標籤: shun

The best clichés are sports-based for a reason, especially about defense. Strange comparisons and similes go on and on. With the NFL Combine coming up soon, James Borrego referenced some Hall of Fame greats when he talked about how Herb Jones and Draymond Green control a game. Zion Williamson received a mention for how the New Orleans Pelicans hope to reach the frontline game moving forward before defeating the Golden State Warriors.

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“In my 23 years in the NBA there have been very few guys who have impacted the defensive end in general like Draymond Green. His ability to communicate and light a fire is second to none. (Green) quarterbacks the entire defense. He’s as close to Lawrence Taylor as we’ve seen in the NBA,” Borrego began. “I mean, that guy from that outside linebacker position, Mike Singletary, I think I’d put those two guys, that’s what Drummond has done for his defense.”

Green’s value extends far beyond the stat sheet, which the Warriors routinely acknowledge when times get tough.

Word has spread around, even without Drummond shouting about it.

“Steve Kerr has said this many times. Without (Green), there’s no championship,” Borrego said. “He brings a different edge with his ability to communicate and talk, his physical ability and the way he covers his teammates.”

Borrego sees a similar football spirit in his locker room. Jones, the 2022-23 All-Defensive first-team selection, known around the NBA as the Not-On-Herb Nightmare, has a similar innate mastery.

Borrego admitted, “(The Pelicans) have a guy like that. I think Herb Jones has this ability, this innate ability.” “I don’t even know if you can teach it. I don’t know where Draymond got it, and I don’t know where Herb got it. It’s probably a combination of growing up and how they grew up playing different sports.”

It helps to have a Monsters of the Midway attitude on the field or court. Most are born with it. Any coach who claims to have a competitive recipe that ends up like Draymond or Herb is either already rich and protecting a nearly priceless secret or is defrauding AAU parents.

“Maybe he had a coach along the way. Maybe it’s a little bit of a cerebral thing, where he can see a fire before it starts and go put it out. (Green’s) ability to cover for Steph and Klay, everything that happens in the works, it’s hard to find guys like that.”

When it comes to being above class, Drummond has truly earned the one-name star status reserved for the elite.

Borrego knows from being around NBA Hall of Famers for a while.

Borrego confessed, “I’ve been around some great guards like Bruce Bowen and Kawhi Leonard. Individually, one-on-one, they’re amazing. Drummond is different for me in the sense that he’s more ball-minded.” “He’s quarterbacking the ball and changing stuff on the fly. He’s listening like in football, you’re making audibles on the fly in the heat of battle. Most guys can’t do that. Herb Jones is probably the closest thing I’ve seen where he can go up to a defense and make it his own.”

For Jones, Football Comp changes him from a disruptive outside linebacker to a classic middle linebacker. Any coach with an eye knows what to do with the type who chases by anticipating everything.

“Turn him loose. (Jones) is a really special, really special player. From a defensive standpoint I would say Herb is a type of cerebral defender, middle linebacker, Brian Urlacher, those type of guys who can make plays intuitively. They have a sense of what’s going to happen, and they handle it.”

The analogies weren’t limited to second lines, though, which is why New Orleans is famous. Dancing in front of the Dome Patrol or a parade, doesn’t matter. When discussing rim protection, Borrego turned to the trenches, and used DeAndre Jordan as a prime example of a nose tackle controlling the line of scrimmage.

“I think DeAndre Jordan has been interesting,” Borrego continued. “I’m not sure where you’d put him there, but his ability to protect the rim, be he a nose tackle or be the guy right in the middle of the floor, like the line of scrimmage. (Jordan) is going to own the line of scrimmage. To me, that’s how guarding the paint is done in a football context. Really owning the line of scrimmage. You’re going to win the running game. Those small margins, like the running game, are really important there. Are.

As for Zion Williamson, like everyone else, Borrego believes the forward’s rare blend of strength and athleticism will easily translate to the football field.

“And then (Williamson). I would probably find (a football comp) for Zion as well. That’s not what I have in mind, but his ability to make instinctive, athletic, power plays at any given time. Zion is on the football field, too. I mean, he can do that, you know, really as a defensive end.”

The Pelicans don’t need any more injuries, so don’t expect Zion to compete with the Saints this summer. Soccer is all fun and games during free time until someone gets hurt.