Ibaka

[Balkman32]

Is he a center or a power forward?

[wiff]

How about you watch a game and see who he plays with and who he covers defensively.

[Balkman32]

Yes because they are all over the TV right now!

[wiff]

[Balkman32]

Keep hitting your head aganist the wall. It was an easy question. Where do u think he will play? The guy is 6'10" and basically guards any big on the court last season. Now the way I see it he could be used as a C. But, he is probally a PF.

[MrCavs]

If he guards any big on the court does it matter? If he's the only big he's a center, if Crispy or Aldrich are there he's a PF.

[slick_watts]

He's guarded both. Ibaka is much more successful in isolation situations than 'post up' situations, though. He doesn't have the smarts / savvy to play successful post defense against good post players. He'll make nice plays now and then but he's far more successful as a help defender.

I think the best strategy is to put Ibaka on the worse of the two post players, which is what we generally do when he's been on the floor with Collison.

[dream_catcher_9]

He's guarded both. Ibaka is much more successful in isolation situations than 'post up' situations, though. He doesn't have the smarts / savvy to play successful post defense against good post players. He'll make nice plays now and then but he's far more successful as a help defender.

I think the best strategy is to put Ibaka on the worse of the two post players, which is what we generally do when he's been on the floor with Collison.

Exactly, Aldrich and Collison on the best post player, Ibaka can play the other guy for help defense.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

I feel Krstic is an underrated defender. He is a very good help defender an has good iq as far as posting on defense goes. Also, hes bulked up since NJ yrs. Sure he gets posterized every now and then, but mentioned facts easily get omitted. Until proven otherwise, Krstic>Aldrich.

[dream_catcher_9]

I feel Krstic is an underrated defender. He is a very good help defender an has good iq as far as posting on defense goes. Also, hes bulked up since NJ yrs. Sure he gets posterized every now and then, but mentioned facts easily get omitted. Until proven otherwise, Krstic>Aldrich.

he is still below average, Aldrich will be better than him as soon as he knows the whole playbook and rotations.

[slick_watts]

I feel Krstic is an underrated defender. He is a very good help defender an has good iq as far as posting on defense goes. Also, hes bulked up since NJ yrs. Sure he gets posterized every now and then, but mentioned facts easily get omitted. Until proven otherwise, Krstic>Aldrich.

Agreed. Krstic does a lot of good things defensively. The problem usually is that he is on the floor with Jeff Green most of the time. Those two don't exactly form a stalwart defensive combination or fill the gaps in each other's weaknesses. Krstic knows where to be as far as positioning goes and is pretty good at challenging shots without fouling.

Krstic is used as the scapegoat for this team a lot of the time, but really, his biggest problem is that he isn't used properly. If Krstic were paired with Ibaka instead of Jeff Green, for example, I think he'd be a lot more effective. Or even Nick Collison.

That said, if Aldrich doesn't surpass Krstic as a defender then he's probably a wasted pick.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

Krstic is used as the scapegoat for this team a lot of the time, but really, his biggest problem is that he isn't used properly. If Krstic were paired with Ibaka instead of Jeff Green, for example, I think he'd be a lot more effective. Or even Nick Collison.

i think those are very valid points as a matter of fact. I think the team as whole would be more effective as well. Green just leaves too many holes for Krstic defensively. Green is just not a PF period. And he clearly wouldnt accept being a 8-10 min SF on the thunder? No offense but guys softer than Aldridge with height disadvantages. A frontcourt of:

Ibaka/Collison
Krstic/Aldrich

looks much more deadly than Green in the combination imo. collison could probably also be more utilized at PF.
That being said, u could give the Blazers a run for the money if adopted this formation

I feel Krstic is an underrated defender. He is a very good help defender an has good iq as far as posting on defense goes. Also, hes bulked up since NJ yrs. Sure he gets posterized every now and then, but mentioned facts easily get omitted. Until proven otherwise, Krstic>Aldrich.

he is still below average, Aldrich will be better than him as soon as he knows the whole playbook and rotations.

I wouldnt know about that.

[ChrisTheFuturePaul]

OKC woulda been set if they had gone through with the Chandler deal, as a Hornet fan I'm glad you guys didnt coz we got Okafor instead, but yea, a monster rebounder can work with Jeff Green, Kristic, Ibaka, Alrich are not monster rebounders.

[slick_watts]

OKC woulda been set if they had gone through with the Chandler deal, as a Hornet fan I'm glad you guys didnt coz we got Okafor instead, but yea, a monster rebounder can work with Jeff Green, Kristic, Ibaka, Alrich are not monster rebounders.

Looking at his college #'s, Aldrich will probably be a similar (if not better) rebounder than Tyson Chandler in the NBA. Rebounding is one thing that usually translates well from NCAA to NBA especially for big guys.

Chandler's never healthy, he's been pretty mediocre the last couple seasons. He's been mediocre on Team USA. It wouldn't surprise me, though, if he increased his productivity a bit in his contract year.