2019 NBA Draft Prep

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

Bol Bol is terrible defending in space.

Nonsense.

Bol has a reputation for perimeter defense. And sub par post defense due to his lack of girth.


If you disagree, you'll need to take it up with league observers/pundits:

Bol Bol a fascinating conundrum for NBA GMs

Bol Bol has a good chance to get a general manager fired. The Oregon center’s appeal is obvious. Players who are 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-8 wingspan shouldn’t be able to block jump shots, lead the break, and take pull-up jumpers, let alone do it all in one 10-second period.

But we know the game is changing around him. While basketball in general is going more toward skilled perimeter play — it’s also moving toward mobile defensive play, still a struggle for the Sudanese center. His fit is paradoxical to the NBA: a dynamic offensive weapon who has significant potential to take a lot of that value away on the defensive end.

Spoiler:

He’s averaging nearly four blocks per 40 minutes with a 12.5 percent block rate that places him within the top-20 of all college basketball players nationally. He’s particularly effective at closing down space and blocking shots by jump shooters.

But the natural tools and physical traits are largely where the positivity about Bol’s game on the defensive end currently cease. Because so far this season, Bol has really struggled to stay on position on defense for a variety of reasons. Let’s start around the basket, where, in spite of the blocked shots and length, teams have actually shot better at the rim when Bol is on the floor versus when he’s off the floor.

Watch on YouTube

What you’ll see above is a mix and match of bad tendencies and physical limitations. And yet still, these issues pale in comparison to the problems Bol has out in space. Oregon has started played substantially more zone over their last three games in large part due to the fact that they can’t stop opposing teams from getting clean looks in pick-and-roll when they play man.

Watch on YouTube

All too often, he’ll get caught out in no-man’s land between the ball-handler and roller, not really affecting anything on the defensive end. That leads to lobs to the roller and open lanes to the basket. But that’s not the only issue for Bol, either. Any motion that a guard makes to get downhill forces Bol into an immediate retreat position due to his lack of lateral quickness, leaving him susceptible to in-rhythm pull-ups....Bol is typically the last player down the floor.

his holes figure to only be exacerbated further in the NBA, where he’ll be faced with more athletic guards, stronger big men, and a halfcourt offensive area that adds a considerable amount of space to the floor that must be defended.

The Athletic

If you want to take up the point I raised... that the clip you decided to post in support of your assertion was inadequate... you'll need to do that still...

And why you didn't introduce *this* in support of your point is anyone's guess. Much more substantive.

Had you went there, I would have granted, Bol isn't really a defensive post player like most 7-2 guys are post players. And it's an interesting question... just like it will be for Zion, incidentally... how a coach decides to utilize his skill set given that his body and skill set don't match up to traditional norms.

And let's remember, again, after 9 games, we had a limited view of most of the players in this draft... but we have the advantage of seeing how all the others progressed and developed their games over the course of the season, while that's unfortunately not the case for Bol.... or, fortunately, if you're a team like us that otherwise might not have had any shot at him, if no injury had occurred and his early season top 5 pick predictions had held up.

[Jamaaliver]

Bol Bol is terrible at defense.

If you'd done your homework, you would have already known that. Maybe you should try reading some of those mock drafts...

Deconstructing the Unicorn: Why Bol Bol Might be the 2019 Draft’s Biggest Gamble

With repeat viewings, the truth is that the crux of his future value may actually hinge on his defensive development. Oregon’s overall defensive approach was disorganized, and the rest of the night underscored some of Bol’s weaknesses. He doesn’t appear move well enough laterally that he can be expected to corral pick-and-roll in a plus capacity.

...Oregon has tried to hide some of Bol’s deficiencies by placing him in the center of a matchup zone. Bol has shown promising instincts contesting jumpers, helping on drives from the opposite block and when opponents dribble in his direction, which are all nice positives.

[But] he repeatedly missed defensive rotations and left shooters open in the corners. A reputation for inconsistent effort plagued Bol at the high school level, and continuing to play hard would go a long way toward convincing teams he can keep up in the wide-open pro game. Teams will need to be sold that he’s willing to put in the work.

Bol seems content to ball-watch, rather than mix it up inside, and he does not have particularly soft hands catching lobs or corralling difficult boards in traffic.

SI.com

[Spud2nique]

Bol Bol is terrible at defense.

If you'd done your homework, you would have already known that.

I didn’t read everything but the guy can’t move his feet laterally and if he tries he’s prolly gonna hurt himself. Hard pass on Manute’s rugrat. RIP Manute great human being though no doubt.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

Wait, I hope he only reminds you of the landlord because of... I dunno Oh going to high...it’s possible but I don’t mind reaching for who we like. Also, if I watch more Bol tape will you watch Clarke? The kid plays so hard and with Trae’s pinpoint passing precision, alley oops are endless.

Clarke is step quickr, 10 lbs lighter, and can dribble left. They both mainly but not exclusively have gotten their points from 3-5 feet as far as I've deciphered. They both were regarded as exceptional rebounders.

But all those drives from the perimeter that Clarke's been able to finish in college, it's too easy for me to envision those being neutralized at the next level. I'll grant you that he's got some Millsap in him, but even that's too low a ceiling for me to be content with for this draft.

But all the nba bigs right now are soft outside of a few. No reason to think Clarke won’t get in there and give them hell. I don’t think he’s the type to back down to a vet..just a vibe I get.

Would consider him #20 or later. At #8 and #10, I have to have the highest ceiling guys I can find, or if there were none, just look to punt.

[jayu70]

Bol Bol's ability to handle the ball for his size is impressive. I wouldnt consider him a 'lumberer'.
Defending in space is an issue, how does that translate for his PnR defense.
Offers great rim protection.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

Bol Bol is terrible at defense.

If you'd done your homework, you would have already known that. (Maybe you shoukd try reading some of those mock drafts...

Fingerwag to your heart's content, Liver.

You can be dismissive, but the points I've raised still haven't even received a simple counterpoint... you just keep repeating yourself, and pretending I said nothing...

(a) your clip proved zero,

(b) he is not a traditional defensive post even though he's irrefutably gotten some of his dad's genes in the block department, and/but more impressive, commonly is seen affecting and even blocking jump shots on the perimeter, so his HC is going to have to think about how he deploys him best, and

(c) we don't know what we don't know about how he's going to develop... we have only about 25-30% of the tape on his season to discuss that we do for practically every other player in the draft.

Hope it helps that I broke it down for you since it appears to have eluded you before... unless you were just outright ignoring, which also is plausible, if not likely.

[jayu70]

Based on us having the 2 picks this close together we can gamble on a high risk, high reward guy with at least one selection.

[Jamaaliver]

Sam Vecenie>>>>>>>>>>Stuart Gregory

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

Bol Bol's ability to handle the ball for his size is impressive. I wouldnt consider him a 'lumberer'.

Yeah, and regarding the opinion of some that he "lumbers"... I especially take issue with the assessment that suggested Bol is always the last one down the court. That's just not even barely true based on what I've seen.

Defending in space is an issue, how does that translate for his PnR defense.
Offers great rim protection.

An "issue" based on.... ???

Liver's decision to cite two plays in 9 games isn't really evidence of anything substantive.

I don't dispute that he seems to end up in no-man's land sometimes, but that happens for a lot of freshman in their first month playing in PAC-12 ball. It's not a death sentence, it's not a final verdict.

He's not as immobile as most 7-2 guys have ever been.

He seems to me capable of playing defense similar to what a Durant is capable of playing, and what he might lack in lateral movement, he's able to make up for in sheer width and wingspan.

Maybe I'm wrong. But again, until we see more than 10 games from a freshman season, any one of us can be wrong... there's a lot we just don't have enough evidence to know yet.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

Sam Vecenie>>>>>>>>>>Stuart Gregory

[graymule]

CNN/SI mock draft has the Hawks selecting 6'7" F De'andre Hunter @#8 and

Goga Bitadze a 6'11" center. He is a 19 year old veteran of the Euro League.
He's from Zaza's Georgia. Not the USA Georgia. They have him as our #10.

What do you think???

[King Ken]

Clarke plays like Carroll at Mizzou for me but his athleticism is on par with Shawn Marion. I think he is in the 6-8 range with Cam, White, and Garland for me.

[King Ken]

8-)

CNN/SI mock draft has the Hawks selecting 6'7" F De'andre Hunter @#8 and

Goga Bitadze a 6'11" center. He is a 19 year old veteran of the Euro League.
He's from Zaza's Georgia. Not the USA Georgia. They have him as our #10.

What do you think???

I would be shocked if Hunter fell to 8 and i would want Cam if he is available but I don't see Hunter falling that far as the most polished prospect in this draft.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

8-)

CNN/SI mock draft has the Hawks selecting 6'7" F De'andre Hunter @#8 and

Goga Bitadze a 6'11" center. He is a 19 year old veteran of the Euro League.
He's from Zaza's Georgia. Not the USA Georgia. They have him as our #10.

What do you think???

Ultimately, until proven otherwise, I'll have to have a lower opinion of my own opinion than of Schlenk's opinion, and so whatever he chooses to do is likely going to get a thumbs-up from here.

But when he calls me for my advice , I don't see either of those coming up in the conversation.

[Jamaaliver]

Measurements for Wing Players:

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[Jamaaliver]

Measurements for big men:

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[shakes0]

Hawks should swing for the fences and pick "highest ceiling" with both picks, hope to hit a home run on one of them. Guys like Sekou, Bol, Hayes, Reddish.

[kg01]

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Ew, that's bad for Clarke right?

[CP War Hawks]

Bol, Sekou, and Hunter are my top 3 on the board depending on who's left. It's alot that will shift 4-7 from now until then.

[Jamaaliver]

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Ew, that's bad for Clarke right?

That ain't good brother. He's built like a SG.

He strikes me as a guy who will slide in the draft because of measurements...then consistently outplay his draft slot.