Big Man Player Development - Yay or Nay

[aaron_gray]

I re-watched a bunch of games from the second half of the season and saw some interesting stuff that the coaching staff tried with different big men on the roster. I just wanted to get a feel for what you guys think worked well and whether or not some of this stuff is actually worth teaching to the bigs. I've listed them below in an easy copy and paste format:

Julius
-Ball handler:
-Top of the key 3 pointer:
-Small ball 5:

Explanation:

Nance
-Corner 3s:

Explanation:

Tarik Black
-Post ups:

Explanation:

Zubac
-Baseline Jumper:

Explanation:

Also, for all the crap we give Julius, he has upped his efficiencies from last year through a redistribution of his shot selection. His mid-range from 10-16 feet have increased the most (.227 --> .500) while his shooting from 16-3pt land went from .254 --> .318. That 2014 draft is actually looking really good in hindsight, with tons of solid contributors in the first round. At the top you have Embiid, Wiggy, Jabari Parker and you can probably throw Lavine in with that group. Then you have guys like Julius, Nurkic, Gary Harris, Rodney Hood, Clint Capela, T.J. Warren, Elf Payton and JC in the second round.

Here's what I think about the above:

Spoiler:

Julius
-Ball handler: Yes
-Top of the key 3 pointer: Yes
-Small ball 5: Yes

Explanation: The direction of Randle's player development really deserves a post of its own, but I like all 3 things. He took about 1 top of the key 3 pointer per game, usually in a catch and shoot situation. He didn't make many of them but I feel like that's the stuff you try at that point in the season, especially since there's so much upside to it.

Nance
-Corner 3s: Yes

Explanation: This should be fairly obvious, since Nance doesn't provide a ton of playmaking on offense.

Tarik Black
-Post ups: No

Explanation: I liked the thought and while he's a bruiser, it felt like he was off-balance half the time and he sort of lacks the soft touch you need to hook shots over long post defenders. His numbers were actually alright though.

Zubac
-Baseline Jumper: No

Explanation: I actually recall a couple out of bounds plays designed for this. I would prefer for him to shoot from the top of the key. If he's going to be in that area, I would rather him be closer to the basket so that he can catch it and take a quick floater/hook.

Moving forward, what direction would you like to see the bigs develop, beyond the obvious Randle pls learn to take open right handed layups?

[Dr Aki]

i think it's important the lakers are transitioning in that direction.

opening the floor requires at least 1 big man that can spread the floor, lest we have to throw money at a Ryan Anderson.

and in particular with regards to drafting ball, dropping the simple ball to a popping big might have to become a staple of our offense if we cannot find the drive and kick consistently, there's not going to be tj leaf to help out unless we go out specifically to find one

[Kupchak25]

Since he never won a championship without him, perhaps Magic should consider bringing in Kareem to work with the bigs, especially Zubac. Until he eventually tuned him out, Kareem seemed to have a very solid impact on a young Andrew Bynum.

[stan francisco]

I'd love to see Zubacca bring back the skyhook.

[Kilroy]

Randle does actually take right handed layups when he has to and they go in... People just don't like lefty's.
Remember how excited people used to get when Kobe used his left hand... That's because it was his off hand... Even though he did it a lot, it was still a relative big deal.
I say forget the left hand, work on range, lateral quickness, and defensive strategies... And watch a crap ton of tape... Figure out where the passes need to go in the given offensive sets Walton likes to run. Figure our where guys' sweet spots are and learn how to hit them when your dribble penetration draws double teams...
We want him attacking the basket, it frees up shooters, we just need those shooters to be in their spots and him to know where they're going to be on instinct, rather than relying on actually seeing them.

Ball will make all this easier for him though.

Thing about Julius is, in the D'Lo thread someone posted a 'D'Lo's greatest hits' clip, which was cool, but what stuck out at me more was that in D'Lo's clip Randle was doing all the little things that make him such an asset... He was feeding Russell off drives, he was setting up the half court sets, he was clearing guys out and setting screens, he was crashing the boards, he was moving without the ball and hitting his open shots and spreading the floor... I honestly don't see how people miss all that stuff and just focus on his right hand.

He may never be Greek Freek or Anthony Davis, but he's still on track to be a bigger, stronger version of Dray Green... In fact, statistically speaking, they were pretty close this season... So maybe that's even too low a ceiling.

Zubac should just focus on being a back to the basket C that protects the rim and can hit mid range jumpers... If he could be a hybrid of Pau and Marc with a little Bogut mixed in, I'd be thrilled. He already has a lot of that going on, he just needs to get stronger and work on his post moves. So footwork and strength/conditioning.
He's got a killer hook shot... We should see moar...

Nance is Nance... He's an injury waiting to happen with his playing style, but if he's healthy he provides a spark off the bench and that's about it... He's not great defensively, he's a tentative scorer, and he doesn't rebound terribly well... But that's ok for his role. So just focus on hitting ope jumpers.

[TyCobb]

I'm just going to do two players--the two high IQ guys that I think can show big time improvements next to Lonzo Ball next season.

Larry Nance Jr.

- Face up game. Corner threes sure, but he can show the biggest improvement in quicker decision making with his face up game. Later as the season went on, he seemed to feel like he had more of a green light and showed some more aggressiveness hunting for his shot. I would love to see him drive to the basket more out of his face up by using his athleticism to his advantage. I would like to see him incorporate a more consistent spin move to the center of the lane after he blows by his defender. He isn't the quickest guy, but the footwork moves will allow him to gather himself up for an athletic move towards the rim.

Ivica Zubac

- 100% Baseline jumper. I mentioned it before, but I want him to skip the three point work and master the baseline J like Thomas Welsh of UCLA. He has the touch and stroke, just needs the reps. Lonzo always draws defenders when he goes into the lane and he kicks it out with the best of them. He'll be able to get 3-4 looks a night on the baseline J for Zubac with his penetration and kick. Welsh was assisted on 89.5% of his 2 point J's, which was 52% of his offensive game (2 point jump shots). Lonzo routinely finds these guys and all he had to do was stand outside the paint about 15 feet away. Money, a great half court option for Ball and the Lakers.

Zubac master the baseline j, Nance the face up game, Randle work on his handles because he'll be used as a distributor more often with two options to nail a three on the wings in Russ and Zo. Ingram is the Swiss army knife he just needs to continue filling up the stat sheet just letting the game come to him. Russ needs to work on his endurahhh..... sorry, just a bigs thread.

[dockingsched]

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[danfantastk32]

Since he never won a championship without him, perhaps Magic should consider bringing in Kareem to work with the bigs, especially Zubac. Until he eventually tuned him out, Kareem seemed to have a very solid impact on a young Andrew Bynum.

I think it's a great idea. Kareem knows the position. No doubting that. I feel like he's come in to help with other bigs as well. Seems like if a Laker big is willing to work with him, he's more than willing to impart his knowledge.

Kareem has always come across as willing to help the Lakers. Yet another "family member" in our great franchise. It's why I love it. Still waters run deep.

[Spens1]

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seems like a natural fit to be honest.

[dAdo dA dEvil]

I hope KAJ works with Zubac. Then after perfecting that hook I hope he works with Hakeem or Kobe (as Kobe worked with Hakeem) to develop that foot work and post moves.