Boris is a POWER FORWARD

[spectre]

QCH - Boris Diaw Year in Review

With Boris at the 4 - the Bobcats are a force to be reckoned with. But when he plays the 3 - they are the Clippers (and he spent so little time at the 5 that I am going to largely ignore it). So, despite some people's claims that he can guard anyone in the frontcourt (pretty sure I made that argument about him, not tracking down something to make myself look bad though), the Bobcats struggles with him at the 3 would make me wonder about that decree. When we look at his defense by position numbers, it becomes very clear - the Bobcats need him at the 4 and he needs to be at the 4.

Offensively, the story is the same - Diaw needs to be a 4. If you add his PER at small forward and center, you still don't reach his mark achieved at power forward. He scored more often and more efficiently, he created more shots for his teammates, and he turned the ball over less frequently when playing as the 4 - anyone need more convincing about the only position Boris should play next season?

Many think that Crash could be expendable because Boris can play the SF spot. IMO we HAVE to play Boris at PF and we NEED Crash at the 3 to make up for the rebounding (according to LB Crash was the LEADING SF rebounder this season).

Either they both go out or they both need to stay. Crash is integral for our squad not only for the impact he brings, but also for how his skillset perfectly compliments Boris.

Of course Brett has all the stats at QCH to back this up...big props to him (as always).

[mrtarheel]

Do you think it would hurt us if we brought in Kaman to play along with Diaw? Kaman has a defensive presence and also an offensive presence. Maybe a swap of Okafor for Kaman and Jordan. They don't need scoring as they have Z Baby and we get a prospect in Jordan. This would allow Diaw to stay at the 4 because his passing skills would be opened up to more of an offensive threat in the post.

[dnbman]

Do you think it would hurt us if we brought in Kaman to play along with Diaw? Kaman has a defensive presence and also an offensive presence. Maybe a swap of Okafor for Kaman and Jordan. They don't need scoring as they have Z Baby and we get a prospect in Jordan. This would allow Diaw to stay at the 4 because his passing skills would be opened up to more of an offensive threat in the post.

Interesting. Dunno. Kaman looks fantastic at times and like a stiff at others. (Wait! Who does that sound like?)

I think we'll be o.k. with Diaw at the PF spot as long as he is being more productive than his counterpart, aside from when we play the all-star PFs in the league. I don't mind him giving up some inside presence if he's creating a lot more opportunities with his passing.

Plus, I think Diaw can get Okafor more involved in the offense, which makes Okafor more productive overall.

I think we just need to run with what we have through an entire pre- and regular season. Though, we do need to get a legitimate banging PF to give us a more rugged line-up. As long as we had an enforcer of sorts to play 20 minutes against a bruising foe, I think we'd be in great shape. That guy could wear the PF down and then Diaw could could come back in and bring the energy.

Give me a second string bruising PF and an athletic 2 guard with some kind of mid-range or long-range shot, and we'll be in great shape.

[Slam]

Not only is he a PF, but he's close to the perfect PF to play between Crash and EO50 IMO.

If he can learn to be a little more assertive and tone up a little, he's be even better.

I consider Boris, along with Crash and one of the PG's as our core and our future.

[WAM9]

After thinking about this for a day or two, I also agree that we are better served with Boris at the 4 spot. There are numerous obvious reasons for this and also that lets Crash play his natural position of the 3 spot. I think that of all our players, Boris at the 4 and Crash at the 3 are the 2 spots we should consider good and not mess with.

I personally think that Emeka can be our permanent 5. Especially if we could find a dominant 2 guard. I also think Felton is capable of being our point and DJ is more than a competant back up. We are so close! This off season will be one of the most important in team history...

[SWedd523]

I personally think that Emeka can be our permanent 5.

I have to disagree. Sometime down the road we're going to have to pick between Diaw and Mek. They're simply too small to play next to eachother. We need to find a way to move either one and find a bigger player for the other position

[Keetch]

I don't think Diaw is a true 4, or a very good 3 for that matter. We've got to become more talented and bigger in the paint if we're going to contend. Diaw was a nice upgrade over the "uh no one" we had there before; but a time will come when we need more power inside.

Mek gets overwhelmed in the paint, as undersized Wallace is often the only other guy helping him. So I agree 100% with Dnbman; one of the next steps is to add a strong PF.

I still have flashbacks of Boris throwing the ball away and taking those soft hook shots; made me semi-crazy sometimes last year. More than once I screamed out loud to no one in particular "He's killing us!" That's why I call him 50-50; for every bad pass he'll make 1 or 1 1/2 good ones; for every 20 minutes of missed baby hooks; he'll go thru a 5 minute spell where he seems unstoppable.

Another point about Boris. He often comes out at the start of games very hot in the first quarter, then disappears thru most the rest of the game until he hits the inevitable 3 late in the 4th quarter. Too often it was too late though. Some guys are just predictable.

To be a contender; we still have lots of work to do. A big PF is a big need.

[nugentrk]

Devil Advocate: if Boris is playing SF, where is Crash? the bench? Then can’t the drop-off be accounted for by Crash not being on the floor? Now, when he is playing center, again can’t the drop-off be accounted for by Okafor not being on the floor? We are not a deep team after all.

[spectre]

We are not a deep team after all.

And there is where I see the problem. Other than PG we have no legitimate depth and no really good way of acquiring it. I'm very concerned about this, and esp. at the PF spot. I'd like a banger type that Keetch is talking about to at least challenge Boris at the 4...but where is that coming from?

[teej]

And there is where I see the problem. Other than PG we have no legitimate depth and no really good way of acquiring it. I'm very concerned about this, and esp. at the PF spot. I'd like a banger type that Keetch is talking about to at least challenge Boris at the 4...but where is that coming from?

Trading away Vladi and our 2 second rounders maybe? Or Gana?

Heck if I know