The Freedom of Movement change has drastically limited our defensive identity. Olynyk has been awful as a 4, defensively, this year. Bam is still really raw and seems really scared/confined to his box and is getting punished by legitimate starting centers too.
Winslow’s struggles offensively have also limited his playmaking abilities because he’s not respected on offense to commit too since he doesn’t punish teams with his finishing. It means Bam’s roll to rims are neutered when Winslow attacks with the ball. Winslow’s bad layup attempts are also leading to goddamn footraces because you’ll sometimes see fast bigs start sprinting down the court after lightly contesting his shot.
Rich is tightening up his handle and learning to create off the bounce but hes only ok right now. He can’t really create with numerous defenders crowding his air space.
We need someone who can break down defenders, drive and kick, and force bigs to commit to either giving the lane to stop the oop or stop the drive, etc.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a player like Waiters made our offense flourish for a bit. Even with a cat like Eric Bledsoe or Jrue, I’d think our team improves tremendously
