His offensive game reminds me of Arvydas Sabonis, minus the passing. Very low to the ground, uses his body well, and a good jump shot. Sabonis in his younger days was a terror. We only saw the late stages of him in Portland who got obliterated by Shaq.
A few things that would work wonders on his speed and endurance. Lots of ladder drills, abductor and adductor exercises, light high rep weigh training, and a lot of work on guard ball handling drills. As young as he is and with his lack of training he can make a great deal of progress.. I have seen quite a few big clunkers turn into fairly agile players. He is way too young to just say he is what he is.
All of what you said is true, but at their level it's almost irrelevant. He'll improve drastically relative to himself, but he is still going to be far from the physical specimen that he'll run into like DeAndre Jordan or Karl Anthony-Towns. He'll never be able to stay in front of or sprint with those types of players. That's not to say he shouldn't do the things you're saying, but all-in-all it shouldn't be the thing he focuses on most. What he has that they don't have is a huge frame with long arms. He should work on challenging shots at the rim effectively, using body positioning and strength to create strong positions, and stamina. He'll never be very quick or agile, but if he learns proper timing and positioning, he won't need to. The Gasol brothers do just fine and neither of them are athletic monsters.
Hey wasn't Zu supposed to be down with the Defenders yesterday ..... smoking the 6'10" guys? Wonder how he did. Lazy Guy
I still really like this kid. Hoping he might get more PT for us, but I'm also good with him developing further in the D League for now while we try to climb into the playoff hunt during the second half of the season.
He still has a ways to go. It would be nice to get him some NBA level competition/size down there, but he's already a force down low based on the few highlights posted in here. He has a sweet stroke, a go to hook, and soft hands in the pick and roll. A few things I hope he develops while down in the D-League are 1. defensive instincts 2. a left hand.
As it is clear now we aren't good enough to get the 8th spot , there is little reason for not giving him minutes on a consistent basis ... or at least in the last 20 games ...
Anyone else miss that Kareem has been working with Zu on the sky hook as well? "There are more moments when he can't believe how lucky he is. When the Lakers take him in the second round of the NBA draft. When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tutors him in his sky hook." Untested development https://www.pressreader.com/usa/los-angeles-times/20170115/282265255126065
I'm so stoked that we locked him up for three years at a total of just over $3.2M. He's going to be one of the best value players in the league in two years.
yeah, it's time to start giving him consistent minutes. what...is his lack of experience going to kill the carefully orchestrated team defense? poppycock. time to play him 15mpg and get him some real reps. i'm jim mora-ing the playoffs.
