bleedspeed177 wrote:Not really impressed with the highlights. I don't see him getting those buckets in a NBA game. Then again playing with Rubio he might. Not with JJ.
are you kidding me? how can you not be impressed?
even disregarding his scoring that man is an elite offensive rebounding machine
He's not an elite anything at this point against NBA competition. Those offensive rebounds aren't going to be easy to come by among the trees in the big league. There is a huge difference between rotation players in the NBA and the end of the bench garbage time players, and the D-League is full of end of the bench or worse. I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy but getting excited by summer league or D-League is foolish.
Its great to see him get minutes and hopefully some day he'll work himself into a rotation in the NBA, though I see zero chance he ever starts for anything but a lottery team.
Edit: I'm an elite O-Rebounder too! At least until the middle school coach kicks me out of the gym!!
He has been an elite offensive rebounder at every level and with the way that translates to the NBA I don't think it's foolish whatsoever to be excited over that aspect of his game in the NBA
bleedspeed177 wrote:Not really impressed with the highlights. I don't see him getting those buckets in a NBA game. Then again playing with Rubio he might. Not with JJ.
are you kidding me? how can you not be impressed?
even disregarding his scoring that man is an elite offensive rebounding machine
He's not an elite anything at this point against NBA competition. Those offensive rebounds aren't going to be easy to come by among the trees in the big league. There is a huge difference between rotation players in the NBA and the end of the bench garbage time players, and the D-League is full of end of the bench or worse. I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy but getting excited by summer league or D-League is foolish.
Its great to see him get minutes and hopefully some day he'll work himself into a rotation in the NBA, though I see zero chance he ever starts for anything but a lottery team.
Edit: I'm an elite O-Rebounder too! At least until the middle school coach kicks me out of the gym!!
We should probably trade him while he still has some value.
Clearly no chance of him ever breaking into the second unit on our lottery team!
My initial thoughts were that most of his offensive game around the basket isn't athletic enough, but he does use his body well, and has the beef to make space for himself. He is aggressive on the offensive glass as well, which is something our bench could really use. He seems like he has a feel for getting the ball in the basket. Looked more confident as the game went on, and I think a few more games could really get him going.
He was sucking wind early on and throughout the game, so conditioning needs to improve. I did expect that from a guy sitting on the pine every game, and on a team that doesn't seem to practice much.
Only saw the highlights, but that looked like the Mohammad that I enjoyed watching at Pauley last winter. Several are discounting his more than a point a minute performance, saying this is only D League, but that's the way he played in college as a freshman in the tough Pac 12, and he has been an offensive juggernaut at every level he has played at. He can score in so many ways...very versatile offensive performer.
The other thing I don't get is the "not athletic" label some on this forum have given him. While I agree that his down the court foot speed and his lateral movement are only average for an NBA player, he is one of the most explosive vertical jumpers I have ever seen. He worked out during the summer and spring at an elite training facility for wings in Santa Barbara, and he recorded the best score in the facility's history for vertical explosiveness...and this facility has had some great athletes training there. His explosiveness combined with a relentless drive and work ethic are exactly the kind of attributes that translate into a future productive NBA player.
I enjoyed his interview also that follow the highlights. Good to see that he is working on his ball handling...not his major strength.
A question for anyone who watched the game. Was he matched up defensively with a SG or a SF? Although he was listed as a SG in college, UCLA played a 3-guard offense and Shabazz almost always guarded a forward. His value would skyrocket for the Wolves if he were able to play some minutes at the 2 also. There aren't many shooting guards who could keep him off the offensive glass.
I agree with bleed that many of those baskets won't translate to the NBA. He was good but I wasn't that impressed, open dunks look great but as far as NBA skills go it's not what I'm looking for. He needs to work on using his larger frame to create space to get his shot off, right now it looks like he's trying to force his way through his opponent. I still don't see him being a star but if he can be a Paul Pierce lite I'd be thrilled.
longstrangetrip wrote:Only saw the highlights, but that looked like the Mohammad that I enjoyed watching at Pauley last winter. Several are discounting his more than a point a minute performance, saying this is only D League, but that's the way he played in college as a freshman in the tough Pac 12, and he has been an offensive juggernaut at every level he has played at. He can score in so many ways...very versatile offensive performer.
The other thing I don't get is the "not athletic" label some on this forum have given him. While I agree that his down the court foot speed and his lateral movement are only average for an NBA player, he is one of the most explosive vertical jumpers I have ever seen. He worked out during the summer and spring at an elite training facility for wings in Santa Barbara, and he recorded the best score in the facility's history for vertical explosiveness...and this facility has had some great athletes training there. His explosiveness combined with a relentless drive and work ethic are exactly the kind of attributes that translate into a future productive NBA player.
I enjoyed his interview also that follow the highlights. Good to see that he is working on his ball handling...not his major strength.
A question for anyone who watched the game. Was he matched up defensively with a SG or a SF? Although he was listed as a SG in college, UCLA played a 3-guard offense and Shabazz almost always guarded a forward. His value would skyrocket for the Wolves if he were able to play some minutes at the 2 also. There aren't many shooting guards who could keep him off the offensive glass.
Long, from what I could tell, he was guarding SF, but the offense is so much fastbreak and iso that it is hard to tell who is playing what. I am not familiar with most of the players so I don't know who the SF and SG positions are for Bakersfield.
longstrangetrip wrote:Only saw the highlights, but that looked like the Mohammad that I enjoyed watching at Pauley last winter. Several are discounting his more than a point a minute performance, saying this is only D League, but that's the way he played in college as a freshman in the tough Pac 12, and he has been an offensive juggernaut at every level he has played at. He can score in so many ways...very versatile offensive performer.
The other thing I don't get is the "not athletic" label some on this forum have given him. While I agree that his down the court foot speed and his lateral movement are only average for an NBA player, he is one of the most explosive vertical jumpers I have ever seen. He worked out during the summer and spring at an elite training facility for wings in Santa Barbara, and he recorded the best score in the facility's history for vertical explosiveness...and this facility has had some great athletes training there. His explosiveness combined with a relentless drive and work ethic are exactly the kind of attributes that translate into a future productive NBA player.
I enjoyed his interview also that follow the highlights. Good to see that he is working on his ball handling...not his major strength.
A question for anyone who watched the game. Was he matched up defensively with a SG or a SF? Although he was listed as a SG in college, UCLA played a 3-guard offense and Shabazz almost always guarded a forward. His value would skyrocket for the Wolves if he were able to play some minutes at the 2 also. There aren't many shooting guards who could keep him off the offensive glass.
Long, from what I could tell, he was guarding SF, but the offense is so much fastbreak and iso that it is hard to tell who is playing what. I am not familiar with most of the players so I don't know who the SF and SG positions are for Bakersfield.
Yeah, I'm afraid we (and more importantly, Rick) aren't going to get a feel for his defense in the D League. He frustrated me sometimes at UCLA but it wasn't because of lack of effort. He had a tendency to close on his man in a frantic way that caused him to get beat a lot. But with his work ethic, I always thought a good coaching staff could teach him to be a better defender.
I tried to make an effort to analyze his defense live, but like sjm said, it was useless. There wasn't much of an offense run from either team, but Iowa was the better of the two. It was a bunch of guys trying to make highlights and get their numbers so they can get a look from some scouts. One thing I noticed was that Shabazz did hustle and sprint through every defensive move and adjustment he made. He seemed to be looking around and second-guessing his positioning a bit, but he was committed to being in the right spot.
