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2024 NBA Draft Mega Thread

They finally have all the athletic testing and measurements up at nba.com.

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-strength-agility

The shooting numbers are pretty funny to go through. I'm not sure why they even have them do that, but I'm guessing it's more to look at form than percentages.

According to the Off Dribble College break left stats, Zach Edey is a better shooter than Reed Sheppard.
 
I'm of the belief that those indicators interesting guiding points, but at the end of the day it's only a problem if it is a problem. Meaning... when you watch him play defense, do you see him lacking in that department? Does it look like he lacks the length or athleticism or timing or effort or defensive IQ to make plays? And if it doesn't look like he's lacking in those areas, is it really a problem? Can it be partially due to defensive assignments and in general playing in a more conservative system that relies on him to not gamble?

Well, I do think people forget that defense is more than just straight up guarding your man. Creating turnovers is one way to improve defense, and he doesn't do it. Castle is great at defending his man, and that's important, but I also think it's probably the part of defense that gets too much credit. There is so much more to defense than that. Do I think Castle is bad at those other things? Not really, but stocks is a great proxy for that stuff.

If the indicator wasn't so extreme, like if he was bottom 30% instead of bottom 5%, it wouldn't bother me as much. Talking through his specific scenario makes it reasonable, but wouldn't you think there would be so many other cases in history? Like I said, it's not enough for me say he won't be a good defender. I have never said that. But we're talking about the elite of the elite and getting offended that I'm not saying he's like top 1 guy in the NBA....I don't think he's there.

To answer your question, it's not really a problem if you're talking about him being a good-great defender. If you're talking about him as the top 1 defender in the league and the best you've ever seen, yeah it is a problem in my eyes.
 
Well, I do think people forget that defense is more than just straight up guarding your man. Creating turnovers is one way to improve defense, and he doesn't do it. Castle is great at defending his man, and that's important, but I also think it's probably the part of defense that gets too much credit. There is so much more to defense than that. Do I think Castle is bad at those other things? Not really, but stocks is a great proxy for that stuff.

If the indicator wasn't so extreme, like if he was bottom 30% instead of bottom 5%, it wouldn't bother me as much. Talking through his specific scenario makes it reasonable, but wouldn't you think there would be so many other cases in history? Like I said, it's not enough for me say he won't be a good defender. I have never said that. But we're talking about the elite of the elite and getting offended that I'm not saying he's like top 1 guy in the NBA....I don't think he's there.

To answer your question, it's not really a problem if you're talking about him being a good-great defender. If you're talking about him as the top 1 defender in the league and the best you've ever seen, yeah it is a problem in my eyes.
The last sentence - maybe this is where the disconnect is. I don't think he's top 1 defender in the league and the best I've ever seen. I think he will be really good defender. Probably will make some All defensive teams... I don't think he's prime Kawhi defensively or anything of the sort though...
 
One thing about Edey is that he sets screens like a U-Haul trailer. If you're Ja Morant or Desmond Bane trying to buy some space, an Edey screen might be just the ticket. They had Steven Adams for a while, who might be Edey's closest comp as a drop big.
 
One thing about Edey is that he sets screens like a U-Haul trailer. If you're Ja Morant or Desmond Bane trying to buy some space, an Edey screen might be just the ticket. They had Steven Adams for a while, who might be Edey's closest comp as a drop big.
Get him and supercharge the offense.
 
It's skewed and small but I can dream. The best projected big 3pt shooter. And he moves the quickest. Sorry Cy you have work to do the next month.


View: https://twitter.com/901Burner/status/1788655272212177287?t=g10qyHZstLSK0trtVkwBpg&s=19


There isn't enough data sample on Chomche to draw conclusions about his shooting, imo. I think he's a project, but he's a project with tools and, most importantly, some competitive drive. You'd take a swing on him if you have an extra pick for the same reason we took a swing on a young Rudy Gobert. I like the way he runs the floor. I like the way he sets a hard screen. I like the way he covers ground to contest shots. And yeah, I'd like to believe he can shoot and pass a bit.
 
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