Last I checked LeBron was claiming he had the body of a 19 year old a month ago.![]()
There is a reason LeBron doesn't play defense in the regular season & James Harden waves in players towards the rim. Paul George/Jimmy Butler's defense suffered when they started getting more offensive responsibilities b/c it's almost impossible for wing-players to lead their team in scoring & play All-NBA defense night-in & night-out. The only player that did it are 1st ballot HOFers: Jordan/Pippen & LeBron at his peak. Kirby was getting All-NBA defense honor b/c he was the only All-Star wingplayer that played defense.
Kawhi is being asked to be a playmaker b/c he doesn't have a starting backcourt, guard the best perimeter players b/c he's the only competent defender on the floor & lead the team in scoring b/c Softridge is mental midget who just goes through the motion. Smart defensive coaches like Doc are going to load up on him & force him to give up the ball or take bad shots. Doc was able stymie both Kirby/LeBron in 2008 by using the same strategy.
LMAO at Kawhi being the "most rested player" when Curry is playing the same amount of minutes while letting Klay do the dirty work on defense & Durant do the heavy lifting on offense.Curry won his first MVP playing 31 minutes a night & only got extended last season b/c they were chasing a regular season championship.
Last I checked LeBron was claiming he had the body of a 19 year old a month ago.![]()
Spurs only have one guy averaging over 19, two averaging over 12 & only 3 averaging double digits which would surpass the '08-'09 Cavs as the most extremely top heavy 60 win team since the rule changes in '04-'05.![]()
This going in.![]()
Of course the vast majority will discriminate against big men, as usual, but there's no way to quantify which is more taxing.
I don't want to hear about fatigue from a 25 year old, who's 7 games into a season where he's averaging 31.4 mpg (who's never eclipsed 33.1 mpg and 72 games) and has another top 15-20 player and the perennial best bench in the league.
Fine, he's the second most rested, after Curry.
If Kawhi's tired why doesn't he actually work with Tim Grover? He said he wanted to 3 years ago, and I know for a fact, Tim Grover hates resting young players and putting them on minute restrictions. He also had a hand in Jordan becoming a Championship player. If Detroit didn't belt the out of Jordan, he may never have worked with Grover on his strength and conditioning to take his game up to the next level.
Also, why has Kawhi not worked with Kobe? I thought they were supposed to, but again, it's all talk and nothing happens. He could learn a lot from both of those guys.
LeBron on court: team DRTG 100.2
LeBron off court: team DRTG 121.8
-21.6 Net diff.
Kiwi on court: 107.9
Kiwi off court: 95.8
+12.1 Net diff.
Defense gets better when Kiwi not playing
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...S/2017/on-off/
"Lebron doesn't play defense during regular season"![]()
Kiwi getting exposed![]()
Product of Tim's rim protection![]()
Kiwi s![]()
These haters...Kawhi's +28
Kawhi is the BEST and more insane Top Net Rtg in the league.
Kawhtired sacrificing defense for me me me scoring... the Kobe transformation is complete tbh![]()
I wonder what Parker/Pau/LMA sacrificed for...nothing. No Defense, No offense. And Kawhi has to carry these defensive scrubs in the starting lineup.
+20 pp Def Rtg when Parker is on...SMH
Outscored by 25...![]()
Dam.![]()
I guess you want him to stop playing defense & become a one-way player like Harden, got it.
Yeah a guy who shows up out of shape then mails in the first half of the season.has another top 15-20 player
Except his backup happens to be Kyle in' Anderson.the perennial best bench in the league.
I guess 24 year olds don't have to play 38 minutes if their WS/48 for their age group is only matched by Jordan, Kareem, LeBron & Durant: http://bkref.com/tiny/P6l2lFine, he's the second most rested, after Curry.
If Kawhi finishes w/ a WS/48 of .3 or better (current: .372) the he would join Kareem as the only 25 yr old on that list: http://bkref.com/tiny/pKWOA![]()
Last edited by Kawhitstorm; 11-08-2016 at 02:55 AM.
A defensive metrics list w/ Monroe & Crawford in the top 15.![]()
Yeah, that's exactly what I said. I'm tired of this "he has to guard the best opposing perimeter player" narrative too. They obviously need him to guard the big wings, but Green can handle most guards and should, to alleviate some of the burden. Simmons is a lesser option to do the same.
Nonetheless, he's a top 15-20 player.
One player does not account for an entire bench.
No one said anything about "38 minutes" and it's 7 games in.
Yeah that exactly happened against the Clips in '15 & OKC '16 when Danny was getting blowtorched by CP3/KD.
Simmons:![]()
Last edited by Kawhitstorm; 11-08-2016 at 06:11 PM.
So what? They're two of the best players in the world; it happens. He's still a credible option to defend them.
Simmons isn't, but at least has the physical tools to do so.
The point is, outside of big wings, they don't have to have Leonard defend the best opposing perimeter player at all times.
Danny couldn't guard WestBrick & Patty did a better job on Re than Danny when Kawhi was on the bench. Let's not act like Danny is to Kawhi what Pippen was to Jordan b/c Pippen was a better defender than Jordan. Even Artest alleviated a lot of defensive pressure from Kirby by taking on the primary option after Kirby got flambeed by Pierce/Ray Allen in the '08 Finals.
Dude isn't even an average on-ball defender.Simmons isn't, but at least has the physical tools to do so.
After being unleashed from the shackles of Kawhi, WestBrick looked like the best player in the world for the first 4 games of the WCF against Mr. "Best 2-Way player" Klay Thompson before OKC choked away the series. WestBrick is the most physically demanding PG to defend & Kawhi did it for basically 40 minutes a night while being asked to work just as hard on the other end.The point is, outside of big wings, they don't have to have Leonard defend the best opposing perimeter player at all times.
Again, cherry picking certain match-ups and instances within' them. I'm saying, in general, Green is a credible option to defend the majority of top opposing guards.
You're missing the point: I'm not saying Simmons is a good defender, I'm saying he's physically capable of being able to get by in short bursts.
Westbrook is an anomaly. His combination of size and especially strength is such that he damn near counts as a wing, since he's too physically superior for most point guards.
How is it cherry picking when you are referring to those SPECIFIC series to criticize Kawhi?![]()
Except he couldn't during the past two postseasons.I'm saying, in general, Green is a credible option to defend the majority of top opposing guards
Except he was a disaster in the regular season that he didn't even get a tick in the postseason.You're missing the point: I'm not saying Simmons is a good defender, I'm saying he's physically capable of being able to get by in short bursts.
Kawhi held that beast down as much as any could possible do for a series. LeBron at his PEAK was getting circles run around him by Rondo:Westbrook is an anomaly. His combination of size and especially strength is such that he damn near counts as a wing, since he's too physically superior for most point guards.
Because outside of that farce of a series versus the Grizzlies, they're the only 2 other series where Leonard was the best player on the team.
Green, on the other hand, has been a credible defender for over a half decade.
What does that have to do with Simmons having the physical tools for it (again, in spot minutes)? As a rookie and with Pop's preference for Anderson, the only way he was going to be in the playoff rotation was if he played out of his mind.
Like I said, Westbrook is an anomaly. Size and strength isn't necessarily required to defend the other elite point guards.
You're an idiot. He's never led any Spurs team to any series win. And yes Im including his finals MVP.
You mean to tell me the sample size is too small, thanks.![]()
I just posted his numbers, those numbers look really good...As far as I know, you're the idiot here.
Spurs are in the middle of a 6 game in 10 night stretch..
Is it me or has Kawhi's shot looked a little flat these last few games? Don't know if he's tired, but if he is, then this upcoming back-to-back against Orlando and Dallas would be a good time to give him some rest IMO. Would give him 5 days off until his next game.
Head of the Snake,, and MVPau can hold it down
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