Whiteside
- Thread starter Kingster
- Start date
Westphal has already stated that he sees Whiteside as more of a PF. With his new extra upper body bulk (though apparently questions remain about his lower body) he may be better positioned to swing between PF/C, but in the end we'd probably prefer to have him not guard the primary post option, because his value lies more in coming in for help from the weakside.
While I'd love to have him play PF alongside Cousins at C (in a Daugherty/Nance sort of dynamic), are you suggesting that either a) more primary post options are found at center in today's league; or b) that team's main shotblockers are normally their PFs? There's a long long history of dominant shotblocking centers that would have a tendency to belie that. Maybe because at PF they get pulled too far away from the hoop to cover the rim.
As far as a) goes, it's pretty obvious that there are more scoring options at PF, but of course PFs take a lot more jump shots/fadeaways than centers, who focus more on the post. And if you look at our own history, we've only had three good/great shotblockers in the last decade: Keon, Webber, and Vlade. The best two shotblockers of those were PFs. So it's not really ridiculous to have a great shotblocker at PF.
As young and inexperienced as he is, I can imagine the coaching staff playing him at both positions. There is no absolute urgency in developing him exclusively as a C or PF. We have the luxury of time and personnel at both positions and experimenting a little bit won't hurt. Besides, it is not as if Whiteside is a clear-cut player yet to play the PF or the C position.
Whiteside is still developing. Knowing C and PF are becoming more and more interchangeable in this league and knowing at an instant those 2 positions get switched in defense, I think it would be wise that he be allowed to develop the skills of both positions. Also, he can learn more varied skills by playing more than one position.
I can still remember a lot of folks here saying Jason Thompson should exclusively play the PF position and I am glad the coaches did not listen to them. And look how Thompson's value to this team has become - a capable back-up at both positions.
Also, Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan?
Whiteside is still developing. Knowing C and PF are becoming more and more interchangeable in this league and knowing at an instant those 2 positions get switched in defense, I think it would be wise that he be allowed to develop the skills of both positions. Also, he can learn more varied skills by playing more than one position.
I can still remember a lot of folks here saying Jason Thompson should exclusively play the PF position and I am glad the coaches did not listen to them. And look how Thompson's value to this team has become - a capable back-up at both positions.
Also, Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan?
As to whether Whiteside is better suited to PF or Center, I think depends on several things. One, we have a center in Cousins. If our long term goal is to have both guys playing together, then the only option for Whiteside is PF. Lets not forget that Whiteside is an above average athlete. He has great hops and good footspeed. With experience and work he would have no trouble defending the other PF's in the league.
This is not to say that he couldn't play some center. Who knows how his body will change with time. But at the moment, with his quickness and leaping ability he could become one of the best weakside, or help, shotblockers in the league.
This is not to say that he couldn't play some center. Who knows how his body will change with time. But at the moment, with his quickness and leaping ability he could become one of the best weakside, or help, shotblockers in the league.
It all depends on the matchup. Against say, the Bulls, obviously Cousins will guard Boozer and Whiteside on Noah. So in effect, Cousins is at PF and Whiteside at C. Against the Celtics, it's probably best to have Cousins guard Perkins and Whiteside on KG; so the position would be switched. Then the coach can always switch assignments in the middle of the game, say have Cousins guard KG and Whiteside on Perkins. When the Kings encounter a team with a stretch 4 like Jeff Green, Diaw, Dirk, etc; they may have to sit Whiteside and bring in JT, Donte or Landry to do the job (yes, I do look at Donte as a combo forward).
When all said and done, positions are just names, it's how you use the five guys on the floor that's important. The Bulls in its heydays would put Jordan, Pippen, Ron Harper, Rodman and Kukoc on the floor. Try to wrap your head around who's the center/PF on that lineup. As long as the pieces compliment each other, who cares who plays what position.
When all said and done, positions are just names, it's how you use the five guys on the floor that's important. The Bulls in its heydays would put Jordan, Pippen, Ron Harper, Rodman and Kukoc on the floor. Try to wrap your head around who's the center/PF on that lineup. As long as the pieces compliment each other, who cares who plays what position.
If Cousins finds himself guarding PF's with the likes of Boozer, Bosh, Al Jefferson, David Lee, Josh Smith he will not be on the court for too long. I'd rather have Whiteside guard those faster forwards, unfortunately it doesn't seem as if Whiteside will get too much playing time so we don't really have to worry about him just yet. We need to focus more on whether Carl Landry/JT can guard them and we already know Carl is too undersized and JT is foul prone, so it will be interesting to see.
Exactly. The bigs are often interchangeable in today's NBA. The front court partner for Cousins needs to be a tall, long and athletic shot-blocker; beyond that, it matters little whether you call him a PF or a C.
Having Boozer and Noah in the same front court is going to be a nightmare matchup for most any team, and a reason why the Bulls are feeling good nowadays. I think it brings up the larger point that Cousins needs a good defensive big next to him. Whether that is JT, Whiteside, Dalembert, or someone else remains to be seen. I'd love to have Javale McGee playing next to Cousins, I love JT and he's a good pick but boy, if we can do the 2008 draft all over again.....
I think he would do just fine against Noah. I think he proved he has quick feet last night when he got caught in a switch and ended up guarding Foye on the perimiter. He managed to keep Foye in front of him and made him eventually pass the ball. Plus with Noah you can play off him more than you can someone like Kaman. Noah isn't the shooter from the outside that Kaman or Boozer is for that matter. The key with Cousins will be to see how he does the second and third time around the league. He's never played against these guys before, so its a total learning experience.
From what I've seen in the preseason, Noah has improved his outside game. I think Noah is quicker than Cousins, at least at Cousins' current weight and shape. When Cousins loses another 15 to 20 lbs, we'll see. One thing that is indisputable - at this point Noah would wear Cousins out in about a quarter just by running him up and down the floor. Noah is much faster and is an energizer bunny, not what Cousins can deal with, at least not now. Cousins only chance would be to get Noah in foul trouble on the offensive end. It looks like it's going to take Cousins quite a while to get in shape. I saw a Miami game in which they inferred that Pittman would probably be in shape by mid year. Maybe it's going to be the same with Cousins.
PS I noticed that the Clipps announcers used the word, "lazy" quite a few times when talking about Cousins. I hope word gets back to Cousins on that...
PS I noticed that the Clipps announcers used the word, "lazy" quite a few times when talking about Cousins. I hope word gets back to Cousins on that...
Last edited:
Noah's about the last guy I'd be worried about. If Cousins couldn't guard him then it's hopeless. 
Kings see Whiteside as a PF, and Jerry Reynolds mentioned the name Lamarcus Aldridge when speaking of a comparison. I can see it. If he develops that mid-range jumper he already seemingly has then he could be a better shotblocking, less offensively talented version.
Kings see Whiteside as a PF, and Jerry Reynolds mentioned the name Lamarcus Aldridge when speaking of a comparison. I can see it. If he develops that mid-range jumper he already seemingly has then he could be a better shotblocking, less offensively talented version.