I like him, think he has the highest BBALL IQ on the team, but he is not a great athlete, so he could be anywhere from a 6th man role to a starting all star, it will all depend upon him. DD
nice job covering all the bases...almost any player in nba now could end "anywhere from a 6th man role to a starting all star," and "it will all depend upon him." LOL
Sengun criticism is allowed. Comparing two players who mostly have nothing in common other than being white, not so much! Sengun is 20. Almost no player dominates Europe at 20. If he dominated Europe at 20 he would go much higher in the draft, naturally. So when I see bullshit, I call it. Scola DOMINATED Europe, right!
I respect your takes. There are some here who don’t like any criticism when it comes to him. I’m excited just to see what these guys do with extended minutes
I think there is more to him not playing, seeing the videos of coach Lucas trying to get him conditioned makes me feel like he was not conditioned to play, he was running out of breath and Gerald Green was the player dev coach just running circles around him. They were doing this drill with just he and Gerald, not the whole team, so there is probably something there. He often looked out of breath when going to the bench last year, I think Coach Silas mentioned his conditioning as well, I doubt Silas would intentionally hold him back when his job will eventually be on the line.
The chief concern with Sengun is the lack of physical dominance in any area that sets him apart from his peers. A lot of people compare him to Jokic for example, but even if we take away his shot or assume Sengun develops one of his own, Jokic is an absolute unit of a human specimen. Opponents who back down Sengun with absolute impunity can only dream of doing the same to Jokic. He also can't jump out of the gym like Hakeem, create tidal wave with a drop step like Shaq, or gallop like a gazelle like Giannis. These are very real physical barriers that separate stars from their mortal peers. Getting some range by developing a jumper can help Sengun close some of that gap, but unless he has some dominant physical prowess that no one has seen yet, that wall that is stardom is hard to overcome.
Well it is true, guys with his BBall IQ belong in the league but they don't all make it, Papanikolou from Greece today is an example of that - Rubio was a guy who did make it, but not as a star player. Guys with super high IQ can usually find a role, but very few of them that lack athleticism ever break out into stardom, Jokic being the exception and his size helps, If Sengun was 7'1" or taller like Yao Ming it would mitigate the lack of athleticism somewhat. DD
Rubio? And Scola did dominate international play - being from Argentina he wasn't in the Euros (so amended my post, as I was referencing his play in International which is the same as Euros etc....World cup etc), the point was that Luis could be "THE GUY" on an international stage and dominate, but he was only a very good role player in the NBA..... The comparison between Luis and Al P is a compliment, Luis is one of my favorite all time Rockets.....but Alp needs more to his game to really take off.....and yes, he has plenty of time to get there being only 20. DD
Going back to basketball, it is going to be a whole different year. I am excited to see how he will do in the first unit. I am hoping for a more dynamic, energetic team on defense, which would help Sengun massively. And he has a lot to develop offensively. We'll see how it goes. The only thing I would be really sad about is if Silas cannot find a way to use his passing skills. That would be very sad. Especially after watching today's game. He finds cutters, open guys at the perimeter so naturally and easily.
I don't think physical dominance is a must to be a star. Smart and skills can carry you a long way. Sengun needs to play smarter. He looks smart on the court because he can do those jaw dropping passes and he can fake you out of your socks in the post. But those are more innate talent than mental smart. The good news is, on court smart can be learned. And I think he has the right mindset to learn. It just takes time. If (a big IF) he develops a 3pt or middy shot, he can be a star level player regardless of his physicality. People scorn at the Scola comp. But I think the comp is about the lack of physical dominance. Sengun is actually more athletic than Scola. They both have good footwork. What is unfair is that Scola was much more polished by the time he was a star in Europe. Sengun is still so young. And most importantly, Scola's midrange is money. Being able to shoot is an absolute must for guys who don't have freakish physical abilities.
For euro/international players, it makes a huge difference if they come early in the league or not. It is very hard to stick in the nba if you are a latecomer, although you built a good career in europe before coming. Your ceiling becomes considerably lower. That's why it is not very fruitful to project on Sengun by looking at players like Scola or Papanikolou. In that regard Doncic is very special. He has both career and experience from Europe and came to the nba very young. Sengun also has a bit of that. He has fair European experience and came into the league young. So if developed correctly and works correctly, his ceiling should be high, though he may not get there.
Let us be realistic here for a change. Remember that Sengun was only 8th in scoring last season. Just look ar his stats for last season, for a moment........ mins / game ---- 30mins / game Points.................9.6 / game F,G,%..................47.4% 3pts %................25% F.T.%...................71.1% Reounds............5.5/game Ast/GM...............2.6 per game Steals/gm..........point eight/ game, Blocks /Gm..............point nine/gm. Y B Blocks Blocks
Rubio was like a wonderkid who had speed, and amazing passing. But he did not dominate the game at all. He was not a scoring threat. As I mentioned in my other post, Scola came to the league late in his career. That makes a huge difference in ceiling setting. Because euro game is very different and you don't need to develop some parts of your game until you come to the US. And physical conditioning is different in the US too. You play more games etc. If you have access to these earlier in your career, that's a huge advantage. We don't know if Sengun will be THE GUY on international stage, because it will happen or not happen parallel to his career in the NBA, unlike Scola who established himself before coming to the nba. That's why i do not find that comparison useful.
One more slight worry is that AlP will be overplayed by Turkey like Yao was with China.....this was like his 3rd game in 3 days...... And he is not really working on the new skills he will need for the upcoming season in Houston by playing for Turkey. DD
It's a little ironic that your realistic stats start with 30 min/game. Did you know that Wall was last in scoring last season?
