Update Game 2! Wembanyama vs Scoot on ESPN 2/ESPN App/NBA app

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Once again, he looks good but let’s pump the brakes a bit.

His best skill right now seems to be face-up ISO scoring & shooting — unless he becomes a game-breaking scorer, he offensive impact may not be as high as you would want.

Can he run an offense? Move around off-the-ball? Run a PnR as the ballhandler or roller? Play in the high post?

These will be questions that need to be addressed.

He handles the ball well for a guy his size but I’m telling you, a 7’4 guy doing dribble moves on the perimeter in the NBA ain’t happening unless he improves his ball control & security.

I think his best case is a 7’4 MPJ with elite defense & rim protection OR pre-injury KP 2.0 w/ better perimeter skills.

Filling out his body over time is where the rest of his offense will round out, why can't a 7'4" do dribble moves? Who is to say he doesn't develop into a 7'4" version of Embiid on offense?

Watch on YouTube

A lot of what he does in the faceup & mid post can be turned into that, especially if he puts on the right kind of weight.

[3toheadmelo]

you just proved my point. one game.

that season KP started off hot and then cooled off hard before he tore his acl. teams figured out how to guard him. i don't think you remember that season that well to be honest.

Sure people learned to guard him but the same will be withd Wemby? Victor has worse shooting %s than Kristaps did in Europe before he came to the NBA.

The point we are making is that KP had a very similar game to Victor pre-injury. That's all. I think Victor moves better and is better defensively. But the comp is a good one.

I don't know why you're using the pre-NBA shooting percentages so much, especially since Victor's stats from this season are clearly going to balloon. Going by pre-NBA stats alone nobody would have drafted the skinny kid from Greece playing against middle schoolers.

Melo and I saw a lot of pre-injury Kristaps since he was on our team, Kristaps did not have that good of a handle, and looked like a big when he tried to pull off moves. He could do a simple crossover, he wasn't doing a lot off the dribble, if he were doing hesi-hangs into clean pullup threes we never would have traded him

[zimpy27]

you just proved my point. one game.

that season KP started off hot and then cooled off hard before he tore his acl. teams figured out how to guard him. i don't think you remember that season that well to be honest.

Sure people learned to guard him but the same will be withd Wemby? Victor has worse shooting %s than Kristaps did in Europe before he came to the NBA.

The point we are making is that KP had a very similar game to Victor pre-injury. That's all. I think Victor moves better and is better defensively. But the comp is a good one.

I don't know why you're using the pre-NBA shooting percentages so much, especially since Victor's stats from this season are clearly going to balloon. Going by pre-NBA stats alone nobody would have drafted the skinny kid from Greece playing against middle schoolers.

Melo and I saw a lot of pre-injury Kristaps since he was on our team, Kristaps did not have that good of a handle, and looked like a big when he tried to pull off moves. He could do a simple crossover, he wasn't doing a lot off the dribble, if he were doing hesi-hangs into clean pullup threes we never would have traded him

You saw his injury issues and the limitations he had after those injuries, that's why you traded him.

It wasn't because of a lack of hesi-hangs

[MrBigShot]

People really embarrassing themselves comparing him to Porzingis man. This kid's floor is guy who makes a few all star games, he's just that physically gifted. A 7'4 guy is not supposed to be that quick and explosive.

And he's a lot further along in terms of polish and skill set than people who watched in europe were letting on; he's hitting pull up threes off the dribble, face up step backs, turn around fadeaways over both shoulders. Kid is all the hype.

[3toheadmelo]

Sure people learned to guard him but the same will be withd Wemby? Victor has worse shooting %s than Kristaps did in Europe before he came to the NBA.

The point we are making is that KP had a very similar game to Victor pre-injury. That's all. I think Victor moves better and is better defensively. But the comp is a good one.

I don't know why you're using the pre-NBA shooting percentages so much, especially since Victor's stats from this season are clearly going to balloon. Going by pre-NBA stats alone nobody would have drafted the skinny kid from Greece playing against middle schoolers.

Melo and I saw a lot of pre-injury Kristaps since he was on our team, Kristaps did not have that good of a handle, and looked like a big when he tried to pull off moves. He could do a simple crossover, he wasn't doing a lot off the dribble, if he were doing hesi-hangs into clean pullup threes we never would have traded him

You saw his injury issues and the limitations he had after those injuries, that's why you traded him.

It wasn't because of a lack of hesi-hangs

what? we didn't see him play after he tore his acl before trading him. i really think you don't remember these years well

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Sure people learned to guard him but the same will be withd Wemby? Victor has worse shooting %s than Kristaps did in Europe before he came to the NBA.

The point we are making is that KP had a very similar game to Victor pre-injury. That's all. I think Victor moves better and is better defensively. But the comp is a good one.

I don't know why you're using the pre-NBA shooting percentages so much, especially since Victor's stats from this season are clearly going to balloon. Going by pre-NBA stats alone nobody would have drafted the skinny kid from Greece playing against middle schoolers.

Melo and I saw a lot of pre-injury Kristaps since he was on our team, Kristaps did not have that good of a handle, and looked like a big when he tried to pull off moves. He could do a simple crossover, he wasn't doing a lot off the dribble, if he were doing hesi-hangs into clean pullup threes we never would have traded him

You saw his injury issues and the limitations he had after those injuries, that's why you traded him.

It wasn't because of a lack of hesi-hangs

He had limitations before the knee injury, I don't know how you can tell Knick fans what he was and wasn't, we saw all his games before he got hurt, we literally never got to see him again after that


The ACL tear is what changed him, we saw him before that.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I don't know why you're using the pre-NBA shooting percentages so much, especially since Victor's stats from this season are clearly going to balloon. Going by pre-NBA stats alone nobody would have drafted the skinny kid from Greece playing against middle schoolers.

Melo and I saw a lot of pre-injury Kristaps since he was on our team, Kristaps did not have that good of a handle, and looked like a big when he tried to pull off moves. He could do a simple crossover, he wasn't doing a lot off the dribble, if he were doing hesi-hangs into clean pullup threes we never would have traded him

You saw his injury issues and the limitations he had after those injuries, that's why you traded him.

It wasn't because of a lack of hesi-hangs

what? we didn't see him play after he tore his acl before trading him. i really think you don't remember these years well

I just said the same thing.

[3toheadmelo]

You saw his injury issues and the limitations he had after those injuries, that's why you traded him.

It wasn't because of a lack of hesi-hangs

what? we didn't see him play after he tore his acl before trading him. i really think you don't remember these years well

I just said the same thing.

this why i barely be on the gb

[Rastas]

Mets92 has a guy with the last name Ho You Fat had to double take when I saw the jersey

Someone PLEASEEEEE draft this guy.

We need a Ho You Fat in the NBA!

[azcatz11]

The fact that he played today tells me everything I need to know. He WANTED to play. What a legend. He could sit the rest of the year and next season and be #1 but he wanted it

[BostonCouchGM]

this might sound extreme but unless Scoot has a legit injury, him not playing after banging knees is SOFT af. That's a major red flag to me. I can't imagine some of the all-time greats taking games off at that age. I have a feeling many injuries will conveniently keep him out of numerous games this season.

[anotherhomer]

The fact that he played today tells me everything I need to know. He WANTED to play. What a legend. He could sit the rest of the year and next season and be #1 but he wanted it

that's a really good point.
He wasn't scare of the moment.....
what's interesting is whether he will refuse to play for certain teams that get the #1 overall pick.

Victor has shown, he's about playing for the right organizations.

[BostonCouchGM]

I’m getting the same vibes. I feel like people overemphasize having a face-up game, a perimeter game or a ‘bag’. I’m like where is the post moves and the rebounding.

In other words you love being a contrarian.

Only when the praise borderlines on hyperbole. Bol Bol was doing step backs and crossovers in the bubble. Now he’s a 3rd string backup on a team that’s projected to win 26 games. People are shouting alien all over social media like the NBA hasn’t seen this before.

stop. As a resident Bol apologist who believes he has immense potential, the fact of the matter is he was born with a silver spoon, has been coddled, has poor work ethic and dealt with injuries seemingly every year. And even as talented as Bol is he pales in comparison to Wembanyama who by all accounts has a great work ethic and competitive spirit. Very bad comparison.

[Black Jack]

Just my hot take is he looks like a Lebron type prospect ie a goat level talent.

supertall guys usually have injury issues so that's my main question about him.

[NO-KG-AI]

Porzingis was also 7’1.75 in socks, without nearly the same wingspan

Correction 7'1.25 with a 7'6 wingspan. We're actually talking about a big size difference, and Wembanyama looks like a better player to me even outside of that.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Porzingis was also 7’1.75 in socks, without nearly the same wingspan

Correction 7'1.25 with a 7'6 wingspan. We're actually talking about a big size difference, and Wembanyama looks like a better player to me even outside of that.

Great point, just for comparisons sakes, Rudy Gobert was 7'0.5 without shoes at the combine (7'2 in them).

[LukaTheGOAT]

Scrabbarista, on November 18th, 2020, at 5:16 PM:

"Victor Wembanyama has potential like nothing I've ever seen.

I said Embiid would be an NBA MVP when he was still in high school. When his draft came around, I said he should go #1 even if there was like a 70% chance he'd get a career-ending injury in his first few years in the league.

Well, it doesn't look like Embiid's going to get an MVP Award, but that's probably half down to his work ethic and half down to the way the game and the rules have changed. Nonetheless, he's been a great player.

Wembanyama is definitely more impressive than Embiid was in high school. I've watched him for like a handful of minutes on the internet. Maybe ten. But I think he might be the best prospect I've seen since LeBron. Better than Zion or anyone else.

Don't laugh. When you're talking about the 15th pick in the draft, it takes months/years to do the research. When you're talking about an all-time great, it takes minutes.

And I think this is it. Better than Holmgren, Bates, or Cunningham.

If he stays healthy, Victor Wembanyama is going to be the best player in the league one day. You can quote me."

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1980576&hilit=wembanyama&start=40

I believe I also said, "Wembanyama is the next Abdul-Jabbar" in a post shortly thereafter, but I'm too lazy to search for it now.

Can I get an And1? My self-esteem could really use it! The original post still has 0.

What's wrong with Embiid's work ethic?

[zimpy27]

I don't know why you're using the pre-NBA shooting percentages so much, especially since Victor's stats from this season are clearly going to balloon. Going by pre-NBA stats alone nobody would have drafted the skinny kid from Greece playing against middle schoolers.

Melo and I saw a lot of pre-injury Kristaps since he was on our team, Kristaps did not have that good of a handle, and looked like a big when he tried to pull off moves. He could do a simple crossover, he wasn't doing a lot off the dribble, if he were doing hesi-hangs into clean pullup threes we never would have traded him

You saw his injury issues and the limitations he had after those injuries, that's why you traded him.

It wasn't because of a lack of hesi-hangs

what? we didn't see him play after he tore his acl before trading him. i really think you don't remember these years well

I'm talking about the injury the medicals. You saw his injury, the medicals, the surgery, the info on recovery, the limitations of recovery.

[Jkam31]

Honestly if he was in the same draft with LeBron, I think he might go #1 over him. I mean Wembayama is just unreal at this point.

Y’all out of control man same as those comparing thin to hybrid Wilt/KD like coke on man

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Not playing devil's advocate here, maybe I'm just don't have enough relevant info in this situation.

But how is Wembanyama different from say Porzingis? Both ultra tall, skilled, reasonably athletic big men.

I guess almost a bit of a dig at Porzingis, that maybe he should be better than what he's shown so far in the NBA.

I’m getting the same vibes. I feel like people overemphasize having a face-up game, a perimeter game or a ‘bag’. I’m like where is the post moves and the rebounding.

The thing is, healthy Porzingis was a borderline All NBA talent at least.
Now you take a guy that is more mobile, much longer (Porzingis's wingspan is nothing special), a better rim protector (like goat level) and, potentially, a better shooter who can also punish switches from the mid post.
How good is that player?

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