I think OKC picking Chet is based their past history of surprising people. If they pick Banchero then its not a surprise cuz qnybody in the top 3 can go anywhere, really. If they pick Ivey or some other dude then thats just a waste since they could have traded down and still gotten their guy.
Yea I really like his ability to fit on any team at any time. If the Rockets were to trade for Kyrie, Jabari would be the guy. I think if you want to win sooner than later and trade for stars, Jabari should be the guy. I think he has the highest floor of the three and he will make the most immediate impact. If you draft Jabari you can build your team in infinite directions.
Presti is used to swinging for the fences. He drafted an undersized supposedly frail guy in KD. Did it again when he drafted Pokusevski. Presti is not scared of the moment and he understands that unicorns are not for the weak willed. "DON'T BE AFRAID TO GIVE UP THE GOOD TO GO FOR THE GREAT." John D. Rockefeller
Damn near impossible to not take the 6-10 guy that can see the floor and potentially control tempo, two things that Chet and Jabari WILL NEVER be able to do, and possibly the two most valuable things a player can do. A lot of damn people focus on defense and other things, but controlling tempo and seeing the floor at 6-10 is truly where unicorns are made. It doesn't come around very often. Take the big that drops to 3, and have a coke and a ****ing smile.
Agree with last sentence but if you still do not see how critical defense is after watching these playoffs then not sure there's anything more to say. Elite defenders are real and more rare than shot creators or playmakers.
It was just an anecdotal graphic about guys who were physically built the same. I dont disagree that Chet brings more to the table than those other guys mentioned. Personally I think Chet is going to get beat up a bit to begin with. He'll have to find a way to navigate the court without too much contact. Dude also hits the deck a bunch and some of those look awkward and painful. Get him to fall "right". Interesting twist you add about comparing historic guys to the players in question it had me thinking how many players 6'10 or taller had 3+ assists as a true freshman like Banchero? List cant be too long.
It was an interesting list, and surprised me a little that there weren’t more successes in there. Kevin Garnett missed inclusion by 1 pound. I remember Yao ending up on the floor a lot his rookie year. He eventually figured it out and got acclimated. You’ve just got to do enough things right to stay on the court in order to work through the rest. I have my concerns about his durability, but I’d still take him if he fell to us.
Celtics have been a good defensive team for years now but they have never been THIS good. I'm sure their new coach has a lot to do with this. They're good defenders but even good defenders can have lapses at times. The Celtics are so commited to playing elite defense that they happen extremely rarely. Sign of a good coach imo.
well this is the first time they've had an established frontcourt of williams who is a full time starter for the first time and horford who is obviously been a plus defender. Then you add in full time starter smart who is your dpoy. I'd say it speaks more to the lineup of plus defenders across the board more than the coach. That 5 man lineup is capable of so many defensive sets and switches. And with the dpoy as your captain defensively, they give teams fits. that's why they match up better than anyone else in the league with GS
I don't think there's much concern about them being able to fit on the offensive side. Its defensively that there are concerns .... Can Paolo defend 3's? (That's where his advantages are offensively) .... Can Sengun improve his 3 ball & stay with 4's defensively and who's your 5 because it's not either of them in the long term.
Stevens had Timelord for several years but never committed to him preferring to start Theis instead. I agree that having as many elite defenders on team is HUGE factor but coaches matter too.
Of course coaching matters but a coach is still only as good as the players he gets to play with. Williams has had injuries also that has kept him from being the starter he is now, so that should be accounted for. And we see Williams isn't even healthy now and playing through a ton of pain for months. Boston is an elite defensive team because they have a plethora of plus defenders, all with size, length, and toughness.
Also interesting to know that if Ivey is the guy they will pick him at #2 Maybe thunder don't want to risk trading the #2 to the kings so they can pick Pablo before us.
Paolo Banchero has been the biggest prospect that the Rockets have either interviewed or worked out so far. This shows how much interest they have in him. I don't think Ivey is on their list so far. @ApacheWarrior
