are they suddenly going to start playing defense and rebounding? i doubt it only way this season can be salvaged is if they make some moves for guys who can defend
We should be a top3 rebounding team. If they think, they can magicaly flip the switch... they're in for a surprise come play in time.
Maybe we should scrap the hold the ball until late in the shot clock, don't crash the boards so we can get back on D strategy. That is by design. The defense would be better if you don't give up size and length, at all most every position for long stretches of games too. Davis can hold his own against true centers, but asking him to cover the entire floor when teams are playing multiple 6'10 or better guys is unrealistic. We are really expecting Melo and Lebron, to guard these power forwards? SMH...we want Lebron to guard forwards and guards on the perimeter, and occasionally get in the paint. While being the 2nd option, sometimes the best option on offense. The coach needs to figure out a better plan than let's stick AD at 5, and wing it on the rest.
Who is not playing hard enough...Lebron, AD Russ? If you look at the load they carry each game, can we really say that they aren't playing hard? At 51 minutes a piece, are they allowed to get tired?
We are effed. Screwed around early, lost those horrible OKC games, have had a cakewalk schedule and are sub-500, now it’s gonna get ugly unless some changes are made. What? I have no idea.
Who are you putting on ball after everyone let go this off season? Like it or not, unless Reaves comes back and big IFs he shows he can be better at guarding the point and Vogel starts him (prob no chance) …. AB is the best we have. Every other game or so he’s “decent” on offense too. Why the hate when zero other options? THT …. has he shown he can do that and hit shots any better?
For me...I don't think we utilize Russ enough, he is fitting in more as we play, but I think this guy should be unleashed more in an uptempo style of pace. I think we are using AD wrong trying to force him the ball on the low block. His back to the basket post up game is mediocre at best. AD has one of the highest post up play percentages in the league, but he has one of the worst PPP. He is much better facing the basket, running more will help him too. Lebron is the one that needs to make the biggest adjustment. Holding the ball until late in the shot clock and going ISO is his thing, he's been good at it for his entire career. However he pushed for Russ in order to relieve some of that load pressure, of having to do it every night. OK...time to give up the reins IMO, Russ defers to Lebron and everybody starts standing around watching him. James can still score, he will always be a willing passer, let Russ do what he does and Lebron is still going to do his thing. That's my take on improving the offense...get out and run more, Lebron and AD can thrive in that style too, and Russ will be even more effective. The rest of the guys will benefit too.
We are playing a lot of small guys and wonder why we struggle at times in half court offense and defense. You want to level the playing field, get out and use your speed and quickness advantage. That will force some of these opposing bigs off the floor. THEN you post AD or Bron up against a smaller lineup. Frank needs to change it up, we can complain about the roster he was given and all that. But hell...he is the coach, his job is to maximize the talent available to him and win games. It's not give him all pieces he needs for "his system ". If he can only coach with guys that "fit his system " fire his a** then. It's not about a system in the NBA, it's about the talent and using it effectively. If Fiz is the one running the offense then maybe he is the one that needs to go. This aint Miami, bring in Terry Stotts, he knows how to run a modern NBA offense, let Frank coach the defense then.
i agree with this. imo, lebron hasn't adjusted to russ or AD, despite the lip service. we get AD the ball outside the arc and stand around or we get him the ball with three or even four other defenders camped in the paint. he might as well be lauri markannen the way we use him, imo.
Lebron is still a great player, but he has to understand that as the leader of this team he pushed to assemble, HE is also going to have to do whatever is necessary, to make this thing work too. I give him a break to a certain extent, because he's missed a lot of games and he's finding his way with this new group as well. However.. moving forward though, our leader needs to lead by example. We have too much talent on this team for this nonsense, 5 of our wins came in overtime, Frank can do better, but our General has work to do too.
At 6'4 Baze is over matched as a SF/PF..this is a bad fit for him. Still...we knew he was 6'4 when we signed him and we signed him early in free agency.
I'm with abeer and Slick here. Lebron brought AD and Westbrook on board, how about relinquish control of the ball and offense? But it goes back to Lebron being a shaky shooter. He needs to feel the rock after dribbling for awhile before he launches it.
Look....like who specifically? Who can we possibly trade for some kind of difference maker on defense? Frankly how many real difference makers on defense are there in the NBA right now and who might be available?
