We "Don't" Want the Monk: The Malik Monk Thread

[mrknowitall215]

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford has a message for fans on rookie Malik Monk

“I know this: There are not coaches on this staff that don’t believe in the kid,” Clifford said. “I think he’s done fine. But he’s playing behind some kids who are playing (better): Jeremy Lamb’s summer (improvement) changed things for Malik Monk. You can’t not play Jeremy; you can argue he’s been our third-best offensive player. That’s the stuff I think people either don’t understand or don’t look at.”

“The Carter-Williams thing is we have to have some defenders on the floor with the second unit,” Clifford said. “Carter-Williams is not just OK defensively. You can argue that a lot of nights he’s right there with MKG (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, as the Hornets’ best defender). He’s an elite defender. You have to have balanced play.”

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article194683054.html

[catch20two]

How is MCW a elite defender when he got a negative DBPM? Lol. And then he said we have to have “balanced play”. There’s nothing balanced about MCW’s offensive vs his defense.

We all know MKG hasn’t been his best defensively this year and damn sure can’t be defined as elite but he still has a positive DBPM.

[Braggins]

Lmao... Dear lord Clifford is a moron. Lamb has been our 3rd best offensive player? I assume that means that Clifford thinks Dwight, who is literally one of the worst offensive players in the league, is our 2nd best offensive player...

Its seriously unfathomable to me how out of touch and incompetent Clifford is. We absolutely have to fire this guy.

[yosemiteben]

I assume that means that Clifford thinks Dwight, who is literally one of the worst offensive players in the league...

Dude.

[catch20two]

I assume that means that Clifford thinks Dwight, who is literally one of the worst offensive players in the league...

Dude.

Dwight is 54th among 73 centers in the NBA in ORPM with a -1.97.

[mrknowitall215]

Lmao... Dear lord Clifford is a moron. Lamb has been our 3rd best offensive player? I assume that means that Clifford thinks Dwight, who is literally one of the worst offensive players in the league, is our 2nd best offensive player...

Its seriously unfathomable to me how out of touch and incompetent Clifford is. We absolutely have to fire this guy.

It's beyond clear that Clifford doesn't have his pulse on the modern day game or much knowledge of advanced metrics. With the game expanding to outside-in with pace & space the center position doesn't hold much value offensively unless the big can shoot with range or have excellent court vision to pass

[Bassman]

This is Clifford...forever seeing what he sees (which has some truth) while also seeing what he wants to see (which is masked by his prejudice). Not racial prejudice, coaching lens prejudice. It’s understandable. You invest in people you choose, and it can be hard to see those people in a clear light. Dwight, Batum both fall into this “rose colored” view. It’s also why it’s so hard for him to support and develop rookies/youth. They can almost never look like a better option than some vet you know.

Now, Monk has much to learn, and more physical development needed, to get any significant minutes. But I believe other coaches would find a way to fit him into minutes that aid development.

I’m hopeful Monk can see some growth the remainder of this wasted season.

[JDR720]

Cliffs doctors must've given him some strong medications.

[HoopsMalone]

I assume that means that Clifford thinks Dwight, who is literally one of the worst offensive players in the league...

Dude.

Exactly. You can ARGUE Lamb has been our third best offensive player?

That's a tough argument. He's been our 2nd best offensive player... I guess you could argue for Marv but Lamb just provides more on that end.

Meanwhile there are only a handful of players in the league who are worse offensively than Dwight. Even Frank has been light years better on offense than Dwight. Heck, MKG is better on offense than dwight. JOHNNY O BRYANT is about as good on offense as Dwight.

I'm sure Clifford knows that on some level. But it's one of those things where they have to manage Dwight's fragile ego again.

[JDR720]

those comments make me about 90% sure mcw was a Clifford influenced signing, that is the only logical explanation.

Its also obvious he doesn't follow advanced stats. Aren't advanced stats one of the things cho likes? Our coach and gm have different team building philosophy it seems.

[yosemiteben]

So are we equating MCW and Dwight? Dwight can do inefficient things, but saying he's one of the worst offensive players in the league to me speaks to talent. He's a talented offensive player. Like...he has carried us offensively several times this season.

Feels better to complain about his role than his ability.

[yosemiteben]

I assume that means that Clifford thinks Dwight, who is literally one of the worst offensive players in the league...

Dude.

Dwight is 54th among 73 centers in the NBA in ORPM with a -1.97.

So not close to worst overall then.

[yosemiteben]

I also think there's no reason to assume Cliff is talking about Dwight and not Nic.

[Braggins]

Nic is averaging 10 points on 48.5 ts% and a -1.2 OBPM and ORPM. Its still a completely absurd statement if he was referring to Nic.

[yosemiteben]

Nic is averaging 10 points on 48.5 ts% and a -1.2 OBPM and ORPM. Its still a completely absurd statement if he was referring to Nic.

Not defending the comment, and I'm aware of Nic's struggles this year.

[catch20two]

I also think there's no reason to assume Cliff is talking about Dwight and not Nic.

I think it would be worse if he’s referring to Nic lol.

[catch20two]

Dude.

Dwight is 54th among 73 centers in the NBA in ORPM with a -1.97.

So not close to worst overall then.

The key phrase in Braggins statement was “one of the worst”.

[Joest2003]

I also think there's no reason to assume Cliff is talking about Dwight and not Nic.

Lol really? No reason? Nic is one of the worst offensive players we have. What on earth would make anyone think Cliff would be considering Batum as our second best offensive player.

Dude puts up 4 point games with regularity playing starter minutes.

[Hornet Mania]

Cliff's wrong, obviously. MCW is nowhere near close to MKG, I get what he's saying but that's massive hyperbole. MCW has possessions here and there were I really love what he's doing, and I'm sure those are what Cliff means to highlight, but he also is really bad about gambling for steals and most of the time he's just an above-average man defender not an exceptional one.

We've had two consistently good offensive players this year, Kemba and Lamb. I don't even care who our 3rd-best is because the answer is just depressing. It should be Batum but he sucks, it might be Dwight but he's horribly inefficient (not all his fault, I actually like Dwight), doesn't really matter. Cliff is so hyper-focused on defense that he is blinded to the fact we have a lot of capable defenders and very few offensive threats (particularly in terms of guys who can credibly threaten to explode for 20+), and that is the real argument for giving Monk minutes over MCW. Monk is not that player now, and may never be, but MCW will never improve and we cannot get the job done (make the playoffs) with him as our backup. I'd rather roll the dice with the rook figuring it out in the second half of the season instead of watching MCW miss open shots and layups til April.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

All I can say is that now I *really* want Cliff gone.