Enes Kanter, the former WWE 24/7 champion mind you, recoiled from the collision like he’d taken one of Ric Flair’s signature chops. Teammate Tacko Fall had been trying to establish post position in 1-on-1 drills this week and Fall’s swinging elbow caught Kanter in the neck, and now Kanter stood in the paint, hands clutching his throat, as Fall made his move to the hoop.
From the baseline, rookie Vincent Poirier doubled over in laughter, well aware of Kanter’s plight. An intervention was deemed necessary and a semi-circle of 7-footers soon formed around Fall, his fellow bigs playfully reminding the 7-foot-7 behemoth to be more careful with his arms.
"They always joke about it, they want me to wear elbow pads,” said Fall. “But even if I wear elbow pads, you’re still going to catch it.”
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Defending Fall is simply an occupational hazard. Kanter showed up to a media session this week with a few splotches of blood evident on his white undershirt. Asked what happened, he smiled and said, “I was going against Tacko. He’s one strong dude.”
Pressed on the dangers of defending Fall, Kanter laughed and added, "He’s too tall. Our face is in his elbows so, when he turns, you’re just like, ‘Don’t hit me Tacko!’”
It’s a fascinating scene to watch. Fall, with his height advantage, makes the rest of Boston’s bigs look like guards defending him. As Danny Ainge quipped this summer, it’s like watching high schoolers play against fourth-graders.
Giving up this sort of size is foreign to NBA big men. Even Boban Marjanovic is listed at a mere 7-foot-3. The NBA hasn’t seen this sort of size since Gheorge Muresan. Fall left scouts slackjawed when he officially measured at 7-foot-7 in his size 22 shoes at the combine in May. This with an NBA-record 8-foot-2 wingspan and a 10-foot-2.5 standing reach. Despite his wiry apperance, Kanter said Fall weighs over 300 pounds now, and he’s getting stronger.
Which begs the question: How in the world do you defend someone that big, particularly in 1-on-1 work? We sought out Boston’s big men this week and asked for their strategies. We got a lot of shrugs and tales of catching elbows to the face.
"Just try to keep him from catching it within 3 or 4 feet of the basket,” said rookie Grant Williams, the already undersized forward who gives up nearly a foot of size when tasked with defending Fall. "If you can do that, you have a chance. Outside of that, you’re going to catch a couple elbows to the head, you‘re going to get smacked in the face, you’re going to get thrown.”
Newcomer Poirier, an import from France this summer, learned the hard way what can happen if Fall gets anywhere near the restricted area. After Boston’s first camp session, Fall and Poirier were part of a rotating 1-on-1 game when Fall muscled his way to the charge circle after lowering his left shoulder into Poirier’s chest. With his left foot still mostly outside the restricted area, Fall leaped just enough that, with his outstretched arm, he dunked over Poirier.
