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2019 NBA Draft

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Sometimes I read realgm forums.
Despite his size and explosion, Zion Williamson lacks the length and skill to be a true NBA star. In the current NBA, at 6-5 with a 6-10 wingspan without a jumpshot and perimeter-level ballhandling, you will not succeed as a star in the league.
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Nathan S said:
I feel bad for realgm because I actually like a lot of things about their website. It just somehow attracts a lot of idiots.
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Yes it does.

The same guy. And I’m reposting these for entertainment value and there may be discussion points.

when you talk about undersized guys, you talk about short guys with great wingspan and standing reach. Zion has a standing reach of 8-7. Those are measurements of a wing player, when Zion clearly is not a wing.

As a big man he will be defensive liability because longer guys will be able to score over him. On the perimeter, he does a bad job of closing out on three point shooters and won't be able to chase them around screens. His size is actually a disadvantage here.

Offensively, teams will dare him to shoot from the outside. In the post, in a league obsessed with length, his utter lack of length will be a huge issue.

He will never be a number 1 option on a team and will get most of his buckets in transition, as a garbage man on the offensive glass and as a roll man in PnR situations. His absolute ceiling to me is a David Lee calibre player (borderline all star), in an era in which David Lee type players are a relic.
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I think there’s bits of truth here and there. I don’t really think Zion can be the #1 option on a top 4 seeded playoff team. I don’t think he can put a bad team on his back and get them through the first round of the playoffs, as the player he is now. Or maybe even get them there at all.

But there’s a middle ground between the Lebrons of the world and say, Blake Griffin. He may be in there.

The only resemblance to Lebron is the athleticism and dominance in the open floor. Zion's game in college is almost exclusively forcing his physicality in the paint, similar to Shaq. Coach K is doing a great job utilizing Zion's advantage on the floor, but his instincts, playmaking, midrange, and iso game are so far unproven. Nevertheless, clear number 1 pick.
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More truth
 
Alec Zander said:
Yes it does.

The same guy. And I’m reposting these for entertainment value and there may be discussion points.



I think there’s bits of truth here and there. I don’t really think Zion can be the #1 option on a top 4 seeded playoff team. I don’t think he can put a bad team on his back and get them through the first round of the playoffs, as the player he is now. Or maybe even get them there at all.

But there’s a middle ground between the Lebrons of the world and say, Blake Griffin. He may be in there.


More truth
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Agree that he's unlikely to ever develop into a #1 option type on offense. Disagree with everything he says about his defense. I'd bet anything Zion makes multiple all-defensive teams in his career, and I'd give him at least 50/50 odds of winning the DPOY at least once. He's a transcendent prospect on that end of the court, and I'm shocked that anyone genuinely wants to argue otherwise.
 
Nathan S said:
Agree that he's unlikely to ever develop into a #1 option type on offense. Disagree with everything he says about his defense. I'd bet anything Zion makes multiple all-defensive teams in his career, and I'd give him at least 50/50 odds of winning the DPOY at least once. He's a transcendent prospect on that end of the court, and I'm shocked that anyone genuinely wants to argue otherwise.
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What I like to do is visualize dropping a player on to the court in memorable high level games. It’s not usually a fruitful exercise but it helps me distill what they contribute in a real game situation amongst other great players. Which is ultimately the goal, right?

Remember when Houston missed like 25+ straight 3s to lose to the warriors? Would Zion have increased their chances of winning during that lengthy sequence? Who comes off the court for him? Does he snap more rebounds than that person? Does he ever bring the ball up? He’s probably defended by Draymond. Would he be able to take advantage of that matchup? Draymond has 4+ inches of height on him. Would GS be able to prevent him from busting open a fast break? The stuff he’s best - on offense - sort of goes away in the playoffs. ISO is king. Does he have the handle to break guys down? He has the athleticism. But this isn’t the Shaq era. LeBron was a freak but it wasn’t bullying as much as quickness and speed. Plus an adequate handle

Overthinking it for sure
 
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Alec Zander said:
What I like to do is visualize dropping a player on to the court in memorable high level games. It’s not usually a fruitful exercise but it helps me distill what they contribute in a real game situation amongst other great players. Which is ultimately the goal, right?

Remember when Houston missed like 25+ straight 3s to lose to the warriors? Would Zion have increased their chances of winning during that lengthy sequence? Who comes off the court for him? Does he snap more rebounds than that person? Does he ever bring the ball up? He’s probably defended by Draymond. Would he be able to take advantage of that matchup? Draymond has 4+ inches of height on him. Would GS be able to prevent him from busting open a fast break? The stuff he’s best - on offense - sort of goes away in the playoffs. ISO is king. Does he have the handle to break guys down? He has the athleticism. But this isn’t the Shaq era. LeBron was a freak but it wasn’t bullying as much as quickness and speed. Plus an adequate handle
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Wait, what? Draymond is maybe 1" taller than Zion.

That aside, no, Zion couldn't step into a WCF game against the Warriors and make a difference right now. But that's not a reasonable bar...no 18-year-old in basketball history would be up to the task. Projecting forward, he's going to improve his handle and in the future he'll be an absolute menace attacking the rim, which would add an important dimension to a 3-point heavy offense like the Rockets have.

Again, though, I think his bigger impact is going to be on defense. He's a guy who'll be able to guard all stripes of offensive stars for critical stretches...no one, not Embiid, not Durant, not Harden, not Giannis is going to have an easy time scoring against him. That's where he'll really be an elite-level difference maker, especially in the biggest moments of the biggest games.
 
So the last player the Cavs drafted #1 that turned into a superstar also went to Duke and was injured. Just sayin.
 
The end of that half was such an amazingly terrible sequence for Reddish. Randomly chucks up a wild 3 with 7 seconds left on the shot clock. Then followed that up with that miserable TO in transition, that led to the last UNC bucket. Ugh. Threw away a 5 minute stretch where they had finally chipped away at the lead.

Barrett is gonna need to score 30 with about 15 rebounds for Duke to have any chance in this game.
 
Zion and Nike both going down in a flash. Nike had to be praying that he'd return to the game. I'm sure the millions watching were too.
 
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