Bruno Caboclo discussion thread

Post #421 » by **pbj** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:43 pm

CoachJReturns wrote:Another superstar small forward not recruited out of high-school:

Scottie Pippen

Didn't he grow like 7 inches while he was in college?

raptor jesus · Post #422 » by **raptor jesus** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:45 pm

Durant was garnering TMAC comparisons at least a couple years before joining Texas. He would have been a top pick right out of high school - likely only behind Oden - had he been allowed to enter the draft in 2006. To say he wasn't highly regarded (or recruited) is ignorant.

RaptorReloaded · Post #423 » by **RaptorReloaded** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:05 pm

My dream scenario this year for Caboclo is he somehow manages to weasel his way into the starting power forward spot due to Amir possibly breaking down and Patterson under preforming as well as Casey and the league playing small ball, matching him up vs stretch 4's and 3's.

Risk101 · Post #424 » by **Risk101** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:06 pm

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ggp7cIW1sE[/youtube]
That David Aldridge comment about Fran and others saying the pick was "2 years away from being 2 years away" still pisses me off. What a douche for spewing that crap on national television.

RaptorReloaded · Post #425 » by **RaptorReloaded** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:14 pm

raptor jesus wrote:Durant was garnering TMAC comparisons at least a couple years before joining Texas. He would have been a top pick right out of high school - likely only behind Oden - had he been allowed to enter the draft in 2006. To say he wasn't highly regarded (or recruited) is ignorant.

Cabolco is a different prospect. Durant had the hype machine behind him cause he grew up in the states. Not saying Bruno is on his level but if a 6'9 kid with a 7'6 wingspan that could dribble and shoot the nba three grew up in the U.S he would also be highly scouted and recruited by NBA teams and would probably go much higher in the draft. Bruno really is a diamond in the rough pick. Who knows what he would be like had he played high school ball. Maybe it's better that he's played in a **** semi competitive professional team with former nba, college and wash-up players. Maybe it wasn't.

scopy · Post #426 » by **scopy** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:16 pm

FluLikeSymptoms wrote:I think Bruno's handle is a bit better too. Not sure Wiggins uses his fingertips for anything at all, but he seems to see everything in slow-mo and at the same time he is the most explosive player on the court- he's like a time lord or something. Bruno isn't without a feel for the game but you know which guy has been working alone/alongside bums for the past couple years and which guy has been playing games against top competition.

Bruno Caboclo:
AKA Ice Belly
AKA Time Lord

Pusha-T · Post #427 » by **Pusha-T** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:19 pm

youngtea wrote:
Pusha-T wrote:
youngtea wrote:
He can shoot, but there were reports he needs to alter his shooting form so he shoots higher and not in front of his head.

Yea, his shot is a little weird but maybe with his size and length he might not have to alter it too much.

Not sure what his size and length have to do with anything. He needs to shoot higher so his shot won't be blocked. Being tall only has advantage if you actually use it and not bring down the ball to release.

Being taller with a larger wingspan allows you to shoot over shorter opponents more easily? Bringing the ball down is something that will be corrected fairly easy without too many side effects.

CoachJReturns · Post #428 » by **CoachJReturns** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:32 pm

pbj wrote:
CoachJReturns wrote:Another superstar small forward not recruited out of high-school:

Scottie Pippen

Didn't he grow like 7 inches while he was in college?

Not sure. I know Rodman did. Maybe you're thinking of The Worm?

scopy · Post #429 » by **scopy** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:38 pm

CoachJReturns wrote:
pbj wrote:
CoachJReturns wrote:Another superstar small forward not recruited out of high-school:

Scottie Pippen

Didn't he grow like 7 inches while he was in college?

Not sure. I know did. Maybe you're thinking of The Worm?

They both had growth spurts at 19.

Bast**ds, I stopped growing at 13.

CoachJReturns · Post #430 » by **CoachJReturns** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 8:23 pm

It's probably also worth mentioning, that how highly a player is rated as a teenager does not necessarily predict where they will be in a few years time.

Anyone remember the greatly hyped Felipe Lopez? Meanwhile, a guy like Blake Griffin wasn't an elite prospect when he went to college. Hell, I don't think anybody knew about Duncan until he showed up at Wake Forest.

Dukenukem23 · Post #431 » by **Dukenukem23** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:38 pm

I'm expecting 25 points/10 boards/5 blocks tonight.....let's do it Bruno MVP!

Post #432 » by **Double Helix** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:40 pm

This is the most critical and unflattering piece you'll read on Bruno today from somebody that knows hoops. And yet despite all that it's still optimistic, suggesting that he's still one of the more intriguing picks past 20 in recent draft history and reminding that where he a right now isn't anywhere near as exciting as where he may be ale to go. He's years away from his prime.

Post #433 » by **Rhettmatic** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:42 pm

Dukenukem23 wrote:I'm expecting 25 points/10 boards/5 blocks tonight.....let's do it Bruno MVP!

You're trolling and you know it. You've already been warned once in this thread.

Dukenukem23 · Post #434 » by **Dukenukem23** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:44 pm

Rhettmatic wrote:
Dukenukem23 wrote:I'm expecting 25 points/10 boards/5 blocks tonight.....let's do it Bruno MVP!

You're trolling and you know it. You've already been warned once in this thread.

No I'm not actually, I am allowed to be excited about our prospect thank you very much.

scopy · Post #435 » by **scopy** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:46 pm

Double Helix wrote:This is the most critical and unflattering piece you'll read on Bruno today from somebody that knows hoops. And yet despite all that it's still optimistic, suggesting that he's still one of the more intriguing picks past 20 in recent draft history and reminding that where he a right now isn't anywhere near as exciting as where he may be ale to go. He's years away from his prime.

Coolest thing in that article?

He can easily tie his shoes without bending his knees,

Thespianoid · Post #436 » by **Thespianoid** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:54 pm

Double Helix wrote:This is the most critical and unflattering piece you'll read on Bruno today from somebody that knows hoops. And yet despite all that it's still optimistic, suggesting that he's still one of the more intriguing picks past 20 in recent draft history and reminding that where he a right now isn't anywhere near as exciting as where he may be ale to go. He's years away from his prime.

Good article. I like the mix of honest assessment and optimism.

Except I'd disagree almost entirely with this statement:

Defensive rotations are a mess, he struggles to properly space the floor on offense (against the Dallas Mavericks, a teammate turned the ball over throwing it to an empty corner where Bruno was supposed to be standing) and you can probably count his total number of dribbles on two hands and two feet. Needless to say, he doesn't create for others or attack the rim.

I'd say he showed a basic understanding of defensive rotations, especially to help in the paint. His perimeter rotations needed some work, as it doesn't seem like he understands the schemes yet. They're a work in progress, but certainly not a mess like Pina describes.

He struggles to space the floor? No way. If anything, that's the second best thing he does after shooting the basketball. He knows how to move around the 3PT line with the offense, he just doesn't know how to make backdoor cuts or fill space inside the arc. The turnover Pina mentioned? That player threw the ball to the space between the corner and elbow, where no one ever stands. Sure, maybe Bruno could have reacted and moved to the spot, but that's not Bruno's fault. That was on the passer.

You can probably count his total number of dribbles on two hands and two feet? Ok, maybe some journalistic exaggeration. Because that's not true. 20 total dribbles? Pff.

He doesn't attack the rim? He's not consistently aggressive enough, but he does a good job attempting to attack the rim when he finds the space. See: his two drives that ended in And1's, and the multiple drives that ended in charges. He's selectively aggressive, which speaks to his mentality even if his awareness is a work in progress.

In terms of creating for others, there were flashes of playmaking ability, albeit some passes delivered a bit late - the wrap around pass for Nogueira leading to a dunk, a drive and kick to a TJ Bray 3PT attempt, and the bounce pass to the backdoor cutting DeAndre Daniels.

Obviously, Bruno is still nowhere near what he'll turn out to be. But there are more positive signs from his Summer League performance than what Michael Pina wrote in that article.

Mr.Raptorsingh · Post #437 » by **Mr.Raptorsingh** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:59 pm

Bruno can already shoot. That alone is an asset, imo.

Roland Brice · Post #438 » by **Roland Brice** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 10:09 pm

Mr.Raptorsingh wrote:Bruno can already shoot. That alone is an asset, imo.

This is a key point, but it should be stated that we hope he doesn't become dependent on his jumper. Too many guys in this league tend to fall in love with their shot, but I'd like to see Bruno use it to open up his game. If he's offended by guys dunking on him pay them back, stretch over the defense like MJ in Space Jam and put people in the hoop.

MEDIC · Post #439 » by **MEDIC** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:23 am

Good article. A little exaggerated/ dramatic at the beginning, but overall a pretty fair assessment.

I think most open minded critical thinkers (ie. not Steven A Smith) are seeing what we are seeing. Bruno has a hell of a long way to go, but he has so much potential that it's pretty much impossible for him to not become a useful rotation player at minimum. Especially because he gets the luxury of developing the majority of his basketball skills on an NBA squad with the best possible trainers, coaching staff, facilities & he gets to practice against the best basketball players in the world every day. He's also very lucky to have some pretty good veteran leaders on this squad. The last relevant rookie to have that luxury in Toronto was Vince Carter back in 1998-1999.

He will enter his prime at a very young age. Younger than most. We're basically going to watch a boy grow into a man over the next few seasons. It should be pretty cool to witness.

Bruno is a very odd prospect. I can't think of another one like him (not a Raptor anyhow). Usually when I think of a Raw, young prospect I think of an athletic specimen that lacks skill. Guys like Derozan & Gerald Green.

Bruno has skill already..........it needs to be refined. It's mostly his understanding of the game & his body that needs to be developed.

The closest prospect I can think of in our history is T-Mac..........but at least T-Mac grew up in the NA & could speak English when he arrived.

Gonna be a very interesting ride.

Roland Brice · Post #440 » by **Roland Brice** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:33 am

Chris Bosh was pretty raw when he came into the league too, but he grew into a helluva player. I remember a game where we had Bosh guarding Shaq and you couldn't even see him. The good thing back then was that we could throw Bosh to the wolves since we sucked, but with Bruno we're playing for something so it's tough.

On a scale from one to five, how high are you on Bruno?