NBA Draft - When you were right and they were wrong

[Acymetric]

Hah! This thread has descended into one big "do you even lift, bro?" meme directed toward one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Solid.

According to NBA Draft Combine result, there are usually a basket of guys who lift 185 somewhere between 0 and 2/3x. To your point, given their dimensions and wingspans, that shouldn't be terribly surprising. Someone with Durant's wingspan lifting 185 has to do a lot more work than your average proportioned Joe in the gym.

And color me surprised that Carlos Boozer only benched 2x more than Dunleavy in the 2002-2003 combine. Would have assumed that, if left to it, Boozer would still be benching today.

That is pretty amusing...I definitely would have expected Boozer to be a benching machine.

[camion]

I agree. I benched 180 at 74 years!

I can bench 180 minus my age.

[turnandburn55]

Compare Okafor Steals + Blocks / Games to Zion. 2.18 to 3.91.

Shelden William's senior year would be a 5.47. And he shot nearly 75% from the line. That's one I have to be most baffled about having so little impact in the league

[Steven43]

Shelden William's senior year would be a 5.47. And he shot nearly 75% from the line. That's one I have to be most baffled about having so little impact in the league

I think blocked shots are overvalued. They often don’t even result in a turnover. You’re better off simply altering the opponent’s shot but not blocking it because you (as the alterer of said shot) and your teammates should be better positioned than the opposition to rebound an altered shot. A blocked shot is more likely to go to an opponent or out of bounds than to a teammate.

[superdave]

Shelden William's senior year would be a 5.47. And he shot nearly 75% from the line. That's one I have to be most baffled about having so little impact in the league

Shelden was a significantly undersized center by NBA standards. He did make $12m in his NBA career though.

[Acymetric]

I think blocked shots are overvalued. They often don’t even result in a turnover. You’re better off simply altering the opponent’s shot but not blocking it because you (as the alterer of said shot) and your teammates should be better positioned than the opposition to rebound an altered shot. A blocked shot is more likely to go to an opponent or out of bounds than to a teammate.

Did you watch Shelden play? His blocks were regarded as particularly effective because he tended to pull the ball down instead of swatting it any which way.

Also, a blocked shot is much more likely not to end up in the basket than a not-blocked shot.

Shelden was a significantly undersized center by NBA standards. He did make $12m in his NBA career though.

Undersized and lacking in the athleticism to make up for it. I was surprised he didn't carve out a better long-term reserve role, but I don't think I ever thought he would be a regular NBA starter.

[Steven43]

Did you watch Shelden play? His blocks were regarded as particularly effective because he tended to pull the ball down instead of swatting it any which way.

Also, a blocked shot is much more likely not to end up in the basket than a not-blocked shot.



Undersized and lacking in the athleticism to make up for it. I was surprised he didn't carve out a better long-term reserve role, but I don't think I ever thought he would be a regular NBA starter.

Yes, I watched pretty much every game Williams played in while at Duke. And sure, a blocked shot won’t go in the basket, but an altered shot almost never will either. I still don’t see a compelling reason to believe the defense ends up with a better outcome by blocking a shot rather than altering it. I believe it’s the other way around.

If Williams were a great defender — as supposedly evidenced by his high block percentage — I think he would have played more seasons in the NBA than he did. There’s always a place for a good rim protector. Anyway, I hope he is doing well. I always liked Shelden and was quite happy when Boston drafted him.

[NSDukeFan]

Yes, I watched pretty much every game Williams played in while at Duke. And sure, a blocked shot won’t go in the basket, but an altered shot almost never will either. I still don’t see a compelling reason to believe the defense ends up with a better outcome by blocking a shot rather than altering it. I believe it’s the other way around.

If Williams were a great defender — as supposedly evidenced by his high block percentage — I think he would have played more seasons in the NBA than he did. There’s always a place for a good rim protector. Anyway, I hope he is doing well. I always liked Shelden and was quite happy when Boston drafted him.

My guess is that there is a reasonably high correlation between shots blocked and shots altered. I expect the Landlord was an exceptional rim protector in college, but not good enough in the NBA.

[Troublemaker]

My guess is that there is a reasonably high correlation between shots blocked and shots altered. I expect the Landlord was an exceptional rim protector in college, but not good enough in the NBA.

Right. There's probably never been a defender who alters lots of shots without also blocking many others. It is the fear of the blocked shot that causes offensive players to alter their shots.

The greatest defender ever certainly believed in the blocked shot. He was also known for keeping them in play, which of course I would agree is better than blocking them out of bounds.

[NSDukeFan]

Right. There's probably never been a defender who alters lots of shots without also blocking many others. It is the fear of the blocked shot that causes offensive players to alter their shots.

The greatest defender ever certainly believed in the blocked shot. He was also known for keeping them in play, which of course I would agree is better than blocking them out of bounds.

I was also a fan of the Zion shot swallow where he just grabbed an opponent’s shot.

[SupaDave]

Basically ANYONE drafted by the NY Knicks since 2006 has been OVER valued...

[cato]

Seven

Uh oh. I had it on good authority that the answer was forty-two.

I probably shouldn’t have bet the world on that.