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Defensive Stoppers in the Lottery

framer

framer

Well-Known Member
In the past I have always loved the idea of having a defensive stopper on the team, someone to totally lock up an opposing player and take them out of the game like Scotty Pippen.

However, in practice, I'm not sure it works like that. When Mark Eaton was here, he was almost universally mocked, even as he racked up League Defensive awards. The same with Ostertag (when he was a good defender.) We waited and waited for a scoring center, and only appreciated Eaton after suffering through really bad centers.

Do defensive stoppers get drafted in the lottery? If so, who and how did they actually fare? It seems to me that the really good defenders are often second round guys who are forced to play defense to put food on the table.

If there is almost no decent record of Defensive stoppers in the lottery, why would we spend a lottery pick on one? Is giving a potential defensive specialist three years guaranteed money a poison pill as they develop as a rookie?

Who are the Defensive stoppers over the past let's say six years that were drafted in the lottery and panned out as well as advertised? Who are the best potential stoppers in this draft and where are they projected?
 
Excellent post, framer. I've wondered this myself. Battier was drafted with the 6th pick, Tony Allen was drafted with the 25th pick, Raja Bell - a former lockdown defender - went undrafted. I think you may be right about guys making themselves defensive players out of job necessity. Not sure if those kinds of players should be counted on in the lottery.
 
1) Exercise the team option to keep Miles.
2) Trade him to Chicago for #28 and #30.
3) Draft Jimmy Butler with one of those (and Charles Jenkins, Darius Morris, or Reggie Jackson with the other).

I agree with the basic idea (except centers, defensive Cs that impact the game are very hard to find and usually are lottery picks).
 
Our problems with our interior defense are also largely due to a crappy effort from our wings, an often overlooked fact. You bring up good points of not appreciating defensive big guys when we had them. We always called for a scoring center, then we land Memo and everyone is upset that we don't have "that one dude who puts up 6 LPG with a block". If we stop kidding ourselves about guys like Kirilenko being great on D then we can actually get someone who will stay in front of their man and half of our defensive woes will be solved. I say go for he most talented players and not the guy who has the most potential to shut down Juwon Howard.
 
"Defensive Stoppers" are not easier to identify than great players. In the lottery, you don't draft guys who you think will only be great defensively. Those guys are hard to keep on the floor in the NBA. The Bowens and Battiers are rare exceptions to the rule. And Battier wasn't expected to be almost worthless offensively when he was drafted.

The real question is when was the last guy who came right into the league as one of the best defensive players? It never happens like that. Even the great defensive players need experience in the league guarding the best guys to define themselves as so good defensively that they have to be on the floor no matter how bad their offense is.
 
infection said:
Our problems with our interior defense are also largely due to a crappy effort from our wings, an often overlooked fact. You bring up good points of not appreciating defensive big guys when we had them. We always called for a scoring center, then we land Memo and everyone is upset that we don't have "that one dude who puts up 6 LPG with a block". If we stop kidding ourselves about guys like Kirilenko being great on D then we can actually get someone who will stay in front of their man and half of our defensive woes will be solved. I say go for he most talented players and not the guy who has the most potential to shut down Juwon Howard.
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This is way off, and the problem is way different.
 
The biggest problem has been coaching, IMO. As far as defense goes. The rules have changed, the game has changed, the personnel has changed, but the strategy hardly changed.
 
So is Chris Singleton merely a defensive player, or does he bring some offensive talent too? I haven't seen him play but I've heard some say he's horrible offensively and some say he's great.

DX lists his offensive stats: 13ppg per 29 min., hitting 46.6% of his 2 pt shots and 36.8% of his 3 pt shots.
 
Well, Thabeet got picked at #2 when people said he was the next Mutombo. That didn't work out too well.

Ben Wallace went undrafted didn't he? Then he became DPOY.

Bruce Bowen, Tony Allen, AK weren't high lottery picks, but became league-leading defensive players.
 
What about Biyombo? That guy apparently has no offensive game. But a great defensive motor. I'm still excited about him. He had 12 blocks in the NHS. Still lost by 12 though. I don't know what any of this means for him as a defensive stopper in the NBA.

Is it dumb for us to consider him in the lottery? I really like him. But I think sometimes we get attached to guys and it overrides better judgment. But maybe all the pre-draft time has me second guessing an obvious talent. I can't see straight anymore.
 
billyshelby said:
I just want anyone to explain how Chris Singleton is not Corey Brewer.
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They are completely different players physically and have completely different skill sets. I don't think there could be a more simple, thorough explanation than that.

I'm assuming you were inferring Singleton will be a bust as Brewer has proven to be, and that may end up being true. But it won't be because he's similar on the court.
 
chitownjazz said:
They are completely different players physically and have completely different skill sets. I don't think there could be a more simple, thorough explanation than that.

I'm assuming you were inferring Singleton will be a bust as Brewer has proven to be, and that may end up being true. But it won't be because he's similar on the court.
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I don't think they're as different as you think. Singleton will be an anemic offensive player in the NBA. So he better be All World defensively to draft him in the lottery.
 
Singleton has the body not to be out muscled by elite NBA SF's though. C.Brewer was 200 lbs max. Their offensive game is pretty comparable though. It's not out of the question to pick him 12th in a weak draft.
 
Jazz4ever said:
Singleton has the body not to be out muscled by elite NBA SF's though. C.Brewer was 200 lbs max. Their offensive game is pretty comparable though. It's not out of the question to pick him 12th in a weak draft.
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And yet, Corey Brewer is still considered an excellent defender. Chris Singleton has an excellent chance of being this year's Corey Brewer who is so worthless on offense that he draws a DNP behind Desean Stevenson.
 
The thing I like about Singleton is that he gives the Jazz an option that they don't currently have. He might not play a lot every game and he certainly could get some DNP's. But he could also come into a game where an opposing wing is hot and at least compete with him and slow him down. I don't think we have anyone on the team right now that I would have confidence in to be able to do that. It's all about match ups.
 
Maybe it's better to draft talent. Get defense from a FA fighting for a job. Defense is largely about effort and unemployment's good motivation.
 
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