Garuba had a good overall tournament but I don't want to overreact. Gap between EuroBasket and NBA is pretty significant. That's not to say he doesn't have a good future in the NBA, just gotta see it in the G League and in the limited minutes he may get here and there this season. Gotta carry over that confidence, better yet develop that irrational confidence. Just go make it happen
And he was always hustling on the floor....but that would be a great thing for Garuba to aspire to be like. DD
Yeah .... and he played in the era of the best big men ever and did it at 6'8". Kareem, Akeem, Robinson, Moses, Karl, Elvin, Eaton, Parrish, McHale, Walton .... it was a murderer's row of big men in the NBA during that era.
On paper, Garuba's path to becoming a key rotation player on a playoff team is a lot more straightforward than even Sengun. His strengths on defense, rebounding and passing is very obvious. Playing only 17 minutes per game (5th most minutes on the team), on the Spanish team he was tied for 2nd in rebounds, averaged the 2nd most assists, and racked up the most defensive stats (blocks + steals). Garuba mainly just needs to hit his free throws, and hit open 3s, for him to have a very long and productive career in the league. Whilst he is only 6"8, his 7"2 wingspan gives him a lot of functional length on defense. It will be interesting to see between Sengun and Garuba, who ends up developing a functional 3PT first.
That's amazing production for 17 minutes in Eurobasket. Even if you took all the counting stats away, Garuba gets on the floor and the other team's offense just begins stalling and the net difference beneficial to his team cause he moves the ball to the right person on offense. This is has been observed in Madrid, G League, 1 NBA game vs T-Wolves and now throughout the Eurobasket. Very encouraging signs for his NBA career. Dude is exactly the correct size (as the 6th youngest player in the NBA, he was 6'8 with a 7'3 wingspan assuming he hasn't grown taller) for the future of the NBA C position. You can't have those lumbering 7 foot guys who can't move their feet on the perimeter and need to resort to archaic drop coverage. He's also ridiculously strong for his frame, he was throwing players around like toys throughout his G League stint, and he was the youngest person there. Signs are all good. I just hope he does not relax now because he only played like half a dozen games at 17mpg, he should not need any rest right now. He needs to get back to his Real Madrid bodyfat% when he could clearly jump higher and move quicker laterally. Will need that in the NBA. Excited to see him compete for minutes.
Draymond is a unique role player no doubt but he is NOT a triple double machine. And Steph is the engine on GSW. But neither have shown ability to do anything by themselves.
Regarding his strength as center, Rudy Gobert didn’t try to move close to the basket when he was defended by Garuba. Gobert did 6 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes, often defended by Garuba
Garuba doesn't have a go-to offensive move, but he's way more effective than young Capela in the pick-and-roll. And he's a much better defensive presence than Capela was at that age. In fact, he might be better than Ibaka was at that age. Garuba just needs to be healthy and have regular minutes in a mature offensive system that does more than station him at the 3-point line.
lol silas is clueless But what do I do with a passing big man whos an elite rim protector? can he do fancy dribbles?(insert his clueless smiling face) Lucas: and is he able to hit a step back 3 pointer? (insert his clueless, most overrated coach in the universe, face)
I am far more positive on Garuba after the last 4-5 games of Eurobasket. He looks like he is healthy and hopefully he can maintain that. The potential is definitely there.
Here we are in the next round of a classical forum discussion. One side will see Garuba ‘unathletic, easy to replace, can take spot minutes if he develops a 3, must go to the g league to improve his offense’ and the other side will see a player who can make immediate impact on the defensive end, which potentially translates to transition points, has more to offer on offense than his ‘unathletic’ build suggests, a player who knows the game too well to fall to the g-league, a player who can give a different energy to the team coming off the bench, like a 6th man whose main quality is not scoring. I am of course in the second camp and think Garuba is the perfect back up big. Of course I was underwhelmed by him in his first year but he is very young and his European campaign went excellent. He can be part of a winning team and does not deserve g-league. And we absolutely have no better option at the back-up big spot, in terms of development potential and probably current contribution.
Doesn't matter what we think. There are bare minimums that players need to do (except KPJ apparently) to secure a spot in the rotation. Staying in shape, hitting the weight room, watching film, etc. Garuba is probably undisciplined. He should be better than Herb Jones as he has passing and vision coupled with defensive instincts. Yet he can't even get meaningful minutes. There's probably a reason for that. He really really really needs to show up in shape and grow up this season. His archetype is one of the absolute most valuable in the modern NBA.
Look, I know he had 7 assists, but I am not impressed that he can pass the ball to an open guy, if you watch his passes they are simple, nothing spectacular, just good simple passes. Which is great - BUT......no one is going to guard Garuba in the NBA those passes were predicated on people doubling him leaving others wide open, you do not have to double Garuba because he isn't going to shoot.....he will be a waste of space on offense - we will be playing 4 on 5..... I get that he is a good switch defender, and can play defense well, especially 1v1......but he has got to be a threat on offense - playing defense and making a pass that 1000 guys at the YMCA can make will not cut it for me. Garuba had a nice role player showing in Euro league - and was part of a championship team there, not a starter, but a bit player who put in 15 minutes a game. I am not trying to hammer him, just pointing out some facts. I think Garuba needs a lot of work, he has got to be a threat on offense - no one is going to guard him until he is...... guys that can play only D are easier to find than those that can do both ends, like Sengun. DD
