07-23-2023, 09:50 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-23-2023, 09:52 AM by hakeemfaan.)
(07-23-2023, 09:28 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: As one of the boards resident negative nancy´s. I am more hopeful than usually around this time of the year. In the end results matter but there has been a noticable change of approach and I cannot ignore that as far as creativity and asset management goes they did exactly what many of us have been asking for since what feels like forever.
As far as Lively goes. I wasn´t the biggest fan pre draft and probably wouldn´t have taken him at 12 but I don´t think it was as big of a reach as hakeemfan suggests. People tend to forget that he was the top recruit of his class not even two years ago. Mediocre first half of the season saw him fall into the mid/late 1st round but he finished strong and by the end of the season he was the best defender in college basketball. Add a couple of good workouts and it is easy to understand how he jumped back into the lottery.
I did go back and look at his high school highlights. He seemed to dominate just on height as most really tall and athletic high schoolers do. Plus he was hitting 3s. The 2nd part is the key. The first part I don’t put much stock into unless he was playing in an advanced league as in most of the highlights he didn’t even get any real resistance. I think it got exposed a bit in college.
I want two things from a modern day defensive center. Be able to switch and block out for rebounds on the defensive end if near the glass. He looks weak right now on the second part. That is of a concern to me because even Powell and Maxy can switch out well. The problem is they get pushed around in the paint. Dirk OTOH is never recognized as a force in the middle but from day 1 what stood out to me was that this dude can get defensive rebounds in traffic. There is a reason why his rebounding number went up in the post season when the battles were even more intense.
If the 3 point shot comes it is a huge bonus. However if he can just block out and get defensive rebounds in traffic along with his ability to switch on the perimeter, I will gladly take that and take back anything negative I feel about his selection.