Page 2 of 14 FirstFirst 12345612 ... LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 329
  1. #26
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    Player comps are comprehensive. If you want to cut the player in half, it should be stated: his OFFENSIVE comp is...
    This was the post:

    I struggled to find a good comp for Poku before. But now I think I understand who he reminds me of. He moves like Jamal Crawford on the court, with a shamelessly high tendency of throwing up WTF threes (half of which were way off).

    Adding strength will do nothing for Poku on offense. Not when the thing he loves most is shooting 3s. He will occasionally post up but that's not his game. He would thrive under a coach that would give him free reign on his 3s, someone like D'Antoni or Steve Kerr.

    The problem with putting Poku on a team with structure (or trying to have structure) is I don't think many coaches or teammates in the NBA will put up with the bull of running full court to run a set on offense only to have a dumbass 3 thrown up and then running back full court to defense. That will tire your players quick.

    Off the ball, he doesn't really try to earn his 3s. He hovers a lot on the 3 point line waiting for the ball to be passed to him. He would be a great fit for the Rockets because of this. Reminds me of Bertans in this regard. But I think even Bertans did SOME movement off the ball.

    I didn't see much setting of picks. Again, I think he has a mind of a wing and that will be his role in the NBA on offense.


    On defense, my opinion remains largely the same. Adding strength will help here. I did notice that he gets some of his weakside blocks from completely leaving his man all the way out on the perimeter and staying inside the paint anticipating the ball handler. Kind of like when you play NBA 2k and you want to be greedy and get a block to pad your stats so you think the computer is dumb enough not to pass it to the man you left because the player animation is already doing a layup. This won't fly in the NBA for Poku.

    The text in bold was speaking of offense only, while the paragraph below in italicized text describes his defense.

    I'll take accountability of this for next time and provide more clarity.

  2. #27
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    I think this is where the confusion begins.

    When I made the Crawford comp, I didn't think of any negative aspect of Jamal. I was strictly looking at three things: body movement, tendencies, move packages.

    Even when you look above, timvp's instant reaction was that having a similarity to Jamal is a good thing because of his size.

    Rarely when I make a comparison is it ever centered on production. There are too many factors that affect production.

    Maybe my mistake was that I didn't offer a defense comparison for Poku. I'll try to do that shortly.

    I don't believe it's as simple as a prospect being a version of any NBA player. There's only bits and pieces.

    On a side note: who did I compare Diaw to recently???
    I remember now: it was ALSO Poku before I found the footage in my initial post in this thread. Here is where I say that: https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/sho...=286832&page=4

    I think that comparison still applies.

    In fact, a more complete image of Poku's offensive game would be described like this:

    Jamal Crawford's body movement/ language, speed, 75% of his dribble move package, some of Diaw's shot+layup package as well
    Stephen Curry's shot tendencies on the 3 point line (maybe even more exaggerated)
    with Boris Diaw's vision for passing

    I think Poku's flashy passing may overstate his potential production on that end. Just because you're flashy, doesn't mean you're going to average 5+ assists per game. I'm not sure if Poku is going to be a primary ball handler for an NBA team. Probably going to be a secondary ball handler. Very few wings are ever the primary ball handler for their team.

    R. DeMurre

    I advise anyone who still struggles with my Jamal Crawford comparison to please watch the two videos in my initial post. One with Poku and one with J. Crawford.
    Last edited by Dejounte; 09-14-2020 at 02:31 PM.

  3. #28
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    I dug a little deeper on the "5+assists thing" and I'm always willing to admit when I'm incorrect.

    Here are the wings and bigs averaging more than 4.8 assists per game:

    Kawhi Leonard
    Domantas Sabonis
    Bam Adebayo
    Joe Ingles
    DeMar DeRozan
    Giannis
    Jimmy Butler
    Draymond
    Devin Booker
    Nikola Jokic
    James Harden
    Luka Doncic
    LeBron James

    So, in today's NBA it's definitely in the realm of possibility that Poku can average 5+ assists per game, provided he 1) reaches his potential and 2) a team is willing to give him that many touches. HOWEVER, I still think he loves to chuck it up more than he loves to hand out assists, hence the low number of assists per game in the Greek A2 league. Poku's biggest enemy is himself.

  4. #29
    Veteran R. DeMurre's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Post Count
    3,573
    God... you're reaching DAF levels of annoying. How can I make this any clearer... my initial post was focused on OFFENSE. Jamal was an OFFENSIVE PLAYER comparison.

    I even stated in the post that was quoted "OFFENSE ONLY".

    Why am I being taken out of context and accused of cherry picking?
    There are times in that video where Poku is playing like Bill Walton at UCLA, working the top of the key and passing nicely to cutters. That's something Crawford would never do. They are many other times where he's the initiator of the offensive sets a la Jokic, there are offensive rebounds, there are interior passes where he draws the bigs away from the basket by his presence... I just see so many examples of an offensive game that seems not comparable to Crawford.

  5. #30
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    There are times in that video where Poku is playing like Bill Walton at UCLA, working the top of the key and passing nicely to cutters. That's something Crawford would never do. They are many other times where he's the initiator of the offensive sets a la Jokic, there are offensive rebounds, there are interior passes where he draws the bigs away from the basket by his presence... I just see so many examples of an offensive game that seems not comparable to Crawford.
    See post I made above.
    Also, I think Crawford's vision is being underrated here because of his reputation as a chucker. You can be a chucker and a passer.

  6. #31
    Veteran R. DeMurre's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Post Count
    3,573
    See post I made above.
    Also, I think Crawford's vision is being underrated here because of his reputation as a chucker. You can be a chucker and a passer.

    I'm happy to agree to disagree. Most of the three point attempts in that video look like good shots against shorter defenders who have no chance of blocking or altering them. Sorry, I just don't see chucking. I see a high IQ and mostly good decision making with some youthful flaws of trying to do a bit too much sometimes, like trying to force passes in between defenders, but mostly his passes are pretty simple ones to open guys that he sees over shorter defenders. I put Crawford in a category with Lou Williams or DeRozan, putting up flashy numbers that are the result of a high Usage rate that ultimately don't translate as the work of a first option in an efficient offense. I see Poku as a guy content to be a facilitator that doesn't lead the team in FGA per minute.

  7. #32
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    I'm happy to agree to disagree. Most of the three point attempts in that video look like good shots against shorter defenders who have no chance of blocking or altering them. Sorry, I just don't see chucking. I see a high IQ and mostly good decision making with some youthful flaws of trying to do a bit too much sometimes, like trying to force passes in between defenders, but mostly his passes are pretty simple ones to open guys that he sees over shorter defenders. I put Crawford in a category with Lou Williams or DeRozan, putting up flashy numbers that are the result of a high Usage rate that ultimately don't translate as the work of a first option in an efficient offense. I see Poku as a guy content to be a guy that doesn't lead the team in FGA per minute.
    That's fine.

    I just think if he was this a flawless prospect who just has "youthful flaws", he would be the #1 pick.

    We will see in a couple years whether on the Spurs or another team.

  8. #33
    Veteran exstatic's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Post Count
    40,360
    That's fine.

    I just think if he was this a flawless prospect who just has "youthful flaws", he would be the #1 pick.

    We will see in a couple years whether on the Spurs or another team.
    He’s not flawless. He’s just got a really robust well rounded game for an 18 YO. He needs to be picked by the right team to reach his potential. If Phoenix or Sacto pick him, his chances of success plummet.

  9. #34
    Veteran R. DeMurre's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Post Count
    3,573
    That's fine.

    I just think if he was this a flawless prospect who just has "youthful flaws", he would be the #1 pick.

    We will see in a couple years whether on the Spurs or another team.
    I've never said anything remotely like flawless... his FG%s are low, he lacks strength, his ability to guard one on one against perimeter players is shaky, he avoids physical contact near the basket... I see plenty of flaws, and the main thing leading the way for him in the next three years will be his level of dedication, adaptation, and intensity-- all of which I know absolutely nothing about at all.

  10. #35
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    He’s not flawless. He’s just got a really robust well rounded game for an 18 YO. He needs to be picked by the right team to reach his potential. If Phoenix or Sacto pick him, his chances of success plummet.
    What do you personally think his flaws are?

  11. #36
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    I've never said anything remotely like flawless... his FG%s are low, he lacks strength, his ability to guard one on one against perimeter players is shaky, he avoids physical contact near the basket... I see plenty of flaws, and the main thing leading the way for him in the next three years will be his level of dedication, adaptation, and intensity-- all of which I know absolutely nothing about at all.
    Sorry for misinterpreting you.

  12. #37
    Veteran exstatic's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Post Count
    40,360
    What do you personally think his flaws are?
    He needs to tighten up his handles, but that can be problematic at 7 ft. You can only dribble the ball so low at that height. That’s a good problem for a seven footer to have, though. He has the same issue that Lonnie had when he was in college when he shot 34% from beyond the arc: great form, but questionable shot selection. Since Lonnie shot 38% and 40% his first two seasons, I’m pretty sure this will resolve itself. TaT thinks so, too. They project him as a 37% NBA 3 point shooter. He, of course, needs to add strength and weight. He’ll likely never be a great one on one defender, but if he can be a good to great team defender, and create defensive events like blocks and steals, he can be an effective two way player.

  13. #38
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    Those stats are terrible, esp in the league he is in
    Those stats are better than what the soon to be B2B MVP Giannis put up on the same league, tbh.

  14. #39
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    Imagine being such a biased obsessed little that you compare Pokusevski to Jamal Crowford, and when people call you out on your re ed take you try to act as if you weren't blatantly trying to diss the guy

  15. #40
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    Imagine being such a biased obsessed little that you compare Pokusevski to Jamal Crowford, and when people call you out on your re ed take you try to act as if you weren't blatantly trying to diss the guy
    Imagine trying to butt in an adult conversation. You're out of your league, boy.

  16. #41
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    Those stats are better than what the soon to be B2B MVP Giannis put up on the same league, tbh.
    Layman takes for everyone! DAF to the rescue with his oversimplified piece of takes.

  17. #42
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    Imagine trying to butt in an adult conversation. You're out of your league, boy.
    I already told you, I'm done trying to keep it civil with your re ed ass. you and your federal disability checks you ing moron.

  18. #43
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    I already told you, I'm done trying to keep it civil with your re ed ass. you and your federal disability checks you ing moron.
    I heard the angry typing sounds all the way from over here. You need a new keyboard, you worthless piece of .

  19. #44
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    For anyone who hasn't seen anything about Pokusevski yet, don't believe the re ed Crawford comparisson. He's the complete opposite as an offensive player.

    For starters Poku doesn't overdribble which is Jamal Crawford's main flaw.

    Second, Pokusevski isn't a chucker. He takes over half his shots from the three point land but they are always taken within the flow of the offense. You will never see Pokusevski dribble the ball for 15 straight seconds without going anywhere just to chuck up a contested three, that's just not his game.

    Third, Pokusevski actually plays an efficient style on offense. Like I said before, he doesn't overdribble, he doesn't take bad shots, and he favours threes and rim attacks over midrange jumpers. He also makes people around him better with some great passing and vision. That's why despite turning the ball over quite a bit and having below average shooting numbers, his offensive metrics are still pretty good. He actually reminds me of rookie Manu a bit. Not great shooting %, some wild passes here and there, but anyone with a functioning pair of eyes realized the dude played a winning brand of basketball.

    He is nothing like Manu at finishing around the rim though, he sucks on that area. He really needs to improve there.
    Last edited by DAF86; 09-14-2020 at 06:24 PM.

  20. #45
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    Imagine reading what this bag has to write when all he writes are broad and vague statements with little evidence.

    "Makes people around him better with some great passing and vision"

    "Anyone with a functioning pair of eyes realized the dude played winning brand of basketball"

    "The offensive metrics are still pretty good"

    Wow. 10/10. Great insight. Really proving you're not worthless there.

    "Poku isn't a chucker"

    Looks at game logs...

    Hmm....

    3 of 9 from 3
    1 of 6 from 3
    1 of 5 from 3
    2 of 8 from 3
    0 of 4 from 3

    Imagine how sad one's life must be to dehumanize the mentally disabled and use their status in life (especially when they were born that way) as some form of "insult" to people on the internet. We have a real tough warrior here, boys.

  21. #46
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    Imagine reading what this bag has to write when all he writes are broad and vague statements with little evidence.

    "Makes people around him better with some great passing and vision"

    "Anyone with a functioning pair of eyes realized the dude played winning brand of basketball"

    "The offensive metrics are still pretty good"

    Wow. 10/10. Great insight. Really proving you're not worthless there.

    "Poku isn't a chucker"

    Looks at game logs...

    Hmm....

    3 of 9 from 3
    1 of 6 from 3
    1 of 5 from 3
    2 of 8 from 3
    0 of 4 from 3

    Imagine how sad one's life must be to dehumanize the mentally disabled and use their status in life (especially when they were born that way) as some form of "insult" to people on the internet. We have a real tough warrior here, boys.
    Stop derailing every thread with your oversensitive obsessed ass. It's boring.

    You want a "non-vague" analysis? Here it is:

    OK, since this guy seems to be a very polarizing figure I'm gonna provide my in depth scouting report of Pokusevski, after having seen every full game of his I could find in youtube.

    PERSONAL INFO AND MEASUREMENTS

    Name: Aleksej Pokusevski
    Age: 18 years (Born on December 26, 2001 - barely elegible for the draft by a few days)
    Height: 7'0'' (although there are rumours that he has already grown 1 or 2 more inches)
    Weight: 201 lbs (also rumours that this has increased too)
    Wingspan: 7'3''
    Standing reach: 9'1''

    STATS

    Per game: 11 ppg - 8 rpg - 3 apg - 2 bpg - 1.3 spg - 40 FG% - 32 3PT% - 78 FT% - 23 mpg
    Per 36 minutes: 17 ppg - 12 rbpg - 5 apg - 3 bpg - 2 spg
    Advanced: 105.4 ORtg - 84.4 DRtg - 25 PER

    STRENGHTS (in descending order)

    1) Blocking: This is honestly the aspect of his game that surprised me the most. He looked like a prime Ibaka out there in the Greek second division league. Whenever he was in vacinity he either blocked the shot or altered it, very rarely did he get scored on. He gets blocks in all the varietes: chasing down a guy from behind, coming from the weak side, waiting as a rim protector in the paint, closing out shooters on the perimeter and, despite his lack of strenght, even when defending one on one on a guy that is trying to post him up. Besides his obvious advantage in length, Pokusevski displays deceptive leaping ability (specially from a standing still position) and just great position and feel for when going up for a block.

    2) Ball handling and coordination: Pokusevski isn't just one of those folks that displays "good ballhandling skills for a bigman" ala Anthony Davis or Nikola Jokic. No, he displays good ball handling skills, period. He looks like a 7 foot Kyrie Irving out there, doing behind the back and between the legs dribbles effortlessly. Dude has the ball on a string.

    3) Passing and vision: To go along with his ball handling abilities, Pokusevski has above average passing skills and court vision. He averaged 5 apg per 36 minutes on FIBA, where the assist keeping numbers are a lot less friendly than in the NBA. His assist to turnover ratio was 1.6 (again, would have been better with NBA style assist stat tracking). Very inventive and unafraid of making mistakes, both in the open field and in pick and roll situations.

    4) Rebounding: Same as with blocking, his length and deceptive leaping ability allow him to get rebounds at a great rate. Will win contested rebounds by volleyballing the basketball among enemies' hands. Inconsistent boxing out.

    5) Stealing: Length and feel for the game give him above average stealing skills. Agressive double teaming the ball carrier and takes gambles on passing lanes which, when it doesn't work, it leaves the team on a bad defensive postion.

    The combination of blocking, rebounding and stealing skills earned him all-defensive team honours from the website Eurobasket.com.

    6) Basketball IQ: Poku is definitely a thinker of the game. He's very vocal too. Despite being only 18 years old, and by far the youngest player on the squad, he was constantly seen directing traffic both on offense and defense.

    WEAKNESSES (from worst to not so much)

    1) Strength: Without a doubt, Pokusevski main concern. Still very young and will undoubtebly put on some more mass in a couple of years, but will it be enough to hang on the NBA? Not exactly the biggest of frames to fill up. Has narrow shoulders.

    2) Finishing: For such a talented player, he misses an alarming amount of shots near the rim. Some of them are explained because of the lack of strength previously mentioned, but other times he just lacks touch.

    3) One on one defense: On the tighter, less talented courts of the Green A2 league this didn't prove to be a major issue for Pokusevski, but on the NBA he will be seen as an easy prey both on the block with his lack of strength, and on the perimeter because, even though he has good overall mobility and coordination, he just doesn't put enough effort on bending those knees and moving laterally to stay with his man. Many times he would let the offensive player go past him so that he can then strip the ball from behind or block it at the rim. He won't be able to get away with that on the NBA.

    4) Unforced errors: Make no mistake about it, Pop would lose years of his life dealing with some of the mistakes Pokusevski would make if he ever got to coach him. For a guy that displays such high basketball IQ most of the time, he commits quite his fair share of boneheaded plays. His two most common infractions: turning the ball over by looking for the flashy pass instead of the efficient one, and getting lost on defense trying to go for the home run play. Luckily these are easy fixes that will come with maturity.

    5) FT rate: Dude just doesn't go enough to the line. Needs to learn how to use his body better when attacking the basket.

    QUESTION MARKS/NEUTRAL ASPECTS

    Shooting: Pokusevski displays a good enough form on his shot (aside from a weird leg movement he does from time to time) but still hasn't proved he can shoot at a high %. Despite shooting only 32% from three, he shoots a high volume on these (5 threes per game and 7 threes per 36 minutes. That's over half of his field goal attempts). Quick release. Will take threes from spot ups, off the dribble and even in catch and shoot situations coming off screens. This is an encouraging sign that paired with his already good FT shooting (78%) projects him as an average to above average shooter at the NBA level (his projected NBA 3pt% is 37%).

    As a side note, not a very good off balance shooter. It seemed like everytime he was forced to take and off balance jumper he would front iron it in an ugly way.

    Athleticism: Pretty much an average to slightly above athlete. Not overly fast, but not slow by any means. As already mentioned, deceptive leaping ability. Good coordination and mobility although not always makes the best use of them. And the aforementioned lack of strength.

    Body language: Dude displays a weird body language sometimes. One play he's all over the court creating havoc and the next he looks like he's barely even trying. Despite playing with great energy most of the time, he can be often seen with his hands on his knees and his head at legs level searching for air. Might need to work on conditioning.

    SO, SHOULD THE SPURS DRAFT THIS GUY?

    It all depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a guy that can start contributing right away and who is less of a risk at never stepping foot on an NBA court, then you might be better off looking elswhere. However if you prefer to go for the home run and a shot at drafting your franchise player for the next 15 years, then Pokusevski is definitely your guy. I would even argue that his ceiling is higher than the top prospects in the draft. If the Spurs were drafting in the top 4, then the risk of drafting Poku might be too much, but at 11 I feel like they are at the perfect spot for taking a flyer on possibly the most talented player in the entire draft.
    I know it isn't as detailed and evidence-ridden as "he reminds me of Jamal Crawford" or listing nit picked shooting numbers but it's something, tbh.

  22. #47
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    The Derail King becomes the Derail Police. How fitting. This loser forget all the times he's derailed a thread?

    Funny, he comes out swinging then a couple posts later pussies out by saying "oh, you're just derailing".

    Bonafide pussy.

  23. #48
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    The Derail King becomes the Derail Police. How fitting. This loser forget all the times he's derailed a thread?

    Funny, he comes out swinging then a couple posts later pussies out by saying "oh, you're just derailing".

    Bonafide pussy.
    Why am I pussying out? Because I don't feel like boring others with personal attacks they don't give a about? If you want me to insult you so much I can PM you some yous if you want.

  24. #49
    Veteran Dejounte's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Post Count
    13,594
    Why am I pussying out? Because I don't feel like boring others with personal attacks they don't give a about? If you want me to insult you so much I can PM you some yous if you want.
    Literally look at your earliest posts in this thread. "I'm done acting civil" proceeds to "bore others with personal attacks" and call people re ed. This is ironic that you're taking this stance now when you made a post like that. You're so conflicted with yourself. It's hilarious. Became a paper tiger just like that.

  25. #50
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Post Count
    44,651
    Literally look at your earliest posts in this thread. "I'm done acting civil" proceeds to "bore others with personal attacks" and call people re ed. This is ironic that you're taking this stance now when you made a post like that. You're so conflicted with yourself. It's hilarious. Became a paper tiger just like that.
    Yeah, for a post or two per time. Two pages of going back and forth insulting each other is boring for everyone involved and I don't feel like doing it. But I insist, if you feel like getting insulted just PM son and I'll take care of it for you, tbh.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •