PG: Bucks win the Brandon off 101-86

[AussieBuck]

Giannis in the rare minutes he's played at C has been great defending big guys. He can front them if need be and is very fundamentally sound. In two years he'll be ready. Look at the block numbers in that 7 or 8 game stint where Kidd was forced to play him minutes at the 4 and 5. 19 blocks in 8 games.

It will be all of the advantages of small ball with none of the drawbacks.

[El Duderino]

Maybe down the road Giannis will be strong enough to handle defending and rebounding at the center position, but he's nowhere near ready for that now.

He's bigger and stronger than Henson right now.

Give him two more years and he's going to be a beast once he starts to fill out.

Henson is a natural shot blocker though. It was his best attribute in college and a big reason he became a lottery pick. Even now he still struggles to defend strong centers, but at least he offers help defense shot blocking off dribble penetration and sometimes he can block or alter shots of centers bullying him. Have Henson say only possess just half of his shot blocking instincts, he'd barely be worth a roster spot.

Who knows, maybe Giannis could eventually develop really good shot blocking skills as a mostly paint defender to compensate for his slight frame. I just question that. Being long won't be enough on it's own because shot blocking and altering is so much about timing and anticipation. It's a natural skill like any other basketball skill is. Giannis certainly gets his share of flashy blocked shots, but rarely do they come from him roaming around in the paint.

As with so much about Giannis, it's up in the air right now given he's such a unique player. There is no blueprint for him. We'll just have to ride out the journey and see where he takes things because i could envision so many different scenarios as to what kind of player he eventually becomes 3-4-5-6 years from now.

[breakchains]

I see a lot of the Giannis talk about his position to be sort of pointless. He is shaping up to be one of the league's biggest mismatches and he should be used accordingly. The position designation is almost meaningless. He will play literally the 1 through 5 under Kidd.

[AussieBuck]

I see a lot of the Giannis talk about his position to be sort of pointless. He is shaping up to be one of the league's biggest mismatches and he should be used accordingly. The position designation is almost meaningless. He will play literally the 1 through 5 under Kidd.

It's not pointless if you talking about defensive position and the players used around him. At some point we are going to have a set starting unit worth keeping together.

[El Duderino]

Because there is a big difference between power forward and center. Plenty of skilled power forwards play out on the perimeter as much in the post, along with being lighter and smaller than centers. That is what made Garnett such a great defender in his prime. He could go out on the perimeter and neutralize athletic power forwards who could shoot from outside, face up, and score on post ups. What he wasn't doing though was sitting in the paint banging with 250-300 pound centers night after night. Not only wasn't Garnett strong enough for that vs many centers, it would have been a waste of his defensive athletic gifts for a 6'11 guy.

As for Camby, he was an elite shot blocker nearly from the day he was born. That gift allowed him to handle defending in the paint against stronger men because even on nights he was overmatched strength wise, he could simply swat shots away via impeccable timing like all natural shot blockers possess. That is not only a natural gift, it often comes from spending all those years as a paint defender, unlike Giannis who learned basketball as a guard.

Like i said, maybe 4-5 years from now Giannis could be a power forward who also plays some minutes at center here and there in small lineups, but i'll be very surprised if he's ever a full time center in his prime years under age 30.

Nah, there really isn't. Chris Bosh has been one of the best centers in the league for the last three seasons. Was a power forward in Toronto, made the transition to the five in Miami because it made sense to have a mobile big on defense and a guy who could stretch the court on offense.

Sure there is a difference. Boston played Garnett at power forward instead of center because it was the best way to maximize his defensive abilities and gifts. He possessed a different set of defensive skills compared to someone like Camby. Just because the two possessed somewhat similar body types doesn't mean they had the same defensive skillsets.

As for Bosh with Miami, he played center by default and team make up. That team had LeBron who was the best defensive player in the game and Wade when healthy was a good defender. They didn't need a guy in the paint at center to be the same level defender as other teams do because they had a very good team defense which created turnovers to get out on the break. So they could keep Bosh at center and then use his great jump shooting/spacing on offense to cause a bunch of problems for opposing defenses.

FWIW, i'm not saying Giannis will never be a center. Like i said in a previous post, he's arguably the most unique player in the league. There is no player like him and thus no blueprint for his future. I see odds being highest that he's a power forward in his prime, but given his body is so odd when mixed with his flexibility, ball handling skills, and court vision, he may just end up defining his own position and/or from night to night play multiple positions depending on various factors. I doubt the Bucks coaching staff either has a set idea right now what Giannis will be 3-4-5 years from now.

[ReasonablySober]

Because there is a big difference between power forward and center. Plenty of skilled power forwards play out on the perimeter as much in the post, along with being lighter and smaller than centers. That is what made Garnett such a great defender in his prime. He could go out on the perimeter and neutralize athletic power forwards who could shoot from outside, face up, and score on post ups. What he wasn't doing though was sitting in the paint banging with 250-300 pound centers night after night. Not only wasn't Garnett strong enough for that vs many centers, it would have been a waste of his defensive athletic gifts for a 6'11 guy.

As for Camby, he was an elite shot blocker nearly from the day he was born. That gift allowed him to handle defending in the paint against stronger men because even on nights he was overmatched strength wise, he could simply swat shots away via impeccable timing like all natural shot blockers possess. That is not only a natural gift, it often comes from spending all those years as a paint defender, unlike Giannis who learned basketball as a guard.

Like i said, maybe 4-5 years from now Giannis could be a power forward who also plays some minutes at center here and there in small lineups, but i'll be very surprised if he's ever a full time center in his prime years under age 30.

Nah, there really isn't. Chris Bosh has been one of the best centers in the league for the last three seasons. Was a power forward in Toronto, made the transition to the five in Miami because it made sense to have a mobile big on defense and a guy who could stretch the court on offense.

Sure there is a difference. Boston played Garnett at power forward instead of center because it was the best way to maximize his defensive abilities and gifts. He possessed a different set of defensive skills compared to someone like Camby. Just because the two possessed somewhat similar body types doesn't mean they had the same defensive skillsets.

As for Bosh with Miami, he played center by default and team make up. That team had LeBron who was the best defensive player in the game and Wade when healthy was a good defender. They didn't need a guy in the paint at center to be the same level defender as other teams do because they had a very good team defense which created turnovers to get out on the break. So they could keep Bosh at center and then use his great jump shooting/spacing on offense to cause a bunch of problems for opposing defenses.

FWIW, i'm not saying Giannis will never be a center. Like i said in a previous post, he's arguably the most unique player in the league. There is no player like him and thus no blueprint for his future. I see odds being highest that he's a power forward in his prime, but given his body is so odd when mixed with his flexibility, ball handling skills, and court vision, he may just end up defining his own position and/or from night to night play multiple positions depending on various factors. I doubt the Bucks coaching staff either has a set idea right now what Giannis will be 3-4-5 years from now.

Bosh was, by far, the best defensive player on that team. Hell, he was one of the best defensive players in the entire league at the five.

But anyway, I think people are getting carried away. Again, no one is saying he's a center right now (though he probably could be). He's a PF/C in his prime, so way down the line.

[El Duderino]

I see a lot of the Giannis talk about his position to be sort of pointless. He is shaping up to be one of the league's biggest mismatches and he should be used accordingly. The position designation is almost meaningless. He will play literally the 1 through 5 under Kidd.

It's not pointless if you talking about defensive position and the players used around him. At some point we are going to have a set starting unit worth keeping together.

It's to early to overly worry about that and especially with Giannis still growing into his body.

Unless the Bucks are foolish enough to overpay Knight and deem him as their starting PG of the future, Giannis and Parker are the only core pieces currently on the roster. Over say the next 2 or 3 years hopefully the team goes about shedding some of the spare parts veterans and adds a core piece or two to build around. By that time the Bucks front office whoever they may be and coaching staff should have a much clearer idea of what exactly they have in Giannis and Jabbari to a lesser degree, along with any other guys deemed a core piece. Then it will be more important to define clear positions, but even then i could potentially see inside each game Giannis playing different positions based on who is on the court for both teams.

One potentially nice thing about Giannis is that as the Bucks try adding any other core pieces going forward, the chance he could play various positions, it puts less limitations on what position/positions the team tries adding core pieces at. If instead it was viewed static that he has to play X position going forward, that would limit at least to some degree where the Bucks tried adding another important piece. Simply just try adding high quality talent and then let the coaching staff devise the best rotation and schemes for using them.

[Jez2983]

Another thing, that ball movement to score a really easy bucket when Jennings was injured is not something we would have seen on last year's bucks. A simple thing, but I feel it's symptomatic of our change.

Also if that was Knight that went to stand next to Jennings once he was injured they can't be best mates...

I think that was Mayo standing next to Jennings, but either way I don't think it was meant to be antagonistic. Also fully aware that I may be misinterpreting your post.

I didn't think Knight wore long socks. It was just an observation. If it were me I'd probably check on my opponent. It's really just an observation. I'm not trying to insinuate anything.

[El Duderino]

Bosh was, by far, the best defensive player on that team. Hell, he was one of the best defensive players in the entire league at the five.

But anyway, I think people are getting carried away. Again, no one is saying he's a center right now (though he probably could be). He's a PF/C in his prime, so way down the line.

You'd be hard pressed to find a single coach in the NBA, much less a majority who thought Bosh was not only a better defensive player than LeBron, but a significantly better one.

As for Giannis, one reason i love his potential down the road defensively as he gets stronger is what he might be able to do at PF. So many teams in today's NBA are getting power forwards who can stretch the floor, which can give trouble to slow footed guys at the four spot.

I doubt he ever gets Garnett good, but if a team has a PF like him who could guard guys who play both on the perimeter and inside, that's so valuable. Parking Giannis mostly in the paint would be a waste of his athletic and length gifts for someone 7 foot tall.

[ReasonablySober]

Bosh was, by far, the best defensive player on that team. Hell, he was one of the best defensive players in the entire league at the five.

But anyway, I think people are getting carried away. Again, no one is saying he's a center right now (though he probably could be). He's a PF/C in his prime, so way down the line.

You'd be hard pressed to find a single coach in the NBA, much less a majority who thought Bosh was not only a better defensive player than LeBron, but a significantly better one.

As for Giannis, one reason i love his potential down the road defensively as he gets stronger is what he might be able to do at PF. So many teams in today's NBA are getting power forwards who can stretch the floor, which can give trouble to slow footed guys at the four spot.

I doubt he ever gets Garnett good, but if a team has a PF like him who could guard guys who play both on the perimeter and inside, that's so valuable. Parking Giannis mostly in the paint would be a waste of his athletic and length gifts for someone 7 foot tall.

This guy was an NBA coach last season



so not really going to worry about what NBA coaches think on this one.

But Bosh was easily the best defensive player on the Heat.

[El Duderino]

Bosh was, by far, the best defensive player on that team. Hell, he was one of the best defensive players in the entire league at the five.

But anyway, I think people are getting carried away. Again, no one is saying he's a center right now (though he probably could be). He's a PF/C in his prime, so way down the line.

You'd be hard pressed to find a single coach in the NBA, much less a majority who thought Bosh was not only a better defensive player than LeBron, but a significantly better one.

As for Giannis, one reason i love his potential down the road defensively as he gets stronger is what he might be able to do at PF. So many teams in today's NBA are getting power forwards who can stretch the floor, which can give trouble to slow footed guys at the four spot.

I doubt he ever gets Garnett good, but if a team has a PF like him who could guard guys who play both on the perimeter and inside, that's so valuable. Parking Giannis mostly in the paint would be a waste of his athletic and length gifts for someone 7 foot tall.

But Bosh was easily the best defensive player on the Heat.

Bosh wasn't close to being the best overall defender James was on those Miami teams, but hey, feel free to continue believing it if you wish.

[Diggr14]

He's a 2/3/4... he's too quick, too nice to have closing out on shooters. He isn't built for long periods at the 4 or 5 yet. Maybe 5 years down the road if his body fills out more.. but right now, use him as they are. As was said earlier.. he'd be rag dolled at the 5 right now. Let him play the 2/3/4.. years down the road, he might be a 5. Not in the near future though.