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Always go for defense?

Stifle Tower

Punch Bowl Re-Filler
We've had our share of players who are all about offense and play little or no defense. And by that, I mean both FA's and draft picks.

I think it's much easier to improve a player's offensive game and skills than it is to instill the attitude it takes to play effective defense. Now there are exceptions...AK could have been a complete player, but he got lazy after signing his contract and never really worked on his shooting or on his body. Brewer was limited by his elbow deformity.

What I'm really hoping to see in this draft is for KOC to select two of the best defenders at their positions. Jazz need some nastiness on the team. Favors is a good defender, but he's not vocal. I want to see attitude from the Jazz this season.

I'm still undecided at 3, but I'm leaning towards Kanter. And as much as I like Fredette, I'm secretly hoping Sacramento takes him. I want KOC to draft Singleton.
 
We've had our share of players who are all about offense and play little or no defense. And by that, I mean both FA's and draft picks.

I think it's much easier to improve a player's offensive game and skills than it is to instill the attitude it takes to play effective defense. Now there are exceptions...AK could have been a complete player, but he got lazy after signing his contract and never really worked on his shooting or on his body. Brewer was limited by his elbow deformity.

What I'm really hoping to see in this draft is for KOC to select two of the best defenders at their positions. Jazz need some nastiness on the team. Favors is a good defender, but he's not vocal. I want to see attitude from the Jazz this season.

I'm still undecided at 3, but I'm leaning towards Kanter. And as much as I like Fredette, I'm secretly hoping Sacramento takes him. I want KOC to draft Singleton.


We have also had guys who couldn't shoot and that also sucks. It's tough to get guys who can do both.
 
You want defense above all else so you're going for Kanter?
No, that's why I'm undecided at 3. At least we've heard Kanter supposedly has a good motor and is a good rebounder. His body fat percentage is impressive - means he didn't just sit around despite not being able to play at Kentucky. Maybe KOC will surprise us all and swing some kind of a trade. In the end, I expect him to go with Knight, though.

I just don't see much of an "attitude" on the Jazz. Sure, Millsap works hard, but I don't think he's that vocal. Raja just sucks, so I don't think he commands much respect from the end of the bench. And Jefferson isn't a leader. The "nastiest" player on the team might be the guy who looks like a choirboy. If I were KOC, I'd probably try to trade the #3 in a package for a tough, established veteran who could step in and provide leadership for the youngsters. I know, easier said than done.

I agree, trigg3r, having guys who can't shoot is not good. I'd much rather take a chance on a guy who is already a decent defender, though. The NBADL and Euro leagues are full of scorers who will never make it in the NBA because they can't or won't defend.
 
Hmmm.. good thread, but I don't know if we need to be "selecting two of the best defenders at their positions"

My personal feeling is that defense starts with the coach and having the players buy into the strategy and implement it properly.

I'm not a coach, but in my view defense is a team concept. You only had to look at the Jazz last year where we were up there in terms of block shots, but I don't think we can say that we were very good defensively. The Bulls were able to incorporate Boozer and Korver in their team last year and was very good defensively.

Mike Brown said it best in his Lakers press conference I think when he said:

"Offensively you have to tailor your offense to the personnel (you can't take your offense from team to team)"

"Defensively I think it's the opposite. I think you can take defense from team to team as long as you have effort and want from your group of guys"

3.00min mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF3bQ5JgO_Y

In summary, I think you need to have a coach who is committed to defense and has in place a good defensive strategy. Then you need your players to buy into that strategy and have want and effort to succeed defensively.
 
Knight at 3 and Biyombo at 12 can potentially be a good foundation for good defense. We need the coach to preach defense and have a scheme the whole team buys into.
 
Why don't we just bring back our defensive kings that we use to have that always were clutch for us? ...... Like Brewer? Oh wait, No.
 
Knight at 3 and Biyombo at 12 can potentially be a good foundation for good defense. We need the coach to preach defense and have a scheme the whole team buys into.


Forget potentially good - Knight and Singleton providing defense on the perimeter and Favors around the basket sounds darn good defensively to me. Knight and Singleton have shown they can contribute at both ends NOW.
 
There is ONE player in this draft that fits the description of what you're looking for and there are currently 4 or 5 threads where he's being discussed at the moment. I'll let you guess who that is.
 
I laugh that people think that Knight, Singleton, and Bismack are going to be great defenders. They haven't guarded one person in the NBA. I think we saw with Brewer what happens when you get a player that can't play well on offense. I doubt any teams drafts thinking, "man, we can teach that player how to play offense. "
 
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