01-04-2021, 06:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2021, 06:16 PM by KillerLeft.)
(01-04-2021, 05:34 PM)mavsluvr Wrote: It seems like he should be coachable enough to get a little more aggressive defensively if there were enough team commitment to make it work
This might be true, if the lack of “aggressive rim protection” was THE problem, but alas, it is only A problem. THE problem is his complete lack of the foot speed, agility and change of direction ability required to adequately defend the modern spread pick and roll. I think what he brings to the table is valuable enough that, were it possible to teach him these things, someone would’ve committed to doing so by now.
Just watching him on the defensive end, I often see him react a full second after the ball has changed hands, even when it’s passed right by him. His instincts and reflexes on that end are just comically slow compared to the speed of the game, imo. This problem doesn’t really exist on the offensive end, for some reason. I think it’s because when he has the ball he’s simply performing a series of actions he has practiced and perfected tens of thousands of times. He’s so big that he doesn’t have to “react” to anything on offense, because no defender can really pressure him while he’s in position to employ his wide variety of post moves/footwork.
Even on offense though, it’s hard for him to get that position consistently, especially once it’s clear that the Mavs are trying to play through him. And, even when he does, the post pass is one of the easier things to take away, given how the rules work now.
Finally, we must consider what I believe to be another especially glaring weakness of his: for Boban, the simple act of running up and down the court every time the possession changes from team to team isn’t actually simple. It’s extremely difficult. Given the importance placed by modern coaches on “pace” (how quickly into the 24 second clock they are able to productively get through their first action) the result of this weakness, defensively, is that by around minute 4 of Boban’s time on the court the Mavs are literally defending 4 on 5, sometimes for an entire (quick) possession. I have seen Carlisle call timeouts to remove Boban for this reason more than once.
Offensively, how can you base an offense around a post player when A) he has to fight for position, B) it’s difficult to get him the ball once he does and C) there’s a good chance the process of A and B doesn’t begin until 7-10 seconds into the shot clock?