I've grown to love how he is working on his game. Also grown to love how he swallowed his pride and decided to go under hand FT shooting unlike other bigs we've had. Is he on the level of Rick Barry underhand shooting? I'm serious
Dunno. The key measurables I look at is standing reach and no-step vertical reach because these are the two primary measurables that cause finishers to change their shots and miss. Nanu's standing reach is between 9' and 9'1". That's very mediocre for NBA bigs and usually your dominant defensive bigs have 3-6 inches more vertical reach. His no-step max vertical reach is 11'4". That is also 2-4 inches less than most of your great defensive bigs. Hence my questions. I've seen enough of him play that I think he could develop into a great backup big. Have to see more of him at NBA level to feel comfortable he can be more than that. But I really like his game. Those little jumpers IN THE PAINT are great high percentage looks and are shots that are becoming more wide open as the league continues to gravitate towards Morey ball. I think the little 8-10 footer is actually a very efficient look when the D is playing for the layup/dunk. Absolutely love what he's doing at the FT line too. If he could bump his percentage up to mid 80's and get a little more crafty in drawing fouls he could become quite the offensive weapon when you consider his passing. Defensively I really like that he swipes low before contesting high. That's great stuff and very distracting to the shooter. You don't swipe to steal. He swipes and stays away from the reach but he distracts the shooter enough time cause the shooter to contort and change rhythm. Love that stuff. And finally the man has a naturally big body. He's got a big skeletal with good meat. He ain't no string bean penny loafer. He doesn't have the elite length of a great defensive center but he has great bulk. Takes up a lot of space. And can wear some boys down by putting his body on them for 30 minutes. As far as the draft express numbers being his true measurables, it's the forwards that like to disguise their true length in favor of making their vertical leap appear greater. But centers want to show more length than they actually have because their draft position somewhat depends on them being bigger. In other words they are marked down if they don't hit 9'3" standing reach or better or 11'6" or better no-step vertical. So if Nanu's numbers are fudged, they are likely fudged long, not short.
Size measurements comparable to Onuaku, age 20 (in the Draftexpress Measurements history) Al Horford (draft age 21) Emeka Okafor (draft age 22) Maybe the most interesting comparison is to put him next to Nene (draft age 20). Nene Hilario - 2002 6' 9.25" height (with shoes 6' 10.25") 253 (weight) 7' 4.5" (wingspan) 9' 1" (reach) Chinanu Onuaku - 2015 6' 9.25" height (with shoes 6' 10") 246 (weight) 7' 2.5" (wingspan) 9' 1.5" (reach) It looks to me like he has a lot of room to grow and develop. We won't see the peak of his athleticism for 2-3 years. He's obviously added more strength and explosiveness during this calendar year. We still list him at 6'9 245, but I'm skeptical about that.
Impressed with his jump shots. Did not know he had that to his game so I am now more intrigued. Could be a solid NBA backup C. He is still young, wonder if he is still growing. Has a big frame.
Last night was another step forward for Onuaku: 33 Minutes 24 Pts (9-11 FG 6-7 FT) 8 Reb 6 Assists 4 Steals 5 Blocks. The assists, steals, and blocks are really exciting. . . Looks like a team leader . . . He's showing his first step now and that he can put on the floor. And you have to see his play-of-the-night, self-alley-oop to seal the win.
Glad he's been productive and progressing. I did see some things that were concerning, though. CO made some blocks coming from the weak side, but he was out of position quite a bit. I noticed he grabbed a couple of boards purely due to a height advantage, he did not box out at all. The defense was porous on a couple of his finishes around the basket, it wouldn't be that easy with the big club. Not trying to be negative, just stating what I saw. Passing looked solid. He should continue to grow with the added reps. Just not sure he's as close as some might believe.
he also thru up a 2 point, 4 rebound clunker of a game recently as well. http://stats.nbadleague.com/player/#!/1627778/gamelogs/
I saw that but I haven't watched any tape, so I don't really know what happened in that game. Onuaku started but played only 18 minutes. He went to the bench in the third quarter and did not return. I do think that Edy Tavares (7'3") [who I've written about already] matched up on him and that would have given Onuaku some new challenges. That Raptors team that beat the Vipers is pretty good.
Continues to be an interesting prospect with a high likelihood of being a meh backup center in 2 years... which is still decent for a 2nd round pick. What I don't like is he's getting blown by in the paint, and having to recover with shock blocking. I like to use both Asik & Chuck Hayes as examples of centers who moved their feet and used their body to swallow those driving lanes. Nanu is just turning his head left and right and having to recover with shot blocking.... shots he won't be able to block in the NBA. They also need to work over the Summer at some physical stretching and movement exercises to loosen this guy up. He's still very stiff looking when he run and moves around on both ends. But overall I think there is alot to like with what we've seen from both him and Wiltjer this year in the D-League. On a separate note, with Ryno going out with a back injury I'm wondering if Wiltjer & Nanu will get called up. Now is a good time to maybe throw Wiltjer out for 5 to 10 minutes to see what he can do. I think if Capela & Nene are healthy Nanu might as well just sit tight down in RGV until the Summer when its likely that Nene isn't resigned.
Not saying he's in the same stratosphere athletically, but his build and the way he carries himself reminds me of Dwight. In terms of skills it seems like he has decent touch and passing ability, which will serve him well here. I can see him fitting well into Nene's role over the next 1-2 years.
I'm glad he is making progress, but I wonder if he is 4 years older than his listed 20 years old age. Lateral quickness, and lack of explosiveness is a concern too. I do like his frame, and I think he can become a good backup center in a couple of years.
