doordoor123 wrote:Mirotic12 wrote:doordoor123 wrote:
It's weird because I've seen Bender play better than this. I think one of his best attributes is his offensive rebounding. He's explosive in the way Tristan Thompson is at jumping for offensive boards, but he's much taller. He has SO much potential. I really don't know what's going on with him. He's not changing directions well on defense too.
I don't think there is anything wrong with him. I think he's similar to Mirotic, but taller. He's like a 7-0 or 7-1 Mirotic I would say. Meaning, he has all the tools, skills, talent, but he is also super soft. Mirotic remains super soft well into his mid 20s. It remains to be seen if Bender is super soft because he just is that (like Mirotic), or if it just because he is only 18.
He's more athletic than Mirotic and he's not as soft as Mirotic. The issue is that he's so skinny and can't really do anything against anyone with a little weight. He's also not as good a shooter as Mirotic. Because he's so much more athletic and taller, he is able to take away that soft label. I've seen him use his length and verticality to pound offensive boards. The issue is that the boards come from his own shots because he doesn't have a soft touch. He needs to gain weight. At this rate it might be better for him to stay in Europe for three years before coming to the NBA.
I did not say he was as soft as Mirotic. Mirotic is the softest big man I have ever seen in Euroleague. He is really skilled, but he's uber soft. David Andersen is another example of a very, very skilled big man with good physical abilities that was just mega soft in Euroleague and his whole career, and he never overcame that. Mirotic seems to be going the same route. They are/were both still very good players, but just being super soft prevents such players from doing what their talent says they should do.
What I am saying is, Bender isn't as soft as them, but he is definitely soft, and he's in that same general category of a big man with great skills and good physical ability, but can't make much happen with it consistently because of playing too soft. I mean, David Andersen had incredible skills and post moves, could shoot the 3 well, he could face up, he had everything skill wise and he could move. He was a very agile and mobile guy at around 7 feet. But he simply was too soft to become the great player he should have been.
Bender seems to play with the same kind of style. Again, it could simply be because he's only 18, and he's playing against very big and very strong players in Euroleague, and in most cases also very, very athletic players (lots of the guys he plays against in Euroleague are certainly more athletic than he is). It could simple be the case that he's just 18, and because of that, he just isn't physically capable of producing well and consistently playing at such a level. And that his softness won't be there in 3-5 years.
On the other hand, he could be like Ante Tomic, who had all the size, athleticism, talent, and skills, but was super soft and just needed to gain weight, get stronger and such and people said he would then be great. Well, Tomic bulked up big time and he probably gained like over 25 kilos of weight since he was Bender's age. He's a great skilled center with amazing athletic quality considering how big he is. But he is still soft, soft, soft. Again, Bender seems to have some similar techniques as Bender.
So it might just be age related, and not being developed enough physically and athletically, and not being strong enough. or, he could just be soft. At 18, I would say it too early to tell. But as of right now, he is too soft.
Don't get me wrong though, I would take him with a very high draft pick. Just like I said before the draft, if Porzingis was an American playing in NCAA, he would for 100% have been the #1 draft pick in the NBA, but the NBA always views European players as being less than American players, no matter what. If Bender was an American playing in NCAA, I am sure that the hype from US and NBA would be ridiculous.
. Saric looks like a decent NBA player at best.
