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Eric Paschall is not who I thought he was

He sets big wide screens and he may not finish like Harrell but he can catch and maneuver or make good passes. He can also pop and hit mid range shots. If the defense holds I think he'd be great based on the small sample I've watched.

Donovan and JC have been better on defense. They have to be better if we are going to win at the highest levels anyway. We need to experiment with different looks. If Quin doesn't dabble with it then he's too rigid to coach a champion.

He's honestly not that far off as a finisher than Harrell and he's never gotten the opportunity to play the 5 on spaced floor with talent around him. Paschall is a beast inside and I have no doubts he would kill it offensively. His mid range game is a nice counter that is more than good enough to make defenses honest.

HOU got wrecked last night, but you can tell they're a team that's more practiced at switching than us and it disrupted us at times. When they preswitch or cross switch off the ball it's actually pretty tough to score on them even though they have crappy defenders. I'm seeing a lot of this around the league. CLE can guard no one on the ball with a terrible defensive backcourt and three 7 footers, but they do a good job with their switching on and off the ball to mitigate their shortcomings and utilize their strengths. Mobley is freaking everywhere and it's because they are making sure he gets involved in every action so he can defend it.

Another popular thing I'm seeing across the league is random doubling just to disrupt flow and eat some clock. The T-Wolves (another team with less than stellar defensive talent) are really aggressive doubling and not just trapping a PnR....but also when a guy is getting ready to iso or setting up a play. Doubling when they don't expect it can really throw off rhythm and timing.

I'd like to see us get to a level where we can use tricks and smoke and mirrors to be more versatile on defense without the best personnel.
 
I thought the same last year. I am not going to be fooled again, lol.

RE: Paschall. Defensively, if teams involve him on the PnR, he is probably going to struggle. He has some freedom now with Gobert behind him and he is profitting off that. What happens without him?
Offensively, I don't think he has the skillset to pop from 3. He has a push shot and a little more variety around the rim. I agree that he is a willing passer but I doubt he will have the gravity to pull guys towards him and open up a teammate. I just don't think he will be impactful consistently.

May be I soured a little bit on basketball and it's affecting my thoughts.
I think there are things he can do. If he is the 5 going against a traditional 5 that is dropping then he has time to get to the three point line and set himself. If you get the switch and its Jamychal Green type the guards can drive on the mismatch and he can hit the glass. I think he can also post up a little if they want to do that. He is good in the midrange and I share your doubts on his three point shot... I just think he's skilled enough to hurt teams in multiple ways.

Defensively if you switch screens I think he's quick enough to survive. If you play him with Rudy Gay or Royce then you have some additional rebounding to help out. It might not be something you want to do for 20 minutes a night but might buy some time for 10 minutes on some nights and disrupt the other teams offensive rhythm.
 
I thought the same last year. I am not going to be fooled again, lol.

RE: Paschall. Defensively, if teams involve him on the PnR, he is probably going to struggle. He has some freedom now with Gobert behind him and he is profitting off that. What happens without him?
Offensively, I don't think he has the skillset to pop from 3. He has a push shot and a little more variety around the rim. I agree that he is a willing passer but I doubt he will have the gravity to pull guys towards him and open up a teammate. I just don't think he will be impactful consistently.

May be I soured a little bit on basketball and it's affecting my thoughts.
I think Paschall becomes the guy you put in when you need someone roughed up. Who thought he might be our perimeter defender. Is he the 3 and D guy we need from time to time? Might be. But he shouldn't be in long enough to get exposed on D other than to do what he did to Barton and spend some time stifling someone and disrupting their rhythm. Then he sits down again. Could be very effective this way, if he can consistently deliver on this.
 
He's honestly not that far off as a finisher than Harrell and he's never gotten the opportunity to play the 5 on spaced floor with talent around him. Paschall is a beast inside and I have no doubts he would kill it offensively. His mid range game is a nice counter that is more than good enough to make defenses honest.

HOU got wrecked last night, but you can tell they're a team that's more practiced at switching than us and it disrupted us at times. When they preswitch or cross switch off the ball it's actually pretty tough to score on them even though they have crappy defenders. I'm seeing a lot of this around the league. CLE can guard no one on the ball with a terrible defensive backcourt and three 7 footers, but they do a good job with their switching on and off the ball to mitigate their shortcomings and utilize their strengths. Mobley is freaking everywhere and it's because they are making sure he gets involved in every action so he can defend it.

Another popular thing I'm seeing across the league is random doubling just to disrupt flow and eat some clock. The T-Wolves (another team with less than stellar defensive talent) are really aggressive doubling and not just trapping a PnR....but also when a guy is getting ready to iso or setting up a play. Doubling when they don't expect it can really throw off rhythm and timing.

I'd like to see us get to a level where we can use tricks and smoke and mirrors to be more versatile on defense without the best personnel.
Isn't preswitching just running a zone? We have always seemed to struggle against a good zone.
 
Playing next to Draymond Green probably helped him develop his defense and ball movement. He's fitting in nicely.

Warriors were dying for him to be this type of player, but he couldn't. That's why they benched him and eventually dumped him. I think that was a good wakeup call for him.
 
How are we feeling about Paschall 8 games in? He had a hot start shooting from 3, but that's come down to earth. Defense has been up and down from my perspective but some thing he's been amazing.

I love how he's been crashing the boards on offense. That's pretty much his only way of getting involved but he's doing a good job. I still think his role is kind of funky for him, but I continue to be impressed with his skillset. If we're going to roll with Forrest when Mitchell/Conley out I think we should tap into EP as more of a scorer.
 
He has some holes in his game, but Paschall brings a combination of size, energy and athleticism we've sorely lacked in the past. Picking him up for basically nothing was a terrific move.
 
I’m loving the pickup. Besides the defense and rebounding, he’s been a great facilitator, which is quite important for our offense.
 
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