Yea I was at that game Liddell is the truth stats don't do his defense and understanding of the game justice. Against Iowa he was only paired against Keegan on about 5-6 possessions. Keegan made 1 basket in those possessions on a pin down iirc. Iowa played him away from Liddell. Dude is the best defender in the draft he can do it all and his that "trust factor" he'll get burn in important games because he just always makes the right play, low foul rate. People use it alot but this guy actually has the Mamba mentality.
Well crap, I was hoping to watch him at KU next season That video really demonstrated how he gets after it on defense, I always appreciated his ability to finish in the open court and hit 3’s but didn’t realize his defensive positioning and fundamentals were so solid. You’re probably right he goes in the 20’s to a team needing wing depth now.
You're right, like you said, if his wingspan was longer he'd likely be a lottery pick given his all around game and readiness to contribute from day one.
gonna be pretty interesting if we take a guard at 17. Jaden Hardy, Tyty Washington would not surprise me. It's hard to imagine there's much playing time for a rookie guard tbh.
I like the idea here but drafting Williams & trading for Bamba is just too many resources and too many roster spots, really Sengun & Garuba are centers, for the position and I love both players in a vacuum .... for me it's one or the other (preferably Bamba) and drafting Eason or one of the other lengthy wings at 17. I hope we've seen 6'4" EG or Tate start at the 3, 4 & 5 spots for the last time ..... I want more 6'8" or taller dudes at the 3-4-5. EDIT - I responded to your post before reading the next few which all say essentially the same thing ...
if we kept our pick at #17 guys like EJ and TyTy would be targets in that range. there’s a really good chance they are gone by 20 and especially 25, but u never know. I would really be disappointed if we traded back. Even staying at 17 would be somewhat disappointing.
I mean, what’s the negatives? Super long, athletic and can shoot. Whats the catch? That guy should be a lottery pick in a vacuum
Very inexperienced on defense. I would be interested to see him in a workout. I might consider him with a second round pick if we had one.
Rockets are in a weird spot at the C position. Is Sengun the guy of the future? Can he be the rim protecting 5? Is banchero a 3 or 4 in the league? I am thinking a 4 with his lateral speed. This draft is much easier imo if you move Sengun and pick 17 for your rim protector (maybe enough to get Ayton). I don't think the Rockets are contenders unless they can get a dynamic athlete at 4 or 5 that can anchor your defense. See Denver as the current Rockets mold defensively. It just isn't going to be good enough no matter how gifted offensively your center is or can be. They will get torched constantly on the perimeter on switches in the playoffs. Top 5 defensive units in basketball. Boston- Robert Williams GSW-Looney/Green Memphis -jaren Jackson Suns- Deandre Ayton Miami- Bam All dynamic athletes who can guard on the perimeter. If you take Banchero, you need to try and move up and grab the Williams from Duke, Hopefully the Thunder talk themselves out of Smith. That would be the absolute best scenario for the Rockets current roster.
Jabari's ability to play defense is overrated imo. I'm sure he'll be an average to above average defender in the NBA but he's no game changer on that side of the ball like Holmgren showed us. How's Jabari going to fare when he doesn't have a center that blocks almost 5 shots a games in the NBA like he did at Auburn with Kessler?
Looney and Green aren’t dynamic athletes. JJJ plays the 4 Ayton isn’t a good defender, specially on the perimeter
