hardenASG13 wrote:So yeah, most of those are big guys. The wings are light years ahead of Roberson offensively ( Harper, Marion, bowen). Also, most you listed, bigs but still, are before handchecking on D became illegal, which makes perimeter D alot harder and almost impossible against star players (see James harden averaging 34ppg against roberson).
harper and marion were not 'light years' ahead of roberson offensively the years they won titles in LA and dallas.
your narrow view of perimeter defense, informed by your method of valuing it (player x scored 34 points against player y) is really shocking considering your claims that you coach basketball. andre roberson's impact on defense goes a lot farther than just limiting what his direct counterpart is doing (which he does at an elite level, relative to the average defensive player).
hardenASG13 wrote:Despite what you 'suspect', maybe it's just that NBA wings are expected to be able to dribble a ball and have good enough shooting to actualy get the respect of being guarded. This isn't the 1980s or 1990s anymore. Due to rule changes (no hands on D), the game evolving, and it being set up to Open the floor more, perimeter guys need to be able to shoot to play close to 30mpg. Otherwise they play 15, as in my examples of NBA champs in the modern league. I suspect you are grasping at straws here, as your point is just not applicable to this situation.
i just don't agree with this assessment. actually, i think it has gone the other direction. with big men shooting more frequently from three point range and the proliferation of horns like sets etc. there is much more room for perimeter defensive specialists than there was in the past. the proof is in the pudding here with andre roberson, who has been a part of elite offensive units throughout his career in spite of his limitations offensively. mostly because the thunder had bigs to stretch the floor (ibaka, durant) on the court with him at the same time.
the things that you say probably make a lot of sense to you. but it's not supported by anything concrete. we have some data on how our team performed with andre roberson out of the starting lineup and a player who could shoot and dribble replacing him (dion waiters). even though there was a slight uptick in offense, there was a much larger dropoff on defense. the roberson starters were superior.
this experiment should have ended this nonsense from people like you. but then the conference finals against gsw happened and somehow you made it about roberson, despite the fact that he was one of the linchpins of our 3-1 advantage in the first place.
then the playoffs last year happened, a playoffs where roberson led all players in DBPM. the defense was 28 points per 100 possessions worse with him out. did he hurt the offense? sure. but so did adams, so did anyone not named russell westbrook in that series. roberson had one of the best defensive series of any thunder wing but you can't see past 'james harden 34 points a game' or whatever reductive nonsense you employ to discredit him.
frankly, it's unfathomable to me that you watch the games with anything but the most basic, emotional level of attention. i doubt for a minute that you spend any time re-watching portions of games you've seen to better inform your opinions. all of which you would need to do for your 'eye test' approach to these discussion to have any serious merit.







