Improving Our Interior Defense

[K F Jay]

There were enough times throughout the season where Thompson and Hawes looked especially good on defense. Especially at the end of the season. Not so much individually but in help defense. At times (very few) Hawes looked like a good shotblocking big and Thompson an all around good defender. But both were inconsistent. I think the coaching staff was stressing defense and they worked hard and showed slight improvements. I think they can become good defenders but still have a lot of work to do. I think the main weaknesses are man defense and not having an intimidating shotblocker. Can either Hawes and/or Thompson be that guy? If we draft Favors or Cousins how will they improve our defense? What if we draft Turner or Wall? Do we sign/trade a FA/for a player who is a good interior defender or let Hawes and Thompson continue to develop? If we do get an interior defender what abilities does he need to have that is a good fit? What about Brockman? He's been a good rebounder, tough defender and a fan favorite. We can't just eliminate him out of the rotation can we? I think what our team needs is a young 6'10", 6'11"+ who can do it all on defense. I know its hard to find one but whoever is the closest to that is who I think we should be going after.

 

[bajaden]

There were enough times throughout the season where Thompson and Hawes looked especially good on defense. Especially at the end of the season. Not so much individually but in help defense. At times (very few) Hawes looked like a good shotblocking big and Thompson an all around good defender. But both were inconsistent. I think the coaching staff was stressing defense and they worked hard and showed slight improvements. I think they can become good defenders but still have a lot of work to do. I think the main weaknesses are man defense and not having an intimidating shotblocker. Can either Hawes and/or Thompson be that guy? If we draft Favors or Cousins how will they improve our defense? What if we draft Turner or Wall? Do we sign/trade a FA/for a player who is a good interior defender or let Hawes and Thompson continue to develop? If we do get an interior defender what abilities does he need to have that is a good fit? What about Brockman? He's been a good rebounder, tough defender and a fan favorite. We can't just eliminate him out of the rotation can we? I think what our team needs is a young 6'10", 6'11"+ who can do it all on defense. I know its hard to find one but whoever is the closest to that is who I think we should be going after.

First off, no, I don't think either Hawes or Thompson will ever be a premier shotblocker. Of the two, I would put my money on Thompson to be the better of the two simply because he works harder. But shotblocking in general is a natural ability. I think you can get better by working on your technique and studying film of your opponents. Which means that if you were blocking 0.8 shots a game your first year in the league, you can probably get your average up to 1.5 to 1.8 blocks a game by year 4. Thats if your a good athlete and put in the work.

Great shotblockers tend to be very good athletes that are tall and long, and are quick jumpers. They also have great hand to eye coordination and great reflexes. The last addition is great instincts. And no, all great athletes don't have all these attributes. Athletes come in different sizes and packages. You can have an athlete with great end to end court speed and he can also have poor lateral movement ability. It all depends on how your hips are put together.

So as how to fix the problem of interior defense. Well its not a simple fix. Great interior defenders don't grow on tree's. The problem is that basketball is a sport where you have to play both ends of the court. If your a great defender on one end, you have to be able to contribute in some way at the other end. Otherwise you end up playing 4 on 5 on the offensive end of the floor. Which usually means that they'll drop off the defensive player and double your best offensive player. You can get away with it for a few minutes here and there, but not for a whole game.

You can comprimise though. Lets say the Kings draft DeMarcus Cousins. I wouldn't call him a potential big time shotblocker, but I do think he can be a very good man defender. Holding position on defense and being a very tall defender to shoot over with his 7'6" wingspan. If you can put a good weakside shotblocker on the floor with him, like a Varnado, then I think your interior defense improves dramaticly. I think even JT could be a good weakside help defender. Anyway, I'm not endorsing any of these players as should or should nots. Just an example... Or we could just go and trade for Dwight Howard. Or we draft Derrick Favors and he turns into the next Dwight Howard. Or we can wait for the Tooth Fairy..

 

[Chupacabra]

If LA can trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol then why in the hell cant the Kings just trade Spencer Hawes for Dwight Howard? Howard would solve our defensive needs pretty well.

 

[Nighthawk1]

First off, no, I don't think either Hawes or Thompson will ever be a premier shotblocker. Of the two, I would put my money on Thompson to be the better of the two simply because he works harder. But shotblocking in general is a natural ability. I think you can get better by working on your technique and studying film of your opponents. Which means that if you were blocking 0.8 shots a game your first year in the league, you can probably get your average up to 1.5 to 1.8 blocks a game by year 4. Thats if your a good athlete and put in the work.

Great shotblockers tend to be very good athletes that are tall and long, and are quick jumpers. They also have great hand to eye coordination and great reflexes. The last addition is great instincts. And no, all great athletes don't have all these attributes. Athletes come in different sizes and packages. You can have an athlete with great end to end court speed and he can also have poor lateral movement ability. It all depends on how your hips are put together.

So as how to fix the problem of interior defense. Well its not a simple fix. Great interior defenders don't grow on tree's. The problem is that basketball is a sport where you have to play both ends of the court. If your a great defender on one end, you have to be able to contribute in some way at the other end. Otherwise you end up playing 4 on 5 on the offensive end of the floor. Which usually means that they'll drop off the defensive player and double your best offensive player. You can get away with it for a few minutes here and there, but not for a whole game.

You can comprimise though. Lets say the Kings draft DeMarcus Cousins. I wouldn't call him a potential big time shotblocker, but I do think he can be a very good man defender. Holding position on defense and being a very tall defender to shoot over with his 7'6" wingspan. If you can put a good weakside shotblocker on the floor with him, like a Varnado, then I think your interior defense improves dramaticly. I think even JT could be a good weakside help defender. Anyway, I'm not endorsing any of these players as should or should nots. Just an example... Or we could just go and trade for Dwight Howard. Or we draft Derrick Favors and he turns into the next Dwight Howard. Or we can wait for the Tooth Fairy..

Bingo. There is a reason why our interior defense got better once Landry came to play. He's not the shot blocking threat that Hawes or JT are when they're on but he doesn't get muscled around inside the paint unlike JT and Hawes. I admit JT and Hawes are works in progress and they could be pretty servicable interior defenders but at this point they are not that. This is what makes Cousins and Favors very attractive to me, I don't believe either will get bullied in the paint.

 

[bajaden]

If LA can trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol then why in the hell cant the Kings just trade Spencer Hawes for Dwight Howard? Howard would solve our defensive needs pretty well.

I'll make the call. Shouldn't be a problem.

 

[dbfish]

If LA can trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol then why in the hell cant the Kings just trade Spencer Hawes for Dwight Howard? Howard would solve our defensive needs pretty well.

Wrong zip code? If we were 90210 it would be a done deal.