Post#5 » by Ring_Wanted » Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:47 am
Great job Lorenzomax7.
Many of your conclusions pass the eye test. Looking beyond the numbers, I'll say that Bledsoe's defense has not been as good as advertised, especially one on one. He has some stats going for him, like OppFG at the rim, and he plays well the passing lines, but has not distinguished himself here as the lockdown defender his reputation suggests.
Maybe that's what you mean by team defense, but there is room for improvement, and at some point this will have to be addressed if he is going to make huge money while sharing the backcourt with Goran going forward, above all because Goran can't defend quick PGs and gets easily stuck in screens. PJ Tucker certainly mitigates this problem, but no matter what Bledsoe will need to pick up his defense. For me, he gets somewhat a pass because he is a rookie starter, is carrying a bigger load on offense than what's he is used to and has not gotten his big contract yet, but still. Same goes for his turnover ratio, which seemed to improve a lot after the first games of the season. I noticed a tendency to make kinda lazy passes sometimes, but that's not unheard of from players so phisically gifted.
As for his offense, his points come mainly from one on one situations (with and without screen) and one man fast breaks (Goran is now in the discussion for this particular crown league wide). Catch and shoot is absolutely not his game, although his shooting touch has not been as sloppy as expected. His playmaking ability shines in the prototypical half court scheme, it is, pick and rolls, but overall is not on the same level as Goran's, even if the assist averages are practically the same.
About Goran, well, he has been so on fire that it is starting to seriously reach Steve Nash levels, in the sense that you just don't expect a miss no matter what kind of shot he takes. His driving ability is off the charts, and his finishing is stunning. He is even getting it done with his right hand, which is crazy because it was one of his most evident weaknesses, and it is gone now. Has a signature move, a step back jumper that has gotten automatic to the point that it surprises you if it touches anything other than net and that he uses even from 3. Speaking of which, he is on fire from beyond the arc too, but he is not a specialist so I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't sustain the current rate. Not a great free throw shooter.
His passing vision and creativity is also outstanding (minor flaw: lobs), although he looks much more for his own. After all he is clearly the best player on the team and yet he displays perfect balance between creating for himself and for his teammates. Lethal in the pick and pop/roll. Rings a bell? All traits that applied to the master.
What he can't do is guarding these small, quick PGs above all if there is a hard screen, but does a solid job on the less explosive players, SGs included. At the very least he shows effort and chases his man down, unlike other defensively challenged stars. Also trends to have trouble when the defense traps him, because he picks up his dribble quickly (improving, and Bledsoe comes in extremely handy here). He is not unguardable (probably evidenced by clutch numbers that don't look great), but this year he will find his way over the course of a game no matter what you throw at him. Doesn't take games or plays off.
The great thing for Phoenix is that those two have all the tools (and hopefully the mindset) to become a perfect combo capable of dominating on offense against any team, while also having the ability to defend most of the opposite backcourts, at least in theory.
If I let myself go, I find myself believing the Suns have found real gold with this couple and have the foundation for a contender that is lacking just one dominant piece at PF/C/SF.
