TDotRep wrote:FluLikeSymptoms wrote:yayotube wrote:With regards to Kanter's defense via DX:
Defensively, Kanter had some excellent possessions in practice, coming up with some blocks by being a step ahead of the play and contesting shots with his positioning, rather than his athleticism. His body helps him fight for position on the block, and his physical nature allowed him to deny penetration when his man attempted to take him off the dribble. Once the shot goes up, Kanter does a nice job of sealing off his man and pursuing the ball. Though his ability to rebound outside of his area wasn’t as apparent as it was in junior play, he’s still, more often than not, the player coming down with the ball in a crowd.
This is the pre-Hoop Summit practice with other Euro team members. The game didn't matter much, the practice matters less. Who is to say he could even hang with Sullinger a year later, who I don't really like as an NBA prospect? Could he have repeated that performance the next day?
I hope Kanter is good, but I don't know how anybody could be confident one way or the other. It's hard to expect him to out-play NBA players consistently based on what he's been able to show, which is what he'd have to do if his physical makeup isn't special. Beasting Harrellson in practice, somebody who probably couldn't get signed by an agent, means nada to me.
Again, if he blows off ANY part of the pre-draft process I'm out.
Nazr Muhammid got slapped around in a one on one situation vs. kanter, and I think everyone could agree Mr. Muhammid is not slack on the defensive end.
Nazr was a pretty good post defender a few years ago, no doubt. That could be something. But the question was of Kanter's defence, and Nazr is a garbage scorer, and who knows what the situation was. Was it half-court 1-on-1 or a 5-on-5 game? If he can run down the floor, post up a guy like Nazr and "take it to him", repeatedly, that's something, even though Nazr, while long, is about 6'9 and 33 years old.
Of course I want the guy to be big and great and draft him is he is. I have no agenda, I like the top two locks, liked Barnes, and that's it. But there are no athletes in the world like NBA starters, particularly the bigs, so if a guy doesn't have tools it's tough to bet on him, particularly when he hasn't played regular, competitive ball since high school.
It's not that it's impossible to succeed being undersized but it makes the odds of offensive success worse and defence difficult to play without other attributes to compensate. Playing the odds is all you're doing in the draft. That Hoop Summit vid makes him look quite short but we'll see about that in Chicago if he goes, and we'll know if he borrowed Cole Aldrich's shoes before any pre-Chicago measurements finding him to be 6'11. We'll see if he still wants to play PF, too.
If Kanter measures out well in Chicago, crushes everybody 1-on-1, drains jumpers in drills, speaks intelligently, wants to bang, comes to Toronto twice to work out and Jim Kelly hates him, I'm in.
