Where is the defense from the guard position?

[Capt. Factorial]

I just don't think he's going to be a savior like what I've been reading since he's been drafted.

I just don't see where you're seeing this "savior" thing.

One of these guys has to be able to lock someone down....it's why I keep asking for McCallum as he looks like he's at least a good defender.

Not here.

Maybe we can expect McCallum to get some minutes once there is another trade. I was really expecting to see him yesterday against Curry/Thompson ... hopefully it's soon.

Or here.

I'm all for trading Vasquez at this point and playing McCallum. We need to prepare for the future and see if these guys can be NBA players.

Nope.

Based on the preseason, I thought that McCallum looked ready for early playing time, more than McLemore did. I still believe this is the case in terms of an all around skillset including defense. The "issue" getting in the way is that we have Vasquez.

At this point, I wish we only had McCallum and Thomas. Even though Thomas is better off the bench, go ahead and start him because he's the proven player and then give McCallum consistent time coming off the bench. It's not ideal with IT as the starter, but at the least it would be a way to get Ray some time, so we can really find out what he can do.

Still no "savior" talk going on. Just some folks who would like to see McCallum get a little playing time to see how he looks, or seeing that what we're doing isn't working and hoping we might try something else. There doesn't really seem to be any need to set up a "McCallum as savior" strawman here.

 

[The_Jamal]

I have no problem giving McCallum minutes, but one or both of IT and GV need to be gone before we do so. If I'm another team looking at possibly adding GV or IT to my roster, playing or starting a 2nd round pick over 2 established NBA PG's sends up huge red flags.

 

[Bricklayer]

I have no problem giving McCallum minutes, but one or both of IT and GV need to be gone before we do so. If I'm another team looking at possibly adding GV or IT to my roster, playing or starting a 2nd round pick over 2 established NBA PG's sends up huge red flags.

That's probably what we are thinking as well.

 

[bajaden]

Allow me to rephrase. IT is a very good offensive guard. He is among the most efficient scorers in the league. He is also a pretty bad defensive guard in most ways. For contrast, Avery Bradley is a very good defensive guard. He is a pretty bad offensive guard. If you asked me which I would rather have, I would say Isaiah Thomas every time. Bradley is going to limit the opposing point guard's ability to score and he is particularly adept at playing through picks and disrupting plays through ball pressure. The problem is that while Bradley may save you some points through defensive effort, he is costing you 10 points per game on offense. Douglas was largely the same, but had the advantage of hitting the occasional three pointer. Both of those guys can be valuable pieces and maybe starters as long as you have ball-dominant scorers at three other positions on the floor.

I like my defense to come from the wings and the middle. It's a bonus if you get good defense from the point guard, but I don't see it as being necessary as long as the rest of the team can defend well. Of course, there's a difference when you're talking just poor defense like Thomas or a defensive sieve like Vasquez. Thomas doesn't actively hurt the team on defense while Vasquez might as well not be on the floor.

I think you should have said that Thomas doesn't hurt the team on defense as badly as Vasquez, because in pick and roll defense, IT has problems at times. Too many times Thompson, Cousins, or Patterson do exactly what their supposed to do, up to a point, depending on what either Vasquez or IT do. If they don't fight through the screen, either under or over quickly enough, then the big can't do an adequate show. And that's what happens far too often, and once that happens, someone on the other team is now in the paint with the ball and everything starts to break down. Example. last night Curry left IT in the dust of a pick. Patterson tried to do a show, but couldn't leave his man because of IT. Curry turned the corner and headed to the basket. Thornton left Klay Thompson to stop the ball. Curry passed the ball to Thompson who is now coming down the left baseline. Cousins leaves Bogut to stop Thompson, and Thompson passes to Bogut who is now behind Cousins for a dunk.

All team defense starts on the perimeter, and right now, were getting killed there. You can acknowledge their deficencies, but you can't just excuse them.

 

[Glenn]

I just don't see where you're seeing this "savior" thing.



Not here.



Or here.



Nope.



Still no "savior" talk going on. Just some folks who would like to see McCallum get a little playing time to see how he looks, or seeing that what we're doing isn't working and hoping we might try something else. There doesn't really seem to be any need to set up a "McCallum as savior" strawman here.

I think McCallum is the savior. Hate to see a guy hanging out there with hyperbole.

Seriously I see a trade coming. McCallum was called back to the Kings to practice with the Kings. Why? He was getting experience in Reno and that seemed fine. The only reason I can think of him needing practice time with the Kings is that we are about to trade away a pg and need him coming off the bench. Anything else gets further into speculation than I am comfortable with.

 

[jalfa]

chalmers is not going to add anything to this team. cole is better than him.

that's now the third time you posted this opinion without backing it up with anything whatsoever. care to do that, maybe?

 

[Cold]

that's now the third time you posted this opinion without backing it up with anything whatsoever. care to do that, maybe?

Which part? Chalmers not adding anything to the Kings or Cole being better than Chalmers?

 

[jalfa]

Which part? Chalmers not adding anything to the Kings or Cole being better than Chalmers?

again, anything whatsoever, preferably backed up with some kind of evidence.

 

[mac]

again, anything whatsoever, preferably backed up with some kind of evidence.

I think he doesn't care what you think. Don't you know that his opinion is the one and only truth? Evidence? HA! As if that were ncessary

 

[Cold]

Two below average point guards. No need to explain anything.

LOL @ Chalmers taking the Kings to the promise land. HAHAHA

 

[jalfa]

Two below average point guards. No need to explain anything.

LOL @ Chalmers taking the Kings to the promise land. HAHAHA

it'd be a whole lot easier to take you seriously if you cared to read the posts you're replying to. I really don't give a toss about the Cousins debate in the grade thread or your current problems with the board at large. if you've decided to stop caring about this board in general and just use it as an opportunity to troll, fine, I had just thought you might still be willing to offer up anything of substance.

 

[Gary]

Two below average point guards. No need to explain anything.

LOL @ Chalmers taking the Kings to the promise land. HAHAHA

Who said Chalmers would take us to the promise land? You need to actually start reading posts if you want to be taken seriously. I just was saying that he "could" be a better fit with our current roster, but knowing the roster is going to probably change then next year when he's a FA he might not fit anymore.

But you're REALLY underestimating what Chalmers does for Miami. Not to mention players that usually play with 2 HOF players and a 2 time championship team tend to pick up some good habits from those HOF players they play with..

 

[Gary]

Which part? Chalmers not adding anything to the Kings or Cole being better than Chalmers?

The thread title "Where is the defense from the guard position?"

Chalmers is a better defender than any guard we have which is why his name was brought up. Learn to read please.

 

[Cold]

LOL please. The Heat put Chalmers on the opposing team's 3rd/4th/5th offensive option most of the time. Or do you need me to post his defensive numbers when facing the top point guards in the league? When did we EVER see the Heat put Chalmers on a hot scorer in crunch time? Exactly. Never!

Cole is a good defender he can at least claim that. Chalmer is nothing special on D, he can't create his own shot, he's not a pure spot up shooter, and he can't run the offense.

Why do you want to go thru all the trouble to bring him to Sac just for a slight upgrade at D and nothing else again? Stupid idea.

 

[Hadlowe]

Who said Chalmers would take us to the promise land? You need to actually start reading posts if you want to be taken seriously. I just was saying that he "could" be a better fit with our current roster, but knowing the roster is going to probably change then next year when he's a FA he might not fit anymore.

But you're REALLY underestimating what Chalmers does for Miami. Not to mention players that usually play with 2 HOF players and a 2 time championship team tend to pick up some good habits from those HOF players they play with..

You mean like Greg Ostertag or Jacque Vaughn? Miami is a very good team because they have the best player in the league, two of the five best players in the league (although Wade is slipping), and three of the twenty best players in the league. Their defense is entirely about being more athletic than their counterparts. That lets the wings gamble in passing lanes and still get back into the play. It lets Chris Anderson look like a decent player because the defense can cover for his poor rotations. It lets Chalmers miss his covers and rotations because Lebron can double and still get back to his man on a kickout to challenge the shot. It lets Bosh use his mobility and length to disrupt plays and front the post rather than just playing for position on the low block. And Miami's defense still breaks down against length and good rebounding.

Building around Cousins means you need structured, strong perimeter defense to keep him out of foul trouble. Chalmers is a step up from what we have right now, but I don't think Miami's swarming, athletic defense is the type of experience that will be helpful in building a team around a scoring, defense-challenged big man.