A tight game in the third quarter, this Western Conference Finals rematch is hotly contested. Luka, who was demoralizingly great against the Wolves in the playoffs last season, is currently working off the ball to get open. 

Tough situation here as a referee.

Luka and Jaden McDaniels are grabbing and pushing and grappling each other with both arms. Who is fouling who in this moment? No whistle on the play, play on.

Due to his devastating nature, Luka has the Wolves desperate to keep him away from the ball and force preferably anyone else to try and make a play. McDaniels is on the top-side of Luka, hoping to deter him from the ball.

Lively is the trigger man here…

…and his ability to make quality reads from the center position adds dimension to the Mavericks offense. In the rare instance Luka doesn’t have the ball, like in this instance, Lively can set Luka up with a handoff and subsequent screen, but Lively can also counter coverage like this by finding Luka on a basket cut. 

He can also do neither if neither are open, to stay as close to error-free as possible. Dallas overall was top 5 in taking care of the ball last season (12.5 turnovers a game), and their entire center rotation of Lively, Gafford and Powell all carried an AST/TO above 1 (1.2, 1.55 and a whopping 2.63 respectively – Powell landing top 5 in the league amongst centers). When Luka is on your team, no need to try to do too much. Hand the ball off, and roll hard. If it’s not a dunk, give the ball back to Luka and Kyrie. Rinse, repeat.

Lively’s ratio was more reflective of his actual decision-making aptitude, as his playoff AST/TO maintained at 1.29 while Gafford’s fell off to 0.79. Some at the time were clamoring for more Lively playoff minutes so the Mavericks could benefit from his passing chops. Here, Lively has the chance to ignite a play.

Another piece of credit on this setup should be given to the Dallas coaching staff and scheme; Lively operating from the top of the key brings Rudy, the Wolves primary rim protector, right up to the 3-point line and far, far away from the rim. 

At this point, Luka has had enough of McDaniels, and will not spend any more energy breaking through this coverage to get to the ball. Instead, Luka plants his right foot down…

…to head to the rim. McDaniels, as long and fast as he is, cannot fully cover both denying him a path to the ball and a path to the basket. But that is the concession of the coverage. 

Lively will need to recognize this slight lean towards the basket in a timely manner (right at this moment) so that the pass can begin to be delivered into space while that space exists. The paint is open at this very moment, but NBA time and space can close quickly.

Gobert’s arms are active here applying ball pressure on Lively…

…because the passing angle for a leading pass into the paint is a prominent and threatening possibility. If Gobert’s peripheral vision is able to capture the Luka lean, he can preemptively have his hands ready to shoot up and deflection a potential entry pass down the middle.

Naji Marshall screening for Kyrie occupies the attention of half of the Wolves’ off-ball defenders.

Donte DiVincenzo cannot be concerned with anyone else’s assignment; his hands are full guarding Kyrie. Naz Reid sits back on the Marshall screen, at the ready to pick up Kyrie if he breaks loose to the basket. 

Meanwhile, the most important defender on the play at this moment is Ant. 

The low-man here, Anthony Edwards appears keyed in on Luka and Lively’s intent. It will be his responsibility to help on Luka, break up the potential pass, or even better, pick it off. 

If the ball is successfully entered to Luka on this cut, Luka will be ahead of McDaniels and the Mavericks will have a momentary 2-on-1 numbers advantage…

…with McDaniels trailing, leaving Dinwiddie unguarded in the corner if Ant slides over. Perhaps if the defensive cohesion is good enough, McDaniels can hand Luka duty off to Ant, and McDaniels can peel off to pick up Dinwiddie. But that is a tough task to pull off fluidly, and it might take a defensive beat or two to get out there otherwise. 

The Mavericks should be slightly favored to score in this moment, granted the pass is executed to access the 2-on-1 advantage. It should be simple math, but in an athletically dynamic arena like NBA basketball, the decisions have to be made instantaneously while windows of opportunity are open, and it may require an intense series of quick decisions. Otherwise windows will close because defensive length and athleticism will close the space, and the offense will again have to spend effort to create. 

In a process of defensive elimination, Luka delivered a dazzling behind-the-back pass. Knowing that Ant had committed with his jump (good verticality by Ant) and feeling that McDaniels was still within arms length, Luka could infer the corner pocket was open. He either had peripheral vision of Dinwiddie in the corner while he was cutting, and/or Dallas will generally have those corners filled. Credit McDaniels with his effort to still make a considerable closeout and contest, but Luka had drawn him all the way to the restricted area, making the closeout just about as long as it could be. 

October 30th, San Antonio at Oklahoma City 

It’s hard not to highlight frames with Chris Paul at the helm. I’ll try not to include him in every edition, it’s just outstanding how he continuously makes the most of the studio space.

Wemby isn’t in the picture, but he’s on the floor. Just a couple seconds prior, he was setting a really high ball screen…65 feet from the basket. The Thunder’s full court pressure can be unrelenting with its personnel and defensive talent. They had just deployed a casual amount of it after a made basket, not allowing Paul to walk it up the floor at his own tempo and coordinate the Spurs’ attack to close the quarter heading into halftime. 

Chris Paul opted to use the screen and speed up into the half-court, getting ahead of his defender Cason Wallace, who has switched onto the absent Wembyana. Jalen Williams has picked up Paul.

A moment prior, Paul was met with some legal opposition from Williams. Jalen had stayed physically disciplined and within his body, not extending any hands out onto CP (who is liable to automatically draw that contact at a moment’s notice). And in anticipation, Jalen had moved to slide his feet in front of Paul’s direction of choice (right), and his physicality was entirely passive contact, absorbing and resisting the strength of the drive to chip off a lot of CP’s downhill momentum as Paul rammed into his chest. Slowed down by the bump and now with the hang dribble, Chris Paul is considering his current array of choices. 

Eight seconds into the possession, OKC’s stout point-of-attack defense has induced Chris Paul to change speeds twice already (the backcourt screen usage ramp up and the bump to slow down), one of which was more elective and the other being more of a hearty, physical welcome upon dribbling inside the 3-point line. 

OKC’s team defense is also looking tight at the moment as well, with all other defenders unassociated with the point-of-attack switch positioned fairly.

Since Chris Paul has not yet entered the paint and his momentum has been severely halted, the Thunder can stay home on their assignments. Jalen has it well-handled at this moment. The stagnancy of Harrison Barnes in the nearside corner and Keldon Johnson on the opposite side…

…does not do Chris Paul any favors here. 

However, the ever-cutting Sochan volunteers. 

Sochan is aware of his value-add as a cutting finisher (and certainly less so as a spacer for Paul’s drive), and here he catches onto the pace that Chris Paul was coming down the floor with. He is trying to at least give Paul the option of a potential wizardly pass somewhere through Jalen Williams and Caruso and Shai. 

Caruso is in a great gap position, further discouraging Paul’s path forward, on top of staying in the middle of an imaginary string between Paul and Sochan, impeding possible passes. 

Caruso had caught onto Sochan’s off-ball change of pace, and is keeping himself in the same depth to the rim as Sochan’s cut, which he knows is a prominent part of Sochan’s half-court game. 

The conceivable deliveries to Sochan are unclear at the moment, and passes to Barnes or Keldon leave the defense mostly indifferent, with Shai and Dort very capable of closing down the space on their respective closeouts here, especially since their off-ball defensive positioning has yet to be strained or even budged on the possession. Wemby is still making his way down the floor. 

In addition to being one of the best passers of all time, Chris Paul is in my opinion one of the most underrated scorers in league history. With the body control of an abrupt stop and gather, Chris Paul gained slight separation from the lightly back-pedaling Jalen Williams, which granted himself another moment to collect. And in the beat between those moments, he found himself at the right elbow, one of his favorite spots, with space to rise up quick. 

The post NBA Freeze Frame: Volume 2 appeared first on Swish Theory.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but I will keep it to less than that per picture.

At this point, Anthony Edwards has obliterated the point-of-attack defense for a 2-on-1 situation with Rudy Gobert vs Rui Hachimura, encroaching on the restricted area. The gather has been made, and his momentum is downhill. A moment in time for Ant to make his decision, with several options at his disposal. 

Ant has done so much good work to this point. What originated as a handoff from Gobert out of a sideline inbounds, Ant has already left his immediate defenders Austin Reaves and AD dusted.

(Also wanted to note that Ingles set an off-ball screen that put Reaves a half step or more behind the handoff to begin with, to Ingles’ credit)

But for all intents and purposes, Ant has created a full advantage, overcoming both point-of-attack defenders. Rui steps up in help, as he should.

And that leaves Gobert wide open at the rim. The Wolves are one pass away from an open rim finish, one of the best results attainable on any given possession. Rudy is even starting to point up and call for the lob.

Per NBA.com/stats, Rudy was 73/78 on alley-oop dunk attempts last season, good for a 93.6% completion percentage and 1.87 points per shot (PPS). Pretty good. However, when Rudy was forced to adjust to the pass or was unable to easily and securely dunk it, his alley-oop layup numbers fall off dramatically: 6/14 on alley-oop layup attempts (42.9%, 0.86 PPS), cutting expected points down by over a whole point. 

This could be an easy alley-oop dunk. Does Gobert’s notoriously clumsy hands influence Ant’s decision? With a moment to decide, is there trust for the passer to execute the delivery, and the receiver to cap it off?

What defenders have a path to making any sort of play on the potential lob pass? Both Reaves and Knecht are at a huge size and positioning disadvantage to cover Gobert here, and it would be uncharacteristic for either one of them, so it’s safe to count them out on this play. Otherwise the Lakers would need a spectacular recovery to the rim by AD, who does not look like he’s in any heat seeking missile-style stance to explode back into the play.

Think Giannis recovering to block Ayton’s alley-oop in the 2021 Finals. That level of play is rare. Don’t expect AD to summon that in the first game of a long season, but he is one of the handful of players in the league capable of it. 

Another passing option is the corner.

But seeking corner 3’s when you have a 2-on-1 advantage converging on the rim is not the best process. Having the vision and awareness of an open corner shooter is still ideal here, but it would really have to come down to (situation and) convincing shooting personnel – Randle is the one wide open in the corner in this instance. He shot 35.4% on catch-n-shoot 3-pointers last season – 1.06 PPS. This calculus changes when it’s Donte DiVincenco standing there – 40.7% on catch-n-shoot 3’s for 1.22 PPS, but the decision should still be the rim. 

Rui is the one meeting Ant at the rim. It might not matter who is at the rim, Ant will remain undeterred. 

Ant has already created so much expected value at this point, where his uncontainable athleticism has awarded him three great options: the lob to an open Gobert, his own finish at the rim against a rotating defender, and an open corner catch-n-shoot for Randle. 

Ant ends up loading up and rising around Rui for a finish with the foul, and-1. As a 69% finisher in the restricted area last season (1.38 PPS), it’s hard to blame Ant for taking it himself, and credit must be given for the finish. Also have to note that the extra free throw tacked on probably does not happen with the lob, and Ant carries a healthy free throw rate over from last season (0.325 FTr). But there is a higher chance of missing the field goal compared to a pin-point lob.

The decision might not matter – if the shot misses, it appears likely Rudy can mop up the mess since he is best-positioned for a roll off the rim.

Contingent on misses, this naturally dependent facet of Gobert’s game can help prop up team efficiency during poor shooting stretches. But while Gobert’s putback efficiency from last season was strong (67.5 FG% – 1.35 PPS), it is not as potent as a lob dunk.

At the same time, the potential second shot efficiency on this play should be partially credited to Ant, since the defense was beaten so badly, and they were so far out of position for a defensive rebound as well. In this specific instance with no one else around the basket to contest the board, Rudy could comfortably finish a hypothetical miss. 

Ultimately, Ant gets two points on the play, with a chance at a third (which he got). No need for Gobert’s involvement. But over the course of the season, over the course of a playoff series, or even over the course of an individual game, the accumulation of the quality of decisions add up. The margins stack up, so the process of finding the most optimal shots possession-by-possession has to be a concerted, conscientious effort, and a developed habit over time. 

Orlando is starting to pull away from the Heat in the second half. Anthony Black faces an aggressive Miami point-of-attack defense in this instance. With Paolo releasing freely on the roll, the conventional read is available.

AB’s height gives him the ability to simply dump this pass off over the top of Jimmy and Jaquez to Paolo, giving Paolo a rotating defender to attack, and a numbers-advantage on the weakside to potentially make a pass and keep the defense in rotation. 

Bam is the backline defender responsible here for rotating to Paolo. 

Coming over from guarding Wendell Carter Jr., Bam is just beginning to lean towards Paolo for a routine rotation to the short-roller. 

However, AB zigs here where most would zag. Sensing the momentum of Bam – slight as it is towards Paolo in an entirely valid defensive decision by Bam – AB subverts this reasonable intuitive defensive expectation, and zips a pass into WCJ at the elbow.

While Paolo would have received a 2-on-1 situation with WCJ vs Bam (and possibly a 3-on-2 situation if Highsmith rotates to WCJ in a timely manner), WCJ is now the one receiving the pass and the 2-on-1 scenario vs Bam with Paolo the one cutting to the rim. What’s the difference? 

Per NBA.com/stats, Paolo’s points per shot on cuts was 1.28, while WCJ’s was 1.39, the better bet in a vacuum. Last season, Paolo led Orlando with 10.2 potential assists per game, and WCJ had 2.9, not bad for a center. Point being, no matter who here receives the advantage from Anthony Black out of the pick-n-roll, both players are capable of being the one to make the next pass, or the one to finish at the rim off a cut. It speaks to the versatility of the Magic’s frontcourt and their overall play-making ability.

If a hypothetical interior rotation by Highsmith subsequently occurred and the rim was covered, the Heat’s perimeter rotations would then be tested, as KCP in the corner would be the next conventional open read

and then Harris above-the-break following that.

Since the Heat decided to put two defenders on the ball at the point-of-attack off the jump, this is the defensive path they have chosen for themselves. After Highsmith, Herro would need to be on the way to the corner to KCP, with Jimmy or Jaquez heading to Harris. When the rotations are tight, it’s definitely doable.

But the play-making chain never got that far. It didn’t need to – the dominos quickly fell into what resulted in a jam by Paolo.

Bam was caught off-balance by this alternative chain of advantages. Disoriented for a moment and left scrambling, Adebayo could not catch up on the play, as a quick connective pass by WCJ to Paolo resulted in the secure flush (80/88 on dunks last season – 90.9%, and this one was even two-handed), only desperately contested by Bam.

AB was presented with an obvious choice for the standard play, and thus predictable links in the play-making chain, but he used a little imagination and ingenuity to mix things up. AB successfully getting off the ball vs two defenders and following the natural stem of decisions out of this situation is the perfectly right play to make. Credit to him for creating another way though, puncturing the middle of the floor with the pass and giving WCJ great access to options, where he instantly found Paolo flowing to the rim.

AB’s knowledge of defensive assumptions, his size, vision and manipulation all played a factor in what culminated in a dependable two-handed dunk for the Magic’s best scorer. Pretty good. 

Beginning of the fourth quarter and the Spurs are down by double-digits. While double-digit comebacks are becoming more frequent in today’s league, it is still a steep challenge as less than a quarter of teams successfully overcome that type of deficit. San Antonio will need to make the most out of every offensive possession down the stretch, on top of getting stops, to get back into this one. With 21 seconds on the shot clock, Chris Paul is leading the Spurs into their early offense. Expected points on any given possession fall precipitously every second that ticks off the shot clock, and Paul is looking for an early opportunity to strike. 

For the Spurs’ attack, their fifth player Keldon Johnson, who had inbounded the ball, has yet to even cross half-court, let alone enter this snapshot. Still, there is advantage to be had by getting into this drag screen action quickly; the lowest defender three seconds into this possession is Maxi Kleber on the weakside elbow,

which is not particularly low for a low-man. But that is how far back he was able to get in three seconds. Looking further into the paint as a whole, Maxi’s left foot is the only defensive establishment the Mav’s have in the paint at the moment. No other Maverick is near the paint, and all are even further from the rim. 

Chris Paul is already highly aware of the entire defense’s positioning, and the subtle offensive dynamics in motion. The Mavericks are in the middle of switching the Chris Paul-Jeremy Sochan screen.

Klay was up on the screen initially, so his switch assignment becomes more challenging here on out; he has to catch up to the cutting Sochan while simultaneously closing the pocket pass window. Meanwhile Sochan has the head start, slipping out of this screen and diving into the open waters of the current paint. 

Sochan has only just placed his left foot inside the arc,

but he’s already the most dangerous threat for a rim attempt in this moment. Jeremy has turned his hips out of the screen, and he’s now facing the rim as he makes his cut. Klay, now his primary defender, is positioned on the top-side of Sochan, trailing the cut. In a race to the rim, Sochan will beat Klay, and last season Sochan made 72.7% of his finishes stemming from cuts. Pretty good. 

All Chris Paul has to do now is deliver the ball. A temporary, momentary passing window, and perhaps a tight window for many players, but this is Chris Paul. 

Luka could probably do more here to obstruct the passing window. He knows better. 

The Spurs should already be favored to score this possession, even as soon as this moment, but the play is not over. A quick strike on a leading bounce pass by the pick-n-roll maestro to Sochan would threaten a defensive concession and test the recoverability of the Mavericks’ weakside. Kleber, who is not facing the rim like Sochan, and also does not have momentum towards the rim like Sochan, must catch up in a race to the rim for any chance to thwart the Spurs.

Incredibly, Kleber was able to close the gap and make a spectacular block at the rim. 

After receiving the pass, players in Sochan’s position should understand the speed of recovery required by Kleber here to make a play, as well as the instinctual desperation to catch up to the play, and use that momentum against the late, frenzied rim protector. A simple shot fake for Sochan would do the trick to send Kleber out of the picture and/or send himself to the free throw line. 

In the end, the Spurs were not able to string together enough buckets or stops in this one, falling to Dallas 109-120.

The post NBA Freeze Frame: Volume 1 appeared first on Swish Theory.

^Zvonimir #14, listed at 7’2 across from his brother, Tomislav #13, listed at 7’0..

Ivisic’s skills are self-evident in the limited film, with maybe the most prominent one being his handful of quick triggered, no hesitation hoists from deep. The shot is quick, compact and without much use of lower body input. It’s an easy ball, and can be used as an effective option in pick-and-pop situations. One basic issue with the shooting is the volume, although he seemingly could not wait to get his shots up when he saw the floor for the first time. Even when compiling 3-point numbers from what I could find the last couple years, the grand total was still less than a hundred attempts, and same goes for free throw numbers. The eye-test for me says Ivisic is a shooter, but there will just need to be a bigger shooting sample to look at before fully checking that box in pen. But it is not the only skill Ivisic flashes.

Ivisic really captured some sort of magic in his debut, even summoning a wild behind-the-back pass while on-the-move. There are these occasional small glimpses into Ivisic’s vision as a passer, which manifest in highlight connections like that previously mentioned behind-the-back one, or with short-roll dishes to the rim or even more routine ones like in advance passes up the court. But there are also too many instances of poor, nonchalant passing execution and dumbfounding turnovers. Again, like with the shooting, there just isn’t enough film to confirm or deny his true proficiency as a passer, but the duality of questionable decision-making and functional passing upside is noted here. If Ivisic can hone and replicate those flashes as a short-roll and interior passer, it could begin to solidify his case as a pretty complete play-finisher out of the roll.

The skillset doesn’t stop there though, as Ivisic makes good use of footwork in several facets of his offensive game. As a screener, Ivisic is spry to screen continuously throughout a possession, flowing into actions with good pace and quickly diving out of screens. The screens themselves have a layer of physicality, with Ivisic showing that he can take a chunk out of the POA defender, although needs to clean up some of the illegal moving screens. In more conventional rolls to the rim, Ivisic is capable of finishing lobs, with signs of high-level coordination on adjustments for catches, although his vertical is not overwhelming. Ivisic also has nice feel and recognition for when both POA defenders are up on the ball-handler, slipping behind and finding the open space to settle into for the dump-off against the double team. Ivisic recognizes pretty immediately when he is open, and has his hands up as a target right away. And in those short-roll scenarios, Ivisic is generally under control and looking to advance upon the rim with intent to score, where his footwork shows up again as a useful tool. Ivisic does a nice job of utilizing pivots to find better finishing windows and even position himself for more powerful two-handed flushes at the rim. 

While his footwork and handle on short-area moves towards the rim are pretty effective, it is of note though that outside of some brief open-court handling from Ivisic in FIBA u20 that Ivisic’s ball-handling is not too functional. He had instances of issues keeping his dribble secure in tight spaces. That will need to be cleaned up at the very least for DHO actions, but it does not lend itself to Ivisic as any sort of threat to attack from the perimeter outside of on-the-catch with momentum. 

And while he is skilled getting into finishes, Ivisic plays in a more finesse-leaning tilt. As a big, there should be an element of punishing physicality to your game. A post game was non-existent for Ivisic at Kentucky, which is not a huge deal as he translates to the pros since he executes his role as a roller, but it may also indicate a lack of ability to overpower college defenders, as he did have instances of struggling to post up smaller defenders in FIBA u20. It may be that Ivisic naturally leans towards being a more finesse offensive player with occasional forceful dunks when he’s maneuvered into position. 

If Ivisic refines and applies all his strengths in a bigger role next year at Arkansas, then he may become one of the most versatile screener threats in the class on the pop, roll and short-roll.

For context, at Kentucky Ivisic often played alongside two of the most skilled guards in the 2024 Draft class. Arkansas will have an experienced grad-transfer guard in Johnell Davis, along with fellow Wildcat transfer DJ Wagner, and more freshmen guard talent, but they will not be the passers Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard were. Still, Ivisic’s dual threats out of screening actions should help his guards help him. And if Ivisic’s spacing ability is true, it gives Calipari some lineup flexibility with their other frontcourt players.

It is not unreasonable to be buying into Ivisic as an offensive player. But the big question for bigs is on the defensive end. Which defensive frontcourt roles can you fill? 

Ivisic has decent mobility for a 7 footer, but his initial stance on the perimeter is often not nearly low enough or engaged enough, routinely getting blown by right at the line of scrimmage. While Ivisic has some recoverability to make a play at the rim and make up for giving up the angle, NBA guards will have plenty of room in the intermediate area to use that angle to manipulate and handicap that recoverability, especially if the blow-by is occurring immediately way out on the perimeter. Ivisic is not the beefiest plodding center, and he can move fairly well, so the expectation should be placed higher for him guarding on the perimeter. Not asking Ivisic to lock anyone up, but just looking for him to be more competitive in this area and contain the ball better. Though Ivisic has shown great length, quick hands and quick reaction time to block jumpers on the perimeter. 

The lack of perimeter defense at this point for Ivisic hurts the case that he could possibly play some 4. Not only would the on-ball stuff be concerning, the supplementary weakside defense seems largely absent. Ivisic played the 4 for Croatia’s u20 team in 2023, while his brother played the 5, and he was very quiet as a weakside presence, with little-to-no activity coming from that position. The instincts for it just weren’t there. I won’t say this is damning for any case that Ivisic could play the 4 defensively, but in addition to the perimeter woes, it’s close. 

While Ivisic does have height and length that can be disruptive defensively at the rim and the timing of some blocks with his outstretched arms is nice, many instances came without rotating from very far. As a POA drop big, Ivisic’s positioning can be moderate to fair, sometimes losing a half step on a downhill driver just like his perimeter defense, ending up in that vulnerable position behind the ball-handler, but again has the recoverability that he unfortunately seems to rely a little too much on. More film of Ivisic as a defender is needed here to see how he has progressed in his positioning.

Lastly, the rebounding lacked physicality and finding box-outs was not routine, and at times it looked like Ivisic struggled a bit to cleanly end possessions with a rebound. Even in some post defense, Ivisic had a tough time battling for ground and post real estate. As a prospect who has nearly eliminated themselves from the proposition of playing the 4 defensively, Ivisic has a lot to prove as someone who can fulfill a center’s defensive duties in the NBA.

The argument for Ivisic revolves around his offensive versatility as a rolling and spacing threat, which is where he can separate himself from other prospects on that end, but each individual ability is far from concrete at this point. Ivisic will need to truly evolve each skill from a flash to a legitimate weapon. More importantly, at the end of the day a player who is confined to the center position defensively really needs to be a strong defensive anchor. With more minutes, Ivisic should have a chance to showcase growth on the defensive end. I will be looking for a more consistent awareness of the rim, and more physicality overall. 

The post Prospect Focus: Zvonimir Ivisic appeared first on Swish Theory.

The next prospect in this series is Ryan Kalkbrenner. This report on him (posted at the end of this piece) was from 2020, coming out of high school ahead of the 2020-21 college basketball season. The prep reports had a little different format than the draft reports, but largely the same. So this is the snapshot of my evaluation on Kalkbrenner going into college. I’ve also noticed in reviewing my notes and observations from the past that the more filled out a section is, the more likely that those skills are imposable and a true part of the player’s game. I’ll touch on the report, but since Kalkbrenner is one of the top returning center prospects, I’ll also fold this piece into a look forward at his 2024 Draft prospect case. 

Starting at the top of the report working down, the first note is including a draft age. Not that Kalkbrenner was really on any draft board radars as an incoming freshman, but it gives a better gauge of where he was at relative to the more draft-ready prospects and talents. Kalkbrenner would have been 19.4 if he entered the Draft after his first season, which was unlikely considering he came off the bench to begin his college career. 

But before that, while Kalkbrenner come into college with center height, some of his other dimensions and elements of his athleticism were lackluster for the center position. As a towering skinnier kid in high school, Kalkbrenner had plenty of work (mostly weight) to put into his frame. Listed at the time in high school at 210 lbs, Kalkbrenner needed to beef up by about 40 lbs to get to average NBA center weight. The home court of measurements is your own team’s website, and Creighton has Kalkbrenner very generously listed at 270 lbs. I do think Kalkbrenner has done good work to strengthen his frame and put on weight over the years, but 270 lbs must be his top-end weight, if even. 

Part of the reason I doubt he carries 270 lbs is because Kalkbrenner has run the floor quite well. Looking back at the high school report, that floor-running was present, but it seemed laborious. Kalkbrenner’s stride and speed over the years at Creighton has genuinely improved, where now he seems to comfortably run the court. But the willingness was always there. It would have been fair to project from this report that with several years in a college weight and conditioning program, Kalkbrenner would be able to adequately fulfill the baseline athletic requirements of the center duties, running the full court and screening constantly.

Although center size and full-court mobility could be projected out, Kalkbrenner had a reportedly underwhelming vertical. Not that Kalkbrenner would have any trouble dunking at his height, but it begins to put a cap on all the possible dunking opportunities that are available to him in a game, and thus the projection can begin to eliminate starting NBA center outcomes. NBA centers need to clean up around the rim, and what better way than by dunking. And what easier way to dunk than by just jumping over and/or around guys. Kalkbrenner still has the height and length for some dunking opportunities, but would likely miss out on others relative to competition via lack of vertical. Kalkbrenner has 263 dunks in his college career, so he could still find dunks in the NBA.

Last note on the athleticism, Kalkbrenner had some change-of-direction challenges, not uncommon for a tall player to have. Not sure how much emphasis was placed on his hip mobility while at Creighton. I’m sure there was marginal improvement, but it was not starting from a great place. 

Moving onto the shot evaluation, Kalkbrenner’s “trebuchet” mechanics and “concerning” level of touch landed him a shot projection of “needs time,” which was a cowardly cop-out projection from myself. Of course it needed time, everyone’s shot needs time to get better! 

Taking a look at it again in 2024, I think there would need to have been some tweaks to the set point to remove that trebuchet component, trying to tighten up the process. Also noteworthy, his 62.1% career FT% on 309 attempts is an acceptable percentage for a young big man. Of course in need of time and improvement as well. Here’s how Kalkbrenner’s form looked in his most recent season, and his FT numbers from college:

The set point at the top of his release does not get cranked above and/or behind his head anymore. At the free throw line, Kalkbrenner brings that shooting pocket up to his chin, which is fine in the context of an unguarded free throw but not super translatable to shooting in live game play. Kudos to Kalkbrenner for putting in the time and putting himself over the top of that typical 70% FT% threshold.

The context portion of the prep report included two teams: Kalkbrenner’s high school team in Missouri and his AAU team. In both contexts, he was tasked primarily with protecting the rim. The level of competition in high school did not impress, but some of the plays Kalkbrenner made at the rim defensively on Mac Irvin Fire against elite AAU athletes was outstanding, and the kind of eye-popping element you want to see as a scout. 

Small note, but the ankle tweaks back in high school have followed Kalkbrenner a little bit in college.

Moving on to the skills section of the report, Kalkbrenner had an operable handle, but nothing to suggest anything outside of what a typical center would need to do. The more pertinent ball skill to look at is the finishing, where Kalkbrenner’s lack of touch around the rim was vicariously frustrating. For a supposed 7-footer, it was disconcerting to see. It would also matter less if Kalkbrenner was constantly flushing down dunks, but it has been established that he is not that type of athlete. So as dunks dry up due to lacking a premier vertical, Kalkbrenner’s opportunities would become a little further out from the rim. Not incredibly far out, but far enough that some level of touch would be required. Kalkbrenner did get above 70% 2p% as an upperclassmen in high school, so it was not like his touch was horrendous. But that was against high school competition, and projecting out to the NBA means a center must maintain an extremely high level of efficiency in the paint. 

As a decision-maker, Kalkbrenner seemed to play within himself and his role, making solid decisions and not hurting the team, which is very projectable for his position. Playing the right way and consistently making the right play right away, no matter the role, is a pretty good sign that a player is at least on the curve in terms of applied basketball knowledge.

The selling point for Kalkbrenner as a prospect, even coming out of high school, had to be his rim protection skills. The technique he displayed defending around the rim was simple and effective, as he would just position himself optimally between the driver and the rim, and then remain vertical while being as big as possible. And he encountered a slew of drivers on his Mac Irvin Fire AAU team, where he not only held his own but was quite the obstruction at the rim, fending off highly athletic and highly ambitious finishers. It was truly an elite skill heading into college, and a key reason at the time to keep tabs on Kalkbrenner’s development in other areas. 

Rim protection was Kalkbrenner’s calling card, and the next best defensive skill he had was in drop, exhibiting great feel in those 1-on-2 situations, not losing contact with the roller while working to deter the ball-handler. His footwork was not the quickest, and his vertical challenging lobs in those positions was not the best, but the positioning was very adept, and it signaled understanding of defending the PnR that was certainly ahead of the curve for an incoming freshman. 

Other defensive areas that were sound included using angles to stay in front of drivers, post defense and boxing out. The more vulnerable areas were not uncommon for a tall player: closeout speed getting out to the perimeter and control in those situations. 

From this report, Kalkbrenner’s main selling point as a prospect was the rim protection, which continued to be a strength of his in college. The technique has only been refined, and the experience has only grown. Does it meet the threshold for NBA center rim protection duty requirements? I think it would be passable, but it is contingent on being paired with paint efficiency on the other end of the floor, per fundamental conventional center responsibilities. 

Below is Kalkbrenner’s career Barttorvik stat profile. 

The block percentages are nothing to sneeze at, but they are a little below the 10% BLK% often seen in the profiles of high-level rim protecting prospects. While I do think Kalkbrenner’s technique, willingness and audacity is on par with other good rim protecting prospects, it may be a degree or two below the elite rim protector prospects. And that may be another way Kalkbrenner’s lack of premier vertical ability limits the amount of impact he can make at times. Still, I think it is fair to say that Kalkbrenner checks the rim protection box for a center, which is the primary responsibility.

Rounding out the defensive evaluation, Kalkbrenner, like many centers, can be exposed a bit on the perimeter. But if the defense is staying true to form and keeping good defensive infrastructure, Kalkbrenner can be a competent cog in the machine on that end, although again, the lack of vertical may pose some trouble rebounding at times to finish out possessions. I imagine Kalkbrenner should be passable on the boards, but the margins do add up.

On the offensive end, Kalkbrenner has served his role well at Creighton. Primarily a play-finisher, Kalkbrenner plays within his role, screening and rolling, and taking the shots that he’s supposed to take, which is evident in his eFG% year after year. It’s incredible how efficient you can be when you cut out bad shots. Not that Kalkbrenner came in with much fat to trim – he already knew which shots were in his “bag.” It is not a deep bag, but as long as he keeps putting himself in the right positions, he will be able to accrue productivity playing off of NBA PnR partners. His screening, and then pace meandering into the paint is proper and timely, and he should pair well with any NBA guard. The screening can be a bit more physically punishing, but it is functional. 

Shooting near 75% at the rim per Synergy last season, Kalkbrenner seems to meet the threshold as a play-finisher, but the margins of touch and vertical as well as the athleticism of NBA competition will put a squeeze on Kalkbrenner’s level of efficiency in the league.

While the FT% has held steady over 70% every year since his sophomore year, and the stretch ability has been dabbled in at this point, with Creighton allowing Kalkbrenner to rip off 54 3pt attempts last season, the shot projection does not seem super promising. First off, using the lack of great paint touch as an indicator for touch in other areas of the floor, I would not be inclined to believe a threatening above-the-break 3 is likely. Plus, his lack of paint touch unfortunately does correlate with his poor 3pt%, although from a small sample size so far. One stat to point to for the optimists: Kalkbrenner has shot over 50% on far 2’s per Bart the last two seasons, going 29/57 and 44/81 from that range his junior and senior year respectively. Still, any stretch ability is down the line, if at all, and should not be weighed much in the overall projection.

As for play-making, it has been minimal at Creighton. He was not tasked with it, but flowed in Creighton’s offense, setting dozens of on- and off-ball screens every night. Capable of kicking out vs double teams and dribbling into handoffs, Kalkbrenner checks the box of passable passing for the center position, but it would be nice to know how much short-roll passing chops he has, if any.

Ultimately, Kalkbrenner has the skillset to fill the conventional center role, but may barely pass vertical, mobility and play-finishing thresholds. How much do those limitations come back to bite him? The bold rim protection could earn him minutes early on, and he should be able to exist satisfactorily in an offensive ecosystem. Kalkbrenner checks the boxes of what’s required from a center, but to what degree for each box? Is it to a high enough degree? An NBA degree? Where is he adding surplus value? I will want to see Kalkbrenner show up and show out at the rim defensively this next year, shutting things down and proving that skill is at an elite degree. On the offensive side of the ball, I want to see Kalkbrenner showcase more agile footwork around the rim; if the touch around the rim is indeed a bit clunky, use footwork to find easier finishes. 

As for the initial retrospective look at Kalkbrenner, the identification of rim protection as the main skill and calling was correct, as it still is his most promising NBA skill. I was right and wrong about the shot projection, as the free throw shooting has come around, but I was wrong for using such a vague description since I did not even specify outside of “needs time.” No duh.. Time and effort has also taken care of the weight concern, even if Kalkbrenner isn’t really at 270 lbs. 

Kalkbrenner has developed for four years since the writing of that report, and he has no doubt refined his shape, defense and form shooting. His strength at the rim defensively has remained constant, and his offensive flow is competent. That prospect package meets the bare minimum requirements, without a whole lot of skill on top to add value. If Kalkbrenner can showcase hitting shots in those intermediate pockets out of PnR, that would be a new element to his game as a play-finisher, and something I think is reasonable to add. 

Short-roll passing is another reasonable thing to see, as Creighton usually has great spacing and shooters that attract defenders out, which leaves room for that short-roll option. Not many college contexts have that short-roll possibility, but maybe Kalkbrenner could develop some of it at Creighton. 

Kalkbrenner should be on radars by now as a rim protector, with eyes looking forward to seeing him expand his abilities and options finishing plays out of the roll.

The post Prospect Retrospective: Ryan Kalkbrenner appeared first on Swish Theory.

Broome is one of the top returning draft prospects coming into the 2024-25 college season. But there is a reason Broome is back at Auburn for a fifth year of college basketball, despite a strong statistical profile and a productive showing at the NBA G League Elite camp. What does Broome have to do to solidify himself as a 1st round prospect? What improvements should we be looking for? Let’s dive into his prospect case.

Meausuring at 6’9” without shoes and around 250 lbs at the 2023 G League Elite Camp, Broome has moderate NBA center size. With a seven-foot wingspan and a standing reach of 9 feet, Broome would be at a size disadvantage against your average-sized NBA center, although not drastically. Broome has physical strength that shows itself at times, but I would like to see him impose that strength more frequently next year. Most likely matched up with bench centers in the NBA, Broome should be able to hold up, but a more convincing display of strength would be encouraging. Broome cannot improve upon his size, but he can improve on his strength and physicality, which will become imperative when battling with behemoths in the league on any given night. 

As mentioned earlier, Broome’s statistical profile is overwhelmingly positive, with one glaring weakness: a worrisome career FT%. Almost everything else about his stat profile makes it feel like nitpicking to ask for much more in this upcoming season. The higher you climb, the harder it is to find oxygen, and Broome will find it challenging to build on such an efficient season. 

Broome’s shooting efficiency was superb this past season, with career-best EFG% and TS% in a year where he introduced a higher 3-point shooting volume, over doubling the 3-point attempts from the previous year. While encouraging, it is difficult to have too much faith in the shot due to a 61.5% career FT% on 532 career FT attempts. No matter what Broome shoots from the free throw line this year, even if it is a leap of an improvement, there should not be too much trust placed in that number, siding instead with the weighty historical evidence of rather poor free throw shooting. Still, stretching out to the 3-point line is a step in the right direction, and making that stretch element a more concrete part of his game would mean a lot in establishing real estate as a potential DHO hub above the break, where he is a capable playmaker. 

Over the course of Broome’s career, his assist percentage has increased and his turnover percentage has decreased, both to highly efficient degrees, refining a skillset in which Broome is able to operate as a useful offensive hub at times for Auburn. There isn’t much more room for statistical improvement in this area, so even maintaining that efficiency would strengthen his case. But on film, Broome’s passing out of DHO situations can and should get even sharper. I would not mind seeing a small jump in turnovers, granted it comes with tape of more nuanced, skillful passing; better and sharper timing on passes, better execution at times, more inventive passing angles. Broome has already proven he can do basic playmaking out of DHO actions, and it would be informative to know how far he can take his passing skill. Auburn will be a highly competitive environment, so it may be unlikely Broome is given enough leash to try out some more intricate passing. But on the other hand, Auburn may have games where they are whooping an opponent, and may give Broome opportunities to expand his game in this way. Not expecting any leaps here though, but a “stretch goal” to look for. 

As a play-finisher, Broome is efficient and shows soft touch on hook shots and push shots in the intermediate area. The lefty is very strong hand dominant, heavily preferring to get to that lefty hook out of self-created post touches. Broome’s post game has some counters and some pivots to it, and the left-handed tendency. His paint touch on those floater-type shots is nice, but the release itself is a bit slow and low, focusing on softly adding that touch rather than getting the shot out quickly. Some NBA centers may be tall, long and quick enough to snuff that out if Broome is too transparent about taking it at his leisurely pace. But if paired with a guard who can methodically encroach upon the paint, draw multiple defenders’ attention and lay it off to Broome in that deep paint area with space, he could put that touch to good use. A capable dunker and lob catcher with his decent vertical, Broome gets the job done around the rim, but nothing rim-rocking. As mentioned earlier, Broome could stand to impose a little more physicality in his finishing. 

The play-finishing also stems from constant and fluid screening, getting out of screens and DHO actions quickly and into rolls to the rim as a huge cog in the Auburn offensive machine. A veteran at this point, Broome clearly knows how to execute offense and be a useful screener, although the more bone-crushing screens the better. 

The offensive synopsis for Broome is that he seems to comfortably pass the basic thresholds in screening, finishing and playmaking (relative to position) but avenues for improvement in those areas seem steep, along with having reasonable hesitation about a shot that is admittedly headed in the right direction. 

On the other end, Broome is a solid college defender, executing POA schemes and generally being in the right spot. While his mobility is fluid for his size, it remains moderate mobility. Some closeouts and PnP coverage out to the perimeter can be a bit slow, but that is a difficult position for any center to be in. 

The size concern may crop up again with POA defense too, where Broome does put himself in good position, and yet the defense is not deterring much. On more aggressive coverages out on the perimeter, Broome can contain a more apprehensive ball-handler, but it does not take a whole lot of work from a quick guard to get around him or just make the next pass. Broome’s stance can be a bit high at times, and the lateral slides can get a bit hoppy, which more experienced guards can take advantage of or just speed by. In drop, Broome again situates himself well in those 1-on-2 scenarios, but guards don’t seem to have too much stress finishing over him, and bigs don’t seem too bothered finishing around him. Broome does increase the level of difficulty of some of these shots, but hoping to see more disruption, which manifests itself in recovering from blocks. I just wish the main source of disruption wasn’t stemming from getting beat initially. 

Lastly, I would again like to see Broome be more physical in the paint and especially against other bigs. I want to see Broome fighting for every inch of paint real estate, pushing post players out another foot or two. I want to see Broome hold up better against strong post players, who gain ground on him too easily. Broome needs to play more like someone who is legitimately 250 lbs. 

Yes, Broome does have successful instances too, but point being is that I wish his defensive presence was more impactful. I found many of his steals to be less about him creating the turnover and more about the offensive players’ mistakes. He would also make some risky pokes at the ball out on the perimeter, showcasing quick hands but not sure how available those steals will be at the next level. Broome has pretty good timing and hand placement on some blocks, and he requires both because neither his size nor vertical is overwhelming. He is also quite disciplined about keeping his arms straight up when contesting from vulnerable positions, but it’s typically coupled with not jumping either, which renders the safe contest largely unimpactful.

None of this is not meant to disparage Broome, who is a good if not great college basketball player, a highly productive and efficient player for a top-20 team. But considering his size and strength relative to NBA competition and his current skillset, Broome projects solely as bench big. There is a huge degree of difference between a starter and a bench big, and while a smaller difference between second and third string centers, there is still a meaningful distinction. The level of bench big Broome becomes will be determined by the shot (as is the swing skill of most players), because without it, Broome could find it tough to find separation from other bigs on the roster. All the margins add up, which is why I have been harping on Broome in this piece to stretch himself this season in search of development. Broome will be nearly 23 on draft night. I am not sure how much improvement is feasible, and he may not necessarily need any to be drafted, but in terms of his place on a depth chart, it could change the course of his early NBA career. 

The post Prospect Focus: Johni Broome appeared first on Swish Theory.

The first prospect I wanted to hit was one of my favorite prospects of 2021: Herb Jones of the Alabama Crimson Tide. I caught onto Herb late in the cycle, and was enamored with his defense and sneaky offensive skillset despite the sketchy shooting projection. But the more I dug into Herb, the more I fell in love with his game, and a piece of personal Draft philosophy was borne out of his Draft case. 

Taking a look back at the report from 2021 (which you can find at the end of this piece), one note for the physical profile is that while I described Herb’s build as “slender/lean,” it is certainly now evident that he was more wiry than slender. He was strong despite the thinner build, but I also think some of those attributes were captured in the movement skills section. The lateral ability was the most noteworthy aspect of his feet, but I probably underrated the footspeed. I think where Herb was particularly special was how adaptive his flexibility was for contorting and staying in front of ball-handlers. He had all the movement skills in the world to adjust his positioning fluidly and with such coordination. The other big translatable movement skill was the contact balance. Great offensive players in the NBA will put a shoulder into you and bump you off balance, and Herb was a master at absorbing the contact and remaining tight to the ball-handler, and that is something that has shined at the next level, where Herb has been a menace sticking to players.

Moving into the context of his Draft year, Herb was very decorated in his last season at Alabama, earning third-team All-American honors as well as dominating the SEC’s awards, being selected first-team All-SEC and receiving not only the SEC Player of the Year but also the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. And it was all well-deserved, competing at a high level on both ends of the floor. I also don’t think we should gloss over the fact that Herb was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year at Alabama, which I feel has to be an indicator of being a hard worker off the court as well. In retrospect, that should not be overlooked. On top of all that, Nate Oats praised Herb for his “lunch pail” and “hard hat” culture-setting. Point being, Herb had a lot of intangibles going for him, and he turn those intangibles into concrete stats: Herb is the school record-holder for charges taken for both single-season and career. It was clear that Herb was about all the right things. Intangibles are not the be-all end-all, but they should definitely reinforce the positive aspects a prospect brings to the table. 

Looking at the shooting profile at the time of the Draft, I think it was more than fair and so far pretty accurate that the shot projection was “somewhat unlikely/mostly stationary.” The free throw percentages improved over the course of his college career, but still landing at a woeful 60.4% career FT%. Herb has blown past that free throw hang-up, as he is now just over 82% from the line in the NBA on almost 500 attempts. I did not have that on my 2021 Draft bingo card, and I think is a testament to his work ethic (and also his fortunate landing spot in New Orleans with shooting coach Fred Vinson). But that is a literal free shot. I would certainly hope for professional basketball players to hit that 70% threshold. 

As for the 3pt shooting, Herb only had one season of semi-worthwhile volume, his last season, and it still wasn’t even that many attempts. But he did shoot his best percentage at a very viable 35%. Although it did follow the line of improvement he was showing at the free throw line, it was not to any convincing degree. Many of the attempts were dares, and the speed of the shot really took up all the time he was given. I was not sure about how he would be able to speed up the release once the efficiency improved enough, as he had a lot going on with his shot, with some funkiness and contrasting variables. Full credit to Herb for ironing it out; it may have made his career. 

The handle is what I felt was an underrated skill of Herb’s at the time. He exhibited plenty of competency putting it on the deck, and particularly in a variety of ways. Not only was Herb proficient attacking closeouts and pushing in transition, there were even PnR operations where Herb navigated a tight paint before making a play, which I found very impressive from someone of Herb’s height. Keeping that dribble secured and protected when you’re that tall can be quite a challenge, and Herb looked comfortable in that congested space. Not to say Herb should have been projected as a PnR operator (capable but not a featured part of his game), but seeing him handle like that was another indication of coordination, which was evident in his defensive movement mentioned earlier. 

Herb’s size and frame boded well in my opinion for how his finishing would translate to the league. Not the most explosive finisher, Herb’s length really aided him. He could dunk with ease without the need for premier vertical athleticism. The length also helped in his layup package, being able to extend for finishes. In addition to his length, Herb’s foot placement on the way to the rim were smooth, purposeful and adept. He was able to use footwork to find better finishing windows, and the creativity to get there was noteworthy and another indication of coordination. Still, there were a fair amount of worrisome aspects to his finishing; some finishes were a bit clunky and there were concerning instances of bad touch right at the rim. Despite those concerns, Herb still attacked the rim aggressively and drew fouls, which was also encouraging to see that his poor historical free throw numbers did not influence his aggression. The way that I tried to project Herb’s finishing was to base it around his lengthy 6’8 frame. The finishing numbers were not great, and the touch was unwieldy, but moving Herb into much more of a supportive role would mean Herb’s rim attempts would probably become a couple degrees easier, on top of having advantageous length to finish with (plus, any open finish for him could become a quick and easy dunk). He had already displayed an array of finishing capabilities, it just needed refinement. In the league, Herb has soaked up some efficiency by being a relentless transition threat, either running the lane or taking it coast-to-coast himself if not picked up. Also, Herb has done incredibly well turning defense into easy offense for himself. 

Moving onto the passing, Herb again showed versatility. He could make all the simple reads, but also make some higher difficultly passes. At his size, Herb could get the ball to a lot of different places on the floor, but one of his more impressive elements was the interior, tight-space passing. At 6’8, it is a challenge to attack the paint, have enough body control to attack without being careless, have quick enough processing to react to the help defense appropriately and complete the play with a pass on-the-move in a timely manner, on-target. That is a lot to ask of someone that height, and Herb passed with flying colors. Again, another point of reference of his coordination. 

This retrospective look at Herb Jones is going in order of how the report is laid out, and there has already been so much to like about his Draft case, and we are only now touching on his specialty: defense. The movement skills section seemed to underrate some of Herb’s capabilities, but I think those movement skills were so pronounced on the defensive end, particularly at the POA, where his foot placement navigating screens was pristine. In addition to how well he moved his feet, Herb was able to utilize his length to be disruptive, but what made that more impressive was how he remained in a deep stance while reaching. Many players lack balance when they go for those steals, exposing themselves badly when they miss. Herb was able to take those risks while staying solid and sliding his feet, which is truly an underrated athletic feat. Sitting in a stance is tiring enough, and adding the elements of live reactive defense while also going for steals is too much to ask for most players. Herb is not most defenders. 

At the time, Herb was lauded for his defense. And while lock-down defender was definitely in the cards for him, his off-ball defense was what made Herb such a complete defender, and a havoc to play against. Lots of players use time as an off-ball defender to relax. Herb was just as intense on-ball and off. Highly active on digs and swipes at drivers, and highly reactive to rotate, Herb plugged so many drives and discouraged many others. The floor shrunk with him on defense. He was maniacally helpful, seemingly never taking a moment off or letting the opponent get anything easy or for free. Herb was the epitome of intrinsic, playing with all the pride in the world. 

His defensive impact didn’t stop there, as Herb even helped out protecting the rim. His reactivity, timing and coordination culminated in some spectacular challenges at the rim. He was willing and unafraid of any consequences. High steal and block numbers throughout his college career, Herb was a devastating defensive play-maker. His competitive spirit could not be detained. 

Overall, it was difficult to remain completely objective with Herb at the time, as I am a sucker for a high-level defensive competitor, and the intangibles were so strong. As for most players, the swing skill was the shot, which I have been right and wrong about. I was wrong about the shot projection, as he has been a suitable spacer. I do believe I was right to be skeptical about the likelihood though, but also more importantly that the Draft argument for Herb was that if (BIG if) the shot hit, he is an immediate starter due to the elite defense. The Pelicans selected him at 35, but I do think his defensive talent warranted a higher Draft slot. What does Herb look like without a respectable shot? It is possible he is still an important piece to a competitive team as a defensive solution (although that may require pretty great spacing around him to compensate for the lack of shooting). Herb was truly up there in terms of best defender in the class, with the likes of defensive savant Evan Mobley. 

What I got most right:  the all-encompassing elite defense, well-rounded ball skills (outside of shooting) and coordinated movement skills

What I got most wrong:  the shot – turned out better than I expected, but in the realm of what I would have hoped for

The post Prospect Retrospective: Herb Jones appeared first on Swish Theory.