Nije se približio jer ga drže skroz vani bio trojka ili četvorka, opteretili ga minutama da vide kako će se ponašati i forsiraju ga da praši izvana, izgleda da ga vide više kao trojku zbog obrane koju pruža na svoju visinu, može braniti od 1-4.
Dragan Bender grabbed a couple green Gatorade cups of water and eased down into his seat on the bench with 3.2 seconds left in the first half Thursday against the Heat. He played 18:18 of the first 20 minutes and nearly 35 of the game’s 40 minutes.
That was by design, Summer Suns coach Dave Bjorkgren said. The 7-foot-1 18-year-old entered Thursday’s game averaging more than 30 minutes in the Summer League and barely left the court against the Heat for one reason: He needs the time.
“We just want him to get that experience,” Bjorkgren said. “We’ve played him at the 3, today we played him a lot more at the 4. We want to give him experience guarding different guys.”
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough has said he thinks Bender can eventually become an elite defender who can switch out on the perimeter with ease. Bender’s nowhere close to that yet, but twice on Thursday a smaller Heat guard tried to beat Bender one-on-one to the basket, and twice they failed.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/sport...eter/87112292/