Benjammin wrote:Seraphin is the poster child for the saber-metrics vs. eyeball test debate. By the eyeball test, Seraphin's scoring is impressive and he "flashes" at times. He looks like a basketball player. But when you look at the actual numbers and production, the shine loses its luster greatly. The converse for Blair. He looks like a defensive end in a 3-4. He can be awkward. It can be painful to watch. But when you look at his production (during his career, not this season, sample size is tiny) it's pretty good. If Seraphin is doing impressive things in practice to also earn this time, then hopefully that will translate on the court. He's the classic guy if you play him enough he'll get the coach fired and everyone blames the coach, not for playing him, but simply for losing too much.
Actually, I think he is the poster child for what they are doing. Developing him and getting him minutes on a team with enough mature players to mentor him until the game slows down, he addresses his areas of weakness, and it all comes together.
His body is ready this year. He slimmed down and kept his strength which gaining quickness and endurance.
What most plagued Kevin was NBA IQ. I.E. The game slowing down. Passing out of doubles. Passing in general. Him playing to fast because the game was so fast and he didn't understand all his options or have experience in dealing with the traps. And that forced him to the one thing he knows he can do as a way out...which is shoot/score. Totally understandable he would default back to something he knows best.
First time I saw him practicing he was putting in time on those hooks. left and right handed. Over and over and over. And I thought, now that nice to see. He wasn't shooting 3s like McGee might have been doing during practice.
The mid range last year was inconsistent because he would often fade backward when shooting it. He has mostly fixed that. Now he goes straight up and is balanced.
He also now has the ability to move and pass the ball around in the context of the offense which he hardly had at all last year. Last year he was just starting to learn how to pass out of the double.
And as of recently, seems he is finishing more often with dunks and I have seen some much better rebounding where he is moving to he ball better or just in the right position period for the ball to land in his hands.
Kevin is a classic example of a young skilled player who wasn't the most mature of people as a young player who needed to keep putting in the work and needed to gather floor time on a team of mature players so he could reach his potential. And he just needed to grow up in general. Bradley Beal he was not. He was closer to a McGee but a think more mentally grounded.
With Kevin, I see one elite skill. I don't think there is, or if there is there aren't many, better at left and right post move iso hook shots. Dude is elite at that. He also runs the floor really really well for his size. And now he can pass out of the post or just rebound and pass.
If he can learn from Nene how to be a elite team defender and if he can improve his rebounding, well now you have something.
And that's important to remember. Nene is his primary mentor and what I see in Kevin is someone who can replicate pretty much everything Nene does. I even noticed him recently doing the post Nene move where he holds the defender off and has the ball out palmed in one hand before initiating his move. Nene also has left and right hook moves. And a mid range. Kevin also has those things. And he has potential to be a much better FT shooter.
For Kevin, he just needs to keep putting in the work, improve in areas of weakness that he can actually do as he learns, and the game will continue to slow down for him. That's what happens once you can read what going on out there and you understand all your options better along with understanding and trusting your own skills.
What he most lacks, that Nene has, is experience and a warrior mature attitude. But I see that improving as well.
Kevin is a very lucky young man. This is pretty much the perfect team and situation for him this year. The winning. The minutes. The mentoring. The Nene, Gortat, Paul, A Miller, Gooden, Rasual vets. Some younger players to connect with as well in Wall, Beal, and Otto. A coach that can teach him the thing he most needed to improve which is team defense.
Short of him being on the SAS, not sure this was a better situation for him this year.
