Summer league hoops

[ChrisperJ10]

I actually thought Mario Hezonja was going to be good…

 

[Stakesarehigh]

Not sure how legit, lol. Okafor was always going to be a horrible defender and slow, not exactly selling points for an NBA big.

Tell the Sixers that seeing as they drafted him 3rd lol

 

[Stakesarehigh]

A lot of LA fans went crazy because they took Russell over Okafor. Keyboard GMs are the worst.

Yep they sure did

 

[logic]

There are a ton of guys in league history who could score but not defend great. They almost always stick because scoring isn't a leaenable skill . Defense is. Brook Lopez went from a huge defensive liability to a solid defender ( for example) but he never was 9n danger of not having a job because stretch 6s who rebound aren't too common

Man, I agree with you that Garza has looked great in the summer league. Way past expectations and great for the 51st pick. BUT remember it is summer league and not the show. He's earned himself a place on the bench, but he'll have to continue to show he blongs there by moving his feet on D.

 

[rmilia1]

Man, I agree with you that Garza has looked great in the summer league. Way past expectations and great for the 51st pick. BUT remember it is summer league and not the show. He's earned himself a place on the bench, but he'll have to continue to show he blongs there by moving his feet on D.

Totally. My point is defense is easily the most learnable skill. Bad defenders become mediocre all the time . Bad scorers dobt become mediocre scorers .


I'm not saying it's a lock I'm just saying if a guy is willing to bust his ass he's got a real good shot

 

[logic]

Totally. My point is defense is easily the most learnable skill. Bad defenders become mediocre all the time . Bad scorers dobt become mediocre scorers .


I'm not saying it's a lock I'm just saying if a guy is willing to bust his ass he's got a real good shot

I disagree with you. Defense is about effort. Garza already puts in the effort. HE just doesn't ahve the athletic abitlity. He'll always be limited on that side of the ball, but he can be a great role player and hustle guy for many years.

 

[rmilia1]

I disagree with you. Defense is about effort. Garza already puts in the effort. HE just doesn't ahve the athletic abitlity. He'll always be limited on that side of the ball, but he can be a great role player and hustle guy for many years.

Defense is effort bit it's also intelligence. Learning how to cover your weaknesses and how best to play certain plays. That comes with experience

 

[Stakesarehigh]

In the more half court oriented NBA Garza would be fine

The mass pick and roll is a direct result of allowing zone defenses.

 

[logic]

In the more half court oriented NBA Garza would be fine

The mass pick and roll is a direct result of allowing zone defenses.

I don't know about that. One off ball screen and he is going to be exploited.

 

[logic]

Defense is effort bit it's also intelligence. Learning how to cover your weaknesses and how best to play certain plays. That comes with experience

To some extent, but most bad defenders coming in are just bad defenders. He's just not the fastest guy. He is clearly working on it, and I'm amazed at how much better he is and that he was able to drop that weight so quickly. IT shows his desire to make it, and I'm pulling for him (as long as he's a Piston). I hope he can improve on D, but I'll be happy if he can provide a energy and points off the bench. Not everyone can do everything.

 

[rmilia1]

To some extent, but most bad defenders coming in are just bad defenders. He's just not the fastest guy. He is clearly working on it, and I'm amazed at how much better he is and that he was able to drop that weight so quickly. IT shows his desire to make it, and I'm pulling for him (as long as he's a Piston). I hope he can improve on D, but I'll be happy if he can provide a energy and points off the bench. Not everyone can do everything.

Truth..in fact most can't lol

 

[tlance]

Defense is effort bit it's also intelligence. Learning how to cover your weaknesses and how best to play certain plays. That comes with experience

Garza is already a smart defender though.

He can’t move his feet.

That isn’t going to change.

 

[shopson67]

Tell the Sixers that seeing as they drafted him 3rd lol

Not a lot of impact players drafted after 3rd though. Booker and....?

 

[shopson67]

Totally. My point is defense is easily the most learnable skill. Bad defenders become mediocre all the time . Bad scorers dobt become mediocre scorers .


I'm not saying it's a lock I'm just saying if a guy is willing to bust his ass he's got a real good shot

In the case of Okafor, you can't learn enough agility to overcome his physical limitations.

 

[rmilia1]

In the case of Okafor, you can't learn enough agility to overcome his physical limitations.

Yeah there's a difference between mediocre offensive players who can't play D and good to very good offensive players who can't play D though

Okafor is just not good enough on offense to compensate for his defensive deficiencies

 

[tlance]

Yeah there's a difference between mediocre offensive players who can't play D and good to very good offensive players who can't play D though

Okafor is just not good enough on offense to compensate for his defensive deficiencies

Okafor is pretty good offensively.

For his career his per 36 is 19 and 9 on 54% shooting.

And he has even had stretches where he has gotten those minutes in games for a couple weeks at a time.

I think you are underestimating the importance of a big man in today’s game being able to move their feet defensively.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

Not a lot of impact players drafted after 3rd though. Booker and....?

There's at least a dozen players who have had much better nba careers than Okafor

 

[shopson67]

There's at least a dozen players who have had much better nba careers than Okafor

Faint praise though. How many are worthy of the 3rd overall pick? I only see 4 starters in 2021 from that draft beyond the top 2 picks: Porzingis, Booker, Rozier, and Turner. Hell, half the second round never even played in the NBA. What an awful draft class.