Defense rankings

[SeattleJazzFan]

clyde is right. liddell is a 6'6/6'7 dude who could block shots at the d1 level. you don't protect the rim a that size in the nba. you just don't. doesn't mean he won't still block a few shots in the league, but he won't be preventing teams from attacking the rim - nobody will drive into the lane, see liddell and back it out. and he simply won't spend a lot of his time near the rim on defense like a lot of true 5s do. pj is a good comparison.

[SNPA]

clyde is right. liddell is a 6'6/6'7 dude who could block shots at the d1 level. you don't protect the rim a that size in the nba. you just don't. doesn't mean he won't still block a few shots in the league, but he won't be preventing teams from attacking the rim - nobody will drive into the lane, see liddell and back it out. and he simply won't spend a lot of his time near the rim on defense like a lot of true 5s do. pj is a good comparison.

Ehh..in some cases (Sac) something is better than nothing. No one is mistaking this dude for Mark Eaton but a good weak side shot blocker is a form of rim protection and if a team doesn’t even have that adding it is a welcome development.

[clyde21]

the fact that people still don't understand the difference between a shot blocker and rim/paint protector is mind bending. you can be a shot blocker without being a rim protector. you can be a rim protector without being a shot blocker. sometimes you get both at the same time. sometimes you get neither.

this is actually a very basic concept, hysterical seeing Hal14 puff his chest out pretending he understands what he's talking about when he doesn't even know this really simple concept.

no one is in their right mind is drafting Liddell to be their rim protector.

[WargamesX]

This is actually a good defensive draft.

[SNPA]

you can be a shot blocker without being a rim protector. you can be a rim protector without being a shot blocker. sometimes you get both at the same time. sometimes you get neither.

While this is by and large correct it is also in the grey area of terminology of basketball. It’s like defining a wing. Interpretations vary.

For me, if players know coming into the paint you have the ability to send one back and embarrass them, that’s a form of rim protection. It’s in other players heads, and on drives their arms get shorter and layups put up quicker (lowering percentages). Will EJ have this psychological effect? I’m not sure. That’s why I started this thread.

I understand others define these terms differently.

[clyde21]

you can be a shot blocker without being a rim protector. you can be a rim protector without being a shot blocker. sometimes you get both at the same time. sometimes you get neither.

While this is by and large correct it is also in the grey area of terminology of basketball. It’s like defining a wing. Interpretations vary.

For me, if players know coming into the paint you have the ability to send one back and embarrass them, that’s a form of rim protection. It’s in other players heads, and on drives their arms get shorter and layups put up quicker (lowering percentages). Will EJ have this psychological effect? I’m not sure. That’s why I started this thread.

I understand others define these terms differently.

i don't think there is a grey area at all. you have players that block shots, but that doesn't necessarily make them rim protectors. you have players that protect the rim, but don't necessarily block a lot of shots. yes there is a lot of overlap but that doesn't mean it's a grey area, it just means you have players who provide both skill sets.

Covington was 7th in the league in block rate. Boucher was 9th. Horford was 10th. Towns was 20th. I don't think any of these guys is a great rim protector but they block a lot of shots.

Liddell is a good shot blocker, but it's not b/c he's a good rim protector, it's because he's a good help defender who has good timing and + defensive IQ, that doesn't mean you draft him to be a rim protector.

i comp him to Tucker because of his physical profile and archetype, and like Tucker I think his game is gonna depend on two things: how many open 3s he can hit offensively and if he can scale as a small ball 5 defensively. if you guys see other paths to success for him in the NBA that'll give him consistent minutes im all ears.