Minnesota Sports Forum

Anybody else noticing Dieng's development (sadly, mostly offensively) this preseason?

I've seen him take guys off the dribble and finish at the rim. He's hitting longer jumpers including 3s. He was (wrongly) called for a travel the other day that took away what was an awesome pivot into a 3 pointer he hit with ease.

I see potential shadows of Z-Bo and Aldridge in both Dieng and Towns. Obviously, Towns is more likely to get there. But they both have good mobility and range on their offensive games.

I definitely see improvement on the offensive side as you note. The fun part for me is that our defacto starting Center last year will now be back coming off the bench. It's makes great depth. And Dieng hopefully puts up some nice stats against other teams bench players instead of banging against all the top Centers in the West. I'll also be curious to watch new combinations for line ups this year. Specifically, pairing Dieng with guys like Towns, KG or Rubio since we haven't seen much of those guys together. It will be be interesting to see Dieng play some PF too IMO. Right now, I'd prefer to see him get minutes there ahead of Payne.

Yep it's honestly sort of shocking. Who would have guessed he would have the offensive abilities or the rough workings he has right now. He may be a flawed defensive player but has some positives on that end but his offense continues to be a pleasant surprise. He is proof of the fact that when you draft a player you never know what you are gonna get.

International/FIBA play is often derided by us fans because it takes players away from focusing on skill-development in the offseason (how often have we suggested that Rubio should be shooting 1,000 jump shots per day in August and September and stop playing for Team Spain?).

However, in Dieng's case, these last two summers playing for Senegal has given him the unique opportunity to be a #1 option offensively since he's their best player. That has allowed him to really expand his offensive game and gain confidence as a threat on that end of the floor. It's really been quite remarkable to see. I'm still not sure he could ever be a high-volume scorer, but he's come a really long ways over the past couple of years.

I get the Aldridge comparison for Towns. Hell, I even made that comparison early in the calendar year. In what way is Z-Bo a reasonable comparison for Dieng, though?

Camden wrote:In what way is Z-Bo a reasonable comparison for Dieng, though?

In the way that they push other players around in the post.

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:In what way is Z-Bo a reasonable comparison for Dieng, though?

In the way that they push other players around in the post.

I mean both Dieng and Towns have outside offensive games like Aldridge and Z-Bo, although they are obviously not as developed as those guys. Both are bigs who can handle the ball a little, pass it pretty decent, and shoot with range.

I got visions of this with Dieng and Z-Bo, but I get what you are saying.

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:In what way is Z-Bo a reasonable comparison for Dieng, though?

In the way that they push other players around in the post.

he does?

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:In what way is Z-Bo a reasonable comparison for Dieng, though?

In the way that they push other players around in the post.

I mean both Dieng and Towns have outside offensive games like Aldridge and Z-Bo, although they are obviously not as developed as those guys. Both are bigs who can handle the ball a little, pass it pretty decent, and shoot with range.

Mmm, not sure if Z-bo is really a good example. Aldridge definitely resonates with me though.

(and by the way, practically every PF these days has some range on their jumper).