Our need for a defensive Rim Protector.

[Diesel]

Maybe that guy is Bebe. But not at his weight. However, we need somebody who could protect the rim and add a little easy offense. I know everybody saw the impact that a Serge Ibaka had for OKC. That's what we lack. We lacked that guy who can come in the game and make his presence known.

Well, here's the list...

I set it up so that it tells us about all the players who stop their opponents at the rim... in order.

Guys we frequently talk about like Asik...Hawes.. Gortat... We should look at them and measure them by the list. Then there are guys that you never heard of like Jeff Whitney.

[AHF]

Would have liked Withey in the second round last season. He was a solid pick for the Pelicans.

[JTB]

Here's the thing about this rim protector issue!

1.Spurs took ibaka completely out the game when they started Matt bonner! That's the important part of all this rim protector nonsense. Ibaka had to worry about the perimeter shot, so brooks try to put him at center to keep him around the goal and spurs decide to go one on one against him knowing they have no help defense because shooters are on the floor and the hall of famer destroys him!

2.Look at Miami...Hibbert is taken completely out the game with Lewis and bosh spreading the floor for lebron, wade, cole to attack the rim avd finish because Hibbert is too slow to recover back to the rim or they kick out cause Hibbert is too slow to close out.

THIS RIM PROTECTOR STUFF IS BULLSH*T PEOPLE!!!! Hibbert and ibaka are the best two shot blockers/rim protectors in the conference finals and they are at home getting ready to watch the finals like us!

WHAT THE HAWKS TRULY NEED:

What the hawks need is what the spurs have and I don't mean the old hall of famer Duncan...I mean they have a big man rotation for every need! If they want to spread the floor they can bring in bonner or diaw. If they want a rim protector they got splitter and Duncan (and the other young kid).

Hawks need a complete big man rotation that has guys with a special skill set cause you can't get it all in one player these days, so you need a big man rotation you can turn to like the spurs have. That's key to getting further in the playoffs! Starts with the big man rotation ends with the big man rotation.

[GameTime]

Maybe that guy is Bebe. But not at his weight. However, we need somebody who could protect the rim and add a little easy offense. I know everybody saw the impact that a Serge Ibaka had for OKC. That's what we lack. We lacked that guy who can come in the game and make his presence known.

Well, here's the list...

I set it up so that it tells us about all the players who stop their opponents at the rim... in order.

Guys we frequently talk about like Asik...Hawes.. Gortat... We should look at them and measure them by the list. Then there are guys that you never heard of like Jeff Whitney.

Bebe is 7'0 220 lbs, Withey is 7'0.5 222 lbs

[Admin]

Here's the thing about this rim protector issue!

1.Spurs took ibaka completely out the game when they started Matt bonner! That's the important part of all this rim protector nonsense. Ibaka had to worry about the perimeter shot, so brooks try to put him at center to keep him around the goal and spurs decide to go one on one against him knowing they have no help defense because shooters are on the floor and the hall of famer destroys him!

2.Look at Miami...Hibbert is taken completely out the game with Lewis and bosh spreading the floor for lebron, wade, cole to attack the rim avd finish because Hibbert is too slow to recover back to the rim or they kick out cause Hibbert is too slow to close out.

THIS RIM PROTECTOR STUFF IS BULLSH*T PEOPLE!!!! Hibbert and ibaka are the best two shot blockers/rim protectors in the conference finals and they are at home getting ready to watch the finals like us!

WHAT THE HAWKS TRULY NEED:

What the hawks need is what the spurs have and I don't mean the old hall of famer Duncan...I mean they have a big man rotation for every need! If they want to spread the floor they can bring in bonner or diaw. If they want a rim protector they got splitter and Duncan (and the other young kid).

Hawks need a complete big man rotation that has guys with a special skill set cause you can't get it all in one player these days, so you need a big man rotation you can turn to like the spurs have. That's key to getting further in the playoffs! Starts with the big man rotation ends with the big man rotation.

It's good to have a rim protector when you're playing a team who constantly attack the rim. Look at what we did to the Pacers when Jeff was going off on them and Hibbert couldn't do anything about it. What we need is a rangy Noah type who can defend coming off of picks and can help out in the paint to protect the rim. Having a PF who can block shots helps too and we've got Horford and Millsap who are good enough there.

[AHF]

It is hard to be someone whose main skills is shot blocking who isn't also a stud rebounder. I definitely think rim protection is an important reality but teams have gotten more creative about spreading the floor so that big man better be ready to abuse some Rashard Lewis type of defender on the other end of the floor. Hibbert can neither rebound nor score so it makes him a limited tool. Ibaka isn't a great rebounder but was still effective - he just didn't have another member of the frontcourt to pair with when SA went small.

A guy like Anthony Davis is going to be even more beastly because he will give you everything that Ibaka does plus better rebounding and better offense. He is your next interior beast if he can get on a team that won't hold him back.

I do agree with JTB that you need to have a versatile roster so you can make adjustments and force other teams away from what they want to do in order to adjust to you. Having rim protectors is part of that so you can shut down a team that is repeatedly scoring in the paint. Having stretch bigs is part of that by punishing players like Hibbert who are only useful near the goal. You can't pull that kind of ploy against someone like Joekim Noah, though, because he will shut down your Matt Bonner and abuse him on offense and on the boards. Kendrick Perkins, Hibbert, etc. are prone to getting abused by perimeter shooting bigs and stretch bigs are a key part of your roster building to have that tool against those limited mobility centers.

[Guest]

I kind of wanted Withey in the second round last year as well. But he was already 23 years old as a rookie. I don't really like to draft guys over 22 years of age. Which is why I'm a bit turned off on Adreian Payne this year.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Spud2Nique

[Admin]

Bebe is 7'0 220 lbs, Withey is 7'0.5 222 lbs

And Bebe is far more athletic than Withey and should have the range to be a more impactful defender.

[Admin]

It is hard to be someone whose main skills is shot blocking who isn't also a stud rebounder. I definitely think rim protection is an important reality but teams have gotten more creative about spreading the floor so that big man better be ready to abuse some Rashard Lewis type of defender on the other end of the floor. Hibbert can neither rebound nor score so it makes him a limited tool. Ibaka isn't a great rebounder but was still effective - he just didn't have another member of the frontcourt to pair with when SA went small.

A guy like Anthony Davis is going to be even more beastly because he will give you everything that Ibaka does plus better rebounding and better offense. He is your next interior beast if he can get on a team that won't hold him back.

I do agree with JTB that you need to have a versatile roster so you can make adjustments and force other teams away from what they want to do in order to adjust to you. Having rim protectors is part of that so you can shut down a team that is repeatedly scoring in the paint. Having stretch bigs is part of that by punishing players like Hibbert who are only useful near the goal. You can't pull that kind of ploy against someone like Joekim Noah, though, because he will shut down your Matt Bonner and abuse him on offense and on the boards. Kendrick Perkins, Hibbert, etc. are prone to getting abused by perimeter shooting bigs and stretch bigs are a key part of your roster building to have that tool against those limited mobility centers.

And if he can stay healthy. Looking like injury prone is going to be a label with him, judging by his 1st two seasons.

[JTB]

It is hard to be someone whose main skills is shot blocking who isn't also a stud rebounder. I definitely think rim protection is an important reality but teams have gotten more creative about spreading the floor so that big man better be ready to abuse some Rashard Lewis type of defender on the other end of the floor. Hibbert can neither rebound nor score so it makes him a limited tool. Ibaka isn't a great rebounder but was still effective - he just didn't have another member of the frontcourt to pair with when SA went small.

A guy like Anthony Davis is going to be even more beastly because he will give you everything that Ibaka does plus better rebounding and better offense. He is your next interior beast if he can get on a team that won't hold him back.

I do agree with JTB that you need to have a versatile roster so you can make adjustments and force other teams away from what they want to do in order to adjust to you. Having rim protectors is part of that so you can shut down a team that is repeatedly scoring in the paint. Having stretch bigs is part of that by punishing players like Hibbert who are only useful near the goal. You can't pull that kind of ploy against someone like Joekim Noah, though, because he will shut down your Matt Bonner and abuse him on offense and on the boards. Kendrick Perkins, Hibbert, etc. are prone to getting abused by perimeter shooting bigs and stretch bigs are a key part of your roster building to have that tool against those limited mobility centers.

Exactly...but I must say if these bigger centers Hibbert, Perkins, etc. were making these smaller guys like sap, Lewis, bosh, etc pay on offensive end than I probably wouldn't have said what I said but since that's not the case like I said we need a rotation that can do it all instead of paying big bucks to one guy who's known just to protect the rim but gets abused when the floor is spread.

Also I agree with the Noah comment! But he's like the only one that can defend the perimeter big well and be an anchor in the post. Gotta give the defensive player of the year props but he's the only one of his kind in the nba. When the hawks get to him and if we had a big man rotation like the spurs that can do it all, our best bet is to just ware out Noah by having him run to defend the perimeter and use horford/sap to pound him in the paint......it's all about taking Noah's energy away.

[Admin]

Exactly...but I must say if these bigger centers Hibbert, Perkins, etc. were making these smaller guys like sap, Lewis, bosh, etc pay on offensive end than I probably wouldn't have said what I said but since that's not the case like I said we need a rotation that can do it all instead of paying big bucks to one guy who's known just to protect the rim but gets abused when the floor is spread.

Also I agree with the Noah comment! But he's like the only one that can defend the perimeter big well and be an anchor in the post. Gotta give the defensive player of the year props but he's the only one of his kind in the nba. When the hawks get to him and if we had a big man rotation like the spurs that can do it all, our best bet is to just ware out Noah by having him run to defend the perimeter and use horford/sap to pound him in the paint......it's all about taking Noah's energy away.

One of the big reasons why I have such high hopes for Bebe is that many say he reminds them of a young raw Noah.

[JTB]

One of the big reasons why I have such high hopes for Bebe is that many say he reminds them of a young raw Noah.

@Dolfan23 it would be great if he can be the next Noah!

But I noticed that so many are concerned about his weight at 220 but speaking of the comparison to Noah...isn't Noah only 10 pounds heavier than bebe at 230?

If so why are people so concerned about bebes weight? I'm sure he can put on 10 pounds easily.

[Admin]

@Dolfan23 it would be great if he can be the next Noah!

But I noticed that so many are concerned about his weight at 220 but speaking of the comparison to Noah...isn't Noah only 10 pounds heavier than bebe at 230?

If so why are people so concerned about bebes weight? I'm sure he can put on 10 pounds easily.

Maybe because Bebe looks like he's 8' tall with that hair so it naturally makes him look more thin than he is?

[AHF]

Here are some stud big men that I think can be mobile enough to be effective against a stretch big man and/or who can punish the Lewis/Bonners of the world inside to such an extent that it offsets the defensive problem:

There:

Joakim Noah

Anthony Davis

Al Horford*

Brooke Lopez*

Dwight Howard

LaMarcus Aldridge*

Chris Bosh*

Serge Ibaka (he would have been fine against Bonner if they had anyone else who could have marked Duncan / he is their only mobile big and it takes two)

Maybe there?

DeMarcus Cousins*

Andre Drummond

DeAndre Jordan (the question is whether he is far enough along to brutalize a Rashard Lewis; I would guess that the answer will be "yes")

* = Not rim protectors, although Cousins has the size to keep people out of the post.

[JTB]

Maybe because Bebe looks like he's 8' tall with that hair so it naturally makes him look more thin than he is?

Lol I get that but even if he does get to Noah size of 230 or 235...I doubt he looks any different than what he does now.

My point is, is that I don't think size affects the way bebe plays but hey I can be wrong since I don't know squat about the guy really.

[AHF]

"6 foot 5, 6 foot 9 with the afro"

[Guest]

@Dolfan23 it would be great if he can be the next Noah!

But I noticed that so many are concerned about his weight at 220 but speaking of the comparison to Noah...isn't Noah only 10 pounds heavier than bebe at 230?

If so why are people so concerned about bebes weight? I'm sure he can put on 10 pounds easily.

Noah's pre-draft weight was 223lbs, Bebe 220lbs - it's a bunch a hullaboola about nothing. Stop worrying about his weight, he needs to add strength more than anything.

[JTB]

Noah's pre-draft weight was 223lbs, Bebe 220lbs - it's a bunch a hullaboola about nothing. Stop worrying about his weight, he needs to add strength more than anything.

Lol oh I know. I think bebe was sent back overseas to get better skill wise more than to gain weight! The nba game has changed today, you can have a smaller center in weight and as long as they are tall and they can still somehow be effective.

I'm excited to see what bebe can do! From videos I have seen the kid can run the floor fast for a 7 footer and the hawks like to push the ball! Then on top if they he's just so long that his length can bother Hibbert probably! It's not like Hibbert backs you down and dunk on you, instead he backs down and tries to shoot that jump hook and a lot of players can't contest it with Hibbert being 7'3 but bebe with his length could probably contest it well and mauve even get a hand on it.

[macdaddy]

Horford, Antić, Bebe, Brand or Horford, Jordan Hill, Antić, Bebe are good center rotations. We shouldn't be wasting our time on how to match up with Hibbert. We need to spend our time on matching up with Lebron, Paul George and Kevin Durant.

[hazer]

One of the big reasons why I have such high hopes for Bebe is that many say he reminds them of a young raw Noah.

Once again: nail -------> head. You know I've been preaching this, and braving the ridicule for doing so, as often as anyone will listen. Noah would be perfect in Bud's system, hell in ANY system. Which is why I'm stoked about the next 'Noah' coming down the pipe: Bebe...