nate33 wrote:NatP4 wrote:Yeah, he looked good. I think Buzelis is legit. In the 2nd half of the year he’s been much better. Shooting 52% from the field and 38.5% from 3. Racks up the steals and blocks, rebounds like a 4.
He’s playing on a team with zero guard play. No coaching, and a handful of self-centered teammates. Awful situation.
Still such a talented player. One of the only 1st overall type talents in the draft. Wagner/Avdija mold with even more upside.
How do you rank Cody Williams, Buzelis and Risacher?
I have Risacher as my #1 overall. Based on positional advantage.
Metrics are looking at him as if he is a SF, and knock him back due to anemic rebounding totals. But that's not the role he is posted on that team. His play shows him to be a backcourt shooter, working off movement and relocation. Shooting over the top of smaller defenders, blowing by bigs who are forced to step out and challenge. On offense, as a super-tall 2-guard he is succeeding: shooting over 50% from 3 in Eurocup play, 56% from 2. If a player's true position is wherever they play on defense, ZR is a 2-guard. There he is active and assertive, long arms deflecting passes and walling off zones on court. There he is functional, if skinny, but active and smart. At the NBA level he will be blown past and overpowered at times. But that's true of many young players. What I like most is that while he's young and inconsistent he tends to follow a bad game with a better performance in the next one.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/zaccharie-risacher-1/gamelog/2024/eurocup/At 18 years old he's learning quickly. And having success in an adult league. Early in the year I was dismissive of the hype, but checking back in later I can see him growing fast. On this team he has a ready-made plug and play role, displacing the too-small Poole with a taller more defensively active player. HIs assist totals are meagre, but that also is both a function of his role (touch ball: shoot ball. Or drive) and the fact that he's not playing with dominant scorers. In the NBA that role is exactly what we need next to players like Tyus or Deni. A guy who is not hesitant to attack, and is an efficient mismatch. Floor stretcher. Hard to guard with a smaller player.
On the other Top 3 talents.
I like Buzelis' talent and potential, but he is not claiming the position that he will be playing at the next level, and has not been succeeding at the position that he's mimicking. Matas has not asserted himself playing next to Ron Holland, giving the lesser talented but harder working RH the space that Buzelis should be taking in the front court. Instead he has been too often playing in the role that Risacher has taken: a tall face-up gunner. But he's shooting only .262 from 3. He'd like to be a unicorn but right now only looks the part, has not succeeded at it. If he is a SF, cool, he rebounds well enough, is active at blocking shots etc. His outside shooting will improve and at some point he will be a mismatch gunner in a wanna-be Durant role. Plus shotblocking. Agreed with the assessment that he is trying to fit next to players who are not passing, so he is forced to make his own offense. Still,I don't like what I see on his competitiveness in that his team is losing while he has stepped aside and not claimed the alpha spot that a #1 overall player should display. He has the talent to be a no-question top selection. That he has not seized the position is an area of concern for me. He's more talented than Cooper Flagg. But Flagg is a problem on court because he competes harder than you.
Alex Sarr is similar question mark for me, given the mismatch between his talent and his production. Here, knocking him back a peg in my assessment is that he is NOT playing out of position. He is trying to do the job that he is suited for. He's just underperforming at it. It's not like he is new to the sport either given that he's come up through the French system, having played with Wemby et al. He's playing in a tough league against grown adults, but not as tough or as grown as he will face in the NBA. Great talent, but has some significant growth to go through.
I like Topic and Sheppard. Hard to assess how their BBIQ will translate, this sort of player often falls and then outperforms their draft slot. I like Castle as a match between his role at the next level and his success where he is, as well as positional size, athleticism and upside. I like many players lower down who will outperform their draft slot and could be available in a tradeback if we slipped in the lotto and my guy was not available.
But I have a strong feeling that in this draft, for this team, in the role that he will play at the next level, Risacher would be the right match of fit, talent, role, and upside. Positional length, IQ, and work ethic. I get the sense he is their guy. My feeling is there is a reason why very smart people are making some dumb decisions and there is a real reason why we see subtle tanking in substitutions and benching Deni at critical times, or playing Poole too many minutes.
