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Originally Posted by southeasy
i had completely forgot about Kamans shotblocking numbers, i never really thought about him as a shotblocker, and then i overlooked the Camby trade.
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Kaman was having a real breakout season before the injury. He was scoring, rebounding like a madman and blocking a ton of shots (155 in only 56 games).
Since they lost Brand, I assume they'll play Camby at the 4. Kaman will block more shots than Jermaine and Camby will block 4 - 5x as many as Bosh (Camby alone had more blocks than Moon + Bosh + O'Neal last season). Al Thorton probably won't block as many shots as Moon, but he's athletic and a much better scorer than Moon. With Magette gone, he'll probably become the fulltime starter at the 3. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get 70+ blocks. That's not earth shattering, but also not bad for a SF.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southeasy
also definitely wouldn't call Bynum/Pau/Odom a great defensive frontcourt, shotblocking indeed, don't know about Bynums low-post defence, but i feel Bosh has the edge over Pau on D, and definitely see Moon as a more tough defender then LO.
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I wouldn't call them a great defensive front court either, but they will block a lot of shots. Bynum will be an intimidating presence. Even two years ago, when the rest of his game was still nothing to get excited about, Bynum blocked 128 shots in less than 22 MPG. Last year, he had 72 blocks in only 35 games (25 as starter) and was coming on strong before his injury. Getting Bynum back will give them an excellent all around front court. Pau isn't a great defender, but he does block quite a few shots and he's an excellent passer. Odom is a good all around player. Not really great at anything, but a very good rebounder, a good passer and a dependable 14 - 15 PPG scorer. Loosing Ronny Turiaf will hurt their depth as he gave them energy, rebounding and shot blocking off the bench.
It will be interesting to see how the Blazers shape up with Oden in the middle. From what I've seen of him in high school, college, summer league and scrimmages, he has all the tools to be an elite shot blocker and interior defender. They'll have Joel Przybilla, who is regularly among the league leaders in BLK/48 backing him up. LaMarcus Aldridge is a good, but not great (yet) shot blocker at the 4. If they go with Travis Outlaw at the 3, he's a pretty good shot blocker (had almost as many blocks as Bosh in 10 fewer MPG). Last season they had 59 more blocks than their opponents - and that was without Oden, who could be a game changing defender. Too soon to say for sure, but the potential is certainly there.
In terms of total defense, not just shot blocking. Houston has the personnel to be scary good defensively on their front line. With Yao in the middle, they can go with Artest at the 4 and Battier at the 3. Neither Artest nor Battier are great shot blockers, but they are two of the best lock-down defenders in the league. If anyone can help revive Ron Ron's career, it's Rick Adelman. Artest respects him, likes to play for him and will appreciate Rick giving him a chance to get a fresh start. And then they have the old man Mutombo who's still good for a finger wag or two off the bench.
BNM