Ok, this has to stop
As if last night’s loss wasn’t bad enough. This is not a valid form of defense. I would give him the benefit of the doubt on the first one as just trying to get out of the way and not foul. But this is ridiculous.
The second image is not photoshopped. I hope the other Jazz players take him to task for this. Even if he’s trying to get out of the way, curling up in the fetal position doesn’t look very good.
UPDATE: I remember this play. He was trying to avoid the old “head-fake and leap into the guy” play from Finley. I thought the whistle blew before there was even contact. This is one of my least favorite plays when the offensive guy leaps into the defender. But either way, you’ve got to look better than this.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:51 am
[…] These are photos of Kyle Korver playing defense. Chuck did that same thing when he saw the Chocolate Easter Bunny in the basket I gave him. Adorable […]
April 17th, 2008 at 10:02 am
This is endlessly frustrating. Korver is a truly horrible defender. Opposing swing men walk all over him. There is no reason to pull your arms in like that unless you are faced to face with an offensive player and about to take a charge.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:03 am
now that I’ve looked at these a few times, I’m thinking KK bit on a pump fake, then tried to pull in to keep from drawing the foul. Especially the way Finley is leaning in, it looks like he’s trying to get a call.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:24 am
As someone whose watched Kyle his entire career in Philly, I am not the least bit surprised. Kyle is a defensive liability but a good shooter. Thats all. Count on him for anything more and you are in trouble. There is a reason why the Sixers started playing much better after he left. I’d be interested to see his plus/minus or the points scored on him versus what the same player averages. My hunch, he is soft.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I saw this play last night and his crouch totally reminded me of the first photo. And what did happen was that he got faked off his feet and was crashing into Finley. He really was stuck at that point. He basically cannonballed into Finley.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
i’m not trying to defend korver or his defense, but that shot fake/lean in fouls called all the time. i don’t blame him for looking like a fool trying to get out of the way. i think finley looks like just as much of a fool trying to shoot with his body as close to horizontal as possible.
there are lots of pictures of good defensive players doing the same fetal move under guys like d-wade, manu and lebron. if you don’t make it obvious you went out of your way to NOT foul the superstar, you’ll get called for fouling the superstar. blame stern’s princess rules, not korver. or both, i suppose.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Korver has gotten called for a lot of these fouls this yr so I don’t have a problem with him trying to avoid the foul after the head fake but when he left Dirk wide open to shoot that 3 for the win it really pissed me off and after that god awful performance against the spurs the other night I’m not feeling too good right now.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Korver is normally pretty active and aggressive on D. Both pictures are taken after Korver got caught in the air on a pump fake and him trying to avoid the shooter drawing a foul from him while coming down. He was called for a foul against Finley, but not sure about the other pic.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
God I love the expressions on his face.
In the first picture someone is tickling him.
In the second he’s playing Johnny Knoxville’s character in The Ringer.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Dude. You should have changed your name for this post. HAHA. Anyway, did you guys see what Basketbawful callled the second picture?? “Gay Elf Defense”. I seriously laughed for 5 mintues!!!!!!
April 17th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Theric,
If Korver would have crossed to guard Dirk, the guard (I can’t remember who it was) would’ve had an open dunk. In that situation, KK had to make a choice, and the three is a lower percentage shot than a dunk. The blown defense was Boozer who was on the opposite end of the court instead of guarding his man.
I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised by Korver’s defense. What he lacks as a 1-on-1 defender, he makes up for as a team defender. He gets quite a few deflections and blocks when he comes over to help.
As for the pictures, he is trying to avoid a foul. The bad thing is that he got called for a foul on both occasions, and in the Minny game the player got a three-point play out of it. Once he’s bitten on the fake, he might as well really foul the guy and not give up the three-point play.
@SID, Korver’s +/- is generally pretty good, and the Jazz’s record is amazing when he scores 10 or more (I think they’ve only lost once when that happens).
April 17th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
mormon love?
April 17th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Bu…Bu..But the girls love me! Ain’t that enough?
April 17th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
It’s one thing to play bad defense, but to enjoy it…sheesh.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:23 am
don’t worry about how it looks goofo, that’s like when someone is so worried about getting posterized that they don’t try to make a defensive play, korver is just trying to sell his innocence and not get a call, it may not look good but it’s sound logic, hard to call a guy in that position for some ticky tack contact foul. basketball is a game of matchups, hundreds of them won and lost every game, if you start worrying about how you look you’ve lost sidney deane. judge korver for being slow or biting on the headfake to begin with but don’t get on him for trying to avoid a call
April 18th, 2008 at 4:24 am
I’m saying when Dirk pulled up he didn’t contest the shot he had time to and I’m not saying it was all his fault but the bottom line is how in the world could you not put a body or 2 on dirk with the game on the line? Who did they think was gonna shoot? I also happen to think Korver is one of the best defenders on the team I just pray we can make a run at the championship without homecourt.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
[…] http://www.basketballjohn.com/2008/04/17/ok-this-has-to-stop/ […]
April 20th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Stop defending him, i love to see u post one of any other players who do that apart from korver, he was afraid to get hurt, what a pussy.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:35 pm
[…] el que Korver decidió apartarse de la finta de Michael Finley con un resultado tan ridículo. En este enlace hay un nuevo ejemplo de la capacidad de Korver para quedar posterizado, y no deja de ser curioso […]