Meet
Paul Milsap at the Three
Posted by: Railen on April 13th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.We all love Paul, he has that special something. That endless motor, real blue collar hard work that everyone respects, and the ability to just flat out win you a game all on his own every now and again. But lets face it, he just is not tall enough for the power forward position. I think he has reached his ceiling at PF and it’s very impressive for his size but if he is your starting power forward you are not going to be able to win a championship. However if he can successfully convert to a SF over the summer. Then we have a huge and very talented lineup.
Corbin’s been playing him at the 3 lately and he has done very well some nights and not so good others. But we can forgive him getting absolutely torched by one of the best SF in the game right now, (Gerald Wallace of the blazers) when he had very little experience at that position, I think that was what his second game trying it? But given an entire summer to work on changing his game I think he can come back ready to do it on a nightly basis. It’s either that or start favor and AL and have Okur and Milsap off the bench which isn’t a bad alternative. But just think about a lineup in 2 years with a Much more developed Mature Favors, Big AL, and a Faster Paul Milsap starting. That would be a frontcourt to be feared all around the league.
Lets break down what Milsap would have to change to convert into a solid SF. He needs to be a little quicker on defense on his lateral movement, as Favors matures this won’t be as big of an issue as he should become a feared shot blocker at the rim.
Milsap needs to take more three’s and hit them at at least a 40% clip preferably from the corners as no other spot on the court stretches the defense more. (The Spurs offense is designed around getting corner 3’s because it is one of the most efficient shots in the game.)
Milsap needs to get a slightly quicker first step to beat 3’s off the dribble. Currently he has no trouble beating slower three’s and most 4’s off the dribble but he would need to be a little quicker.
I think those 3 minor things are all it would take and are probably things he could do given a summer to really focus on them. We know he has the range to be a 3 point threat he just needs to start looking for that shot more in games.
Replies: 6
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6 Responses
Good post Railen. Paul’s name is spelled “Millsap” though,not “Milsap”…but many others on this site constantly spell his name wrong as well…so no big deal.
I don’t think Paul will ever have a James Worthy type first step, but like you mentioned, he can still beat most off the dribble.
Asking Paul to shoot 40% from behind the arc might not be realistic, but even if he could hit in the mid-30’s I think that would be acceptable. I don’t want him attempting a bunch of three point shots though, because that isn’t really his bread and butter. He needs to stick to his mid-range game, and his low post moves for the most part. He can get opposing small forwards in trouble my making them guard him in the paint.
Paul has decent lateral quickness, but won’t ever be a top notch perimeter defender. He would probably need to shed a few pounds, but he still needs to be strong enough to take the punishment he’s used to receiving on a nightly basis. I love the lineup of Jefferson, Millsap, and Favors, with a tall two guard like Hayward.
I think the future of the NBA will be to not have a set starting five. Have maybe three set players and the other two to match up the oposition. Sap is one of the better players around but he probably won’t ever be a All Star because it is a popularity contest anyway. A team effort to play multiple positions will be the best anyway. Everyone has different opinions but it is up to the coach to decide where and who to play. I think also teams are drifting away from true centers to multiple position players. Look at what Houston has done. Years ago in both basketball and baseball they used to have what was called a ” player/coach”.He was not counted as part of the player limit and could only play so many minutes or innings per season. A Bell type person could fill this. I would like to see them bring it back..
Here is a what if for ya. I know everyone has their take on what we should do, but what if we ended up with the top two draft picks? What if Barnes opted into the draft? Then what if we left Milsap where he is, swapped him and Favors out using Favors as a backup to both Milsap and Al as he finishes developing.. Then you draft Williams and Barnes. You can let AK go completely then..
Ok, its a stretch. So what if you only got one of the two, and drafted Terrence Jones with say Williams. Then you have the SF taken care of. Hayward takes care of the SG, with CJ backing him up for another season unless we can make some other trade..
How about trade Okur away for a solid SG and a first round draft pick to some team wanting space cap for next season.. We take Young Gasol in.. And do the above..
Eh, it must be fun doing the what ifs. If you want me to, I can talk about Milsap moving to the 3, but you would still need solid backups for the PF and SF positions, so you could still do much of the above.. Barnes could slide up to the SG as well if needed.. hmmm all the possiblities..
Hmm All the dreaming.
I think the Jazz have in mind what Patrick said. With Sap sharing SF-PF minutes, throw in AL and Favors sharing Center and PF minutes with a healthy Okur in the mix. I don’t think Okur will ever be healthy enough to be used for trade bait until the deadline which he will be in his last year.Evans could be used to fill in the gaps and will be handy when injuries happen. I would keep AK for the veteran experience but at a much much lower pay. I think Bell has hit a sour note and could be on the block. Mix in the two new guys a point and a combo and there you have it.
For those who have wanted to trade Sap, today he was voted team MVP by the players, coaches, ect..
I think Millsap at small forward is an interesting proposition. The fact is on offense most small forwards will not be able to guard him. He’d draw a lot of double teams that most small forwards would not get, which I think helps out Big Al and Derrick (if he starts) a lot. His rebounding is something not many small forwards would bring, as would his shot blocking.
Quickness cannot really be taught, and neither can really instinctive reactionary on the ball defense that most small forwards have. But I do think Paul can learn to play smart defense, using zones and playing off the ball on defense to make him adequate. Mix him with Hayward at the small forward position, and I think he’d be good.