GT: Charlotte vs Grizzlies 1/4 7PM

[fatlever]

Probably because he is.....

He leads the NBA in deflections... the whole NBA.

Then add in the fact he is 6-7, size matters when it comes to defense.

the deflection stat isnt a good indicator of oubre's defense. he gambles, he reaches, has long arms, decent off ball instincts... but watch any game and see how bad he is overall. always out of position, doesnt stay in front of his man, bad rotations

yet, he may be "one of better defenders" by comparison. thats how bad melo and terry are this season. he's not better defender than - dsj, cody, gordon, mcd, pj, thor or mark. id agree he is better than melo, terry, bouk, bryce. the others are a toss up.

what i ill say in oubre's defense.. he has played hard all season, more than others can say. and hes better than last year.

Well first off we are talking about Perimeter defenders if you read the tweet.... so remove Mark, PJ, Thor from the conversation.

Secondly, you think you know more about what makes a good defender than an NBA head coach? Clearly Cliff thinks Oubre is a better defender than Hayward. Again, directly from the tweet....

I will say DSJ is a better defender, but he has barely played. Martin zero games played.... so Hence Oubre is one of better perimeter defenders...

It's coach speak. Nothing more. Cliff says dumb **** all the time, like " this is the most talented roster I've ever coached" - summer 2022.

If Cliff legit thinks Oubre is a better defender than Hayward, then the old man has truly lost it.

And judging by the defense Clifford has coached this season, I'm not sure he's in a position to comment on the defensive side of the ball.



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[HornetJail]

what gets me is that Clifford has coached terrible defensive players before. The 2014 playoff team was essentially the same roster + Al Jefferson (not a defender at all) and a couple rotation defenders (decent, not stoppers) from the 2012-13 team that went 21-61 and was 30th in defense. You can argue about the overall impact his general game plan has on winning, but the defenses he's coached speak for themselves.

I hoped Clifford would at least get this team playing more disciplined even if the results weren't there. This is a trash defensive roster no matter how you slice it, but trash defensive rosters can be average if they buy in and compete. This team is indistinguishable from last year's team defensively. They clearly haven't bought in after 4 years of JB's lackadaisical approach to defense, aren't trying, aren't going to, and everyone's playing as stupid as last year.

Blow it up. Trade 80% of this roster, fire everyone in the organization from coach to GM and start over with LaMelo, a couple of the young guys, and a totally blank slate.

[fatlever]

I think Cliffs comnents about Oubres defense were essentially shots at Melo and Terry disguised

But yeah, entire thing needs to be blown up. Top to bottom.

No other front office, that's had 5 years to create something could survive. But I fear the response will be Mitch retires, Buzz is promoted, scouts and all other mj yes men remain, cliff gets another year and it's more of the same.

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[SWedd523]

I fear the response will be Mitch retires, Buzz is promoted, scouts and all other mj yes men remain, cliff gets another year and it's more of the same.

[amcoolio]

Honestly if they blow it up with a completely new staff and players around LaMelo, they will more than likely be better record wise than they are this season, so why not do it. I get that MJ doesn't want to tank, but at some point he has to realize that by blowing it up and getting rid of all the redundant, bad fits around LaMelo, even if they are just young players, the team will win more anyway.

[fatlever]

The video of Ja Morant standing in the back court with the ball at his feet taking a rest seems like the perfect analogy for our defense this season.

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[luciano-davidwesley]

what gets me is that Clifford has coached terrible defensive players before. The 2014 playoff team was essentially the same roster + Al Jefferson (not a defender at all) and a couple rotation defenders (decent, not stoppers) from the 2012-13 team that went 21-61 and was 30th in defense. You can argue about the overall impact his general game plan has on winning, but the defenses he's coached speak for themselves.

I hoped Clifford would at least get this team playing more disciplined even if the results weren't there. This is a trash defensive roster no matter how you slice it, but trash defensive rosters can be average if they buy in and compete. This team is indistinguishable from last year's team defensively. They clearly haven't bought in after 4 years of JB's lackadaisical approach to defense, aren't trying, aren't going to, and everyone's playing as stupid as last year.

Blow it up. Trade 80% of this roster, fire everyone in the organization from coach to GM and start over with LaMelo, a couple of the young guys, and a totally blank slate.

Agree. Except I'd also trade Lamelo if we can get a motherload of FRP's package.

He doesn't seem interested to ever buy in on the defensive end and he refuses to cut the stupid fouls out of his game. I'm not sure if he'll ever be a two-way player that affects winning much. He's definitely got the tools but maybe not the mentality.

[luciano-davidwesley]

The video of Ja Morant standing in the back court with the ball at his feet taking a rest seems like the perfect analogy for our defense this season.

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It's no coincidence that Rozier was on the court at the time.

[Hornet Mania]

what gets me is that Clifford has coached terrible defensive players before. The 2014 playoff team was essentially the same roster + Al Jefferson (not a defender at all) and a couple rotation defenders (decent, not stoppers) from the 2012-13 team that went 21-61 and was 30th in defense. You can argue about the overall impact his general game plan has on winning, but the defenses he's coached speak for themselves.

I hoped Clifford would at least get this team playing more disciplined even if the results weren't there. This is a trash defensive roster no matter how you slice it, but trash defensive rosters can be average if they buy in and compete. This team is indistinguishable from last year's team defensively. They clearly haven't bought in after 4 years of JB's lackadaisical approach to defense, aren't trying, aren't going to, and everyone's playing as stupid as last year.

Blow it up. Trade 80% of this roster, fire everyone in the organization from coach to GM and start over with LaMelo, a couple of the young guys, and a totally blank slate.

Agree. Except I'd also trade Lamelo if we can get a motherload of FRP's package.

He doesn't seem interested to ever buy in on the defensive end and he refuses to cut the stupid fouls out of his game. I'm not sure if he'll ever be a two-way player that affects winning much. He's definitely got the tools but maybe not the mentality.

It's extremely sad to consider, at least for me, but the time when Melo demands a trade will come eventually given our trajectory. I doubt now is the best time to make that move though, simply because his value will almost certainly be higher in a couple years.

Assuming he takes an extension, which every player getting a max 2nd contract has done thus far, he'll be locked in for 3+ yrs and have a few more all-star games under his belt. That's when we'll get the best possible offers, and you're right it probably will be a motherload. I've already begun preparing myself for this possibility, trying to frame it as a good thing, and maybe it will be in the big picture.

I hate to be so pessimistic, but aside from a Wemby lotto hail mary the organization is too damn stupid to get it together.

[Diop]

He doesn't seem interested to ever buy in on the defensive end and he refuses to cut the stupid fouls out of his game. I'm not sure if he'll ever be a two-way player that affects winning much. He's definitely got the tools but maybe not the mentality.

this is the million $ question for me, is part of our effort/culture the team following the star point guard?

now matter how hard a coach tries, he can't force the team to put in effort.

will be interesting to see how it develops, they really need to sign some hard working leaders this offseason. put that as a priority over chucking ability

[fatlever]

As I've said many times... Melo loves to win, but does he hate to lose? He needs to get to the latter to take that next step.

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