it as a cardinal rule, you better listen, or there's consequences.
I'm sure the fact that David Lee has suckered the Spurs into the air with about 3 shot fakes earlier in the half didn't help the matter. Whatcha wanna bet that Pop addressed not going for pump fakes during a timeout, only to see Kawai get suckered right away.
Does anyone else wonder why he never chases a fast break down from behind to block it lbj style? Dating back to last year this has bothered me, and the only thing I can think of is kawhi not wanting to risk the and 1. He seems to also get beat on the opponents first step pretty often, but usually is able to regain position and contest the shot. Overall, his defense has been a plus. His offense is what is starting to bother me. He doesn't seem to believe he can beat his man off the dribble, and he has a bad tendency of botching layups. This guy needs more touches. Run some pin downs or post ups for Christ sake, it seems like we're unbeatable when kawhi brings the O.
seriously the touches that green and diaw gets areas on the court...should be KL touches and would probably not goto waste from chuckn hesitation or more stupid penetration with the extra past that leads to a turnover or not shooting at all....
out of all the players on the roster, skillset wise he is probably top4 but his not given the green light to fulfill his real potential besides spot up shooter...give him the amount of touches and sort iso plays that green and diaw gets everytime they run into lane with some lame ass layup or turnover, with KL he at leasts he give you something....
i think that sort of defensive play is outlawed by the spurs since the ginoboli fiasco in 06 WCF that costs the spurs the series and next round into the finals...
Every starter has fallen for a fake. Pop doesn't pull everyone. I understand he's trying to make a point but a part of me believes he might be stifling what makes Kawhi such a great defender. Every good defender has great base defense, but what separates the greats is their ability to make a defensive play when one might not be feasible; or what typical base defense would not dictate.
Ugghhh... let's not talk about that play
his doing that on purpose man cause this might be pops last year and he wants to make someone his b4 he goes out with another regular season championship playoff fodder exit team...
its not what he doesnt know what to do, his more afraid of blowing up a play and gettin bench to have his ass dig in and eaten by pop.....out of all the wankers on this team he gets treated differently for no apparent reason
Kawhi is one of the most overrated defenders in the NBA IMO..
He's an above average defensive player and as timvp said, he's progressing nicely, but Spurs fans have unfair expectations for him..the media has the perception that he's Pop's lockdown guy(casual media doesn't watch many games and reports based on team sources, obviously)..his frame also gives the indication that he has lockdown potential, with his long arms, impressive hands, etc..
I don't believe Kawhi has figured out his niche in the NBA, and that includes defense..
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