We have to find a spot for him to play. He was gonna be our pf until Julius blew up. Can we move Randle to center and obi to pf if mitch is hurt—- play small?or can we shove obi in at the 3 position?
Let Obi come along - he'll have his chance due to injury or other. I'd like to see him up from 11 minutes per game to 15 per this year, with JRandle getting 33 minutes per game. This will keep Randle fresh, and help Obi develop. I'd like to see Obi giving high quality minutes rather than super long stretches. I'd also like to see more post moves, less pure hops from Obi. Also fewer threes unless wide open.
The system thibs runs requires a defensive anchor at center. I agree Toppin should see time alongside Randle but I don’t see thibs committing to it.
Obi hasn't proven he can stretch the floor, at least not consistently. And he's not a plus defender with point forward skills like a Draymond Green. So despite his athleticism, transition game and plus rebounding, I don't see how he fits in the starting lineup. Right now he should come off the bench with Quick/Rose and continue developing his game. He needs to become a much more consistent shooter and a better defender. As @Caseloads said, I'd like to see him post up more often and rely less on the 3 ball.
Obi was always going to command minutes, despite a contingent of fans convinced that a slow start to a weird year makes him a bust. You could see his tools from the get go, and he progressed later in the season. Playoff Obi was another step in the right direction. Still don't like him getting complacent with that 3 pointer, but he did improve it.
You would hope minutes for Obi means tightening Randle's minutes, but Thibs will have to have some will power on that. We don't want another Secretariat season with the tank running empty come post season.
I agree with you, we're going to have to find a way to play the two of them together for small stretches. I'd like to see Obi get at least to the 20 minute mark.
MaTT4281 wrote:Obi was always going to command minutes, despite a continent of fans convinced that a slow start to a weird year makes him a bust. You could see his tools from the get go, and he progressed later in the season. Playoff Obi was another step in the right direction. Still don't like him getting complacent with that 3 pointer, but he did improve it.You would hope minutes for Obi means tightening Randle's minutes, but Thibs will have to have some will power on that. We don't want another Secretariat season with the tank running empty come post season.
I agree with you, we're going to have to find a way to play the two of them together for small stretches. I'd like to see Obi get at least to the 20 minute mark.
20 minutes per game average will be touch unless julius gets injured, and we are a lotto team.
Randle is 6'8 he can't be a center on defense. True centers would tag fouls on him and wear him down.
Sambakick wrote:Randle is 6'8 he can't be a center on defense. True centers would tag fouls on him and wear him down.
Just consider what top teams do with guys like Lebron or Kawhi when they want to "rest" them on defense. You can do the same with Randle - I think you can have him defend a non-slashing spacer/shooter for stretches. All-NBA Randle can line up on offense at any of the 5 positions and be effective now that he has a perimeter game.
Obi, at least based on last year, was most ideally suited to guard a PF. We'll see over the course of this summer league whether he looks like he's made some strides in terms of being able to guard other positions.
If D’Antoni were the coach, Randle and Obi would be starting up front!
And for those comments on Obi taking 3’s, seems like where the coaches have him standing on offense.
Maybe we can see some plays run to exploit him on offense, especially if he is going up against 2nd units and he has Rose or Kemba running point.
franco12 wrote:If D’Antoni were the coach, Randle and Obi would be starting up front!And for those comments on Obi taking 3’s, seems like where the coaches have him standing on offense.
Maybe we can see some plays run to exploit him on offense, especially if he is going up against 2nd units and he has Rose or Kemba running point.
Do we miss D'Antoni now? I wouldn't say. In Thibs system, neither of them is the center, and in today’s NBA, neither Obi nor Julius is SF. We should definitely find minutes for Obi and I believe Randle will play a few minutes less this season, and maybe Thibs will try to play a few minutes with both on the floor as PF and C.
Either way, Obi should have 20 minutes per game. There’s just no excuse not to get that much.
We should try to get Randle some more rest this year. I think they have to try and find Toppin some minutes in occasional oversized lineup at the 3 and then also in a small ball, offensive minded line up at the 5 (situational). He didn't make his 3's yesterday, but his jumper looks good in terms of form and he's not hesitating. He showed he could stick some 3's late last year and I think he will this season. He does look like a classic D'Antoni suns forward...we hope he becomes some sort of Marion/Amare hybrid. He brings a lot of energy/athleticism to the floor and yesterday's game was cool in the sense that he showed off the different ways he could score and be a primary option (we had been so used to seeing him in a bit role).
I think the only place you can put Obi playing with Randle would be in the 3 spot. That's why he is working on his 3s.
Randle does play a form of Sf/wing/point and Obi has range. , Also 2nd unit deeper now. Tell me Kenba healthy and perhaps the rotation takes form.
Might be we don’t see him until January and give him lots of heal time!
