(01-04-2021, 06:14 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: This might be true, if the lack of “aggressive rim protection” was THE problem, but alas, it is only A problem. THE problem is his complete lack of the foot speed, agility and change of direction ability required to adequately defend the modern spread pick and roll. I think what he brings to the table is valuable enough that, were it possible to teach him these things, someone would’ve committed to doing so by now.
Just watching him on the defensive end, I often see him react a full second after the ball has changed hands, even when it’s passed right by him. His instincts and reflexes on that end are just comically slow compared to the speed of the game, imo. This problem doesn’t really exist on the offensive end, for some reason. I think it’s because when he has the ball he’s simply performing a series of actions he has practiced and perfected tens of thousands of times. He’s so big that he doesn’t have to “react” to anything on offense, because no defender can really pressure him while he’s in position to employ his wide variety of post moves/footwork.
Even on offense though, it’s hard for him to get that position consistently, especially once it’s clear that the Mavs are trying to play through him. And, even when he does, the post pass is one of the easier things to take away, given how the rules work now.
Finally, we must consider what I believe to be another especially glaring weakness of his: for Boban, the simple act of running up and down the court every time the possession changes from team to team isn’t actually simple. It’s extremely difficult. Given the importance placed by modern coaches on “pace” (how quickly into the 24 second clock they are able to productively get through their first action) the result of this weakness, defensively, is that by around minute 4 of Boban’s time on the court the Mavs are literally defending 4 on 5, sometimes for an entire (quick) possession. I have seen Carlisle call timeouts to remove Boban for this reason more than once.
Offensively, how can you base an offense around a post player when A) he has to fight for position, B) it’s difficult to get him the ball once he does and C) there’s a good chance the process of A and B doesn’t begin until 7-10 seconds into the shot clock?
Those are good, thoughtful observations, and they provide a more thorough explanation of why it is difficult to feature a guy like Bobi in today's NBA than I've seen in materials oriented toward fans. Thank you!
You may well be right that, if Bobi's limitations could be corrected by training, someone would have already taken that on. I think he can still be useful in short stints as a change of pace, or when you really need a couple of buckets. I used to wonder last season, for example, about situations in the clutch or during the bench portion of the fourth where the Mavs had a lead, just needed to be able to hold on for a few possessions, and couldn't manage to get any scores or stops. Specifically, whether, as long as the Mavs couldn't stop the opposition in any case, at least they might be able to keep scoring, and maintain their lead, by putting Bobi in for two or three minutes. But it wasn't like I thought he was going to play some kind of major role.
Tbh, I mainly just like the guy and love watching him play, and probably look at situations where it might make sense a little sentimentally. Anyway, I agree with dahl (and you, I think) that he is unlikely to climb the big man ladder here, although he might find a spot somewhere that he could be (for example) third or fourth string, instead of sixth. I wish him the best in his remaining career!