Why Kevin Seraphin Could Have A Breakout Season

[tontoz]

I think a big reason why Seraphin turns it over so much is that he insists on playing with his back to the basket. That allows the defender to put his hands on him and prevents him from seeing the floor. He can't see where all the defenders are.

I don't think he will ever be effective on offense until he starts facing up. Then the defender can't touch him and he can see the whole floor. I seriously doubt he will ever do this consistently because he loves his hook.

I think he has the talent to be a good player but he needs to reach down and pull his head out of his ass. Either that or he needs a REALLY good coach.

[Kanyewest]

I'd be thrilled to eat crow when it comes to Seraphin. I was p*ssed when Ernie gave him the QO, maybe I'll eat crow about that too.

If EG knew that Seraphins was going to be this good, why didn't he lock him down to a multi year deal?????

[hands11]

He's been rebounding and seeing the floor better this preseason. But it's going to be hard for him to get regular minutes when Humphries gets back.

That skip pass to the corner three when the double team came to trap him was so surprising coming from Seraphin. Wall must have taught him something in training camp.

Humphries is the back up PF.

Kevin is a center. Like Blair.

[hands11]

When it comes to Seraphin, it all comes down to rebounding, toughness and passing the ball once in a while, rather than shooting it every time he touches it. If Kev can improve in those areas, I'll be thrilled and he will have earned quality PT.

We know Seraphin can score, which is always a plus.

Well that's what he is doing. Which is what I was pointing out. Which is why I started the thread.

[hands11]

Just for kicks, I ran some numbers on the preseason thus far. (As an aside, what's up with the NBA's website redesign? Is it their goal to make finding stuff as difficult as possible? Yeesh. I finally found preseason stats in a usable format at Doug Steele's old-fashioned site.)

Anyway, Seraphin's PPA for the preseason is 89 so far (league average is 100 and higher is better). That's significant progress for Seraphin -- his PPA scores by season: 20, 95, 22, 35. He's been good shooting the ball so far, but he's still committing too many turnovers, he's not getting to the FT line, and he's a fouling machine.

If he could produce at the level of a 80-100 PPA, he'd be a very useful reserve.

IF

Thanks for taking the time to run the numbers Niv.

Fouling is still a problem for sure. But his approach is clearly different. And he has the right vets around him. He is the only young buck left. And in a contract year so the focus should be there. He is finally slowing down on offense and he is tracking his defender to box out much better on defense. And he is in better shape. I would prefer less fouls but I can live with it if he is doing everything else better.

The right approach and experience when matched with talent usually yields good results over time with younger players. Specially players that are prospect bigs.

I hoped for him to get it together last year. Maybe I was a year off.

Kev has been frustrating. He has the raw talent. His mind is what is stopping him but he isn't as far gone as a McGee.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Kevin Seraphin is an NBA veteran.

This is his fifth season. He's been in the league and a Wizards just as long as John Wall has been in the league and a Wizard. He is still chronologically young, but as a player he has seen pretty much everything.

A couple of seasons ago, after Kevin showed some promise and even started the last 15 games of the season, Washington acquired Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza. Seraphin soon took a giant step backward. As hands or others mentioned earlier in this thread, Kevin Seraphin played well along side first-Wizard-season Nene and James Singleton. They stretched the floor well and they passed well. Kevin complemented those players. All he did was sit behind Okafor and, later, Gortat with Nene.

This season the Wizards brought in Humphries and Blair, but Booker and Ariza departed. Kevin is not as new to the Wizards as Blair or Humphries. Kevin has to realize that he is still the most agile big man on the roster. He's more athletic than Humphries and Seraphin can block shots better than Blair.

Seraphin has to realize he can score on the block better than Gortat. Kevin knows Nene is not as good as he was two years ago.

Seraphin has practiced with and against many good big men. His time is now. Certain guys are declining with age but Seraphin should be starting to come into his own. He's the same guy that sent many of Demarcus Cousins' shots back as both were in juniors play. Seraphin is an intimidator who can set great picks. I bet Blair or Humphries if they aren't working with him they're certainly motivating him. We know Nene is a mentor to him. Gortat is securely the starting C.

IMO Kevin Seraphin can probably be a very good starting PF next to Gortat. It's so obvious that no one would ever consider it.

[hands11]

http://www.monumentalnetwork.com/videos ... t-10-16-14

The Hammer Speaks....

They practice better now since they have learned from last years playoff run and its carrying over.

Says David Adkins is awesome. Hammer loves working out with him.

Also says they tweaked some things based on player input.

Asked about Kevin Bone Crusher Seraphin....

Hammer says... Wow. I afraid I might be his back up soon the way he is playing (Hammer compliment). Outstanding job. He thinks Kevin will crack the rotation.

[DCZards]

When it comes to Seraphin, it all comes down to rebounding, toughness and passing the ball once in a while, rather than shooting it every time he touches it. If Kev can improve in those areas, I'll be thrilled and he will have earned quality PT.

We know Seraphin can score, which is always a plus.

Well that's what he is doing. Which is what I was pointing out. Which is why I started the thread.

Yeah, but he's doing it in the preseason and often against scrubs. Let's see him do it in the regular season--and for more than a game or two--before we say this is a new and improved Seraphin.

[stevemcqueen1]

He's been rebounding and seeing the floor better this preseason. But it's going to be hard for him to get regular minutes when Humphries gets back.

That skip pass to the corner three when the double team came to trap him was so surprising coming from Seraphin. Wall must have taught him something in training camp.

Humphries is the back up PF.

Kevin is a center. Like Blair.

All of our bigs will play both spots except maybe Gortat. 96 minutes at PF & C per game. A healthy Gortat, Nene, Humphries and Blair get at least 32, 26, 20, and 15 respectively. And that's fairly conservative. That leaves no real PT for Seraphin. Especially not if he's below Gooden on the depth chart.

Right now the only opening in the line up are the minutes that Humphries would have commanded. If Seraphin isn't playing PF too during the time frame of Humphries's recovery, then he's not really going to play.

[payitforward]

I thought the Seraphin pick in 2010 was a good pick -- in fact, I thought it was the right pick at that spot.

I also like the kid. I like the fact that he's French (I don't know why... I just do). I like that he seems a good person.

Unfortunately, Kevin Seraphin is not a good NBA basketball player. He never has been. He wasn't even good in the short period in '11-12 that people bring up repeatedly when they want to praise him and claim he has potential. During that brief period he was just less bad than at other periods of his 4 years in the league.

Last year, like this year, Hands claimed he was poised for a breakout year. Last year, like this year, he pointed out how much better shape he was in than he'd ever been. Last year, like this year, he pointed to his new focus on rebounding.

Not blaming Hands. He's just pulling for one of our guys. I pull for him too.

The problem w/ listing reasons why Kevin might have a breakout season is that when you make that list, you have to leave out the order of magnitude more reasons why he is unlikely to have a breakout season. The biggest reason, of course, is that he is the exact same human being in every way that he was a year ago! Just as I am. Just as Hands is.

Of course, you can pick one thing and say he's good at it: for example, I keep reading he's good at scoring the ball. Is he really? No. He's not. He can score, but he's not particularly good at it. His eFG% last year was 50%; that's solidly in the bottom half of all Centers. If you adjust for the fact that he turns the ball over at an above average rate -- so that, more than most Centers, on his chances he has to score he actually the gives the ball to the other team instead of getting off a shot -- that makes him worse.

So, he is not at all "good at scoring the ball." He's below average. Now add in 7+ fouls per 40 minutes and really horrendous rebounding, and what you have?

One thing you *don't* have is a guy "poised for a breakout season." Hope he surprises me, really do. But... guess what, he isn't going to.

[hands11]

What I posted are article, facts, and comments about him from his teammates along with my view.

Of course I want things to work out for Kevin. I want that for every Wizard player.

He does look better. He was in better shape last year and even better this year. But he does still have a lot of work to do. And yes, he does have increase completion. But he is playing better as well.

I hope the entire front court plays well.

Beal said he think he can crack the rotation. Beal.

All he has to do is be a reliable back up with called on. I didn't say he would be a starter.

[Kanyewest]

Beal saying that Seraphin can crack the rotation isn't necessarily an endorsement. He's not going to say that guys like Blair and Humphries are clearly better than him since he has to practice, play, sit and watch, and live together over the basketball season which could be 7 to 8 months.

[Kanyewest]

Kevin Seraphin is an NBA veteran.

This is his fifth season. He's been in the league and a Wizards just as long as John Wall has been in the league and a Wizard. He is still chronologically young, but as a player he has seen pretty much everything.

A couple of seasons ago, after Kevin showed some promise and even started the last 15 games of the season, Washington acquired Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza. Seraphin soon took a giant step backward. As hands or others mentioned earlier in this thread, Kevin Seraphin played well along side first-Wizard-season Nene and James Singleton. They stretched the floor well and they passed well. Kevin complemented those players. All he did was sit behind Okafor and, later, Gortat with Nene.

This season the Wizards brought in Humphries and Blair, but Booker and Ariza departed. Kevin is not as new to the Wizards as Blair or Humphries. Kevin has to realize that he is still the most agile big man on the roster. He's more athletic than Humphries and Seraphin can block shots better than Blair.

Seraphin has to realize he can score on the block better than Gortat. Kevin knows Nene is not as good as he was two years ago.

Seraphin has practiced with and against many good big men. His time is now. Certain guys are declining with age but Seraphin should be starting to come into his own. He's the same guy that sent many of Demarcus Cousins' shots back as both were in juniors play. Seraphin is an intimidator who can set great picks. I bet Blair or Humphries if they aren't working with him they're certainly motivating him. We know Nene is a mentor to him. Gortat is securely the starting C.

IMO Kevin Seraphin can probably be a very good starting PF next to Gortat. It's so obvious that no one would ever consider it.

Or maybe Seraphin can work with Humphries or Blair since both of them can rebound the ball, while Seraphin is better than both at creating his own shot.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I can see Seraphin working well with either of those guys, Kanyewest.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[hands11]

Beal saying that Seraphin can crack the rotation isn't necessarily an endorsement. He's not going to say that guys like Blair and Humphries are clearly better than him since he has to practice, play, sit and watch, and live together over the basketball season which could be 7 to 8 months.

He also didn't have to say what he said in order to be supportive. He could have left it at, he looks better and quicker. He didn't need to through in a comment about believe he can crack the rotation.

You can ignore what he said and couch it like he was just blowing hot air. I'll take his comments at more or less face value. Beal is a straight shooter. He practices with him every day. People also said Otto would impress. I guess you took that as fluff as well.

Some things players say are actually accurate observations. Its not all fluff.

Dropping 20 lbs is for real. Him tracking players better and boxing out better, I can see with my own eyes. He is also quicker and has better endurance. He is also being more patient and passing more. Kevin pitched in pretty well when they made a come back. He didn't have a great game. no. But there was a lot that didn't go right for them the 2nd half. They only scored 18 in the 3rd and 4th each. CHA played some tough D and disrupted back to back Miller to Kevin plays. Part Miller. Part Kevin. Part CHA leaving very little room for the passes. And they had their starters in down the stretch.

My man concern for Kevin is that he matures. Better on court play will follow that. And since he has so many teammates to help him this year, I like his chances. As for Randy. I don't want to see him riding him like he did before. That might have been good for a younger player but its time Randy start treating him like an adult.

[veji1]

Seraphin is the typical player who could see his carreer never really pan out because he missed a couple of key opportunities when his game and mindset weren't mature enough. And this is the result of overly young drafting to a significant extent. I remember when during the lock out Seraphin played for Vittoria in Spain, he was really learning a lot having a real clear role and not suffering from playing a game still too fast for him (which was the case in the NBA).

The ideal case for players like Seraphin, and there are many of them, would have been to spend a few more formative years in Europe playing 40/50 games a year with 22/25 minutes per. That way he would have just grown into his game learnt from his mistakes, learnt through collective results what has to be done to win.

It is easy to tell a player he needs to rebound more or defend better to play more, but in a way in a team sport like basketball this type of things only sink in when you play a significant enough role for your team that what you do really impacts the results. For a Seraphin, playing a full season in the french league and losing a semifinal game because he didn't protect the defensive rebound well enough would have been a much more valuable and effective lesson, than just being told as an individual player what to do, without the obvious correlation with team results, because you don't have a significant enough role with the team.

To me, all chances are it is too late for him. The best "breakout" one could hope now is probably that he becomes serious enough a defender and rebounder that he can be a proper offensive backup big man. Which would be great, but is still a shame considering what he could have been.

IN the future I hope to see NBA team able to "loan" out some of their players to european or other overseas teams so that they can learn and improve through play. Everyone would benefit from it.

[hands11]

Seraphin is the typical player who could see his carreer never really pan out because he missed a couple of key opportunities when his game and mindset weren't mature enough. And this is the result of overly young drafting to a significant extent. I remember when during the lock out Seraphin played for Vittoria in Spain, he was really learning a lot having a real clear role and not suffering from playing a game still too fast for him (which was the case in the NBA).

The ideal case for players like Seraphin, and there are many of them, would have been to spend a few more formative years in Europe playing 40/50 games a year with 22/25 minutes per. That way he would have just grown into his game learnt from his mistakes, learnt through collective results what has to be done to win.

It is easy to tell a player he needs to rebound more or defend better to play more, but in a way in a team sport like basketball this type of things only sink in when you play a significant enough role for your team that what you do really impacts the results. For a Seraphin, playing a full season in the french league and losing a semifinal game because he didn't protect the defensive rebound well enough would have been a much more valuable and effective lesson, than just being told as an individual player what to do, without the obvious correlation with team results, because you don't have a significant enough role with the team.

To me, all chances are it is too late for him. The best "breakout" one could hope now is probably that he becomes serious enough a defender and rebounder that he can be a proper offensive backup big man. Which would be great, but is still a shame considering what he could have been.

IN the future I hope to see NBA team able to "loan" out some of their players to european or other overseas teams so that they can learn and improve through play. Everyone would benefit from it.

They need to expand the rosters. For this situation, they could have designated overseas player. The difference is, right now you can do that if they haven't signed with you. This would allow you to do it after they have. Players that don't speak the language have an extra change. Its different then just a DL player.

This mostly affects bad teams that draft overseas players because they might want to bring them over to early. A team like the Spurs can just wait. And teams like PHI just want to tank more.

We left Thomas over there, but Ves and Kevin came over to early.

[dckingsfan]

Wow, just wow. Seraphin's rebounding % down to 10. He is just horrible... his VORP = -0.6.

The only question is - is he the worst NBA backup C in the L right now?

That is $3,898,692 of WHY?

[tontoz]

Vintage hands

[TGW]

:lol:

Vintage hands

Well to be fair, he just posted the article, he didn't write it (unless the author and Hands are one and the same.

Seraphin isn't useless...if he were on the Spurs, he would be highly valued. Because he's a Wizard, he plays like an idiot. Partially because of poor coaching/development staff, and partly because he's dumb as rocks.