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Also i think theres a difference between scouting internationally and scouting in the NCAA. Youre most likely to be found out (if youre trying to do it discretely) overseas than you are in the NCAA.
I wouldnt say they completely ignored Kawhi. If it wasnt for Coach Cal we wouldnt know at all that they scouted Keldon. Cal revealed it just right after the bubble. There were no reports of the Spurs scouting Keldon leading up to drafting him (as far as im aware)
Also i think theres a difference between scouting internationally and scouting in the NCAA. Youre most likely to be found out (if youre trying to do it discretely) overseas than you are in the NCAA.
You base a lot of your analysis on what players do in the NCAA. Precious stayed in front of a guard! The reality is that on draft day, maybe 40-45 NCAA players will hear their names called, and the rest will drift off into obscurity. It’s not a great brand of b-ball. GMs lose their jobs for falling for the hype. Kids come into the NBA not really understanding how to set a mother ing pick. They know nothing about team defense, critical in today’s NBA.
Three things that absolutely project from one level to the next in b-ball are rebounds, steals, and blocks, and he does all of those.
They totally ignored Kawhi. What you think doesn’t enter into the equation. The only input they got was by discretely talking to Steve Fisher, his coach at SDSU. They weren’t even able to see him shoot until he got bored waiting for his turn to do a test at the combine. He picked up a basketball, and started shooting jumpers at the other end of the gym from where the players were being evaluated. Chip just happened to be there, even though Kawhi wasn’t scheduled to shoot for any teams, and took notes.
I didnt say everything players did in the NCAA was irrelevant, just that steals and blocks are. Steals and blocks are contingent on both sides: the player handling the ball and the player defending the ball handler (and other variables like steals in the passing lane or weakside blocking which has nothing to do with 1 on 1 defense, that's team defense). The level of ball security outside of the NBA is so bad, that stats for steals and blocks are highly skewed. That's just a fact if you watch a full college or euro game. You see an enormous amount of extra passes, or a lot of miscommunication passes that lead to turnovers that lead to you being waived if you were on an NBA team.
We are going way off the topic here so let's end this trail soon... I consider "discretely talking to Steve Fisher" as scouting. You dont have to see a player live for it to be considered scouting. Also, you dont think the Spurs sent scouts to his college games and it went unreported?
Alot of the analysis I make when I evaluate players is watching what they do in college and asking myself if they can do that in the NBA. If Precious can stay in front of a quick guard in college, he likely can stay in front of a slow guard in the NBA (if everything is bigger and faster in the NBA). That is why it is important to note such things, because I surely havent seen that ability from most of the prospects I've watched.
Listen, I honestly like what ive seen from Poku so far and would put him in my tier 2 list. Having a Boris Diaw on this team would be useful.
Aleksej appears to play like he's "grounded" like Boris. Like he's playing on Jupiter gravity.
Damn all this is making me miss Boris. What a fun player to watch.
Diaw's weight and mobility at that weight were critical to his game. Just being a big with a floor game and passing skills isn't good enough to clone Bobo.
Yeah im not saying theyre 1:1. There's shades of Diaw there. Especially the "dribble turn" move is almost identical. Also the form on the layup looks identical. Differences are obviously the strength, Poku cant post up like Boris did. But Boris' game evolved throughout his career. Poku is a bit like young Boris, who didnt have the weight and had more mobility.
Pokusevski doesn't have just a floor game though. Hence his shot blocking and rebounding prowess.
At 0:39, this is SUCH a Diaw move.
That's dead on. Boris had the court awareness of a PG in that big frame. He wasn't just a good passer for a big man - he was an elite passer for a big man. A lot of people either forget or never understood that he led the team in assists in that '14 Championship series. (Led both teams in AST, actually.) But he was also the second best rebounder (on both teams), just behind Duncan.
Maybe the point is that it's not about the absolute number of blocks and steals, but instead those numbers relative to the rest of the league in question. It's been a while since I have seen the analysis showing which stats tend to translate from NCAA and other lower leagues to the NBA, though.
Check the game I posted of Pokusevski. He displays the same elite vision and passing.
Seriously folks, if anyone has the time you should check that entire game of Pokusevski. He does some really special things. Many of which don't even show up in the box score. Advancing through the death time and the moments Pokusevski is on the bench, it doesn't take more than half an hour.
I don't disagree. Boris was elite in passing. That's why I miss watching him play. Let's wait a few years for Poku to show us if he is anywhere around that level.
I'll watch it. Boris was almost unique in his combination of skills and size. Pokusevski (he really needs a nickname) wouldn't have to be that to make an NBA squad. I haven't looked that deep at him, just because he's so light for his height. But I have to admit that the clips show some good passing, and he runs the floor like a damn gazelle.
There were several guys last year that I would have liked to see the Spurs take, who were destined for early second round picks. He could be one of those. If he is still on the board at 41, and they could put him in Austin for a year?
Unless his medicals are absolutely god-awful, I don't see him falling into the second round or close to it - especially in a draft with as much uncertainty as this one. Not a chance some team at the 20's doesn't fall in love with his upside and gives him a shot, I could especially see a team like the Raptors doing it since they have no urgent need for him. Though I do agree that taking him at 11 feels like an absolute reach, to me at least.
When I first started paying attention to the whole draft thing he was a second rounder. Then he jumped to the late first round, then to the mid first round, and now there are some rumblings about him being a top 10 pick (although probably he will be picked mid first). The Spurs would have to draft him at 11 if they want him. I would be willing to take the risk, tbh.
He was named to the All defense First Team in the league where he played, where he was one of the youngest players. His FG% was pedestrian, but almost every other stat-- rebounds, assists, steals, blocks-- were far above average. He's an incredibly smart shot blocker as a weak side helper. I agree that switching on smaller players would be an issue.
Boris Diaw is an interesting comp, but remember, before joining the Spurs Diaw wasn't always viewed so positively. With Phoenix, he was a guy without a position (before positionless basketball was so much in vogue) whose advanced stats were pretty average. With Charlotte, he was considered a guy with a terrible at ude who frustrated coaches and teammates by refusing to shoot. He hit his stride as Mr Versatility with the Spurs, but still wasn't much of a scorer. When Pop used him in limited minutes to defend LeBron, it pretty much shocked everybody as a reasonably successful strategy. They're obviously very different players, but the Diaw/Kirilenko/Giannis Lite comparisons make sense in terms of all around versatility, not so much as one-to-one similarities.
Last edited by R. DeMurre; 08-25-2020 at 12:28 PM.
Actually, it worked out horribly, which only shocked people who thought you need to guard players with guys the same size. That's why Pop didn't do it in the Finals the next year. We're not even talking about a "Bowen checked Dirk" kinda thing where Dirk scored his average unbothered by Bruce's defense but still a comparable job to a generic big-man defender. We're talking about absolute abuse during that stretch.
Kinda off topic, I know.
I agree. I'm primarily looking at the way they move (defensive stance, first step, layup package, passing creativity) on the court and their tendencies (Poku shoots more 3s but if Diaw was in this era too he would probably do the same). Ive yet to listen to any of his interviews to get a read of where his mind is at.
Im really not sure how people are getting the Giannis comp though... Giannis has exceptional physical tools and he is fast. He gets his assists with bullet passes from the gravity he pulls in when he goes in for a drive. Poku doesnt do that at all. He is more of a craftier player and finds unique angles for passes.
Last edited by Dejounte; 08-25-2020 at 12:41 PM.
I don't remember it that way.
"James went 3-of-21 when guarded by Diaw last postseason and averaged 0.40 points per play (he averaged nearly 1.0 point per play against everyone else). Diaw’s size and speed created major problems for James. James was 1-of-6 posting up Diaw, 1-of-5 when driving on him and 1-of-10 when guarded by him outside 10 feet."
https://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/...s-top-priority
Last edited by R. DeMurre; 08-25-2020 at 12:57 PM.
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