Dillon Brooks on Mental Lapses: “Feel like it’s the same guys that are doing that”

I blame Jack Daniel's for the first one.

 

I really like Dillon calling that out - for some of our guys this is the first time they are getting held accountable. I am pretty sure that Ime is a lot more vocal inside the locker room. It is all about how they react to it.

That being said, I hope Dillon holds himself accountable the same way. He has turned the ball over several times as unforced errors. (Still think Dillon is maybe the biggest bright spot on this team so farI

 

There are certain plays where Alp clearly can’t defend. It seems to be when players go left on drives and he stays in front but a little the opponents side. He isn’t long enough to block or really effectively contest those shots. He might not have the lateral speed to get fully in front, so he’s kind of defending from his hip, while moving sideways which surely makes it harder to get max extension to contest. But everything else, he’s doing a fine job.


One thing I have noticed is he doesn’t reach NEARLY as often. I saw one from Wednesday game when I rewatched last night.

 

I’m seeing the same things

 

Yeah, teams always "hunt" the big man with a quick guard on the switch. DPOY Gobert got hunted a lot.

That's why switchable bigs are so valuable.

 

Sengun had the fourth worst defensive rating on the team that game, only better than Reggie Bullock, Jae'Sean Tate, and Fred VanVleet.
His net rating of -13.4 was second worst among starters, well behind Jalen Green (+5.3) and Jabari Smith (+19.9).

So unless the NBA statisticians are lying on Alpi, my point stands uncontroverted.

As I said, Sengun has certain physical limitation that aren't likely to change, so it is incumbent upon the coaching staff to find a work-around for when that scenario happens again (and it almost certainly will) if they want to keep Sengun on the floor in those situations.

 

Rockets fans should know this well. James Harden was a master at it.

 

great post! I can see he means well and he really wants to do well. His wanting to play well far exceeds his capabilities right now. He needs to be patient and play within himself.

 

Yet he’s been among the best in the others. Alp has defended fine. Nowhere near a liability.
He’s bigger than Jabari with at minimum the he same wingspan and while he’s not as laterally quick as Jabari he’s more engaged and has been playing better leverages.
Only one of them was labeled a defensive stalwart

 

That's funny because Reggie Bullock, Jae'Sean Tate, Fred VanVleet and lastly but not leastly Alperen Şengün are better defensive players than Jabari Smith JR.

Nitpicking one game to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the players should never fail. Keep doing it. LMAO.

 

You may want to follow the entire conversation before chiming in. It may save you a little embarrassment.
A little objective observation instead of reactionary defensiveness might help too.

Just a suggestion.

 

That's one of his biggest strides defensively. That and the fact he's clearly gotten stronger in the paint.
He still struggles against length but he no longer gets rooted out of position in the post.

 

My objective observation suggests that despite the physical limitations Sengun has, he's still a much better defensive player than Jabari Smith Jr.

 

right where it should be?

..... to be an OK NBA player? Probably yes.

..... to be what he was billed as coming out of college by the draft-industrial complex (#1 overall ranking according to some, all-defense caliber player, knockdown shooter) - definite no.

That's why people are disappointed.

 

no his track is literally just fine. all that draft industrial complex is just setting just the typical superstar standard draft casuals set every year for top picks. And well all that stuff is just clickbait material.

How's Paolo looking the gloried can't miss pick. Dudes been struggling out the gate this year. Maybe it has to do with he too being another 20 year old coming into his 2nd season. turnover machine. still can't shoot and his defense isn't even any better than Bari's

#1 problem most folks cry about is when they set unrealistic standards from day 1 and don't understand the process of progression for literally kids coming into the league at 18/19. They then act like everything needs to happen instantly. Reality doesn't work that way. If anyone is already disappointed in a 20 year old Bari, you merely set yourself up for that prematurely. When in reality he has shown plenty of reasons to continue to be intrigued with how he progresses

 

The numbers say otherwise.
But hey, what do they know.

 

Sure.

 

I watched parts of Utah-Orlando last night in between the Spurs Suns and Paolo Banchero looked freaking great, he had 30 points, some number (5?) assists & boards and scored the winning basket on a drive with 1.2 seconds

So, in his case, reality is working different

 

Sengun has been fine defensively. He’ll always have limitations and will never be above average or someone who cleans up others’ mistakes… but he’s executing the scheme in the halfcourt with effort and minimal lapses so far this year. His recognition and processing are solid.

Jalen and Jabari are trying hard most of the time, but they’re clearly still learning what it means mentally to be at the required level defensively. They lag behind their man or lose track of them, react too slowly, and once they are behind a play it’s over, because they don’t have the physical tools to get back into it at the NBA level.

Re-watch a game of our defensive possessions on slo-mo. It’s Jabari and Jalen who are consistently allowing breakdowns by playing coverages too soft / weak.

They still play defense like they’re top prospects who can give up a bucket and get it back on the other end.

Ime is trying to train them to play defense like they’re FVV, Tate, or Brooks - like every inch you give up on defense is life or death.