#BringBacktheBiz - The Bismack Biyombo Thread

[Liver_Pooty]

He hasn't had any kind of real coaching yet. Silas was useless and Dunlap really only helped our backcourt guys get better. Our bigs regressed under Dunlap. I don't see how anyone can give up on him so soon, particularly with a coaching staff that appears more committed to the development of the frontcourt.

I must disagree with you on Silas. He may have been useless during the games, but he has always been known to be an excellent big man coach. He simply did not have enough time with Biz to do much with him. About giving up on him if he doesn't show significant improvement this year I doubt he makes it past draft night as a Bobcat. True he is young, but this is his third year. It is time to show some development. Real talk

If he doesn't show improvement this season I doubt we would even get anything of significance for him.

[Eoghan]

The question is "what is significant improvement?" 10 boards and 2 blocks? 10 ppg and ft% north of 65? No dramatic increase in stats but catches passes better?

[HornetJail]

I don't expect an increase in stats this year, but his per 36 stats should improve some. He regressed last year and I blame Tanklap for that. I would expect 8 points, 10-11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per 36. His career numbers per 36 are 7.0/9.4/2.6, so that is not dramatic improvement, but I definitely expect him to be significantly more at-home on the court. He looked lost a lot last year. 47% from the field and 60% from the FT line would be good enough for me.

[Liver_Pooty]

The question is "what is significant improvement?" 10 boards and 2 blocks? 10 ppg and ft% north of 65? No dramatic increase in stats but catches passes better?

Stellar defense other than shot blocking would be significant improvement in my eyes. I don't even care about his offense anymore. He looked in lala land a lot of the time defensively last year, and was only average on that end other than his blocked shots. He has the physical tools for sure. I think he will eventually get "it", but it might take a season ortwo.

[Nanogeek]

I don't expect an increase in stats this year, but his per 36 stats should improve some. He regressed last year and I blame Tanklap for that. I would expect 8 points, 10-11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per 36. His career numbers per 36 are 7.0/9.4/2.6, so that is not dramatic improvement, but I definitely expect him to be significantly more at-home on the court. He looked lost a lot last year. 47% from the field and 60% from the FT line would be good enough for me.

Its a small sample size obviously but his 2013 summer league stats were semi-encouraging - 8.4/11.9/2.3 per 36m. Really though - I'd like to see some proximal FG% statistics on Biyombo. This is the metric presented at the last MIT conference that measured Sanders defensive value on the floor. But the paper didn't have any results for Biyombo and I'm not aware of any site that offers that data freely.

[Lottery_Mafia]

Biz is the type of guy who you really want to get after he has come off his rookie contract. He was never going to show any real production, we knew this when we drafted him, obviously can impatience has made them expect more than they should. I would be happy to bring Biz back in the $3-4 million dollar muti year contract if he doesn't show any major leaps this year.

[HornetJail]

Biz is the type of guy who you really want to get after he has come off his rookie contract. He was never going to show any real production, we knew this when we drafted him, obviously can impatience has made them expect more than they should. I would be happy to bring Biz back in the $3-4 million dollar muti year contract if he doesn't show any major leaps this year.

If we can lock him up on a 4-5 year deal pretty cheap, that would be awesome for when he blows up and becomes Serge Ibaka 2.0 in his 5th season.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/962 ... ak-players

Zach Lowe on Biz

Biyombo isn't worth nearly the $3.87 million salary he's slated to earn in Year 4, an $800,000-plus raise from his third-year salary. Nobody knows exactly how old he is, and there's not much place in the league for bigs who can't do anything with the ball, can't shoot free throws, and rebound at merely average rates — especially if said big men aren't "A"-level defenders.

And Biyombo, drafted as a stopper, is not close to that level. He's still got high-upside athleticism, and he can protect the rim, but he hasn't been able to translate that into effectively tracking multiple opponent actions over a full shot clock. It's almost as if Biyombo gets mentally fatigued dealing with all the responsibilities that come with anchoring a defense. He'll bump the first cutter or corral the first pick-and-roll with startling alertness, only to blow the second pick-and-roll or miss the next cutter coming from the weak side. You can find a lot of sequences like this one, in which Biyombo (guarding Roy Hibbert in the middle) is unaware, head turned the wrong way, that a double-team has left an opposing player (Paul George, along the left baseline) wide open to catch the ball and lay it in before Biyombo can respond

And more at the link...

[Eoghan]

But once Biyombo gets the ball? Yeesh. If he has to dribble it, he's toast. And even if he doesn't, he essentially has one move: dunking the ball. When he's too far away for a dunk, Biyombo just sort of jumps, holds the ball up with one hand, and hangs in the air until he has to release the thing over a defender. It looks like a jump hook, but it's really just a dunk modified for distance.

Only one move? That's the wrongest thing I've ever seen Lowe write. He has a hook shot with either hand, his off-hand is arguably his best hook, and his turnaround J looks nice. It's absolutely foolish to base the totality of Biz's offense on such a small sample size, the guy only gets like 4 shot attempts a game. Biyombo's defensive woes are greatly the result of bad coaching and teammates completely blowing their defensive assignments repeatedly. Nobody can guard 3 players at once every possession.

[fatlever]

btw, there is more once you get the link....

overall its a fair assessment of biz.

[James Gatz]

I think it's fair as well but the Lowe doesn't mention the work ethic Biyombo possess.

[fatlever]

I think it's fair as well but the Lowe doesn't mention the work ethic Biyombo possess.

yeah, i think thats the one big thing that someone who isnt around the team 24/7 wont be able to pick up about biz. work ethic, attitude, hustle, high character, all traits that help define biz and could go unnoticed by someone just watching game film.

[fatlever]

http://www.nba.com/bobcats/biyombo-part ... ut-borders

more about biz in africa

[vorbis]

i don't get why lowe perpetuated the "nobody knows how old biyombo is" myth. pretty sure there are people who know. it's not like there's conflicting info out there. just BS muddying the waters.

[Elden Payton]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9628650/derrick-williams-jimmer-fredette-more-nba-make-break-players

Zach Lowe on Biz

Biyombo isn't worth nearly the $3.87 million salary he's slated to earn in Year 4, an $800,000-plus raise from his third-year salary. Nobody knows exactly how old he is, and there's not much place in the league for bigs who can't do anything with the ball, can't shoot free throws, and rebound at merely average rates — especially if said big men aren't "A"-level defenders.

And Biyombo, drafted as a stopper, is not close to that level. He's still got high-upside athleticism, and he can protect the rim, but he hasn't been able to translate that into effectively tracking multiple opponent actions over a full shot clock. It's almost as if Biyombo gets mentally fatigued dealing with all the responsibilities that come with anchoring a defense. He'll bump the first cutter or corral the first pick-and-roll with startling alertness, only to blow the second pick-and-roll or miss the next cutter coming from the weak side. You can find a lot of sequences like this one, in which Biyombo (guarding Roy Hibbert in the middle) is unaware, head turned the wrong way, that a double-team has left an opposing player (Paul George, along the left baseline) wide open to catch the ball and lay it in before Biyombo can respond

And more at the link...

I have complete faith Biyombo will turn the corner but that said I cannot blame Lowe for seeing what he sees.

I'm glad that Clifford and Higgins have made it public about their concerns, motivation is a powerful tool.

Biyombo has more than one move though.

[Elden Payton]

i don't get why lowe perpetuated the "nobody knows how old biyombo is" myth. pretty sure there are people who know. it's not like there's conflicting info out there. just BS muddying the waters.

We would have confirmed it as best we can before we invested millions of dollars on him, age is my least concern with Biyombo and I imagine it's the same for our franchise.

[Liver_Pooty]

Lowe is spot on.

[Diop]

He'll bump the first cutter or corral the first pick-and-roll with startling alertness, only to blow the second pick-and-roll or miss the next cutter coming from the weak side. You can find a lot of sequences like this one, in which Biyombo (guarding Roy Hibbert in the middle) is unaware, head turned the wrong way, that a double-team has left an opposing player (Paul George, along the left baseline) wide open to catch the ball and lay it in before Biyombo can respond

Hopefully experience will help in this regard.

[Liver_Pooty]

Biyombo has continued to do crossfit religiously with what appears to be his trainer Josh Elmore. He looks to be in incredible shape. I hope it translates to more success on the court.

Yes, I stalk his twitter..

[Stun704]

Needs to do catching balls, post moves, and post defense drills religious instead of doing cardio and strength training so much