Alex has definitely been the hardest to evaluate of the rookies this year.
He’s really struggling with his offense. Despite those struggles, he has the resilience to fight through and remain active on the court in other ways.
I feel like strength is his main issue at the moment. Other bigs can move him in the paint a bit which leads to a disadvantage down low sometimes. It’s a great opportunity to learn how to use his length against other bigs though.
Next season I’d love to see him try and develop a few go to moves on offense or get really comfortable in 1 or 2 places on the floor outside the paint. His hook shot is falling pretty well at 40%, perhaps that becomes a weapon for him in the future.
Overall I’m content with what I’ve seen from Sarr up to this point. I think having a very switchable center who can also make plays for others is a dangerous player to have going forward, regardless of if the shooting comes around or not.
According to that chart, Bilal is the best defender. Which passes the eye-test.
His game just doesn’t make sense to me. At the moment he’s like a 7’2” piece of clay and it’s up to him and the coaches to mold that piece of clay into a productive basketball player. I just don’t see it working out. What does he actually do well on offense? Getting pushed around on defense. He plays soft. Has no natural feel for being a big.
Really interesting visualizations!
Also, the second one calling JP out as an abysmal shot defender is hilarious. But the third kinda gives him his flowers for the steal work he’s been doing this year
Thanks for putting all of this together. We all know that he’s a project, but it’s easy to see the tantalizing upside that he has. Dude has a wild skill-set that will only get better as he gains more experience. He’s 19 now, but in another 2-3 seasons, he’s going to be an absolute menace on both ends of the floor.
Love the energy of being so active on contests. REALLY not a fan of his jump shots. I think he needs to develop it to keep it a threat, but he’s relying on it too much. I agree him putting on weight will hopefully help his post play on both ends, but I think he’s a real threat offensively if he focuses on moderation from beyond the arc and puts it together down low. Great stuff as always!!!
I know Sarr is the point here, but I’m just looking at this and thinking about all the people on this sub who try to convince me that Jordan Poole is a good defender…
Good stuff, thanks.
He’s been a net negative player so far, but that is perfectly expected and fine at this stage. He can switch and guard on the perimeter and has flashed enough of the other tools to be optimistic. He definitely could be great, underdog to get there though. Should at least be a useful starter in a hard to find and increasingly important role (switchable stretch big).
9 comments
Excellent data. Thank you for posting!
Alex has definitely been the hardest to evaluate of the rookies this year.
He’s really struggling with his offense. Despite those struggles, he has the resilience to fight through and remain active on the court in other ways.
I feel like strength is his main issue at the moment. Other bigs can move him in the paint a bit which leads to a disadvantage down low sometimes. It’s a great opportunity to learn how to use his length against other bigs though.
Next season I’d love to see him try and develop a few go to moves on offense or get really comfortable in 1 or 2 places on the floor outside the paint. His hook shot is falling pretty well at 40%, perhaps that becomes a weapon for him in the future.
Overall I’m content with what I’ve seen from Sarr up to this point. I think having a very switchable center who can also make plays for others is a dangerous player to have going forward, regardless of if the shooting comes around or not.
According to that chart, Bilal is the best defender. Which passes the eye-test.
His game just doesn’t make sense to me. At the moment he’s like a 7’2” piece of clay and it’s up to him and the coaches to mold that piece of clay into a productive basketball player. I just don’t see it working out. What does he actually do well on offense? Getting pushed around on defense. He plays soft. Has no natural feel for being a big.
Really interesting visualizations!
Also, the second one calling JP out as an abysmal shot defender is hilarious. But the third kinda gives him his flowers for the steal work he’s been doing this year
Thanks for putting all of this together. We all know that he’s a project, but it’s easy to see the tantalizing upside that he has. Dude has a wild skill-set that will only get better as he gains more experience. He’s 19 now, but in another 2-3 seasons, he’s going to be an absolute menace on both ends of the floor.
Love the energy of being so active on contests. REALLY not a fan of his jump shots. I think he needs to develop it to keep it a threat, but he’s relying on it too much. I agree him putting on weight will hopefully help his post play on both ends, but I think he’s a real threat offensively if he focuses on moderation from beyond the arc and puts it together down low. Great stuff as always!!!
I know Sarr is the point here, but I’m just looking at this and thinking about all the people on this sub who try to convince me that Jordan Poole is a good defender…
Good stuff, thanks.
He’s been a net negative player so far, but that is perfectly expected and fine at this stage. He can switch and guard on the perimeter and has flashed enough of the other tools to be optimistic. He definitely could be great, underdog to get there though. Should at least be a useful starter in a hard to find and increasingly important role (switchable stretch big).