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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
They don't have a superior one on one defender.
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Nor a superior shotblocker.
Nor a superior rebounder.
Nor a superior help defender.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
Nor did they when they won 47 games and finished first in the Atlantic division
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I think Garbo was underrated defensivly, Rasho was average, Delfino was good, Ford was a solid help defender...none of those are true about our current starters...But I agree with the point broadly.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
They had a mediocre at best defense and a good offense. Not unlike the vast majority of teams in the East.
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Not sure if I agree with that. How many playoff teams from last season were less than mediocre on defense? Looking them over, I see none. Atlanta maybe? At least no teams that were worse defensively than I think the Raps will be this year.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
Putting a good defensive team on the floor ain't easy in the NBA. There are a ton of me first players and the league is riddled with crappy defensive teams.
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Sure, teams that play defense make the playoffs. Teams that don't, don't.
Guess which column the Raps are in.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
It requires committment from one of your star players like a Tim Duncan for example. A top notch two way player. Something Bosh could easily do a better job of though he ain't never going be in Duncan's league defensively. Bargnani improved in this area a lot last year.
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I concede that if we had an excellent man and help defender we'd be better defensively.
We don't.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
They don't need to be a defensive powerhouse. There a very, very few teams in that category in the NBA. They just need to actually play some. I watched a ton of NBA games last year and I can tell you as I'm sure any BB fan knows there wasn't a heck of a lot of defense played in the hardly any of them.
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Hardly any defense in any NBA games?
I categorically disagree with that.
Good defensive teams force bad shots and rebound. The Raps do neither.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
Their offense is going to be good. Their defense just needs to not suck beyond belief.
Does that make them conference winners--NO. But in the the hunt for the 4/5? Yep. Because the rest of the teams in that category all have as big as weaknesses as the Raps.
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This is where your premise falls apart. Even if I accept your assertion that few teams consistently play well defensively and the league is driven by offense, what are opposing team's weaknesses that the Raps - who don't rebound and lack athleticism - are going to exploit?