Give me the long elite rim protector that also shoots 40% from 3P. Or the long explosive uber elite 3 level scorer and FT shooter that can switch 1-4. I want the 7'1 Unicorn or the 6'10 two way shooting guard.
[…] The most impressive part of the teenager’s game is his efficiency. Paolo is shooting 49.6 percent from the field with a 57.3 true shooting percentage. None of the other Duke one-and-done wings who have been taken in the top three in the past decade—RJ Barrett, Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, and Jabari Parker—marked that high. The key is how much better Paolo shoots from 2-point range: Duke One-and-Done Wings Player | Season | 2PA | 2P% Paolo Banchero | 2021-22 | 10 | 55.2 RJ Barrett | 2018-19 | 12.2 | 52.9 Jabari Parker | 2013-14 | 11.2 | 50.4 Jayson Tatum | 2016-17 | 8.6 | 50.4 Brandon Ingram | 2015-16 | 8 | 46.4 The difference is pretty obvious. He’s just a lot bigger than any of the players who came before him. That’s the elevator pitch for Paolo. What would happen if you put the polished offensive game of a guard into someone with the size of a center? Paolo knows how to use his physical advantage, too. He’s a capable outside shooter (31.8 percent from 3 on 3.1 attempts per game) who shoots well enough from the free throw line (75 percent on five attempts per game) to suggest that he’ll be able to stretch the floor in the NBA. But settling for a jumper bails out the defense when a player is as big and strong as he is. Banchero is at his best when he puts his head down and goes to the rim. He has a lower 3-point rate (the percentage of his shots that come from behind the arc) than any of his predecessors but Parker. His offensive dominance is somewhat masked by the talent around him. There are a lot of mouths to feed at Duke. Paolo starts next to another future lottery pick in freshman AJ Griffin as well as two more potential first-rounders in junior Wendell Moore and freshman Trevor Keels. Add another ball handler in sophomore point guard Jeremy Roach and it often feels like there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Paolo leads the Blue Devils in field goal attempts (13.1 per game), but Keels (10.6) and Moore (10.2) aren’t far behind him. Both also average more assists, an indication that they have the ball in their hands more often. What Coach K is still trying to figure out is how Banchero can impact the game when he isn’t scoring. He tried smaller lineups with Paolo at the 5 earlier this season to spread out the defense and get all of his best offensive players on the floor. Though he manages a block per game, the freshman is a guard at heart. He doesn’t have the instincts of a rim protector and prefers to play on the perimeter rather than anchor the defense. Coach K ended that experiment after an upset loss to Miami in early January when the Hurricanes sliced the Blue Devils up with back cuts. The playing time for his two traditional centers—sophomore Mark Williams and senior Theo John—has trended up in conference play since. Nor has Coach K used Banchero as a perimeter stopper. Moore, Keels, and Griffin have gotten the tougher assignments this season. Paolo is a good but not great athlete and he often seems to coast on that end of the floor. That’s common for big-time scorers early in their careers. Some grow out of it—some don’t. The good news is that he’s unlikely to be a net negative on defense. Even if he never becomes a stopper, Banchero is so big and fast that he should always be able to handle one of the forwards on the opposing team. There’s also a benefit just from having someone with his physical tools on the wing because of how much it shrinks the floor. Any team that drafts him will have a huge frontcourt. I’ve heard NBA scouts compare his defense to Tobias Harris’s. He’s not the tip of the spear for the 76ers, but he has played big minutes for one of the top defenses in the league over the past few seasons. Banchero’s value, at least early in his NBA career, will likely come from his offense. That brings us to his passing. He isn’t a black hole but he’s not picking apart defenses, either. He’s averaging 2.6 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game. Paolo doesn’t really make anyone better. He waits his turn to get buckets and expects everyone else to do the same. The most direct path for him to improve is to become better at setting up his teammates. He has the ability to be a good playmaker. He’s so big that he can see over the defense and make the right passes when he gets double-teamed. He’s also such a good scorer that passing should be easier for him than it is for most players. He doesn’t have to make something out of nothing. His mere presence on the floor distorts the defense and creates openings for everyone around him. There’s no one in college basketball who can guard him one-on-one. Banchero’s passing has improved during this season. He averaged 2.1 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game in their 11 nonconference games and 3.6 assists and 2.8 turnovers in their first nine ACC games. Handing out more assists doesn’t mean much if you are also turning the ball over more often. But the fact that Paolo’s assist-to-turnover ratio is increasing shows that he’s making better decisions with the ball. If Paolo doesn’t play center on defense, then he’ll have to find ways to play with a center on offense. It would be ideal if he were paired with a stretch 5, but those players are few and far between. Paolo isn’t a great 3-point shooter so he will likely have to make plays in tight spaces to score around the basket at the next level. It mostly comes down to mindset. Banchero, like every great scorer, can create a good shot for himself anytime he wants. But just because he can doesn’t necessarily mean that he should. It goes beyond even making sure his teammates stay involved in the offense. Involving his teammates will also make it easier for him to score. If the defense knows that he will pick apart a double-team, they will be less likely to send help. Playmaking could separate Paolo from Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith Jr., the two other top players in this year’s draft. He’s the best scorer of the three so it should be easier for him to leverage that ability to make his teammates better. But if all he’s going to do is get buckets, then it puts a ceiling on his game. There is no question that Paolo will be a great scorer in the NBA. That was clear from the moment his time at Duke began. His passing will determine how great a player he becomes.
I'd like more than a 3&D player to install into this offense. The way Banchero commands an offense and runs a team is impressive. His defense while not on the same level as the other guys isnt as bad as its presented in these debates. Last possession of a game you can hand the ball to Paolo and ask him to win you the game ... you'd have to set up the other two guys for that moment. For the record both Chet and Jabari will have great careers. Their specialties are things teams need in defense and shooting. I just think Paolo brings way more to the table on offense and am willing to give him time to improve his defense as he has the tools and projects to be a decent defender at the next level. I guess I want the 6'10/250 PG.
This isn't a compliment.... Tobias Harris is a bad defender and the reason he is on one of the top defenses in the league in Philadelphia is because he has had 3 of the top 10 defenders in the NBA sandwiched next to him. You could put Simmons/Embiid/Thybull next to me and I my 40 year old ass would look good. Had the Rockets drafted Barnes or Mobley like they should have, then the Rockets could go out and draft Banchero, who is a very good offensive player. However they cannot afford another mediocre defender. Having Banchero/Sengun/Green on the floor together would be a defensive disaster.
Banchero will likely be an all star level player similar to Glenn Robinson.... a really good player, and maybe a perennial all star if he learns how to pass and create for others. He is just a bad fit for the Rockets though because of decisions that they made in the draft in 2021. The Rockets at this point are basically forced to take a plus defender, and ideally one that is a team defender as well.
This is how many bad draft decisions are made, take bpa every single time. If you think a championship team is being built around our current roster and we should draft worse players to “fit” then then lol to the max now all this is a moot point bc we’re gonna end up with pick #4 or something
bpa available is always and will be relative. everyone thinks so and so is the bpa for various reasons. It's all a risk regardless
I could not disagree more that Banchero is better perimeter defender than Chet. Chet is not a great perimeter defender but he is better than Banchero. And there is no doubt that Chet is the better rim protector. And Sengun and Paolo are not a fit on offense either because Banchero is best near the basket just like Sengun. And Banchero is nowhere near the spacer/3ball shooter as Chet or Jabari.
Yeah I don’t agree with that tweet at all. Chet isn’t even a bad perimeter defender, he’s above average there too.
Definitely Chet is a miles better defender in every aspect. I still like Banchero I think he has IT in terms of scoring play making. Just want to know what pick we get already
Chet just, to me, has the most potential in this draft to be be a franchise changing player. High upside on offense, and will already be highly effective on defense as an elite rim protector. Too many people here are worried about fit, if Rockets land a top 3 pick you worry about picking the best player. I really feel like in 3-4 years everyone will feel like Chet was the obvious pick and wonder how anyone could not see that, however I really do like Jabari too and he would be a excellent consolation prize.
Fearing Houston may be stuck with Paolo at #3. That could be two years straight of Kings-like losing and getting nothing for it. Imagine getting De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley in back-to-back drafts...
Show me one instance of nitpicking Holmgren to death? My only question about Holmgren is can he be the centerpiece of an offense, and I have said I don't and will wait and see. You are just randomly negative about Banchero because for some reason you need to defend Chet at every turn, it's weird, man.
