2025 Draft Thread

[tontoz]

I am not interested in Maluach because i dont think he is that good. His stock and dreb numbers were low for his size. He wasn't playing many minutes so he didn't have to worry about fatigue or foul trouble. I don't see anything special about him other than size, and he plays smaller than his size. I dont see a high motor guy and motor is a big issue for centers.

Whereas I saw a kid who was thinking and trying to fit in instead of playing instinctively.

Does 'trying to fit in' mean not hustling on defense? That's news to me.

[doclinkin]

When you’re learning team defense yes it does. It slows you down. At NBA academy he wasn’t playing the ‘show and recover’ game. Guarding the outside then collapsing to the paint. At Duke that was common. Looked to me like his game had radically changed from the footage I’d seen the year before where he was jumping and swatting at everything. And fouling more. Seemed like he was more ground bound this year. Staying upright but rarely leaving his feet for a block. That’s a switch from his instinctual play in overseas competition.

I would say this. He doesn’t know how to box out. That hurts his rebounding skills at one end. But he rebounds the offensive ball with activity and max effort. Likewise once gets his timing down I think his shot blocking will creep back up to the 3 a game he notched in the past.

[nate33]

Continued here