Dom is an excellent athlete who is a very good defender with below average discipline. There are things Dom can do many others can't. Calling him a poor defender is ludicrous.
There are aspects of team defense that Dom struggles in and you can't down play how big a factor having below average discipline impacts the team defense. Due to his length and athleticism, he's a great disruptor when played on top of the key. However, he struggles to keep his man in front of him which breaks down the integrity of any defense. He struggles in his spacing, not being in position to help on dribble drives. He struggles in his court awareness, eyes on ball and man. He struggles with his rebounding, not boxing out. He struggles on his rotations, not helping the helper or being late. He struggles in his recovery, not getting back out to his man on the perimeter. Dom can do many things others can't, but if he doesn't actually do it, does it really matter? Quantify what Dom does well that makes him a very good team defender.
This is getting ridiculous. Your above post is basically saying Dom struggles in every aspect of playing team defense, which simply isn't true. Dom probably leads the team in steals and blocks outside of Obekpa since he's been at SJU and that has to count for something. I think you are severely exaggerating his lapses in terms of team defense. Does he lack discipline? yes. He often gambles or will get beat off the dribble. But, he's a very good defender. He many times makes up for getting beat by blocking the shot. I'll even give you he's overrated if that makes you feel better. But if you're saying Dom Pointer is a bad defender, you are basicially saying he's not worthy of even being on a BE roster because he sure as hell isn't getting playing time for his brilliant offensive skills.
Nearly every poster on this board has said in the past that Obekpa is an excellent shot blocker but not a good defender. He has improved. So the same can be said for Dom Pointer. Giving him credit for being a good defender because he gets steals and blocks is similar to the argument people make for Phil Greene being a good ball handler simply because he doesn't turn the ball over. Phil doesn't turn the ball over because he rarely tries to make plays for his teammates. Dom gets steals and blocks because he gambles on defense.
Blocking shots and getting steals are a pretty big part of being a good defender.
I am talking on ball defense.
terrible, bad, average, good, great. Where do you rate him?
Average. Nobody can reasonably rate him better than that on the ball. He gets baked all the time off the bounce and is really bad at fighting through screens. To be fair, though, he is often covering the opposition's best scorer and typically that is a smaller, quicker guard. I like him a lot more on SFs and even smaller PFs in the post. He has the tools and the time to realize his potential as a versatile lock-down defender this season.
Off the ball is a different story. This is where he is both at his worst and his best. His biggest problem--shared by many on this team--is straying too far from his man when they don't have the ball. All you have to do is reverse the ball once or get it inside, run a man over to chip Dom when he takes too many steps away from his man, and kick it to his man for an open set three. Then again, he is also at his best jumping passing lanes for steals/deflections and he is really, really good at coming from behind to block shots at the rim. He needs to learn who he can cheat off of and who he needs to stay close to.