Alex Sarr

[DCZards]

There are only 6 starting non-centers in the league who average more rebounds per minute than Sarr:

Giannis*
Mobley*
Giddey
Hart
Amen
Avdija

And Giannis and Mobley play half their minutes at center.

Sarr rebounds like a good power forward. It's definitely not good enough for a center, but let's not overstate it.

Yup…when you look at the numbers—and not the narrative—Sarr was actually a pretty decent rebounder last season. He needs to get better, which I expect to happen as he gets stronger and more experienced.

But he’ll likely never rebound like an Adams or Zubac. That’s those guys primary role. They are extra big and, unlike Sarr, spend almost all of their time at or near the basket on both ends of the court…which obviously makes it easier for them to grab rebounds.

[doclinkin]

Ok I stand corrected. It’s not Alex’ fault we’re a terrible rebounding team. Nor Bub. Nor Champagnie.

It’s either everyone else. Or the fact that we don’t really have an actual center, and need one. Seems to me easy to solve one of those problems. In the draft or next year. Shrug.

No. It's Sarr's fault. He is a skinny, weak guy who is outmatched at center right now. I'm just saying that should change as he fills out.

I maintain that if you move Sarr to forward, he becomes "just a guy". He'll basically be Herbert Jones and we already have forwards who project to fill that role (only with more dynamic offense) in Kyshawn and Bilal.

Sarr is only a difference-maker at center. With him at center, we can institute a switch-everything defense and a 5-out offense. And that's the type of lineup that seems to work best these days, see Boston, Indiana and OKC.

Which would mean Bilal and Kyshawn need to get significantly better for us to be a good rebounding team.

Or we get a true capital P power forward. Like Boozer. And displace BCool and Key to the 2/3, where fortunately they have skills to play.

In my estimation it will be easier for Sarr to develop his finesse skills and become a high level switchable player who fits in from 3-5 than to expect him to become a dominant rebounder. Not merely competent.

Likewise I don’t see him being a stopper in the paint. A stand up force who intimidates attackers to back pedal and stall the offense.

And while I think he will get legit strong. I know low post skills take a lot of time to perfect if you haven’t worked on them.

In my vision Sarr is a seven foot forward who can shoot over defenders. Defend all but the quickest guards. Make plays out of the short roll and on Big to Big passing to feed the post or on lobs to the finisher.

In that role he’s a dangerous mismatch. And the only thing he needs to do to get there quickly is groove that 3pt shot so it reliably goes in.

[doclinkin]

I am not saying Sarr is bad. I’ve come around on him since the draft. I’m saying I can see this team being huge at every position. Dangerous. By your measures Sarr will have to grow significantly to be an average rebounding center. But he’s already a strong rebounder at 4 and would be a dominant one at times we can afford to play him at 3.

PIF hit on it earlier. The place where Sarrs game falls apart the most is on offense. He’s abysmal there. He will get better as he gets bigger. Especially on the inside when he’s not scared to get nudged a little.

But he’s launching without conscience from 3. Playing from the outside in, not learning low post nuances. To this I say good. Let him. It helps us suck now. And will be really hard to stop when it starts hitting and teams are forced to defend it.

If Sarr can play as a giant Wing, with our lanky and skilled players next to him 1-4, and a monster in the middle who rebounds like a demon and deters penetration then we can maybe define the new metagame.

We would have the size to defend the 3pt shot. Which studies have shown no one can reliably do right now. We would force everyone out to Dame range. Streaky at best.

We could control pace by rebounding every miss. Where even our PG is a dominant rebounder at his position. Then stifle comebacks by high percentage scoring on the inside with that big to giant passing. Feeding the interior over the top of the defense.

Supplement with skilled tall shooters around the perimeter able to fire over the top of the guards sent to hassle them. If 7’ Sarr starts hitting those shots pretty much Wemby is the only player who can defend them.

That’s my vision. Start with the idea that today’s meta game is driven by unstoppable 3pt shooting. The league is adjusting to allow more physical play. But paradoxically that encourages more outside gunning. Less dribble drive attack. What’s the counter? Go huge. Defend the perimeter at every position with switchy giants. Backstop them with a rebound black hole to grab all the misses they force.

And on offense: stay huge. Shoot over the top. Pass over the top. Finish with force. Force them to foul.

[payitforward]

Hmmm... I wonder if there's any possibility that Sarr winds up more of a combo forward, closer to a 3 than a 4, rather than a 5 or even a full-time 4.

This may be a dumb idea -- a fantasy. Yet... i can imagine a player like that coming along. & Alex has at least some of the features needed -- at least he has them potentially.

Silly notion?

[DCZards]

Doc, your vision of the future is built around having a behemoth, great rebounding C (a la Zach Edey) and Sarr playing the 4…or even 3 position. That’s reasonable.

Nate, otoh, sees a future where there is not a behemoth C but a tall, long mobile C (a la Sarr) who operates primarily on the perimeter, plays switchable D, and is a tough matchup for the behemoth C. That’s reasonable as well.

Two different visions. Have to see which one plays out. Given the current evolution of the game I lean toward Nate.

[nate33]

Hmmm... I wonder if there's any possibility that Sarr winds up more of a combo forward, closer to a 3 than a 4, rather than a 5 or even a full-time 4.

This may be a dumb idea -- a fantasy. Yet... i can imagine a player like that coming along. & Alex has at least some of the features needed -- at least he has them potentially.

Silly notion?

I don't think so. He's not THAT mobile defensively. I wouldn't want him routinely trying to guard a ball-handling big wing like Jaylen Brown or Cade Cunningham.

And offensively, he is no where near that level.

[nate33]

Doc, your vision of the future is built around having a behemoth C (a la Zach Edey) and Sarr playing the 4…or even 3 position. That’s reasonable.

Nate, otoh, sees a future where there is not a built around a behemoth C but around a tall, long mobile C (a la Sarr) who operates primarily on the perimeter, plays switchable D, and is a tough matchup for the behemoth C. That’s reasonable as well.

Two different visions. Have to see which one plays out. Given the current evolution of the game I lean toward Nate.

I'll add that there is nothing wrong with adding a big goon center to help out in certain matchups and to give us a different look. I like how NY had the option to throw in Mitchell Robinson and move KAT to the 4, or OKC playing Hartenstein and moving Chet to the 4. But in both cases, Hartenstein and Robinson are relatively cheap role players used as situational pieces. KAT and Chet at the 5 is their crunch time lineup in most cases. It what makes those teams tough to stop.

I'm fine with finding some $15M a year part-time center to play the spot 20 minutes a night and have Sarr spend 8-10 minutes a night at PF. But if we ever invested in a full time superstar center, I would much rather trade Sarr for a natural forward than play him at PF. I don't think it's his best position in the long run.

[doclinkin]

Hmmm... I wonder if there's any possibility that Sarr winds up more of a combo forward, closer to a 3 than a 4, rather than a 5 or even a full-time 4.

This may be a dumb idea -- a fantasy. Yet... i can imagine a player like that coming along. & Alex has at least some of the features needed -- at least he has them potentially.

Silly notion?

I don't think so. He's not THAT mobile defensively. I wouldn't want him routinely trying to guard a ball-handling big wing like Jaylen Brown or Cade Cunningham.

And offensively, he is no where near that level.

Actually watching the Eurobasket I’ve been surprised to note he’s exactly that mobile defensively. Granted the competition is a notch slower. But the notes I was taking before I had to go to staff meeting at half time:

Sarr is playing well at center.

Interesting to note a reason his rebounding is low is he not only plays offense outside in but also guards from outside in, often walling off penetration from 3 players on a single possession before collapsing to front the post.

This means he gives up inside position but still is able to defend the post by fronting it instead of sticking inside the paint as a backstop. Smart for him because when he’s inside he’s too easily bulldozed under the basket where he can do nothing. And Belgium has no one tall enough to make him pay by lofting it over his head.

He has gotten stronger though and I saw two actual box outs. Looking good. When he’s on defense Belgium can do nothing. His lateral movement and size are really a powerful asset. The quickest players they have can’t turn the corner on him. He looks quicker in anticipation too, cutting off lanes before the player takes a step. Neat to see.

Still. If someone does shoot over him he’s not getting the rebound. Needs weak side help on the boards.

[doclinkin]

2nd half Sarr got a tech shoving a player down who elbowed him in the throat.

Good in pick and roll except he can’t finish. He gets open but back to back bobbled the ball out of bounds unforced. Trying too hard to make it happen.

On defense though not a single guard has been able to penetrate past him. He challenges even point guards outside the 3 line and recovers perfectly to play free safety in the space between the perimeter and paint. His instincts guarding in that range are impeccable. Looking like Horford or Joakim Noah guarding the midrange and out. One man zone.

[doclinkin]

I also like how sticky his picks and screens are. He gets open in the P&R because he will set an annoyingly tight screen then gets a clean release when his man shoves free. He was often screening two defenders at once. Weird how he bounces off players on the inside but plays strong outside.

[Despy]

Abysmal on offense is averaging 13ppg as a 19 year old rookie?

[payitforward]

Abysmal on offense is averaging 13ppg as a 19 year old rookie?

Obviously, if you post a 48.2% TS%, then the more points you score the more abysmal you are.

[doclinkin]

Abysmal on offense is averaging 13ppg as a 19 year old rookie?

45% from 2 as a center is awful. Shot 39% overall. That’s bad for anyone.

He got a lot of shots up. Played heavy minutes. So he ended up with double digit points. But. On a team that was trying to win he would not have gotten the reps.

I’m happy he did. I expect him to get better. Not only because he honestly really could not have gotten worse. But because his form looks decent on his shot. And he’s growing in confidence. Even on the inside.

But Yes he has been bad on offense. That parts not arguable.

Here. In infographic:

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/players-the-worst-shooting-percentage-2025


Our own Kyshawn was the worst overall. But Sarr is the first Center on the list.


I expect both to be far better this year. But even if not I still want them shooting. Not gunshy.

[DCZards]

Interesting to note a reason his rebounding is low is he not only plays offense outside in but also guards from outside in, often walling off penetration from 3 players on a single possession before collapsing to front the post.

That’s exactly why I wanted Sarr with the second pick. Who does that? Not many, if any, 7 footers.

[doclinkin]

Interesting to note a reason his rebounding is low is he not only plays offense outside in but also guards from outside in, often walling off penetration from 3 players on a single possession before collapsing to front the post.

That’s exactly why I wanted Sarr with the second pick. Who does that? Not many, if any, 7 footers.

Right. Can’t think of a single Center. Mostly elite defensive small forwards.

Really all Sarr’s strengths and weaknesses played out his rookie year. All the reasons I didn’t want him and all the reasons he was worth the 2nd pick. Happy to see how it plays out now that we’ve got him. I’m just willing to stack my chips on what he already does well instead of expecting him to become a totally different player just because that’s how everyone else does it. He’s not them.

[prime1time]

Abysmal on offense is averaging 13ppg as a 19 year old rookie?

45% from 2 as a center is awful. Shot 39% overall. That’s bad for anyone.

He got a lot of shots up. Played heavy minutes. So he ended up with double digit points. But. On a team that was trying to win he would not have gotten the reps.

I’m happy he did. I expect him to get better. Not only because he honestly really could not have gotten worse. But because his form looks decent on his shot. And he’s growing in confidence. Even on the inside.

But Yes he has been bad on offense. That parts not arguable.

Here. In infographic:

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/players-the-worst-shooting-percentage-2025


Our own Kyshawn was the worst overall. But Sarr is the first Center on the list.


I expect both to be far better this year. But even if not I still want them shooting. Not gunshy.

I use to get into debates like this over Rui and they all ended the same way. Both sides saying the that the young player being discussed needs to improve. You just don't like Sarr so he's bad. For people who like hm, last year showed flashes of potential.

[doclinkin]

Nah. I like him a lot. He needs to shoot better. And I think he will. I just think ideally he’s not a center. Ultimately though I think he’ll be a far better player than Rui.

[payitforward]

Sure hope so....

[nate33]

Nah. I like him a lot. He needs to shoot better. And I think he will. I just think ideally he’s not a center. Ultimately though I think he’ll be a far better player than Rui.

I think Avdija is a better comparison than Rui, given Sarr's extreme youth, natural defensive instincts, and feel for the game as a passer.

Like with Avdija, you could see almost immediately Sarr's potential as a game changing defender and as a connector on offense. These are innate basketball IQ qualities that are you either have or you don't. Sarr has them. But also like young Avdija, Sarr has embarrassingly bad touch around the rim and a shaky jumper, so there is definitely some concern that he will be an offensive liability.

The question with Sarr, like it was with Avdija, is can he get stronger and develop better shooting touch? If he does, then he can be a star, or at least a very good starter.

From what we've seen so far in Summer League and FIBA, I'm cautiously optimistic. It really looks like Sarr has a very good work ethic. He is clearly stronger than last year and he is looking like a dominant defensive deterrent against lesser competition. He still has work to do as a rebounder, but I'm encouraged that he has gotten much better as a screener.

[payitforward]

Nah. I like him a lot. He needs to shoot better. And I think he will. I just think ideally he’s not a center. Ultimately though I think he’ll be a far better player than Rui.

OTOH, it's worth mentioning that Rui has become a solid journeyman in the league. Above all, he's turned into a reliable shooter, though not a high volume scorer. Well done!