Another Bender Post

[CFAN38]

Here's why I think this is so interesting: Davis was 19 when he was drafted, but Bender will be 18 when he is drafted. Imagine if Bender went to Kentucky this coming season and Kentucky really didn't have another good center

He could not put up numbers in Israel, what makes you think that he could play in the SEC.   You know which Americans play in Israel, not the best players, because if they were better than would play elsewhere.

I don't agree. His point was that coaches in the Euroleague are pressured to win games, not develop prospects

If  this were the case and he would good wouldn't he play because he would give them the best chance to win?  Thanks for convincing even more than he would be a huge mistake.  Good players give you best chance to win.

He goes to Kentucky and he might not play there either folks.   He is not even close to some of their past C's in terms of production.

I think your taking for granted the difference between a high talent 18-20 year old college kid compared to a less talented 28-32 year old professional basketball player. The Olympics and international play has shown us that the rest of the world has closed the gap quit a bit from past generations in terms quality of basketball player.

To say that Bender a consenceas lottery pick would not have been successful in the college level is false. The best lateral comp I can find is Sabonis, he is coming off of a 17pt 11rb season. Looking back two years ago when he has 18 and Bender was 16 they posted very comparable stats at the FIBA U18.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

We will have to agree to disagree. I don't feel like you guys completely understand what I'm saying about him. I'm not saying he is Bird or Garnett. I'm not saying his ability is all there. I'm not saying that because he is young, he will be good. But, I don't think I'm going to get my point across.

I do see the potential though.

Fair enough.  I can respect that.  My question is, what do you think his ceiling is and what are the odds?  I wonder if we're in the same ballpark.

If you think he can be a serviceable role player and maybe evolve into a versatile defender and 3 point shooter, I kinda see it.  Maybe he can become a Nicolas Batum caliber player.  I doubt it, but it's not impossible.  My problem is, I don't want to gamble the #3 on that.  We have to aim higher.

Here's how I'll put it. The odds of him becoming a superstar are small, but I think he has the best chance of anyone after Simmons and Ingram. 
Anthony Davis/Superstar - 5%
Anthony Davis-lite/Pau Gasol All-star - 20%
Toni Kukoc/Hedo Turkoglu starter - 40%
Meyers Leonard/Jonas Jerebko role player - 30%
Nikola Tskitizvili (sp?) bust - 5%

TP.  The interesting part is that my projections aren't that far off of yours.  I think the Meyers Leonard/ Jerebko level is in the 60% range  and there's 0% chance of Anthony Davis, and that's where my pessimism stems from.  Kukoc and Turkoglu were savvy players, a la Ginobli.  Bender does NOT possess that gene and you can't teach it.  He's taller and he's young, and that's where it ends.  Guys don't wake up one day with the Kukoc/Ginobli gene.  If he had it, we'd know.  Wouldn't matter if he were 13 years old.  When you watch him play, he definitely is not that type of player.  The game is hard for him.

I gotchya. I'm a bit higher on him. In fairness, Turkoglu struggled for a lot of years before he became efficient. After thinking about him, I like the Kirilinko (sp?) comparison a bit better too.

I see a better feel for the game that you do. That's fine. If we draft him, I know you will hope that I can say, "I told you so." If we pass on him, I hope you can say it.

I think summer league may show us a lot.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I feel his upside is better as a center than as a forward.

Trouble is he wants to play SF.  Nothing of his game denotes that he will play C or PF.   He loves the perimeter.

I think the rest of your post is great.

I trust Ainge and our scouts to make the right pick or the right move. If they all believe Dragan is the BPA than I trust them 100%.

At the end of the day, I do as well.   But I trust Ainge a lot more picking guards a position he played than bigs.    I wish we hired McHale for a big trainer/draft guru.   He knows bigs.

Does he want to play small forward? In U18 games he plays in the paint. Just because he played small forward in a professional league doesn't mean that's what he wants. He was doing what his coach said.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Here's why I think this is so interesting: Davis was 19 when he was drafted, but Bender will be 18 when he is drafted. Imagine if Bender went to Kentucky this coming season and Kentucky really didn't have another good center

He could not put up numbers in Israel, what makes you think that he could play in the SEC.   You know which Americans play in Israel, not the best players, because if they were better than would play elsewhere.

I don't agree. His point was that coaches in the Euroleague are pressured to win games, not develop prospects

If  this were the case and he would good wouldn't he play because he would give them the best chance to win?  Thanks for convincing even more than he would be a huge mistake.  Good players give you best chance to win.

He goes to Kentucky and he might not play there either folks.   He is not even close to some of their past C's in terms of production.

I think your taking for granted the difference between a high talent 18-20 year old college kid compared to a less talented 28-32 year old professional basketball player. The Olympics and international play has shown us that the rest of the world has closed the gap quit a bit from past generations in terms quality of basketball player.

To say that Bender a consenceas lottery pick would not have been successful in the college level is false. The best lateral comp I can find is Sabonis, he is coming off of a 17pt 11rb season. Looking back two years ago when he has 18 and Bender was 16 they posted very comparable stats at the FIBA U18.

That's a great point. TP. Bender dominated Sabonis in that matchup as a 16 year old. Sabonis came over here after that and had a season that would have gotten him drafted in the 1st round last year.

[Otsje P]

All those comments about bender's lack of playing time at Maccabi and the comparisons with college teams is at times a bit laughable. If Maccabi played in the American college league, they would easily be one of the best, if not the best team.

A team of full grown and experienced men. Full professionals in a league of boys.

Look at Bender as Devin Booker was on the Kentucky team. he didn't play a lot. Booker could very well become the best player of last year's draft, behind KAT.

[Tr1boy]

Here's why I think this is so interesting: Davis was 19 when he was drafted, but Bender will be 18 when he is drafted. Imagine if Bender went to Kentucky this coming season and Kentucky really didn't have another good center

He could not put up numbers in Israel, what makes you think that he could play in the SEC.   You know which Americans play in Israel, not the best players, because if they were better than would play elsewhere.

I don't agree. His point was that coaches in the Euroleague are pressured to win games, not develop prospects

If  this were the case and he would good wouldn't he play because he would give them the best chance to win?  Thanks for convincing even more than he would be a huge mistake.  Good players give you best chance to win.

He goes to Kentucky and he might not play there either folks.   He is not even close to some of their past C's in terms of production.

I think your taking for granted the difference between a high talent 18-20 year old college kid compared to a less talented 28-32 year old professional basketball player. The Olympics and international play has shown us that the rest of the world has closed the gap quit a bit from past generations in terms quality of basketball player.

To say that Bender a consenceas lottery pick would not have been successful in the college level is false. The best lateral comp I can find is Sabonis, he is coming off of a 17pt 11rb season. Looking back two years ago when he has 18 and Bender was 16 they posted very comparable stats at the FIBA U18.

That's a great point. TP. Bender dominated Sabonis in that matchup as a 16 year old. Sabonis came over here after that and had a season that would have gotten him drafted in the 1st round last year.

What a strange way to "up" bender

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Here's why I think this is so interesting: Davis was 19 when he was drafted, but Bender will be 18 when he is drafted. Imagine if Bender went to Kentucky this coming season and Kentucky really didn't have another good center

He could not put up numbers in Israel, what makes you think that he could play in the SEC.   You know which Americans play in Israel, not the best players, because if they were better than would play elsewhere.

I don't agree. His point was that coaches in the Euroleague are pressured to win games, not develop prospects

If  this were the case and he would good wouldn't he play because he would give them the best chance to win?  Thanks for convincing even more than he would be a huge mistake.  Good players give you best chance to win.

He goes to Kentucky and he might not play there either folks.   He is not even close to some of their past C's in terms of production.

I think your taking for granted the difference between a high talent 18-20 year old college kid compared to a less talented 28-32 year old professional basketball player. The Olympics and international play has shown us that the rest of the world has closed the gap quit a bit from past generations in terms quality of basketball player.

To say that Bender a consenceas lottery pick would not have been successful in the college level is false. The best lateral comp I can find is Sabonis, he is coming off of a 17pt 11rb season. Looking back two years ago when he has 18 and Bender was 16 they posted very comparable stats at the FIBA U18.

That's a great point. TP. Bender dominated Sabonis in that matchup as a 16 year old. Sabonis came over here after that and had a season that would have gotten him drafted in the 1st round last year.

What a strange way to "up" bender

When Bender plays against guys his own age, he plays well. That is a good indication of what he might be in a few years.

[ederson]

All those comments about bender's lack of playing time at Maccabi and the comparisons with college teams is at times a bit laughable. If Maccabi played in the American college league, they would easily be one of the best, if not the best team.

A team of full grown and experienced men. Full professionals in a league of boys.

Look at Bender as Devin Booker was on the Kentucky team. he didn't play a lot. Booker could very well become the best player of last year's draft, behind KAT.

So you are saying that play time doesn`t matter ?

Macabi this season is pathetic whether you like it or not. In a one team league managed to finish second in the regular season and were a punching bag in euroleague.
The fact that a top3 pick gets 12-15mins of play time doesn`t look good.