If any of you saw last night's Warriors-Blazers game, there was a lesson encoded there for us Griz fans.
Namely, that as Curry came off screens at the three-point line, Enes Kanter remained stationed in the post area, several feet away from Curry, giving Curry several wide-open looks, which of course he seldom misses. Post-game analysis excoriated the Blazers for this, and said that unless Terry Stott fixes this problem, it's going to be a short series. And I think Kanter is either going to adjust--if he can--or see less playing time.
This too was the reason that Andrew Bogut saw almost no playing time against Houston, given their deadly capabilities from three.
So what? So this: This is precisely the reason Kramer and Carter are no longer with the Griz. In the bygone era of basketball, the big men stayed rooted near the basket so as to prevent the easier close-in shots. If a guy wanted to shoot from outside, let him: The percentages were less, and the big was there to defend the rim.
But in the three-point era, any time a guy can shoot 35% or better from three--and many now can shoot way better than that--you have to defend that shot. And that means your bigs have to be mobile enough and agile enough to come out and not only defend but switch off at the three-point line.
To paraphrase Micheal Ray's famous line, "The ship be sinkin':" "Oh, yeah, the game be changin'."
Namely, that as Curry came off screens at the three-point line, Enes Kanter remained stationed in the post area, several feet away from Curry, giving Curry several wide-open looks, which of course he seldom misses. Post-game analysis excoriated the Blazers for this, and said that unless Terry Stott fixes this problem, it's going to be a short series. And I think Kanter is either going to adjust--if he can--or see less playing time.
This too was the reason that Andrew Bogut saw almost no playing time against Houston, given their deadly capabilities from three.
So what? So this: This is precisely the reason Kramer and Carter are no longer with the Griz. In the bygone era of basketball, the big men stayed rooted near the basket so as to prevent the easier close-in shots. If a guy wanted to shoot from outside, let him: The percentages were less, and the big was there to defend the rim.
But in the three-point era, any time a guy can shoot 35% or better from three--and many now can shoot way better than that--you have to defend that shot. And that means your bigs have to be mobile enough and agile enough to come out and not only defend but switch off at the three-point line.
To paraphrase Micheal Ray's famous line, "The ship be sinkin':" "Oh, yeah, the game be changin'."