ESPN NBA Rumors: Jefferson hasn't shown intensity this season/Not Playing Enough D

[spursncowboys]

I didn't know he was brought here for D. I thought they loved his character and his ability to stay in a system, even when it looked bad (Olympics with Pop and Timmy). Then his shooting. The guy will learn the system more and the spurs d will get better. Since the Spurs rarely play M2M, this shouldn't be an issue.

[Spur|n|Austin]

If Parker stopped treating him like Bowen and Pop ran some plays for him then we might see the Jefferson we had all hoped for.

Maybe true, but I think we're talking about Defense here.

[urunobili]

lmao at the prospect of Hill, Manu and Keith ing Bogans trying to defend Kobe in a 7 game playoff series.

Seriously,

Good luck with that SA.

[xtremesteven33]

I think George Hill could give Melo problems. Melo is a position scorer. He likes to get the ball on certain spots and George is great at deniying the ball from a player with his long reach and athletecism.

Against Kobe however, Kobe struggles against bigger opposing defenders (Bowen,Prince,Battier,Ariza). Jefferson LOOKS like he could defend Kobe well but I really dont think he has the defensive tenacity that it takes to throw Kobe off his game.

I think Trevor Ariza is currently the best Kobe defender in the game. He has the height,length,speed and the intelligence on how to defend him after playing with him for 2 years.

[SenorSpur]

I think George Hill could give Melo problems. Melo is a position scorer. He likes to get the ball on certain spots and George is great at deniying the ball from a player with his long reach and athletecism.

Against Kobe however, Kobe struggles against bigger opposing defenders (Bowen,Prince,Battier,Ariza). Jefferson LOOKS like he could defend Kobe well but I really dont think he has the defensive tenacity that it takes to throw Kobe off his game.

I think Trevor Ariza is currently the best Kobe defender in the game. He has the height,length,speed and the intelligence on how to defend him after playing with him for 2 years.

Hill is a fantastic perimeter defender. Yet let's not get overly ambitious about his abilities. Hill is probably 190 lbs - soaking wet. Melo, on the other hand, is at least 230 or 240 and can score on ANYONE. He can score inside or outside and gets to the line a lot. He can easily rise up over Hill and shoot a jumper. Or he could take that kid to the post, where he would punish Hill and there would be nothing Hill could do to stop him.

It's a bad idea and I hope Pop doesn't start trying to overutilize Hill in this manner. Rather, let's leave Hill hounding players like Ty Lawson, Chanucey Billiups and J.R. Smith.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Hill is a fantastic perimeter defender. Yet let's not get overly ambitious about his abilities. Hill is probably 190 lbs - soaking wet. Melo, on the other hand, is at least 230 or 240 and can score on ANYONE. He can score inside or outside and gets to the line a lot. He can easily rise up over Hill and shoot a jumper. Or he could take that kid to the post, where he would punish Hill and there would be nothing Hill could do to stop him.

It's a bad idea and I hope Pop doesn't start trying to overutilize Hill in this manner. Rather, let's leave Hill hounding players like Ty Lawson, Chanucey Billiups and J.R. Smith.

Exactly, Hill would get torched in the post. I'd rather see Hill on JR Smith and Bogans on Chauncey if we're going up against the Nuggets

[xtremesteven33]

Hill is a fantastic perimeter defender. Yet let's not get overly ambitious about his abilities. Hill is probably 190 lbs - soaking wet. Melo, on the other hand, is at least 230 or 240 and can score on ANYONE. He can score inside or outside and gets to the line a lot. He can easily rise up over Hill and shoot a jumper. Or he could take that kid to the post, where he would punish Hill and there would be nothing Hill could do to stop him.

It's a bad idea and I hope Pop doesn't start trying to overutilize Hill in this manner. Rather, let's leave Hill hounding players like Ty Lawson, Chanucey Billiups and J.R. Smith.

Its looks crazy on paper but Hill has shown signs that he could be a multi position defender. When he guarded Durant in a game earlier this season he looked like he really knew how to throw Durant off his game by denying him the ball. And yes Carmelo is a much bigger player but I dont think its a "Bad idea".

I think Hill has earned that respect from me so far. Enough that I would want to see how he does against Carmelo for spot minutes to deny him the ball during stretches in the game. George has that defensive tenacity that Bowen has. He just needs the experience now to get really polished.

[SenorSpur]

Its looks crazy on paper but Hill has shown signs that he could be a multi position defender. When he guarded Durant in a game earlier this season he looked like he really knew how to throw Durant off his game by denying him the ball. And yes Carmelo is a much bigger player but I dont think its a "Bad idea".

I think Hill has earned that respect from me so far. Enough that I would want to see how he does against Carmelo for spot minutes to deny him the ball during stretches in the game. George has that defensive tenacity that Bowen has. He just needs the experience now to get really polished.

It's not that I don't respect Hill's defensive capabilities. Quite the contrary. It more a matter of what makes sense. Melo averages 30ppg and is the NBA's leading scorer. There are few, if any, in the NBA who can stop this guy. As with most prolific scorers, the only thing you can do is try and slow them down. Putting Hill on Melo would be a lost cause and a waste of time, simply because Melo is too powerful. Therefore Hill would be severely overmatched. It's not like Hill is 6'5" or 6'8".

The Spurs would be better off using RJ to try and slow him down and thereby allowing Hill to shutdown one of the other Nugget perimeter players.

Again, I'm hopeful the Spurs will be able to satisfy the need for another long, defender with enough size and wingspan via the draft.

[xtremesteven33]

It's not that I don't respect Hill's defensive capabilities. Quite the contrary. It more a matter of what makes sense. Melo averages 30ppg and is the NBA's leading scorer. There are few, if any, in the NBA who can stop this guy. As with most prolific scorers, the only thing you can do is try and slow them down. Putting Hill on Melo would be a lost cause and a waste of time, simply because Melo is too powerful. Therefore Hill would be severely overmatched. It's not like Hill is 6'5" or 6'8".

The Spurs would be better off using RJ to try and slow him down and thereby allowing Hill to shutdown one of the other Nugget perimeter players.

Again, I'm hopeful the Spurs will be able to satisfy the need for another long, defender with enough size and wingspan via the draft.

I agree that Hill would get 30+ dropped on him if he defended him the whole game. But if he were to only deny him the ball and get in great defensive position for around 10 minutes then I can see him fustrating Carmelo for a bit. But once Melo goes to the post Hill doesnt stand a chance...

[5in10]

I say we just throw a rotation of bogans, hill, and Jefferson at him. You know change the looks were showing him, keep him out of his comfort zone(as much as possible anyway.) I like how hills quickness threw Durant off, its possible it could do the same to carmelo.