Tukkerwolf wrote:kdthunderup wrote:Tukkerwolf wrote:
Did you just forget about McDaniels, one of the best defenders of the league? And no mention of Gobert? Or NAW and DiVincenzo, pesky, quick defenders playing the passing lanes perfectly?
McDaniels is definitely a great defender but he has different strengths to Gordon that won't allow the Zone to work that well. Gordon’s combination of athleticism and size, especially his strength and quickness makes him uniquely effective in that zone role. His ability to close out shooters quickly and also hold his ground against bigger players which is tough to replace. McDaniels is solid but doesn’t quite match Gordon’s physicality (he is only 84kg) and defensive impact in those high-demand rotations. McDaniels more has his reputation as man-to-man defender.
If you look at the net ratings when both Gordon and Jokic were on the floor together it was insane when comparing it to when only one was on the floor. It's because they both need to be on the court for the zone to work. As soon as one went out they had to stop using zone and OKC went on big runs.
I think Minnesota will likely run a more traditional drop coverage and man-to-man which plays slightly better into OKC’s strengths because Shai and the cutters can easily exploit the slower rotations of Randle/Naz and create open shots through quick ball movement which is how they generate most their offense.
I see what you mean, but the minutes that Hartenstein plays lent themselves perfectly for Gobert camping and that takes away any threat of wings / guards cutting. Pulling him out with Williams and Holmgren might give the Thunder problems at defense.
I get what you’re saying with Gobert being able to camp when Hartenstein is on the floor but OKC’s struggles against Denver’s zone weren’t just because of Jokic dropping, it was the combination of Gordon’s freakish ability to close out at his size, Braun’s and MPJ’s length, and the overall timing of their rotations that disrupted OKC’s rhythm. Minnesota has better lengthy defenders than Braun and MPJ's but its Gordon who is the glue guy here who tied it all together.
Minnesota doesn’t quite have that same personnel. Gobert’s obviosuly a better rim protector than Jokic but Randle doesn’t have Gordon’s mobility or closeout speed. If they go with McDaniels at the 4, they gain mobility but lose rebounding and size. That opens up more space for Shai and Jalen Williams to get to their midrange spots or attack closeouts
So even if Gobert is dropping I think OKC will have more success generating quality looks against Minnesota’s than they did against Denver’s since the midrange should reopen, and driving lanes won’t collapse as quickly. Minnesota will definitely give us a lot of trouble still but OKC's main weakness has always been playing against zone since we don't have anyone at the high post who can make the defense collapse.
