06-25-2022, 02:58 AM
(06-24-2022, 03:26 PM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: If our defense suffers because he's on the court than is he our best big? We had no problem playing Maxi huge minutes in the playoffs despite Powell starting all year.
It's an interesting take and I guess I can understand why people would consider Brunson a liability but I certainly didn't see that last year. To say that Brunson was exploited on BOTH ends of the court during the playoffs though is definitely strange to me because it was clearly the best ball he's played his whole career and there's a very strong chance he's the only reason we got out of the first round. Just out of curiosity, did you think our defense wasn't good enough last year? Who is the ideal player you want next to Luka because it's not like Jrue Holidays grow on trees.
I'm with you that I hope Brunson's contract is reasonable but I disagree that Brunson's defense holds us back from being a true contender.
I think Brunson is predictable offensively, predominantly because he has no pull up 3 in his arsenal, and he still struggles a lot against length. He was very inconsistent offensively. That it was the best he's played in his whole career is irrelevant, Im not comparing him to his previous play, I'm comparing to what ideally you would have next to Luka. I would be fine with an inconsistent offensive player if they were a lockdown defender.
That's literally what I'd want next to Luka. Someone well above average defensively with length. They wouldn't even have to be as good on offense as Brunson. I'd prefer 3 positive defenders in the starting unit with Luka.
If Wood doesn't work out and we are reducing his minutes in favor of Maxi, then we are likely mostly in the same situation we were in last season, but probably with a Western conference that is much healthier than it was. Meaning we probably aren't in the mix at all.