But finishing when you get to your spot, move through the guy, and don’t have your shot altered isn’t the same. I can finish pretty easily over my 6’4″ friends and most other people, but when my 6’6″ friend shows up with his 7’+ wingspan, suddenly I’m making a lot more mid-air adjustments that clang against the rim or get outright swatted.

I don’t trust it until we see it against NBA competition, and I doubt GMs do either. I’m not saying it won’t translate, just that it’s hard to buy without more proof.

I agree with this, mainly based on my own eye test data, both on TV and in person. Even if true, he does seem to get lots of shots blocked and strongly contested as well.

I like that he’s continually working with Drew Hanlen, who seems very smart in defining the best areas for leverage in improving one’s efficiency. And there are things he’s doing in FIBA that are consistent with what Hanlen described in the recently posted interview, e.g using his strength and more basic moves to create driving lanes rather than working on creating more wiggle, shooting short jumpers and floaters better so that he is less predictable in attacking the rim.

A lot of those layups through contact are getting swatted in the NBA.

I’m not entirely sold on Johannes Voigtmann and Andreas Obst as NBA All-Defense talent

EDIT: Raven beat me to it

Few things would make me happier than to move from the haterz to the stans team. But I have to say, even watching that FIBA clip from a day or two ago, a lot of those ‘drive left’ moves felt like they would have ended up in the third row against a legitimate NBA center, just like always…

But hope springs eternal. If a bunch of kids can beat the state of Montana for ruining their futures over climate change, then RJ Barrett can improve.

I would never trust the recollections of a 37th birtheday of a has-been former POBO currently in assisted living