khans2k5 wrote:It doesn't get bigger and more athletic than Zion even at the NBA level and Tacko legit deterred Zion from going to the hoop at times in that game. You just don't need to be that quick and athletic at 7'6 to be a defensive presence. There also just aren't that many guys who can kill you shooting off the dribble in the PnR where he needs to jump out on them in that action especially when you factor in him playing against bench guys for the most part. I think people are overthinking it. He's 7'6 270 with an 8 foot wingspan. That's not a twig that's gonna get pushed around. He'll be able to hold his ground and be a defensive anchor for a second unit and get really easy buckets on offense just due to his size.
I agree he can certainly make a play or two. My concern is his body of work in college. His statistics haven't changed at all in past 3 years. In fact, the only change is that he doesn't get as many rebounds. That may have more to do with the team being better than anything he did.
That being said, this guy shot 75%, but only managed 6 shots per game over each of past 3 seasons. How can a guy that is 7'6", likely playing against guys 6'8-ish only average 6 shots? And he ranked 11th nationally in blocked shots. Again, nothing striking from a guy his size. His slow feet and poor technique create his alarming foul problem as well. Something that probably gets worse in move to NBA.
When I was describing him to my wife I said, "can be effective, but is a fairly bad basketball player". I think that fits. Will make a few plays, and maybe is worth a chance as 2nd unit guy, but I honestly don't expect him to see any meaningful minutes with anyone. Just not good enough despite the size.
