peZt wrote:clyde21 wrote:do people really think Siakam was finishing like this when he was 18? come on.
It's so annoying in general. You compare a prospect to a player who was drafted in the late teens and the wannabe draft experts are like "You are an idiot, there's no way he's ever gonna become that good", forgetting that there's a reason they were drafted that low. Did anybody think Siakam, PG, Butler, Kawhi etc. would ever become as good they did? No.
Obviously they're an exception but to act like they were always destined to be so good and any comparison to them is blasphemous, is **** obnoxious.
NBA Draft Twitter is a cesspool in general but that's another Topic.
Soo.. I never said Sekou couldn't be a good player, literally I stated I was high on his prospects.
What I said is that he and Siakam are different types of players. Doumbouya is naturally a perimeter-oriented player who's slashing/finishing has a long way to go. Siakam is a natural downhill slasher who's shooting has a long way to go. It's a lazy comparison
Doumbouya is only 18, but please remember people, it's not like he's this completely raw ball of clay. Like, they didn't just find him in a remote village somewhere playing soccer in a dirt field. This is someone who has been receiving a salary to play pro ball and has had high-level professional training for many years now. He already has certain tendencies in his game that you can pick out.
One of the glaring negatives you observe on film is that Sekou's finishing ability is below average for an 18yo prospect. He has unusually poor touch and awkward body control around the basket, tbh some of his missed layup attempts are middle-school level and made me cringe bc I was NOT expecting that. Finishing in the paint is the primary feature of Pascal Siakam's game, that's why I said it's unlikely that he'll trend towards that. It's not common for a player to transform their #1 weakness into their main strength. It's like projecting Deandre Ayton to be a future DPOY. Will he improve on D over time, yes you expect gradual improvement but most likely never to that level.
If you're high on Sekou's offensive upside it's not because of his finishing. What you're banking on is the potential of his natural jumpshooting ability , and if he can leverage his ability to get his shot off as a diverse offensive weapon. A few years ago he could only consistently spot up, but as of late he's showing that he may be able to shoot off the move, shoot off the dribble, runs off screens, even shooting turnaround fadeaways from the midrange, he's flashing all kinds of stuff (albeit in miniscule volume) that you'd never see from say Deandre Hunter. How many 6'9 guys in this class can fluidly replicate this move.. Reddish , Cam Johnson maaaybe? This is where you see the glimmers of upside with Sekou:
The optimistic scenario for Sekou is that with reps and a slight adjustment to his mechanics his %s will start going up. And once defenses start worrying about his shooting, now he can start attacking closeouts n put the ball on the floor as a secondary playmaker, and you hope his handles and finishing tighten up.
