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Okur Update

One Brow said:
Who are the centers that play good transition defense?



30 teams, say 2.5 centers per team, 75 centers. Is Okur in the top 8? Maybe not.



I disagree about Bynum (injures), O'Neal (now even slower than Okur), Lee (undersized), Robin Lopez (I have seen no evidence of an offensive game), and Camby (older and more often injured). Still, that's 9 I agree about, and there are probably a couple more (Perkins, maybe Milcic).
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Howard, Noah, Bogut (if he is healthy), Bynum (when healthy) I would agree are centers I would rather see on my team. Pau Gasol is not a center, at least he could not be a starting center who averages 30-35 minutes at the position on a contending team which the Jazz are. Al Jefferson is also not a full time center. Lee might not be a big enough power forward on a contending team yet alone a center. Shaq is way past his prime. Kaman, Marc Gasol, Yao with a healthy Okur are all in the same ball park. Camby is like Boozer always in a suit, the Lopez twins I don't know I guess you could take a chance on one of them based on potential but I've seen twins from Stanford before and its not a pretty sight.
 
On the offensive end I think the Okur/Al combo will be devastating. This is the type of scenario that Okur was made for. You have a beast down low that demands a double/triple team with your big man out at the 3 line. Either the opponent has to commit to putting their 2 biggest defenders on Al leaving Okur wide open or they pull their 5 out to guard Okur leaving Al with a single defender or try and double him with a 4 and a much smaller 3 (or 2). In this situation I think Okur will be more than capable of contributing. That said, it will likely be a defensive nightmare at the other end of the court.
 
Ohhh, you realised that Lee and Shaq are nothing on defense. You are inconsistent with what you're trying to say... Robin Lopez??? Really? Just because he's athletic, young and ONLY plays defense. It's just stupid to compare multidimensional players to one-dimensional role scrubs. Can you imagine him or lots of those players on your list taking the game over? I HAVE NOT SEEN many of them doing it. Some of players on your list have a lot to prove to be reliable players who the coach trust and put on the court at the end of games. Nice try.
 
memo is money said:
Ohhh, you realised that Lee and Shaq are nothing on defense. You are inconsistent with what you're trying to say... Robin Lopez??? Really? Just because he's athletic, young and ONLY plays defense. It's just stupid to compare multidimensional players to one-dimensional role scrubs. Can you imagine him or lots of those players on your list taking the game over? I HAVE NOT SEEN many of them doing it. Some of players on your list have a lot to prove to be reliable players who the coach trust and put on the court at the end of games. Nice try.
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I'd rather have a center who can play D 100% of the time than a center who plays D 0% of the time, is inefficient on O, can't do anything in the playoffs, and makes $11 million.
 
Lopez only plays defense? He's 22 and in less than 20 minutes per game last year, he averaged 8.4 ppg on 58.8% from the floor. Hardly an offensive scrub considering his little playing time and being the 4th or 5th option most times he's on the court. In fact, those numbers are nearly identical to Okur's second season on a per minute basis. Throw in Lopez' 4.9 rpg and 1.0 blocks per game, his age, his defensive ability, awareness and desire, and I'd take him eight days a week over Okur. Don't get me wrong. He's far from perfect. But he's a lot more of what we need than Memo and I think on his way to being a more complete center, if he's not already.
 
Good or bad Okur is on the Jazz plus I hate to see someone injured that can drain a clutch three pointer when it's needed. He may not be the absolute best in a lot of ways but he is clutch no doubt.

Get well Memo.
 
Im going to buy a couple cases of "Milk of Magnisuim" and send it to half the board, because you all are full of *****.

Memo is a previous all-star and a clutch player. Yes he's gotten older and he's slower but he is still a very high quality big man. Not to mention he is comming off the bench. His shooting game will be much more complimentary to the more conventional post player: Al Jefferson. Okur has never been a great help defender which is where most centers blocks come from, but his man to man defense is better then average. He uses his size well and has good hands for strips at the ball. You dont see many player able to hold Yao on the block but Okur is one of those players.

Drink Up boys you will feel lighter in the morning.
 
Marty McFly said:
I'd rather have a center who can play D 100% of the time than a center who plays D 0% of the time, is inefficient on O, can't do anything in the playoffs, and makes $11 million.
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i was curious how Okur has played in the playoffs.

2008
playoffs: 16.3 PER
season: 15.2 PER

2007
playoffs: 13.9 PER
season: 18.1 PER

the 2007 numbers are skewed by the Spurs series, in which he definitely sucked. he played just fine in the other two series.
 
What a shame that the Jazz have a player like Memo. What kind of player would injure himself in a playoff while going through pains and knowing that there is a risk for a bigger injury. He is such a loser that he did not even go to his home country during summer just to continue his rehab. Come on man, you have a guaranteed contract; nothing will happen if you come back few months late.

Memo has flaws as a player but he is a very serious professional with a "team first mentality". All the reports show that he is in better shape than expected and hopefully he will be back shortly.
 
KrazeeEyezKilla said:
Lopez only plays defense? He's 22 and in less than 20 minutes per game last year, he averaged 8.4 ppg on 58.8% from the floor. Hardly an offensive scrub considering his little playing time and being the 4th or 5th option most times he's on the court. In fact, those numbers are nearly identical to Okur's second season on a per minute basis. Throw in Lopez' 4.9 rpg and 1.0 blocks per game, his age, his defensive ability, awareness and desire, and I'd take him eight days a week over Okur. Don't get me wrong. He's far from perfect. But he's a lot more of what we need than Memo and I think on his way to being a more complete center, if he's not already.
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Any basketball fan with little basketball mind and watching experience could predict that Suns system gives you opportunity to score EASYYY points. That's a proven fact. Uptempo, score first, "7 seconds or less" approach, all of them leads to this. Have you watched Suns since they got Lopez or did you follow him in his college years? I have not seen him making impressive moves or dominating the game somehow or taking over a game. He has never been a player to rely on, go to. hustle on the rebs, run, help Nash and Amar'e to find room for pick'n roll and that's it. Unlike his brother, Brook, Robin does not have polished, reliable scoring talents that are necessary for him to be complete player, or even more complete than Okur - who's by far the most versatile center on offensive end, IMO. Robin Lopez scores dunks, layups thanks to being able to run the floor effectively and the connection he builds with the great facilitator Nash on the court - which are exactly what a player needs to do in order to play in Suns system. Would your team give respect to and take precautions in the game plan against Robin Lpez, Okafor, Chandler, Biedrins, Camby, Perkins etc.? If they were the players who takes big responsibilty on their teams' on court execution, teams would EASILY stop them. They are not even 3rd or 4th options. Give me a breakkk... And somebody tells me that "that's what a frontcourt player is supposed to do". NO. Basketball is DEFENSE + OFFENSE. Both need talent + dedication + effort. I'm not arguing that Mehmet is a solid defender. However, he is much better player than most of centers in the league, overally. Besides, his post defense is at least as efficient as any of players I mentioned above + that are called centers in the league.
 
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