It just hit me today- who does Kanter play like?
Tyler Hansbrough.
Both players have thick, muscular builds with limited explosiveness. Both players have very high motors. Both players have been stronger and bigger than their competition growing up. Both players love to bang and live in the paint. Both annoy opponents with their relentless drive for rebounds.
Kanter is a bigger, Turkish Tyler Hansbrough.
So what does this mean?
Because Kanter is so much bigger than Hansbrough he is better suited for the NBA on defense and on the boards.
This year Hansbrough is averaging 12.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg with good percentages in 28 mpg. He is more confident in his face-up and mid-range shot. Primarily Hansbrough is valuable because of the energy he bring to the court. He tries to make every hustle play and inspires his teammates to rise to his energy level.
Trying to project Kanter in the long term is really murky. Offensively he needs to find confidence in his mid-range jumper. He needs find the shots in the post that will be effective for him. I think he can look to Hansbrough for ideas on how to work around his limited explosion.
On defense Kanter has similar physical tools to Kendrick Perkins-a large, agile frame with decent length. Kanter needs to study video to see how Perkins controls the paint and forces offensive players in the post into tough shots. We have seen glimpses of how Kanter walls offensive players off and blocks shots without jumping.
Perkins was a key part of the Celtics championship teams on the defensive end. Kanter could become the same kind of paint controlling big man for us. His offensive game is already better than Perkins and will continue to improve.
The key thing to take away from this is that Kanter plays a winning style of basketball. With some modest improvements he can help the Jazz dominate the paint for years to come.
Does anyone see other good comparisions for Kanter?
Tyler Hansbrough.
Both players have thick, muscular builds with limited explosiveness. Both players have very high motors. Both players have been stronger and bigger than their competition growing up. Both players love to bang and live in the paint. Both annoy opponents with their relentless drive for rebounds.
Kanter is a bigger, Turkish Tyler Hansbrough.
So what does this mean?
Because Kanter is so much bigger than Hansbrough he is better suited for the NBA on defense and on the boards.
This year Hansbrough is averaging 12.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg with good percentages in 28 mpg. He is more confident in his face-up and mid-range shot. Primarily Hansbrough is valuable because of the energy he bring to the court. He tries to make every hustle play and inspires his teammates to rise to his energy level.
Trying to project Kanter in the long term is really murky. Offensively he needs to find confidence in his mid-range jumper. He needs find the shots in the post that will be effective for him. I think he can look to Hansbrough for ideas on how to work around his limited explosion.
On defense Kanter has similar physical tools to Kendrick Perkins-a large, agile frame with decent length. Kanter needs to study video to see how Perkins controls the paint and forces offensive players in the post into tough shots. We have seen glimpses of how Kanter walls offensive players off and blocks shots without jumping.
Perkins was a key part of the Celtics championship teams on the defensive end. Kanter could become the same kind of paint controlling big man for us. His offensive game is already better than Perkins and will continue to improve.
The key thing to take away from this is that Kanter plays a winning style of basketball. With some modest improvements he can help the Jazz dominate the paint for years to come.
Does anyone see other good comparisions for Kanter?
