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Jeremy fit snuggly into that 3rd core player on a small market post second apron contender. He closer to that than Devin and Castle vying for that second star salary slot.
I was Jeremy's biggest critic this summer, but he made significant improvements to every aspect of his game except the obvious one.
Obviously functional jumpshot will determine if he's ever anything more than a great role player, but if we had someone like MPJ or Markkanen playing with Jeremy and Wemby, it would be a nightmare to deal with for the opposition.
Teams have already given up on matching up traditional bigs with Wemby, they defend him with either mobile bigs or bigger forwards.
What Jeremy needs to improve aside obviously his jumpshot is his ability to attack slow bigs off the dribble if he's matched up with them. He already does a great job of bullying weaker forwards as we've seen last night.
Trae did very little when Jeremy/Wemby duo was defending the pnr because they can switch in most situations unlike anyone else on the roster. Whether it be a guard defending Trae or a big protecting the rim.
Compared to last season, Jeremy has a clear idea about what to do whenever he gets the ball in the paint. He plays with confidence and doesn't throw random up. Sample size is small, but 63% in the paint compared to last season's 52% is a huge improvement. He's high energy on both ends of the floor, his got ridiculous motor, never stands still or gives up on plays.
Obviously the big issue is that right now he's incompatible with Castle, but while Castle looks like he's got higher upside, right now Jeremy is a way more consistent contributor and a better player. Obvious because Castle is just a rookie.
I really disliked how Castle had a handful of Keldon drives where he just goes into the paint without any plan, throws random up that's not even close to being a good attempt.
Jeremy as backup C against small lineups was also a good move by Mitch. Should do it more often while we don't have better bench bigs. Then he and Castle can play together, surrounded by 3 shooters.
Most important thing for last, he's our only legit wing defender.
We would've won at least one of those Lakers games if Jeremy was playing, noone else on the roster can deal with elite wings. We simply can't afford not to play him when facing any borderline all-star or better wing.
Jeremy fit snuggly into that 3rd core player on a small market post second apron contender. He closer to that than Devin and Castle vying for that second star salary slot.
And he’s a good fit personality wise on a team devoid of any personality whatsoever. His chemistry with Wemby is great.
He needs to develop that shot. Not having a shot to, at least, keep defenses honest, is a huge handicap in today's NBA. During the regular season it might go unnoticed, on a playoffs series it becomes a huge liability.
it only is if he doesn't know how to live with passing up open shots.. the assumption is that if he isn't guarded, then someone is getting doubled, but they still need to keep him off the rim
Never got the Jeremy hate. He’s a stud and brings the much needed edge to the team. He just needed to find the right role, which he seems to have now.
Offense aside, Sochan’s defense remains very strong, especially on the perimeter. I was impressed by his work on Trae Young. This alone is an ability that propels him far ahead of a Kenneth Faried type player
its a double edged sword. he's not really good at defending bigs. but he's been able to rebound with them this year
At best optimization, he would be guarding PGs and wings. Eye-test doesn't even give me power forward size. He is a 3.
This guy is aesthetically so difficult to watch sometimes - just decides to travel randomly, ugly looking jumpers that take so long to load up, a lot of his points look like he's just getting spoon fed buckets by better players, not a lockdown man to man defender in the traditional sense like an Anunoby
Sometimes hard to remember he's still only 21, physically he's only going to get stronger, and his handle is going to keep getting better
Also, season EPM has him 2nd on the team now at +2.2 (-0.1 off/ +2.3 def) behind only Wemby
That is higher than older more promising prospects like Amen Thompson (+1.9), Tari Eason (+1.8), DeAndre Hunter (+1.0), Jalen Johnson (+0.9), Keegan Murray (-0.4)
Maybe it's small sample size and he regresses back to the mean, maybe he never develops a 3 or only develops a passable one 3-5 years from now like Draymond or Blake Griffin. But for now he looks like a pretty good pick and he's definitely way better than he was his rookie year
Hope that he can fit the Aaron Gordon's role and get easy baskets from Wemby's gravity or his own efforts on the offensive rebs.
The other thing that is helping him thrive is that Wemby's accuracy in 3P shooting has gone up this season. With Wemby playing like a 7 ft 5 perimeter guard on offense, it allows Sochan to masquerade as a center and limits his weaknesses in shooting. Still, here's hoping he develops a functional shot. He can be way more threatening as a player if he does so.
Jeremy has been awesome this season. Great offensive rebounder, garbage man, and decent post game within 10ft. Still growing obviously.
Totally agree that wemby’s spacing and his added strength have been the key to him being able to operate down low.
Sochan is our center on offense. He is not going to be a huge liability in the playoffs with how him and Wemby are used.
At some point you are going to need your best player to get his ass inside and get you a bucket, that's where Sochan will need to be able to stretch the floor.
Chris Paul has helped activate Sochan, too. He's a phenomenal cutter. Once Paul moves on, we need players who can find him.
Those two are not mutually exclusive. This would be Barnes territory.
Are you implaying Barnes would be out there in the court instead of Sochan? Then Jeremy can't be the guy many seem to project he can be, if he can't stay out there in crunch time, tbh.
There’s a lot of factors to consider. Every game and match up is different. I completely understand the concern around his shooting but there are ways to get around that while still getting a net positive from Sochan. We’re somewhat seeing that now. They’re working around it effectively.
The whole thing is strange though. The hitch is weird. I don’t know why this even exists or why it can’t be fixed.
tbf his 3pt stroke didn't look as bad as usual in the last 3 games.. even though he made none
He hit a big 3 vs the Hawks and then in and outed one. His form looks horrible though.
I've always liked Sochan, but I hate watching him pass the ball to the PG before they cross mid-court.
I wondered if I was the only one screaming at the screen as he continues to make this mistake that 5th graders usually master!
Agree, though, he's got a lot of great qualities. Could become an Artest-lite kind of player and I see him as more of a 3 than a 4.
He's a palm shooter vs using fingertips, developing any touch will take a long time.
Anybody got $1,100 I can borrow tbh.
He got injured today against LAC again. Previously he hurt his left hand against LAC as well.
LAC is cursed man
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