Re: NBA Draft 2019
If it was rigged the Knicks would have won it at some point in the last decade.
I don't know how he isn't versatile. We've seen him do just about everything on the court this year. Rebound, block shots, hit threes, lead fastbreaks, finish in traffic, beat guys off the dribble, make good passes, etc. He's not great at all of it but he is capable. I wonder if we're seeing a bit of Zion-fatigue as we saw with Luka-fatigue last year. Lot of folks (and stupid NBA FOs) thinking he can't possibly be as good as the hype, plus they forget just how young they are.
He's not going to be a guy who you'll have to sub out because of a lineup/matchups the other team throws out there and I don't think he'll have any glaring weaknesses the opposition can exploit. On defense, he rotates well and anticipates. Being a good help defender is more important than being a good on-ball defender in today's NBA. He can obviously protect the rim and rebound.
I think he's a better passer than you're giving him credit for. He may not be a playmaker yet but I think he can be a good one based on what I've seen so far in terms of his vision and passing. He's also 19. A guy like Draymond was at MSU picking splinters out of his rear end at this age. I think the most important thing is that he sees the floor well and is a willing passer. He's not a tunnel-vision scorer.
That play is nothing to sneeze at. Forget how absurd the block is, then leading the transition action and threading the needle with a bounce pass?
I don't think he'll be a "come in and dominate" guy from Day 1 like Luka because his skillset is nowhere near Doncic's but I like his outlook long-term.
As for his athleticism, for as many guys as we've seen in the situation you described, we've seen just as many who couldn't fully utilize their athletic gifts because of how putrid the college game is these days and surprise some folk once they get to the NBA. I think Zion will fall into the latter category; he's much better suited for the NBA than the college game. The NBA is going to continue to get smaller and faster until drastic rule changes are made; Zion fits right in as a matchup nightmare. He may never be good enough to be the #1 on a championship team but I think he'll be a hell of a weapon. In an NBA where someone like Julius Randle puts up 20/10/3 I don't see how Zion won't be really f'n good.
If it was rigged the Knicks would have won it at some point in the last decade.
I don't know how he isn't versatile. We've seen him do just about everything on the court this year. Rebound, block shots, hit threes, lead fastbreaks, finish in traffic, beat guys off the dribble, make good passes, etc. He's not great at all of it but he is capable. I wonder if we're seeing a bit of Zion-fatigue as we saw with Luka-fatigue last year. Lot of folks (and stupid NBA FOs) thinking he can't possibly be as good as the hype, plus they forget just how young they are.
He's not going to be a guy who you'll have to sub out because of a lineup/matchups the other team throws out there and I don't think he'll have any glaring weaknesses the opposition can exploit. On defense, he rotates well and anticipates. Being a good help defender is more important than being a good on-ball defender in today's NBA. He can obviously protect the rim and rebound.
I think he's a better passer than you're giving him credit for. He may not be a playmaker yet but I think he can be a good one based on what I've seen so far in terms of his vision and passing. He's also 19. A guy like Draymond was at MSU picking splinters out of his rear end at this age. I think the most important thing is that he sees the floor well and is a willing passer. He's not a tunnel-vision scorer.
That play is nothing to sneeze at. Forget how absurd the block is, then leading the transition action and threading the needle with a bounce pass?
I don't think he'll be a "come in and dominate" guy from Day 1 like Luka because his skillset is nowhere near Doncic's but I like his outlook long-term.
As for his athleticism, for as many guys as we've seen in the situation you described, we've seen just as many who couldn't fully utilize their athletic gifts because of how putrid the college game is these days and surprise some folk once they get to the NBA. I think Zion will fall into the latter category; he's much better suited for the NBA than the college game. The NBA is going to continue to get smaller and faster until drastic rule changes are made; Zion fits right in as a matchup nightmare. He may never be good enough to be the #1 on a championship team but I think he'll be a hell of a weapon. In an NBA where someone like Julius Randle puts up 20/10/3 I don't see how Zion won't be really f'n good.
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