Zion is the most exciting/dynamic player since.... | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Zion is the most exciting/dynamic player since....

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Coach K looks like he belongs in a wax museum.
 
intlzncster said:
The funny thing is we're talking about an 18 year old right now. He still has a 8-10 years to hit his prime.

Obviously his current go to isn't going to work. Most of his skills/game are completely underdeveloped as he hasn't played against the guys he's supposed to be playing against.

He'll be fine.
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I don't think he is really that raw. He should be very good from the jump. He needs to improve his shot and learn to deal with bigger and better athletes, just like every other college player but he has a really good feel for the game.
 
Walker11 said:
I don't think he is really that raw. He should be very good from the jump. He needs to improve his shot and learn to deal with bigger and better athletes, just like every other college player but he has a really good feel for the game.
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I agree. Was only saying that a lot of the skills he developed against smaller, less athletic players won't translate. But that doesn't mean he's not going to pick up new skills quick.
 
I don't think he's raw at all, he's basically awesome at everything already except for his shot could use a little work but it already keeps teams honest. Only thing that will stop him from being a superstar is his body can't handle his power and breaks down which is a very real concern.

A guy like Barrett has great numbers but you hardly even notice him with Zion on the court racing around. Zion legitimately effects every single play offensively and defensively.

Best comparison has always been Barkley but Zion is even more athletic and Barkley is one of the biggest athletic freaks the NBA has ever seen.
 
superjohn said:
I don't think he's raw at all, he's basically awesome at everything already except for his shot could use a little work but it already keeps teams honest. Only thing that will stop him from being a superstar is his body can't handle his power and breaks down which is a very real concern.
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For the record, I don't think he's raw in the traditional sense either. I was trying to counter the 'his go moves won't work at the next level' meme (I worded it poorly). I just don't think that's the case. Anything that "doesn't work", he'll just adapt to, probably quite quickly.

I do think he's raw in the idea that his ceiling is so much higher than it is now, and he's got all the time in the world to work on it.

If I'm a team, I'm not worrying about his body breaking down in the near term. If you can draft a Superstar, and say he starts breaking down at 30, that's a huge win. His recent injury was absolutely cause by equipment failure.

Given that he's so strong, he's more than capable of developing a Karl Malone style game later in his career, which inherently puts a bit less stress on the body.

A guy like Barrett has great numbers but you hardly even notice him with Zion on the court racing around. Zion legitimately effects every single play offensively and defensively.
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His defense is what really sets him apart from most players coming out. He's an actual weapon on defense out there. A true two way player.

This is absurd:



Best comparison has always been Barkley but Zion is even more athletic and Barkley is one of the biggest athletic freaks the NBA has ever seen.
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Strength-wise and height-athleticism ratio, absolutely. He's like Barkley + Larry Johnson + Sean Kemp (minus the height). lol

I can't come up with a good athletic comparison to Zion, probably need a mix of guys to do so. Actually, the fact that I'm struggling to do say, probably says as much as anything about him. One of a kind.
 
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PJF, for those who know him, just did a podcast preview on why zion SHOULD NOT lose weight.

My gf is a DPT and strength coach. Says the same thing. If he is putting on the weight without a real lifting and nutrition program, then it's okay. Losing 20 lbs could be worse for his joints.
 
Bigger stronger guys will give him trouble just like The UCF kid did. And honestly, Fall is a pretty ordinary bi except for his size. In college Zion was able to out muscle forwards and out quick most bigs but in the NBA he won’t do either. The bigs are bigger, stronger and the 3s and 4s are quicker and stronger. At 6-6, he won’t overpower anyone. If he stuck around he could be a legendary college player but in the NBA he will be pretty ordinary.
 
husky429 said:
He's 6'6. He's undersized. Don't be obtuse.
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Do you even watch the NBA? Guys like Draymond Green, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Gary Clark play the 5 at times, and the 4 quite often. It's not 1993 anymore.

Travelman32 said:
Giannis Antetokounmpo and not because of the nickname, which is bad, but he is an incredible athlete.
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Sorry, I should have clarified that I meant at age 18/before entering the NBA. Giannis now is certainly a freak to that level.
 
I feel like over a course of a game he has a half dozen “WOW” plays but I don’t think you can build around him. Not a great handle or shot. Those out of control drives where he somehow scores or gets to the line in college will not be as successful when he has a guy like Draymond Green, Marcus Smart, or Kawhi Leonard on him.
 
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Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
I feel like over a course of a game he has a half dozen “WOW” plays but I don’t think you can build around him. Not a great handle or shot. Those out of control drives where he somehow scores or gets to the line in college will not be as successful when he has a guy like Draymond Green, Marcus Smart, or Kawhi Leonard on him.
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To the extent there was a knock on him coming out of high school it was "well, he's roasting a bunch of 5-9 suburban kids, just wait until he's playing high major college basketball." And then he got to high major college basketball and still looked like a different species than everyone else on the court. I'm not sure how much Draymond you've watched lately but I doubt he's the guy that's going to make Zion look normal. The kid's quicker, jumps higher, and has FIFTY pounds on him.
 
Zion has such an incredibly quick first step...for offense and defense.

FSU's coach commented that it was the fastest first step that he'd seen with his many years of experience.

At only 18, he hasn't yet physically peaked.

He is an inch shorter than Lebron, 35 pounds heavier, and has 2" less wingspan and has the same 40 inch vericle leap...

Lebron's FG % picked up after year five....his FG % in year one was .417....3 point % of .290 in year one.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
To the extent there was a knock on him coming out of high school it was "well, he's roasting a bunch of 5-9 suburban kids, just wait until he's playing high major college basketball." And then he got to high major college basketball and still looked like a different species than everyone else on the court. I'm not sure how much Draymond you've watched lately but I doubt he's the guy that's going to make Zion look normal. The kid's quicker, jumps higher, and has FIFTY pounds on him.
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That's the thing with Zion's freakishness: it's not just the vert or being 285 lbs. He is so quick and so light on his feet. His change of direction is ridiculous. I think it was the VaTech game in transition where the VT kid hit with a pretty nasty hesitation and Zion bit, then still recovered to glass the layup attempt. Human beings don't do stuff like that.
 
Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
I feel like over a course of a game he has a half dozen “WOW” plays but I don’t think you can build around him. Not a great handle or shot. Those out of control drives where he somehow scores or gets to the line in college will not be as successful when he has a guy like Draymond Green, Marcus Smart, or Kawhi Leonard on him.
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He's bigger than all 3 of those guys. The only thing that will stop Zion will be can his body handle his playstyle.
 
Lefty2one said:
I think it was the VaTech game in transition where the VT kid hit with a pretty nasty hesitation and Zion bit, then still recovered to glass the layup attempt.
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Yeah that was VT. A great hesitation dribble, he was completely beaten, and still rubbed it. That was pretty demoralizing.
 
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Zion kept the four freshman of Duke in contention against veteran laden squads...
 
superjohn said:
Can someone tell me what happened with Zion elbowing Ahmed Hill in the face. That's clearly a flagrant 1. I was watching in a crowded bar but Duke got the ball after the refs looked at the monitor and now I'm reading online they called a foul on Hill. That can't be right??? No flagrant 1 is insane, they didn't really call a foul on Hill, right?
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Reality is to beat this Duke team you have to beat them by 10+ points, they get every call imaginable. For Duke to only have two fouls with 30 seconds left yesterday was absolutely atrocious. Once Zion got his second the refs ate the whistle regarding Z. MSU gets out rebounded by 10+ as well, lol. Happy to see Duke lose, they deserved to.
 
Reminds me of Danny Fortson with major ups and quickness with the same body style.

Danny Fortson was a beast in college.
 
Reminds me of Charles Barkley. A little heavy up top but a freakish athlete for his size. He is a couple inches taller than Barkley but very similar in how they are freakish athletes for their huge size. Charles might not be as good of an athlete but he could really move and dribble for a guy his size. Some of his blocks were unbelievable in this video.

 
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Zion gets a few cool highlight plays a game, but I think we need to tap the brakes with comparisons to the greatest players of all time.

The first warning sign is that Duke did not look dominant in the tournament. Duke has 3 players projected to be in the first 10 picks, and they were a couple of no calls on offensive fouls away from being knocked out the first weekend of the tournament. If Zion was truly a dominant player, he should be able to carry a team as good as Duke to the Final Four by himself.

His height is an issue, and he doesn't make up for it with wingspan. He is 6'7, and his wingspan is 6'10. Most PF's at the next level are 6'10 and 7'2. He is going to try and out-muscle opponents, but NBA 4's are pretty strong.

There only two prior examples that I can think of where an undersized PF became really successful in the NBA are Charles Barkley and Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson feels like the closer comparable to Zion. Johnson was a great athlete that was explosive and bigger players struggled to cover him. Johnson had an advantage over Zion in that there were still some big stiffs at the 4 back then which there aren't now. Johnson didn't get to the NBA until he was 22, but he only had about 5 years at the top before the wear and tear of the NBA caught up to him. Carrying that much weight, even if it is muscle, is a lot of strain on the joints and knees in particular. I feel like Larry Johnson is Williamson's upside.

Barkley was a once in a lifetime player. He was 6'6 and probably played at 250-260 most of his career. He was very skilled, and a very accruate shooter. There wasn't nearly as much 3 point shooting back then, but Barkley had a good mid-range game. He also averaged over 4 apg most of his career. Williamson has a long way to go to be Barkley.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
To the extent there was a knock on him coming out of high school it was "well, he's roasting a bunch of 5-9 suburban kids, just wait until he's playing high major college basketball." And then he got to high major college basketball and still looked like a different species than everyone else on the court. I'm not sure how much Draymond you've watched lately but I doubt he's the guy that's going to make Zion look normal. The kid's quicker, jumps higher, and has FIFTY pounds on him.
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Draymond Green might be the most overrated player in the history of the NBA.
 
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ZenConn said:
Reminds me of Danny Fortson with major ups and quickness with the same body style.

Danny Fortson was a beast in college.
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Good one here, very similar. Much more explosive I think than Fortson but I like this comparison.
 
Zion's wingspan is 2" shorter than Lebron's (1 inch per side)...he jumps as high. And Zion is heavier with good weight.

Who lnows his potential...but Lebron took five years as a pro to really get into his prime.
 
I hope Phoenix picks up Zion and then Kemba in free agency. Kemba had 47 of the teams 102 points last night and almost everytime hes gone off this year theyve lost. Its time to move on. Phoenixs potential 2020 starting 5 is deadly: Kemba, Booker, Warren, Zion, Ayton.
 
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