blkexec wrote:What’s wrong with our defense? Before it was:

What’s wrong with our offense?

The answers to both is simple.

1. We have bad defensive players at two of the most critical positions in basketball. The 1 and 5. Think about it. Thibs took this team far with Elf and Mitch. Two defensive minded downhill players with bully ball downhill Randle and a defensive minded coach to match. Elf, Mitch, Randle, RJ (and others who are no longer here) play at the rim. Thats synergy between coach and roster.

2. This current roster has offensive minded jump shooting players at the 1 and 5. Even worse, majority of the roster are jump shooting players. Build an offense around jump shooters, you get offensive inconsistency play. This roster would needs the best and most consistent jump shooters or a mix of downhill players. The key is will Thibs play them or continue to lean on his high profile starters. Which I understand. But it’s still a problem and it’s a mis-match. Can’t assume a definitive minded coach can get the most out of an inconsistent jump shooting offensive minded team.
That’s a mis-match.

If our jumpers ain’t falling. And we allows their jumpers to fall. We lose. I don’t care who we play.

OG and Mitch coming back will help but also hurt. They will come back and we will start winning games and Thibs will get all the glory. Leon will be praised. But that only mask the heart of the problem.

Roster missing a few key players. Leon has work to do to find key players that improves the team and Thibs will play. That’s a tuff balancing act.

1) Yes. True. Has nothing to do with the problems on Defense I pointed out. Even with 2 bad defensive players you can still box out and you can still run out to the 3 point shooters. No excuse.

2)Yes. True. Not sure why you are taking about our offense in this thread. I created a separate one for that. Even jump shooting players can box out and run out to the 3 point shooters.

Look, we might not be able to become elite defensively. However, until we solve the two things I addressed, I believe we will continue to be very inconsistent on d. And we are not going far in the playoffs.
I am not asking anyone on the team to become a second coming of Gary Payton or Bruce Bowen or whoever. But boxing out is basic basketball, so is not looking with puppy eyes at opponents letting it fly from 3 point land instead of closing out on them

ramtour420 wrote:In the last minutes of the 1st quarter against a .500 Hawks team, the Hawks got 6 offensive rebounds in one possession. 6 offensive rebounds in one damn possession. F-#king 6 motherf@$king rebounds in one possession. WTF. We are not winning jack diddly squat if we don't box out better as a team. This is a fkin joke. Atlanta Hawks who don't have any players that are good at rebounds to speak of( Capella did not play) this is just stupid.

Yeah that was pretty bad. They got a lot of rebounds on that possession. Like 4 or 5, right?

ramtour420 wrote:

ToddTT wrote:

ramtour420 wrote:In the last minutes of the 1st quarter against a .500 Hawks team, the Hawks got 6 offensive rebounds in one possession. 6 offensive rebounds in one damn possession. F-#king 6 motherf@$king rebounds in one possession. WTF. We are not winning jack diddly squat if we don't box out better as a team. This is a fkin joke. Atlanta Hawks who don't have any players that are good at rebounds to speak of( Capella did not play) this is just stupid.

Yeah that was pretty bad. They got a lot of rebounds on that possession. Like 4 or 5, right?

I counted 6. But then again, I was blinded by the ineptitude that our players showed, so it's possible that I was negatively biased.

To be fair, they were also 6 of the WORST close range shots I've ever seen. Air balls and clings. So maybe they were just coming off weirdly? I dunno...