I need a bulldog. A tough guy. An instigator.
But I don't want to sacrifice fit, skillset, and versatility.
Thankfully, I can have both. You'll double check when you read this, but he's still only 25 years old. You'll double check when you read this, but he finished top 50 in the league in made 3s, and shot 36 and 35% from deep the last two seasons despite casual fans telling you he can't shoot.
The quick glance numbers say he averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists despite the offense never running through him. But those aren't the point. Defense is the point.
I would say he can guard 1-3, but the reality, absurd as it is, is he can guard 1-5. Just ask the best minds in the game:
But (blank), who is listed at 6-foot-3, regularly guards players half a foot (or more) taller than him. He guards them, he bodies them, and by evening’s end, he owns them, bullying NBA bigs like he doesn’t know (or doesn’t care) that he’s only 75 inches high.
(Blank) is their only fail-safe against superstars. Come Curry, come Harden, come LeBron.
...tasked (blank) with guarding Kevin Love, a 6-foot-8 power forward with an outside shot that should allow him to take advantage of height mismatches on the perimeter, and a 251-pound frame that should allow him to body smaller opponents in the post. Should. Love scored just eight points while (blank) was defending him, which was 61 percent of the time, and overall he finished with 17.
Love knew how Tuesday’s game would go. He was teammates with LeBron for four years, and watched (blank), who was voted first team All-Defense last season, thwart the best player in the world many times. “He’s really tough out there,” Love said after the game. “He can guard anybody, 1 through 5.” ((Blank) calls himself a “stretch-6” because of his ability to do so.) Last week, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who can truly play 1 through 5, was (Blank's) assignment. Antetokounmpo is a multi-man job, yet in the 17 possessions (Blank) defended him, the Greek Freak scored just once.
All told, this guy's already good defensive squad with an already-great defensive coach, was nearly 5 points better defensively with him on the floor than off it. I think mine will see similar success.
Give me Marcus Smart, G/F.