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His build, mid range game, and finding his spots reminds me of Ro Blackman.
You mean other than his elite 3 point shooting? Because, if he’s got DD’s elite midrange game, plus a really good3 ball,I’m all over that
His build, mid range game, and finding his spots reminds me of Ro Blackman.
Well like I said I don't know much about him. He has elite 3pt shooting?
He shot a great percentage (40%) on a low amount of attempts. It seems like he is a little gun shy to take them, preferring to work in the mid-range.
I think saying he’s elite in that area is speculation based on a small sample size.
The Spurs team as a whole lacks athleticism and is well below the average of the league.
Branham fits with the overall team's lack of burst and athleticism but he should bring in some needed shooting.
Branham really has a lot of upside. As mentioned before, his stroke is sweet and he gets to his spots very well for a 19 yr old.
I wonder if he spends most of the season in the G-league to get a feel for the schemes the Spurs run and to get his head in the game defensively. Branham seems like he will figure out the offensive side of the NBA game sooner than most.
He is a bucket-getter and we all know how much we need that. The new NBA leaves the midrange shot more open than 3s and the paint. Pop has always sought midrange shooters.
It will be interesting to see how free agency plays out this week and what that means for the 3 newbies from the draft.
Personality-wise he seems like a real winner. It can't be understated how important this can be for guys who are together under intense conditions.
This is the only Spurs draft EVER where they picked the player that I wanted at each spot. Y'all can blame me if it doesn't work out.
Yeah, it's hard to project. He looks like a superb spot up shooter, but it's not totally his game right now. He also doesn't seem to shoot from really deep. So it'll be a matter of strengthening him to improve range and see if he can get comfortable shooting threes off the bounce or in movement. His proclivity is getting into the midrange.
He also shoots threes somewhat low, so I wonder if Chip will want to raise his shot.
not really though because his 3s are pure. Most of them are swishes that don‘t even touch the rim
I think it was Raphael Barlowe’s podcast where he said he heard Branham turned down open looks from 3 in workouts to get to his spot in the midrange. It’s weird. Does he do that because he’s not that confident from 3 or he’s hyper confident from midrange? Makes you wonder if he doesn’t shoot that well from 3 in practice but looked better in games because of the sample size.
I think his small sample size combined with his FT shooting is plenty of reason for optimism, but there are some questions regarding it.
Hard to tell if he'll adjust to the NBA game and/or how long it will take, but if he happens to step up and hit big shots as a rookie, he's gonna become such a fan favorite. That personality is just different.
I might agree with you if he didn’t shoot 83% from the FT line. There’s a strong correlation between those types of shooting. It’s good that he’s a 3 level scorer, but he needs to shoot more 3s. The shape and form of his NBA career depends on it.
He looks promising. I don’t see any way Lonnie is brought back. Malaki, by mid season when he’s acclimated, could be playing a decent role. It’s crazy how this draft had so few scorers, and then perhaps the best one falls into our lap.
Basketball is more than scoring, of course, but looking at how Branham improved over the year in percentages...
For the entire year he shot:
.498 fg%
.530 2pt%
.416 3pt%
His year changed when he dropped 35 on Nebraska in his 11th game. Taking out the first 10 (out of 32) games, he shot:
.527 fg%
.566 2pt%
.432 3pt%
Somewhat arbitrarily taking only his last eleven games, just after the last game in which he only scored in single digits, and these include three tournament games (Big10 included):
.559 fg%
.627 2pt%
.382 3pt%
(He also shot .851 ft%, above his season average of .833.)
So only his three pointers dipped, but that included an 1/6 game from beyond. Dropping that game, he's again around .413 3pt%. OSU won only about half those games, but they weren't excellent this year and they were hard games.
You can say he needs work on defense and will hopefully be above average. You can say he may not be the most productive in rebounds or assists. But it's hard to dispute his efficiency.
Following... In his last three games, in which OSU lost kind of embarrassingly to Penn State, beat Loyola of Chicago, and lost to higher seeded Villanova:
.557 fg%
.666 2pt%
.273 3pt% (two o-fers, 0/2, 0/1, then 3/8)
1.00 ft% (4/4, 4/4, 0/0)
17.7 pts, 3.6 rbs, 3.3 assts
Points 16, 14, 23 in that losing effort against a strong Nova team.
So... I'd say his shooting from deep is a slight concern. He clearly is more comfortable inside the arc and this may be the reason why he dropped. But his shooting numbers from there are kind of absurd. I do believe in his ability to stretch his range. If he does, he could be vicious.
Just wait till Pop breaks his confidence
When the compe ion elevated Branham averaged over 20ppg for the last ten games. Branham is the next Bradley Beal.
God damn Branham has a consistent smooth looking shot. It just looks effortless for him.
while Wesley is the most exciting rook for me, Branham looks to gain the most respect from other NBA players and hoop heads. The footwork is beautiful and we will probably see players 20 years from now try to model their game after him.
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