[Game] Bulls vs. Kings
- Thread starter Kingster
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Yep. Floor spacing is absolutely crucial with a dominant post player like Cousins. While the Magic failed to get Dwight any real help, they had the right idea of surrounding him with a plethora of lethal shooters. Reke's jumper turned his night from a pretty good one into a great night. Having that jummper is the difference of him being a 20-5-5 player and a 14-5-5 player.
It's really kind of scary/funny how much Reke's jumper can affect this team. If he's hitting 18-20 foot jumpers all day, then his man cannot afford to give him space. Reke, being an elite penetrator, then has an easier path to the rim which allows him to excel at creating for himself or others. Eventually, defenses will have to provide more help defense when he has the ball to slow down his penetration which in turn opens up the paint for Cousins and others.
Tonight's game was a perfect example of what kind of player Reke can be. He still needs to work on being more aggressive, but his defensive effort tonight was the best it's been his entire career. He has the size, strength, and speed to shut down any perimeter player sans Durant and LeBron if he brings the same defensive focus every game as he had tonight.
It's really kind of scary/funny how much Reke's jumper can affect this team. If he's hitting 18-20 foot jumpers all day, then his man cannot afford to give him space. Reke, being an elite penetrator, then has an easier path to the rim which allows him to excel at creating for himself or others. Eventually, defenses will have to provide more help defense when he has the ball to slow down his penetration which in turn opens up the paint for Cousins and others.
Tonight's game was a perfect example of what kind of player Reke can be. He still needs to work on being more aggressive, but his defensive effort tonight was the best it's been his entire career. He has the size, strength, and speed to shut down any perimeter player sans Durant and LeBron if he brings the same defensive focus every game as he had tonight.
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Here's the problem though - if you expect that sort of defensive effort from Tyreke every night then you also have to make sure that he doesn't have to work too hard to get his points/ help the team score. No elite player can or has ever sustained that kind of defensive effort throughout 82 games while also being a major offensive player. It's very, very physically demanding to do so, especially when you consider how Evans plays on offense.
Tyreke can guard some SFs, but it certainly takes up a lot more energy than guarding guards. Tyreke did a great job but you could see how much energy he had to expend to keep Deng, who has a good 3+ inches on him, from establishing position.
Tyreke can guard some SFs, but it certainly takes up a lot more energy than guarding guards. Tyreke did a great job but you could see how much energy he had to expend to keep Deng, who has a good 3+ inches on him, from establishing position.
I think Tyreke, like everybody else on this team, needs to bring it every single night on defense. I don't buy the elite crap. Just go out there and play your a$$ off on defense. If coach has to reduce the minutes because you're tired, so be it. Everybody has to buy in to playing all out on defense, especially Tyreke, because Tyreke is the most gifted defensive talent we have on this team.
I would agree with you, only I don't know who's going to score for us if that were the case. I can't think of any team that has ever made it far into the playoffs where the best players give a 100% on defense every night and the coach has to reduce their minutes as a result of it. You play with that kind of intensity every night and halfway through the season you won't even be able to run despite being able to force turnovers. Saying that a guy has to play defense till he's drop-dead tired or have his coach reduce his minutes just so he can go all out on defense is unrealistic if you ask me. All good teams pace their best players.
Now guys like Chuck Hayes/JJ on the other hand? Defense is the only reason why they're out there, so they should be bringing it every night. They aren't the ones who are the focal points of the offense.
i think a more realistic expectation is for Tyreke to play generally good and smart D, and lock down the other team's best perimeter player if necessary. No defensive lapses, but he doesn't have to shut down every single guy he's guarding either.
Now guys like Chuck Hayes/JJ on the other hand? Defense is the only reason why they're out there, so they should be bringing it every night. They aren't the ones who are the focal points of the offense.
i think a more realistic expectation is for Tyreke to play generally good and smart D, and lock down the other team's best perimeter player if necessary. No defensive lapses, but he doesn't have to shut down every single guy he's guarding either.
Tyreke is a very versatile and athletic player and thus deserves to be the face of the franchise along with a hopefully soon mature Cousins! I hope he gets at least a 4 year $12M/yr contract!
I live in Chicago and haven't watched many Kings game and happy Tyreke had a good game! I wish Cousins did better but he needs to stay focused and not let things get to him so bad so he is in sulk mode and lose his focus!
I live in Chicago and haven't watched many Kings game and happy Tyreke had a good game! I wish Cousins did better but he needs to stay focused and not let things get to him so bad so he is in sulk mode and lose his focus!
This team has plenty of scorers: Cousins, Thornton, Brooks, IT, as well as Tyreke. This team has depth. I am not remotely concerned with fatigue of Tyreke or any other player being the reason they don't make the playoffs. Chicago plays with defensive intensity every night and they do just fine. So does Boston. So does Philly. And ALL their players play D hard virtually every night, even the geriatric crowd in Boston. Even the truly elite. The last thing we should concerned about, and I mean LAST is curtailing defensive effort because they will wither on the offensive side. What we should be concerned about is whether this team can sustain very good defensive performances for three games, five games, ten games, or twenty games. This team has not been motivated or focused or remotely concerned with defense for years now. Now is the time to put the foot down and play defense like it's their religion, not a belief they can cast off after a few games because it's too hard.
Bullspittle. You don't see LeBron, Kobe, Wade, or any of the elite 2-way perimeter players taking it easy on the defensive end just because they have to carry the offensive load as well. The defensive focus we saw from him last night is exactly what puts LeBron, Kobe, Wade, Westbrook into an elite category. The game he played is EXACTLY what we need to expect from him on a nightly basis if he is to be our franchise player. Cousins, IT, Brooks, Thornton can all put up points with the best of them; what those guys can't do is what Reke did defensively on Rip and Deng last night.
+1
Michael Jordan had 9 All-Defensive First Team Selections to go along with 10 scoring titles and was even the Defensive Player of the Year for the 1987-1988 season. Yes, players need to learn how to pace themselves and how to best conserve energy when they can, but Tyreke absolutely should be a great two way player if he wants to move to the next level in his career.
Michael Jordan had 9 All-Defensive First Team Selections to go along with 10 scoring titles and was even the Defensive Player of the Year for the 1987-1988 season. Yes, players need to learn how to pace themselves and how to best conserve energy when they can, but Tyreke absolutely should be a great two way player if he wants to move to the next level in his career.
no non-defensive specialist defends as fast and hard as Reke was doing last night every game of the season. None of them. Now the elite guys are capable of it, and they crank it up for the playoffs etc. But its not a sustainable pace for a major offensive player over 82 games unless its basically all you are doing. Tony Allen can do it because that's his side of the ball and he doesn't have responsibilities on the other. I don't expect Reke to be that over the top feisty every single night. Kobe hasn't played a full regular season game at that pace in years and still gets bogus All Defensive team nominations every year. But just bringing it for a whole game like that is already a huge step forward. Once you prove you can do that, to yourself as much as anyone, then you can lay back just a little and turn it on when needed.
I expect Tyeke to wear himself out on defense. Just hang dog tired. Then he can sit a while until he gets rested and go out there and do the same thing all over again. What you guys don't get is that Tyreke barely even knows how to play 100% on defense. He's just getting an inkling of what it's really like to play 100% on D. I'm not remotely concerned right now with him being tired right now. It's like a ridiculous hypothetical at this point because we've seen ONE game now where he really plays D like he can and now we're all concerned because OMG he might get tired and be ineffective at the offensive end. If after 15-20 games of Tyreke playing 100% on D like I know he can he starts to look peeked out there, then yeah, dial it back a little. But like Smart said, he needs to learn what it even feels like to go 100% on D. Let's have the discussion after he learns that.