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He showed some defensive trends and signals his first couple seasons but that seemed to fall off a cliff...got that 2nd contract and his effort on D cratered? Wonder if he knows his idol Kobe made 12 NBA All-Defense teams.
If Sochan learned how to shoot and make 3s with actual volume and good percentage then a lot of our issues would be fixed. Sochan would need to be at around 40% for me to even take him seriously as a shooter since literally all his 3 point shots are wide open and defenders don’t even run out to him.
But I might as well say that Vassell learned how to play defense in the offseason and becomes an all nba defender. Both have about the same probability of happening
He showed some defensive trends and signals his first couple seasons but that seemed to fall off a cliff...got that 2nd contract and his effort on D cratered? Wonder if he knows his idol Kobe made 12 NBA All-Defense teams.
If Vassell is still on the roster this coming season, Williamson will get on him about playing D.
Vassell needs to go from "I want to be the next Kobe" to "I want to be the next Nesmith".
Vassell with the right mindset should turn into a valuable complimentary player for Spurs. It's up to him to make that switch with the help of the coaching staff.
this is exactly why people don't put much stock in empty gym shooting workouts
I've had a gnawing concern the Spurs/Mitch will have Sochan earmarked as a starter going into this season. Assuming Castle is in the SL as well, that would make our starting lineup offensive potential seriously handicapped. Last year we already had the issue of going down 10-12 points in the opening 6 minutes quite routinely, it sucked playing from behind so often and the reason for that was the anemic offense that went through a lot of droughts.
I guess once we see where his extension comes in (or if it doesn't) we'll know more about which role the Spurs envision for him in the near future. Hopefully, its more of a 2nd guy off the bench role who could play 30 mins or 14 mins depending on match ups.
at least Sochan is already a better shooter than Westbrook
PHX needs to sign this man and reunite the Beal/Bestbrook Wizards asap.
That block was gold.
Sam Vecenie talks about Sochan's extension with his pal from 1h27min
Overrating him but his pal points the lack of shooting being an issue
They value him between 15-20M/year but clearly don't watch him much imo.
https://www.youtube.com/live/RbcsoD2...W1b2hSwIpbf8wh
Are we taking Ben Simmons? Sochan is >>> on top of better production, 6 yrs younger, a locker room guy, and seems motivated to improve his game. While Simmons seems content on where he is now, not seeing dawg in him .. such a waste of talent.
Open gym videos show that Knicks center taking harden dribble stepback threes. They're completely worthlessthis is exactly why people don't put much stock in empty gym shooting workouts
The Ben Simmons gym video comparisons need to stop. You can actually see changes/progressions in Sochan's jumper.
Ben Simmons videos are the joke because Simmons has been posting good looking jumpshot videos for almost a decade now, only to never translate it to actual games.
Something Kawhi said years ago which is pretty accurate - Kawhi said some players look great in practice, but they can't seem bring what they practice and do it in games. Kawhi said that is the difference between himself and a lot of other players that work on their game and look good in practice - he's able to bring/apply what he learns in practice and do it in actual games. That's how he was able to get so much better.
Last edited by Ice009; 06-25-2025 at 09:14 AM.
None of that matters when he refuses to shoot open 3s. His mindset is very Simmonsesque. Sochan can make all the practice shots he wants but he is clearly in his own head. It’s why he needs to be shooting from 4-15 feet every day instead of just 3s.
Aaron Gordon shot sub 30% his first three years in the league, made a breakthrough to 33.6% his fourth year. Let’s see how Sochan does in his fourth year. Btw in 12 years in the league only 2 years has Gordon shot an overall FG% as high as Sochan’s last year.
I believe Sochan is making great strides. But you can only buy the shooting once it happens in games consistently. The progress is visible though.
I'm not talking about the makes in the video, I am talking the progression from the hitch to now.
I would be worried if he was shooting with no hitch in practice and it appeared in games.
This was clearly a total restructure of his shooting mechanics and was going to take a few years.
It's not like Charles Barkley where at the driving range the hitch was gone and at the course it was there.
Again, has there really been any noticeable change to Simmons shooting mechanics since his rookie year?
Last edited by ace3g; 06-25-2025 at 09:58 AM.
This Aaron Gordon comp needs to stop, Gordon had a lot more skills is many areas than Sochan and was an athletic monster with way better handles and ability to create his own shot.
Sochan gets occasionally blocked by the rim ffs
The issues are way beyond his lack of 3pts shooting
I’ve only seen SHOOTING comps with their respective progress in their early years. Also, if he had that entire skill set you ascribed to him, Orlando never would have traded him. He was widely considered a bust at #2 overall, and his late career arc, like Westbrook’s, can be attributed to Jokic.This Aaron Gordon comp needs to stop, Gordon had a lot more skills is many areas than Sochan and was an athletic monster with way better handles and ability to create his own shot.
Sochan gets occasionally blocked by the rim ffs
The issues are way beyond his lack of 3pts shooting
I'm not saying Gordon was elite everywhere, just had (a lot) better athleticism and fundamentals than Sochan.
Spurs fans (not just ST) keep pushing those comp (like the Draymond one smh) as a copping mechanism, it seems to me.
You can use the same stupid comp with HOFers if you want also, you'll definitely find a specific area that gives you hope.
The issue (I have) with Sochan is that he's not limited in just one area that could require patience (his age seems to be him best skill), he's poor in a lot of areas and the perspective of him improving in all or even majority of them is very poor.
Even with a decent 3pts shot, he'd still be an issue in the passing dept, the own shot creation, the handles or the athleticism
Who knows I could eat my words if those stunning practices videos were, as many seem to think, a sign of a compete Uturn...
Sochan got the memo. His is the positional need and could determine his career playing long-term with Wemby IF he makes his shots. I’m rooting for him, as he is an above average defender and could really fit that big defensive stretch that has been elusive to Spurs.
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