Is Al actually any better defending the 4 then he is the 5?

[revprodeji]

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From what I've seen Most of the bigs in this draft certainly don't have the quickness to defend several 4's in the nba. I have no doubt hibbert, Thabeet, and lopez would get manhandled by Dirk and various other 4's in the league. Jordan may have the potential to one day defend these sorts of players but doesn't have it today.

Lopez might be able to. He is very good at defending quick 4's. Also Beasley has all the physical tools, and his desire to get better could make him a very good defender. Assuming he is taller than 6'8

[horaceworthy]

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From what I've seen Most of the bigs in this draft certainly don't have the quickness to defend several 4's in the nba. I have no doubt hibbert, Thabeet, and lopez would get manhandled by Dirk and various other 4's in the league. Jordan may have the potential to one day defend these sorts of players but doesn't have it today.

I think Al could still defend the other teams best player in the low post, but something would need to be done to defend quick 4/5's. I sort of disagree\agree that Al is a mediocre defensive player. I think he is fine in and around the basket, but doesn't bring the athletic flair one might want. Jordan could be that guy I guess, but I can't see drafting him at #3 unless the kid truely has Howard\Oden type athleticism when predraft rolls around.

The only big I see at the top of the draft with that type of defensive versatility is Lopez. He isn't an athletic freak, but he is a good athlete with a great feel for that side of the ball. He moves his feet well, plays great help defense, and great post defense on his man. I agree that Hibbert and Thabeet would get torched, but I think Lopez would at least be able to make the more athletic, perimeter oriented guys work.

I think putting Al on the opponent's best low post player, or best player at the 4/5 is a disaster waiting to happen. He has moments when he looks decent, and he has gotten better over the year, but he still has a long way to go. Putting him on the opponent's best player down low either gets us torched, him in foul trouble, or both.

[revprodeji]

Yea, Lopez is the guy. Lopez also has a very nice High post offensive game and is intense. Only knock on him is he does not project as a dominate rebounder. If we get the 3-5 range pick Lopez would be a good pick.

[the_bruce]

This board is underrating Jeffersons man defense on the low block he did a great job vs Duncan a few games ago. The problem is the players surrounding him for rebounding/help defense. If you had Al at the 5 and an athletic rebounder\shot blocker say AK47 or Josh Smith it would be a whole different story. That's the sort of player I would say "fits" next to Al.

I'm not sure how many players in this years draft have the athletic ability to fill that sort of roll. Maybe Beasly, Greene, Randolph. All of whom have proven to be decent shot blockers\scorers and would be able to play the 3/4. We could then spend another pick on a more legit 7 footer in the 2nd round who could focus his effort on defense for certain matchups. Or maybe just a FA.

[revprodeji]

thats what I have been saying.

btw, I would not include Greene there or Randolph(yet) But Beasley is a decent shot blocker (concerns about his height and 3/4 would be the worry here) and Lopez would be the best situation via draft.

All depends on where Beasley projects.

[horaceworthy]

Duncan nearly dropped a triple double on us that game (24/14/7, and Al was so focused on trying to challenge shots he only grabbed 5 boards). The next game Dirk went for 29 on 67% shooting. The game after that Boozer scored 34 and went 9-16 from the floor. The game after that, Bosh went 12-17 and scored 28. Two games later, Wilcox went for 18 and 15, then Okafor 19 and 11 on 7-10 from the floor. The next game Boozer went 7-10 and put up 16/14. Al's defense has improved, but I still can't, in good conscience, describe it as any better than mediocre.

An AK47/Josh Smith type would be great, but the only prospect that's really shown that type of potential is Randolph (who I really like). Even then, we'd still have problems with guys that have a post game. I'm still going to say that, of the bigs at the top of the draft, Lopez is the best "fit" due to his ability to provide excellent defense, both help and man, while being able to step out and hit the 15 footer. He doesn't have the freakish athleticism of Randolph, but he's long, smart, sturdy and has good feet.

[deeney0]

Dirk and Bosh were both against Gomes all game, both were noticeable schoolings from the get go. A ton of Wilcox's points came in transition. Can't peg all that on Al, I'm not even sure if you can peg half that list on Al.

[the_bruce]

thats what I have been saying.

btw, I would not include Greene there or Randolph(yet) But Beasley is a decent shot blocker (concerns about his height and 3/4 would be the worry here) and Lopez would be the best situation via draft.

All depends on where Beasley projects.

I actually think Greene is averaging similar BPG as beasly.

Randolph is a phenomenal shot blocker for a wing. I have concerns about Randolph though because he's so skinny, and if he bulks up to say 235-240 it could take away some of his quickness. It's hard to say with that guy since he just hasn't grown into his body. His shooting is meh at this stage from what little I've seen. He would be brewer 2.0.

I don't think they are being projected as high as the freshmen guards, or the project 7 footers, but Greene\Randolph are both more unique in terms of what they could bring to a team when compared to the guard heavy field of this years draft. I think Love is also more unique than most of the guards for his intangibles(but not for the Wolves with Jefferson)

Lopez seems legit by all accounts, I just havent been impressed by him yet.

[horaceworthy]

Dirk and Bosh were both against Gomes all game, both were noticeable schoolings from the get go. A ton of Wilcox's points came in transition. Can't peg all that on Al, I'm not even sure if you can peg half that list on Al.

I wasn't really trying to peg it all on Al (although Bosh and Dirk weren't against Gomes the whole game, Al spent a good amount of time defending them. He actually had one really nice defensive play on Bosh where he withstood multiple fakes then stripped Bosh on the way up.). Reading it over, the way I put it together, I can definitely see how it came across that way.

I was more just trying to point out that we have huge amounts of trouble with all manners of bigs. Al's improved on the defensive end, but I don't see him ever developing into a defensive anchor (hope I'm wrong on that). It's tough to ask a wing to be the anchor as well, and of the 3 prospects mentioned, only Randolph has shown actual good play on the defensive end. I see Lopez as having the potential to be a defensive anchor, as well as being fairly versatile in the types of players he guards. I don't want Al guarding the opponent's #1 option at the 4/5, whether they're low or high post oriented. I just don't see that as a recipe for success.

[the_bruce]

I'm not trying to imply Al will one day be a defensive game stopper, just that one vs one he can more or less contain his man in the post fairly effectively. Most of the SAS game he did a very good job on Duncan. It's not al's fault that the rest of the team can't rebound when he is guarding argueabley the best low post player in the league. It's really bad when the teams 2nd best rebounder is 6'6" Cookie too. Also, the triple double can hardly be blamed on Al as Manu was hot that game, and several of those assists undoubtabley came off Jarics apparent complete haze as he didnt seem to want to play any defense and was standing around guarding air several times. Not that I'm bitter.

I don't mind al guarding people in the low post, the high post is where I have problems long term.

I just think this team needs a big who can run the floor, get in the way, and jump high for rebounds. Imagine a taller and much more athletic mark madsen with less dancing? Err...

[TrentTuckerForever]

I just think this team needs a big who can run the floor, get in the way, and jump high for rebounds. Imagine a taller and much more athletic mark madsen with less dancing? Err...

Hey, I think the dancing is the best part of Mad Dog's game these days (if you don't count the on-the-bench fist pumps.)

Rev's earlier post got me thinking about this, but bruceallen's description above is Brook Lopez. It would be ideal if Lopez was a super athlete, which is isn't, but otherwise he fits the bill perfectly... and he can even shoot, by most accounts.

I'd rather have Rose (look how Paul and D. Williams have improved their teams since '05) or Beasley, but Lopez wouldn't be a bad consolation prize.

[revprodeji]

Lopez is more athletic than you think. He runs the floor very well for a 7'0 260 guy. He also is strong.

[deeney0]

I've become convinced that as far as defense and rebounding go, Ryan at 4 is way more of a problem than Al at 5.

[revprodeji]

Agreed.

[funkatron101]

I've become convinced that as far as defense and rebounding go, Ryan at 4 is way more of a problem than Al at 5.

Unfortunately (and I may be wrong) he seems more productively offensively at the 4.

[revprodeji]

Offensively he will do what he does. That makes no difference. In the NBA positions are based more on who you defend rather than what you do on offense. If we say Al is a 4 or a 5 teams will still match up with him the same way regardless. Depending only on who is next to him. So offensive productivity means nothing in this discussion unless we want a true center who other teams will need to put their centers on (like Hibbert)