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Georges Niang is a Good Defensive Player?

I think he has made huge strides in his defense and defensive effort.

That being said, I recall David Locke talking about this and saying that one of the things Quin has adjusted this season, is trying to get the bench unit more minutes with Gobert on the floor with them. So, Niang's minutes playing alongside Gobert have gone up a bit, while Bogdanovic's minutes alongside Rudy have decreased.

Basically, the Jazz REALLY need 2 Goberts in order for this team to be 100% lethal. I think that's a big part of why Udoka was their 1st draft pick.
 
He's definitely been to the Joe Ingles school of defensive positioning and his effort to recover on missed rotations is better than ever.
 
He's noticeably improved, but let's not forget that he's playing nearly all of his minutes with Gobert now and he wasn't last year.
 
Niang is now a good team defender who fits our defensive scheme perfectly with his minivan body. He is bulkier than most players in his position which allows him to stonewall those guys when he gets up close. His one major weakness on D is his lateral speed but the presence of Rudy simply allows him to close in on his opponent without the worry of getting blown by. It's almost if he is made perfectly for our funneling to the big system. He may get a bigger offer from somewhere else in the summer, but it'd be smart for him to stay.
His lateral quickness has been great. He packs length to be disruptive but usually is in the right spot and keeps his guy in front... sometimes they just shoot over him... it’s kind of like Neto but to a much lesser extreme.

The last month or so I am more confident in Niang when he’s on the floor than I am with Bojan.

The issue with defense isn’t with Niang... it’s that we don’t have any disruptive guys on the perimeter. That’s not his job but we need to mix a guy that can do that in the rotation imo.
 
I’m proud to be the only consistent camper on Niang Island. Some of you have come back and spoiled my view.
I helped develop the island but panic sold many of my prime properties... damn these paper hands.
 
His lateral quickness has been great. He packs length to be disruptive but usually is in the right spot and keeps his guy in front... sometimes they just shoot over him... it’s kind of like Neto but to a much lesser extreme.

The last month or so I am more confident in Niang when he’s on the floor than I am with Bojan.

The issue with defense isn’t with Niang... it’s that we don’t have any disruptive guys on the perimeter. That’s not his job but we need to mix a guy that can do that in the rotation imo.
It really isn't his lateral quickness that kept his guys in front though. It's really Rudy who simply cut off the driving lane behind that gives the opponents a hard time. That's called the Gobert effect and it makes his teammates at least 30% more effective on the perimeter defensively than they were in an open court environment.

But like you said, if the opponents were to neutralize Rudy and forced him out of his position, we become really vulnerable simply due to the lack of pure perimeter defenders.

Or instead of driving to the lane to challenge rudy, guys like Paul, Curry and Harden who just beat you off the dribble and shoot over you that's also where you need perimeter defenders to make life a bit difficult for them.
 
It really isn't his lateral quickness that kept his guys in front though. It's really Rudy who simply cut off the driving lane behind that gives the opponents a hard time. That's called the Gobert effect and it makes his teammates at least 30% more effective on the perimeter defensively than they were in an open court environment.

But like you said, if the opponents were to neutralize Rudy and forced him out of his position, we become really vulnerable simply due to the lack of pure perimeter defenders.

Or instead of driving to the lane to challenge rudy, guys like Paul, Curry and Harden who just beat you off the dribble and shoot over you that's also where you need perimeter defenders to make life a bit difficult for them.
Nah, it/s the lateral quickness. Of course we arent asking Niang to guard stars, but he's the one keeping people in front. Gobert doesnt do that. Plenty of Jazz defenders have been blown by with Gobert on the court.
 
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