76ciology wrote:mjkvol wrote:76ciology wrote:Aren't Gobert, Zubac, Brook Lopez, Steven Adams, Jonas Valanciunas, Walker Kessler, Jokic, and Embiid also playing heavy drop or camping a lot on defense?
But while playing that way is a proven regular season strategy when teams are a lot more vanilla on offense, it hasn't translated to winning in the playoffs for the most part. Minnesota was a dominant defense anchored around Gobert all season, and looked like they were going to steamroll the Nuggets, but their most impressive win was without Gobert, and Denver has adjusted and we're seeing the results, even before Jokic's otherworldly performance.
Before everything, I’d like to say that I like Clingan and consider him top 3 pick material in this draft. I liked Clingan since last year when I wondered why he didn't declare for the draft, as he was already a lottery material. His gamble eventually paid off; he might be a top 3 to 5 pick this season, which he wouldn't have been last season. Bigs need to be in a very supportive environment, so it’s crucial where they land and how much the team will support them.
As Tim McMahon said, if Gobert can’t stop Jokic, nobody can in the entire playoffs. Actually, Gobert is playing great defense on Jokic; Jokic is just an all-time great caliber talent. He is among the best of the best, winning his 3rd MVP in 4 years.
On a related note, what if Gobert could play this level of defense and also punish smaller defenders? What if he could draw fouls and get Jokic into foul trouble? Wouldn’t the gap be smaller? I think Edey can do that.
Regarding Edey’s defense, I think it’s a deficiency that a team can hide with schemes and roster makeup, like Gobert’s case of being surrounded by lengthy wings and another big at the 4. It’s controllable.
It’s more controllable than Risacher developing his on-ball scoring skillset or Topic and Sheppard developing an explosive scorer mentality and skillset.
But yeah, it will take a lot of guts for a GM to take Edey with the number one pick. But for someone who doesn’t have a skin in the game like me, I’m willing to take that risk.
Until I see differently, Edey looks like a guy who will be torched by any decent NBA center, where he won't get the benefit of the officiating he got in college. Like I said, he will certainly have a career in the league, but I have trouble imagining him as a guy that anyone is going to build around.
