Which Bigs Do You Like in this Draft?

[footey]

Bol's only issue is health.

He is an incredibly efficient scorer. He is not as athletic and strong as Giannis, but is a much better shooter than Giannis. Giannis' shooting weakness was really exposed by Raptors in the playoffs.

Think of Bol in terms of a longer Kevin Durant.  Of course I don't expect him to have that type of career, but his shooting touch is at that level.

Stop thinking of Bol as a center. That is not who he is.

He is far too slow to be anything else.

Ha will never stay in a game defending the perimeter, as he will collapse of exhaustion or foul out.

It's weird to me that we have posters claiming Bol isn't a center but Zion will be.  Bol is too slow to guard anyone including centers, and Zion is probably quick enough to guard 2's and 3's.

He's not slow.  He's frail, but not slow. 

[Silky]

Bol's only issue is health.

He is an incredibly efficient scorer. He is not as athletic and strong as Giannis, but is a much better shooter than Giannis. Giannis' shooting weakness was really exposed by Raptors in the playoffs.

Think of Bol in terms of a longer Kevin Durant.  Of course I don't expect him to have that type of career, but his shooting touch is at that level.

Stop thinking of Bol as a center. That is not who he is.

He is far too slow to be anything else.

Ha will never stay in a game defending the perimeter, as he will collapse of exhaustion or foul out.

It's weird to me that we have posters claiming Bol isn't a center but Zion will be.  Bol is too slow to guard anyone including centers, and Zion is probably quick enough to guard 2's and 3's.

He's not slow.  He's frail, but not slow.

 

he is too slow to keep up with nba guards and small forwards.

He is too slow to keep up with alot of NBA power forwards as well.

[CelticsElite]

Bol's only issue is health.

He is an incredibly efficient scorer. He is not as athletic and strong as Giannis, but is a much better shooter than Giannis. Giannis' shooting weakness was really exposed by Raptors in the playoffs.

Think of Bol in terms of a longer Kevin Durant.  Of course I don't expect him to have that type of career, but his shooting touch is at that level.

Stop thinking of Bol as a center. That is not who he is.

He is far too slow to be anything else.

Ha will never stay in a game defending the perimeter, as he will collapse of exhaustion or foul out.

It's weird to me that we have posters claiming Bol isn't a center but Zion will be.  Bol is too slow to guard anyone including centers, and Zion is probably quick enough to guard 2's and 3's.

He's not slow.  He's frail, but not slow.

 

he is too slow to keep up with nba guards and small forwards.

He is too slow to keep up with alot of NBA power forwards as well.

how do you know? You haven't seen him against NBA players


The only reason Bol isn't a consensus top 3 pick is because of injury concern, not speed

[mmmmm]

Bol Bol.

With three 1st round picks in a perceived weak draft, swing for a home run. Kid is lengthy, and mobile and is skilled.

Also, his name is funny for me, so he's entertaining. (Bol Bol is literally translated as pubic hair in Tagalog. I know, immature, but still)

just like Kristap his ability to add strength is a concern

Its not like he can play SG and avoid contact

Porzingis' lack of strength has not stopped him from being an effective defensive player. They said the same thing with Rudy Gobert. If he develop properly, it should not hinder Bol Bol as well. There's more to playing defense than just strength.

Manute was a rail, and there is no signs that Bol will ever NOT be a rail either.

7foot3 ad 208lbs.

That is ridiculous.

there are so many 6foot5 guards who already carry more weight on their frames.

Regardless of being a 'rail', Manute Bol was an excellent defender.   So what if big centers could body him up?  They still couldn't shoot over him.  That's what kept him in the NBA for a decade.  He led the NBA in block percentage 5 times during that span!   His 'weakness' that kept him from being a star was that he had almost zero offensive game. 

His son does not have that weakness.  He was raised playing basketball and has a much more polished offensive game that his father could never dream of having.  And in the modern game there are just fewer and fewer big bruising post-up players anyway. 

If Bol slips to one of our first two picks, I would definitely take a chance on him.  I agree with the notion that in this draft, with a couple of top 20 picks we might as well swing for the fences.

Well comparing his playing ability to his fathers is nit a good comparison becasr the game is much different.

And back them Manute was dominated by the centersvin the league. Yeah he got some blocks but he didnt stop anybody. His defensive ratings were mediocre at best.

There is a reason he rarely started and played few minutes as well. His body couldnt take it. He was slow, plodding, weak.

Manute Bol's defensive ratings were consistently 4-5 points better than league average through most of his career.  That's not 'mediocre'.  That's excellent.

His career DRtg of 103 was earned during an era when league average was typically just over 108 points per 100.  During his career the lowest league average dropped was to 106.3 and that was near the very tail end of his career when he was barely playing.   In no other year of his career was league average below 107.2 and most years it was well above 108.

It is true that Manute Bol did not play a lot of minutes.  But that was largely because he was offensively terrible and thus not suitable to start.  However, he was more durable than you are giving him credit.  He played between 71-82 games for 7 straight seasons.

Way too early to tell whether his son will be durable or not.

Look at average for centers.
He came off bemch amd played limited minutes

From 1986-1995 (the span of Manute's career), there were 52 players listed as centers who played at least 300 games and at least 5000 minutes (Bol played 624 games & 11698 minutes). 

The top 10 defensive ratings among this group were:

 1. Hakeem Olajuwan   97
 2. David Robinson    97
 3. Patrick Ewing    100
 4. Mark Eaton       101
 5. Dikembe Mutombo  102
 6. Manute Bol       103
 7. Wayne Cooper     103
 8. Vlade Divac      103
 9. Bill Laimbeer    103
10. Tree Rollins     103


You may recognize some of those names.

The 'average' DRtg among all Centers during this period was about 107.

[Birdman]

Love see us get Tacko Fall in 2nd round..

[Sophomore]

Bol Bol.

With three 1st round picks in a perceived weak draft, swing for a home run. Kid is lengthy, and mobile and is skilled.

Also, his name is funny for me, so he's entertaining. (Bol Bol is literally translated as pubic hair in Tagalog. I know, immature, but still)

just like Kristap his ability to add strength is a concern

Its not like he can play SG and avoid contact

Porzingis' lack of strength has not stopped him from being an effective defensive player. They said the same thing with Rudy Gobert. If he develop properly, it should not hinder Bol Bol as well. There's more to playing defense than just strength.

Manute was a rail, and there is no signs that Bol will ever NOT be a rail either.

7foot3 ad 208lbs.

That is ridiculous.

there are so many 6foot5 guards who already carry more weight on their frames.

Regardless of being a 'rail', Manute Bol was an excellent defender.   So what if big centers could body him up?  They still couldn't shoot over him.  That's what kept him in the NBA for a decade.  He led the NBA in block percentage 5 times during that span!   His 'weakness' that kept him from being a star was that he had almost zero offensive game. 

His son does not have that weakness.  He was raised playing basketball and has a much more polished offensive game that his father could never dream of having.  And in the modern game there are just fewer and fewer big bruising post-up players anyway. 

If Bol slips to one of our first two picks, I would definitely take a chance on him.  I agree with the notion that in this draft, with a couple of top 20 picks we might as well swing for the fences.

Well comparing his playing ability to his fathers is nit a good comparison becasr the game is much different.

And back them Manute was dominated by the centersvin the league. Yeah he got some blocks but he didnt stop anybody. His defensive ratings were mediocre at best.

There is a reason he rarely started and played few minutes as well. His body couldnt take it. He was slow, plodding, weak.

Manute Bol's defensive ratings were consistently 4-5 points better than league average through most of his career.  That's not 'mediocre'.  That's excellent.

His career DRtg of 103 was earned during an era when league average was typically just over 108 points per 100.  During his career the lowest league average dropped was to 106.3 and that was near the very tail end of his career when he was barely playing.   In no other year of his career was league average below 107.2 and most years it was well above 108.

It is true that Manute Bol did not play a lot of minutes.  But that was largely because he was offensively terrible and thus not suitable to start.  However, he was more durable than you are giving him credit.  He played between 71-82 games for 7 straight seasons.

Way too early to tell whether his son will be durable or not.

Look at average for centers.
He came off bemch amd played limited minutes

From 1986-1995 (the span of Manute's career), there were 52 players listed as centers who played at least 300 games and at least 5000 minutes (Bol played 624 games & 11698 minutes). 

The top 10 defensive ratings among this group were:

 1. Hakeem Olajuwan   97
 2. David Robinson    97
 3. Patrick Ewing    100
 4. Mark Eaton       101
 5. Dikembe Mutombo  102
 6. Manute Bol       103
 7. Wayne Cooper     103
 8. Vlade Divac      103
 9. Bill Laimbeer    103
10. Tree Rollins     103


You may recognize some of those names.

The 'average' DRtg among all Centers during this period was about 107.

Interesting stats. Thoughts on how differences in the style of play could affect him? There was so much more post offense and so much ground to cover - before the era of switching and deep threes.

Nowadays, even a regular-season monster like Gobert can have a hard time staying on the floor in the playoffs. Maybe Bol Bol’s shooting would make up for any defensive struggles; calmest certainly he’ll be a much better shooter than Gobert.

[CelticsElite]

Imagine bol, horford, and Davis on the wing spacing the floor for kyrie. Bol is a 53% 3 pt threat

[mmmmm]

Bol Bol.

With three 1st round picks in a perceived weak draft, swing for a home run. Kid is lengthy, and mobile and is skilled.

Also, his name is funny for me, so he's entertaining. (Bol Bol is literally translated as pubic hair in Tagalog. I know, immature, but still)

just like Kristap his ability to add strength is a concern

Its not like he can play SG and avoid contact

Porzingis' lack of strength has not stopped him from being an effective defensive player. They said the same thing with Rudy Gobert. If he develop properly, it should not hinder Bol Bol as well. There's more to playing defense than just strength.

Manute was a rail, and there is no signs that Bol will ever NOT be a rail either.

7foot3 ad 208lbs.

That is ridiculous.

there are so many 6foot5 guards who already carry more weight on their frames.

Regardless of being a 'rail', Manute Bol was an excellent defender.   So what if big centers could body him up?  They still couldn't shoot over him.  That's what kept him in the NBA for a decade.  He led the NBA in block percentage 5 times during that span!   His 'weakness' that kept him from being a star was that he had almost zero offensive game. 

His son does not have that weakness.  He was raised playing basketball and has a much more polished offensive game that his father could never dream of having.  And in the modern game there are just fewer and fewer big bruising post-up players anyway. 

If Bol slips to one of our first two picks, I would definitely take a chance on him.  I agree with the notion that in this draft, with a couple of top 20 picks we might as well swing for the fences.

Well comparing his playing ability to his fathers is nit a good comparison becasr the game is much different.

And back them Manute was dominated by the centersvin the league. Yeah he got some blocks but he didnt stop anybody. His defensive ratings were mediocre at best.

There is a reason he rarely started and played few minutes as well. His body couldnt take it. He was slow, plodding, weak.

Manute Bol's defensive ratings were consistently 4-5 points better than league average through most of his career.  That's not 'mediocre'.  That's excellent.

His career DRtg of 103 was earned during an era when league average was typically just over 108 points per 100.  During his career the lowest league average dropped was to 106.3 and that was near the very tail end of his career when he was barely playing.   In no other year of his career was league average below 107.2 and most years it was well above 108.

It is true that Manute Bol did not play a lot of minutes.  But that was largely because he was offensively terrible and thus not suitable to start.  However, he was more durable than you are giving him credit.  He played between 71-82 games for 7 straight seasons.

Way too early to tell whether his son will be durable or not.

Look at average for centers.
He came off bemch amd played limited minutes

From 1986-1995 (the span of Manute's career), there were 52 players listed as centers who played at least 300 games and at least 5000 minutes (Bol played 624 games & 11698 minutes). 

The top 10 defensive ratings among this group were:

 1. Hakeem Olajuwan   97
 2. David Robinson    97
 3. Patrick Ewing    100
 4. Mark Eaton       101
 5. Dikembe Mutombo  102
 6. Manute Bol       103
 7. Wayne Cooper     103
 8. Vlade Divac      103
 9. Bill Laimbeer    103
10. Tree Rollins     103


You may recognize some of those names.

The 'average' DRtg among all Centers during this period was about 107.

Interesting stats. Thoughts on how differences in the style of play could affect him? There was so much more post offense and so much ground to cover - before the era of switching and deep threes.

Nowadays, even a regular-season monster like Gobert can have a hard time staying on the floor in the playoffs. Maybe Bol Bol’s shooting would make up for any defensive struggles; calmest certainly he’ll be a much better shooter than Gobert.

Let's keep perspective here.  The above is in response to the (wrong) assertion that Manute Bol was not a good defensive player.   In fact, he was a very, very good defensive player.   (And a horribly inept offensive player.). My responses above were concerning Manute and not really about his son.

I don't want to try to map from Manute Bol's success back in the 80s & 90s and say that means too much about his son's potential in the 2020s.   Bol Bol obviously shares some physical traits from his father, but he's also significantly different.   And yes, this is a different era.   Arguably, in the modern game, being thin should be less of a 'weakness' given that, as you note, the number of bruising post-up players has dwindled so much.

He has some advantages for the modern game that his father lacked -- in particular he has a modern offensive game that includes a very nice 3PT shot.   And in limited sample, he played very well on defense in 9 NCAA games (86.7 DRtg, 11.6 rebounds/36, 3.2 blocks/36 and a 7.0 DBPM).   Those are fantastic defensive numbers and should be indicative that he's well suited to defending in the modern era.  But the sample size is very small.   I'm leary about putting too much stock in that data set.   I will only offer that it is very intriguing and it makes him worth looking into.

There is more data available on him, but I haven't had time to dig through and look at Team USA vids and such yet.

[Celtics4ever]

The above is in response to the (wrong) assertion that Manute Bol was not a good defensive player.   In fact, he was a very, very good defensive player.   (And a horribly inept offensive player.). My responses above were concerning Manute and not really about his son.

He was good at blocked shots and had elite size but he was not good at D other than those two things.   He did not move well, could be pushed around and lacked stamina.

[greenhead85]

Kabengele.

He reminds me of Zach Randolph and Bosh.

[RodyTur10]

When people see an unusual sportsman who's highly talented (Player A), they tend to focus on his weak points. The reason is that when you see a highly talented player you automatically are going to compare him to other (proven) high quality players. So the question becomes: ''Can A be as good as those other star players?'' And that means a certain set of conditions, that are generally viewed as necessary to become a star, need to be met.

If A has a glaring weakness which prevents him from meeting those conditions, then that becomes a primary argument why A can never be as good as those proven quality players. In fact, since that weakness is so obvious, it becomes even doubtful if A will succeed in the league.

When there's a young sportsman that has one particular strength that's in high demand (Player B), but is limited otherwise, people tend to focus on his strong point. They acknowledge that B isn't supertalented and therefore lower the bar of which B has to accomplish. The argument becomes: ''We know B isn't a star, but B has one useful talent that will keep him in the league anyway.''

Now it's accepted that B will have (at least limited) success and people will start projecting other qualities on B that they would like to see as a bonus. Often qualities that can't be tested, like ''he can learn to do that'' or ''he has a great mentality''. The driving reason behind this is the same as for Player A, people want to see great players and aren't satisfied with the idea that a player isn't a great success or a total failure, nobody likes grey mice (I'm not sure if this is a common phrase in English, but it means someone boring/dull/average).

Only difference is that with Player (type) A they start with setting conditions, to become a great player (which aren't met unfortunately) and with Player (type) B they start with possibilities to become a great player (which are met), so Player B will be viewed more positive.

Players like Curry, Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Simmons (to a lesser extent) are examples of player type A that have had a lot of success.

I don't know whether Bol will make it in the NBA, and there's not enough footage for me to make a hard statement on him, but he's clearly very talented and the type of player that you could start to focus too much on his weak point(s).

[RPGenerate]

This year is a weird draft for bigs. Other than Zion, everyone else doesn't really stand out to me in terms of value. The way they're drastically moving up and down various draft boards seems to back up my sentiment. I think the safest out of the bunch would probably be Bruno Fernando, while my "boom or bust" draft binkie would be Naz Reid.

[Silky]

Bol Bol.

With three 1st round picks in a perceived weak draft, swing for a home run. Kid is lengthy, and mobile and is skilled.

Also, his name is funny for me, so he's entertaining. (Bol Bol is literally translated as pubic hair in Tagalog. I know, immature, but still)

just like Kristap his ability to add strength is a concern

Its not like he can play SG and avoid contact

Porzingis' lack of strength has not stopped him from being an effective defensive player. They said the same thing with Rudy Gobert. If he develop properly, it should not hinder Bol Bol as well. There's more to playing defense than just strength.

Manute was a rail, and there is no signs that Bol will ever NOT be a rail either.

7foot3 ad 208lbs.

That is ridiculous.

there are so many 6foot5 guards who already carry more weight on their frames.

Regardless of being a 'rail', Manute Bol was an excellent defender.   So what if big centers could body him up?  They still couldn't shoot over him.  That's what kept him in the NBA for a decade.  He led the NBA in block percentage 5 times during that span!   His 'weakness' that kept him from being a star was that he had almost zero offensive game. 

His son does not have that weakness.  He was raised playing basketball and has a much more polished offensive game that his father could never dream of having.  And in the modern game there are just fewer and fewer big bruising post-up players anyway. 

If Bol slips to one of our first two picks, I would definitely take a chance on him.  I agree with the notion that in this draft, with a couple of top 20 picks we might as well swing for the fences.

Well comparing his playing ability to his fathers is nit a good comparison becasr the game is much different.

And back them Manute was dominated by the centersvin the league. Yeah he got some blocks but he didnt stop anybody. His defensive ratings were mediocre at best.

There is a reason he rarely started and played few minutes as well. His body couldnt take it. He was slow, plodding, weak.

Manute Bol's defensive ratings were consistently 4-5 points better than league average through most of his career.  That's not 'mediocre'.  That's excellent.

His career DRtg of 103 was earned during an era when league average was typically just over 108 points per 100.  During his career the lowest league average dropped was to 106.3 and that was near the very tail end of his career when he was barely playing.   In no other year of his career was league average below 107.2 and most years it was well above 108.

It is true that Manute Bol did not play a lot of minutes.  But that was largely because he was offensively terrible and thus not suitable to start.  However, he was more durable than you are giving him credit.  He played between 71-82 games for 7 straight seasons.

Way too early to tell whether his son will be durable or not.

Look at average for centers.
He came off bemch amd played limited minutes

From 1986-1995 (the span of Manute's career), there were 52 players listed as centers who played at least 300 games and at least 5000 minutes (Bol played 624 games & 11698 minutes). 

The top 10 defensive ratings among this group were:

 1. Hakeem Olajuwan   97
 2. David Robinson    97
 3. Patrick Ewing    100
 4. Mark Eaton       101
 5. Dikembe Mutombo  102
 6. Manute Bol       103
 7. Wayne Cooper     103
 8. Vlade Divac      103
 9. Bill Laimbeer    103
10. Tree Rollins     103


You may recognize some of those names.

The 'average' DRtg among all Centers during this period was about 107.

How convenient you listed him as as the top rated amoung the tied with players.

So coming off the bench against bench player manute was middle of the pack ish.

He blocked shots and could rebound. I will give him that.

He got bullied and couldnt keep up with players



also, he cracked 20 minutes per game once twice in his career.

[Silky]

Bol's only issue is health.

He is an incredibly efficient scorer. He is not as athletic and strong as Giannis, but is a much better shooter than Giannis. Giannis' shooting weakness was really exposed by Raptors in the playoffs.

Think of Bol in terms of a longer Kevin Durant.  Of course I don't expect him to have that type of career, but his shooting touch is at that level.

Stop thinking of Bol as a center. That is not who he is.

He is far too slow to be anything else.

Ha will never stay in a game defending the perimeter, as he will collapse of exhaustion or foul out.

It's weird to me that we have posters claiming Bol isn't a center but Zion will be.  Bol is too slow to guard anyone including centers, and Zion is probably quick enough to guard 2's and 3's.

He's not slow.  He's frail, but not slow.

 

he is too slow to keep up with nba guards and small forwards.

He is too slow to keep up with alot of NBA power forwards as well.

how do you know? You haven't seen him against NBA players


The only reason Bol isn't a consensus top 3 pick is because of injury concern, not speed

no, there is also lacking of size and drive.

He would not be rated as top 3 in this draft, not a chance.


And bol could not keep up with guards on nobody teams in college, so by using some super complicated formula I deduced that he will not be able to keep up with NBA guards.

the formula is as follows.


Tomato can, unathletic, outside of the top 250 in college basketball nobodies <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< nba level talent.

so therefore

If Bols speed <<<<< Tomoato can, unathletic, outside of the top 250 college basketball nobodies

then Bols speed is <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Nba level talent

[Celtics4ever]

Guys who like a guy as a draft binkie are always in denial about the faults of their guy.   This is true of me, and most everyone else on the boards.

Bol, scares me, he would could be really good or really bad.   If we lose Horford and Irving our capacity to gamble on picks that are high risk, high rewards diminishes and we better go with safer bets.