I want to get some POV looks at our players. So I'm going to be crunching some stats and offering player comparisons. I invite others to make their comparisons, too. I'm interested in where our players are in our eyes right now, and what we can see going forward for them. With such a young team, that prospecting feeling is contagious. TARIK BLACK PROJECTIONS Scoring Efficiency: 5.11 Passing Efficiency: 1.83 Hustle Efficiency: 3.40 Position: BIG Positional Efficiency: 72 -Tarik is going to give the Lakers about what he did last season. He's a decent scorer, a respectable decision-maker, especially for a big, and he's a solid hustle player. He offers a bit of versatility, being able to play the 4 against many 4s and the 5 against all but the tallest of centers. Role: Second String, Heavy Rotation I expect Tarik to begin the season in heavy rotation, especially at the 5. As the season wears on, things could change. Black is not a high ceiling player, and he's seemingly not far off that mark. Don't mistake this for a condemnation of Black; he's a quality role player, and even on a good team, he could see significant time in the 10-man rotation. Player Comparison If you combined DJ Mbenga and Chuck Hayes, I think you'd have something like Tarik Black. He's more athletic than Hayes, but he's more bullish than the graceful (yet strangely unskilled) Mbenga.
trodgers, I should have asked earlier, but what is the scaling of your efficiency numbers? 0-10 and 0-100?
Off hand, I would've said that Rose's offensive game was more nuanced than Black's, but Rose isn't a bad ceiling. He worked hard, was a crafty vet, and made an extensive career out of his skills. I think Black is (right now) more out of control and more powerful than Rose. They do have pretty similar physiques, but Black is a few inches taller.
Unfortunately, the stat doesn't play out that way. I put the Positional Efficiency on roughly a 1-100 scale (Like QB Passer Rating in the NFL), but the other stats range something like this: Scoring 3- terrible 4 - poor 5 - adequate 5.5 solid 5.75 good 6 - excellent 7 - exceptional Passing 1 - terrible 1.5 - poor 2 - adequate 2.5 - solid 3 - good 3.5 - excellent 4 - exceptional Hustle 1 - terrible 1.5 - poor 2 - adequate 2.5 - solid 3 - good 3.5 - excellent 4 - exceptional Positional 20+ potential NBA body 40+ NBA body 60+ rotational 70+ role player 80+ starter 90+ star 100+ superstar
ANTHONY BROWN PROJECTIONS Scoring Efficiency: 5.38 Passing Efficiency: 2.32 Hustle Efficiency: 2.44 Position: WING Positional Efficiency: 54 -Anthony Brown hopes to fill the 3 and D role, and there is reason to hope he will be at least as good as Wesley Johnson in that regard. He boasted excellent success shooting the ball in college, and he was not a bad defender. He could be more of a shooter than a scorer in the NBA. Role: Bench - Possible Rotation Spot Assuming the roster shakes out with Russell, Clarkson, and Kobe running the 1 through 3, there will be little room for Brown behind Kobe and Young; he will essentially be buried on the bench until Kobe is injured or unless his minutes are severely restricted. Expect a humble impact from Brown, especially as a rookie. Player Comparison: Trevor Ariza (-slashing) If you remember when Ariza entered the league, started with that player, and then took away Ariza's greatest skill, his slashing ability, that is pretty close to Anthony Brown. Brown should be a better three-point shooter than Ariza was coming into the league, however, and likely by far. His ability to hit the open shot and stay active on defense will help him stay on the court, but the potent scoring of Jabari Brown, Lou Williams, and Nick Young could threaten to relegate him to the D League.
I'll get more posted in the coming days. I have a meeting to prepare for now. Feel free to chime in - I appreciate input on these player comparisons, roles, etc.
Tarik Black - I forgot about him because he got hurt, but he kinda has that Leon Powe feel to his game as well. Just an all around hard worker, doesn't need the ball in his hands to be productive, goes hard on the boards, finishes well around the rim, strong body and versatility defensively, slightly undersized at Center, but will still put up a fight. Anthony Brown - He seems quite nervous with his game like he's second guessing himself a little bit in contrast to someone like Justin Anderson who was just oozing confidence in his game. He has a nice shot, but he hasn't strung together anything notable. Defensive potential is there, but only because of his size, he doesn't have that defensive aggression that I like to see in good D guys. Current comparison now is Devin Ebanks, potential is there, has the tools to be an Ariza 3 and D type of wing, but he has a lot of work to do.
Ebanks was legit ya'll. I'm thinking Anthony Brown compares to a guy like James Jones. Rangy, decent defender, but mostly a good shooter. Ariza is more of a cutter/slasher and is better defensively. Ariza isn't a strong shooter though and I think Brown will be better in that regard.
Ariza is a streak average shooter. That means he has streaks where he's average. He's had some significant stretches of very poor shooting with even poorer shot selection. I have no clue about Brown at this level. Not enough info.
Ebanks had a Bynum type of mentality where when he was engaged, he was actually productive. But it seemed he never got his head around playing 100% so he just fell off. Didn't he have one stretch where he hounded an in-form Durant and everyone thought that was his breakout? Don't know what happened after that.
He was just another kid with tremendous physical tools and a .02 cent head for the game (or anything for that matter). Just another Wesley Johnson albeit with maybe even less BBIQ.
imo, ebanks looked worlds better than Anthony brown at the same stage, but I'm not sure it means much, as they play very different brands of basketball. brown's lack of athleticism and strength has been disappointing, as has his slow release and generally poor shooting results. the slow release might be damning, even if I do expect the percentages to improve. if you're not athletic and have no ball skills, you have to get that thing up in a split second. like steve novak. even matt bonner gets the ball up more quickly, just from my eye test.
He needs to learn to hop into his shot so he's already half way through his shooting motion before the defense closes on him. Right now he's two steppin' into his shots which slows down the time from catching the ball to releasing it.
JABARI BROWN PROJECTIONS Scoring Efficiency: 5.59 Passing Efficiency: 2.47 Hustle Efficiency: 1.68 Position: WING Positional Efficiency: 55 -Jabari has shown a knack for scoring, leading the Summer League team in PPG, and outpacing all Lakers other than Jordan Clarkson in total points despite playing in only two games. If he can hit upwards of 36% of his threes, continue with timely steals, and continue to protect the ball reasonably well, he could find himself one of three potent bench scorers on the wing. Role: Second String, Heavy Rotation Jabari Brown could end up being the Lakers' best scoring wing off the bench in 2015/16. With Nick Young and Lou Williams on the team, that says a good deal. He should play heavy minutest at the SG position behind Clarkson and/or Kobe Bryant. Player Comparison Jabari Brown is reminiscent of Shannon Brown. While he isn't the leaper Shannon was, he has a craftiness to his game around the rim. He is definitely not a Point Guard, and even if he has the strength and quickness to guard some Point Guards, his skill set screams Shooting Guard.
DWIGHT BUYCKS PROJECTIONS Scoring Efficiency: 5.17 Passing Efficiency: 2.79 Hustle Efficiency: 2.24 Position: PG Positional Efficiency: 55 -Buycks is at best enigmatic and at worst simply not an NBA caliber player. Unfortunately, even his enigmatic side shades toward needing a great deal of improvement. A career 38% shooter, Buycks has hit nearly 90% of his FTs and 42% of his threes in the NBA. Given his performance in college and the D-league, those numbers cannot be sustained. He remains a PG without PG skills and with an at best decent three-point shot and poor overall shooting skills. Role: Cheering on the Team Buycks made the team last season only after a rash of injuries to various players. While it is important not to put too much stock into this Summer League performance, for a borderline roster player, the poor performance has likely sealed his fate. Buycks may head to the D-League, where he will likely score the ball well and hope for a return to the Lakers. Player Comparison Dwight Buycks is, alas, reminiscent of Smush Parker, double alas, with lesser playmaking skills. I feel bad writing that.
