[Dan Rosenbaum]

MBSH: What is the feeling about ERob's defense down at the Berto center? Do they view him as a potential defensive stopper, potentially a good defender, already a good defender, a weak defender who has the potential to be a lot better, etc? Do they view him as someone who could be a good defender on SGs, big SFs, or small PFs?

And if they see 30-35 mpg for ERob, 30-35 mpg for JWill, 35-40 mpg for Rose, that leaves 34-49 mpg for Hassell, Crawford, and anyone else at the 1/2/3. Any ideas on who is likely to be the unhappy party?

 

[Dan Rosenbaum]

Thanks MBSH!

I just don't get it with ERob. I just don't get it.

I remember ScottMay over at RealGM arguing once that ERob has worse ball handling and passing skills than many 4s, most 3s, and practically every 2. And he is right.

He also has a funny shot that probably will never extend out to the 3-point line, and with his mediocre ball handling, he really can't slash to the hoop either. How in the world does such a player score 20-25 points a game? Even if he is an amazing athlete.

And we don't even expect him to be a great defensive player either. I just don't get it. Maybe as a player to add some excitement, ERob made sense last year, but this year we have plenty of reasons to be excited. Unless ERob works and becomes a great defensive player, I really can't see how he will be a more important contributor than Hassell who plays strong defense and can hit an open shot. For ERob to be effective, the offense will to some extent need to be run through him, which I can't imagine happening.

I just wish that I could imagine how ERob could be a good player. Even if he becomes fully healthy, I have a very hard time seeing it.

 

[Dan Rosenbaum]

KC:

More importantly, Krause and Cartwright have an obligation to the fans and to the rest of the Bulls' players to play the guys who give us the best chance of winning. If that means you play a guy who makes $500,000 over a guy who makes $5,000,000, then that is what you do. The contracts are water under the bridge. Championship organizations put their best players out on the floor, except in cases like last Spring where we out of the hunt and developing players.

 

[Dan Rosenbaum]

WHY CAN'T EROB BACK UP THE PF POSITION?

I was thinking about this the other day, and I think ERob at SG either defensively or especially offensively is really a stretch.

ERob is a 205 pound 6' 9" guy with incredible athletic ability and long arms, weak handles and passing skills, and limited range but a nice mid-range shot.

Such players typically are SF/PF players (Darius Miles, Jerome Wiliams, Antawn Jamison), but because we thought we had a hole at the SG position last year, we have always thought of ERob as a SG/SF. I think that is a mistake now that we have Hassell, a solid SG, and Crawford possibly working on becoming one. Rose also has the capability to back-up the SG position and Hoiberg is a SG as well. And Krause seems to be high on Jacobsen.

I see Rose best suited to SF both offensively and defensively (on most nights), but we do need a back-up SF (especially one who can guard bigger SFs) and we need depth at the PF position, especially if Fizer gets traded.

Why can't ERob develop into a nice back-up SF/PF?

He is 6' 9", which is an inch taller than Fizer. He supposedly has long arms. (If his wingspan is 7', then both his wingspan and height would be just one inch smaller than Gooden and Wilcox, both considered decently sized PFs.) He also is a great athlete, and I would think being a great athlete would buy him the ability to guard someone an inch or two bigger than he is.

But could ERob guard PFs? Could he become a better rebounder? I think so. If Peja or Hedo can back-up the PF position, an athlete like ERob should be able to do the same.

I think that becoming a better post defender and rebounder are just as possible as him developing the handles of a SG and the ability to guard SGs. Perhaps more importantly, developing his body and post-up defense to back-up the PF position also would make him a better defensive match-up for some of the big SFs that some teams have, such as Garnett, McGrady, Gasol, Skita, etc.

Another thing to think about. His quickness and mid-range shot could turn him into an explosive offensive option off the bench, if other teams try to play him with a traditional PF. I think he would be a much more effective scorer here than backing up the SG position, where he would have to develop a post-up game to take advantage of smaller SGs. We also could run teams into the ground with a Williams/Crawford/Rose/Robinson/Chandler combination.

Remember we're only looking at ERob at PF for maybe 10-20 mpg, usually matched up with the other team's second teamers. Also, he always would be matched up with a big center (Curry, a Chandler who will get bigger and bigger, or Bagaric), so we should always have plenty of size on the floor.

I would really like to hear what other folks think about this. Sometimes we get trapped into seeing a player in a particular way and don't consider other alternatives. (At least I do.) Playing SG was always going to be a stretch for ERob, no moreso than playing PF would be.

ERob does need a little more weight on his frame (he does not need to become Fizer) to pull this off. JYD is listed at 6'9" 206 pounds, Miles at 6'9" 210 pounds, Jamison 6'9" 223 pounds.

ERob could become a key component of this team at the SF/PF position. I could easily see him playing 30 mpg if Fizer was traded away. We will still need a veteran PF/C for the time being, but once Chandler and Curry are playing major minutes, Bagaric, Robinson, and maybe another young big man should be more than capable as back-ups.