Julius Randle Discussion: Beast, Ox, Monster, Lotus Flower

Not to conflate threads here, but the thing I was most excited about going into this last season was watching Randle develop. The fact that he was out for the season after 14 minutes was a major bummer (although in retrospect, the perfect kick-off for this mulligan of a season). Having said that, the fact that this coming season brings with is the renewed opportunity to watch Randle develop WHILE ALSO watching Okafor develop and playing alongside the maturing Clarkson is really too awesome for words. I don't even care if we miss the playoffs again (well, I kinda do), I just want to watch the next generation of superior Laker talent earn its stripes. The 2015-2016 season can't come soon enough.

 

We saw Clarkson explode into a very good player. And we got a pick #2 of the draft. It's unfortunate Randle was hurt, but it wasn't too shabby of a season

 

I think Randle can guard the kawhis/draymonds (I can see&would love for him to have a similar role)/arizas/millsaps/dare I say has the tools to even match up with lebron.

When I saw him on sports nation he looked lean, which Id like to believe IF the Lakers wanted him to bulk up further than he easily could have because he was recovering from a broken leg.

So I think on the hush, hes working on his shot and driving to the basket up tempo, basket to basket.

I think front office wants to all in Gasol/LMA, plan B Love (injury concerns), plan C Monroe/Millsap/Draymond /(feel free to insert more)/etc.

 

The proposals have really fallen off over the span of 1 day. From Cousins + #6 for #2 to Melo + #4 for #2 + Randle. With the current state of Melo, there's nothing NY could do to sweeten this offer enough to take it. If we could have our doctors run the full battery of tests on Melo & they came back saying he's 100% healthy & in good shape, I'd probably do it if it was just Randle & think hard about it if it was just the #2, but no chance they're getting both. They'd also have to take on Young, Kelly, & Sacre.

 

Randle for healthy 30 year old(?) Melo??

 

You need a rim protecting scenario in any scenario with Love/Randle, Aldridge/Randle...I do think a front line of Davis/Love/Randle has some upside. I even think a guy like Black could be utilized in specific scenarios where he would do well alongside Love/Randle for periods of time throughout the game.

 

Lol, wheres okafor bra!

 

He's somewhere in there...

 

So, with two guys flying around, you want to blitz every single pick in similar to Miami did during their Finals run? Even though, they had Bosh who could recover and get back and do a damn good job protecting the rim? That was the key to their defense. You need a rim protector period. I don't mind getting quicker and more athletic on the perimeter; obviously, that would help. But you could have guys flying all around, but with no decent scheme, no sense of where to rotate to or whom, then what's the point?Are we going to bliz, show hard, show, soft, or we going to switch the screen? A rim protector is indeed necessary. That's why I expect Davis and/or another center to be picked up during free agency.

Howard was frustrated period. He was a joke. Nevertheless, once we slowed down the tempo in Memphis, and we ran a half-court style system, I remember our defense getting better. In fact, there was two games where Howard looked like the defensive player of the year. Indiana and Chicago; Vogel and Thibs even commented on how Howard making a huge difference.

 

Gasol is a read and react defender. He best utilizes and maximizes his defensive talent with reading what the opposing team does beforehand and often placing himself into the places the needs to be defensively to best counteract what the offense is doing.

Duncan had the opportunity to play with Robinson; he was oftentimes the anchor to above average to very good SAS teams. In their great 'team' scheme Pop always placed more emphasis on what players defensive responsibilities properly placing them into the best situations to be successful. When Duncan was or is used as a funnel or the last line of defense, he's excellent at it.

Gasol and Duncan are exceptional at what they do; they utilize their IQ, read and react properly, and know where to be; they are not rim protectors per se, but they are more effective team defenders than DeAndre whose elite skills like in 3 areas that fit the Clippers team. They are the following: finishing, swatting, and rebounding.
I remember watching a game with Ibaka; a premier rim protector. The game might have been against the Clippers; it was a playoff game. He was guarding Blake and completely made Blake's life miserable when Blake attempted to post up on numbers occasions. As a matter of fact, Blake's FG % numbers were atrocious when being guarded by Ibaka.

When Ibaka and Blake were both on the floor, Ibaka was also protecting the rim. He served both as a very good man -on-man defender and an elite rim protector. DJ has never been a great man defender. In fact, old man Duncan had his way with DJ in Game 2 in the PO's. I don't just look at rim-protecting in individual defense. I looked at how that at the Center position in totality.

Can they guard when isolated against? Can they protect the rim? Can they switch on screens? Do they have the lateral speed to keep up on the perimeter defense? If not, we can't show hard, we must show 'soft' on pick in roll. Can they communicate with other defenders? Such as a simple things...yelling out when a the point guard is about to get screened, pointing out individual assignments to other players to make sure they are in the right place to minimize the chances of the offense scoring?

I'm not just looking for a rim-protector. I'm looking for a complete defender at that position. Will a post presence help deter a great rim-protector. Quite possibly. As I mentioned, though, I'd take my chances with a guy that could shutdown the best player at the 5 and if needed to protect the rim can and do both things at a high level, and I'll take that over an elite post presence whose a horrible defender. I don't think an elite post-presence can offset their horrible defense. Not that that would be the case with Okafor, I think he'll be average to above average on that end.

Shaq and Kareem were both generational talents. One played in the 80's when the league was vastly different; same case with Shaq. Even when we had Gasol in our championships years, we only posted up 18% of the time. Post-ups have been used less and less over time. Gasol didn't have to 'pre-occupy' a rim protect that often.

You could argue we haven't had a decent post player in the league for ages, so I really can't say how a new school post player would work in today's NBA. Could Okafor change the pendulum? Sure. Although, I don't classify Okafor has just a classic post-up big.

I simply don't agree that we need a couple of players to fly around the court. We need a solid scheme and players that fit within those schemes. If you're scheme dictates that you fly around the court and blitz every pick in roll, so be it. That's what Miami did during their Finals run.

Better yet, is your scheme a Portland one? Portland had Batum and Matthews. They went with a more conservative scheme; less gambling, not fouling, and contested the shot. They've flourished in that scheme.

 

I think I'm tired of the term "rim protector".

can your team play d with this guy at the 5 (or this other guy at the 4, more pertinent to this thread)? I think lots of teams have figured out lots of effective defenses with different types of players. it's about iq and commitment first, then size, then (maybe) athleticism.

Memphis is a really good defensive team with Randolph and gasol on the back line. neither is a high flyer, nor is either especially quick. they're big, strong, and committed, and they have two guys on the perimeter who help prevent break-out situations.

anyway, lots of formulas for defensive success. go for the talent, then figure it out after.