Mosley introductory press conference

Queen, Missi, and Peavy attended.

Yup, about the same takeaway here.

I used to get excited from these as they felt like fresh ideas were being introduced and purging bad practices. This feels 100% like business as usual.

Joel fricking rocks.

When he said, "You have guys that can guard." (20:45) and then singled out DQ (among others) as a versatile defender who can defend multiple positions, it told me all I had to know about Mosley. From the beginning, I didn't want a re-tread. I heard a whole lot of 'coach-speak', mindless platitudes, and double-talk.

Until, and unless, Dumars and Weaver address the multiple holes in this 'versatile roster', I expect more of the same.

"Play it again, Sam".

DEFENSE!!! DEFENSE!!! DEFENSE!!!

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Queen needing to be a better defender but his ability to defend multiple positions are not mutually exclusive thoughts.

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Not last year...not now...and not ever. His hips are way too stiff to think otherwise. He will never be able to defend in space...NEVER!!! And players like Victor who can make him work inside and outside will routinely destroy him.

DEFENSE!!! DEFENSE!!! DEFENSE!!!

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And players like Victor who can make him work inside and outside will routinely destroy him.

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Queen looked really good against Wemby when I watched him. His bulk is just tough, and Wemby couldn't bang with him. I don't think that'll be the usual match up. But Queen can give him problems.

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He will never be able to defend in space

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I don't believe this. Queen is still maturing. He's going to lean out, get quicker and stronger. It just takes time, but he has high IQ and will find ways to make an impact.

Queen is going to be in the NBA a long time. He's a little younger than Wemby (about a year). But he'll play way, way longer. By the time it's over, I bet he plays close to double the games Wemby does..

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When he said, "You have guys that can guard." (20:45) and then singled out DQ (among others) as a versatile defender who can defend multiple positions, it told me all I had to know about Mosley. From the beginning, I didn't want a re-tread. I heard a whole lot of 'coach-speak', mindless platitudes, and double-talk.

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It's just a coach speaking positively about his new team. Did you expect him to come into his introductory press conference and start hounding on guys weaknesses or something? Every intro press conference in the history of press conferences is nothing but coach talk.

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And players like Victor who can make him work inside and outside will routinely destroy him

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Aside from the fact that he wasn't that bad against Wemby, why is Wemby the baseline for judging defense? Everybody looks bad against Wemby. At this point we need him to be able to defend Cedric Coward, Deni Advija, and John Collins. I'm just trying to get past other bottom feeders than I am worried about the Spurs.

You ever think he singled out DQ as a way to empower and motivate one of his players attending the press conference? Basically was telling DQ that he believes in him and now DQ is going to work even harder to prove JM right.

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 I was watching film, and it was actually a bell play opposite [the Magic]. So Derik Queen is playing defense on Tristan Da Silva in the left corner, in front of the Pelicans bench at the time. He gets a steal. The entire bench jumps up to celebrate DQ for getting a steal. Next possession down on defense, he's picking up Da Silva full court. He sits down and guards. So the bell is like a reminder. We've had a form of success doing something right defensively, and now let me do it again. Let me celebrate the success. That's the bell. Charges, blocks, diving out of bounds like the little hustle plays that changed the game.

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This was in a recent sit-down interview with Mosley. He knows what he's talking about. Now, Queen may have deficiencies but that's going to be Mosley's job to bring out Queen's best and develop him on the defensive side of the ball.