Anthony Bennett

[chrisrich91]

Oh no, I was watching the court when he was on it. I saw a guy whose jumper was HIGHLY overrated coming out of college. I saw a guy who couldn't dribble a basketball. And this, by the way, should have worried everyone. His ball-handling skills were legit worse than Thompson's this year. I saw a guy who lacked any sort of go-to post move and largely struggled when he caught the ball with his back to the basket.

And the problem is he was drafted as an offensive force. When he was drafted there wasn't a fucking person on the board who liked the pick but was cautioning "it's gonna take some time before his jumper becomes reliable. He's not a good ball-handler yet." Nah, his jumper was supposed to be good from day 1. Wasn't good all season. His ability to beat people off the dribble was supposed to be good from day 1. Man did he struggle doing it.

As for his "elite" speed....the singular play that sticks out in my mind and will continue to do so was Rashard Lewis just blowing by him from the 3-point line to get an open layup. For a dude with elite speed, he sure as fuck looked slow most of the season.

EDIT: I'm done with it. He's not playing anymore. Nothing more can be learned by typing the same shit for the next 4 months. He either comes out right away in summer league and proves me wrong, or he doesn't.

Yep. We're just on totally different pages. I guess I just trust my eyes more than your's. You continue to judge Bennett in a vacuum which simply doesn't apply to real life considering the circumstances he was dealing with..

 

[Nathan S]

I don't agree. I think he can and will. TT can't for the life of him, which is his major problem.

Ok...here are 3 examples of his perimeter "defense" just from the fourth quarter of last night's game:

1. So late closing out he doesn't even bother to put up a hand

2. Playing way off his man. Pitiful contest.

3. Again playing way off his man. Hilariously bad contest. Blatche literally could've shot this granny style and it still wouldn't have been blocked :chuckles:

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Anthony Bennett was a really bad basketball player his rookie season. Period. Full Stop.

I'm not willing to pass over big time talent because he's on our team after the season he just had. Period. Full Stop.

It's fucking stupid that this is a controversial position.

It's not that simple though. He was terrible for the first 32 games- injured, out of shape and experimented at a new position. Then he seemed to turn a corner and was at least a capable backup. He has something to build on heading into next season, everyone should recognize that, and have some optimism for him. Hopefully he stays healthy and comes into camp in shape.

That said, it is common sense that we should take any big time front court talent, we don't have anyone on the roster that should stop that from happening.

 

[elcheato]

Ok...here are 3 examples of his perimeter "defense" just from the fourth quarter of last night's game:

1. So late closing out he doesn't even bother to put up a hand

2. Playing way off his man. Pitiful contest.

3. Again playing way off his man. Hilariously bad contest. Blatche literally could've shot this granny style and it still wouldn't have been blocked :chuckles:

If Blatche wants to take jumpers that far out, you're not exactly going to discourage him.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Nathan, screenshots don't work around here. Don't provide enough context.

It's lowly enough for Zach Lowe to use almost weekly, but that shit doesn't fly here on RCF.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Up 20+ in the 4th, I think I'm alright with Bennett giving Blatche a bunch of long 2's. Pretty bad example there.

 

[Nathan S]

If Blatche wants to take jumpers that far out, you're not exactly going to discourage him.

Up 20+ in the 4th, I think I'm alright with Bennett giving Blatche a bunch of long 2's. Pretty bad example there.

You're missing my point. This is what it looks like every time Bennett defends the perimeter. He's not sagging off of Blatch in a clever attempt to bait him into taking a jumper...he's sagging off Blatch because he's not agile enough laterally to step out to the 3-point line. This has been a problem his whole career...I'm not sure why some of you are still living in denial.

 

[elcheato]

I wasn't even saying Bennett is good on the perimeter. I just don't think that's a good example.

 

[BimboColesHair]

You're missing my point. This is what it looks like every time Bennett defends the perimeter. He's not sagging off of Blatch in a clever attempt to bait him into taking a jumper...he's sagging off Blatch because he's not agile enough laterally to step out to the 3-point line. This has been a problem his whole career...I'm not sure why some of you are still living in denial.

I'm not missing your point, I just said that is a poor example to use.

 

[TheAdmin]

I could screen grab the very first score the Nets had and Tristan would look just as bad. In fact...

 

[Rich]

I could screen grab the very first score the Nets had and Tristan would look just as bad. In fact...

Is Tristan considered a good perimeter defender?

Futuredome says "Bennett can and will be a good perimeter defender."

Nate says no. Shows some screens.

Countering with screens also being a bad perimeter defender doesn't do a lot to show Bennett is a good one.

 

[TheAdmin]

Context is important. A picture of a play is hardly representative of what is going on.

 

[Nathan S]

I could screen grab the very first score the Nets had and Tristan would look just as bad. In fact...

Tristan's instincts on the perimeter are no better (and for a 3rd year player that's a much bigger concern -- I'm frightened by his lack of progress on the defensive end), but his length and lateral quickness make up for it in part. According to Synergy, spot-up shooters are hitting a respectable 39% from the floor and 39% from 3 when defended by Tristan. Those numbers balloon up to 47% and 56% when defended by Bennett. Even when Bennett knows the jumper is coming and tries to contest it, he always seems to come up short.

 

[Rich]

I'd agree. The weakest part of Tristan's defense is his ability to contest jumpers. He's especially slow at getting his hands up on 3-point shooters and generally isn't able to tell when a guy is setting him for a jumper.

On the flip, he doesn't get blown by very often.

 

[Zen]

Someone find a video of the double Rashard Lewis blow by. That one has some much better context. Or the game where Taj Gibson literally pulled up and shot over the top 4-5 times in a row. I think the Gibson one is a prime example, even in perfect position there would be nothing AB could do.