insider request

[chocolatethunder]

If anyone can post this I would appreciate it. Thanks.


http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...omore-rankings

[Xiao Yao You]

Gobert #1 or stfu!

[chocolatethunder]

Gobert #1 or stfu!

[hawksdogsbraves]

The NBA season is over two months old now, which means the sophs who have been solid or better in Year 2 are not just getting lucky. However, this a tough league, so just being solid today is no guarantee of playing time tomorrow. Coaches and executives always search for great players to replace good players.

So, no, this year's sophs cannot rest on a good start. They need to either improve or hide their weaknesses in an effort to become more productive players. Here's a look at what the current top 10 sophs can work on:


1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
Giannis is doing a number of things right on each end of the floor -- showing good shot selection, playing athletically yet under control, competing hard. His play continues to spark the surprisingly competitive Bucks, and he is certainly a key member of their future. But how can he make the jump forward to becoming an All-Star? He can start with his deep perimeter shooting.

Giannis currently takes fewer than one 3-point shot a game (and makes only 20 percent of them), but if you discount his half-court heaves at the end of quarters and the contested 3s late in the shot clock, the average drops even lower. In one sense, he deserves credit for his low number of attempts because he just isn't a good shooter yet. So not taking those shots helps his team. However, his shot mechanics suggest he is not far away from being an effective shooter from long range, either.

Right now, every long shot he takes looks different than his previous attempt. Sometimes he holds his follow-through, sometimes he snaps his arm back as soon as the ball is released, sometimes (maybe most of the time) his shooting hand drifts or jerks to the right of the rim on the release, etc. This is a case of how shooting infrequently prevents a player from learning how to shoot the same way every time.

For Giannis' long-term development, more 3s with the same form each game (and of course hundreds of them daily in practice) can and likely will lead to a much better percentage. If he becomes a strong perimeter threat, he will also become a far more explosive scorer.


2. Gorgui Dieng, Timberwolves
Dieng continues to play like the kind of center Minnesota hopes to feature when its younger players develop. He has already proven to be capable of putting up big scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking numbers.

However, his consistency in terms of effort is not where it needs to be, standing in stark contrast to guys like Joakim Noah and Marc Gasol, who aim to impact every defensive play. One easy fix for Dieng in this area, something he is getting better at currently, is to keep his arms up while sliding and moving, before talling up as the shot is taken. Getting the arms up earlier helps to prevent some shots from even being taken, especially for a player with his wingspan. Talling up on a shot, meanwhile, makes it more difficult for the offensive player to finish the shot.

Dieng ranks low on the list of centers who force opponents to miss paint shots mostly because of this one area of deficiency.

3. Rudy Gobert, Jazz
One of the NBA's most improved players, Gobert is making himself a starting-level center. But a man his size and length is going to have problems with coordination and balance at 22 years old. Gobert is no different. So when he cuts to the basket, he gets himself in trouble because he struggles to remain balanced after the catch, resulting in travels or bad passes as he's falling.

This is something he can (and likely does) drill frequently, racing to a spot before catching and stopping, with bent knees, ready to make the next play. He can also focus mentally on not trying to make a tough play after the catch but rather the simple one, which starts with not playing too fast after the catch.


4. Mason Plumlee, Nets
After a rough start with a new head coach, Plumlee has returned to the rotation in a big way. He is an impact player thanks to his energy and defensive presence. But there is no doubt that his free throw shooting (47.5 percent) is a major concern.

Studying his form shows that his overall mechanics are consistent, which is a good thing, but his wrist action goes horribly astray on many if not most of his shots, oftentimes moving sideways rather than straight down. This happens a lot with players with big hands. Working on generating the same "snap" on each shot takes time but it can be done.

His balance can be a little off as well, only adding to his problems. Instead of falling forward as he releases, he can work on staying firmly in place until the ball hits the rim.

5. Shabazz Muhammad, Timberwolves
One of the players who has benefited greatly from the injuries in Minnesota, Muhammad has proved to be a good scorer and a dominant offensive rebounder. Long and powerful, he can overwhelm opponents on the glass. But he's doing that only on the offensive end.

Muhammad has been a poor defensive rebounder, in fact, looking to hang out on the perimeter in preparation for a run out if his team gathers a missed shot. But his rebounding talent should transfer to the defensive end as easily as it does on the other end. Minnesota ranks among the bottom teams in defensive rebound rate; it sorely needs Muhammad to engage on that end.


6. Kelly Olynyk, Celtics
We know that Olynyk is a center in name only, as he lacks the arm length, overall size and power to play the position in the classic way. But he should be able to effectively post up guards who end up switching onto him. He can't, though, thus opponents don't mind when switches happen.

Although Olynyk does a good job of probing for the middle, he lacks any of the quick attack or surprise moves that better post scorers employ, choosing instead for methodical backing down that his defender has no trouble walling up on. Olynyk also doesn't try to go by his man when being bodied up at sharp angles. He may never be a good post scorer against opponents his size, but he can and should be far more effective against smaller men.


7. Victor Oladipo, Magic
Other than as a shooter, Oladipo has not made a jump at all as a basketball player. Perhaps the biggest problem holding him back is his turnovers. Some come from just being too casual with the ball (like trying to throw a pass over the head of a taller defender), some come from driving below the block (a danger zone for all but a few, usually bigger, scorers), and some come from simply driving into a crowd of defenders. Attention to detail in any of these areas would bring his turnovers down significantly.

Oladipo and rookie Elfrid Payton complement each other well; Oladipo is a shooter/scorer, while Payton is a pure passer, and both can defend point guards and shooting guards. But the Magic rank 23rd in turnover rate, which is something Oladipo can help with once he starts valuing possessions better.


8. Alex Len, Suns
Len has exploded as a starter on one of the hottest teams in the league, thanks to his defensive presence and overall ability to make paint plays on both ends of the court. Now, if he could just learn to defend without fouling he'd help the Suns even more.

The good news is his foul problems mostly arise from bad habits he learned in Europe, where the officials allow players to use their hands far more often on defense (shoves and such) than NBA officials tolerate. If Len focuses more on moving his feet and keeping his enormously long arms up or out rather than on the driver/rebounder/shooter, he'll cut his foul rate down considerably.


9. Steven Adams, Thunder
His pure numbers are not impressive, but Adams plays a key role for OKC on defense, which is why he starts for the Thunder now. However, his minutes are trending down in part because of his lack of offensive punch. While no one expects him to be a post-up threat on this team, it is fair to expect him to both clean up on the offensive glass and finish putbacks far better than what he is doing.

His struggles begin and end with his impatience after gathering a missed shot, rushing to put a shot back up (and missing point-blank shots half the time) rather than either kicking the ball out for a new possession or gathering, faking and exploding up to either finish or draw the foul.


10. Ben McLemore, Kings
McLemore is rounding into an excellent 3-point shooter, which packages well with his athleticism. The problem is he offers little else right now. He's not a threat to get to the line, he isn't a great ball-mover and he has yet to learn how to protect the ball (though this part will surely come).

Worse, for someone with his athleticism, he offers little help on the glass. His rebound rates on both ends rank very low among all shooting guards, yet he is one of the youngest and most agile starting 2-guards in the league. For that to change he needs only to study film and see how often he stands around doing nothing when he could be racing to rebounding zones after shots instead.

Three to watch
Dennis Schroder, Hawks; Cody Zeller, Hornets; Otto Porter, Wizards

No fat boy Bennett to be seen

[Xiao Yao You]

However, his consistency in terms of effort is not where it needs to be, standing in stark contrast to guys like Joakim Noah and Marc Gasol, who aim to impact every defensive play. One easy fix for Dieng in this area, something he is getting better at currently, is to keep his arms up while sliding and moving, before talling up as the shot is taken. Getting the arms up earlier helps to prevent some shots from even being taken, especially for a player with his wingspan. Talling up on a shot, meanwhile, makes it more difficult for the offensive player to finish the shot.

Dieng ranks low on the list of centers who force opponents to miss paint shots mostly because of this one area of deficiency.

So how is he ahead of Rudy who is arguably the biggest defensive force in the game right now?

a man his size and length is going to have problems with coordination and balance at 22 years old. Gobert is no different. So when he cuts to the basket, he gets himself in trouble because he struggles to remain balanced after the catch, resulting in travels or bad passes as he's falling.

I haven't seen this at all. His hands and strength are his biggest issues and he's improved a lot there.

This is something he can (and likely does) drill frequently, racing to a spot before catching and stopping, with bent knees, ready to make the next play. He can also focus mentally on not trying to make a tough play after the catch but rather the simple one, which starts with not playing too fast after the catch.

They've not seen him play. He's raw offensively but nothing they said applies to what I've seen from him.