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Media and Defense Criticisms
Posted on 3/5/21 at 6:45 am
Posted on 3/5/21 at 6:45 am
I can’t ever remember the media openly mock and criticize a team as much as they have the Pels.
TNT has completely destroyed the Pels regarding their defense the last two TNT games.
At one point (paraphrasing) Kenny Smith said, “ You Pelicans fans may think you are in the game with it closing to 2-4 points, but you are not. He said the game was over because the Heat at any point can get any shot they want.” He expected the Heat to shoot 70-80% on the shots they were generating against the poor Pels defense. He indicated he expects an NBA team to win ~80% of their games if they can average scoring in the 120 ppg range.
I think the defense is horrible, but I can not understand how they have gotten to this point. The team has some players that people respect as having some defensive talent. Kenny mentioned it was crazy considering the starting five he would not consider young.
It was interesting how the bench was openly criticized as being a major point of drastic concern with the team. That definitely goes against trying to unload everything for one big player.
Have there been other teams criticized like this so openly? I have to think it is brought on by the fact we have two all-star type players on the team and have a bad record. Kenny also said BI would have been an all-star if the team had a better record at this point. That is what held him back.
How is the defense ever improved?
TNT has completely destroyed the Pels regarding their defense the last two TNT games.
At one point (paraphrasing) Kenny Smith said, “ You Pelicans fans may think you are in the game with it closing to 2-4 points, but you are not. He said the game was over because the Heat at any point can get any shot they want.” He expected the Heat to shoot 70-80% on the shots they were generating against the poor Pels defense. He indicated he expects an NBA team to win ~80% of their games if they can average scoring in the 120 ppg range.
I think the defense is horrible, but I can not understand how they have gotten to this point. The team has some players that people respect as having some defensive talent. Kenny mentioned it was crazy considering the starting five he would not consider young.
It was interesting how the bench was openly criticized as being a major point of drastic concern with the team. That definitely goes against trying to unload everything for one big player.
Have there been other teams criticized like this so openly? I have to think it is brought on by the fact we have two all-star type players on the team and have a bad record. Kenny also said BI would have been an all-star if the team had a better record at this point. That is what held him back.
How is the defense ever improved?
This post was edited on 3/5/21 at 6:47 am
7
Posted on 3/5/21 at 7:14 am to Colonel Flagg
Well we hired a defensive coach and he’s implementing his defense without much practice, so I’ll give him a little slack b/c of that, but I think we have the personnel to be much better than we are all things considered, and if I’m going to point the finger at someone b/c of it, it goes to the coach.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 7:21 am to Colonel Flagg
The tnt guys are salty because Alvin was a friend of chucks and Shaq hates SVG.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 8:02 am to whatiknowsofar
I kinda hate SVG yoo
Posted on 3/5/21 at 8:46 am to whatiknowsofar
Shaq don’t hate Stan he said a lot of good things about Stan on tnt about a week ago
Posted on 3/5/21 at 9:11 am to whatiknowsofar
quote:
The tnt guys are salty because Alvin was a friend of chucks and Shaq hates SVG.
No they don't. They are simply calling it like they see it. It's not like they are the only ones that have said this. If you watch Joel and AD, AD is always talking about how easy other teams get their shots off, and how difficult most of our shots are.
While our defense is a huge problem, our offense really isn't that much better, and is being bailed out by Zion and BI constantly making tough shots.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 9:39 am to Colonel Flagg
Defense is effort and caring,, Lonzo doesn't care about defense, Bled doesn't care about defense, BI doesn't care about defense... they only care about their offensive production. Lonzo getting blown by by Iggy last night was laughable.
I am critical of SVG because production comes down to him. I am sympathetic because 3 of his more experienced players are showing they don't give a frick about defense and its trickled down to the entire team at times. I would love to see Lonzo get shipped at the deadline before his lack of caring gets passed on to the young guys.
I am critical of SVG because production comes down to him. I am sympathetic because 3 of his more experienced players are showing they don't give a frick about defense and its trickled down to the entire team at times. I would love to see Lonzo get shipped at the deadline before his lack of caring gets passed on to the young guys.
This post was edited on 3/5/21 at 9:42 am
Posted on 3/5/21 at 9:39 am to TeddyPadillac
quote:
No they don't. They are simply calling it like they see it
Charles Barkley said Alvin didn't deserve to get fired. Verbatim. Please tell me you agree with that.
quote:
how difficult most of our shots are
That's gonna happen when you have a bunch of gun shy guards that lack confidence in their shot and can't penetrate ala Bledsoe and Lonzo unless it's wide the frick open. There are open shots our guards constantly pass up.
quote:
our offense really isn't that much better,
Are you high? We've had a top 5 offense for the past month and a half.
This post was edited on 3/5/21 at 9:43 am
Posted on 3/5/21 at 9:49 am to Tigercowboy
quote:
Defense is effort and caring,
I watch pels and three other teams regularly.
gsw
memphis
sacto
memphis leads the association in deflections and steals.
I dont think zion is in shape to play serious defense. this board speculated that Duke zion D has been coached out of zion so as to save his feet. maybe so.
when I lived in chicago they had sloan.
he made all NBA first team D when I was there. 2nd team D a lot. he fought like a tiger.
sloan played like his life depended on it.
not one starter of pels plays D with his hair on fire.
This post was edited on 3/5/21 at 9:56 am
Posted on 3/5/21 at 9:50 am to TeddyPadillac
quote:6th best offense, 29th best defense.
While our defense is a huge problem, our offense really isn't that much better, and is being bailed out by Zion and BI constantly making tough shots.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 9:56 am to whatiknowsofar
quote:
Charles Barkley said Alvin didn't deserve to get fired. Verbatim. Please tell me you agree with that.
Ok. so you think Barkley holds a grudge and is saying things he doesn't really believe? Please tell me you don't think Charles Barkley does NOT speak his mind 100% of the time.
What is AD's grudge he's holding and why he's always talking about that?
quote:
That's gonna happen when you have a bunch of gun shy guards that lack confidence in their shot and can't penetrate ala Bledsoe and Lonzo unless it's wide the frick open. There are open shots our guards constantly pass up.
Lonzo and Bledsoe have both looked confident taking open shots.
quote:
Are you high? We've had a top 5 offense for the past month and a half.
Do you really watch our offense? Do you not realize how often BI and Zion take a shot with a defender or two drapped all over them, and the amount of dribbling they have to do to get that shot?
Watch Lonzo and Bledsoe without the ball. They barely move. Our offense has zero flow most of the time, and is 100% reliant on BI and Zion doing all the work to either get their own shot, or get it for someone else, and those someone elses do very little to help them out.
Our offensive philosophy is crap, and we are being bailed out by BI and Zion being great players. We look unorganized and like we play without any plan. Teams get up on us and simply stop caring about playing defense on us b/c they know we can't stop them.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 10:15 am to Colonel Flagg
quote:that’s 100% true
Kenny Smith said, “ You Pelicans fans may think you are in the game with it closing to 2-4 points, but you are not.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 10:22 am to Colonel Flagg
The defense was always going to be a work in progress. The core of Zo, BI, and to a certain extent Zion have been overly encouraged to focus on their offensive capabilities and the change has to start there if they have championship aspirations. They have to be at a minimum above average defensive players.
The team also lacks foot speed and quickness on the perimeter, particularly at the point of attack. We have no one who can stay in front and discourage teams from initiating their offense and penetrate. Kira and NAW may develop in this facet, but Zo, if he wants max or near max money, has to be that guy.
Defense will always been harder than offense and as SVG says requires commitment. It requires energy, core strength and a willingness to sacrifice at the expense of your offense.
We are already elite offensively without a dearth of knockdown shooters. But if this team has championship aspirations the defensive mindset needs to be primary.
The team also lacks foot speed and quickness on the perimeter, particularly at the point of attack. We have no one who can stay in front and discourage teams from initiating their offense and penetrate. Kira and NAW may develop in this facet, but Zo, if he wants max or near max money, has to be that guy.
Defense will always been harder than offense and as SVG says requires commitment. It requires energy, core strength and a willingness to sacrifice at the expense of your offense.
We are already elite offensively without a dearth of knockdown shooters. But if this team has championship aspirations the defensive mindset needs to be primary.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 10:32 am to Colonel Flagg
quote:Good
I can’t ever remember the media openly mock and criticize a team as much as they have the Pels.
It's very clear that most of the team just doesn't care about defense and we're 35+ games in and have seen no improvement in not just scheme but effort or just caring as a whole from this team.
If they were trying their best but just sucked, that's one thing. But the effort and caring they show on D, I'm all for them being mocked nationally, as hopefully that just being embarrassed could be a catalyst for change.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 10:33 am to TeddyPadillac
You are right, BI and Zion have to work too hard, just don’t think it’s the main issue. I was encouraged with Kira’s play. He breaks down the defense leaving the option of pass or shoot open. When Zo, Bled, NAW, and Hart penetrate it’s only with one intent.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 10:37 am to Colonel Flagg
Pretty much all of the criticisms of the Pels defense are valid. That said, I thought Kenny was way out of line last night, it felt vindictive and added nothing to the game watching experience. It appeared he wasn't even doing color on the game, but giving commentary on his opinion.
At one point in the 4th quarter he bought out the stat of the Pels being 4-4 when scoring over 120 points, and spent quite a while talking about it. True stat, but had nothing to do with current game where neither team was getting close to that score. Honestly, it felt to me like Fox News/CNN partisan political coverage.
I like Kenny, and I am fine with this type of commentary on the studio show, but it was inappropriate for the color guy. Last night was bad, and frankly unpleasant to listen to, and I would say that no matter what team I was supporting.
At one point in the 4th quarter he bought out the stat of the Pels being 4-4 when scoring over 120 points, and spent quite a while talking about it. True stat, but had nothing to do with current game where neither team was getting close to that score. Honestly, it felt to me like Fox News/CNN partisan political coverage.
I like Kenny, and I am fine with this type of commentary on the studio show, but it was inappropriate for the color guy. Last night was bad, and frankly unpleasant to listen to, and I would say that no matter what team I was supporting.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 11:26 am to NOLALGD
The thing that should be kept in mind with the TNT guys, and Chuck even let slip this in a recent interview, none of he, Kenny, and Shaq really do any prep work.
Kenny is habitually late, Shaq is just sort of there in between the millions of other things he does, and Chuck watches games, but he’s not like some student of the modern game. He’s a personality without a filter.
Shaq is basically there using the show to narcissistically preserve his legacy and knows nothing(and got utterly destroyed by Candace Parker Tuesday)
Chuck is basically a curmudgeon that only slightly less than Shaq understands the modern game and preps, but mostly just goes off of his gut and emotions and doesn’t think through his logic. Which is often ridiculously off base.
Kenny puts in some effort, but he also isn’t really some expert, and by accounts doesn’t really put in much work either. He plays the role of the vet expert, but I don’t think he is much of one.
You watch TNT for the entertainment, I would never watch it for the analysis or opinions.
Kenny is habitually late, Shaq is just sort of there in between the millions of other things he does, and Chuck watches games, but he’s not like some student of the modern game. He’s a personality without a filter.
Shaq is basically there using the show to narcissistically preserve his legacy and knows nothing(and got utterly destroyed by Candace Parker Tuesday)
Chuck is basically a curmudgeon that only slightly less than Shaq understands the modern game and preps, but mostly just goes off of his gut and emotions and doesn’t think through his logic. Which is often ridiculously off base.
Kenny puts in some effort, but he also isn’t really some expert, and by accounts doesn’t really put in much work either. He plays the role of the vet expert, but I don’t think he is much of one.
You watch TNT for the entertainment, I would never watch it for the analysis or opinions.
This post was edited on 3/5/21 at 11:28 am
Posted on 3/5/21 at 11:52 am to Bronc
They tend to focus on winning teams and are largely there for entertainment purposes (which they are good at). Shaq and Chuck provide hilarity, however Kenny is astute and respected in the basketball community for his knowledge of the game. He absolutely nailed the Pels issues preventing them from being a winning team when he said even when we are down 2-4 points we are still not in the game and pointing to our record when we score 120+. Truth hurts.
A lot of folks, including myself, thought we'd be better at this point but as Griff and Langdon have pointed out we've had little time to evaluate the team with the pandemic. Its all pretty clear now and we can start making moves to better design the team with the draft capital we have. Griff and Langdon hopefully won't make the mistake Ainge has made with his assets.
Long term, we know what we have in Zion and BI. Zo, Kira, and even Jaxon are promising. After that, all bets are off.
A lot of folks, including myself, thought we'd be better at this point but as Griff and Langdon have pointed out we've had little time to evaluate the team with the pandemic. Its all pretty clear now and we can start making moves to better design the team with the draft capital we have. Griff and Langdon hopefully won't make the mistake Ainge has made with his assets.
Long term, we know what we have in Zion and BI. Zo, Kira, and even Jaxon are promising. After that, all bets are off.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 12:03 pm to Pistol44
A team with poor defense not truly being back in the game isn’t really an astute observation, it’s common sense. The +120 thing I’m not really sure why that is supposed to be that insightful? We’re a significantly below .500 team as is, when we pile on the points we’re a .500 team. That point was meant to accompany his criticism about our defense, but it wasn’t really relevant in that game and also kind of argued a bit against his point.
Kenny has the most “cred” of any of the guys, but I’ll take Chuck and Ernie at their word that Kenny, like Chuck and Shaq, does not really put in the prep work.
Point being, the TNT guys are there for entertainment, if you want meaningful and insightful commentary, I’d look elsewhere.
Kenny has the most “cred” of any of the guys, but I’ll take Chuck and Ernie at their word that Kenny, like Chuck and Shaq, does not really put in the prep work.
Point being, the TNT guys are there for entertainment, if you want meaningful and insightful commentary, I’d look elsewhere.
Posted on 3/5/21 at 12:19 pm to NOLALGD
quote:
At one point in the 4th quarter he bought out the stat of the Pels being 4-4 when scoring over 120 points, and spent quite a while talking about it. True stat, but had nothing to do with current game where neither team was getting close to that score.
This kind of goes with what i said earlier, that while our offense is rated highly in the league, maybe it's b/c teams simply don't care about really trying against us defensively b/c they know they will still outscore us.
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