How many players in NBA history could guard 1-5 Effectively?

[TheWinningFam]

Lebron and scottie pippen ofcourse, but who else tho?

[G-train]

Lebron and scottie pippen ofcourse, but who else tho?

Lebron and Pippen could not guard a decent 5 sorry.

Kevin Garnett would be closest I would say.

[TheWinningFam]

Lebron and Pippen could not guard a decent 5 sorry.

Kevin Garnett would be closest I would say.

It depends, Whats your definition of ''decent'' is the question


Lebron guarded top 10 duncan in the finals from time to time and even blocked him. Some say he's a pf but hes really a center.
https://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/catImages/lebronblocksduncan13pf-1.jpg
https://s13.postimg.org/gz2ik9uev/lebloc1_0.jpg

[Cali Syndicate]

Rodman.

[G-train]

I've seen Nate Robinson block Ming, it's irrelevant to the discussion.

Prime Duncan would drop 70 points on Lebron one on one all game.

There are a handful of games that can win a battle on a switch occasionally, but I'm talking guarding them head to head consistently.

[ClipperRevival]

Rodman.

Pip is overrated in terms of his versatility. He seldom guarded elite 1's (job for MJ) and seldom guarded 5s. Almost never actually. He was great guarding wing players but guarding 1s and 5s? Please.

Rodman is a guy who TRULY guarded 1-5 over his career. Early in his career, when he was uber athletic, he played the 3 and guarded the opposition's best wing player. Later in his career, he guarded 4's and 5's.

[G-train]

Rodman.

Detroit Rodman couldn't guard a centre I would say, and Spurs/Bulls Rodman couldnt cant a point guard. Not consistently anyway.

Bulls Rodman was mostly suited to 4's, and he got a lot of help on 5's from the wing.

Pistons Rodman was very light, mostly guarded 3's and 4's, he could switch on to guards but it was rare. He never guarded centres consistently.

[Kblaze8855]

Shawn Marion was guarding Tmac and Yao ming for extended stretches of the same game. Ive also seen him put on points.

Ive seen Pippen guard Zo and Tim Hardaway.

A lot of great defensive 3s can guard most of the league. What is realistically gonna happen if 2004 Artest guards the vast majority of centers? hes 250-270 pounds of muscle with a passion for defense and physical play. But he was also defending guards. Rockets Shane battier guarded points and power forwards.

If Lebron is a nobody....and walks out on the floor as a 6'8''ish 260 pound power forward and starts guarding bigmen...you wouldnt think anything of it. You would probably assume he couldnt guard a point...because you wouldnt know hes guarded the likes of Derrick Rose well.


A lot of this is just assumption based on what we think we know would happen....and usually its just unrealistic. And even that is usually based on what people think would happen in a rare matchup.

The issue of if Lebron...or Marion...or whoever...can guard a center? Demarcus Cousins doesnt determine it. The 19 centers who wouldnt do anything worth mentioning do.

You dont decide if someone is capable of something at all....by asking if they can do the hardest possible thing. You look into a realistic situation. And in the real world...

65-70 games a season Lebron guarding them wouldnt justify any exceptional number of shots from the opposing center. Robin Lopez guarded by Lebron is gonna probably have a good rebounding night and not score any more than usual a couple extra putbacks aside.


We have to stop pretending its 1995.

In 2016 anyone over 6'7'' and 240 not afraid to get physical can guard most centers.

Pippen as of 94 could guard every point in todays NBA and every center too. He couldnt lock up Demarcus Cousins if he made a point of trying to score. But he would play him twice a year.

90% of the time the other guy is not about to start posting up and begging for the ball.

Pippen wouldnt be an easily exploited mismatch vs more than 2-3 centers.

And most of them are a mismatch vs other centers too.

Its like asking if Lebron or Pippen could guard Hakeem.

He gave Mutombo 50....whored Drob....

If he drops 50 on Lebron or Pippen does that mean they cant guard centers? No.

It means hes Hakeem.

Superstars arent the measure. They are the few. The average guys are who you judge.

And the average center could be guarded by most anyone in the usual big forward size range without a problem.

Stick Antawn Jamison...today...on Asik? Hes not dropping 40.

The problem matchups are few.

This question got a lot easier the last 20 years.

[Sarcastic]

Kevin Love can guard c/pf and pgs.

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UvkhlHQ1UkzkYkcUr3jvPA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9Mzc3O2lsPXBsYW 5lO3B4b2ZmPTUwO3B5b2ZmPTA7cT03NTt3PTY3MA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2016-06-20/0f56db90-370a-11e6-a552-c3693c07b094_GettyImages-541547442.jpg

[G-train]

Pure bullshit kblaze... that why there are positions.

If you isolated any 7 foot centre on Kawhi Leonard, by far the best defensive forward, he would drop 30 at least.
He could not stop Asik in the low post one on one. Please. And Asik shouldnt be in NBA. But fact remains, he would seal him 5 feet from basket EASILY, take one power dribble and lay it in.
And that's the worst centre in the NBA.

Scottie Pippen, arguably the greatest defensive small forward, would not stop friggin Festus Ezeli one on one the majority of the time. The sheer size discrepancy is huge.

Holy crap what a horse shit post.

[G-train]

In 2016 anyone over 6'7'' and 240 not afraid to get physical can guard most centers.


Of which there is what, one or two small forwards that size? smh
And anyone else that size or bigger is a 4/5, so what the big deal about that?

[Smoke117]

Scottie Pippen...putting Lebron up there is a ****ing joke. Trying to compare one of the greatest defenders of all time to someone who was "pretty good" when he tried...lmfao. ****ing pathetic ish at it again.

[Smoke117]

Rodman.

Pip is overrated in terms of his versatility. He seldom guarded elite 1's (job for MJ) and seldom guarded 5s. Almost never actually. He was great guarding wing players but guarding 1s and 5s? Please.

Rodman is a guy who TRULY guarded 1-5 over his career. Early in his career, when he was uber athletic, he played the 3 and guarded the opposition's best wing player. Later in his career, he guarded 4's and 5's.

A jordan dick sucker thinks Pippen is overrated defensively...you don't say...lmfao trying to say Pippens versatality was overrated...he legit could guard 1-5 you ****ing dipshit. Stupid ****ing mutt.

[Kblaze8855]

Pure bullshit kblaze... that why there are positions.

If you isolated any 7 foot centre on Kawhi Leonard, by far the best defensive forward, he would drop 30 at least.
He could not stop Asik in the low post one on one. Please. And Asik shouldnt be in NBA. But fact remains, he would seal him 5 feet from basket EASILY, take one power dribble and lay it in.
And that's the worst centre in the NBA.

Scottie Pippen, arguably the greatest defensive small forward, would not stop friggin Festus Ezeli one on one the majority of the time. The sheer size discrepancy is huge.

Holy crap what a horse shit post.

It wouldnt matter what you think Asik can do one on one. hes not playing one on one. Hes on a team...with an offense. A 2016 offense. And the Pelicans are not about to take it back to 1975 and treat Asik like Bob Mcadoo and give him 60 touches because Leonard is on him. He took 10 shots in one game last season. One. And they lost by 35. But if Leonard is on him they dont just....take advantage of him not being on their actual scorers...and feed Asik in the post and watch him work? Be for real.

You think the Warriors last year would just put aside a 115 ppg offense and feed Festus one on one in the post because Scottie Pippen is on him?

They are gonna thank the basketball gods he isnt on Steph, Klay, or Green and run their offense around them with the biggest disruptive force wasted on a guy they arent giving the ball.

Think this out.

What these dudes might do in an empty gym one on one is irrelevant.

Scottie Pippen on Festus for a whole game actually trying to prevent his scoring would be a mistake....not because Festus is gonna light him up. It would be a mistake because the Warriors would play their normal game around him and let Festus score 4 points while they drop 122 and win.

Pippen on that dude would just roam and occasionally look his way...and try to disrupt the Warriors in general. Trying to shut down people who arent getting the ball anyway is just a waste.

Im not the one being unrealistic here. Dudes talking like scrubs are gonna be treated like Bob Lanier are.

15-20 centers arent getting the ball....with a Pippen or Leonard on them....because not having them elsewhere means you can run your normal offense without the disruptions the usually can cause.

Knicks arent gonna post up Joakim Noah 36 times because Leonard is guarding him. They are gonna let Melo run wild because Leonard ISNT guarding him.

You really trying to think this through at all?

NOTHING would happen if these guys defend todays bum ass centers but a few good rebounding nights.

Mahinmi wasnt gonna light you up last year because you put Leonard on him. Paul George was gonna light you up because Leonard is chilling on someone they dont plan to give the ball anyway.

The idea that these guys would start dropping buckets can only spring fro ma mind that has not thought it out.

Im not saying you are an idiot. Im saying you arent thinking about how an actual NBA game would be played under these circumstances.

KD and Steph would LOVE IT if Leonard had to defend Zaza. Not because they are about to feed him and watch him work....they would just know some combo of Parker, Manu, Mills, Anderson, and Green would be stuck on them all night and not the DPOY.

These scenarios you speak of where such and such cant be guarded just dont matter.

They would not get the ball anyway.

[Kblaze8855]

yeah that's nice... Now explain to me why the Rockets who hate to post up anyone are going to go away from their game plan to feed the post because Leonard is guarding the center.... instead of letting James Harden run wild.

explain to me the logic behind the Warriors not letting three of the ten best shooters ever go crazy on the mismatches they have because the best defender in the league is on a player they didn't plan to give the ball anyway.

just think about it and explain it to me. just try to picture an NBA game where the Warriors Rockets Knicks or whoever just stop playing modern basketball and dump it into a scrub so he can attempt to run wild two points at a time while some of the best players in the world watch him do it.

picture the Big 3 heat clearing out and letting Joel Anthony go one-on-one 20 or 30 times if you put Kevin Martin on him. Picture that in your head and tell me it feels realistic.

[LostCause]

Neither Bron or Pippen guard 1-5. They can guard 1-4 though, same as Draymond, but 1-5 to me is someone who can guard said positions for the whole game, not just a few plays. You can't imagine Bron guarding Prime Shaq or Howard for a game, nor Pippen.

In that sense, Dennis Rodman is definitely can and has guarded 1-5. Went from guarding Magic, to Jordan, to legit shutting down Shaq in Orlando


have to stop pretending its 1995.

In 2016 anyone over 6'7'' and 240 not afraid to get physical can guard most centers.

though this is also true now

[AintNoSunshine]

Rodman.

Yep that's your best bet.

When has Lebron or Pippen guarded a C for a long stretch anyway.

[ILLsmak]

Oh god, go post this ****ing nonsense in your kblaze post of the day...because yes, you are so important we need to hear the thoughts of a ****ing worker drone in his cubby...ugh. ****ing ish...****ing maggots, ****ing headache inducing mother****er maggots. Ugh.

if it ever was actually worth saying: meltdown.

-Smak

[AirBonner]

Ben Wallace

[wally_world]

There are better choices, but one that hasn't been mentioned - The Dream

[PHILA]

http://archive.is/wdE3r

How Great Was Gus Johnson?

By Marlin Smith

December 31, 1997

And from Butch Komives, "You've got to remember he was only 6-6. But he had the strength to play Wilt Chamberlain and the quickness to guard Oscar Robertson. No one played the Big O tougher. In my book, Gus was better than Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry or Dr. J. He did it all and never backed down from anyone."

As Gus's ex-Idaho teammate Rich Porter said, "You hear so many stories, but believe me almost all of them are true. He was really something special."

[Prometheus]

Oh god, go post this ****ing nonsense in your kblaze post of the day...because yes, you are so important we need to hear the thoughts of a ****ing worker drone in his cubby...ugh. ****ing ish...****ing maggots, ****ing headache inducing mother****er maggots. Ugh.

Ban this awful bastard

[ralph_i_el]

Of which there is what, one or two small forwards that size? smh
And anyone else that size or bigger is a 4/5, so what the big deal about that?

LeBron
PG
Stanley Johnson
Justice Winslow
Paul Milsap
KD
Kawhi
Carmelo
Tobias Harris
.....

and a bunch of tall guys that don't make the 240lbs, but still guard 4's, like Chandler Parsons.

Kblaze is right on the money. Kawhi would be able to guard Asik and teams aren't going to break their gameplan to go to size mismatches if it means putting the ball in the hands of unskilled offensive players.


This is why teams have gone away from running out two traditional big men if they aren't actually skilled enough to warrant being played. Better to play a smaller, more skilled player and dare the other team to try and exploit them on d.

[ClipperRevival]

It wouldnt matter what you think Asik can do one on one. hes not playing one on one. Hes on a team...with an offense. A 2016 offense. And the Pelicans are not about to take it back to 1975 and treat Asik like Bob Mcadoo and give him 60 touches because Leonard is on him. He took 10 shots in one game last season. One. And they lost by 35. But if Leonard is on him they dont just....take advantage of him not being on their actual scorers...and feed Asik in the post and watch him work? Be for real.

You think the Warriors last year would just put aside a 115 ppg offense and feed Festus one on one in the post because Scottie Pippen is on him?

They are gonna thank the basketball gods he isnt on Steph, Klay, or Green and run their offense around them with the biggest disruptive force wasted on a guy they arent giving the ball.

Think this out.

What these dudes might do in an empty gym one on one is irrelevant.

Scottie Pippen on Festus for a whole game actually trying to prevent his scoring would be a mistake....not because Festus is gonna light him up. It would be a mistake because the Warriors would play their normal game around him and let Festus score 4 points while they drop 122 and win.

Pippen on that dude would just roam and occasionally look his way...and try to disrupt the Warriors in general. Trying to shut down people who arent getting the ball anyway is just a waste.

Im not the one being unrealistic here. Dudes talking like scrubs are gonna be treated like Bob Lanier are.

15-20 centers arent getting the ball....with a Pippen or Leonard on them....because not having them elsewhere means you can run your normal offense without the disruptions the usually can cause.

Knicks arent gonna post up Joakim Noah 36 times because Leonard is guarding him. They are gonna let Melo run wild because Leonard ISNT guarding him.

You really trying to think this through at all?

NOTHING would happen if these guys defend todays bum ass centers but a few good rebounding nights.

Mahinmi wasnt gonna light you up last year because you put Leonard on him. Paul George was gonna light you up because Leonard is chilling on someone they dont plan to give the ball anyway.

The idea that these guys would start dropping buckets can only spring fro ma mind that has not thought it out.

Im not saying you are an idiot. Im saying you arent thinking about how an actual NBA game would be played under these circumstances.

KD and Steph would LOVE IT if Leonard had to defend Zaza. Not because they are about to feed him and watch him work....they would just know some combo of Parker, Manu, Mills, Anderson, and Green would be stuck on them all night and not the DPOY.

These scenarios you speak of where such and such cant be guarded just dont matter.

They would not get the ball anyway.

Your example isn't saying much because you are talking about scrub centers who don't get the ball much to begin with because they have little offensive skills.

The fact is, no one can truly guard 1-5 at a high level. It's just not possible. There is too much variance between 1's (speed, quickness) to 5's (size, power, length). So the question for this thread should be which guys did the best at guarding all 5 positions in spots.

[ClipperRevival]

Shawn Marion was guarding Tmac and Yao ming for extended stretches of the same game. Ive also seen him put on points.

Ive seen Pippen guard Zo and Tim Hardaway.

A lot of great defensive 3s can guard most of the league. What is realistically gonna happen if 2004 Artest guards the vast majority of centers? hes 250-270 pounds of muscle with a passion for defense and physical play. But he was also defending guards. Rockets Shane battier guarded points and power forwards.

If Lebron is a nobody....and walks out on the floor as a 6'8''ish 260 pound power forward and starts guarding bigmen...you wouldnt think anything of it. You would probably assume he couldnt guard a point...because you wouldnt know hes guarded the likes of Derrick Rose well.


A lot of this is just assumption based on what we think we know would happen....and usually its just unrealistic. And even that is usually based on what people think would happen in a rare matchup.

The issue of if Lebron...or Marion...or whoever...can guard a center? Demarcus Cousins doesnt determine it. The 19 centers who wouldnt do anything worth mentioning do.

You dont decide if someone is capable of something at all....by asking if they can do the hardest possible thing. You look into a realistic situation. And in the real world...

65-70 games a season Lebron guarding them wouldnt justify any exceptional number of shots from the opposing center. Robin Lopez guarded by Lebron is gonna probably have a good rebounding night and not score any more than usual a couple extra putbacks aside.


We have to stop pretending its 1995.

In 2016 anyone over 6'7'' and 240 not afraid to get physical can guard most centers.

Pippen as of 94 could guard every point in todays NBA and every center too. He couldnt lock up Demarcus Cousins if he made a point of trying to score. But he would play him twice a year.

90% of the time the other guy is not about to start posting up and begging for the ball.

Pippen wouldnt be an easily exploited mismatch vs more than 2-3 centers.

And most of them are a mismatch vs other centers too.

Its like asking if Lebron or Pippen could guard Hakeem.

He gave Mutombo 50....whored Drob....

If he drops 50 on Lebron or Pippen does that mean they cant guard centers? No.

It means hes Hakeem.

Superstars arent the measure. They are the few. The average guys are who you judge.

And the average center could be guarded by most anyone in the usual big forward size range without a problem.

Stick Antawn Jamison...today...on Asik? Hes not dropping 40.

The problem matchups are few.

This question got a lot easier the last 20 years.

Dude, Pip seldom guarded PGs. He was an amazing athlete but keeping guys in front of him in space wasn't one of his strong points. Sure, against guys similar in size he was great at but not PGs.

And you tell Pip to guard a near 7 foot guy weight 250 lbs on a game by game basis and he would be worn out by the physicality pretty quickly. Size matters as does length. Pip's 220 lbs would just get pushed around. It's not just about giving up points defensively, it's the rebounding, the pounding, the physicality, etc that Pip would struggle with.

[ClipperRevival]

Oh god, go post this ****ing nonsense in your kblaze post of the day...because yes, you are so important we need to hear the thoughts of a ****ing worker drone in his cubby...ugh. ****ing ish...****ing maggots, ****ing headache inducing mother****er maggots. Ugh.

:roll:

This guy is the king of meltdowns.

[AintNoSunshine]

Pure bullshit kblaze... that why there are positions.

If you isolated any 7 foot centre on Kawhi Leonard, by far the best defensive forward, he would drop 30 at least.
He could not stop Asik in the low post one on one. Please. And Asik shouldnt be in NBA. But fact remains, he would seal him 5 feet from basket EASILY, take one power dribble and lay it in.
And that's the worst centre in the NBA.

Scottie Pippen, arguably the greatest defensive small forward, would not stop friggin Festus Ezeli one on one the majority of the time. The sheer size discrepancy is huge.

Holy crap what a horse shit post.

You are the one spitting bullcrap. Most of today's center isn't dropping 30 on Kawhi.

[LostCause]

Asik is pretty much the same as using Cousins. Just opposite ends of the spectrum. If you get a middling C with someone like Kawhi or Bron guarding them, while they may not always go to them, they will feed the post a lot more to exploit the mismatch. Bron himself attests to doing this when Tristian Thompson had Klay on him. Klay being an excellent dedender in his own right

As an example, use Marcin Gortat. Starting caliber center with a good array of skill offensively but nothing spectacular to be stand-out, rather than Asik, who's terrible offensively.

[L.Kizzle]

Gus Johnson could legit guard Jerry West or Dave Bing. He would turn around and guard Wilt Chamberlain or Nate Thurmond. Legit centers.

[Kblaze8855]

Your example isn't saying much because you are talking about scrub centers who don't get the ball much to begin with because they have little offensive skills.

The fact is, no one can truly guard 1-5 at a high level. It's just not possible. There is too much variance between 1's (speed, quickness) to 5's (size, power, length). So the question for this thread should be which guys did the best at guarding all 5 positions in spots.

Fundamental problem there...and the basis of the misunderstanding. Some of you act like me using those guys is cherry picking. Its me using....most NBA centers. If Scottie Pippen were a bull last season....this would be the last 15 center matchups he would have had:

*backup listed when the starter played low minutes*


Rudy Gobert and Trey Lyles(6 points combined)
Cousins(obvious mismatch)
Robin Lopez(...)
Robin Lopez again(... again)
Dewayne Dedmon
Al Horford
Ian Mahinmi
Dwight Howard(who took 4 shots)
Drummond/baynes
Miles Plumlee(24 minutes) and Greg Monroe(23)
Chris Anderson/Ryan Hollins/Jarrell martin
Amare starting with Hassan off the bench for 27 minutes)
TT/Mosgov combined for 38 minutes so I suppose Frye and Love made up the rest at the 5...but since they combined to shoot 14 threes I suspect they wouldnt be punishing anyone much in the post.
Asik and Kendrick Perkins combined for 40+ minutes. Enough said.
Nerlens Noel(the only player over 6'8'' to play for philly that game).


In his last 15 games...like....10 of his opposing centers would be the kind of people im talking about.

Pippen could guard the opposing center at the moment...over half the game...70+ games a season. 5-6 of those guys are pretty much tall forwards forced to play the 5 because there are no good centers....

Anyone about to come in here and tell me that Charles Barkley being 6'5'' makes him an easier matchup in the post than Robin Lopez, Noel, Dedmon, and Chris Anderson?

Go to about 2 minutes on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SGe-vp_l8U


He can guard Charles Barkley one on one in the post....before the 5 second backdown rule at that.....but Perkins is gonna be too much to handle?

If anyone is gonna harp on Barkley being short to downplay the difficulty of guarding him one on one in the post....fine...it means you never watched him play...but fine. Lets try out some bigger players....

He can handle Patrick Ewing in a straight up isolation:


https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ImpishElementaryConure-size_restricted.gif


Someone comfortable in the post looking to exploit him. Missed it off the backboard. No rim.

But if that were Miles Plumlee....Pip is just gonna get worked? Course not. When that happens the first times....you think a team is gonna try it 12-15 more when these scrubs dont get 12-15 post touches a week?


Most of the time it wouldnt even come to that. This would happen more often than not if someone like Robin Lopez decided to make a point of trying to score on Scottie:

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FalseSpiffyAsiaticwildass-size_restricted.gif


Thats Chris Webber. 6'9''250...in his athletic prime...again...with rules more in favor of post players.

To really go at Pippen in the post you have to first....have someone GREAT at establishing position in the post...which like 4 centers today are....a team willing to exploit it...which like...2 teams are...and someone who can catch it and go quickly. 5 second rule now. They couldnt just gradually back him down as bigger players at times tried to do. And they better not be clusmy or likely to turn it over. Scottie was ripping Webbers, Malones, Barkleys, and Ewings in the post. How comfortable is Asik gonna be trying to dribble back vs Scottie Pippen?

He was stealing entry passes when he appeared to be sealed off vs superstar bigmen....with guard who were good entry passers.

You know how many steals...how many charges...Scottie Pippen could get...if you tried to force feed Perkins or Chris Anderson or 70% of the leagues centers the ball vs him? Most points these days arent even practiced throwing a proper entry pass.

Do I need to show you a dozen examples of Scottie Pippen disrupting an entry pass vs a player with the agility and experience to usually catch it? We are talking good post players. Not what he would be guarding most of the time if you put him on a center today.

As ive been saying...this all sounds different when its an abstract concept....tiny Pippen trying to guard post players.

In reality...its a gang of scrubs and he is a defensive genius....who would be guarding people who barely get the ball...and wouldnt be used to even trying to take over a game.

Scottie Pippen was guarding center sized people comfortable in the post with illegal defense rules, no 5 second backdown, and a league that still played through the post.

Chris Anderson is hardly gonna have him shook.

And there are a LOT more Chris Andersons today than centers who are a serious threat to anyone. And most of them play with guards who would be trying to take the game over themselves if the other team wasted its best defender on someone not even in the offensive gameplan aside from setting picks.....

Hell I wouldnt even put Pippens man in a position to set many screens. Id be worried he might switch on the screen and guard someone who matters. Id keep him out of the action entirely if I could.

Pippen "guarding" Jordan Hill just means I get Jordan Hill the **** outta the way and hope Pippen lets me marginalize him that way all game.

A lot of these guys one on one could score on Pippen...

Real basketball game?

Teams arent dumb enough to put victory in the hands of Clint Capela just because Scottie Pippen is guarding him. James Harden is gonna say a short prayer to the basketball gods and take 30 shots.....

[ClipperRevival]

Fundamental problem there...and the basis of the misunderstanding. Some of you act like me using those guys is cherry picking. Its me using....most NBA centers. If Scottie Pippen were a bull last season....this would be the last 15 center matchups he would have had:

*backup listed when the starter played low minutes*


Rudy Gobert and Trey Lyles(6 points combined)
Cousins(obvious mismatch)
Robin Lopez(...)
Robin Lopez again(... again)
Dewayne Dedmon
Al Horford
Ian Mahinmi
Dwight Howard(who took 4 shots)
Drummond/baynes
Miles Plumlee(24 minutes) and Greg Monroe(23)
Chris Anderson/Ryan Hollins/Jarrell martin
Amare starting with Hassan off the bench for 27 minutes)
TT/Mosgov combined for 38 minutes so I suppose Frye and Love made up the rest at the 5...but since they combined to shoot 14 threes I suspect they wouldnt be punishing anyone much in the post.
Asik and Kendrick Perkins combined for 40+ minutes. Enough said.
Nerlens Noel(the only player over 6'8'' to play for philly that game).


In his last 15 games...like....10 of his opposing centers would be the kind of people im talking about.

Pippen could guard the opposing center at the moment...over half the game...70+ games a season. 5-6 of those guys are pretty much tall forwards forced to play the 5 because there are no good centers....

Anyone about to come in here and tell me that Charles Barkley being 6'5'' makes him an easier matchup in the post than Robin Lopez, Noel, Dedmon, and Chris Anderson?

Go to about 2 minutes on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SGe-vp_l8U


He can guard Charles Barkley one on one in the post....before the 5 second backdown rule at that.....but Perkins is gonna be too much to handle?

If anyone is gonna harp on Barkley being short to downplay the difficulty of guarding him one on one in the post....fine...it means you never watched him play...but fine. Lets try out some bigger players....

He can handle Patrick Ewing in a straight up isolation:


https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ImpishElementaryConure-size_restricted.gif


Someone comfortable in the post looking to exploit him. Missed it off the backboard. No rim.

But if that were Miles Plumlee....Pip is just gonna get worked? Course not. When that happens the first times....you think a team is gonna try it 12-15 more when these scrubs dont get 12-15 post touches a week?


Most of the time it wouldnt even come to that. This would happen more often than not if someone like Robin Lopez decided to make a point of trying to score on Scottie:

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FalseSpiffyAsiaticwildass-size_restricted.gif


Thats Chris Webber. 6'9''250...in his athletic prime...again...with rules more in favor of post players.

To really go at Pippen in the post you have to first....have someone GREAT at establishing position in the post...which like 4 centers today are....a team willing to exploit it...which like...2 teams are...and someone who can catch it and go quickly. 5 second rule now. They couldnt just gradually back him down as bigger players at times tried to do. And they better not be clusmy or likely to turn it over. Scottie was ripping Webbers, Malones, Barkleys, and Ewings in the post. How comfortable is Asik gonna be trying to dribble back vs Scottie Pippen?

He was stealing entry passes when he appeared to be sealed off vs superstar bigmen....with guard who were good entry passers.

You know how many steals...how many charges...Scottie Pippen could get...if you tried to force feed Perkins or Chris Anderson or 70% of the leagues centers the ball vs him? Most points these days arent even practiced throwing a proper entry pass.

Do I need to show you a dozen examples of Scottie Pippen disrupting an entry pass vs a player with the agility and experience to usually catch it? We are talking good post players. Not what he would be guarding most of the time if you put him on a center today.

As ive been saying...this all sounds different when its an abstract concept....tiny Pippen trying to guard post players.

In reality...its a gang of scrubs and he is a defensive genius....who would be guarding people who barely get the ball...and wouldnt be used to even trying to take over a game.

Scottie Pippen was guarding center sized people comfortable in the post with illegal defense rules, no 5 second backdown, and a league that still played through the post.

Chris Anderson is hardly gonna have him shook.

And there are a LOT more Chris Andersons today than centers who are a serious threat to anyone. And most of them play with guards who would be trying to take the game over themselves if the other team wasted its best defender on someone not even in the offensive gameplan aside from setting picks.....

Hell I wouldnt even put Pippens man in a position to set many screens. Id be worried he might switch on the screen and guard someone who matters. Id keep him out of the action entirely if I could.

Pippen "guarding" Jordan Hill just means I get Jordan Hill the **** outta the way and hope Pippen lets me marginalize him that way all game.

A lot of these guys one on one could score on Pippen...

Real basketball game?

Teams arent dumb enough to put victory in the hands of Clint Capela just because Scottie Pippen is guarding him. James Harden is gonna say a short prayer to the basketball gods and take 30 shots.....

So what is your point? My point is that no one can truly guard 1-5 at a high level. There is too much disparity between the talent needed to guard 1s and 5s.

Yes, size matters in bball. It might not matter in a specific play but over the course of a season, when you have a 220 lb man banging against legit "bigs" down low, it will take its toll. No one is denying Pip is one of the best and most well rounded defenders ever but he was still 220 lbs and that would eventually take its toll. He probably could guard most bigs today at a decent level (given their decline in size and skills from past bigs) but the constant physicality against bigger men would still take its tool.

Are you saying it won't? What is exactly your point?

[Kblaze8855]

It wouldnt take its toll because he wouldnt be doing it 40 minutes a night 82 games a season. If he can guard 1-5....why would he be guarding one position the entire game every game of the season? Once again we seem to have left how basketball is played in the background.

Pippen like many defenders...doesnt stick to one guy all game.

Me saying he can defend centers doesnt mean hes gonna waste himself guarding nobodies the entire season. It means....he can defend the other team 1-5....the great majority of the time.

Actual centers...dont guard exclusively centers. Why would he?

The question is one of versatility. Guarding nothing but 1s...or 2s...or 5s...wouldnt show that.

The issue is...vs most teams...can he guard the whole team? And he can.

Because vs like 20 teams...nobody at the 5 is a threat. Guarding a center trying to back you down to score one on one is spot duty. Actual centers dont do much of it in 2016.

If you put Pippen on a 5...hes gonna roam..and occasionally have to defend a real attempt to score on him one on one. And he proved he could handle that hundreds of times...vs true post players. Polished....noteworthy players. You dont necessarily need to send help when Ewing...Webber...Zo...Karl Malone...Barkley...have Pippen in the post. Im gonna send it for Dwight Howard? Dwight might have 6 turnovers trying to go to town on Scottie Pippen. Thats if they gave him the ball....which they usually dont even with a mismatch.

If Scottie Pippen is on my team...I can expect him to do a decent to outstanding job on like....350 players. Of the 70-75 guys likely to get some burn at the 5...he can likely guard....65 of them very well. But he wouldnt do it every night.

Whats the upside? Why limit one of the great defensive players to guarding people who arent getting the ball?

Defensive versatility is about what you can do...the options you give your coaches. Pippen has enough of it to guard every position.

That doesnt mean you go tell him to guard Perkins. Just that....nothing would happen if you did.

Pippen at the 3...didnt guard just 3s. If I put him at the 5...why would he guard just 5s?

Again...it feels like im the only one talking about how this would shake out in an actual basketball game.

[ClipperRevival]

It wouldnt take its toll because he wouldnt be doing it 40 minutes a night 82 games a season. If he can guard 1-5....why would he be guarding one position the entire game every game of the season? Once again we seem to have left how basketball is played in the background.

Pippen like many defenders...doesnt stick to one guy all game.

Me saying he can defend centers doesnt mean hes gonna waste himself guarding nobodies the entire season. It means....he can defend the other team 1-5....the great majority of the time.

Actual centers...dont guard exclusively centers. Why would he?

The question is one of versatility. Guarding nothing but 1s...or 2s...or 5s...wouldnt show that.

The issue is...vs most teams...can he guard the whole team? And he can.

Because vs like 20 teams...nobody at the 5 is a threat. Guarding a center trying to back you down to score one on one is spot duty. Actual centers dont do much of it in 2016.

If you put Pippen on a 5...hes gonna roam..and occasionally have to defend a real attempt to score on him one on one. And he proved he could handle that hundreds of times...vs true post players. Polished....noteworthy players. You dont necessarily need to send help when Ewing...Webber...Zo...Karl Malone...Barkley...have Pippen in the post. Im gonna send it for Dwight Howard? Dwight might have 6 turnovers trying to go to town on Scottie Pippen. Thats if they gave him the ball....which they usually dont even with a mismatch.

If Scottie Pippen is on my team...I can expect him to do a decent to outstanding job on like....350 players. Of the 70-75 guys likely to get some burn at the 5...he can likely guard....65 of them very well. But he wouldnt do it every night.

Whats the upside? Why limit one of the great defensive players to guarding people who arent getting the ball?

Defensive versatility is about what you can do...the options you give your coaches. Pippen has enough of it to guard every position.

That doesnt mean you go tell him to guard Perkins. Just that....nothing would happen if you did.

Pippen at the 3...didnt guard just 3s. If I put him at the 5...why would he guard just 5s?

Again...it feels like im the only one talking about how this would shake out in an actual basketball game.

For the most part, positions do guard their own positions. Of course there will be situations when you have to guard outside your position in a game but that is the exception, not the rule.

I remember the 2009 WCF (Lakers/Nuggets). And when Kobe was guarding Melo, Melo was straight pushing him around down in the block and grabbing boards. And that is a difference of maybe 15 lbs. But that difference did exist and a bigger guy who is stronger than you can and will push you around. BBall is a physical game down low.

Again, I really don't know what your point is. Can Pip guard today's bigs at a decent level in spurts? Of course. Can he do it over an entire season? No. Because the difference in size/power matters and Pip would be worn down.

What more is there is say than that?

[pauk]

Lebron and Pippen could not guard a decent 5 sorry.

Kevin Garnett would be closest I would say.

Lebron / Pippen could guard a decent 5 better than Garnett could guard a decent 1....

Although i think Lebron is/was better equipped to guard 5's than Pippen (Lebron is even bigger/stronger), that has been the case.

[NBAGOAT]

draymond and kirilenko maybe. more versatile than lebron or pippen as versatile as they are

[pauk]

Dont forget Rodman though...

Pistons Rodman was more leaner/quicker/athletic, could handle 1-4 better.
Bulls Rodman was more stronger, could handle 2-5 better.

[pauk]

draymond and kirilenko maybe. more versatile than lebron or pippen as versatile as they are

Draymond can handle only 3, max 4 positions... gets his ankle broken guarding decent 1-2s and some 3s when they start dancing with the crossovers (Durant/Lebron)... prime Kirilenko however yes, that guy could hold his own against anybody.

[Kblaze8855]

It doesnt matter if he could guard any position exclusively the entire season. He would NEVER guard one position an entire season.

Are we really talking about what would happen in a world where crazy versatile defenders like Pippen....are required to guard one spot man to man the entire season?

Besides...if he did...what are you telling me happens? That hes gonna be injured by the end of the season...or that guys line Noel start dropping 30 on him because hes so "worn down" by March?

A "worn down" Pippen is giving up what to Clint Capela?

Really im asking.

What is the worst case scenario in your mind when the "worn down" March or April Pippen guards Clint Capela for 30 minutes?

James Harden gonna take a back seat to clint while he gives Scottie the business? What would that entail exactly?

[ClipperRevival]

It doesnt matter if he could guard any position exclusively the entire season. He would NEVER guard one position an entire season.

Are we really talking about what would happen in a world where crazy versatile defenders like Pippen....are required to guard one spot man to man the entire season?

Besides...if he did...what are you telling me happens? That hes gonna be injured by the end of the season...or that guys line Noel start dropping 30 on him because hes so "worn down" by March?

A "worn down" Pippen is giving up what to Clint Capela?

Really im asking.

What is the worst case scenario in your mind when the "worn down" March or April Pippen guards Clint Capela for 30 minutes?

James Harden gonna take a back seat to clint while he gives Scottie the business? What would that entail exactly?

You keep focusing on scoring. It's more than that. Anytime you go up against a guy that outweighs you by a good margin and is noticeably stronger than you and you have to bang with this guy over a game, it wears your legs out much faster than if you were banging against guys your same size. This is like bball 101. When is the last time you played a hard, full court game?

[Kblaze8855]

draymond and kirilenko maybe. more versatile than lebron or pippen as versatile as they are



Dray and AK27 could absolutely guard 1-5....in the real world. Maybe not in a world we seem to imagine in these situations where someone is isolated to defend a superstar on an island 40 minutes a night for 82 games.

The way basketball is actually played?

They could guard the entire starting lineup vs a lot of teams.

You almost have to throw small forwards and mobile tweeners out of these discussions. Mobile guys in the 6'7'' range have been guarding the whole NBA for 70 years.


Satch Sanders guarded Jerry West and Wilt.
Gus Johnson guarded West, Oscar, and Wilt.

Even guys nobody remembers...

Rodney Mccray?

Rodney guarded almost the entire league....I watched him do it.

Hell Rodney Rogers. I watched him guard Hakeem and Drexler...if he slid over to Matt Maloney or Brent Price at the point...what...they are gonna turn into Pistol Pete?


Don Nelson made Anthony Mason play the point....and he guarded Hakeem...and Michael Jordan. You can go to youtube right now and watch Hornets Mason guard centers.....and Jordan...and Vince Carter. He can guard VC...but if he had been slid over to Alvin Williams...what? its a trainwreck? 48 year old Dee Brown was gonna pump his shoes up and take it back to 91 on him?

A good defensive 3...with some speed...and a good base?

Those guys can guard...the NBA. Never better than todays NBA.

Can they guard Westbrook, Steph, and Chris Paul well? Or Demarcus Cousins? Maybe not.

What about the other 370 guys?

Bobby Jones guarded Pistol Pete, George Gervin, and an awful lot of bigmen. Ive seen him do it.

"But what if he stuck to a bruising center all night every night his entire life" isnt a relevant question to me. That isnt how basketball is played.

The way it is?

He could guard the entire NBA.

If I have Deng in his prime....playing last years Knicks. He can guard Robin Lopez...he can guard Jerian Grant..he can guard Sasha. How then do I not say he can guard 1-5? He can guard the entire starting lineup.

Im to act like he cant guard 1-5 because if it were 1995 he would eventually bump into Drob and Hakeem on a back to back?

It isnt 1995. Its 2016 and these guys are ****ing scum.

[ArbitraryWater]

I've seen Nate Robinson block Ming, it's irrelevant to the discussion.

Prime Duncan would drop 70 points on Lebron one on one all game.

There are a handful of games that can win a battle on a switch occasionally, but I'm talking guarding them head to head consistently.

thats retarded.. why would Bron do worse than a bunch of other PF's?

Duncan's career high is 50

He would get his usual 25 or so

[ClipperRevival]

Dray and AK27 could absolutely guard 1-5....in the real world. Maybe not in a world we seem to imagine in these situations where someone is isolated to defend a superstar on an island 40 minutes a night for 82 games.

The way basketball is actually played?

They could guard the entire starting lineup vs a lot of teams.

You almost have to throw small forwards and mobile tweeners out of these discussions. Mobile guys in the 6'7'' range have been guarding the whole NBA for 70 years.


Satch Sanders guarded Jerry West and Wilt.
Gus Johnson guarded West, Oscar, and Wilt.

Even guys nobody remembers...

Rodney Mccray?

Rodney guarded almost the entire league....I watched him do it.

Hell Rodney Rogers. I watched him guard Hakeem and Drexler...if he slid over to Matt Maloney or Brent Price at the point...what...they are gonna turn into Pistol Pete?


Don Nelson made Anthony Mason play the point....and he guarded Hakeem...and Michael Jordan. You can go to youtube right now and watch Hornets Mason guard centers.....and Jordan...and Vince Carter. He can guard VC...but if he had been slid over to Alvin Williams...what? its a trainwreck? 48 year old Dee Brown was gonna pump his shoes up and take it back to 91 on him?

A good defensive 3...with some speed...and a good base?

Those guys can guard...the NBA. Never better than todays NBA.

Can they guard Westbrook, Steph, and Chris Paul well? Or Demarcus Cousins? Maybe not.

What about the other 370 guys?

Bobby Jones guarded Pistol Pete, George Gervin, and an awful lot of bigmen. Ive seen him do it.

"But what if he stuck to a bruising center all night every night his entire life" isnt a relevant question to me. That isnt how basketball is played.

The way it is?

He could guard the entire NBA.

If I have Deng in his prime....playing last years Knicks. He can guard Robin Lopez...he can guard Jerian Grant..he can guard Sasha. How then do I not say he can guard 1-5? He can guard the entire starting lineup.

Im to act like he cant guard 1-5 because if it were 1995 he would eventually bump into Drob and Hakeem on a back to back?

It isnt 1995. Its 2016 and these guys are ****ing scum.

You're still not making any concrete points. No one said a long, athletic wing who can hold his own in the paint can't guard most positions. But that's in SPURTS. And that's all you said above, which I agree with. But it seemed like in previous posts, you were insinuating that Pippen could guard bigs over an entire season (of course guarding other positions from time to time). And I just don't agree with that.

[Kblaze8855]

You keep focusing on scoring. It's more than that. Anytime you go up against a guy that outweighs you by a good margin and is noticeably stronger than you and you have to bang with this guy over a game, it wears your legs out much faster than if you were banging against guys your same size. This is like bball 101. When is the last time you played a hard, full court game?


This is not 1995. A lot of the people you are talking about are not bangers. And why am I talking about scoring? Im asked if they can defend the players in question.

These dudes arent gonna defend them too. Scottie isnt gonna have Perkins out there at the 3 point line guarding him and he isnt gonna be fighting him for position trying to keep him off the glass defensive.

Its not gonna be a matchup like a bigman on a bigman. Its not 40 minutes of banging. The bigman wouldnt be anywhere near Pippen on offense and since Perkins isnt even a threat....Pippen is gonna be all over the floor. Hes gonna be a disruptive force any way he can.

Hes not gonna stick to a scrubs he knows wont get the ball and just turn and box out.

Besides...as I said...real world basketball game...hes not guarding exclusively one position anyway. And like a third of the leagues bigmen are trying to space the floor. You know how much of a game vs the Cavs Pippen could guard a bigman...who just wants to shoot 3s?

You could rack up huge PT guarding bigmen these days who arent much of a physical problem for the likes of Pippen.

Its a new day. Tall kids want to be Kevin Durant not Patrick Ewing.

[ClipperRevival]

This is not 1995. A lot of the people you are talking about are not bangers. And why am I talking about scoring? Im asked if they can defend the players in question.

These dudes arent gonna defend them too. Scottie isnt gonna have Perkins out there at the 3 point line guarding him and he isnt gonna be fighting him for position trying to keep him off the glass defensive.

Its not gonna be a matchup like a bigman on a bigman. Its not 40 minutes of banging. The bigman wouldnt be anywhere near Pippen on offense and since Perkins isnt even a threat....Pippen is gonna be all over the floor. Hes gonna be a disruptive force any way he can.

Hes not gonna stick to a scrubs he knows wont get the ball and just turn and box out.

Besides...as I said...real world basketball game...hes not guarding exclusively one position anyway. And like a third of the leagues bigmen are trying to space the floor. You know how much of a game vs the Cavs Pippen could guard a bigman...who just wants to shoot 3s?

You could rack up huge PT guarding bigmen these days who arent much of a physical problem for the likes of Pippen.

Its a new day. Tall kids want to be Kevin Durant not Patrick Ewing.

One thing I can agree with you is that the bigs today are a joke compared to say 1995. I see a lot of your points though. Let's just leave it at that. :cheers:

[Kblaze8855]

You're still not making any concrete points. No one said a long, athletic wing who can hold his own in the paint can't guard most positions. But that's in SPURTS. And that's all you said above, which I agree with. But it seemed like in previous posts, you were insinuating that Pippen could guard bigs over an entire season (of course guarding other positions from time to time). And I just don't agree with that.



Dude...

Basketball is in spurts. Especially for a brilliant and versatile defensive player.

I can watch Scottie Pippen guarding Chris Webber and Rod Strickland the same game. Webber was a center 2 of his first 4-5 seasons and bigger than many centers now.

How do I then conclude he cant guard centers and point guards?

Because in a non existent world where he would be stuck to them every second of a season he might have problems?

Lets make this very simple.

Know why I think a lot of people can guard 1-5?

Ive seen a lot of people do it.

The whole "But they cant do it all the time" argument is just disregarding that basketball doesnt require you to do it all the time.

I wouldnt put Ty Lawson on a center because thats an obvious and easily exploitable matchup problem. Im not putting Oliver Miller on Baron Davis or Derrick Rose either.

Scottie Pippen....Shane Battier...Rodney Mccray...bobby Jones...Ron Artest...Lebron James...Deng...

Ideal? No. Am I gonna panic? Hell no.

Throw out tweener forwards....this is a difficult question.

In the world that actually exists...ive seen Grant Hill guard a center and a point in the same game...so im not acting like its out of line to assume he can do it.

[Kblaze8855]

One thing I can agree with you is that the bigs today are a joke compared to say 1995. I see a lot of your points though. Let's just leave it at that. :cheers:


Id like to be clear...I dont think you are wrong...so much as not looking at it the way I am.

Im picturing an actual basketball game...Pippen on say....whoever....Noel...one of those guys I listed in the real games the Bulls played. Im just trying to imagine what you think is gonna go down....where Nerlens Noel just goes to town on Scottie Pippen. Or...trying to imagine Pippen stuck to a guy like Asik for 40 minutes. I cant see it. Its not realistic.

What is possible...what can be done? Him ending up on them from time to time as events unfold...and nothing happening because of it.

Im not picturing 40 minutes on the block with Asik trying to do his Shaq impersonation because that would never happen.

He would technically be assigned to him....and just leave him to help on Davis now and then...he would be all over the place.

I cant even picture this world some people seem to think would exist where these scrubs take it back to high school and try to drop 50 because Pippen/Lebron/whoever is on them.

I saw a claim Duncan would drop 70 on Lebron. Lebron is (depending on the seasons in question)bigger than Kenyon Martin. A worse post defender? Sure. Not by enough that Duncan goes 10-25 vs Kenyon but is gonna drop 70 on Lebron.

I just feel like people arent being real about this issue because they arent thinking it through.

A good defensive forward...is not that great a mismatch for a bad center...or an average guard. And we have way more bad centers and average guards than superstars.

I'll leave it at that.

[ClipperRevival]

Id like to be clear...I dont think you are wrong...so much as not looking at it the way I am.

Im picturing an actual basketball game...Pippen on say....whoever....Noel...one of those guys I listed in the real games the Bulls played. Im just trying to imagine what you think is gonna go down....where Nerlens Noel just goes to town on Scottie Pippen. Or...trying to imagine Pippen stuck to a guy like Asik for 40 minutes. I cant see it. Its not realistic.

What is possible...what can be done? Him ending up on them from time to time as events unfold...and nothing happening because of it.

Im not picturing 40 minutes on the block with Asik trying to do his Shaq impersonation because that would never happen.

He would technically be assigned to him....and just leave him to help on Davis now and then...he would be all over the place.

I cant even picture this world some people seem to think would exist where these scrubs take it back to high school and try to drop 50 because Pippen/Lebron/whoever is on them.

I saw a claim Duncan would drop 70 on Lebron. Lebron is (depending on the seasons in question)bigger than Kenyon Martin. A worse post defender? Sure. Not by enough that Duncan goes 10-25 vs Kenyon but is gonna drop 70 on Lebron.

I just feel like people arent being real about this issue because they arent thinking it through.

A good defensive forward...is not that great a mismatch for a bad center...or an average guard. And we have way more bad centers and average guards than superstars.

I'll leave it at that.


Well, matchups exist for a reason. Every player is assigned a specific player to guard because they are the closest in size/skills. What is the first thing that happens when you check into a game? Find out who your man is. Of course, we can both agree that this doesn't mean you will be glued to this guy the entire game. Within the flow of a game, you end up guarding other people here and there.

But i'll tell you what would happen if Pippen was "assigned" to Noel even if you take away the fact that Noel wouldn't even try to score on Pip. There were be the extra rebounding, the extra put backs, the controlling of the paint area, etc that Noel would take advantage of. Noel is sort of a bad example because he weighs just a tad more than Pippen. But you get guys into the 240 lbs range and that is where you will see these bigs wear Pip out. Every time Pip has to bend down and get leverage and bang away down low, it will wear on him. It has nothing to do with guarding a big from scoring. It's just the general play down low and the physicality that comes with playing down low.

Get a legit big who knows what he's doing and knows how to use his size and these guys would wear Pip out pretty quickly. They have positions for a reason.

[Round Mound]

The Worm Dennis Romdan is the only capable of guarding 1-5 effectively

[CAstill]

Kemp

[G0ATbe]

Kobe, Rodman.

Surprised at the lack of Klove mentions. when he's locked in he's capable of being the most versatile defensive big in the league. Dude probably had the greatest defensive play of all time on one of the greatest offensive players ever in an isolation with the championship on the line. He's small enough to keep up with guards but wide and strong enough to hold his own against big men.

[NuggetsFan]

you end up guarding other people here and there.



It's not here or there tho. Different teams have different defensive schemes. Some require more help defense, constant switching etc. Some guys get used as a roamer, some are hid defensively and get stuck on a non offensive player. Not to mention matchups will get messed up in transition especially in a fast paced game. Obviously coaches want certain matchups but screens, picks etc. are usually designed to try and ruin that. I can't remember how many times I seen Nene get switched out on Steve Nash and he'd isolate, dribble, easy J. I agree with what KBlaze is saying. Game isn't played on paper. Certainly matchups that last the majority of the game in some cases but even with stamina/fatigue you'll see it get switched up. The year Denver shut down Chris Paul they used K.Martin, D.Jones, C.Billups.

I'd say Pippen/KG/LeBron are the most impressive defenders from a versatility stand point. KG/Pippen more so than LeBron. It's probably the most valuable aspect of defense outside of straight up rim protection IMO. Gives a defense so many options when you have a guy who can be moved around on anybody.