Cavs vs Bucks - Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7:00pm (FSO and NBA TV)

[gratefuldead]

He's actually a shitty defender.

Jared Dudley
Jared Dudley has a pretty good defensive reputation. He works hard and understands how to play smart defense. However, in the NBA, smarts and hard work aren't enough. For those expecting Dudley to replace Grant Hill as the Suns' designated defensive stopper, don't expect much (particularly if Dudley has to defend shooting guards).

Dudley's most commonly defended play was spot-up jumpers at 37.6 percent of his plays. He was pretty good at contesting shots inside the arc as opponents only shot 38.9 percent against him overall, but he struggled defending shots beyond the arc where opponents connected on 41.1 percent of their attempts. The 3-pointers hurt his overall effectiveness, as his PPP against was 0.93 which was ranked 173rd overall.

He spent 18.1 percent of his plays defending isolations, and he did okay, but certainly didn't lock opponents down. Offensive players shot 38.1 percent against him and scored 0.83 PPP, which ranked him 183rd.

Dudley struggles a little more against pick-and-roll ball-handlers, a play he saw on 16.4 percent of his possessions. Ball-handlers shot 45.7 percent from the field and hit five of eight 3-point attempts for a PPP of 0.99 and a rank of 210.

However, he looks better in the the rest of the categories. He gave up 0.90 PPP against shooters running off screens and was ranked 91st. He gave up 0.70 PPP in post-up situations, ranked 40th overall. And he did a fine job defending hand-offs, holding opponents to 9-25 shooting and 0.77 PPP, ranked 22nd.

 

[AmirT0]

With the likes of James, Irving and Thompson out I was excited to see Love as the offensive focal point for this squad. Of course he didn't disappoint, and I knew the guy had a more than steady three point shot but is this dude always absolute money from beyond the arc? He has been ruthless this preseason, of course, its not really NBA-caliber defense he has been facing but tonight was no different with him going 5/7.

I thought Waiters showed up and was quite impressive, he had 14 of his 23 in the third and literally got the ball rolling.

If I can be disappointed in anything in a meaningless game, I will go with the interior defensive, or lack there of, I mean the Bucks outscored them by 12 in the paint. At some points, it looked like it was just too easy for the opponent. Sure, they are still trying to get everything down, scheme wise and need to get used to each other but I thought rarely would they be outscored in the paint.

Because Love played for Minny it feels like many put an asterisk on his stats due to lack of team success. But this dude dropped 51 on OKC. He has inside-outside game with a combination of Strength and touch. He's a load. No disrespect to Kyrie, and I do view it as big three, but first and foremost the pairing of LBJ and KLove on the same team is what truly makes this thing insane.

Too many goddamn knees got banged today....im crossing all my fingers and toes for them to stay healthy and at full strength.

 

[OptimusPrime]

We need a center infinitely more than we need Jared Dudley. Dudley would only play in garbage time on this team. I don't want to have to watch this team and wish Blatt would put Alex Kirk in the game for his defense.

 

[Cashius X]

Jared Dudley
Jared Dudley has a pretty good defensive reputation. He works hard and understands how to play smart defense. However, in the NBA, smarts and hard work aren't enough. For those expecting Dudley to replace Grant Hill as the Suns' designated defensive stopper, don't expect much (particularly if Dudley has to defend shooting guards).

Dudley's most commonly defended play was spot-up jumpers at 37.6 percent of his plays. He was pretty good at contesting shots inside the arc as opponents only shot 38.9 percent against him overall, but he struggled defending shots beyond the arc where opponents connected on 41.1 percent of their attempts. The 3-pointers hurt his overall effectiveness, as his PPP against was 0.93 which was ranked 173rd overall.

He spent 18.1 percent of his plays defending isolations, and he did okay, but certainly didn't lock opponents down. Offensive players shot 38.1 percent against him and scored 0.83 PPP, which ranked him 183rd.

Dudley struggles a little more against pick-and-roll ball-handlers, a play he saw on 16.4 percent of his possessions. Ball-handlers shot 45.7 percent from the field and hit five of eight 3-point attempts for a PPP of 0.99 and a rank of 210.

However, he looks better in the the rest of the categories. He gave up 0.90 PPP against shooters running off screens and was ranked 91st. He gave up 0.70 PPP in post-up situations, ranked 40th overall. And he did a fine job defending hand-offs, holding opponents to 9-25 shooting and 0.77 PPP, ranked 22nd.

Did you not read that part? I may have slightly exaggerated when I called him a "shitty defender" but he's nothing to write home about. He tries but there's more to NBA defense than trying and having a high BBIQ. He doesn't have the lateral quickness or the physical strength to be considered a "great wing defender" and furthermore I don't think acquiring him would push the needle positively or negatively for this team.

Could he provide some value? Sure, but not enough that we should "target" him and make a concerted effort to bring him in.

 

[Mr. Orange]

Let's watch this team for two months. See how things go and be opportunistic in Jan/Feb in the trade/waiver game. We got Hawes for a second round pick. At some point, there will be a good trade to make. We have time.

 

[Cavsfan161]

Loving what I saw from waiters. He won't even shy and that's what we need a confident 4th option.

 

[Cavatt]

Kirk looked like he was making the right plays and he rebounded ok, but man they stripped at least 4 rebounds from him. I think he could be as decent player, but he is going to need to get stronger and hold onto that ball.

 

[blommen]

sooo.... Indiana game thread?

 

[OptimusPrime]

Kirk looked like he was making the right plays and he rebounded ok, but man they stripped at least 4 rebounds from him. I think he could be as decent player, but he is going to need to get stronger and hold onto that ball.

Kirk sucks. But he's the only one who put up any kind of resistance around the basket last night. And if Henson and Pachulia can handle us down low like that, imagine was real teams can do.

 

[Benedict_Boozer]

Kirk sucks. But he's the only one who put up any kind of resistance around the basket last night. And if Henson and Pachulia can handle us down low like that, imagine was real teams can do.

I agree. I wasn't impressed with him in summer league either but one thing he seems to be able to do is block shots as you note and we desperately need that, so I could see him making the team. Andy will miss some games, we have to find another serviceable big.

 

[wuck]

sooo.... Indiana game thread?

Haven't assigned any of the preseason game threads, but I gave it my all for tonight.

 

[Cavatt]

Kirk can shoot a little, and he seems to have shot-blocking awareness. I'd like to see him get stronger and use his size better, and then we might have a serviceable backup. He was undrafted and he sorta held his own, so I think he makes the team over any of the other scrubs.

 

[shoes22]

I think the exchange with Lebron was about that. I think LBJ was impressed how Blatt made our third unit/folks-to-be-cut beat the upper half of the Bucks depth chart

I've always said, where Blatt really shines is getting less-talented players to really thrive and look cohesive out there. He really understands what players strengths are and how to get units to succeed.