07-19-2021, 11:58 AM
(07-19-2021, 11:49 AM)Kammrath Wrote: 100% agreed on playoffs being all that matters.
I hesitate to jump full-in on the thought that bigs are becoming completely expendable in the playoffs. I think what is being exposed is not completely the bigs, but in part the rest of the roster AROUND those bigs.
Even with KP this past season. He was a GIANT negative (worst on the team of -8.8 in the playoffs if my memory serves). But I don't think that was ALL on KP. The failure of the DAL perimeter players on D made KP seem way worse even than he was. Don't get me wrong, he was bad, but I think the players around him made it worse.
I think with Gobert this has been the case. In the regular season Gobert HIDES the terrible D of his teammates. But in the playoffs what gets exposed is not Gobert, but the inability of his teammates to really play good D.
In the regular season a good defensive big can cover a multitude of defensive sins. But in the playoffs that ability is lessened. That doesn't mean you throw out the big in the playoffs. In the 1060 minutes of MIL's playoffs this season, the team has been +0.5 better defensively with Brook Lopez playing. That's NOT because Lopez is a great perimeter defender as a big. It is because he has good defensive teammates.
Point? I think cohesive team D is the most important thing, with guys willing to defend at every position. A weakness anywhere exposes everyone, but especially a big man, making the big man look bad when it isn't completely his fault.
I think all the points you're making are fair but I still don't think I agree. With Gobert, it felt much more like a smaller lineup exposed him because he isn't the type of player to be able to close out on anything on the perimeter. Those giant games from Terance Mann were in large part because they didn't have anyone to rotate out onto him because they wanted to keep Gobert close to the rim.
It the case with Lopez, I would argue that he actually is a capable to defender (certainly not the best) but also stretches the floor on the other side. Not saying the big man is dead at all, it's just evolved and I worry that guys of the old guard like Adams don't make that much of an impact.
As a backup big? Sure, I'm all for it because there are matchups that he would obviously thrive in but 18 mil a year for a backup big is a lot.