I love this pick. It's a very high-reward type of pick.
Lets talk physical attributes. First of all, he's not fat. He's big boned.
But he really is - he's just a widebody. He'll need to watch his diet but he has the frame of an NFL fullback and not a NBA player. But he's really agile and explosive in space. He just moves really well for a big man - aka Charles Barkley type of physicality though not that skill set (or quite the explosive leaping). He's fast - he will run by other players in the open court and he's like a freight train when he does. People get out of the way when he's moving. He leaps quite high when he can get a head start but is only average from a set position. He's not super-long at 6'8" but the reach goes to 7'1" and thus he's not undersized whatsoever.
Since players make their living on the Celtics by playing defense fist, let's discuss that. It's not great. His technique needs a lot of work. He reaches too much and he needs to learn how to play team defense but the desire is there to learn. He doesn't defend the perimeter very well because he reaches too much. He has the agility to stay with most guys though but has to learn to play the pick and roll. He's not an interior shot blocking presence. He needs to learn to sit down when defending the post and hold his ground rather than reaching around and giving up the easy bucket. He actually defends in space quite well when he's not over committing himself. He surprisingly doesn't rebound as he should for a big guy (though he's better than someone like Chriss). He doesn't get explosive lift from a standstill and needs to position himself better.
Almost all of this is correctable with coaching. I'm not sure he's going to learn what he needs to know being stashed overseas another year and that's why I'm hoping he comes over now. He played in a horrible situation last year - his team was abysmal - and you could see that impact him on the court last year. He looked lost because I think he was and with good coaching these things can be fixed. The desire is there to learn and he's a smart kid with a good BBIQ. If we do stash him overseas we need to help position him with a team that is defensive oriented and where he can really be taught how to play within a team defensive concept.
Offensively, it's not hard to love his potential. His stroke is wonderful and the statistics show it. 43% from 3 point land and it's smooth. Moreover, his shot comes from behind his head almost like Bird's did. I'm not saying he can shoot as well as Bird but the motion is quite similar. He can shoot it set and off the pick and roll. He knows how to use his weight in the post. He needs to work on his moves down there but has a couple of nice soft shots that are reliable. He's totally right handed but he can put the ball on the floor and blow by many defenders - and usually out muscle the ones he can't get by with quickness. He needs to work on his left handed shot. He doesn't tend to stand still on offense either, playing in a system that had him constantly cutting and moving. His passing is fairly unknown and may never be better than anything but average but he's not a black hole. He's also a decent offensive rebounder but again has room for improvement.
I think Celtics fans are going to love this guy once they really get a chance to see him. He looks like a great PF fit for Brad's system. Sullinger is a better rebounder with more system experience but that might be it. Yab can do the things offensively that Brad wants a PF to do - hit the 3, put the ball on the floor when you need to, run the court and work for the offensive rebound. Like Sullinger, he needs to learn to play defense but he has the physical skills, size and caboose to be an interior force while still being agile enough to move outside. You can pair him with Mickey, Amir or Zizic (or even a guy like Noel) on the front court and he'll be complimentary because he should be very versatile on that end once he picks up the system. The comp for Yab is often Paul Milsap and I think he can get there and perform somewhere close to that level. Can't wait to see him in green!
Topic: Yabusele is our Draymond Green project-looks GREAT (Read 16498 times)