Yes bs by pop
Would start or backup at the Thunder.

Maybe it's a defensive issue, it’s the only thing that could make any sort sense.

Pop did the same to Patty. Would never start him even when the starter was out. Always limited minutes.

My only conclusion - Pop hates Aussies

Good point, D is very limited in the nba, pops teams are better at it though.

Nice try Cram but coaches actually have always cared about defence.

To your question Isaac, I assume that they're still looking to trade young so they’re giving him minutes to show his value. Pop has recently really drifted in favour of playing smaller lineups so they’re will be times where despite having young and McDermott, he’ll throw out Johnson and Vassel at the 4 despite only being 6’5. Being a 6’5 power forward may be typical at the NBL level (more just Creek is good enough) but at the NBA level going against bigger, better, faster and stronger athletes it’s certainly not ideal. Johnson does well because he’s built but no so much for Vassel.

Pop won’t ever admit it but the Spurs are doing their form of tanking in that they’re still giving a shit and want to win but their focus is developing their younger talent compared to the 6ers who were actively trying to lose to get more #1 picks.

In regards to Landale, I’ve seen some rumours that he hasn’t adjusted to the speed of nba game and has also had some issues with his health (had a concussion earlier in the season/pre season I believe), so despite being better than Eubanks I think Pop is trying to ease him in. Plus Eubanks, Poetl and Young are all better than Landale at doing the grunt work of rebounding, protecting the rim, setting hard screens etc, which pop is known for really liking.

As Angus pointed out Cram if anything the most critical skill a big has these days in the NBA is being able to guard the pick and roll, so in that sense they still absolutely care about defence.

It's also about dealing with the cards you’re dealt. You have to recognise that with the pace being near an all time high (if may actually be the highest), along with how important shooting is and the atrocious way the game was officiated (some of which has been cleaned up this year) that often leads to scores that are higher despite the effort being applied. Along with coaches dealing with the roster they have as opposed to the ideal one.

The opposite of Kanter was Roberson who was incredible defensively but couldn’t do anything offensively other than crashing the boards however if you can’t shoot or go off the dribble then teams won’t even pretend you’re out there (personally I think he could be on a roster but his offensive limitations are to big to ignore, a better example would be why doesn’t Thybulle get more time.) Look at someone like Westbrook who’s still athletic as hell but teams just sag off him.

Point being that there’s factors outside of the coaches control they still have to deal with that doesn’t appropriately reflect how they feel. For instance, what’s the point in packing the paint against the warriors. Keep in mind as well the talent is ridiculous in the NBA and offensively is leaps and bounds ahead of every other league in the world other than top players in Europe. A guy like Cotton who’s a stud over here would merely be a third string pg or at absolute best a back up on a bad team.

If anything defence requires more effort and intensity then it ever has due to the size of the court and teams trying to create as much space as possible so defenders are having to run out to shooters and being able to recover back into defending a drive. Something that didn’t exist really pre 2011ish.

Maybe he's just not as good as he thinks he is