04-19-2026, 11:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-19-2026, 12:20 PM by dirkfansince1998.)
(04-19-2026, 11:05 AM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: I've said it over and over again. He doesn't have the physical tools to guard the perimeter nor defend the rim. There are some bigs who he will be able to guard effectively, but he's going to get targeted and abused on switches in the L nearly as much as Acuff.
Is he a worse athlet than prime Horford? Or as a more recent example Ighodaro? Don't think so. People are just searching for flaws and because they cannot find anything they are taking the Luka approach and pretend that his game won't translate to the NBA because he isn't an S-tier athlet. For a big he has above average mobility and quick hands but people act as if he moves like old men Dirk because he cannot switch 1-5.
People just ignore that defense is about much more than just athleticism. And as far as the mental/IQ/awareness aspects of the game go is just levels above the rest of his class. Not to mention that impact metrics (DBPM and +/-) suggest that Boozer was a top 10 defender in college basketball but apparently we still live in 2002 and pretend that Olowokandi and Bynum are good defenders because they can block shots.