DRAY would have a serious issue dealing with TRUE POWER forwards. They no longer exist in the nba.
He wouldn't. But that's not to say he'd be able to stop them from getting theirs [typical game averages]. This is a tired platitudinous path I folk walk down too often on this board. Barkley and Malone aren't
superhuman, just like every other player in the 90s, 80s, 70s or any other era you'd like to falsely identify "true' with. He has the IQ, COG, strength, lateral quickness, athleticism and motor to limit those type of players and make them work for their buckets. That doesn't mean he's going to completely shut them down, because NOBODY in the history of this league can shut down elite talent. With the laws of probability and the flow of the game - elite talent will always find ways to put up numbers.
due to the rules and guys watching the nba change in highschool, college. big boys start getting their handles tight, they start shooting those jumpers early. so by the time they hit the leauge. they're a stretch 4 or 5. this is the wave of the future at least until the next charles barkley comes in the nba, or the next karl malone. who could faceup. but most of these guys are faceup PF's with little POWER in their forward position. they are thicker SF's if you will.
I'm not arguing against this - because it's partly true. However, don't make the mistake that Draymond isn't battling in the post or providing rim protection -
1st in defending isolation attempts (20 more than the second most player) - holding players to 29.7% shooting and 0.6 points per possession
2nd in defending post-up attempts - (Okafor is 1st with 12 more) - holding players to 33.3% shooting and 0.6 points per possession
Those are #s from this season. For a defender to be not only at the top of both those categories (which is remarkable enough), but to hold their matchups to those percentages is quite amazing.
So dray is guarding slower less athletic Pick n Pop guys, that dont have that good of a post game to begin with. thats light work for dray.
He's not JUST guarding slower, less athletic PnP players - he guards EVERY type of player, quite literally. From 1-5. From the finesse to the down-on-the-block types. From the quick, athletic wings/guards to the crafty, momentum-laden big men. He's out there hedging on the perimeter, picking up guards, chasing guards/wings off the 3-pt line, navigating through picks to pick up players, shadowing smaller, faster players in ISO situations, forcing wings into tough spots on the floor, providing help defense, protecting the rim, pushing players out of post position, stopping players from backing him down on the post.
If he was a one-dimensional defender that could only guard the likes of Bargnani - you'd have a point. But he does far more than that. He's the closest thing we've had to what Rodman was in the late 80s/early 90s, and IMO he's even a better defender than Rodman was at his peak.
Then who is
