I can see the Celtics drafting Domantas Sabonis

[Tr1boy]

highlights from yesterdays game - 13 hours ago
19 pts and 17 rebounds. 5 blk vs Syracuse - Sweet 16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBrwMKfVqhs


2016 NCAA tourney highlights - 13 hours ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGVwj7E1x8M

[Tr1boy]

how high do you guys think Sabonis can go?

If we compare Bender to Sabonis, why is Bender considered the better prospect?

[hwangjini_1]

highlights from yesterdays game - 13 hours ago
19 pts and 17 rebounds. 5 blk vs Syracuse - Sweet 16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBrwMKfVqhs


2016 NCAA tourney highlights - 13 hours ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGVwj7E1x8M

for what it is worth, in the videos above i only saw him use his left hand in every shot. can he go to his right?

[TheTruth]

Triboy,

I like Sabones and he might be an upgrade over Olynyk but Bender is over 7 feet and moves as quick as small forwards.

Bender is an easy pick after the top 2 picks.

[Tr1boy]

Triboy,

I like Sabones and he might be an upgrade over Olynyk but Bender is over 7 feet and moves as quick as small forwards.

Bender is an easy pick after the top 2 picks.

So can Perry Jones. And?

Can he rebound like Sabonis? What has he accomplished so far

[TheTruth]

Triboy,

Bender is 7'2. Moves like a small forward. Coordinated like a guard. Great shooting form.

There's a good reason he's top 3 on most draft boards.

Could be a young Pau Gasol with more range.

[Tr1boy]

Triboy,

Bender is 7'2. Moves like a small forward. Coordinated like a guard. Great shooting form.

There's a good reason he's top 3 on most draft boards.

Could be a young Pau Gasol with more range.

His shooting form while good takes a very long time before he releases the ball.   

Like gasol in a bad way does not embrace contact

There is more to it than a 7 ft of able to run like a gazelle (see Jan vesely)

I consider bender one of those overhyped prospects at this point. Same goes for poeltl

[Eja117]

This is kinda my issue with Sabonis....he was sorta not playing great till their 7 footer Karnowski went down for the season and then suddenly the scoring and rebounding fell to him and it helped him develop, but being the 2nd best guy at Gonzaga is going to be really really different than maybe the 11th man on the Celtics.

I think of him a little like Donatas Moteijunas with that tweener forward thing, but I think DM was a little bigger, had a way better outside shot, and was a year or two older. I took DM a very long time to develop and he still isn't exactly an all star.

I feel like we need a center way more than a pf, and if we get a pf (like Sabonis) and then Sabonis pushes to become a starter that would mean either KO moving inside (not good. His shooting should be on the outside and he's not a great rebounder or defender) or it means Sabonis going inside to be a center (probably even worse).

I just don't really see the fit for him here unless Amir and Sully move on. Do we want Sully playing center?  I don't.

I get that he beat up on Poetl but it's one game.

[TheTruth]

Triboy,

I agree on Poeltl but how can you be so sure on Bender? The very little that is out there shows an extremely coordinated guy for his size.

Coordination is one of the key things I look at. It's what keeps players like Olynyk from being more like guys like Nowitzky.

It's also what doomed Darko.

[Tr1boy]

Triboy,

I agree on Poeltl but how can you be so sure on Bender? The very little that is out there shows an extremely coordinated guy for his size.

Coordination is one of the key things I look at. It's what keeps players like Olynyk from being more like guys like Nowitzky.

It's also what doomed Darko.

you know what you can be sure of? Accomplishments coupled with talent
We don't know what Bender has accomplished so far.  The last time I heard , he is still coming off the bench for his team in Europe. 

I'm not closing the door on the kid but there are lots of question marks. 

Is he the next Jan Vesely ,  Montiejunas(which would be bad/picked too high) or is he the next Gasol? Or nothing we have seen before

The thing about PFs , stretch or not is that you need to be at least a decent defender. Not be pushed around,  can guard out to the perimeter,  box out,  embrace the physical part of the game

It's nice you can run from one end to the other in record time but when it becomes nitty gritty basketball that doesn't mean a whole lot. 

[Eja117]

Being a bench guy on a pro team in Europe isn't necessarily the end of the world. It's not like Gonzaga is the highest level of competition on Earth or something.

Bender is the star of his country's youth team, which is more equivalent to being a college star here, and I'm sure his country's national team will fast track him. Sabonis is on his, but he's deep on that bench.

[Dino Pitino]

For those who think Sabonis is too short to be a center in the NBA: How tall is our starting center right now? Somebody explain why Sabonis would be a worse option at center than Sullinger.

[Eja117]

For those who think Sabonis is too short to be a center in the NBA: How tall is our starting center right now? Somebody explain why Sabonis would be a worse option at center than Sullinger.

Because he's too small. He's hardly a center at the college level

[Tr1boy]

For those who think Sabonis is too short to be a center in the NBA: How tall is our starting center right now? Somebody explain why Sabonis would be a worse option at center than Sullinger.

Because he's too small. He's hardly a center at the college level

Sabonis is not small.  The announcers repeatedly stated he was 6'11.   

Also he is skinny but has decent built and is strong like an ox.  Imagine with pro workouts how much stronger he will be

But I do agree at the NBA level he is not a center.  Part time center but mainly a PF

[Eja117]

For those who think Sabonis is too short to be a center in the NBA: How tall is our starting center right now? Somebody explain why Sabonis would be a worse option at center than Sullinger.

Because he's too small. He's hardly a center at the college level

Sabonis is not small.  The announcers repeatedly stated he was 6'11.   

Also he is skinny but has decent built and is strong like an ox.  Imagine with pro workouts how much stronger he will be

But I do agree at the NBA level he is not a center.  Part time center but mainly a PF

So I double checked this and the truth seems in between. At the start of the season he was around 6ft 10 and 240. So by now he might be 6ft 11 and 245.  At one point I think one of the skinniest centers in the league was Larry Sander at 235. Nerlens Noel was like 206 on draft day. Noah Vonleh was maybe 6ft 9 and 247. Currently yahoo.com has Clint Cappella at 6ft 10 and 240 and has Donatas M at like 7ft and 222.

So center seems a stretch for him, and his first year could be tough, but after a year or two he could give some quality minutes there, at least against some of the smaller centers in the league.