this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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I've always had a lot of respect for his work ethic. Offensively he's usually fine. Defense is where he struggles, but it's a size issue, not a try issue.
I genuinely would love to see him get to a point where his offense is good enough to keep him on the court regardless of his defense.
I actually think he’s “theoretically” really good on defense. He has quick feet, and his positioning and decision making are really good. He also tries his ass off.
But he’s just small. So players shoot over him or overpower him. Same with Isaiah Thomas. Their defensive fundamentals were great but the size was the handicap.
Conversely I think Giannis has pretty poor defensive fundamentals but he’s just massive and freakishly athletic so he’s effective. If you watch closely, his footwork is relatively poor and he gets cooked a lot but his size and athleticism allow him to recover and still affect the play
I agree with all that. Thats why I said he struggles, not that he's bad. I don't think he is a bad defender, but his lack of size causes problems sometimes.
I've played and coached at different levels, and I can tell you that it's pretty common for guys who have atrocious defensive fundamentals get praised as good defenders simply because they are freakish athletes.