2022 NBA Draft

[Duke4life831]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Brook Lopez (10th) and Kevin Love (5th) from the '08 draft both worked out fine.

Hasn't been many drafted since then, mostly later lotto guys - Meyers Leonard (11th), Cole Aldrich (11th), Tyler Hansbrough (13th), Frank Kaminsky (8th), Cody Zeller (4th). Olynyk (13th) probably counts as part of the North American school of basketball. Probably below average performance from that group, but not an absolutely terrible group either.

Brook isn’t white and Love is a 4. Also a common theme on all those guys is that none of them can stay with guards on the perimeter. Playoff ball turns these guys into dinosaurs.

Sure and none of them play like Chet. So again why bring them up? None of the guys you mentioned have any similarities with Chet when it comes to their game.

[eminence]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Brook Lopez (10th) and Kevin Love (5th) from the '08 draft both worked out fine.

Hasn't been many drafted since then, mostly later lotto guys - Meyers Leonard (11th), Cole Aldrich (11th), Tyler Hansbrough (13th), Frank Kaminsky (8th), Cody Zeller (4th). Olynyk (13th) probably counts as part of the North American school of basketball. Probably below average performance from that group, but not an absolutely terrible group either.

Brook isn’t white and Love is a 4. Also a common theme on all those guys is that none of them can stay with guards on the perimeter. Playoff ball turns these guys into dinosaurs.

I'll avoid the Brook being white or not discussion.

But who's even left if your criteria is strict 5, white American, and a highish lotto pick who didn't work out (nobody is calling 11th picks like Leonard/Aldrich busts)?

Cody Zeller in the last 20 years? And he wasn't the worlds biggest bust by any means. Merely a decent player with a lot of injury issues.

That doesn't really jive with 'we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts'

[SeattleJazzFan]

Big J - serious question - which hyped american big man white guy has an athletic, physical and skills profile similar to Holmgren?

I'm fine with the big white guy argument - but unless you can answer the question above, the comparison has no legs.

I'll hang up and listen.

[Big J]

Big J - serious question - which hyped american big man white guy has an athletic, physical and skills profile similar to Holmgren?

I'm fine with the big white guy argument - but unless you can answer the question above, the comparison has no legs.

I'll hang up and listen.

There hasn’t been one. If we extend it to euros he’s like Porzingis with a better handle, and we’ve seen what happens to him on defense in the playoffs.

[The-Power]

There hasn’t been one. If we extend it to euros he’s like Porzingis with a better handle, and we’ve seen what happens to him on defense in the playoffs.

Porzingis with a better handle and a better feel for the game is a pretty good player, though. You'd have to hope that Chet is healthier than Porzingis, of course, and that he can fill out to a similar extent (I think pre-draft Porzingis had a better frame even though sufficient strength was a legitimate question mark for him, too).

[babyjax13]

There hasn’t been one. If we extend it to euros he’s like Porzingis with a better handle, and we’ve seen what happens to him on defense in the playoffs.

Porzingis with a better handle and a better feel for the game is a pretty good player, though. You'd have to hope that Chet is healthier than Porzingis, of course, and that he can fill out to a similar extent (I think pre-draft Porzingis had a better frame even though sufficient strength was a legitimate question mark for him, too).

I don't think he has the same scoring potential as KP. But, better defender.

[SelfishPlayer]

Chet is the first American of his kind. I made that clear in an earlier post with his passing, shot blocking, and 3 point shooting. He appears to be Porzingis with a better feel for the game which makes him less reliant on making baskets and blocking shots. He can dribble and pass significantly better than Porzingis can today and will improve. He's a better prospect than Porzingis was.

[DCasey91]

They actually have similar frames (Zingis might have been heavier but both are slightly built in essence).

Big difference Chet is just an all round better version imo. Better handle, more awareness, much better in the post for position. Zingis is all of 7”2 with shoes and went top heavy which is a big no no (also does suck for a big guy inside establishing position). I really do want Chet to spend hours upon hours in a pool with a coach. Would do wonders here.

I do think NBA basketball players injure themselves more frequently by just not doing the right workout regimes/movements. It’s very much a mobility/stamina/flexibility game. Protects the health long term. They are young men by definition strength just comes as a byproduct.

Morant for example still hasn’t fixed his landing and we all know about Rose.

Also the Euro step is a disgusting move for the body it’s how you do the knee in. See Fultz as one

Do I think Chet will get injured? Most likely but touch wood, I’d still take him number one. Yes there’s Smith Jr but I wouldn’t lose sleep over it if Chet is a miss (which I don’t think he will be).

[Big J]

Too many hypotheticals & what if’s with Chet. Give me the archetype that’s been proven to work in the past, Smith Jr.

[zike_42]

Chet Holmgren shoots 44% from 3, 75% from FT, 3.4 blocks and 2.0 assists. He has the best floor game in the entire draft. I searched for a college player that has shot 40% from 3, with 2 assists and 3 blocks per game and only three names came up. Tim Duncan was the first name and then 2 scrubs. One scrub played less than a handful of games that season and the other didn't average a whole three point attempt per game, neither did Tim Duncan...

Out of curiosity, who were the other two?

[SelfishPlayer]

Chet Holmgren shoots 44% from 3, 75% from FT, 3.4 blocks and 2.0 assists. He has the best floor game in the entire draft. I searched for a college player that has shot 40% from 3, with 2 assists and 3 blocks per game and only three names came up. Tim Duncan was the first name and then 2 scrubs. One scrub played less than a handful of games that season and the other didn't average a whole three point attempt per game, neither did Tim Duncan...

Out of curiosity, who were the other two?

I don't recall their names. They aren't NBA players.

[God Squad]

Jakob Poeltl also carved out a starting role/career for a "white guy.

smh. We out here using race instead of play-style/archtype now?

[zimpy27]

Chet is the first American of his kind. I made that clear in an earlier post with his passing, shot blocking, and 3 point shooting. He appears to be Porzingis with a better feel for the game which makes him less reliant on making baskets and blocking shots. He can dribble and pass significantly better than Porzingis can today and will improve. He's a better prospect than Porzingis was.

Bill Walton has similarities. Do you mean recent?

I understand it's not typical of American 7 footers to be passers and ball handlers that aren't like Davis where they had crazy growth spurts and still retain guard like athleticism.

[reanimator]

I am doing a bit of box score watching admittedly but whats going on with Paolo's shooting the last 9 games?

[SeattleJazzFan]

I am doing a bit of box score watching admittedly but whats going on with Paolo's shooting the last 9 games?

i have watched most of those games. he has a hard time creating easy shots for himself. he has a difficult time getting by people, they cut him off and he shoots a contested jumper and those contested twos just aren't dropping. he's getting a ton of open looks from three, but they just aren't falling and often missing badly. virginia in particular just made things really tough on him. he's not very quick and his handle isn't good enough which makes it tough to create good shots on a regular basis against good, disciplined defense.

[Duke4life831]

I am doing a bit of box score watching admittedly but whats going on with Paolo's shooting the last 9 games?

He's been garbage. AJ and Mark Williams have been the two best Duke players for the majority of conference play and it's a solid gap to the next guy.

In all honesty this is the beauty of watching guys in power conferences. You have top tier coaches mixed with players with legit size and athleticism. It's pretty clear what happened with Paolo, he got scouted and teams have made their adjustments on him. And as of right now he has zero answers for defenses against him.

We saw this early in conference play with Jabari where his numbers weren't looking too hot. He got scouted. But Jabari was able to adjust and has the needed skills to adjust.

Paolo it's pretty easy. Forcing him into deep perimeter shots and his form just falls apart beyond 15-18ft. They're also forcing him left. And like I've been saying all year long, his handle is bad especially going left. So he's losing the ball, being stripped and just ugly offense with him. Then when he backs his guy down, he either does a spin move or turns over the same shoulder. Defenses are playing him to these things now and he has no answer for them yet.

[Big J]

Hypothetical question for you guys, what kind of numbers would Poku be putting up at Gonzaga if he were swapped with Chet?

[SeattleJazzFan]

Hypothetical question for you guys, what kind of numbers would Poku be putting up at Gonzaga if he were swapped with Chet?

not that great. poku is bad at basketball. college players, especially in the wcc, aren't very good, but they do play tough defense and make you work. poku would be fun to watch in an all star game - but play defense on him, he can't do anything. poku would be a 4 year kid that tantalizes and times and disappears many other times.

[BlazersBroncos]

Chet and KP have some dramatic differences on offense. KP has become a ball stopper and is a poor passer who oftentimes doesnt score in the flow of the game. Chet moves the ball quickly, is opportunistic and cuts to the basket hard.

The closest body type to Chet isnt KP, its Durant IMO. He isnt as aggressive, talented or wing oriented but he moves alot like KD.

I think he is some odd lovechild of KD and Myles Turner to be honest, even if there are tons of ways to pick that comp apart lol

[SelfishPlayer]

Chet and KP have some dramatic differences on offense. KP has become a ball stopper and is a poor passer who oftentimes doesnt score in the flow of the game. Chet moves the ball quickly, is opportunistic and cuts to the basket hard.

The closest body type to Chet isnt KP, its Durant IMO. He isnt as aggressive, talented or wing oriented but he moves alot like KD.

I think he is some odd lovechild of KD and Myles Turner to be honest, even if there are tons of ways to pick that comp apart lol

I've now seen both Chet and Jabari Smith compared to Kevin Durant. Jabari Smith physically compares favorably to former #1 overall pick Joe Smith.