The elephant in the room

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by saclare

As said elsewhere, have to let it play out. The variable at the moment is Wood's defense. I also think his 2-man with Luka has a while to go in terms of developing chemistry with respect to rolls, pops, etc. and he needs to stay in the lab with Powell on finishing lobs and rolls to the basket.

Let Wood's defense actually dictate the losses though. Like, if you start him, play him 35 mpg, then his defense causes losses? Fine, at least we know.

That isn't what is happening though. It's like Kidd is purposely trying to take Wood out of his comfort zone to make sure he is can't excel in way the team needs him.

We shall see.

[saclare]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Let Wood's defense actually dictate the losses though. Like, if you start him, play him 35 mpg, then his defense causes losses? Fine, at least we know.

That isn't what is happening though. It's like Kidd is purposely trying to take Wood out of his comfort zone to make sure he is can't excel in way the team needs him.

We shall see.

This all literally happened Saturday night, no?

Either way, loved the different feel to last night's game and even Wood stressed defense in his on-court postgame interview. I could tell he was more engaged and actually somehow more aggressive on the offensive end. He did lose his fair share of individual battles but sometimes tough shots fall.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Let Wood's defense actually dictate the losses though. Like, if you start him, play him 35 mpg, then his defense causes losses? Fine, at least we know.

That isn't what is happening though. It's like Kidd is purposely trying to take Wood out of his comfort zone to make sure he is can't excel in way the team needs him.

We shall see.

100%.

Woods going to make up for any defensive woes with offense. Let him make mistakes if he is going to. Let him make up for it on offense and keep coaching him. Give him a reason to stay engaged and want to be here. At least give him room to build his trade value if they don't believe he is a long term fit. He's not going to just give you a consistent boost from the bench in the playoffs.

Other players aren't holding up their end of the bargain on either side of the ball so take advantage of his offense.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

100%.

Woods going to make up for any defensive woes with offense. Let him make mistakes if he is going to. Let him make up for it on offense and keep coaching him. Give him a reason to stay engaged and want to be here. At least give him room to build his trade value if they don't believe he is a long term fit. He's not going to just give you a consistent boost from the bench in the playoffs.

Other players aren't holding up their end of the bargain on either side of the ball so take advantage of his offense.

This is absolutely true.. There is a larger absolute variance in offensive deviation between good and bad players than defensive variation so by definition a 2 sigma offensive player will have more impact than a 2 sigma defensive player. Obviously (duh) it would better if you are great at both. Or in other words there is absolutely NOBODY as bad in the NBA at Defense as Luka is great at Offense.