Obi Toppin to the Knicks @ #8

[thebuzzardman]

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obi playing no d?

precocious neophyte

[dadanyk]

obi his authority

[Chanel Bomber]

Obi wearing Amare's number is so perfect. It's crazy how much their games look alike. Even the way they run.

I just hope to see Obi put KD on a poster when we play the Nets tbh. A Tolliver will do.

[SmoothLefty21]

This assumes the worst case scenario for Tobbin's defensive development.

It does because three decades of watching the NBA has led me to believe that innate instincts are the most important trait of good defenders. If a player hasn't shown those instincts by age 22 I have little faith in their developmental potential. It's why I've had no faith in Knox or DSJ developing into solid defenders.

Toppin's lateral quickness and agility aren't going to improve much, despite being such an explosive athlete. Hopefully, he isn't Amare-level bad on defense but I don't think he'll ever sniff being an average defender. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[Reign23]

i hope he becomes a star man..

[AmaresKnees]

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obi playing no d?

precocious neophyte

~Oh, Obi servin' up the offense with all the toppins!~

[blueNorange]

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obi playing no d?

toppin, poppin and stoppin.

[thebuzzardman]

After a dunk:

"Obi grinnin' but Knicks still not winnin'"

[Knicksfan20]

After a dunk:

"Obi grinnin' but Knicks still not winnin'"

Obi had stuffing on his mind, but the rim will have none of that.

[G_K_F]

After a dunk:

"Obi grinnin' but Knicks still not winnin'"

Obi had stuffing on his mind, but the rim will have none of that.

I’m going to miss Clyde when he retires (we’re getting there, he’s doing less games every year).

It really is a damn shame he hasn’t had any good basketball to comment in 20 years.

[Clyde_Style]

Amar'e had no post game, he was an inside scorer but had little to no actual post moves. Amar'e had no jumper so if he wasn't scoring inside he wasn't scoring and he also couldn't pass. Obi has some post moves, he can shoot and he passes the ball pretty good so the comparison is off.

I don't see much similarity in game between Amar'e and Obi on the offensive side of the court. The similarity is on the defensive end except Amar'e was completely clueless and had terrible defensive awareness which Obi has at least some ability and awareness so I hope could be coached to be better.

Obi isn't the guy I was looking for but I'm going to be supportive and be honest about what I see from him. His game isn't all that much like Amar'e.

Amare without Steve Nash would not have been the same. Still a great lane filler, but he peaked at what he did because of Nash.

Stat only put in the work on a turnaround jumper after many years of being fed by Nash and he used that here when he was cooking before he broke down. Even then, he still was not a highly developed post-up player as much as a mid-range shooter who spun and popped. And he was never a three point threat.

Stat on the open floor would be hard to compare to. He was one of the GOAT at finishing on the fast break.

Toppin does more than Stat did. I'm quite hopeful he's a stud.

[Clyde_Style]

After a dunk:

"Obi grinnin' but Knicks still not winnin'"

Obi had stuffing on his mind, but the rim will have none of that.

I’m going to miss Clyde when he retires (we’re getting there, he’s doing less games every year).

It really is a damn shame he hasn’t had any good basketball to comment in 20 years.

It hurts me that Clyde has had mostly trash to announce. Hope he is still around for one glorious run.

[K_ick_God]

Stat with a 3 ball is not really Stat. But yeah it's crazy how much he runs and looks like him. Amar'e the worst defender of all time.

[Clyde_Style]

Stat with a 3 ball is not really Stat. But yeah it's crazy how much he runs and looks like him. Amar'e the worst defender of all time.

Stat was great at facing the basket on both ends of the court

[cgf]

This assumes the worst case scenario for Tobbin's defensive development.

It does because three decades of watching the NBA has led me to believe that innate instincts are the most important trait of good defenders. If a player hasn't shown those instincts by age 22 I have little faith in their developmental potential. It's why I've had no faith in Knox or DSJ developing into solid defenders.

Toppin's lateral quickness and agility aren't going to improve much, despite being such an explosive athlete. Hopefully, he isn't Amare-level bad on defense but I don't think he'll ever sniff being an average defender. Hopefully I'm wrong.

I get the concerns about his lateral quickness, especially in terms of him ever stepping out onto the perimeter, but I feel like his instincts have become under-rated with how much people have critiqued his defense. This is not an Amar'e or Eddy Curry, who were utterly hopeless because they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing defensively. Tobbin is a smart kid & watching his film breakdown, he sounds like he understands what he needs to be doing on D & how he'll have to use his verticality defensively at the next level.

Not saying that I expect him to ever become Horford 2.0 defensively, but I see no reason to assume he's a lock to be a massive liability throughout his career...especially if we end up with a stretch 5 type that can play next to him without packing the paint on offense; be that Mitch learning to shoot or us bringing someone in in the mold of JJJ.

[RandlesCornrows]

Truthfully. It scares me to say this. But this kid will have a similar impact (age wise) to Donovan Mitchell. He WILL be a 20+ ppg scorer off the bat, IF Randle could just disappear.

I see Amar’e and Tatum hybrid, especially if he keeps improving his handles.

But Jesus. He even has Amare’s shoulders LOL

[TheDavinciCHODE]

What I'm saying is bigs that score but can't play defense aren't really that valuable at high-level NBA basketball.

This is why I don't like the pick and why so many teams passed on Toppin for relatively underwhelming prospects. If Toppin hits, he's a bad problem to have if you're a team with championship aspirations. Sure, Obi will be an electric scorer with plenty of highlight-reel plays. He'll probably post some gaudy numbers in a year or two and will sneak in some All-Star appearances in his career. At #8, that's a pretty enticing outlook going in (especially compared to someone like Knox or Frank), but when you draft a player of his makeup you're putting a ceiling on your future. If your goal as a fan is to have the Knicks be relevant again and be fun to watch and maybe win a first-round series then Toppin is someone you'll like. If you want this franchise to win a championship and to continually show that they're in tune with how modern NBA basketball is played and won then Toppin is a frustrating selection. To call a spade a spade, Toppin's ceiling is a fantastic bench scorer on a championship-level team.

Anyone who has paid attention to how postseason basketball has evolved in the last few years knows that players similar to Toppin can be borderline unplayable against good teams. I can tell you right now that nearly every team will go small against us in the 4th quarter and either A) Mitch will be on the bench and Toppin will be at the 5 and we will have zero rim protection and get annihilated defensively. B) Toppin is unplayable down the stretch and Mitch is the guy on the floor with a smallball four who's a versatile defender. The Melo-Amare-Tyson comparison is valid enough.

This assumes the worst case scenario for Tobbin's defensive development. Obi doesn't need to become Horford 2.0 defensively to stay on the court depending on how his scoring, playmaking & shooting translate. And if Mitch never learns to shoot well enough to stay on the court late in games, he's getting replaced whether we drafted Tobbin or not

Can't get too transfixed with the current fit when you're this early in a rebuild. For all we know RJ, Mitch & Obi will all be traded for other kids that fit around our 2021 pick better.

Yeah but it's also assuming a very rosy case scenario for his offensive development. So what I'm saying is even if Obi becomes a 24/8 player on 34% 3-pt shooting and decent playmaking, and that's a BIG IF, eventually his game won't translate to super high level basketball (2nd round and beyond). These types of players can't create with the ball in their hands and aren't too good off the ball. Factor in their defensive shortcomings, and things start to look grim.

I like Obi's talent, mindset, and leadership. and I really think he's going to love being in New York, but I really think it's going to be tough to build a great team around him.

[CharlesOakley]

Amare with better defense, a reliable 3-ball and better passing is a hell of a player.

[stuporman]

Amare with better defense, a reliable 3-ball and better passing is a hell of a player.

Without a Nash to squeeze the most out of him, a system that sets him up to be it and Randle getting in his way it may not look as spectacular as Amar'e did right away so we may not see it play out that way unfortunately.

I can't really think of a good comparison for him but I'd say he's more like Griffin than any of the other offense dominant forwards mentioned.

[Richard4444]

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?s=20

This kid is just dying to be Amare.

Obi, please stay away from fire extinguishers and wine baths...