King Ken wrote:Johnny Firpo wrote:WalterBenjamin wrote:I am more and more confident in being able to see a championship level team being built around Young. His ability to easily penetrate makes his offensive cealing higher than Doncic's.
Doncic is a better finisher and foul drawer though, an with how amazing he is at the pick&roll, he, just as Young, can get to anywhere he wants, they just do it in a different way. Both Young and Luka actually remind me of Nash, which is funny considering how different physically they are, but in the way they probe the paint they are very Nash an Paul-like. Anyway, I don't see a disadvantage here for Doncic, and the numbers seem to support that.
Luka floor game and ability to get to anywhere on the court doesnt look as good as Trae. Luka does look more skilled and he has a much better frame. Trae first step and quickness is tremendous. Luka looks slow but his footwork, strength and ball handling for his size is how he frees himself open.
I don't see Nash when I see Luka. I see a slow Magic Johnson who uses skills to free himself open on the perimeter. Also, Luka has a post up game, Trae doesn't have one at all. Luka due to his size has some distinct advantages over Trae.
I think there's significant room for physical improvement in Doncic. Not saying there isn't for Young also, but I would say people talking about how Doncic was ready for the NBA due to a few years playing professionally are ignoring that he basically played for 2 seasons straight without a break, didn't have any respect for working out or dieting, barely had an off season to work on himself and his game after he got drafted and came into his first NBA season looking like absolute crap physically.
I certainly don't have any proof, but I think there will be a noticeable physical difference going into his 2nd and especially 3rd seasons that is a bit above and beyond the typical physical improvement you see from rookies. He's being asked to basically run point right now which is actually best for his skillset, but he doesn't have the conditioning for it IMO (he's still balling of course which is testiment to his talent). And there's plenty for Luka to improve on skillwise, not just becoming a more consistent shooter overall, but for example he doesn't really have much of any semblance of a mid range game. He certainly has the skill to develop one and it would help his game significantly during those times he gets stone walled when he drives and he ends up overdribbling only to kick it out or turn it over. It would be a pretty significant addition to his game given he already averages 21 without it.
Also I would say Young's superior ability to penetrate is literally a requirement due to his height disadvantage. It's not something that gives him a leg up on someone who's 6 inches taller. Most NBA players in the range of 6'0 have superior penetration abilities compared to guys 6'6 and above, because you need those extra advantages to make up for the size difference, else there's no reason having you in the league. If NBA teams could field 5 players say 6'6 and above as much as possible, that would be the preference. The shorter guys need attributes that help them stand out more.
