I would not be surprised at all if the height and vert were somewhat overstated. He may be 6’9”, but I’d be surprised if he’s any shorter. Also, even if the vert is a little high, it’s still very obvious from his film that he’s not ground bound. He is not an explosive athlete, in the sense of “burst”, but I also don’t see a huge limitation there either. He’s big, strong and pretty fast and nimble. Given that none of those things appear to be a concern, I was mostly interested in his lateral speed and flexibility, especially on defense. Watching him, the defensive issues are almost all lapses, and not connected to his ability. He gets low, maintains contact with his lower body, and stays on his man when he’s engaged. I believe someone even had stats showing him as an elite ISO defender.
Thanks Shark. I'm a lot more comfortable seeing Banchero-Sengun play out rather than immediately dismissing it. It's kinda similar to how I see KPJ...see it play out before you move on.
Agreed completely. He’s a solid athlete. Far from a weak one. He accentuates he’s athleticism with some really nice skills. That’s the most intriguing part about him. Will it translate to the league? We will see
Fantastic analysis! I do think of the 3, Banchero may be the least obvious fit but perhaps the most talented. Shooting, length and defense are terrific and fit anywhere but Jabari has limitations until he develops handle, footwork, etc. Same for Chet, until and even IF he can develop physically his rim protecting and spacing have a limit. Banchero? Banchero is a terrific athlete, more likely to bully than to be bullied. He has handle and vision to pass. He has a mid-range bag and likely to develop a competent if not above average distance shot. His biggest knock is effort on defense? That's clearly and objectively the easiest fix of the 3. However, he does operate in a similar space as Sengun. My theory is Sengun was willing and able to play with Wood, feeding CW easy looks and putting in the effort to play defense. Does anyone feel like Wood shares the ball, gets guys open looks or puts in effort on defense? Despite being an above average shooter from 3, especially as a big, he has so little gravity. His drive is awkward and rarely led to kick-outs. I feel like Banchero is everything Wood isn't and a little more. He's big and strong. He's a complete offensive player. He passes. He has superstar potential. He'll give effort on defense, I'm sure of it. I think the fit is there too, despite not being obvious as a plug and play 3&D type.
I do think Alp and Paolo are similar and a bit redundant, but I also think they’re both high IQ players that should be able to elevate others around them. There’s enough difference to not be in each other’s way.
The Banchero Bus/Boat/Brigade has made the point about his defense as a relatively easy fix from the beginning, which I’ll admit I was skeptical of. There is a looooooong list of bigger forwards that either due to physical limitations or low commitment to the defensive side of the floor became big liabilities. It’s a worthwhile concern. I think you’d want to flesh that out in an interview. Find out how committed he is to fixing his flaws and being a more well rounded defender, because I don’t think his problems have much to do with physical limitations. To be clear, you CANNOT have a Harden-level defender at the 4. He must be better than that, just by the nature of the postion.
There is a real worry or should be rather, of Paolo getting heavy. If that affects his ability to move on the perimeter it would limit his upside.
Agree. I was just contemplating how comparisons aren't really a good way to view players (I do it all of the time). Everyone is unique, they may have certain skills that remind you of someone, but no one is a carbon cy of someone else. We make these comparisons to help us to relate to that player or project potential, but it's really a lazy form of analysis.
Agree with that last part. No comparison is perfect. We use them to give us a frame of reference on how a player can contribute, because we aren’t scouts or professional ball players that can read these things at deeper levels. Paolo is somewhat unique in that he has the look of a guy that plays downhill, but then throws in these clever post and elbow moves that keep you off balance. One thing I haven’t mentioned that stuck out to me is like Green, he is not a “dribble it into the ground” type guy. He’s not going to be a black hole for possessions.
Where's this coming from? He's never been overweight and he's not overweight now. This is from a a few days ago. He's certainly no Zion or Barkley or Oliver Miller.
If Benchero is successfully able to play 3 and ocassional 4 as bigger wing then I am on board with picking him at 3. He could be a match up nightmare for opossing team in that scenario but he will need to lose few pounds to be effective. If he is going to be full time 4 then I have serious concern about fit and his defensive ability and effort.
I've been flip-flopping for months now. Currently I would go in the Chet/Jabari `1a/1b, I won't be upset about either, with Paolo at 3, but it's real close. I won't even mind if they choose to go for someone else like Ivey/Sharpe or some other player if they feel it's right. I'll be fine with whomever is left of the 3.
The only fit to consider is with Green at this point. I think any version of Banchero is fine with Green.
Rockets need to take the big who falls to #3. Which is likely Banchero, even if his redundant weaknesses are same as Green and Sengun.
