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James Wiseman Scouting: Discuss

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What NBA bigs do you think provide plus value as players who can't at least tread water in perimeter action?

There are a few answers....but they are players who provide value in completely different ways than someone like Wiseman.

I don't dislike Wiseman in general.....I think he's a good archetype to take a homerun swing at.......I just don't view him as being more valuable in the modern game than someone like Okungwu.

Who will be the better player? It's a guess at this point.......but I just tend to value Okungwu's mixture of skills + his floor. More times than not, I just think someone like Okungwu is the better player.......and in a draft with more uncertainty at the top, I think guys like Okungwu and Haliburton should be given more credit for the floors they provide. Not everyone agrees with that, which is fine....I just have yet to see a compelling argument as to why you take Wiseman over Okungwu........there's plenty of theoretical reasons......but with Wiseman not playing against college competition, it is a lot of best case scenario(ing).

100% agree on pick and roll defense being more important than defense at the rim. If a guy is taking a shot at the rim in the NBA you failed on that possession already. One thing I really liked from this season was how TT and Nance showed that they are in fact good defenders when they played together. They really shut penetration down and made guys take jumpshots. Neither is a rim protector, and they can both be good on shutting down the pick and roll, but not when they are left to guard the ball handler and the big man both.

We are looking for a Zion in this draft and there isn't one. We don't want to end up with Anthony Bennett when Oladipo is staring us in the face with Okongwu and Haliburton.
 
From: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjABegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw3C1agO6YVqERIFL91QsYRR

Strengths
Wiseman has a great frame with long arms and excellent agility. He runs the floor well and is a high level athlete, not just a big body. He can play in areas above the rim that most players can’t reach.

His post up and mid range game are on point and he knows how to get to his spot and body up against the defender to create space. He shows quick moves in the lane and a soft touch around the basket. He’s a ferocious dunker who can really explode off the floor and play way above the rim. He’s also got a sweet left-hand baby hook shot, which he shoots with great height and accuracy.

He has a nice shooting stroke and shows a lot of promise as a mid range scorer, with potential to expand his range out to three. He’s got the skills of a true post player but is also highly skilled from the perimeter. He’s a talented passer in half court sets and also a great outlet passer after defensive rebounds.

Wiseman is a force on the defensive end, where he alters and blocks a lot of shots, showing good timing, quick elevation and good shot blocking instincts. His awareness on the defensive end is something that can’t be taught and Wiseman projects as a legit rim protector at the college and NBA levels. He also does a nice job of altering perimeter shots and has enough foot-speed to bother guards beyond the three point line.

He has size, length and instincts that you can’t teach and a chance to be special.

Weaknesses
Wiseman is still learning the finer points of the game such as playing with proper positioning on defense and making the right rotations and switches. This isn’t so much a weakness as it is inexperience.

His frame is a bit top heavy and he needs to add a lot of muscle, especially to his lower body. He gets pushed around too easily and ends up on the floor too often.

He relies too much on his left hand when scoring in the paint. Needs to polish up his footwork and get better body control and balance on his spin moves, drop steps and turn around jumpers.

He an get happy feet and switch his pivot foot, leading to traveling violations. Overall he needs to let the game slow down for him and make better decisions. He often forces or settles for an outside shot when he has a clear advantage and should go to the rim instead.

Needs to play with consistent intensity and develop more alpha dog tendencies.

Comparisons
  • Anthony Davis lite
  • bigger Chris Bosh
  • Patrick Ewing
 
I think he's the best big man prospect since Joel Embiid.
 
Maybe not Ayton, but Towns is too perimeter oriented for my liking. Certainly better than Jackson imo.
 
Maybe not Ayton, but Towns is too perimeter oriented for my liking. Certainly better than Jackson imo.
Towns is probably the most offensively skilled big man in the history of the NBA

Strangely enough, Ayton is the only one of the three mentioned that I'm not sure I'd take over Wiseman (I probably still would)
 
Hakeem or Kareem.
Post move-wise, they're tough to beat. There are other skills though.

Towns is incredible. He has to be in the conversation. No big man has ever done what he's been doing offensively.
 
Post move-wise, they're tough to beat. There are other skills though.

Towns is incredible. He has to be in the conversation. No big man has ever done what he's been doing offensively.

Hakeem had a 20 foot jumper which if played today would have been a 3 point shot.....Kareem had the most unstoppable shot in the history of the NBA, both offensively were beyond just post movies.

Not down playing Towns, just no way he is better offensively than Kareem of Hakeem.
 
Hakeem had a 20 foot jumper which if played today would have been a 3 point shot.....Kareem had the most unstoppable shot in the history of the NBA, both offensively were beyond just post movies.

Not down playing Towns, just no way he is better offensively than Kareem of Hakeem.
I guess we'll have to disagree. At age-24, Towns just had the second most efficient 25+ ppg season ever for a big man behind Kevin McHale's 86-87 season.

He's an elite shooter (not just for a big), very good passer, great on the block, great face-up skills... At the very least he's in the conversation. I don't see that as debatable and Hakeem in my all-time favorite player.

Players to average 35+ points per 100 possessions with an eFG% over .550:
Screen Shot 2020-08-09 at 8.56.23 PM.png
 
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I guess we'll have to disagree. At age-24, Towns just had the second most efficient 25+ ppg season ever for a big man behind Kevin McHale's 86-87 season.

He's an elite shooter (not just for a big), very good passer, great on the block, great face-up skills... At the very least he's in the conversation. I don't see that as debatable and Hakeem in my all-time favorite player.

Players to average 35+ points per 100 possessions with an eFG% over .550:
View attachment 3938

35 games isnt even a half season, i know its a weird year, but he only played in about half the games. Plus Towns took 8 3-pointers a game, bigs werent asked to do that in the 70's and 80's. different game, but 3-pointers has warped fair comparisons. And the efficiency numbers dont take into account Hakeem at 4.2 vs Towns 2.7 offensive rebounds.

I am a fan of allot of the modern stats, but hard to compare sometimes. Hakeem could have easily developed a 3 point shot if asked too, but that wasnt the game, i know Laimbeer, but he was such an exception.
 

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