NBA Thread 2021-22 Season

[STEVEHOLT]

I think it's manifest destiny that Chet ends up with OKC.

Yup .. Chet 2… paolo or smith 1

 

[OrangeDW]

Jumping is not the sole measure of a great athlete. Those guys you mentioned can't stop him. If they were far superior athletes, they could.

I don’t agree with that. Skill level can beat athleticism. Superior athlete doesn’t automatically shut someone down just because they’re more athletic. Luka is strong as an ox, but he’s not as athletic as Giannis. But yeah, his skill level can override that.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Jumping is not the sole measure of a great athlete. Those guys you mentioned can't stop him. If they were far superior athletes, they could.

So the ability to “stop” someone is based mostly on athletic ability ? Not defender technique? Anticipation ? Understanding court geometry ?

 

[Cusefan0307]

I don't find anything special about Paolo Banchero's game. I like both Chet and Jabari over him.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I don't find anything special about Paolo Banchero's game. I like both Chet and Jabari over him.

Right now he has been inconsistent but if he gets motivated in the right culture I think he has a huge upside. Think Jaren Jackson comparison. And maybe a better shooter but needs to show more on defense. I would take Paolo in a heartbeat.

 

[Melancer46]

Jumping is not the sole measure of a great athlete. Those guys you mentioned can't stop him. If they were far superior athletes, they could.

That's just not true. Athleticism only takes you so far.

 

[Melancer46]

I don't find anything special about Paolo Banchero's game. I like both Chet and Jabari over him.

I'm not sure any of them are like, slam dunks but they're all good prospects in their own ways. With Paolo, he was very efficient around the rim and in the mid-range and shot it decently well from 3 this year (though his threes were much better this season than he's been in the past, so I think it might take some time for him to become proficient in the NBA). And on top of that, he's a good passer/can create his own looks. He was a great rebounder in high school, though that fell off at Duke (potentially because he was playing next to Williams). Defense is obviously a question mark, and there's always the question mark of "You can run your offense through him, but will he be so good offensively that that's actually a winning formula?" But he definitely has the potential to be a focal point for your offense and that isn't really the case with Chet and might not be the case with Jabari.

I think I'd tend to rank Jabari and maybe Chet or Ivey ahead of Paolo if I'm ignoring team needs and stuff, but I totally get why some would take him #1.

 

[chugg21]

Right now he has been inconsistent but if he gets motivated in the right culture I think he has a huge upside. Think Jaren Jackson comparison. And maybe a better shooter but needs to show more on defense. I would take Paolo in a heartbeat.

At 1? No thank you.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Right now he has been inconsistent but if he gets motivated in the right culture I think he has a huge upside. Think Jaren Jackson comparison. And maybe a better shooter but needs to show more on defense. I would take Paolo in a heartbeat.

I guess. JJ was better at shooting, finishing and defense than than Paolo was though.

I am going by what I watched in college. Not particularly great at anything and he has little to no defensive upside.

Too often I think execs try to outsmart themselves than what actually is on tape. That is what I think is happening here.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

At 1? No thank you.

Yup. He or Smith. Definitely not Holmgren.

 

[Cusefan0307]

If it was me I would take Holmgren 1, Smith 2, and Banchero 3. I guess I am the only one highest on Chet. I feel he fits today's NBA the best, but I get the concern with his body type.

 

[chugg21]

If it was me I would take Holmgren 1, Smith 2, and Banchero 3. I guess I am the only one highest on Chet. I feel he fits today's NBA the best, but I get the concern with his body type.

Nope. That is my order as well because of the highest ceiling. He's painfully skinny but he's 19 and should naturally gain a decent amount of weight as he ages. It's not like he's going to be having to guard Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing and David Robinson every night, there's a pretty minimal amount of beast centers these especially given what he'll be able to do to them on the other side of the court.

 

[Melancer46]

Nope. That is my order as well because of the highest ceiling. He's painfully skinny but he's 19 and should naturally gain a decent amount of weight as he ages. It's not like he's going to be having to guard Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing and David Robinson every night, there's a pretty minimal amount of beast centers these especially given what he'll be able to do to them on the other side of the court.

He's actually 20 years old already; he's quite old for a freshman.

I like Chet and am rooting for him, but I'm always very wary of taking centers at the top of the draft, particularly if they just project as a supporting player offensively. Someone like Embiid, sure, he had the potential to be the centerpiece of your offense and your defense. I'm not really sure I see either of those things for Chet, though I think you could argue it much easier on the defensive end.

I won't blame teams for taking him #1 but I'm not really sure I'm there personally.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I don't find anything special about Paolo Banchero's game. I like both Chet and Jabari over him.

I do too, but I think Banchero is a really safe choice. His floor is pretty high. I don't know what he tops out as, but he's probably going to have a long career as a + starter.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I do too, but I think Banchero is a really safe choice. His floor is pretty high. I don't know what he tops out as, but he's probably going to have a long career as a + starter.

There’s a good chance. Also a chance he’s Marvin Bagley 2.0.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

So the ability to “stop” someone is based mostly on athletic ability ? Not defender technique? Anticipation ? Understanding court geometry ?

agree and it's not the same league it was 20 years ago, tough to stop any prolific offensive scorer today. and in addition nobody stated that Luka isn't a rare basketball talent who presents a world of issues for opposing defenses because of on ball ability, shot creation, passing, vision, tenacity, competitive drive and his strength and size as well as his basketball IQ, but athleticism wouldn't be at the top of his best traits not even close

My only issue with Luka is complaining to the refs after every call

 

[Melancer46]

There’s a good chance. Also a chance he’s Marvin Bagley 2.0.

I don't think Bagley had the offensive game Paolo showed this year. That was one of my main issues with projecting Bagley to the next level; he didn't project all that well on either end of the floor IMO.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Jumping is not the sole measure of a great athlete. Those guys you mentioned can't stop him. If they were far superior athletes, they could.

I didn't say it was. Other than Kawhi none of those guys ever really guard Luka and usually it was Pat Bev and some Paul George covering him so it was very limited. Would you put Russell Westbrook or ja Morant on Luka? LeBron never covers the best offensive player these days.

I would love to see the Spurs version of Kawhi cover Luka, that would be great.

You can die on this hill I really could care less and Luka is a generational talent for a number of reasons that I listed above but "great athleticism" isn't one of them. In addition using defense as a case in point for athleticism isn't a road to go down when discussing Luka. Why can't he stop anyone?

 

[Knicks411]

I'm not sure any of them are like, slam dunks but they're all good prospects in their own ways. With Paolo, he was very efficient around the rim and in the mid-range and shot it decently well from 3 this year (though his threes were much better this season than he's been in the past, so I think it might take some time for him to become proficient in the NBA). And on top of that, he's a good passer/can create his own looks. He was a great rebounder in high school, though that fell off at Duke (potentially because he was playing next to Williams). Defense is obviously a question mark, and there's always the question mark of "You can run your offense through him, but will he be so good offensively that that's actually a winning formula?" But he definitely has the potential to be a focal point for your offense and that isn't really the case with Chet and might not be the case with Jabari.

I think I'd tend to rank Jabari and maybe Chet or Ivey ahead of Paolo if I'm ignoring team needs and stuff, but I totally get why some would take him #1.

By the time the tournament ended (maybe recency bias) I was really loving Paolo's game. I think he's going to be a really good offensive player. The passing ability was eye opening.

Jabari shot 43% on 2 pointers last year, which made me double take. How is that possible?

 

[Knicks411]

This draft class is tough because the bar to be a real difference maker as a C/big guy is really high and the 3 best players in the class are all bigs and I'm not sure any of them clear that bar. It's kind of shocking the lack of quality wings.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

There’s a good chance. Also a chance he’s Marvin Bagley 2.0.

I don't think Bagley had the offensive game Paolo showed this year. That was one of my main issues with projecting Bagley to the next level; he didn't project all that well on either end of the floor IMO.

Yeah, Bagley was better suited to the NBA in the early 90s.

Banchero fits today's game much better.

 

[Cusefan0307]

By the time the tournament ended (maybe recency bias) I was really loving Paolo's game. I think he's going to be a really good offensive player. The passing ability was eye opening.

Jabari shot 43% on 2 pointers last year, which made me double take. How is that possible?

He attempted 176 mid range 2's which he shot 36% on.

Banchero only shot 36% outside the paint himself. At least Jabari was 42% from 3.

Holmgren shot 48% from midrange.

 

[djcon57]

Ok, that was quick but predictably I’ve had enough. Get this overly pressed Uncle Rico clown outta here. This is too much. Nobody cares.

Yeah I enjoyed the shtick, but like...the Harden takes aren’t based in reality,

 

[Knicks411]

He attempted 176 mid range 2's which he shot 36% on.

Banchero only shot 36% outside the paint himself. At least Jabari was 42% from 3.

Holmgren shot 48% from midrange.

Right just crazy to me he shot 43% on 3's and 43% on 2's. A 6-10 top 3 pick shooting 43% on 2's? I dont wanna read too much into that, but it kinda seems like a bit of a red flag

 

[Melancer46]

By the time the tournament ended (maybe recency bias) I was really loving Paolo's game. I think he's going to be a really good offensive player. The passing ability was eye opening.

Jabari shot 43% on 2 pointers last year, which made me double take. How is that possible?

He pretty much never got to the rim. He shot a good percentage at the rim but it only represents 27% of his two point attempts and 15% of his overall shots. I think I'd tend to lean towards him as my #1 pick, but it's a very serious red flag. He's going to need to improve his ball-handling if he wants to be a #1 or #2 offensive option. But he's the only one of the main three that projects as a switchable defensive player and also projects as the best shooter of the three.