Kawhi's defensive numbers... Skewed a bit?

[Chinook]

Something that I don't think enough people are noting is how many minutes Kawhi's playing. So the samples without him are comparatively small, especially for starters. And when that happens, it's usually when the other team's at the end of their rotation, kind of like how it's darkest before the dawn.

[spursistan]

The thing is that there isn't an issue with "the starters". There's an issue with Kawhi. Everyone else is relatively fine, especially without him. , Parker is elite without him. The issue isn't that he forgot how to defend, and it's certainly not that he's so good that teams are leaving him alone. It's that his offense isn't conducive to winning. He won't be the first star to have to admit that. Westbrook is in the same camp.

Please stop it At this point you're just really hating on him on the cool..when Kawhi hogs it while having a top 5 alltime scorer talent playing next to him for 8-9 seasons or high skilled/dominant big (Pau'08-11/Shaq) then you can start lumping him together with the likes of Russ/Kobe.

He's just initiating in that high usage role--though admittedly not suited for it longterm -- mainly due to dearth of legit playmakers on the team..Needless to expand more on how pathetic our backourt is and how lumbering and one-dimensional our All Star PF is...

[dabom]

Please stop it At this point you're just really hating on him on the cool..when Kawhi hogs it while having a top 5 alltime scorer talent playing next to him for 8-9 seasons or high skilled/dominant big (Pau'08-11/Shaq) then you can start lumping him together with the likes of Russ/Kobe.

He's just initiating in that high usage role--though admittedly not suited for it longterm -- mainly due to dearth of legit playmakers on the team..Needless to expand more on how pathetic our backourt is and how lumbering and one-dimensional our All Star PF is...

The guy is a kawhi hater. Sucks that his man green can't even dribble a ing ball.

[dabom]

We might be running plays through green instead of inserting the bones of old man manu. Shows you how garbage he is in that department.

[dabom]

No one actually listens to him. He has some really really garbage takes. And that's not even his bad takes.

[Dre_7]

The thing is that there isn't an issue with "the starters". There's an issue with Kawhi. Everyone else is relatively fine, especially without him. , Parker is elite without him. The issue isn't that he forgot how to defend, and it's certainly not that he's so good that teams are leaving him alone. It's that his offense isn't conducive to winning. He won't be the first star to have to admit that. Westbrook is in the same camp.

Wow! you are trippin!

[Kawhitstorm]

In their 15 minutes of play time.

"That line-up isn't over itself"

[Chinook]

Please stop it At this point you're just really hating on him on the cool..when Kawhi hogs it while having a top 5 alltime scorer talent playing next to him for 8-9 seasons or high skilled/dominant big (Pau'08-11/Shaq) then you can start lumping him together with the likes of Russ/Kobe.

See, when you start dogging HoF-caliber offensive players like Kobe and Russ, then you know you're biased. Nothing I'm saying has to do with Kawhi "hogging the ball". I don't think Leonard's doing anything that Pop doesn't want him to do. But you can't building your offense around the shots Kawhi takes unless your guy can drop 35-plus every game. That's not an attack on Kawhi, but instead a critique of how he's used.

[Chinook]

Wow! you are trippin!

Yeah, because I forgot how Kawhi is totally not playing like Melo or Kobe now. But of course, since Spurs fans hate Kobe they instantly think I'm saying Kawhi's selfish.

[dabom]

Kobe and melo suck in crunch time. Kawhi not so much. So I don't see the comparison you POS.

[RD2191]

Wow! you are trippin!

Chinook has lost it tbh. I'm genuinely worried he might be having a real life crisis or something.

[Dre_7]

Yeah, because I forgot how Kawhi is totally not playing like Melo or Kobe now. But of course, since Spurs fans hate Kobe they instantly think I'm saying Kawhi's selfish.

What??????

[bic50]

Basically like a shutdown cornerback that doesn't have the ball thrown his way. That's a good thing but then it's not.

[313]

[tonight...you]

[Chinook]

What??????

Saying Kawhi is playing like Kobe is just stating a fact. Spurs fans focus on Kobe's bad aspects and get offended. Non-Spurs fans think it's really high praise, since Kobe's "Mamba Mentality" is actually well-loved. Truth is I mean it both ways. Kobe is a HoF offensively player who had flaws that made him hard to fit in a team context. Kawhi is an All-NBA offensive player with those same flaws. That people can't accept that reality is sad.

[Em-City]

Saying Kawhi is playing like Kobe is just stating a fact. Spurs fans focus on Kobe's bad aspects and get offended. Non-Spurs fans think it's really high praise, since Kobe's "Mamba Mentality" is actually well-loved. Truth is I mean it both ways. Kobe is a HoF offensively player who had flaws that made him hard to fit in a team context. Kawhi is an All-NBA offensive player with those same flaws. That people can't accept that reality is sad.

When you talk about Kobe's and Kawhi's offense, the shot selection is similar in some ways (1-on1 post-ups, spot-up 3s in the ) but quite different in others, especially when you consider the negative aspects of Kobe's game not evident in Kawhi's (ill-timed 3s, heavily contested 3s, tough long jumpers out of rythym, tendancy to "black hole").

I think you need to be clearer on aspects of where the similarities are, especially on offense.

[YGWHI]

Kobe is a HoF offensively player who had flaws that made him hard to fit in a team context. Kawhi is an All-NBA offensive player with those same flaws. That people can't accept that reality is sad.

Ridiculous

'But but Kawhi doesn't fit in a team context... '

[poeticism707]

I think you need to be clearer on aspects of where the similarities are, especially on offense.

This.

[Brazil]

Kobe comparaison is silly, there is no other word or better there are bunch of other words like idiotic, stupid

It's not because Kawhi is increasing scoring off iso plays with some shot selections that could be better than he can be compared with Kobe... Kawhi in his worst year has a better effeciency than Kobe from 2 and 3 his whole career. Kobe has not a single year with .52 from 2 and .39 from 3. Now yes and we know that his assisted point % is decreasing like his corner 3... but again why comparing him with Kobe ? why not Lebron ? that seems to me a much better comparaison.

The fact Kawhi is working more iso than before is not an argument to compare him with Kobe the chuker

[DarrinS]

It really is the other guys: The Spurs are 26th in the league in points per possession created by the pick-and-roll ball-handler. Tony Parker is in the 6th (!!!) percentile, Gasol the 30th percentile, Aldridge the 37th percentile. This does not bode well for their future.

[Benoit]

lmao how many excuses does this guy need??

chokes in the 1st round and gets outplayed by Matt Barnes
chokes in the 2nd round and gets shut down by Robertson
doesnt play defense anymore

give it a rest, he just isnt that great

Hes a product of Pops system and theres a reason the Spurs havent even made it to the 3rd round since Tony Parker stopped carrying the load

[dabom]

Lebron ed thei Warriettes down 1-3.

ed Lebron in 2014 and broke up the heatlettes.

Kobe was getting his achilles torn before even making the playoffs.

[Wildcat67]

If you're looking at stats that say he's not a good defender that says more about the validity of those stats than about Kawhi. We know he's a good defender and see it with our eye holes.

[bklynspursfan]

Kawhi has jumped up to 22 in SF's in drpm.I don't know for sure, but I think he was much lower than that. (I think in the 40s) SA as a team has also jumped to #3 in DRTG.

So, the Spurs defense as a team has improved. Kawhi is doing what he's been doing. We just see a stronger overall team defense. Also seeing more Dedmon which helps.

So no, Kawhi isn't playing poor or weaker defense lately.