Bear Down Wildcats

It's been six games, which means it's a perfectly small sample size to go deep into the data and overreact... here are our rotation players:

Tubelis

Benn

Koloko

Terry

Kier

Aiken

Kriisa

Ballo

Larsson

Some notes:

* Zu is our most well rounded player right now, the kid can do it all
* Benn is struggling as a PnR ball handler to no-ones surprise but he needs to find a way to efficiently impact in other areas
* Koloko is generally dominating the paint but you really love to see his lack of turnovers
* Terry is a menace in transition and his playmaking generally has been nuts
* Kier has been at his best just spot up shooting while struggling as a PnR ball-handler (which matches my eyes and expectations)
* Aiken has been efficient but he needs to do more to get on the stat sheet (my eyes say he does a ton that doesn't show up though)
* Kriisa obviously needs to pick up his outside shooting %, but my god his transition passing numbers
* Ballo has been efficient as a dirty work guy and not a lot else... still wonder how many minutes he'll get as the season goes on and the rotation tightens
* Larsson... quietly capable, looking forward to him expanding what he's doing out there and showing more of his game

Yo, you rock

Awesome. Thank you!

I don’t know what any of those numbers mean and I get anxious looking at those charts… so thank you for the summary!

Alieberman wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:56 am I don’t know what any of those numbers mean and I get anxious looking at those charts… so thank you for the summary!

YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:39 am Some notes:

* Zu is our most well rounded player right now, the kid can do it all
* Benn is struggling as a PnR ball handler to no-ones surprise but he needs to find a way to efficiently impact in other areas
* Koloko is generally dominating the paint but you really love to see his lack of turnovers
* Terry is a menace in transition and his playmaking generally has been nuts
* Kier has been at his best just spot up shooting while struggling as a PnR ball-handler (which matches my eyes and expectations)
* Aiken has been efficient but he needs to do more to get on the stat sheet (my eyes say he does a ton that doesn't show up though)
* Kriisa obviously needs to pick up his outside shooting %, but my god his transition passing numbers
* Ballo has been efficient as a dirty work guy and not a lot else... still wonder how many minutes he'll get as the season goes on and the rotation tightens
* Larsson... quietly capable, looking forward to him expanding what he's doing out there and showing more of his game

Thank you for this thread.

My thoughts:

Odd that Benn is decent in half court but his efficiency falls off in transition. You'd think with his physical ability, he'd kill it in transition.

Ballo, I still see him as someone who's not an option vs good teams for more than a few minutes when Koloko can't go. I've never really been in love with his potential. He's nothing but a C and just limited in his game. The things he does well, he can't do vs good teams with guys who can match him physically.

Larsson's to's are better but still stubbornly high vs his assists. The other areas of his game are good and that's the one thing that really keeps him from having the impact he could.

Kerr is the opposite of Larsson. His assists and to's are both headed in the absolute right direction and he just needs some shots to fall.

Koloko has settled into what he does well. He's a finisher. He's gotten into that role and has just been doing that. No hesitation, just put the ball in the basket. He probably won't ever be an initiator, but he doesn't have to be with this group. He's figured his role out.

Agreed on Tubelis. The only striking thing is everything is good or great. It took him half the season to figure it out last year, but I had compared him to Zeke Nnaji and this is why. Koloko is a specialist. Tubelis does everything well.

Of the smaller roles, Larsson has the most potential. Kier is who he is. Aiken needs to contribute on D and the glass because his offense is never going to be dynamic. The upside is all 5 starters have a lot to recommend them, so reserves just need to handle excess minutes.

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:20 am

YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:39 am Some notes:

* Zu is our most well rounded player right now, the kid can do it all
* Benn is struggling as a PnR ball handler to no-ones surprise but he needs to find a way to efficiently impact in other areas
* Koloko is generally dominating the paint but you really love to see his lack of turnovers
* Terry is a menace in transition and his playmaking generally has been nuts
* Kier has been at his best just spot up shooting while struggling as a PnR ball-handler (which matches my eyes and expectations)
* Aiken has been efficient but he needs to do more to get on the stat sheet (my eyes say he does a ton that doesn't show up though)
* Kriisa obviously needs to pick up his outside shooting %, but my god his transition passing numbers
* Ballo has been efficient as a dirty work guy and not a lot else... still wonder how many minutes he'll get as the season goes on and the rotation tightens
* Larsson... quietly capable, looking forward to him expanding what he's doing out there and showing more of his game

Ballo, I still see him as someone who's not an option vs good teams for more than a few minutes when Koloko can't go. I've never really been in love with his potential. He's nothing but a C and just limited in his game. The things he does well, he can't do vs good teams with guys who can match him physically.

I don't disagree, and Ballo's role shouldn't expand if Koloko were out a game or extended minutes (we're best to go smaller with Tubelis at the 5), but I think he'll be fine in those backup minutes. He won't be able defend mobile bigs, or those who can stretch the floor and drive on the dribble, but he won't have to. On offense he's really smart. He's not going to pick and roll, but he can really set that pick (boom!), and always gets to where he knows he needs to be. When the ball goes up, he establishes position and gets himself fouled, and then he's money from the line. I may be wrong, but I think he keeps his minutes. He's a poor man's Cockburn.

Longhorned wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:15 am

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:20 am Ballo, I still see him as someone who's not an option vs good teams for more than a few minutes when Koloko can't go. I've never really been in love with his potential. He's nothing but a C and just limited in his game. The things he does well, he can't do vs good teams with guys who can match him physically.

I don't disagree, and Ballo's role shouldn't expand if Koloko were out a game or extended minutes (we're best to go smaller with Tubelis at the 5), but I think he'll be fine in those backup minutes. He won't be able defend mobile bigs, or those who can stretch the floor and drive on the dribble, but he won't have to. On offense he's really smart. He's not going to pick and roll, but he can really set that pick (boom!), and always gets to where he knows he needs to be. When the ball goes up, he establishes position and gets himself fouled, and then he's money from the line. I may be wrong, but I think he keeps his minutes. He's a poor man's Cockburn.

I don't really disagree. I think he can do 6-10 mpg just fine. My question/concern is I tend to worry he may never be more than a 6-10 mpg type.

He just strikes me as C only who has less potential to expand his game beyond a banger.

I think Ballo is going to give us much more than that in the years to come.

I see plenty of potential

Alieberman wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:51 am I think Ballo is going to give us much more than that in the years to come.

I see plenty of potential

I wish I was that optimistic. It's not a slam on him, I just see him as a guy who would have been a classic 90's big in a world where teams have learned exactly how to exploit those guys.

It's rough. You can take Rudy Gobert as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and exploit him defensively. The switches and stretching the floor leave no place for a classic big like Sean Rooks.

The Suns are so retro about the whole thing because Ayton is such a unicorn, he can defend guards. There's more tolerance for true bigs in D1, but not THAT much more. When Coburn walked into McKale, he looked scary until gangly Zeke Nnaji tied him on a string at the end of a yoyo.

What would happen if a young Kareem magically transported into an NBA game tonight? On offense, they'd dump the ball to him in the high post, and he'd be disoriented about how much space he has to operate. He'd score on every single possession until the defense collapsed on him like the Big Crunch. Then he'd look out and notice his four teammates just standing still around the arc, and take wonder in them nailing every 3-pointer they shot.

But Kareem's team would still lose because their defense would be even worse, with cross-court passes like Kareem never imagined, a barrage of 5-on-4 3-pointers while Kareem sticks on his "big" until he figures it out and switches, and then gets hunted by the guards.

Longhorned wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 12:54 pm It's rough. You can take Rudy Gobert as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and exploit him defensively. The switches and stretching the floor leave no place for a classic big like Sean Rooks. The Suns are so retro about the whole thing because Ayton is such a unicorn, he can defend guards. There's more tolerance for true bigs in D1, but not THAT much more. When Coburn walked into McKale, he looked scary until gangly Zeke Nnaji tied him on a string at the end of a yoyo.

Yes. That's why I know I've been a downer with Ballo, but it isn't to be a jerk to him. Big bodied C's who were post, layup, dunk guys and struggled away from the rim on D were fine in the 90's.

Yinka Dare, Greg Ostertag, Eric Montross, the names are legendary. But today, bigs are more multiskilled and just about every team has a plan to exploit a stationary big.

Spread offenses focusing on ball screens are the rage and they function to pull guys like Ballo away from the rim and make them move, recover and react. It's just never been tougher in basketball history to be Oumar Ballo. In 1993, I could see his future as a starter on a national championship level team. Today, I wonder if he ever averages more than 10 mpg.