Tarik has been playing well, much improved over his rookie year with last year under Boron the a-Hole being a throw away season. I hope the ankle sprain is not too severe to keep him out long. But you know what that means .........
If Ingram has the balls to play full out speed and take it to the rack with his frame, it's time for the vets to tell Zu to do the same thing. Play like a skilled big man and be aggressive. No feeling like he's a rookie and has to defer and pay dues to older bigs. He's certainly got the frame and weight and mass low to do so more than Brandon. And the coordination. Here's his chance to show us what he's really got at 20 years old. He'd have to be tough enough. Moz is and he should be learning from him.
Tarik didn't practice today. I think he will be out next game. We should play Zu some minutes. Houston would be a decent test for him and a good starter for him.
I'm still excited for this kid. I expect him to be a really good player in a few years. he has all the tools.
Looks great against smaller dudes. Needs to improve on his quickness in all areas I think to be able to play well against the guys his size. Still really like the kid.
liked the three and the banker. those hooks would get eaten against pros, though. still, very marc gasol-esque in those highlights. would like to see him operate more in the pick and roll, and i wonder if he can become a useful high post passer. most importantly, can he anchor a team scheme defensively? probably a couple years away from any of that.
Paging therealdeal ...... Shoot from hip from me would say resistance bands and other types of resistance work. Sand work. A lot of the same drills with those kinds of things that Nick was shown busting his a** doing this past off season. Moz as well was shown working out in beach sand soon after we signed him. Moz also looks faster running the floor but I would think simple sprint work and knowing he needs to run faster on breaks and follows on breaks (like Moz) (when needed) ..... would fix that quick enough. Less sack time with hot 5 years older GF and more time with the trainers this coming off season.
There's only so much to be done about improving quickness honestly. There comes a point, especially among high level athletes, where you either have it or you don't. For instance D'Angelo Russell can't spend the summer training and turn himself into John Wall athletically. As for Zubac specifically I would have him work on his core strength, balance exercises, shuttle drills, drills where he transitions from one direction to another quickly. I'm not entirely sure he can build up to be considered quick even by the Center standard, but honestly that's not his issue. He really needs time to develop and he needs to learn how to contest shots using his length and size. No one questions Marc Gasol's ability to defend and I would say Zubac profiles towards Marc athletically. I'd say Zubac shows a decent feel for the game too like Marc. Zubac just needs more and more and more and more time just like Ingram and Russell. None of those three are elite physical athletes, but they've all got characteristics that can make them very good players. Give Zubac another 2-3 years of muscle maturation and if he continues working hard, he'll be an NBA player. He has the potential to be an impact NBA player. If it were me, I'm giving him a heavy dose of sand work, squats, and a ton of various deadlifts. I'm sure he's got access to some fantastic core strengthening equipment and workouts over there. I'd also have him working on his shoulder and arm strength too. I want his arms raised, ready to contest every shot with those crazy long arms of his.
It's more tiring than you'd think holding your arms out straight for an extended period of time. For all of Julius's muscles, he has his hands down constantly on defense. And for guys like Zubac that have abnormally long arms, holding it out for an extended period of time would be really difficult. He needs to strengthen up and I think he'll improve dramatically over the next couple years if he keeps working hard.
