Kyle Anderson stands out at Celtics workout

[csfansince60s]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKDPE8X5IM

Check out the iso on Aaron Gordon at 1:35. This kid can dog anybody, and will only get better and more confident.

+1 NorthernLightning.

I have been on the Anderson train for a long time.

He had been consistently underrated on many mocks from December until April, mainly in the very high teens to mid 20s because of his "lack of athleticism".

Check out the video in this article link of UCLA's semi-final Pac-12 demolishing of Stanford in the Pac 12 tourney:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/ucla/la-sp-ucla-stanford-pac-12-20140315,0,5346311.story#axzz2w36ePgTC

It's the game highlights, but might as well be labeled "Kyle Anderson" highlights.

Edit: highlight video not coming up on the above link. Here is another of the Pac 12 semis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQCkYbe2KwM


His anticipation, court awareness and vision are elite. His outlet passes are special as he already knows where the ball will be going downcourt, before he even comes down with the ball.

I posted this on March 27th:

He is 6'8 1/2', has a 9 foot standing reach and a 7'3" wingspan. He played consistently all year with 13 double-doubles, one triple-double and many games with stats in not just points, assists and rebounds but also steals and blocks.

Anderson has improved his jumper tremendously this year hitting almost 50% from 3 and 2 land. He averaged 15,9 and 7 for the Bruins and had a great Pac-12 having big games against Stanford with a 13, 8, 7, 3, 1 stat line and Arizona 21, 15, and 5, often playing against Gordon.

This kid can ball. He has tremendous feel for the game and sees plays before they happen. His court vision and anticipation are elite and he is a good ball handler and excellent passer.

Slo-Mo is used disparagingly by some people to knock his athleticism. Slo-Mo really explains how he slows the game down in his mind.

His versatility makes him a steal in the 20s and a great pick in the low teens. This guy has been underrated, not overrated.

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=70214.msg1641432#msg1641432

He had a tough game against the smothering Gator D, where they had two and sometimes three guys in his area. That's respect.

Anderson still managed 11/9/5/2 even with all that attention.

How valuable he is really showed when UCLA stagnated when he was on the bench with those fouls, especially for that critical stretch in the second half that decided the game.

That second foul they called on him in the lane, early in the game had about a full 3-4 second delay. Talk about a late call, early in the game impacting the result of the game.
Too bad, was rooting for him.

Maybe it's better they didn't advance. Less spotlight on him so maybe the GMs who are discounting him for his lack of athleticism will keep sleeping on him.

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=70214.msg1642071#msg1642071


 

[NorthernLightning]

You're reaching everywhere:

Who's asking, the person that compared both Saric and Porzingis to Nowitzki?

I never said that. Instead of all this reaching for plausible distortions of what I've been saying, reach for the remote and watch some ESPN.

[kozlodoev]

You're reaching everywhere:

Who's asking, the person that compared both Saric and Porzingis to Nowitzki?

I never said that. Instead of all this reaching for plausible distortions of what I've been saying, reach for the remote and watch some ESPN.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I find TV sports talk a waste of time. I couldn't tell you who's on national TV talking the NBA draft, or what they think about it.

[colincb]

Speaking of ESPN Draft Analysts, Chad Ford had this on Anderson in his Big Board update yesterday (6/4). Ranked him 28th, same as his last ranking.

?Anderson's workout in Santa Monica a little over a week ago was just so-so. You can see the skilled part of his game, but running around out there with the likes of Parker and Grant didn't really do him any favors. He remains an acquired taste. I think he starts at No. 17 to the Celtics and could slide out of the first round.?

====

DraftExpress had this to say about Anderson defensively:

?With that said, the biggest questions surrounding Anderson's pro potential revolve around his play on the defensive end, specifically, who he will be able to guard at the NBA level. While Anderson's length and anticipation skills allow him to generate plenty of blocks and steals, his lateral quickness is as poor as any player in this draft class. He's extremely upright in his defensive stance, and he allows opposing players to blow right by him like he's simply invisible at times. Because of his struggles getting low and staying in front of opponents, reaching for steals is usually Anderson's most effective strategy, something NBA teams are certain to go after and try to exploit regularly. In college his coaches would often try to ?hide him? by putting him on big men or non-scorers, which might not work quite as well in the more physically gifted and talented NBA. Anderson is clearly one of the most unique prospects in this draft, a player with incredible gifts, but also some very glaring weaknesses. Ultimately whatever team drafts him will have to be comfortable with what he is and isn't, and be willing to work around his shortcomings.?

One can watch his defense in their breakdown here:

http://www.draftexpress.com/video/11373/

Try about half way in to see the lowlights or watch the whole thing if you want to see his upside too.

====

John Havilcek is the only triple threat off the bench in the history of the NBA (30 times).  Amazingly, he was also one of the best defensive players of his era making the NBA  All-Defensive First- or Second-team eight times.

[NorthernLightning]

Chad Ford and ESPN are geniuses. I agree that if basketball games were structured as workout competitions, then Anderson would go second round to undrafted.

[NorthernLightning]

It's not wise to look at defensive lowlights from players that play in uptempo systems that simply do not emphasize defense. UCLA was all about outscoring the other team, and they did an amazing job of doing that. And Kyle Anderson was the center of that extreme offensive efficiency.

Imagine watching a scouting video of MVP era Steve Nash playing on the Suns, and they packed 2 minutes worth of defensive lowlights together.

Imagine basing your entire perception of him based off that video. Wouldn't be prudent.

[colincb]

All I've seen in your thread so far are highlight videos.

Chad Ford is pretty plugged into the NBA and I'll take his assessment of what NBA execs are saying over almost anyone else.  I'll also say that he tends to focus on positive news for prospects and if he's saying a prospect didn't help himself, it perks my ears up.

As far as looking in depth at prospects, DraftExpress is about as good as it gets on the net and they're saying pretty much the same thing I've read in a lot of other places about Anderson.

[NorthernLightning]

Watch and learn what domination in big games looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83n34Q7bVEI

[mmmmm]

As far as Saric vs Anderson, I rank Saric higher because he is more athletic, which will make him a better defender.

if Saric is going to be better than Anderson as a defender we should not get Anderson.   

Saric would have a much better NBA outlook if not for his lack of foot speed and athleticism ... His quickness and elevation might be enough to finish in Europe, but without the ability to finish above the rim, things will likely prove more difficult for him in the NBA ... He is quick and mobile for a player his height but clearly lacks the foot speed to stay in front of NBA wing forwards ... In addition he lacks ideal strength to battle NBA PFs on the block ..

. Defensively as we said, he struggles to defend both the 3 and the 4 positions. His wingspan is just 6?10 so he will be much harder for him to recover from his lack of foot speed ... He does play really hard, and seems to have an aggressive mentality on every play but he will have to overcome many weaknesses and really develop as a player and as an athlete in the next couple of years to have a legitimate impact in the NBA ...

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/dario-saric

as the saying goes my grandma can jumper and move better than these guys.

'Not jumping in to the larger debate, but that scouting report from NBADraft.net on Saric is ancient and pretty much useless.  It was prepped way back when Saric was possibly going to enter the 2013 draft.    Comparing Saric today, entering the 2014 draft, to what he was back then is apples and oranges.

[Celtics18]

Also on the list of players who were really skilled, tall, and/or smart

"And/or" is your little sneaky addition to what I said to try to make me look ridiculous.

I was talking about Skilled, tall, AND smart, which none of your lame examples fit.

You mean except for Morrison and Tsikishvili? Heck, throw in Jonathan Bender too if you want. Even Sundov.

In fact, a 32-year-old Sundov dominating the Croatian league a couple of seasons ago in pretty much the same fashion as Saric should be quite telling about the level of competition there (that's in case anyone still had any doubts):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtjZFBISmNc

The fact is, there are plenty of players who weren't cut for the NBA, no matter now tall or smart or skilled they were.

The Adriatic League is a step up from the Croatian National League.  It's all a little confusing, but the Adriatic League is kind of like a Super League of the best of the countries that were formerly Yugoslavia. 

Not only that, but I looked it up and Bruno Sundov's team was in the second division in Croatia when he played for them.  So, no, although clearly the level of competition Saric faced isn't up there with the Spanish or Russian leagues, it's miles ahead of the league dominated by a 32 year old Bruno Sundov.

[Celtics4ever]

The play no D in that Super league.  I 've seen better D at the YMCA.

[NorthernLightning]

DX just put together this video of Kyle Anderson vs Aaron Gordon 2014 Matchup Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yerCyCIl74

[perks-a-beast]

Anderson is lucky he's 6'9 with a great feel for the game because he is s...l...o...w

I'm not on the "Anderson is a perennial allstar" bandwagon, but I really wouldn't mind getting him with the 17th pick. Like others pointed out, Jabari may be a worse defender than Anderson, and he's easily going in the top 3. Jabari's obviously the more gifted scorer, but Anderson, I think, is much better at making his teammates  better. People overlook just how valuable he was to the Bruins last year.

[kozlodoev]

The Adriatic League is a step up from the Croatian National League.  It's all a little confusing, but the Adriatic League is kind of like a Super League of the best of the countries that were formerly Yugoslavia. 

Not only that, but I looked it up and Bruno Sundov's team was in the second division in Croatia when he played for them.  So, no, although clearly the level of competition Saric faced isn't up there with the Spanish or Russian leagues, it's miles ahead of the league dominated by a 32 year old Bruno Sundov.

I'm fully aware of how the ABA works. It may seem like a "super league", but the fact is that even sprawling to several countries from the region, a good part of the teams that take part are still, for all practical purposes, filler.

But yes, all things considered, it's probably still somewhat stronger field than the Croatian championship but not necessarily by much. For what it's worth. Saric's performance has been nearly as strong in the ABA than it has been in the national championship.

Also, the Sundov definitely played in the Croatian top league (A1) that year. Osjecki Sokol were newly promoted and quite horrible overall, but what you see is him doing damage against pretty much the same type of competition Saric is facing there.

2012-2013: In Oct.'12 signed at KK Osjecki Sokol Osijek (Croatia-A1, starting five): 6 games: 17.7ppg, 8.3rpg, 1.3apg 2FGP: 62%, 3FGP: 42.9%, FT: 70%

http://www.regeneracomsports.com/basketball_men_player-bruno_sundov-553.html

[hwangjini_1]

Anderson is lucky he's 6'9 with a great feel for the game because he is s...l...o...w

I'm not on the "Anderson is a perennial allstar" bandwagon, but I really wouldn't mind getting him with the 17th pick. Like others pointed out, Jabari may be a worse defender than Anderson, and he's easily going in the top 3. Jabari's obviously the more gifted scorer, but Anderson, I think, is much better at making his teammates  better. People overlook just how valuable he was to the Bruins last year.

generally i agree. anderson has some very good skills, but his obvious lack of quickness and jumping ability raise legitimate questions about how effective he will be at the nba level. quick guards and sf will create serious problems for anderson when he plays defense, no doubt there.

on offense, i dont see how he will be able to get past nba defenders consistently, as he did college defenders, when driving to the basket. and finishing will be more of a challenge as well since he has so little elevation. i can see lots of blocks of his shots in his future.

my guess is that in the nba he probably would benefit from a system with lots of ball movement, not one that forces him to rely upon his limited athleticism.

there are reasons every draft prediction i have seen ranks him in the bottom half of the draft this year.

anderson is an interesting player and in the right offensive system can be valuable in the nba, but never an all star. but as with most players ranked similarly, he has some pretty good strengths that are accompanied by some pretty obvious warts and limitations.