7th Ranked Defense (DRTG) 4th Best Paint Defense 1st Fast Break Defense 11th Best Opponent Second Chance Points. 2nd Best Opponent Points off Turnovers. 2nd for Defensive Rebounds 7th for Defensive Rebound % Six guys from ages 19 to 22 playing significant minutes in the rotation. DB/Bari/Tari have all missed significant time. We do not have a legitimate, 15-minute, backup 5. Subscriber Content: Did it without Bruno Fernando, Mo Bamba, or Brook Lopez, who is currently anchoring the 19th-ranked defense out in Milwaukee. https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense?dir=A&sort=DEF_RATING
It’s SO weird the board ignores this topic and there are 3 highly active threads discussing we will need a different rim protector and move Sengun out of position to the 4. Wth is going on here? I think some people are dying to say “I told you so” about Sengun’s rim protection being unplayable and just can’t wait for a regular bad stretch from the 22 year old to imply they “knew it” all along. He is going to be much better than this when he’s had more than 2.5 years in the NBA and with more muscle. Top 10 defense is championship defense. We are starting Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. This is nothing short of a miracle early in Phase 2.
It's still going to take Jalen awhile defensively but I've seen improvements. Robert Williams could help alot at the rim.
When the team is focused they play great TEAM defense. edit: Tari Eason is our best defender when basing it on drating (105). edit2: Amen is right behind Tari at 107
Sengun does not guard LeBron, Luka, Kawhi, Booker or the best player of the opposing team every night.....
Of course Jalen is not yet even an average defender but the point is top 10 defenses win championships despite sometimes hiding poor defenders and making mistakes. It’s also not always linear, I believe 3rd place defenses have won the title more than 2nd place. Defense is not more important than offense and vice versa. You also must be a top 10 offense to win a title. The 14th offense plus #1 defense ain’t gonna do it without major major luck. It’s not legitimate to say these things (Sengun/Green) must change for us to win a title. It is 100% true though that we are far away from a championship offense. Our defense can and will get marginally better in the rankings. One step at a time.
For all the hate Jalen continues to get for his lack of defense, i will continue saying he has gotten pretty good at positional defense and rotations. He still is susceptible to back door cuts off ball and he isnt a "pest" individually man on man but hes gotten so much better at the unrecognizable things. His transition defensive positioning is actually really good. This is probably his best defensive attribute. He wont stop it everytime and he doesnt get the highlight chase down block, but he often forces the offense to get set and allow his team to catch up.
Another fun fact here is that our starting 5 lineup (which includes two terrible defenders in Sengun and Green according to many here) has a defensive rating of 110.0, which would be #2 in the league as a team, right behind the timberwolves. Crazy how that works.
Oh I didn’t think you weren’t, my post wasn’t directed at you. Was mostly directed at people acting like we’re at a dead end with Sengun as rim protector.
Still shocked how fast it happened. I’ve said before this season that he will be a good enough defender at the 5 to win a title, but I thought it would be by age 25 or something. Feels like we’ll already be there by the end of the coming summer.
That's the stupid thing. Sengun progressed beyond everyone's dreams in just an off-season and still people assume he won't improve on defense. I am guessing even we are best defense in the league, if there is a lob pass over sengun, the same posters will claim victory.
