Jarred Vanderbilt Discussion: The Vandalorian

I’ve seen him make a layup and dunk the ball before.

 

DFS can shoot though, over 40% the last 3 years. If Vando did that, he'd be starting and playing 30mins a night as the perfect role player with Luka, Reaves, Lebron & Ayton.

Even a broke clock can be right twice a day.

I'm always surprised when he gets the ball under the basket and has no lift to dunk it and gets swatted.

 

Yeah, having zero offense is tough. You'd like him to Rodman, but he obviously lacks the rebounding and is too passive on offense. Rodman was very engaged on offense and made up for his deficiencies with aggressive positioning. Rodman also had a great understanding of the triangle (great bball IQ) and was also a very underrated passer.

We see none of those attributes with Vando. Even if you can't shoot, you have to find other ways to help the team on offense. (ie Rodman/Draymond)

 

i've actually seen him make some pretty nice passes and choices on the short roll. and he gets on the offensive boards a little. where rodman was WAY better was setting screens and, as you mentioned, just general physicality and positioning.

but i'll repeat that i wonder how much rodman would play in today's game. like...imagine if bam adebayo was a bit smaller and had bad hands. i realize that's a little harsh, but i also think some of the rodman paeans are a little over the top. particularly in service of tearing down vando.

 

Yeah that may be a bit harsh. Rodman led the league in rebounding like 7-8 consecutive years, while playing against all-time greats like Hakeem, Robinson, Shaq, and Ewing. Not even mentioning Rodman's defensive versatility, his motor/stamina, his ability to get in his opponents head, and being a pest all over the court, the gap between him and Bam is quite large.

Put it this way... if we had prime Rodman on our team, I think we would be right up there with OKC as the title favorites.

 

yeah, not sure i agree. the game is not played the same way at all. everyone would be trying to play rodman at center.

 

Vando looks terrible out there and I don't fault JJ for currently burying him. He's a $5m player, not a $10m+ in this CBA.

He's regressed offensively, has not been nearly as impactful of a defender. Can't shoot, corner 3 is a joke. Under the basket, it's an adventure every time.

He limits the lineups JJ can deploy, he's not good enough to keep better players off the court.

Like I said in the Rui thread, I think there's a Dr Strange path to giving him spot minutes off the bench at C with Rui at PF but that probably has to be with Luka, Austin, and Jake out there (maybe Gabe if Luka or Austin are sitting). But no DA, no Jax, no Smart in those lineups. But that's a 4 minute lineup to shake things up. That's a lot of juggling for that and again, it's keeping better/ more versatile and impactful players on the bench.

 

It would be a weird fit and you'd need another big who could shoot but I could see teams going with him either in the dunker spot or the Hayes PnR - Rodman had hops so could at least finish. Basically you'd need someone Rasheed next to Ben ala the Wallace duo to make it work?

 

yeah, but again, would sheed and ben work now? i just think unless you're massive, you have a hard time playing without being able to score. like, is steven adams the last version of this? and even so, his inability to punish teams for ignoring him probably cost okc a playoff series during his prime (vs. houston, iirc).

 

The rebounding and switchability is elite though - he owns 7 out of the top 20 rebound percentage rates in history? Just a bizarre player but you could see certain teams who he fit in real well (chicagao with vucevic, utah with markennen, nyk with KAT0