Bilal Coulibaly

[TheBlackCzar]

I don’t know if it’s passive so much as he’s still super young. I read where he said he only takes shots that he has practiced, I think he’s not trying to force it nor is he trying to be super efficient, just that understands he has a limited repertoire right now. I suspect scouts have figured that out and are starting to prevent him from getting to those spots. So the chances are fewer. It just means he needs to add more moves and counter moves. But that is all easier to do in the off-season when you have all the time you need to workshop your skills. I’m fine with him picking his spots and playing tough defense. Especially when you look at the box score stats of the players he’s matched up with and realize that they are shooting blanks against him.

Yeah, this.

Knocking a young player for having awareness while complaining about other guys on the roster lacking the same is weird.

The kids been playing organized ball for 10 years, can we just give him time to develop a game?

Not complaining, just "stupidly" annoyed as a fan of him. Of course i want him to developp as soon as possible and the fastest possible. I just want him not to prevent himself from progressing, mostly mentaly speaking. Looking for perfection is a direction but shouldnt be a goal. By missing he can understand more than just being aware of the mistake that he could make. Might as well let allow him do those mistakes since the time and opportunity are there.
But doing this has consequences, and having JP and Kuz being the main ball handlers feeding each other in this selfish bball isnt going to help Bilal AND other rookies to developp !

Ya'll gotta stop lumping JP and KK into the same pile.... Kuz has no future hear but JP may just have one.. Both dudes are good dudes, who promote a positive environment for our youngings.... They need to understand how to be pro's from Champions instead of just playing 40mpg as a bunch of losers..... Vets teach these boys more than how to play basketball.... I don't want to look like Detroit.... I'd much prefer the trajectory Houston is on..... and even better yet OKC..... Issue is our best youngings not even legal yet so I'd just say be patient and enjoy this ride.....

[payitforward]

well said!

Now, Czar... post more!!

[Frichuela]

Needs to be much more aggressive offensively!

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?s=46&t=GWeuz7j_sc5cBYZzdD92Tw

[closg00]

At a minimum Bilal will get work as a defensive specialist, I’m good with Flagg or Bailey taking-on the role of potential star wing player.

[Frichuela]

At a minimum Bilal will get work as a defensive specialist, I’m good with Flagg or Bailey taking-on the role of potential star wing player.

It's annoying that he is not handling the ball as much as he did during his good stretch, when he initiated sets in the 3rd and 4th quarters of games. Lately, he is deferring too much and being parked in the corner while others (Brogdon and Poole mainly) handle the ball.

[DukeLecker]

Besides the first couple weeks of the season, it looks like Bilal is amazingly sucky.

[dobrojim]

Bilal and the his young friends really need to work on shooting.
I expect they will improve but they're really bad at it right now.
Too many shots are downright fugly with Bilal being a principal
culprit. He seems nervous and rushes his shots.

[Frichuela]

Bilal and the his young friends really need to work on shooting.
I expect they will improve but they're really bad at it right now.
Too many shots are downright fugly with Bilal being a principal
culprit. He seems nervous and rushes his shots.

Not surprisingly, the Wiz are the worst 3pt shooting team in the NBA. I wonder what the coaching staff is doing in this regard.

[BearlyBallin]

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Last block he had of 3 in this game.

I think he had 4 steals too.

[dobrojim]

Bilal played some nice D and really helped get the dub. But he also almost shot us out
of the dub when Den was making it's last gasp at a win with couple of ill advised 3 pt attempts.
YES, He's got to continue to take some shots but it's a difficult balance between good and not so good
shots given the flow of the game. I want him to shoot but it doesn't help him when the shots have no
chance of going in. Shoot in the flow, don't hesitate to shoot but be aggressive. If they offer a 3pt shot,
pull up for a middie. If the offer a middie, drive and try to dunk the ball if possible. If they give an inch,
take a foot. See how much you can get to the line.

[ValvPiti]

Whats going on with Bilal offensively? He started so promising this year. He still contributes to the team in other areas with lots of great stuff, but god damnit, he needs to at least get to 10 every game.

[tontoz]

Over his last 4 games he is 6-40 from the field.

[nate33]

He had 6 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Nearly a 5x5 game! Though, obviously, it would be nice if his shot was falling.

This seems to happen with lots of young players, particularly the ones who aren't natural shooters. After a long offseason with hundreds of catch-and-shoot repetitions each day, they improve their form, but it doesn't quite become hard-wired yet. Once the season starts and they have less practice time, their form starts to deteriorate. They end up shooting well for the first month but then it goes south. Also, they probably face a bit more effort from defenses running them off the 3-point line in December if they prove that they can hit the shot when wide open in November.

This happened to Deni a couple of seasons, and it happened to Kelly Oubre too.

[DCZards]

Bilal played some nice D and really helped get the dub. But he also almost shot us out
of the dub when Den was making it's last gasp at a win with couple of ill advised 3 pt attempts.
YES, He's got to continue to take some shots but it's a difficult balance between good and not so good
shots given the flow of the game. I want him to shoot but it doesn't help him when the shots have no
chance of going in. Shoot in the flow, don't hesitate to shoot but be aggressive. If they offer a 3pt shot,
pull up for a middie. If the offer a middie, drive and try to dunk the ball if possible. If they give an inch,
take a foot. See how much you can get to the line.

I didn’t have a problem with those 3s late in the game. Not sure how you can conclude they had “no chance of going in.”

Sure, I would have liked for those 3s to fall but they were open shots and Bilal does need to stay aggressive offensively.

[dobrojim]

Remember the old adage, there's a reason you're open.

I bet DEN didn't expect them to fall. Based on how he had been shooting lately, I'd let him shoot rather than someone else.

[DCZards]

Remember the old adage, there's a reason you're open.

I bet DEN didn't expect them to fall. Based on how he had been shooting lately, I'd let him shoot rather than someone else.

So are you suggesting that Bilal stop shooting 3s—even when he’s wide open?

He was 0-1 from 3 before missing those last 2. So it wasn’t like he had missed a lot of 3s up to that point in the game.

[dckingsfan]

Remember the old adage, there's a reason you're open.

I bet DEN didn't expect them to fall. Based on how he had been shooting lately, I'd let him shoot rather than someone else.

So are you suggesting that Bilal stop shooting 3s—even when he’s wide open?

He was 0-1 from 3 before missing those last 2. So it wasn’t like he had missed a lot of 3s up to that point in the game.

Well, when you are shooting .266 from 3, it is a good bet that the opposition knows that and dares him to shoot.

He shoots and it helps the tank - so there is that. And it is good for his development, so violent agreement.

But this is only year two (he really hasn't made any progress over year 1). Let's give him a couple of years to figure this out - although it is going to be pretty painful to watch.

[Zonkerbl]

I think there's a related mental phenomenon, when the other team is playing good defense, even your open jumpers get shaky. I don't know why it is. It's one thing to take a shot when your offense is functioning well as a unit and you're not second guessing yourself, another entirely to be in your head thinking "finally an open shot, be terrible if I didn't make it"

I think his jumper will start falling when the offense starts to function as a unit. I like Poole's jumper but I don't think he's doing the team any favors with his style of play. He creates opportunities with good passes but he's not really running the offense Brunson style, helping everyone get comfortable. If anything his hot headedness makes everyone on the team more anxious.

I guess I'm saying I trust his jumper will be fine eventually. But I have no reason to believe it, just my gut feeling.

[dobrojim]

Remember the old adage, there's a reason you're open.

I bet DEN didn't expect them to fall. Based on how he had been shooting lately, I'd let him shoot rather than someone else.

So are you suggesting that Bilal stop shooting 3s—even when he’s wide open?

He was 0-1 from 3 before missing those last 2. So it wasn’t like he had missed a lot of 3s up to that point in the game.[/quote]

What I said just before this

Bilal played some nice D and really helped get the dub. But he also almost shot us out
of the dub when Den was making it's last gasp at a win with couple of ill advised 3 pt attempts.
YES, He's got to continue to take some shots but it's a difficult balance between good and not so good
shots given the flow of the game. I want him to shoot but it doesn't help him when the shots have no
chance of going in. Shoot in the flow, don't hesitate to shoot but be aggressive. If they offer a 3pt shot,
pull up for a middie. If the offer a middie, drive and try to dunk the ball if possible. If they give an inch,
take a foot. See how much you can get to the line.

Right. He hadn't exactly been jacking shots in that game. But over the last few weeks, his shot has been off.
My issue was more with the context in this game. We were fighting and had a chance to break the streak.
Having now done that, I'm really happy with what he did in the very next game, which we were not in contention
to win so lower stakes. Don't settle for what they are giving you, challenge the defense to guard you.

I really like the kid. I just didn't like those shots at that time.

[doclinkin]

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The still pics are startling too. Hand above the box, eyebrows at rim height. Kid’s got potential..