99 questions and Gilbert's height ain’t one

Wingspan can help in defending when trying to prevent or pick off a pass. However, you are dead on that vertical reach is more beneficial in all of the other defensive activities you list.

When the Wizards typically struggle offensively it is when the settle for jumpers. If they get into a habit of getting to the rim more and generally taking closer shots then they should be fine offensively. They won’t lead the league in scoring, but my guess in that scenario is that they would finish higher than 23rd.

His overall defense is the concern, not his height. Come on MR we want you soothed. HA!

Maybe I did not make my points clearly enough. I purposefully left out any mention of the front line players as what got me thinking about this was comments about Gil height playing the two. So let’s set aside your comments about the Lakers frontline for this discussion. (I do agree that they are difficult because they are long and skilled.)

My purpose for using an average height of the PG/SG was to get a sense of who actually had a tall backcourt. A team does not have a tall backcourt, for example, if the PG is 6’0" and the SG is 6’7". Based on that, I wanted to see where the Wizards average height was compared to the rest of the league’s starters.

I agree that once you look at an individual matchup with Gilbert versus any other two, it will not matter what the average height is for that team’s backcourt. That was not the point I was attempting to make. My point was supposed to be that there are other SGs who are his height and smaller who are starting in the NBA. Some of those who are his height or smaller are also very good defenders who don’t get torched by those who are taller simply because they are taller guards. Those players who are Gilbert’s height or smaller are better defenders mainly due to effort, motivation on the defensive end and studying a players tendencies.

Yes, a taller player should be able to get off a jumper over a shorter player. However that shorter player by playing sound defense can contest that shot making it more difficult for the taller player to successfully score. I also wanted to point out that it isn’t just about playing defense alone. Even the best defenders against equally talented offensive players will only be successful if the rest of their team is playing good solid team defense.

Yes Gilbert needs to improve his defensive effort, but the entire team has to improve defensively as well. If both things occur, Gilbert’s height will not be the issue.

When the Lakers go with their lineup of 3 guys listed at 7-feet plus (Odom, Pao, Bynum), it is not their "average" team height that is beating you. It is the 3 guys in the front court shooting over you and your 3 guys not being even able to get the rebound if they miss.

Agreed, but not the point of my post.

By the logic of your argument, Detroit having Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton (averaging 6’6") in the backcourt is some kind of mitigating factor against the Lakers team height. But from the fact that we all own television sets we know that this is not the case.

I don’t see how you can make this point. I was not making any comparisons between players in the backcourt versus those in the front. And while the data showed that Detroit has a tall backcourt, I pointed out that this does not necessarily translate into wins & losses. On a position by position basis in the NBA, I don’t think the difference of an inch or two is what separates the best players. Rodney Stuckey will NEVER be Chris Paul even though he is 5 inches taller than Paul. Just as Wade at 6’4" is a superior player to Stephen Jackson at 6’8". My point has been and will continue to be that height is not the most pressing issue facing Gilbert in his matchups against other SGs. It is far down the list of concerns.

The question is not how out backcourt defends someone else’s backcourt and it never was.

IMHO it is improved team defense, but Gilbert must show improved focus and effort on the defensive end. As we have seen, one player can kill the overall team defensive effort.

The question is whether Gilbert has the physical tools (meaning height and/or arm length) to defend the Vince Carters, Kobes, Kevin Martins, Brandon Roys, Manus, Carons and Joe Johnsons, all of which, according to your height chart, should be able to see over Gil easily.

I don’t completely agree with this. Whether or not they stand an inch or two taller than him isn’t the point. If so, why aren’t these same players torching D Wade? How did Hinrich at 6’3" become an All NBA defensive player? They do not need to block the taller players jump shots to be successful. All they have to do is get a hand in their face in order to make the shot more difficult. To be successful you need to shave fractions of a percent off of that persons shooting percent. If you are in a good position, force them to do what you want them to do (versus what they like to do) and get a hand up then you have done your job and likely forced them to miss a bit more. What he can’t do is just let them take uncontested shots – but that is about effort and not height.

Playing four other big guys (Wall, Yi, Blatche, JaVale) to boost the "average height" of the team isn’t relevant to whether the guys above get a shot off against Gil unless you are arguing for constant double-team or zone, which creates other defensive problems when that’s our base defense.

I never made this argument. I never argued for boosting the average height of the backcourt let alone the team. My point is and was that Gilbert’s height will not determine how successful he is on the defensive end against SGs. The same issues that dogged him defensively as a PG will dog him now if he does not improve them. There have been and likely will always be successful SGs that are his height or smaller who are successful on the defensive end and it is because they work hard at it, take pride in it and very likely play on a team whose plays with a consistent team defensive effort.

And having serviceable backups. When his energy or effort drop they have people who they can substitute in that they believe will give effort – Hinrich because that’s what he does and Young who plays good 1:1 defense AND its a contract year.