Suns Offseason Thread V: I Am My Brother's Kieffer

[Cutter]

Knicks are screwed. They have one of the few superstars in the game, but he has an ISO style of play will prevent a team from winning a championship or being good in the playoffs. They don't have anyone very good to put around Melo, and have a very old President/GM who Isn't there to rebuild, he is there to win. This whole Knicks team is mess for the next couple of years. Hopefully Suns can get in on the act and take advantage of their dysfunction somehow.

The only thing remotely giving them hope is that they play in the east.

[Maystack]

I have the Knicks making the playoffs this season. Only because it's the East though. I reckon they can get fifth seed pretty easily.

[JMac1]

I don't think Suns backcourt being small is a big problem. Bledsoe is just 6'1 but he plays much bigger than that. According to basketball-reference last season he was 5th in rebounds and 5th in blocks per game among all NBA guards. Not bad.
Knight at 6'3 is undersized at SG but this position is very weak today. Other than Harden and Klay I don't think there are many SG's that could regularly destroy Knight.

Yeah, wingspan is always more telling than height when it comes to defense (offensively eye level matters a bit more in terms of seeing over the defense, but defensively you bother shots with your hands/arms not your face).

Bledsoe has an incredible wingspan, and in fact his block numbers for a 3 year period or so I believe ranked first of any non-big man (PG-SF). Bledsoe can most definitely guard a 2 guard.

And your 2nd point is exactly right. 2 guard is a weak position, and ultimately cross matches result anyways, so the real question shouldn't be if Knight could guard a 2--it's who is a better player, Knight or shooting guard X, because 2 guards would have to guard Knight on the other end too. Fit matters, but I think looking at who is better overall is way more important than focusing on whether the other team has an advantage on one area of the court (offense v. defense).

Well, you're definitely half right. A good wingspan is very important defensively, but if you don't have any height to go along with it, it winds up not helping much. Standing reach is even more telling than wingspan or height, and the average standing reach for a 2 guard in the NBA is about 8'5. (this link is old and I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is but it's interesting and useful nonetheless: http://ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com/2013/05/average-draft-measurements-for-nba.html ). Both Bledsoe and Brandon Knight have standing reaches of about 8'2 a piece, which is above average for a point guard, but also quite below average for a 2 guard. This disadvantage is mitigated somewhat by the athleticism of these two, and it really is elite. Brandon has a 37.5" vert, and Bledsoe never had any official vertical tests but I've heard and believe it's flirting around the 40" range, which is spectacular. Not to mention Bledsoe is very physical and weighs more than Knight, although (measurements that may or may not be outdated say around 190) it's still small for SG standards. Overall, it looks like our backcourt is definitely on the small side, but not necessarily game-breakingly small. We're lucky to have 2 above average (to say the least) athletes at the PG position, and that'll help minimize the damage of running such an undersized backcourt.

Edit: Oh, and also: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/03/bucks-brandon-knight-completes-a-60-inch-box-jump-video/
even more improvement..?

Box jumps are so overrated!! Just give me the vert. Box jumps involve hip flexibility and that will skew a persons jumping ability, for example, if you can bring your legs 24inches off of the ground just by lifting them, then you only need to add 36 inches to your jump to achieve the "60" inch box jump.

I get it, but it just isn't my thing. Plus Brandon ran up to it. Much more impressive when a person goes straight up and finish standing instead of falling back.

[JMac1]

I like the Tele vid...thanks for posting

[oddity]

Box jumps are so overrated!! Just give me the vert. Box jumps involve hip flexibility and that will skew a persons jumping ability, for example, if you can bring your legs 24inches off of the ground just by lifting them, then you only need to add 36 inches to your jump to achieve the "60" inch box jump.

I get it, but it just isn't my thing. Plus Brandon ran up to it. Much more impressive when a person goes straight up and finish standing instead of falling back.

I encourage you to read the comment section of that. Someone was making that same point and it's freaking hilarious! (in a good way)

[Bogyo]

Boozer for a small 2-3yr deal? I know he is looking for a contender, but he has gotten no intrest so far. While he is well past his prime, he was a pro with the fLakers last year, and could be valuable off the bench, and a non-strech, bit more physical PF to round out our bench. Could come in handy when the Kieff situation settles...

[Saberestar]

Boozer for a small 2-3yr deal? I know he is looking for a contender, but he has gotten no intrest so far. While he is well past his prime, he was a pro with the fLakers last year, and could be valuable off the bench, and a non-strech, bit more physical PF to round out our bench. Could come in handy when the Kieff situation settles...

I would not sign him. Without Kieff, we have Teletovic, P.J. Tucker, Leuer, Sims and Cory Jefferson able to play minutes at that position for us. Even Warren can play some minutes here and there at PF. No need to add another player if he is not better than what we have already on the roster.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

The real problem with Boozer is that his defense is beyond terrible, and what he provides on offense is mid-range shooting - not exactly a need. I'd much, much rather play not only Teletovic, but Leuer, Sims, and Jefferson instead.

[tdjm]

I would trot out TJ Warren, PJ Tucker, and Alex Len out of position at PF over spending a single cent on Carlos Boozer. He is a joke.

[letsgosuns]

I mentioned getting Boozer a while back even though I have hated Boozer's game his whole career. Never liked him even back to his Cavaliers days. I just hate him less than Markieff so I would rather have Boozer on the team even if I had to choose between the two.

[Stix]

Boozer for a small 2-3yr deal? I know he is looking for a contender, but he has gotten no intrest so far. While he is well past his prime, he was a pro with the fLakers last year, and could be valuable off the bench, and a non-strech, bit more physical PF to round out our bench. Could come in handy when the Kieff situation settles...

Physical PF? Boozer doesn't play defense, and is almost 34 years old. What is so physical about him?

[RaisingArizona]

Boozer is done.

[tgtm_24]

Boozer for a small 2-3yr deal? I know he is looking for a contender, but he has gotten no intrest so far. While he is well past his prime, he was a pro with the fLakers last year, and could be valuable off the bench, and a non-strech, bit more physical PF to round out our bench. Could come in handy when the Kieff situation settles...

Physical PF? Boozer doesn't play defense, and is almost 34 years old. What is so physical about him?

The way he strains his vocal chords trying to get a call is pretty physical

[sunskerr]

Box jumps are so overrated!! Just give me the vert. Box jumps involve hip flexibility and that will skew a persons jumping ability, for example, if you can bring your legs 24inches off of the ground just by lifting them, then you only need to add 36 inches to your jump to achieve the "60" inch box jump.

I get it, but it just isn't my thing. Plus Brandon ran up to it. Much more impressive when a person goes straight up and finish standing instead of falling back.

1. The height of a jump is determined by how much force is generated by your muscles
2. Therefore, Brandon is generating enough force to lift his 6'3" 190lbs onto that box
3. If someone is box jumping (key word: jumping) 60 inches its pretty safe to say their actual jump is above average athletically
4. Vertical jump is notorious for being really hard to improve

[thamadkant]

Jumping is not just FORCE of legs against the ground.
Its also how quick this force is applied.

I know body builders who can leg press near a ton... they cant jump more than 20 inches. The ones that does jump 30+ inches also do a lot of running and plyometrics along with leg weight presses.


I know much smaller guys who are good sprinters and they can jump 36 inches easily.

Jumping high = Explosiveness, means power and speed, force is highly dependent on speed/velocity.

[Frank Lee]

E = MC X MC

[JMac1]

Box jumps are so overrated!! Just give me the vert. Box jumps involve hip flexibility and that will skew a persons jumping ability, for example, if you can bring your legs 24inches off of the ground just by lifting them, then you only need to add 36 inches to your jump to achieve the "60" inch box jump.

I get it, but it just isn't my thing. Plus Brandon ran up to it. Much more impressive when a person goes straight up and finish standing instead of falling back.

I encourage you to read the comment section of that. Someone was making that same point and it's freaking hilarious! (in a good way)

LMAO!! You got to love the internet Thanks for directing to that... That guy in the video

[JMac1]

Box jumps are so overrated!! Just give me the vert. Box jumps involve hip flexibility and that will skew a persons jumping ability, for example, if you can bring your legs 24inches off of the ground just by lifting them, then you only need to add 36 inches to your jump to achieve the "60" inch box jump.

I get it, but it just isn't my thing. Plus Brandon ran up to it. Much more impressive when a person goes straight up and finish standing instead of falling back.

1. The height of a jump is determined by how much force is generated by your muscles
2. Therefore, Brandon is generating enough force to lift his 6'3" 190lbs onto that box
3. If someone is box jumping (key word: jumping) 60 inches its pretty safe to say their actual jump is above average athletically
4. Vertical jump is notorious for being really hard to improve

Please dude. I don't need an education on this subject.

[JMac1]

Jumping is not just FORCE of legs against the ground.
Its also how quick this force is applied.

I know body builders who can leg press near a ton... they cant jump more than 20 inches. The ones that does jump 30+ inches also do a lot of running and plyometrics along with leg weight presses.


I know much smaller guys who are good sprinters and they can jump 36 inches easily.

Jumping high = Explosiveness, means power and speed, force is highly dependent on speed/velocity.

Just say quick twitch muscle. Jumping is like running, you are born with it, and can only improve so much.

[JMac1]

Oh yea, and hell no to Boozer. Yuck!!