Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Iguodola signs
Andre Iguodala has apparently agreed to a contract offer of $80 million over 6 years. Details have not been finalized and there may be incentives involved.
Brandan Wright's ceiling
If there were a word to sum up Brandan Wright's offensive game as it translates to the NBA, it's "limited". Physically and skill wise, "limited". It's a word no NBA fan wishes to hear when it comes to their team's young players, but it fits Wright in many ways. Here's why.
Wright's so-called potential is based upon his freakish length and above average athleticism at his size. And while these things are of importance to an interior player, the single most relevant physical factor for someone who spends the majority of his time inside is bulk. At 200-210 lbs., Wright will probably never reach the 230-240 lbs. that the typical NBA low post player carries. If he does, it's likely his athleticism and speed will suffer greatly. It's not like he posted mind blowing nos. at the draft combines (with a Max Vertical of 35.5 inches; his Lane Agility was at 11.76 seconds tying him for 50th out of the 79 participants). Watching him run, it actually looks like he's laboring out there.
No matter how fluid his hook shots are, how good his footwork is or how diverse his post moves are, all of it will be for naught unless he can get good position down low. At 220-225 lbs., it's likely he'll be catching the ball in the post around the same area that fellow Warriors, Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington post up from. That'd be like Shaq starting just outside of the paint (which actually would be great for Brandan). It's also why Garnett and Bosh are relegated to facing up in the post. And Brandan is in no way as physically talented or skilled as either Garnett or Bosh.
So if not the low post, what about the high post? Wright's shooting stroke at least looks respectable, yet he shoots FT's at a low percentage in the 60's. Here's where Wright's freakish length hurts him. Some of the best outside shooters I know are females. Why? Mainly because their strokes are shorter (another factor being they don't jump as high which alleviates drifting). The less movement in your stroke, the higher the chance that it remains the same. That's why most players with long arms shoot jump shots with their arms more or less outstretched. The most blatant example being Rasheed Wallace. Wright, however, actually does the opposite. He has a lot of exaggerated movement which gives him too many chances to break his form.
So what kind of things can be done to get around Wright's physical limitations. To catch the ball low enough where post moves can be used effectively, he'll have to rely on backside screens where he goes from the weak side to the strong side. The rest will be up to how well he can set up screens, how good of a screen the player can set, whether ball pressure is applied to the entry passer and the timing & location of the pass itself. If he ever wants to be a premier high post scorer, he should probably adjust his shooting stroke to cut down all that extraneous movement. I suppose he could simply "beat his head against the wall" by taking thousands of jumpers each day and getting to Udonis Haslem level.
Wright's so-called potential is based upon his freakish length and above average athleticism at his size. And while these things are of importance to an interior player, the single most relevant physical factor for someone who spends the majority of his time inside is bulk. At 200-210 lbs., Wright will probably never reach the 230-240 lbs. that the typical NBA low post player carries. If he does, it's likely his athleticism and speed will suffer greatly. It's not like he posted mind blowing nos. at the draft combines (with a Max Vertical of 35.5 inches; his Lane Agility was at 11.76 seconds tying him for 50th out of the 79 participants). Watching him run, it actually looks like he's laboring out there.
No matter how fluid his hook shots are, how good his footwork is or how diverse his post moves are, all of it will be for naught unless he can get good position down low. At 220-225 lbs., it's likely he'll be catching the ball in the post around the same area that fellow Warriors, Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington post up from. That'd be like Shaq starting just outside of the paint (which actually would be great for Brandan). It's also why Garnett and Bosh are relegated to facing up in the post. And Brandan is in no way as physically talented or skilled as either Garnett or Bosh.
So if not the low post, what about the high post? Wright's shooting stroke at least looks respectable, yet he shoots FT's at a low percentage in the 60's. Here's where Wright's freakish length hurts him. Some of the best outside shooters I know are females. Why? Mainly because their strokes are shorter (another factor being they don't jump as high which alleviates drifting). The less movement in your stroke, the higher the chance that it remains the same. That's why most players with long arms shoot jump shots with their arms more or less outstretched. The most blatant example being Rasheed Wallace. Wright, however, actually does the opposite. He has a lot of exaggerated movement which gives him too many chances to break his form.
So what kind of things can be done to get around Wright's physical limitations. To catch the ball low enough where post moves can be used effectively, he'll have to rely on backside screens where he goes from the weak side to the strong side. The rest will be up to how well he can set up screens, how good of a screen the player can set, whether ball pressure is applied to the entry passer and the timing & location of the pass itself. If he ever wants to be a premier high post scorer, he should probably adjust his shooting stroke to cut down all that extraneous movement. I suppose he could simply "beat his head against the wall" by taking thousands of jumpers each day and getting to Udonis Haslem level.
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