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Your smallball wing doesn't have to be able to defend the post vs GSW though. They need rebounding and perimeter defense on that end. I'd love to play small vs GSW but you need a legit wing. LMA being unable to pnr and pass also screws the lineup.
When did that happen? Tim spent the last 5 years of his career playing off the pick and roll and finishing what others created for him. He would get his post up plays everynow and then out of respect, but those touches weren't more than 1 or 2 per quarter, at best.
Centers don't post up as much precisely because of the rules changes, posting up just isn't as useful as it used to be. I can assure you that if this was the 90's, all those guys would try to post up a lot more.The guys you have listed are all very young outside of Cousins. A few of them don't have the physical ability to post up such as Porzingis and Davis. Those 2 will never have the ability to play back to the basket. Demarcus can post up but is a basket case with a low basketball IQ which is a reason why he will never be a dominant player. Embiid has only played 30 some games in his career and is injury prone but prior to getting hurt he was showing great promise. Towns is only a second year player but he had dominant year. He averaged 25-12 on 55 percent shooting which is impressive. His team sucked at the start of the year but towards the end started winning games. He's young but will figure it out on how to win games.
Your smallball wing doesn't have to be able to defend the post vs GSW though. They need rebounding and perimeter defense on that end. I'd love to play small vs GSW but you need a legit wing. LMA being unable to pnr and pass also screws the lineup.
I guess we can just agree to disagree. If according to you the only way to beat the Warriors is to beat them by playing their style then I can say the league is screwed for the next several years. Historically regardless of eras and rule changes I have never seen a champion dethroned by an opposing team playing the same style of play. Usually the Champs baring injuries gets taken out due to the opposing team playing a different style of basketball. To beat the Warriors by playing their style means the Spurs would have to be better than them at playing small ball. That's going to be very difficult to do.
This is not strictly true though. His career FG% within 3 feet is higher than Duncan's. He's always been elite in this regard.
Aldridge is very big and strong, he can play very well as a traditional low post center, but he's been unwilling to play physically and has been out of shape, especially this season, so he couldn't get in position and had to get the ball closer to the 3 point line than the post. If he works out in the summer and grows some balls he'd be unstoppable at the rim. Easier said than done though, he doesn't have Kawhi's drive.
Small ball ends as soon as umpires ref the paint the same as they do anywhere else on the court. That means any contact with your arms is a foul and off hand push off are allowed.
That isn't going to happen. I never thought of the push off part though which is a good point.
You do not need small ball, but "skill ball" ... 5 men on the court who have skills, who are not 1-dimensional, who still have a good average length to be able to witch on defense ... a big man must be more like a Porzingis, CAT or at least Jokic ... they are skilled enough to stay on the court in today's NBA.
They need to bridge the gap. Currently the offensive player gets away with carries, travels, moving screens, push offs, plus they get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to fouls. All this while the defender can't touch them. In the meantime, big men defenders can push and hold, while hacking away. If the offensive players shows some strength and power, the defender just flops.
If the NBA just enforced; moving screens, carries, and push offs, while inside enforce two hands on the offensive player is automatically a foul and penalise flops, then things will turn around.
Kawhi and Cousins, small ball is dead.
On how many attemtps per game? What's his layup to mid range attempt ratio? Parker shot 40% from three some seasons but just taking less than one per game, tbh.
Well, that's the whole point. Aldridge might have the physical atributes to play a more efficiente game, but he doesn't. He never did and he never will.Aldridge is very big and strong, he can play very well as a traditional low post center, but he's been unwilling to play physically and has been out of shape, especially this season, so he couldn't get in position and had to get the ball closer to the 3 point line than the post. If he works out in the summer and grows some balls he'd be unstoppable at the rim. Easier said than done though, he doesn't have Kawhi's drive.
There will always be a place for posting up in basketball. It helps control tempo, creating mismatches to defend, and allows for easier scoring.
.242 % of his FGAs have been within 3 feet, compared to .309 for Duncan, so less, but not a small sample size at all - it is comparable to Marc Gasol's %.
Marc Gasol, another player whose fan base criticizes for being soft and letting defenders off the hook. With the difference that Marc is a better shooter and an infinite better passer.
Actually, metrics indicate that post ups are among the least efficient plays on basketball right now.
In numbers :
Tim Duncan : 4.51 FGAs per game from within 3 feet of the rim.
LMA : 3.85
So 0.66 FGAs less per game for Aldridge.
Pretty sure DAF isn't going to accept that LMA is a good inside scorer no matter what you do. I don't disagree with him that it's very likely LMA never really changes his game to take advantage of his inside skills, but it's by far the team's best chance to improve. Dude needs to channel is inner Z-Bo.
Then you will have to add the difference in shots from 3 feet to 6 feet, and from 6 to 9, and so on. I'm pretty sure Duncan will average more shots in the closer ranges and Aldridge would lead on the others. And that way you will get the significant difference that makes Tim Duncan a top 5/7 player of all time, and Aldridge... well, Aldridge.
That also doesn't take into account the double teams commanded from getting closer to the basket.
Oh, I fully agree that LA is a good inside scorer when he gets position. The thing is that he doesn't get there enough, and he never will.
Absolutely. Aldridge is a beast inside scorer when he's bothered. He's rarely been bothered this season, unfortunately. But he's very capable of it - last season he shot .733 at the rim, which is better than any prime Tim Duncan season. It's incredible they can't find a way to utilize this strength of his consistently.
This is really the key. The Spurs aren't getting quick-hit inside looks, and the result is that almost every post-up takes a long time to develop. Having an elite guard would give LMA more dish opportunities, as coachmac87 said. But Pop also didn't help matters by calling nothing but bad post-ups for LMA (and Kawhi) for long stretches. Finally, LMA needs to be more assertive in sealing his man whenever he's near the rim. That's something Randolph does extremely well, and it doesn't take tremendous physical prowess to pull off. Tim was great at it.
Spurs need shot creators..going small won't make things better unless you've got an elite PG or other players who can create for themselves or others...
GSW is just a unique team and trying to match them going small is what they want you to do...TD21 hit the nail on the head you need a combination of size/skill...(Diaw type)
The key is to attack GSW weakness IMO which is rebounding and the paint and being able to switch on defense
Agreed with this observation.
And that Tim was the much better passer so not all his moves ended in a shot for himself...
Also Mills and other guards were entering the ball in the pst through lobs so far away from where he was standing after having grabbed position that Lamarcus had to get out of his way to get the ball near the 3 pt line. Quite frankly not enough is being said about this bc of Mills fandoms.
Lamarcus would have to get out of his position to grab a ball all the way out close to the 3 pt line at which point he did his routine whereby he would get stripped. Part of the reason he didn't get the ball in good spots was the poor guard play. Again Patty is not starting level guard for an elite team.
Also I feel like Pop wasted Kyle by not taking enough advantage of his passing skill. Ah whatever thinking about it makes me angry with Pop. Lol
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