Now if he could just learn to call out the refs' wives, mothers, and sisters as whores etc, then we'd be able to make the comparison. In any case, we had a great draft, and this kid will sooner or later make a great impact.
There's an interview that Mike Schmitz had a great interview with Sengun during the draft process, talking with him for about 20 minutes through his translator. Schmitz starts with Sengun's athletic transformation over the last two years because Schmitz is one of the few guys in the world (along with Givony) that has really followed Sengun from his under-16 days. He's even impressed at how much Sengun's body has matured. During the interview, Sengun points out that he hasn't been playing the 5-spot all that long. This last year in Turkey was really his first full time to take that on. And even then, he's an undersized 5. Jokic is 284 lbs. Lopez (from Milwaukee) is 282 lbs. Gobert is only 243 lbs but has that insane 7'9 reach. In today's NBA, you can play a multi-skilled power forward at the center position. At present, I think he's got enough strength to bang and rebound in the post--and he'll even score against some elite guys like Karl Anthony Towns (6'11 248)--but Sengun will be swallowed by the bigger guys. His best plan will be to bring them out to the perimeter. He'll be much more effective in the high post when he adds additional range. But when Sengun gets a switch and has 5 inches on a guard in the post, Sengun will make them look silly (and might even dunk on them). The Rocket guards and coaches will soon learn that they have options, rather than just constantly playing a 5-out style. I was always a Capela fan, but he could never consistently post up smaller players. Steph Curry or even Lou Williams could discourage him in the post. Given the opportunity, Sengun will punish smaller guards and demand help (or risk getting guys in foul trouble). If they front him, he'll pound them on the glass. I'd start him out as a young backup center because the NBA season is long and grueling. We'll need a lot of patience to see things come together, but he's no Darko. There's too much film for him to be a flash in the pan.
An excellent post. Alperen has an intriguing all round game. He can bring the ball by himself in transition and he might be able to become a better passer with time. He's a quick learner. That's the most encouraging part about him to me. Patience is the key here for sure, off the bench. @ApacheWarrior
Darko Milicic tearing it up in Europe is a myth. He was decent, but not anywhere near Sengun's dominance. Darko Milicic stats his last year in Europe, in 2002-03: 9.5 ppg (47.6% FG, 20.0% 3PT, 67.6% FT) 4.6 rpg 1.6 bpg 0.8 apg 1.8 tov 0.4 spg
He did and I believe he deserved it. His poor defense did hurt the team, especially in the playoffs. Alperen needs to work hard on defense, to become an average defender. Can he gain speed to an acceptable level in the NBA is the key to his success. He is a hard worker. Right now, he is bit like Scola. That's okay for a 19 year. Addendum: Lateral quickness on the perimeter is his biggest weakness. Perhaps his buddy Usman Garuba can help him out with it in practice.
I think you've pretty much spelled it out. Frontcout defense and backcourt offense. Rare is the player that can play both ways, so you just need to make those things your priority and hope for the best.
Didn't see this posted yet, his Draft interview with Mike Schmitz. Usman being a beast defensively is perfect for the team long term.
Basketball has not changed, what has changed is that now we have this loud-mouth "intelligentsia" or "commentariat" consisting of mostly white nerds who have never played basketball and who drive narratives on blogs and podcasts. Rudy Gobert that you mentioned is some undisputed champ in some arcane bul$h|t numbers rankings that the "blog-boys" (h/t KD) revere, yet he doesn't have the respect of the NBA players, and as you say got completely wiped off the floor in the playoffs. Similarly according to the loudmouth narratives, foot-speed is some absolute "must-have" to play in the NBA... Except that last time I checked the MVP of the league is Nicola Jokic and Brook Lopez is a World Champion. Basketball is basketball, it hasn't changed much, basketball skills still matter more than foot-speed, wingspan or standing reach. This is just BS noise from people who don't understand the game...
I mean that too. A player who has been in the league for so many years and has signed a contract to earn 42 million dollars a year must also have advanced offensive skills and should not have this contract only with his empty defensive statistics. I don't care with how many blocks, how many steals, how many rebounds he plays because he is a black hole on offense. Now some people say that the post game is worthless, but you can see how much trouble Gobert had on offense because he can't play a post game. When you play in the play-offs, you cannot play on a game based only on three-pointers and p&r. Mid-range, post games and even isolation are always necessary. People who say these are unnecessary and outdated are wrong. This season was the most obvious example. Utah, what had been choking their opponents with three points all season, was eliminated by the Clippers. There was even no Kawhi. Because if you try to shape your game by saying that only three point shots are important, post game is a thing of the past, you will be wiped off the court in the face of the measures taken against you. When Doncic was drafted, people who thought he was coming from Europe and he couldn't do anything here, they were completely wrong because they believed in stereotypes. Doncic said after coming to the NBA was, "In Europe, the court is smaller, and here there is the three seconds rule. I think it’s easier to score here." Someone who has played in Europe and the NBA says this and people stay against him saying no, the NBA is tougher. Same mistake made for Jokic. When Jokic came into the league, he was the Serbian League MVP and no team selected him until the end of the 2nd round. Maybe 5-10 years from now, we will talk about the same mistake made for Sengun. Because opinions based on stereotyped prejudices will never end. What you said is correct.
I was just about to ask him to produce these stats where he tore up his league lol. Btw how are those numbers even decent?
I like your username. Welcome! You'll find us to be like your family. Some f us you will like and some: "Oh, God, here comes cousin Eddy....:
I queued it up for a rebound, but if you go forward to @4:30 you'll see some clips of him getting the ball and taking it up court. I don't know if it's exactly what you're wanting to see, but it's in the ballpark at least: Here is Usman's film breakdown of himself:
