Fried Chicken and Bonghits: The Al Jefferson Thread 2.0

[Liver_Pooty]

Zeller played defense for a decent stretch against Marc Gasol last year and did just fine.

[Mystical Apples]

I wouldn't be excited about Cody at center in traditional lineups but that's not the roster Charlotte is building.

[yosemiteben]

Its more about Cody being overpowered by centers that have 35+ pounds on him, not to mention a lot more length/higher reach than he does which will hurt his rebounding. His defense is good, mainly his perimeter defense which would most likely be useless vs centers who mostly stay in/around the paint.

Al is at least large enough to take up some space and not get overpowered easily.

Do we have any evidence of him struggling with paint defense?

So we are essentially saying, "He doesn't look big enough" as our evidence? Cody weighs as much as Biz, didn't everyone love his post D?

[Chapelchilla]

Cody would be fine as a starting C.

I dont think he is strong enough/good enough rebounder to guard most starting centers.

When we are saying that Cody is not strong enough to guard these centers, I think we may want to say YET. Dude is still very young and getting thicker every season. By the time he is 25 he will likely have filled out enough to check all but the biggest players. He does not yet have his "man strength".

[Chapelchilla]

and Al needs to get moved sooner then later. He is creaky and not in shape to run with the young core we have.

[Diop]

Either way point guard is the major priority

This.

do you really think it will be upgraded this offseason?

I think we're stuck with Kemba

[yosemiteben]

Either way point guard is the major priority

This.

do you really think it will be upgraded this offseason?

I think we're stuck with Kemba

I personally think we're praying that Lin likes it here and exercises his player option.

[Diop]

I dont think he is strong enough/good enough rebounder to guard most starting centers.

Yup. It's a dangerous experiment. He hasn't been asked to guard starting centers. He's been asked to hit jumpers and expand his shot to the 3-pt line.

Well we have been one of the most dominant defensive rebounding teams in NBA history the last two seasons and are on pace to again this season, so I'm not too worried about our rebounding. Our fans seriously underestimate the dominance of this team on the defensive glass under Cliff regardless of our personnel, it's been amazing.

I think Cody has proven to be a more than competent defender. I don't understand how we can see how this team has performed on defense the last two seasons with Al as our center, then say we are worried about Cody's defense.

Clifford said today that he was pissed without defensive rebounding, think its become an issue with him

[Diop]

This.

do you really think it will be upgraded this offseason?

I think we're stuck with Kemba

I personally think we're praying that Lin likes it here and exercises his player option.

Lin's been pretty good, but I don't think he is the answer to our future at point guard

[Mystical Apples]

Either way point guard is the major priority

This.

do you really think it will be upgraded this offseason?

I think we're stuck with Kemba

Both are true and I see it as an upgrade at 2 spots.

[yosemiteben]

do you really think it will be upgraded this offseason?

I think we're stuck with Kemba

I personally think we're praying that Lin likes it here and exercises his player option.

Lin's been pretty good, but I don't think he is the answer to our future at point guard

We won't be able to afford our answer at PG if we think we're going to upgrade Kemba on the FA market.

[Braggins]

I wouldn't really bother focusing on upgrading PG unless someone elite randomly wanted to sign with us. We have two decent PG's already and you don't really need a great PG to win. Once Al goes I feel like we are solid at every position and just need one really good player to take our core over the top. That player could be a PG if the option presents itself, but it seems like we are more likely to find a high impact player at center given who might be available via trade or free agency. What PG are we signing to a huge contract or giving up a bunch of value for in a trade that would be a big enough upgrade over Kemba and Lin to make it worth it?

[Mystical Apples]

The fascination with Lamb starting is funny because it removes some conditions that have helped him succeed. I envision Lamb and Kemba playing rock, paper, scissors before every game with the winner not starting.

Scenario A: start with Al in a clogged toilet and fewer touches with no help defense

Scenario B: come off the bench with floor spacing bigs who don't need touches and rotate on defense.

[Mystical Apples]

I personally think we're praying that Lin likes it here and exercises his player option.

Lin's been pretty good, but I don't think he is the answer to our future at point guard

We won't be able to afford our answer at PG if we think we're going to upgrade Kemba on the FA market.

Upgrading both spots with Kemba coming off the bench. He'd do well there but it might require a trade

[Braggins]

The fascination with Lamb starting is funny because it removes some conditions that have helped him succeed. I envision Lamb and Kemba playing rock, paper, scissors before every game with the winner not starting.

Scenario A: start with Al in a clogged toilet and fewer touches with no help defense

Scenario B: come off the bench with floor spacing bigs who don't need touches and rotate on defense.

I want Lamb to start, but only if Al is moved to the second unit.

[Mystical Apples]

The fascination with Lamb starting is funny because it removes some conditions that have helped him succeed. I envision Lamb and Kemba playing rock, paper, scissors before every game with the winner not starting.

Scenario A: start with Al in a clogged toilet and fewer touches with no help defense

Scenario B: come off the bench with floor spacing bigs who don't need touches and rotate on defense.

I want Lamb to start, but only if Al is moved to the second unit.

That's 1 part. It might sound weird but Kemba and Lamb shouldn't play much together. Lamb's thriving because he's getting space in offense designed for him. That's less ideal if they play together. I can see starting Lamb but Kemba would then take Lamb's role.

[Braggins]

Lin's been pretty good, but I don't think he is the answer to our future at point guard

We won't be able to afford our answer at PG if we think we're going to upgrade Kemba on the FA market.

Upgrading both spots with Kemba coming off the bench. He'd do well there but it might require a trade

I want us to get rid of Al by the deadline so we can see an extended period of Kemba playing without him before we go out of our way to get a different PG.

[Braggins]

The fascination with Lamb starting is funny because it removes some conditions that have helped him succeed. I envision Lamb and Kemba playing rock, paper, scissors before every game with the winner not starting.

Scenario A: start with Al in a clogged toilet and fewer touches with no help defense

Scenario B: come off the bench with floor spacing bigs who don't need touches and rotate on defense.

I want Lamb to start, but only if Al is moved to the second unit.

That's 1 part. It might sound weird but Kemba and Lamb shouldn't play much together. Lamb's thriving because he's getting space in offense designed for him. That's less ideal if they play together. I can see starting Lamb but Kemba would then take Lamb's role.

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying with your last sentence. I think Kemba and Lamb will play fine together once they get some burn and I would definitely want us to use Lamb the way we do in the second unit if he were to start with Kemba. I think Lamb should be our primary scoring option. I don't Kemba would stand in the way of that, especially if Clifford made it clear that was the plan (our offense is kind of equal opportunity anyways). He hasn't really forced his shot much before last nights game and hes not someone who won't defer to players who can produce. Hes averaging fewer field goal attempts per game than he has in any season since his rookie year.

[Mystical Apples]

I want Lamb to start, but only if Al is moved to the second unit.

That's 1 part. It might sound weird but Kemba and Lamb shouldn't play much together. Lamb's thriving because he's getting space in offense designed for him. That's less ideal if they play together. I can see starting Lamb but Kemba would then take Lamb's role.

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying with your last sentence. I think Kemba and Lamb will play fine together once they get some burn and I would definitely want us to use Lamb the way we do in the second unit if he were to start with Kemba. I think Lamb should be our primary scoring option. I don't Kemba would stand in the way of that, especially if Clifford made it clear that was the plan (our offense is kind of equal opportunity anyways). He hasn't really forced his shot much before last nights game and hes not someone who won't defer to players who can produce. Hes averaging fewer field goal attempts per game than he has in any season since his rookie year.

I have no doubt what you describe is accurate but it's not about shots, acquiescing etc...it's putting players in roles that are best suited for the job. Both players do best with open space to attack the defense and that ideally happens when surround by 4 players who space the floor.

I'm sure Kemba is willing to space the floor but that doesn't mean he's the best player to accomplish that efficiently. Like Lamb I'm sure is a willing passer. Or Lin is willing to break the press and guard quicker players. Or Cody is willing to be a rim protector and pass like Batum.

If you're able to watch last night's first half again I'd recommend it but instead of watching Lamb score observe the other 4 players. There's method to player rotations and it's evident in designed action away from the ball. It looks innocuous but that personnel is there to move defenders and those defenders move relative to the respect they give shooters.

[Braggins]

That's 1 part. It might sound weird but Kemba and Lamb shouldn't play much together. Lamb's thriving because he's getting space in offense designed for him. That's less ideal if they play together. I can see starting Lamb but Kemba would then take Lamb's role.

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying with your last sentence. I think Kemba and Lamb will play fine together once they get some burn and I would definitely want us to use Lamb the way we do in the second unit if he were to start with Kemba. I think Lamb should be our primary scoring option. I don't Kemba would stand in the way of that, especially if Clifford made it clear that was the plan (our offense is kind of equal opportunity anyways). He hasn't really forced his shot much before last nights game and hes not someone who won't defer to players who can produce. Hes averaging fewer field goal attempts per game than he has in any season since his rookie year.

I have no doubt what you describe is accurate but it's not about shots, acquiescing etc...it's putting players in roles that are best suited for the job. Both players do best with open space to attack the defense and that ideally happens when surround by 4 players who space the floor.

I'm sure Kemba is willing to space the floor but that doesn't mean he's the best player to accomplish that efficiently. Like Lamb I'm sure is a willing passer. Or Lin is willing to break the press and guard quicker players. Or Cody is willing to be a rim protector and pass like Batum.

If you're able to watch last night's first half again I'd recommend it but instead of watching Lamb score observe the other 4 players. There's method to player rotations and it's evident in designed action away from the ball. It looks innocuous but that personnel is there to move defenders and those defenders move relative to the respect they give shooters.

I think you are exaggerating the difference between Kemba and Lin as floor spacers. Kembas not as good in that regard, but his 3pt shot is respected by the defense well enough to keep the spacing. Its not like teams are ignoring Kemba at the 3pt line and Lin doesnt exactly terrify defenses with shooting. I dont think spacing would be an issue. The only players that negatively effect our floor spacing are Al and Cody (as a PF next to Al). The difference in spacing between our two units has nothing to do with Lin being on the floor instead of Kemba. I also think Kemba would benefit more than anyone from not having to play such a large share of his minutes with Al clogging the paint and PJ being completely useless.