To trade, or not to trade?

I've just been looking over some of the geeky efficiency stats on Hollingers ESPN page and noticed our offense ranks 6th in points per 100 possessions - in contrast with our defense which ranks 23rd. Our pace is also in the bottom 1/3 of the league, but that's probably a function of our crappy defense more than anything ... It's hard to get out and run when all your possessions start by taking the ball out of the net.

So if our offense is (dare I say?) elite, is there a trade we could make that would actually improve this team defensively without hampering our offensive awesomeness? Or should we simply be patient with the guys we've got and let Monty continue to drill his (hopefully good) defensive system into their brains and wait for them to figure out how to get stops the hard way?

we also have a +1.5 in point differential and are ranked at #13 in power rankings, give this team 2 years with jrue, austin and AD to get a little older, better a healthier, we'll be a top 5 team

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

we also have a +1.5 in point differential and are ranked at #13 in power rankings, give this team 2 years with jrue, austin and AD to get a little older, better a healthier, we'll be a top 5 team

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Love the enthusiasm but not sure rivers belongs in that equation.

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Originally Posted by kclaboy504

Love the enthusiasm but not sure rivers belongs in that equation.

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Haha he probably doesn't, but with our big 5 we really have something special. So long as Tyreke can effectively guard small forwards, and Dell and Monty are confident in Eric's body holding up, I can't see any reason to break them up.

a trade needs to be made mostly for a center our bigs are so soft

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Originally Posted by 504ByrdGang

a trade needs to be made mostly for a center our bigs are so soft

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But if our guards are defending better on the perimeter and AD is back protecting the rim, our undersized bigs would become a huge advantage playing in an uptempo offense.

If the guards stop falling asleep when defending off the ball our 3pt defense improves, AD and AFA get more boards and we get to watch the team run more fast break offense!

ya i dont mind tyreke's lack of shooting like most people do because with ryno in u are replacing it, so say u have a sharp shooting 3 and a normal power forward who doesnt shoot 3's it basically gives u the same thing, plus tyreke and ryno are the perfect pair and they showed good chemistry, ryno opens up the lanes for tyreke and if he doesnt then he is open for 3

pels will be a top 10 team next year

The reason why our 3pt defense sux is because we ALWAYS have to help our "bigs" in the post. Not just bigs, but pretty much all post players. Once we help, our rotations are slow to the open shooter, and we give up open shots.

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Originally Posted by DroopyDawg

The reason why our 3pt defense sux is because we ALWAYS have to help our "bigs" in the post. Not just bigs, but pretty much all post players. Once we help, our rotations are slow to the open shooter, and we give up open shots.

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I disagree. The bulk of the rotations begin because of how we play the pick and roll, especially with Jason Smith. He hedges out way too far and can't get back, which basically makes the other guys play 4-on-3 behind the two P&R defenders. Teams start swinging the ball, and its over. Lopez wasn't quick enough to hedge, so Monty didnt put him in that position, and that resulted in jumpers for the guard, but at least they werent set shots.

AD hedges beautifully and Ryno is okay. Smith's hedge and recover is beyond awful, yet Monty continues to make him do it. A big who is mobile or one who is immoblile ironically, will do wonders for this defense.

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

I disagree. The bulk of the rotations begin because of how we play the pick and roll, especially with Jason Smith. He hedges out way too far and can't get back, which basically makes the other guys play 4-on-3 behind the two P&R defenders. Teams start swinging the ball, and its over. Lopez wasn't quick enough to hedge, so Monty didnt put him in that position, and that resulted in jumpers for the guard, but at least they werent set shots.

AD hedges beautifully and Ryno is okay. Smith's hedge and recover is beyond awful, yet Monty continues to make him do it. A big who is mobile or one who is immoblile ironically, will do wonders for this defense.

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To give credit though, it does seem like we've adjusted.

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

To give credit though, it does seem like we've adjusted.

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I agree. Pick and roll D has been better over the last week or so. From my humble observation it looks like we've been making more of an effort to ICE the pick and rolls instead of hedging all the time.

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I wouldn't call our offense elite. high scoring potential, yes. But we are too inconsistent to be "elite"

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

pels will be a top 10 team next year

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Too bad Top 10 team next year = 7th/8th seed in West

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Originally Posted by IamQuailman

I wouldn't call our offense elite. high scoring potential, yes. But we are too inconsistent to be "elite"

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Haha I was being tongue and cheek calling our offense elite, I was surprised that we were even above average.

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Originally Posted by sam.patching

Haha I was being tongue and cheek calling our offense elite, I was surprised that we were even above average.

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I did a double take... thought you were power pel for a second there (same avatar)

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Originally Posted by IamQuailman

Too bad Top 10 team next year = 7th/8th seed in West

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true, top 10 next year, top 5 in 2 years, top 2 in 3 years :)

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

true, top 10 next year, top 5 in 2 years, top 2 in 3 years :)

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Works for me!

Remind me why we got rid of Tyson Chandler ? was it Okafor? Wish we had Tyson again. Maybe if they break up the Knicks, cause their sucking wind....

We got rid of Tyson for pretty much the same reason we would get rid of Gordon, he didn't play enough. It was for Okafor who was maybe 85% the player who was always healthy. Sure would like TC on this team mentoring Davis...

Tyson getting paid too much and too old for this team. Do miss him though. He's a good guy and a defensive force! But I don't think its a good fit for our team.

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Originally Posted by sam.patching

Works for me!

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i really think its the truth though, teams like GSW will get older with people like lee and iggy, and the pacers the same with west and scola

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Originally Posted by IamQuailman

Tyson getting paid too much and too old for this team. Do miss him though. He's a good guy and a defensive force! But I don't think its a good fit for our team.

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I agree that we should not give up assets or trade for aging vets making big money. Best case scenario is finding a solid veteran presence for the MLE, or trading for a decent 27-28 year old in his prime (without bleeding your assets dry). Hopefully an Ariza Granger type player decides to give us a deal this upcoming offseason; that would be huge for our squad.

Give this squad more time to gel. (And hopefully a good run of health.) Great offensive firepower. That side will only get better. Defensively they are capable physically of being very good. Holiday, Aminu, AD, and even Gordon and Rivers have shown plus defensive ability. I want to see if the group we have can learn from mistakes and tighten up the D a bit.

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