Bogut is a good comparison. Nanu's passing ability and vision makes him exciting. He's not going to be a star... but I think if he stays injury-free, he could be a solid player in the league for a long time. Remember when Capela got spot mintues at the end of his rookie year? He was fouling at an almost a record per minute and obviously couldn't even make one free throw... In complete contrast, Nanu plays with a very calm demeanor. Looking forward to having a forward that can create offense from the high post. Could really open up the offense when you're playing with 4 other shooters. Good time to be a Rockets fan!!
I think his rebounding is poor, defensively he might become a decent shot blocker. Quickness is an issue, but he does have good low post offensive potential. He needs to work extremely hard in the off season. The Dream can certainly help him. I think he might become a rotation player, if he improves on rebounding and defense. If he doesn't improve by much, he could struggle to stay in the NBA.
Surely you aren't quoting WCS, Scal and Papa as grown ass men? Lol I wasn't comparing minutes, I said he had 20 minutes and got 1 rebound, no comparison to Capela was made whatsoever. Nanu was coming out on the picks, not doubling, not switching, and then getting beaten back to the basket by his man. He was just showing on the pick like players do all the time, he just didn't get back in time. Same thing when his man cut sometimes, or when trying to help. I'm not saying all centers in the NBA are super quick, I'm saying Nanu is going to have to be quick enough to be a plus defensive player since he isn't an elite offensive player like Yao/Gasols/Cousins etc, nor does he seem to be an elite rebounder or shot blocker like Bogut (yet his minutes are a small sample size). He seems more like a Nene without the quickness or offensive skills, which isn't much. If he can work on his body he may be able to change that around.
Nanu has fantastic feet on the perimeter. His nimble feet and agility in space, for his size, is one of his most NBA ready strengths.
Oh yes, I'm not knocking the guys potential as a solid NBA big. I'm just speaking to the potential of him taking Capela's starting spot after next season's RFA deal. I like Nanu's D-League minutes. His IQ is very apparent.
We are really lucky that IN ADDITION to Harden and the veterans, several of Moreys draft picks look to be developing fairly well and have a high upside. Clint, Sam, Harrell, and Nanu all can play the big positions and seem to have the skills needed to carve out productive NBA careers. Only time will tell if these guys can take the next step and truly become good NBA players, but all of them have the physical tools to do so and have improved over the course of their stint with the Rockets.... not all prospects do that.
Very true. To add to that, the correlation between athleticism and good defense is weak at best. Most good defenders are smart players, with the rare exception being a few players with insanely elite athletic characteristics. Nanu definitely seems like he could develop into a good defender. He is not going to really outrun or out-jump people but if he is smart he will get to where he needs to be before they do. And I think he is very very smart this kid. He is the 12th youngest NBA player out of roughly 450 players. That's incredible.
This guy has good defence. He is suitable to defense at power forward position. He can use vs spurs and warriors. He plays well in piston game, after he back to bench, houston is.unable to defese their power forward
I like what I see from him. He is very raw but there is this "it" factor about him. Not all star level, but damn serviceable. Dude it really fresh and young and I really like what I am seeing from him so far.
Interesting, he looked overwhelmed tonight against the Clippers. Still like his potential and can't wait to see how he looks in the summer.
Not surprising he'd get overwhelmed dude's only 20. 3 years later he'll be much better but will still only be 23 ehich is insane.
Against OKC with Adams and Kanter, getting Nanu some minutes defensively against them (instead of Harrell) would be a good thing. @KlutchQT thank for posting that tweet on Harden wanting to see Nanu get some game action.
