Who will be a better NBA defender on day one Thornton or MacLemore?

[morsatun]

Who will be a better NBA defender on day one Thornton or MacLemore?

If we assume that Vasquez will start on day one, and considering his defensive limitations it would be important for the second half of the front court to be a good defender. Obliviously nor Thornton or MacLemore are great NBA defenders right now, but who is better?

 

[The_Jamal]

Got to see McLemore play D first

 

[morsatun]

Got to see McLemore play D first

I agree, but given his lateral speed you could expect him to be at least a decent defender. Given the amount of trouble Thornton tends to have getting caught in screens, and how hard it has been for him to mark elite second guards, could McLemore be better? And even if Mclemore has the potential to be better, how long would it take him to be NBA deference ready?

 

[Kingsfan23]

I wasn't impressed with Ben's defensive awareness in Las Vegas although he does have the physical attributes, he needs development in a lot of areas.

 

[morsatun]

I wasn't impressed with Ben's defensive awareness in Las Vegas, he needs development in pretty much all areas.

Are you impressed with Thornton's?

 

[The_Jamal]

I agree, but given his lateral speed you could expect him to be at least a decent defender. Given the amount of trouble Thornton tends to have getting caught in screens, and how hard it has been for him to mark elite second guards, could McLemore be better? And even if Mclemore has the potential to be better, how long would it take him to be NBA deference ready?

McLemore has the physical attributes to be an elite defender in the NBA. He's already likely one of the most athletic and quickest guys in the league. It's just a matter of how we bring him along and if he can use his athleticism to his benefit rather than his detriment.

 

[PurpleHaze]

The good news is they'll likely never be on the floor together. McLemore has so much to learn about executing NBA defense - hopefully he learns quick and that Coach Malone is very serious about improving Kings miserable D. Of course, Thornton knows this and now needs to really step up as likely starting off guard.

 

[Bricklayer]

One Day 1? Hard to say. Thornton most likely. Mac looked lost half the time in Vegas, and the competition is about to take a jump.

Fortunately with a 19yr old rookie Day 1 isn't really how you are judging them.

 

[nickmcclure]

One Day 1? Hard to say. Thornton most likely. Mac looked lost half the time in Vegas, and the competition is about to take a jump.

Fortunately with a 19yr old rookie Day 1 isn't really how you are judging them.

This.
Thornton is not really a good defender and McLemore hasn't even guarded an NBA starter yet. Assuming he capitalizes on his athletic ability McLemore can be great. I see him blocking a fair number of shots but on day 1, Thornton...I guess

 

[jcwkings]

Team Defender- Thornton

1 on 1- McLemore for his length and quickness

 

[Bricklayer]

McLemore for his length and quickness

This is a question I had after summer league. Great athlete often means runs fast and jumps high. That looked apparent. But what I did not necessarily see was a great deal of lateral quickness to stay in front of guys. Basically guys were able to blow by him. Now that might be just inexperience, and after he figures it out it will come. But on the other hand, his side to side may not be quite as exceptional as his running and jumping. This was a guy who was a high school PF. And that's a critical question in how good a defender he can become at the guard position. In fact possibly even more important to us in the short term at least, because it sure would be nice to be able to hide Vasquez on a SG when a particularly quick PG is on the other team. But if our SGs can't stay in front of the PG either, then that option is taken away.

 

[Hadlowe]

Thornton's problem has never been his athleticism on defense. When his man has the ball, he zeroes in and does reasonably well. He is strong enough to not get pushed around by most guards and can stay in front of his man off the dribble, except against the Joe Johnsons and Wades of the league.

Thornton's problem has always been his off-ball defense. Thornton gets a fair amount of his offense in transition by averaging a couple of steals per game. To get those steals, he cheats passing lanes leaving his man open at the three or on backdoor cuts. He defends for turnovers but not for team ball. At this point in his career, I don't know that you can change his mindset to play team defense over the spotlight of transition offense.

During the days when Thornton played his best ball in Sacramento, he had the luxury of playing with a 6'6" point guard who played excellent man defense (on occasion). Tyreke often forced his man into bad passes that turned into steals and transition buckets. Assuming he starts, Thornton will be playing with a 6'6" guard who does not defend well or a 5'9" point guard who defends as well as he can, which isn't very well. Thornton will have to change habits to keep a spot on the roster, otherwise Cousins will foul out every night trying to make up for our backcourt's lack of defensive awareness.

Also, keep in mind that Malone was on staff in New Orleans when Thornton was taken out of the rotation for lack of defense. McLemore MAY be able to learn and play defense. Thornton has shown a long-term lack of development there that could end his Sacramento career.

 

[yeehee]

The good news is they'll likely never be on the floor together. McLemore has so much to learn about executing NBA defense - hopefully he learns quick and that Coach Malone is very serious about improving Kings miserable D. Of course, Thornton knows this and now needs to really step up as likely starting off guard.

Really? I think McLemore will get playing time at SF if they go small. A Vasquez, Thornton, McLemore lineup.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Really? I think McLemore will get playing time at SF if they go small. A Vasquez, Thornton, McLemore lineup.

You mean if they go ultra TINY. That would put 6'4 3/4" McLemore at SF! At least with Reke at SF he was inch or so taller and showed good D. Hopefully, Coach Malone realizes how pitiful such experiments have been with Kings of late and what terrible D often displayed.

 

[Gary]

Thornton.

MT can actually play some defense when he wants to. Not great but not terrible either. Maybe Malone will coax some D out of MT.

Of course MLM has the higher potential.

 

[ppine]

Good post by Hadlowe.
Thornton doesn't always stay home, but he is a decent defender. Different coaching will help.
McLemore is untested at this level and has a lot to learn.