Mk0 wrote:DuckIII wrote:Coby is a significantly better on and off ball defender than Zach, today. Coby used to be a liability defensively but he has improved significantly.
We can debate personal opinions all we want, but if we had a poll among Bulls fans Coby would win overwhelmingly on defense. He’s actually pretty reliably solid these days.
Between contesting at the rim, taking charges (seriously I don't think Zach has ever taken a charge), steals, deflections, ROTATIONS, etc.. Coby is a much much better defender. We have seen Coby come off-ball and shut down drives by jumping the lane, getting position and threatening to take a charge. Some straight up Caruso stuff.
I used to dump on him for his defense but he has been fantastic this year. Even while leading the league in minutes.
Zach may have better lateral quickness but he doesn't use it.
Saying Coby's defense has been fantastic and vaguely comparing him to Caruso is way too far IMO. He's made huge strides defensively over the past couple years, but he's at best a slightly above-average defender, and we still see his defense getting exploited at times and we saw that a couple games ago. He's not a defensive liability anymore, but he's not a standout either.
If everyone were healthy (minus Lonzo) and we wanted to put our best defensive lineup on the floor I don't think Coby makes it:
Ayo, Caruso, Pat, Craig, and Drummond would be my 5. I'd put Dalen above Coby too due to his length, versatility, and energy/motor. Again, not saying he's a bad defender, he's definitely solid.
Saying he's a more consistent and better overall defender than Zach is fair, though.