RiotPunch wrote:emunney wrote:Toppin is by no means a good defender but I don't think he's quite as bad as everyone's saying. His technique needs a lot of work and he's a one effort guy (this is also part of why he's not a better rebounder -- no pursuit). I'd be surprised if he's ever a good defender, but he could end up being Tobias level for sure, which is workable, while being a more explosive offensive threat.
Can technique fix his freakshow level high center of gravity though? He'll never be able to flip his hips adequately. Not his fault, but pretty damning if you are asking him to defend out on the perimeter.
Well, he's got to get stronger in the middle of his body. He's high cut but he plays higher than he needs to, and he slouches/rounds his back. If he's defending the perimeter he's got to be in a stance where he can actually move laterally, but he's also got to use his length. He's not going to be defending many guys who'll be both a threat to blow by him and pull up on him, except on switches, where he'll just have to shade and expect help. Most importantly, none of these problems are unique to him. Avidja, who I really like, has a lot of the same issues.
Overall I just feel like he's gotten the tag as bad defender but there are a lot of guys who are not that much better off on that end. I have him in the back half of the lotto mainly because of his age. He's 22, if he's going to be a NBA player, he better be destroying the A-10. He played two high majors this year with frontcourt prospects and he didn't outclass either one of them (Dok and T. Bey).
