The Fresh Prince
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Looks like Matt Harpring who was genetically modified in a lab.
Walker Kessler Thoughts?
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Handlogten's Heros
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He’s not a bouncy athlete at all. He moves well though. Most guys his size are stiffs… I don’t think he’s that. It depends on how you define athleticism. Is his top end speed or vertical leap going to impress? Nah but functional athleticism might be more important and it loops in coordination and such. The play where he quickly slides past a guy to get a reverse layup for instance… there is definitely a measure of functional athleticism there. He hasn’t gotten cooked like I thought he would on the perimeter.
He isn’t Wiggins or a track athlete that is for sure but he seems to get where he wants which is more important. I do wonder if he can increase the vertical a bit because it is quite low.
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Maybe the way to classify him is fluid and coordinated but lacking in some key athletic areas? Like he can’t jump… but he runs really well… most of those the guys his size are much more “lumbering” with their movements.
He has great touch/hands. As we saw with Rudy that's not something you can learn easily, so it's a function of his athleticism.
PresidioTrojan
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Looks like a damn nice player. Impressive poise in his debut
When you're often the tallest/longest guy on the floor, I'm more interested in how your feet move on the floor laterally than I am in how high you get off the floor.
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Handlogten's Heros
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And I don't think he is awesome at that, but he is better than advertised. He just moves well... its smooth and fluid. He also seems coordinated. I think he is athletic enough (in that track and field sense) to survive with his other tools. Not to go white guy to white guy comparison mode but Joe Ingles survived on the wing with good lateral movement and positional size.
framer
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Are we certain that he can't jump or has he been coached to not leave his feet? At the college level he probably should never have jumped on the contest, and almost nobody ever was as good at blocking shots in college as he was.
He's going to face athletic players his size and bigger now so we'll see what he does.
That's part of what I was getting at: being disciplined about not biting on pump fakes is as important a skill as blocking shots. Being tall/long fundamentally helps with being able to contest shots with lower odds of fouling.
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RandyForRubio
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I thought we were past going by the NBA’s archaic draft trade rules. I guess not.
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You'll see it more when he finishes around the rim. When he dunks (or tries to) that is when I have noticed it.
Despite his physical limitations, I do think he will be a good player.
I don't think there really are many guys that are stiffs playing in the league right now. I also don't think you have to be a plus athlete to succeed. I think some are taking this as an indictment of Kessler, but it's not. Not every player that's good is good because he's a good athlete. You're not wrong that athleticism is a loose term, but I can't stretch any definition of athleticism to fit Kessler. That move under the basket is way more skill/touch than athleticism. When Tim Duncan was 40 he could still make that move in his sleep (he was also a great defender still btw). None of that was because of his athleticism. Kessler has demonstrated a good touch and feel for the game around the basket, to me that's not athleticism. Athleticism comes into play where he almost got rim stuffed on that backwards dunk attempt. It doesn't really matter if it's athleticism or skill, if it goes in it goes in. I'm just not going to pretend that he's a good athlete because he plays well. I think he's been super impressive since the start of preseason, but it's not his athleticism that's impressed me. It's his touch, feel, and general composure around the basket. Particularly on offense.
The functional/non-functional athleticism conversation to me is more about who is athletic in an empty gym versus who makes athletic plays on the court. Gordon Hayward would get crushed by Harrison Barnes at the NFL combine, but Hayward is going to make way more athletic plays like dunking on people or getting chase down blocks. There are athletes that are more functional in game situations, but to me that means they are still making athletic plays.
I don't think there really are many guys that are stiffs playing in the league right now. I also don't think you have to be a plus athlete to succeed. I think some are taking this as an indictment of Kessler, but it's not. Not every player that's good is good because he's a good athlete. You're not wrong that athleticism is a loose term, but I can't stretch any definition of athleticism to fit Kessler. That move under the basket is way more skill/touch than athleticism. When Tim Duncan was 40 he could still make that move in his sleep (he was also a great defender still btw). None of that was because of his athleticism. Kessler has demonstrated a good touch and feel for the game around the basket, to me that's not athleticism. Athleticism comes into play where he almost got rim stuffed on that backwards dunk attempt. It doesn't really matter if it's athleticism or skill, if it goes in it goes in. I'm just not going to pretend that he's a good athlete because he plays well. I think he's been super impressive since the start of preseason, but it's not his athleticism that's impressed me. It's his touch, feel, and general composure around the basket. Particularly on offense.
The functional/non-functional athleticism conversation to me is more about who is athletic in an empty gym versus who makes athletic plays on the court. Gordon Hayward would get crushed by Harrison Barnes at the NFL combine, but Hayward is going to make way more athletic plays like dunking on people or getting chase down blocks. There are athletes that are more functional in game situations, but to me that means they are still making athletic plays.
Kessler not bouncy, but he's quick off the floor. I think he might rack up some nice block games because he definitely doesn't have an intimidating presence so he can really surprise some people at the rim.
And he dropped a low bounce pass last night, so I guess the hands of God arent flawless
And he dropped a low bounce pass last night, so I guess the hands of God arent flawless
Def don’t mention the play almost a minute later where he caught a pass in traffic and reserve jammed it.
Being honest is stupid
I have never criticized his hands. It's just wild people are acting like his hands are some next level attribute. If you throw a pass at a 7 footers knees they are going to drop it often.
The PER stat isn't the b-all, but Kessler's PER is currently 33. He has an impact when he's out there.
We have just been so used to Rudy’s hands that any big who can actually catch seems godlike.
That’s ****ing amazing.
It's wild to me how bad he is at FT shooting for a guy who seems like has good touch.