Comments on: Greg Monroe’s defense will be fine

By: gmehl

gmehl — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 02:41:52 +0000

I obviously meant if don’t get one guy (Porter) then go after the other (Oladipo)

By: tarsier

tarsier — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:43:06 +0000

I don’t disagree. I just think his problems come form having to try to help. And really, he’s so bad at it, he’d probably better off not even offering any help D. Just stick to his guy, let someone else help, and don’t give up the wide open layup to whoever he just went away from.

My main point is that he’s not a bad one-on-one defender, at least in what I’ve seen.

By: tarsier

tarsier — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:40:43 +0000

I wasn’t trying to claim he was an athletic wonder. But it looks like the no-step vert range for draftable guys is basically 20″-35″. Monroe’s on the low end of that, but still pretty near the middle.

By: G

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:05:10 +0000

Yes, Monroe will get burned on the perimeter. This will be MUCH less of a problem with Drummond in the game. Anyway, I don’t see how that’s relevant when talking about stretch 4′s. You were talking about guys pulling up for jumpers, not taking it to the rack.

So either you’re back pedaling from your original argument or you’re very confused.

By: oats

oats — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:46:41 +0000

Part of why he doesn’t do those things more is that Monroe prefers to go for the strip. He tends to move to the side a bit to get a better angle and try to get his hand in before the guy actually gets in to his shooting motion. He’s a poor shot blocker but has quick hands, so that isn’t a bad strategy. Yeah, he does give up some easy shots that way too, so I want him to learn to do that without stepping aside, but I can’t fault that instinct.

By: Ryank

Ryank — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:41:50 +0000

Don’t mistake your opinion with fact…the world is very different than your opinion.

Monroe is burned every single time he has to guard a player who can move on the perimeter. He can put a hand up to defend a jumper as well and anyone…but a guy who puts the ball on the floor and blows past him gets a clean look at the rim everytime. There’s no disputing this fact.

By: G

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:36:36 +0000

When he’s locked in (which practically no one on the team is now), he’s pretty good at drawing a charge. Monroe is more likely to foul if he leaves his feet, so I’m fine with him not jumping at shots. Plus, since he’s the best offensive player on the team, him getting in foul trouble isn’t smart.

By: G

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:33:16 +0000

Point – Tim Duncan rarely looks like he’s trying, but the dude is STILL a beast!

By: G

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:32:07 +0000

Good point on the steals. And I agree, a lot of his problems come from playing with inferior defenders at the other positions. But even if you assume the steals all happened near the basket (which I don’t, I think most of them probably came around 15ft out), he’s still a terrible interior defender.

By: G

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:24:15 +0000

I haven’t measure it in a while, but I’m 6’2″ and can grab rim with both hands if I get a running start, so that’s about right. So 25″ with a running start. Put it this way – in my pick up game I get blocked unless I’m open or I throw up a couple shot fakes.

I was comparing Monroe to his peers though. Check the no-step verts on all the centers - Monroe’s 25 is pretty low. Lower than Spencer Hawes, Kevin Love, Jason Collins, and a bunch of other guys who were deemed “un-athletic”. Worse is his max vert reach, which at 11’5.5″ is SUPER low for a 6’11″ guy.