2020 Preseason Speculation - Lineup battles underway

Saberestar · Post #3741 » by **Saberestar** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 7:51 pm

NTB wrote:

Read on Twitter

I would sign Batum only to avoid any possibility of signing Ariza when he is waived by the Thunder.

I am afraid of Monty and CP3 wanting Ariza and James Jones could consider him for the minimum or BAE.

Post #3742 » by **bwgood77** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 8:51 pm

MrMiyagi wrote:
TheLogician wrote:I thought DA's defensive upside was off the charts coming out of UA. The way he moves his feet is incredible for a big man. He will for sure add a 3 ball and then it comes down to developing post moves to consistently get to the line. I hope this is the year he takes a huge leap forward.

Same, especially given how the NBA has become very reliant on switching. Ayton was never an eraser like a Gobert, but watching him switch onto wings and stay in front was the most eye-catching attribute he had defensively in college. He definitely improved last season, and he should continue to improve this season.

He's fine for the most part on the perimeter and switching but his help defense and rim protection is the most important thing for a C and still needs a lot of work.

NTB · Post #3743 » by **NTB** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 8:56 pm

bwgood77 wrote:
MrMiyagi wrote:
TheLogician wrote:I thought DA's defensive upside was off the charts coming out of UA. The way he moves his feet is incredible for a big man. He will for sure add a 3 ball and then it comes down to developing post moves to consistently get to the line. I hope this is the year he takes a huge leap forward.

Same, especially given how the NBA has become very reliant on switching. Ayton was never an eraser like a Gobert, but watching him switch onto wings and stay in front was the most eye-catching attribute he had defensively in college. He definitely improved last season, and he should continue to improve this season.

He's fine for the most part on the perimeter and switching but his help defense and rim protection is the most important thing for a C and still needs a lot of work.

He also improved a lot in these areas especially when compared to his rookie year. I think he is very coachable and learns quick.

Post #3744 » by **bwgood77** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:10 pm

NTB wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:
MrMiyagi wrote:Same, especially given how the NBA has become very reliant on switching. Ayton was never an eraser like a Gobert, but watching him switch onto wings and stay in front was the most eye-catching attribute he had defensively in college. He definitely improved last season, and he should continue to improve this season.

He's fine for the most part on the perimeter and switching but his help defense and rim protection is the most important thing for a C and still needs a lot of work.

He also improved a lot in these areas especially when compared to his rookie year. I think he is very coachable and learns quick.

Yeah, I was shocked at how much he improved there...he went from awful to sometimes even impressive, but there were lots of lapses where he was just lost or guys blew by him or he watched. He obviously does work hard to get better but the main thing is whether he can stay engaged 100% of the time, or even 80% of the time for starters.

MrMiyagi · Post #3745 » by **MrMiyagi** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:17 pm

bwgood77 wrote:
MrMiyagi wrote:
TheLogician wrote:I thought DA's defensive upside was off the charts coming out of UA. The way he moves his feet is incredible for a big man. He will for sure add a 3 ball and then it comes down to developing post moves to consistently get to the line. I hope this is the year he takes a huge leap forward.

Same, especially given how the NBA has become very reliant on switching. Ayton was never an eraser like a Gobert, but watching him switch onto wings and stay in front was the most eye-catching attribute he had defensively in college. He definitely improved last season, and he should continue to improve this season.

He's fine for the most part on the perimeter and switching but his help defense and rim protection is the most important thing for a C and still needs a lot of work.

With the amount of shot blocking centers that are getting run off of the floor, I'm not sure how true that is anymore. And while he doesn't get lots of blocks, he does a good job of contesting without fouling.

He does get lost occasionally, which hopefully subsides over time.

WeekapaugGroove · Post #3746 » by **WeekapaugGroove** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:35 pm

I think rebounding is going to be the most important aspect of Aytons game this coming season. He's a good rebounder who could be a great rebounder. With how thier roster construction they need him to own the glass. Whether it be Crowder or Johnson next to him out there he's going to be the only guy close to the rim on O for offensive rebounds and defensively his ability to end possessions will be key because while a guy like Crowder will box out and battle he's still only 6'6.

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Post #3747 » by **bwgood77** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:36 pm

MrMiyagi wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:
MrMiyagi wrote:Same, especially given how the NBA has become very reliant on switching. Ayton was never an eraser like a Gobert, but watching him switch onto wings and stay in front was the most eye-catching attribute he had defensively in college. He definitely improved last season, and he should continue to improve this season.

He's fine for the most part on the perimeter and switching but his help defense and rim protection is the most important thing for a C and still needs a lot of work.

With the amount of shot blocking centers that are getting run off of the floor, I'm not sure how true that is anymore. And while he doesn't get lots of blocks, he does a good job of contesting without fouling.

He does get lost occasionally, which hopefully subsides over time.

While I was typing that, I thought about someone responding like this and almost clarified. I didn't mean that it was more important in the sense that I would prefer an immobile one that can't switch at all and has to sit against small ball units than one that can help and protect the rim. Just that it will be more important that he be able to provide resistance to teams getting easy layups than being a great perimeter defender. That almost doesn't matter if teams know they can pull you out and just take it to the rim every time.

And I don't really care how many blocks he ends up with...just protecting the rim and deterring shots...taking easy layups away...so teams know they can't try that often without seeing the resistance.

Revived · Post #3748 » by **Revived** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 12:15 am

Ayton really improved on protecting the rim this past season before the bubble in Orlando. However, he reverted back to lazy effort (like his rookie season) in the bubble. Both in terms of 1 on 1 defense and rim protection wise.

I think Baynes really got into his ears about defense and improving on that end early on in the season. I hope he picks up from early on in the season and doesn’t continue what we saw in the bubble.

spanishninja · Post #3749 » by **spanishninja** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:17 am

Revived wrote:Ayton really improved on protecting the rim this past season before the bubble in Orlando. However, he reverted back to lazy effort (like his rookie season) in the bubble. Both in terms of 1 on 1 defense and rim protection wise.

I think Baynes really got into his ears about defense and improving on that end early on in the season. I hope he picks up from early on in the season and doesn’t continue what we saw in the bubble.

hopefully CP3 and Crowder will take over for Baynes in that department.

Post #3750 » by **Domejandro** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:48 am

Popping in, does anybody have access to Phoenix games from last season? I need videos of the games for a project/research paper on social networks that I am conducting. Thanks!

grumpysaddle · Post #3751 » by **grumpysaddle** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 4:00 am

Domejandro wrote:Popping in, does anybody have access to Phoenix games from last season? I need videos of the games for a project/research on social networks that I am conducting. Thanks!

Pretty sure you can watch all the games from previous seasons with a League Pass sub.

Post #3752 » by **Domejandro** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 4:17 am

grumpysaddle wrote:
Domejandro wrote:Popping in, does anybody have access to Phoenix games from last season? I need videos of the games for a project/research on social networks that I am conducting. Thanks!

Pretty sure you can watch all the games from previous seasons with a League Pass sub.

Interesting that they returned that for the American version, I thought it got cut in 2018. Cheers, appreciate the info!

grumpysaddle · Post #3753 » by **grumpysaddle** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 6:19 am

Domejandro wrote:
grumpysaddle wrote:
Domejandro wrote:Popping in, does anybody have access to Phoenix games from last season? I need videos of the games for a project/research on social networks that I am conducting. Thanks!

Pretty sure you can watch all the games from previous seasons with a League Pass sub.

Interesting that they returned that for the American version, I thought it got cut in 2018. Cheers, appreciate the info!

I could be wrong. I haven't tried to watch old games in a while. Don't quote me on it. But I'm pretty sure you still can. I think there's also a way to watch short clips of most things that are stat tracked. At least there used to be. Somewhere in the play by play.