An interesting Jeff Green comparison

[ephoya04]

David Thorpe from ESPN.com did a breakdown of all of this year's rookies and suggested which NBA vet they should model their respective games on.

insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=thorpe_david&page=RookieStudy-Green

His choice of Kobe Bryant seems like a curious one. I don't really see it, but was wondering what everyone else out there thought?

[royski]

Didn't like it for Jeff. LOVED Durant's though, I've been saying all year that if he played with anything near Iverson's fire he'd be an all-star already.

[joey0403p]

I still feel like the Pipen comparison is the best out there.

[strummer8526]

While maybe not the most apt comparison, I'd take it as a huge compliment to say that Jeff's skills are in the range of Kobe's.

[SFHoya99]

I don't think the article was a comp, it was a suggestion of who to watch. It's different. Like with Durant, the intensity is what he should mirror. For Jeff, I think they were trying to say similar things: watch how Kobe imposes his will on offense and defense and do that to lesser players.

[strummer8526]

Yeah, I just thought (and maybe I misread it) that there was an implication that Jeff's skills could be at a level where he could do some of the things Kobe does. That's a bold and very positive statement.

[DudeSlade]

I agree with you strummer, Thorpe distinctly said:

"Green can do this against many of his opponents, too -- his athleticism and ball skills are that good. He could be a nightmare matchup for opposing 4s on offense, and could be just as scary defending them."

"This" according to Thorpe is "crowding them on defense and consistently attacking them on offense." He's basically saying that Jeff is athletic and skilled enough to be hyper-aggressive against players and to really get in their face on defense and to take it at them on offense.

I really like this choice by Thorpe for Jeff to look at to improve his game. Thorpe isn't giving a player to model their entire game after or a player they compare to, he is saying to the rookie to watch a particular player for a particular characteristic or aspect they possess that he thinks will take that rookie to the next level. I love that he chose Kobe, because if you are asking a kid to take something from the best player in the NBA, you must think highly of that kid to begin with to even think he has the ability to emulate Kobe in any aspect, especially when you are comparing a supposed PF in Thorpe's eyes to a SG.

I also think that Thorpe is right about how it could benefit Jeff's game. If Jeff would get up in the face of the player he's defending more often and force him to get around him, he would put a lot more pressure on his guy and force him into more mistakes. He has the athleticism and bball IQ to recover in most situations if he gets beat. Ultimately, it would make him a very good defensive player. The aggressiveness on the offensive side is something he has needed ever since his time at Gtown. He has all the skills and has much better athleticism and ball skills than given credit for, so by attacking his player from the post or the wing off the dribble, he would create a lot of shots for himself and generate many more fouls, as well as opening up passing lanes to teammates if they would make the right cut. Different than his advice to Durant to watch Iverson for passion and fire and bringing it everyday, he isn't calling Jeff out for lack of fire, but rather telling Jeff to be more aggressive and take it at his opponent more on each end of the court. This is something I think he needs to get to the next level.

[vcjack]

It better not be a comparison of their actual games because if Noah decides to emulate Dirk and take 20 foot jumpshots I might have a stroke

[jester]

I was watching the Sonics/Wizards game last night, and Jeff definitely has gotten a bit more agressive during the latter part of the season. His line from alst night wasn't great, but when the offense did go through him things mostly ended well, and he got to the line at will when he wanted to. His misses mostly came form missed finishes at the rim and shots further out near the end of shot clocks, but he had some nice curls and shoots, and his jump shot/free throws have been improving. Defense was ok as well, but it is clear his teammates weren't always providing the help he expected in some situations. I don't see too much chemistry between Durant and Jeff at this point, mostly because it is either one or the other who will get a touch in a given posession, but I think with a more coherent/improved team on the floor this will improve...

[DudeSlade]

Jeff definitely seems to have stepped up and is being more assertive recently. He also has been consistently playing a lot of minutes, often getting the most minutes on the court. That's a great sign for him and the trust that Carlesimo has in him and his position as kind of a glue guy.

Seattle has got to build a better team around Jeff and Durant if that's what they intend. If they want to use Jeff and Durant together, it needs to be at the 4 & 3, which necessitates a good shot-blocking center because neither Jeff nor Durant are that big for the 4 nor are they great at blocking shots. Also they need a real PG that can create shots for Jeff & Durant and prevent the defense from keying on them.

I think they need to draft either Derrick Rose or Brook Lopez to take care of either of those issues, since I think both would work well in the up-tempo style of Seattle. Packaging Wilcox with one of their points and Gelabale or Wilkins and maybe a draft pick should be able to bring them whatever they don't draft (PG or C) and a pick where they could get a SG to back up whoever they don't trade. Even after those trades at the deadline, they still have too many of the same players and not what they need if they are going to build around Jeff & Durant.