RealGM

As a Raptor fan, I know that defensively JO is pretty good at blocking shots and taking charges. I just wanted to know how difficult is it for other teams to post him up? It's just that in the past, the Raptors have been fairly weak (strength-wise) in the post and when help would come, their horrible rotations would give their opponents wide open shots. It would be nice not to have to worry about this problem anymore.

JO is much better as an off-the-ball defender than he is in the post. His instincts don't lend themselves to that type of patience, and physically, he's far better off without all of the banging.

I don't think there will be tons of players that will post him up and force the Raps to double, but he's not going to lock anybody down in the post.

In other words, you will probably still have to worry about this problem to some degree because to maximize JO's defense (and probably his health), you are not going to want him squaring off with the other team's best post presence.

Count is the nail on the hit. Put simply, J.O. is a much better off-ball defender.

Yup. Much more in common with a Kirilenko, Camby, or even Ben Wallace rather than a Rasheed Wallace or Shaquille O'Neal (two guys who seemed to be better on the ball defenders).

count55 wrote:JO is much better as an off-the-ball defender than he is in the post. His instincts don't lend themselves to that type of patience, and physically, he's far better off without all of the banging.

I don't think there will be tons of players that will post him up and force the Raps to double, but he's not going to lock anybody down in the post.

In other words, you will probably still have to worry about this problem to some degree because to maximize JO's defense (and probably his health), you are not going to want him squaring off with the other team's best post presence.

Another Raps fan here. I haven't seen too much Jermaine over the years, just against the Raps. He used to be the #1 option for a little while right? Was that somewhat soft (for lack of a better word) post defense the result of him just trying to avoid foul trouble and conserve energy for the offensive end? What was his defense like in the playoffs?