Kevin Seraphin

[Ruzious]

CCJ, I gotta say I don't understand your Antoine Carr to Seraphin comp any more than I did your McGee to Larry Nance comp. I think they're both way off. Carr was a scorer who wasn't known for playing defense at all. He might have played some center late in his career because he got fat, but he was a forward and strictly an offensive-minded player. Seraphin's meal ticket is his defense, and he doesn't have the offensive array that Carr had. Just like McGee didn't have anything resembling the offensive perimeter game that Nance had.

[nate33]

I honestly don't see playing time as a real problem. There are 96 minutes at the PF and C spots. Nene has averaged 30-32 minutes for most of his career. He'll get that here, probably about 24 of them at C and another 6-8 at PF. Seraphin will get the other 24 minutes at C. Booker will get about 32 minutes at PF (which is a little more than he has averaged so far this year as a starter). That leaves about 8-10 more minutes for Vesely at PF.

It won't be all that different from when McGee was here except that, since Nene can play some PF, it's easier to find room for Seraphin (at the expense of Blatche and Vesely)

[Severn Hoos]

John Wall:

“Kevin does a great job defensively against the pick and roll. He does a great job of one-on-one. You don’t have to double team. and he’s going to battle,” John Wall said. “He gives us the threat of offense, shooting baby hooks and making mid-range jump shots. That’s really helping us out a lot.”

Now, I'm sure he said positive things about McGee in the past, and any good teammate will praise the other guys on the team. But these comments don't sound to me like the pro forma, "we're all behind him" stuff that they usually say when they have to pretend to be positive - it seems very genuine.

I think Wall was happy with the trade.

[Illuminaire]

Seraphin may lack the raw physical gifts of McGee, and he's almost as unrefined overall - but Seraphin puts in work. He seems to take his job seriously, every play, every game. Regardless of his ceiling, Seraphin is fun to watch and an easy guy to root for. I'm glad he's getting a real shot at extended minutes, and keeps growing as a player.

[tontoz]

John Wall:

“Kevin does a great job defensively against the pick and roll. He does a great job of one-on-one. You don’t have to double team. and he’s going to battle,” John Wall said. “He gives us the threat of offense, shooting baby hooks and making mid-range jump shots. That’s really helping us out a lot.”

Now, I'm sure he said positive things about McGee in the past, and any good teammate will praise the other guys on the team. But these comments don't sound to me like the pro forma, "we're all behind him" stuff that they usually say when they have to pretend to be positive - it seems very genuine.

I think Wall was happy with the trade.

That is a pretty big endorsement. It was frustrating for us to watch McGee defend a pick and roll. Imagine how frustrating it must have been for Wall.

[JonathanJoseph]

Seraphin may lack the raw physical gifts of McGee, and he's almost as unrefined overall - but Seraphin puts in work. He seems to take his job seriously, every play, every game. Regardless of his ceiling, Seraphin is fun to watch and an easy guy to root for. I'm glad he's getting a real shot at extended minutes, and keeps growing as a player.

Seraphin has had trouble adapting to the speed of the NBA game and that's on top of being inexperienced, but he's not "raw". He has the fundamentals/footwork of a very refined post game down pat and a very nice jumper to 15 feet. Most importantly, he understands spacing on the floor (as in, how to make his body take up a lot of it in the paint), how to play the PnR and what a good shot is for someone with his skill set.

McGee had the most incredible combination of height and athleticism ever combined in one body but had absolutely none of the rest of it.

Seraphin just needs experience, but he is not raw in the same way McGee was raw.

[montestewart]

That's a good summary JJ. Even in his first year minutes, his demonstration of understanding footwork and positioning would draw comments from Phil and Steve. It may have just been a matter of more playing time to adapt his skills to the NBA game, but he landed with what looked like vet skills compared to JVMac

[tontoz]

I think Seraphin has a higher upside than Javale. Javale is soft with a low IQ. That isn't going to change. Seraphin is the opposit of soft and doesn't seem to have any IQ issues. I just think he is inexperienced.

How many C's are there as strong as Seraphin who also have his mobility and a quality jump hook? I would have to look to find them but i think that would be a pretty short list.

[Illuminaire]

Seraphin just needs experience, but he is not raw in the same way McGee was raw.

I think we agree in principle, but use different words to express it. For me, "rawness" includes not being able to keep up with the speed of the game. It's the difference between playing a difficult guitar riff slowly on your couch and nailing that same riff at full speed in a crowded pub.

I agree very much that experience and game reps are helping Seraphin immensely, and he has a MUCH better grasp of what he should be doing than McGee ever did. So all quibbles over semantics aside, go Seraphin!

[theboomking]

I also think it is clear that Wall was happy to see McGee go. That is pretty telling, but shouldn't be surprising. I don't remember Wall ever having much to say about McGee that was very positive.

I think McGee gets too much credit for his athleticism. As has been pointed out by CCJ and others, McGee is has terrible lateral agility, and he isn't particularly coordinated. Obviously both of these are critical components of athleticism. McGee had elite length, which made his hops look better than they were. He could run the floor as well I suppose, but just as often, couldn't catch his breath. Can't wait to see JaVale sucking wind, at altitude, in Denver.

I think Seraphin is already better than JaVale Empty Stats McGee. McGee was too poor a defender to ever have a positive impact. Seraphin is an order of magnitude better on defense, and has the afforementioned\nice little hook, and nice range on his jumper.

[tontoz]

Another strong performace. in only 16 minutes he was 6-7 from the field with two blocks. His shooting efficiency has been pretty scary lately. His jump hook is money.

[nate33]

Another strong performace. in only 16 minutes he was 6-7 from the field with two blocks. His shooting efficiency has been pretty scary lately. His jump hook is money.

All true. We can't overlook the 5 fouls though. 5 fouls in 16 minutes. It's why it's probably not wise to start him yet. Let him continue to be the backup center. If he's playing well, he can get more minutes with Nene sliding over to PF.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CCJ, I gotta say I don't understand your Antoine Carr to Seraphin comp any more than I did your McGee to Larry Nance comp. I think they're both way off. Carr was a scorer who wasn't known for playing defense at all. He might have played some center late in his career because he got fat, but he was a forward and strictly an offensive-minded player. Seraphin's meal ticket is his defense, and he doesn't have the offensive array that Carr had. Just like McGee didn't have anything resembling the offensive perimeter game that Nance had.

Ruz, in the win over NJ did you see Kevin Seraphin go 6-7 FG, much of it off of half hooks?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0O38CwUJ0[/youtube]

Looking at the video, what jumps out at me is Kevin has longer arms, is about 30 pounds heavier, and he's a better leaper than (older) Antoine Carr. That was Big Dog at 35 years old. Still, his body type, his shooting form, and his favorite shot is the same jump hook.

When Big Dog (Carr) was younger, he had a lot more spring in his legs. He never was the defensive force Seraphin already is, but Carr was a bit of a shot blocker, too.

Ruz, that's who Seraphin reminds me of, but Kevin is bigger and stronger, as hard as that is to fathom. Carrr played F and C, and that is what I see Kevin being able to do, too.

[tontoz]

Another strong performace. in only 16 minutes he was 6-7 from the field with two blocks. His shooting efficiency has been pretty scary lately. His jump hook is money.

All true. We can't overlook the 5 fouls though. 5 fouls in 16 minutes. It's why it's probably not wise to start him yet. Let him continue to be the backup center. If he's playing well, he can get more minutes with Nene sliding over to PF.

On the season his foul rate is the same as Singleton's.

[veji1]

Correct me if I am wrong but for the forseeable future, Seraphin will be the official back up of Nene. Having similar physical attributes and not too dissimilar abilities, it will allow the team to use the same sets, and by knowing that night in and night out, he is going to get his 15 to 20 minutes a night, where his job is to defend hard, box out, rebound, and be aggressive on offense, he can only improve further.

For a young player like Seraphin, having an experienced guy like Nene as an example, knowing his role and having confidence that the team is entering a more stable time, giving him time to play and acquire experience, is unvalueable.

As a french basketball fan, I am impressed by Seraphin's serious approach to the game and willingness to learn. He might never be a super player, but he works and wants to improve. Compared to guys like Petro who came in the NBA age 19 with great tools and never worked to improve, he is very refreshing.

[tontoz]

Correct me if I am wrong but for the forseeable future, Seraphin will be the official back up of Nene. Having similar physical attributes and not too dissimilar abilities, it will allow the team to use the same sets, and by knowing that night in and night out, he is going to get his 15 to 20 minutes a night, where his job is to defend hard, box out, rebound, and be aggressive on offense, he can only improve further.

For a young player like Seraphin, having an experienced guy like Nene as an example, knowing his role and having confidence that the team is entering a more stable time, giving him time to play and acquire experience, is unvalueable.

As a french basketball fan, I am impressed by Seraphin's serious approach to the game and willingness to learn. He might never be a super player, but he works and wants to improve. Compared to guys like Petro who came in the NBA age 19 with great tools and never worked to improve, he is very refreshing.

Nene can play power forward so i am hoping that Seraphin gets close to 30 minutes a game next season. He a much better shotblocker than Nene. Seraphin has shown that he can effectively defend guys like Dwight Howard and Bynum. Last night Nene got worked by Hibbert.

Seraphin has been very impressive on both ends of the court this season. Hope he plays well for the French national team in the summer.

[dobrojim]

random thought

Kevin is almost 2 years younger than JaVale

[JonathanJoseph]

random thought

Kevin is almost 2 years younger than JaVale

And already twice the basketball player.

Updating Seraphin's March per36 numbers: 15 pts, 9.3 reb, 2.5 blks on 70% FG.

I'm not sure people realize just how good Seraphin has been recently. Really, really good.

[tontoz]

Last year Seraphins PER was 8.39 and his TS% was 47.9%.

His PER so far for this season is 14.53 and his TS% is 56.4%.

[Ruzious]

I think people are getting a bit ahead of themselves. Seraphin's progression the last month or so has been terrific, but... I don't project him as a starter. He's becoming the Trevor Booker of centers - a very good backup - at least when he stays ot of foul trouble.