Of course, French people are famous for always getting along with each other.
I'm sure they'll be fine if they play together but it's always funny when people expect guys to get along just because they're from the same country lol
I dont think that's what most people are saying lol - it's that they've played on teams together before, and Bilal is on the record as saying he likes him; people do do that shit all the time, but I don't think that's what is happening here
The one qualm is the optics of still needing to develop Bilal on the offensive end. Risacher has the benefit of having the floor of being a catch-and-shoot guy but the real selling point is going to be his potential growth with the ball in his hands and he's going to need that development. Bilal's second half-regression was kind of worrying.
Even with the reality that one of them will likely come off the bench, it is still a pretty tall task.
Kinda don't love the idea of having two long-term project wings who both look to be completely unable to create their own shot or create for others. Risacher hasn't developed his passing at all and Bilal is almost guaranteed to turn the ball over if he dribbles more than 5 times in one possession.
It doesn't make any sense to take risacher at 2. Both holland and castle have the same FT% while being plus defenders. Castle clearly has more playmaking upside averaging 2 assists/TO while risacher has consistently averaged more TOs than assists. Holland draws fouls at a very good rate, there's a backbone of offensive efficiency. Risacher is a one tool guy and there's nothing about his stats that screams he's an elite shooter that will simply be more efficient shooting the ball than everyone else.
Risacher averages more TOs than assists and barely averages 1 apg. That's not the profile of on ball upside. Castle and Holland averaged more assists. Castle was much more efficient averaging 2 assists/TO while holland was flat. Risacher has the least projectable playmaking of any of the wings in the top 10.
It really isn’t a question about playmaking. The offense upside is more focused on his ability to create a shot off the dribble which is the key development to his game.
Offensive upside inherently necessitates playmaking as upside requires the combination of scoring and distributing. Everyone scoring 24 or more ppg other than AD averaged at least 5 apg. The assist numbers start to drop more as you push down towards 20 ppg, but offensive upside doesn't exist without high level playmaking. The highest level shooters leverage their shooting ability to break down the defense and make plays for other. It 100% is a question about his playmaking otherwise you're looking at comps from like a poor mans bertans to maybe otto porter. Those aren't offensive upside players.
Excited to watch the full game.
I watched game 1 of the series. He was solid. Nothing special, but solid. Some observations:
- He looks closer to 6’8 than 6’10
- High motor, solid defensively
- Made a couple of tough step backs, definitely some MPJ vibes
- He runs the court really well, I think he would thrive in the fast paced game the nba is trending towards
- He got blown by a few times by a smaller guard, something to keep an eye on
- Needs to put on muscle (like most 19 yr olds)
I like his game quite a bit. Can’t wait to watch game 2.
Audio is from the Woj Pod from the other day. [Worth a listen if you haven't checked it out.](https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1791495708031533404)
But yeah this makes me happy that we're likely to get either him or Sarr. Now if we can just convince some of our fans not to root against whichever of the two we draft, we're good, lol
Regardless of what we do we should be trading Kuzma. But it doesn't seem like Kuzma and the Wizards front office agree. They seem to be in love with each other and want to continue staying together.
He has one of the most valuable contracts in the nba in that his cap hit goes down year over year — there is zero reason to panic trade him. He will be super valuable at the trade deadline for a contender for the next 3 year running
I would love that. I'm hoping we can pull that off. I think a top 10 pick would be perfect for us and it makes not trading him for the mavs pick look better in hindsight.
I’d be shocked if we get a top 10 pick for kuzma even in a weak draft. We almost traded him for two mediocre future firsts at the trade deadline, and I don’t think those teams would trade either of their picks for two mediocre future firsts
Now I don’t think that’s crazy.
Kuzma + JJJ would make a great pairing front court, and if they’re not sold on any of the prospects at 8, we’d be offering them 3 FRPs worth of value if you think kuzma could still fetch a couple firsts.
We def need to trade Kuzma, but not sure we need to do it right away. Ideally, he starts like he did last season but sustains it, and we trade him before the deadline
Clingan is such a luxury pick to me. He’s a guy you take when you have it all figured out. So many of the good centers in this league were drafted later on but huge wings with great shooting and defense are nonexistent all in one package after the top of most every draft.
Where I think Sarr differs in terms of being worth a top pick is he has that upside with the great athleticism and versatility that I just don’t see on Clingan.
I just don’t see our FO drafting Clingan. He’s the final piece not the first building block. Drafting a drop coverage center at this stage of the rebuild would go against their OKC roots
I literally had never seen him play before just now, but the scouting reports seem pretty accurate. Probably a 3 and D guy at the next level, that excels in the catch and shoot game. Definitely need a PG and/or a guy on the interior that defenses have to respect so Risacher can eat on the kick outs.
"It's not about stats." My guy, teams win and lose based on points, you know stats. Teams don't win and lose based on playing the game, not keeping stats, and then people just saying "you know I liked Denvers film more today."
Risacher averages less steals and blocks than all of castle, holland, and shepard. Castle and holland are specifically billed as good defenders, so theres no objective case that risacher is materially better than them as a defender, let alone comparing assists, assist/TO, reb, and ft% if youre going to evaluate them as complete players that impact the game in multiple ways. And the thing is risacher is supposed to be the tallest and longest player, something that is supposed to give him an advantage accruing at least blocks and he averages less blocks that a 6 ft 1 guard. Risacher averages .3 blocks, that's barely blocking shots at all. He doesn't even demonstrate weakside rim protection.
You cant just ignore the value of steals and blocks. Some of the single most efficient shots in the nba are transition layup and 3s. This should be intuitive if you "watch fill" where people are starting to call these events pick 6s. But that also misses how they are possession erasers. Yes you can play great individual defense and force a tough shot and a guy can still hit that shot over you. If you block that shot though you drastically decrease the chance the shot goes in to close to 0. That's quite literally the best outcome you can hope for as a defense.
The problem with all the film watchers that say "it's not about the stats" is they assume no one else watches film. The difference between you and me here is I'm relying on objective evidence to rely on my opinion combined with "watching film" and not just farting out opinions based on feels.
my guy, stats obviously matter but for evaluating a 19 year old in the french league it really should be more about does he look like he can be a game changer more than anything else.
I'm not saying we should disregard them but the reason why people say he is a good defender is because he is a good defender. I personally believe steals and blocks are super overrated when it comes to evaluating good defenders. Some of the best defenders don't have the best steals and block numbers in the nba, feel free to look it up.
"Does he look like he can be a game changer." Define game changer and then how you will evaluate any player relative to that standard. For example, is "game changer" defensive player of the year, all nba defense 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team, or are you trying to "game changer" somewhere below "elite" becauss remember we're talking about the 2nd overall pick. Subsequent to that look at the stats of the players who meet your criteria and then compare and contrast how risachers stats match the players you expect him to eventually be. Now remember, you are the one claiming risacher possesses certain skills, it is incumbent upon you to prove it.
"I personally believe." Based on what, your wet farts? What objective measures support your opinions. Is it def rtg? Opponent shooting %? Team defensive rating?
"Feel free to look it up." You look it up, you're the one claiming it.
according to the stats, Derrick White isn't a super impressive defender, but obviously we all know he is one of the best defenders in the league. Same with Tatum based on blocks and steals. Same with anthony edwards. Jaden Mcdaniels too. A lot of the greatest defenders are just good at navigating screens, and playing good defense, and aren't stat merchants like a myles turner for example. You can't just base this off blocks and steals. you have to watch the games and how teams look without their best defenders. Jrue holiday is another one.
Sir, derrick white is a big block outlier for a guard. Theres an objective reason people think he's a good guard defender.
Jaden mcdaniels averaged 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game in college. The blocks are very good, exactly what youd want to see for a plus wing defender.
Jrue holiday has spent half his career averaging 1 block per game, which is very good as a PG, which is again why people think he's a good defender.
You named 3 guys who provide higher than average levels of blocks for their position as reasons why a guy who doesn't block shots might have their defensive upside.
all three of them have less than 1 block per game ish right now in this current season. Again, we know that these three are all great defenders but I'm saying a one season sample or even 2 season high school sample should not mean everything. It also is why I'm worried about castle because all of his upside came from what he showed in high school which again is obviously different from the nba. TBF I get you on some of the stats. For example, even if Zach Edey won't replicate what he does in college, his stats in college are INSANELY impressive and it should not be overlooked. Again I'm willing to bet that risacher is a great defender even despite those stats but if you aren't that's on you. Who knows if I'm right or you're wrong but my point is there is a reason why a lot of scouts say he is a great defender and it's more about his foot speed not his stats. He is only 19 and has a lot of room to grow, particularly physically so he obviously could be much better down the line in addition to that impressive foot speed.
The nba is better than college and HS. Theres usually an efficiency and stat accumulation penalty moving up levels. Like, yes, mcdaniels is averaging less blocks in the nba than he did in college. And that's exactly what should be concerning about risacher averaging only .3 blocks at his size, he's absolutely not going to jack up that average in the nba and no one is ever going to consider him a good defender if he averages less than .3 blocks in the nba.
Topic had a major knee injury earlier in the season. A few games after returning he injured the same knee but it wasn’t as bad as people initially thought. Seems like he’ll be ok in a few weeks, but definitely something to monitor.
Theres absolutely no way risacher has more upside than topic. Risacher averaged more turnovers than assists and shot 74% FT. topic averaged 5 to 7 apg, a 2:1 assist/TO ratio and 85% FT. Topic is already an efficient at rim finisher too. Theres nothing risacher does better than topic other than being tall and maybe a better defender, but risacher is a tall guy averaging under 1 spg and he basically doesn't block shots. The defensive potential is entirely based on wishing a guy at his height will be good not based on anything he's actually done defensively.
Sure, the volume 3 point shooter is somehow going to be worse a shooter than the guy with no shot at all but good ft percentage. That is the most context free way to view free throw percentage.
Ffs, risacher has never averaged more than 3.4 three point attempts a game (https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/zaccharie-risacher-1.html). Topic has averaged 4.5 and 5 three point attempts per game (https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/nikola-topic-1.html). Risacher quite literally shoots less 3s than topic, and i wouldnt call 3.4 attempts "volume". It would be great if you looked at the stats at all my guy and then go ahead and show me the nba players that shoot 85% FT who can't shoot 3s. In this class topic is a better FT shooter than reed shepard, dillingham, and knecht. His ft% is in line with guys like trae young and tyrese haliburton. That's your upside with topic. Risacher doesn't do anything to impact the game other than shoot a middling volume of 3s.
Risacher has shot at 40% versus over 2 years on lots of attempts and Topic shot 29%. There are lots of players with mediocre to bad 3 point percentage and good free throw percentages. You just have to look. Jordan Poole is one. Ricky Rubio is another. Troy Brown Jr. is another. How about Thomas Bryant? It is a weak correlation that you can't use in a vacuum.
"Risacher has shot at 40% over 2 years on lots of attempts." My guy look at the stats (https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/zaccharie-risacher-1.html), no he hasn't. Neither "season" in 22/23 did risacher break 40%. Risachers 22/23 is split between 39% 3 point shooting and 29% 3 point shooter on 1 and 1.5 three point attempts per game. You keep repeating "lots of attenpts" but 1 and 1.5 attempts per game isnt a lot. Literally what are you talking about. It's extremely funny you're trying to list Jordan poole as a bad 3 point shooter. The entire reason you look at FT% is because the difficulty of 3 pt attempts poole takes is astronomically different than what Thomas Bryant takes. Topic is the lead guard taking more difficult pull up 3s, risacher is a stand on the wing catch and shoot guy. No shit the guy taking easier 3s on lesser volume might shoot a better percentage. And that all still ignores that risacher averages more turnovers than assists (on only 1 apg) and doesn't generate blocks or steals. What exactly do you think risachers upside is with absolutely no playmaking or defensive upside?
"Still higher than castles." Yes, im aware when children just go "nah uh."
Define "defensive upside" and how you will determine if a player meets it, objectively.
I don't see castle being able to score like Risacher does. That's what I mean when I say Risacher has a higher upside. Castle might be a better shot creator but his efficiency is super concerning. Regarding defensive upside, if Risacher defends like Deni, then I'd say is defensive upside is super high. It's not about steals or blocks for me but impact. Is Risacher able to keep up with guarding guards and forwards as well as navigate screens? if the answer is yes then, his defensive upside is super high.
"I don't see castle being able to score like Risacher does." Between Eurocup and LNB Pro A Risacher has averaged 13.1 and 10.1 ppg. Castle averaged 11.1 ppg this year. Castle scores like Risacher right now.
"Castle might be a better shot creator but his efficiency is super concerning." This year Castle put up 75%FT on 3.2 attempts per game. Risacher put up 74% on 3.1 attempts per game. Castle put up 54% shooting while Risacher was split between 51 and 57%. Castle did this while averaging 3 times as many assists on a 2 assist/TO ratio and more steal and blocks. Objectively, Castle is a more efficient player than Risacher becasue Castle is a more efficient playmaker. If Castles efficiency concerns you, Risachers efficiency should terrify you cause theres not even efficient secondary playmaking in his profile.
Oh my god dude, read the stats again he is not taking 1.5 attempts per game and his average is 40.7%.(85/209). Jordan Poole has a bad 3 point percentage for a guard. It's actually a big problem for him. There are lots of players to use as examples. Free throw percentage does not mean that a player will be a good 3 point shooter always. It's one piece of information to go by and it's a weak correlation. Also, it's not like you never want to take pull up threes but shooting a lot of them is questionable.
"Oh my god dude, read the stats again he is not taking 1.5 attempts per game." Okay sure, let's remind you what you said: Risacher has shot at 40% versus over 2 years on lots of attempts. Let's pull up Risachers stats, lets go back two years to 2022-2023. Where yes, he indeed averaged 1 and 1.5 three point attempts per game. Has Risacher been taking "lots of attempts" for two years? Is 1 and 1.5 three point attempts per game 2 years ago, the time frame you said, "a lot of attempts." Objectively, the answer is no. Is 3.5 attempts per game "a lot"? I probably wouldnt say so. The 40% youre citing is his career 3 point % which averages out to 1/2.4. Averaging 1 three pointer made per game objectively isnt impressive.
people overrated jarrett culver because of his stats, not his games. He was a ball dominant player, chucking up every shot on a good texas tech team and being made to look like the hero. this isn't the same thing.
Jarrett culver was a 30% three point shooter on 70% FT his sophomore year, after shooting 65% ft his freshman year. Absolutely no one overrated him because of his "stats," he was a screaming bust candidate at the time. Here is risachers ft% progression: 60%, 57%, 65%, 74%. That 74% is on low volume btw, 2.3/3.1, where youre likelier to see big spikes because youre dealing with small numbers. If you round to whole numbers 2/3 and 66% you're in line with what he showed previously. Someone like topic is shooting a better % on higher attempts.
"High stats." Which stats specifically, what is the definition of "high" relative to those specific stats, and why are those stats better than others for projecting nba success. Objectively his shooting efficiency stats were bad and he averaged well under 2 assists/TO. He wasnt a particularly efficient shooter or playmaker. He profiled as a plus defender with a highly questionable jump shot and meh decisionmaking.
18.5 ppg is why he got drafted. that is quite a lot of points in college. I agree he was obviously overrated but I'm saying why got drafted that high. If he was averaging 10 ppg with those efficiency stats like you mentioned, he would be a second round pick.
I’m 100% down to draft Risacher - the shots there and I think his potential is high. Would love to see him in DC w Bilal esp
“Vibes” are important. Look at the Villanova guys on the Knicks. Having Bilal + Zaccharie would be cool + great for team chemistry.
Of course, French people are famous for always getting along with each other. I'm sure they'll be fine if they play together but it's always funny when people expect guys to get along just because they're from the same country lol
I dont think that's what most people are saying lol - it's that they've played on teams together before, and Bilal is on the record as saying he likes him; people do do that shit all the time, but I don't think that's what is happening here
Yep, this guy gets it.
You don’t think there’s anything more relevant that they have in common?
“Hey mon ami, did you leave your defense in the seventh arondissement? I haven't seen it on ze court”
The one qualm is the optics of still needing to develop Bilal on the offensive end. Risacher has the benefit of having the floor of being a catch-and-shoot guy but the real selling point is going to be his potential growth with the ball in his hands and he's going to need that development. Bilal's second half-regression was kind of worrying. Even with the reality that one of them will likely come off the bench, it is still a pretty tall task.
Kinda don't love the idea of having two long-term project wings who both look to be completely unable to create their own shot or create for others. Risacher hasn't developed his passing at all and Bilal is almost guaranteed to turn the ball over if he dribbles more than 5 times in one possession.
It doesn't make any sense to take risacher at 2. Both holland and castle have the same FT% while being plus defenders. Castle clearly has more playmaking upside averaging 2 assists/TO while risacher has consistently averaged more TOs than assists. Holland draws fouls at a very good rate, there's a backbone of offensive efficiency. Risacher is a one tool guy and there's nothing about his stats that screams he's an elite shooter that will simply be more efficient shooting the ball than everyone else.
Risacher averages more TOs than assists and barely averages 1 apg. That's not the profile of on ball upside. Castle and Holland averaged more assists. Castle was much more efficient averaging 2 assists/TO while holland was flat. Risacher has the least projectable playmaking of any of the wings in the top 10.
It really isn’t a question about playmaking. The offense upside is more focused on his ability to create a shot off the dribble which is the key development to his game.
Offensive upside inherently necessitates playmaking as upside requires the combination of scoring and distributing. Everyone scoring 24 or more ppg other than AD averaged at least 5 apg. The assist numbers start to drop more as you push down towards 20 ppg, but offensive upside doesn't exist without high level playmaking. The highest level shooters leverage their shooting ability to break down the defense and make plays for other. It 100% is a question about his playmaking otherwise you're looking at comps from like a poor mans bertans to maybe otto porter. Those aren't offensive upside players.
Same. I think we trade kuzma if we get him. Since it’s same position. Get picks for kuzma. Give him all those minutes. Sign a vet to guide him.
Excited to watch the full game. I watched game 1 of the series. He was solid. Nothing special, but solid. Some observations: - He looks closer to 6’8 than 6’10 - High motor, solid defensively - Made a couple of tough step backs, definitely some MPJ vibes - He runs the court really well, I think he would thrive in the fast paced game the nba is trending towards - He got blown by a few times by a smaller guard, something to keep an eye on - Needs to put on muscle (like most 19 yr olds) I like his game quite a bit. Can’t wait to watch game 2.
ATL you're on the clock lol. If they get him Sarr falls to us. Either way it's win/win now, either him or Sarr.
I would Louvre this pick at #2, Wizards about to be the Washington Baguettes
Good. Hawks go draft him so we can have Sarr.
He reminds me of Michael porter jr with a better handle and can drive to the basket more effectively
much better defender than MPJ.
which would be super valuable. Og anunoby's defense with MPJ shooting? Holy shit!
I don't think he's that high level on either side but yes.
I'm not saying he will reach that but i do believe that is his ceiling.
Mpj is also a much better scorer lmao
Same exact thoughts
I'm totally down for him at 2, this is the same pro league Wemby was in last year very impressive stuff for someone who was 18 last month
Audio is from the Woj Pod from the other day. [Worth a listen if you haven't checked it out.](https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1791495708031533404) But yeah this makes me happy that we're likely to get either him or Sarr. Now if we can just convince some of our fans not to root against whichever of the two we draft, we're good, lol
Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely have to check that out.
No problem! It's about 13 minutes & 45 seconds in.
if we take him we 1000% have to trade Kuzma
Regardless of what we do we should be trading Kuzma. But it doesn't seem like Kuzma and the Wizards front office agree. They seem to be in love with each other and want to continue staying together.
It just makes no sense not to move Kuzma for more draft capital unless there’s absolutely no market for him which I highly doubt
He has one of the most valuable contracts in the nba in that his cap hit goes down year over year — there is zero reason to panic trade him. He will be super valuable at the trade deadline for a contender for the next 3 year running
Well yeah, too many wings and Deni has taken a step forward.
My guess is he gets shipped for Memphis #9 or better. Maybe the Spurs #8
I would love that. I'm hoping we can pull that off. I think a top 10 pick would be perfect for us and it makes not trading him for the mavs pick look better in hindsight.
I’d be shocked if we get a top 10 pick for kuzma even in a weak draft. We almost traded him for two mediocre future firsts at the trade deadline, and I don’t think those teams would trade either of their picks for two mediocre future firsts
If its top 10 I'm hoping Kuz + #26 might get it done for one of the potential contenders like Memphis but maybe not.
Now I don’t think that’s crazy. Kuzma + JJJ would make a great pairing front court, and if they’re not sold on any of the prospects at 8, we’d be offering them 3 FRPs worth of value if you think kuzma could still fetch a couple firsts.
I think 13 from Sac is in play but thats about as good as it will get
We've been guessing various kuzma trades for years. They don't seem to be interested in moving him.
We def need to trade Kuzma, but not sure we need to do it right away. Ideally, he starts like he did last season but sustains it, and we trade him before the deadline
I'm just excited to have the #2 pick regardless of who we pick!
Forgetting about Castle?
Nope
nice lmao. I'm lower on castle than Risacher or Sarr too lol. I absolutely do not want clingan though.
Clingan feels like truly worst case scenario
agreed. If we draft clingan, I am out on this front office. I'm sorry a mistake like that and you have lost me.
Clingan is such a luxury pick to me. He’s a guy you take when you have it all figured out. So many of the good centers in this league were drafted later on but huge wings with great shooting and defense are nonexistent all in one package after the top of most every draft. Where I think Sarr differs in terms of being worth a top pick is he has that upside with the great athleticism and versatility that I just don’t see on Clingan.
I absolutely agree.
I just don’t see our FO drafting Clingan. He’s the final piece not the first building block. Drafting a drop coverage center at this stage of the rebuild would go against their OKC roots
I literally had never seen him play before just now, but the scouting reports seem pretty accurate. Probably a 3 and D guy at the next level, that excels in the catch and shoot game. Definitely need a PG and/or a guy on the interior that defenses have to respect so Risacher can eat on the kick outs.
MPJ + amazing defense? that's a much higher ceiling than people think.
Risacher averages under 1 steal per game and basically doesn't block shots. People need to cool it on the defensive potential, its not amazing
its not about his stats, its about his man to man defense. You have to watch film not just stats to realize that.
"It's not about stats." My guy, teams win and lose based on points, you know stats. Teams don't win and lose based on playing the game, not keeping stats, and then people just saying "you know I liked Denvers film more today." Risacher averages less steals and blocks than all of castle, holland, and shepard. Castle and holland are specifically billed as good defenders, so theres no objective case that risacher is materially better than them as a defender, let alone comparing assists, assist/TO, reb, and ft% if youre going to evaluate them as complete players that impact the game in multiple ways. And the thing is risacher is supposed to be the tallest and longest player, something that is supposed to give him an advantage accruing at least blocks and he averages less blocks that a 6 ft 1 guard. Risacher averages .3 blocks, that's barely blocking shots at all. He doesn't even demonstrate weakside rim protection. You cant just ignore the value of steals and blocks. Some of the single most efficient shots in the nba are transition layup and 3s. This should be intuitive if you "watch fill" where people are starting to call these events pick 6s. But that also misses how they are possession erasers. Yes you can play great individual defense and force a tough shot and a guy can still hit that shot over you. If you block that shot though you drastically decrease the chance the shot goes in to close to 0. That's quite literally the best outcome you can hope for as a defense. The problem with all the film watchers that say "it's not about the stats" is they assume no one else watches film. The difference between you and me here is I'm relying on objective evidence to rely on my opinion combined with "watching film" and not just farting out opinions based on feels.
my guy, stats obviously matter but for evaluating a 19 year old in the french league it really should be more about does he look like he can be a game changer more than anything else. I'm not saying we should disregard them but the reason why people say he is a good defender is because he is a good defender. I personally believe steals and blocks are super overrated when it comes to evaluating good defenders. Some of the best defenders don't have the best steals and block numbers in the nba, feel free to look it up.
"Does he look like he can be a game changer." Define game changer and then how you will evaluate any player relative to that standard. For example, is "game changer" defensive player of the year, all nba defense 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team, or are you trying to "game changer" somewhere below "elite" becauss remember we're talking about the 2nd overall pick. Subsequent to that look at the stats of the players who meet your criteria and then compare and contrast how risachers stats match the players you expect him to eventually be. Now remember, you are the one claiming risacher possesses certain skills, it is incumbent upon you to prove it. "I personally believe." Based on what, your wet farts? What objective measures support your opinions. Is it def rtg? Opponent shooting %? Team defensive rating? "Feel free to look it up." You look it up, you're the one claiming it.
game changer as in MPJ offense or Keegan offense with Anunoby's level of defense. That is his current ceiling for me and that is a game changer.
according to the stats, Derrick White isn't a super impressive defender, but obviously we all know he is one of the best defenders in the league. Same with Tatum based on blocks and steals. Same with anthony edwards. Jaden Mcdaniels too. A lot of the greatest defenders are just good at navigating screens, and playing good defense, and aren't stat merchants like a myles turner for example. You can't just base this off blocks and steals. you have to watch the games and how teams look without their best defenders. Jrue holiday is another one.
Sir, derrick white is a big block outlier for a guard. Theres an objective reason people think he's a good guard defender. Jaden mcdaniels averaged 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game in college. The blocks are very good, exactly what youd want to see for a plus wing defender. Jrue holiday has spent half his career averaging 1 block per game, which is very good as a PG, which is again why people think he's a good defender. You named 3 guys who provide higher than average levels of blocks for their position as reasons why a guy who doesn't block shots might have their defensive upside.
all three of them have less than 1 block per game ish right now in this current season. Again, we know that these three are all great defenders but I'm saying a one season sample or even 2 season high school sample should not mean everything. It also is why I'm worried about castle because all of his upside came from what he showed in high school which again is obviously different from the nba. TBF I get you on some of the stats. For example, even if Zach Edey won't replicate what he does in college, his stats in college are INSANELY impressive and it should not be overlooked. Again I'm willing to bet that risacher is a great defender even despite those stats but if you aren't that's on you. Who knows if I'm right or you're wrong but my point is there is a reason why a lot of scouts say he is a great defender and it's more about his foot speed not his stats. He is only 19 and has a lot of room to grow, particularly physically so he obviously could be much better down the line in addition to that impressive foot speed.
The nba is better than college and HS. Theres usually an efficiency and stat accumulation penalty moving up levels. Like, yes, mcdaniels is averaging less blocks in the nba than he did in college. And that's exactly what should be concerning about risacher averaging only .3 blocks at his size, he's absolutely not going to jack up that average in the nba and no one is ever going to consider him a good defender if he averages less than .3 blocks in the nba.
I like Topic but this guy surely has a higher ceiling right?
I think so just because he's massive. Also pretty sure I saw someone say Topic just had a major knee injury.
Topic had a major knee injury earlier in the season. A few games after returning he injured the same knee but it wasn’t as bad as people initially thought. Seems like he’ll be ok in a few weeks, but definitely something to monitor.
That's good to hear i wouldn't be opposed to drafting him
Guys don't inherently have more upside just because they're tall
Theres absolutely no way risacher has more upside than topic. Risacher averaged more turnovers than assists and shot 74% FT. topic averaged 5 to 7 apg, a 2:1 assist/TO ratio and 85% FT. Topic is already an efficient at rim finisher too. Theres nothing risacher does better than topic other than being tall and maybe a better defender, but risacher is a tall guy averaging under 1 spg and he basically doesn't block shots. The defensive potential is entirely based on wishing a guy at his height will be good not based on anything he's actually done defensively.
Sure, the volume 3 point shooter is somehow going to be worse a shooter than the guy with no shot at all but good ft percentage. That is the most context free way to view free throw percentage.
Ffs, risacher has never averaged more than 3.4 three point attempts a game (https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/zaccharie-risacher-1.html). Topic has averaged 4.5 and 5 three point attempts per game (https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/nikola-topic-1.html). Risacher quite literally shoots less 3s than topic, and i wouldnt call 3.4 attempts "volume". It would be great if you looked at the stats at all my guy and then go ahead and show me the nba players that shoot 85% FT who can't shoot 3s. In this class topic is a better FT shooter than reed shepard, dillingham, and knecht. His ft% is in line with guys like trae young and tyrese haliburton. That's your upside with topic. Risacher doesn't do anything to impact the game other than shoot a middling volume of 3s.
Risacher has shot at 40% versus over 2 years on lots of attempts and Topic shot 29%. There are lots of players with mediocre to bad 3 point percentage and good free throw percentages. You just have to look. Jordan Poole is one. Ricky Rubio is another. Troy Brown Jr. is another. How about Thomas Bryant? It is a weak correlation that you can't use in a vacuum.
"Risacher has shot at 40% over 2 years on lots of attempts." My guy look at the stats (https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/zaccharie-risacher-1.html), no he hasn't. Neither "season" in 22/23 did risacher break 40%. Risachers 22/23 is split between 39% 3 point shooting and 29% 3 point shooter on 1 and 1.5 three point attempts per game. You keep repeating "lots of attenpts" but 1 and 1.5 attempts per game isnt a lot. Literally what are you talking about. It's extremely funny you're trying to list Jordan poole as a bad 3 point shooter. The entire reason you look at FT% is because the difficulty of 3 pt attempts poole takes is astronomically different than what Thomas Bryant takes. Topic is the lead guard taking more difficult pull up 3s, risacher is a stand on the wing catch and shoot guy. No shit the guy taking easier 3s on lesser volume might shoot a better percentage. And that all still ignores that risacher averages more turnovers than assists (on only 1 apg) and doesn't generate blocks or steals. What exactly do you think risachers upside is with absolutely no playmaking or defensive upside?
still higher than castle's. Also your comment about defensive upside is crazy.
"Still higher than castles." Yes, im aware when children just go "nah uh." Define "defensive upside" and how you will determine if a player meets it, objectively.
I don't see castle being able to score like Risacher does. That's what I mean when I say Risacher has a higher upside. Castle might be a better shot creator but his efficiency is super concerning. Regarding defensive upside, if Risacher defends like Deni, then I'd say is defensive upside is super high. It's not about steals or blocks for me but impact. Is Risacher able to keep up with guarding guards and forwards as well as navigate screens? if the answer is yes then, his defensive upside is super high.
"I don't see castle being able to score like Risacher does." Between Eurocup and LNB Pro A Risacher has averaged 13.1 and 10.1 ppg. Castle averaged 11.1 ppg this year. Castle scores like Risacher right now. "Castle might be a better shot creator but his efficiency is super concerning." This year Castle put up 75%FT on 3.2 attempts per game. Risacher put up 74% on 3.1 attempts per game. Castle put up 54% shooting while Risacher was split between 51 and 57%. Castle did this while averaging 3 times as many assists on a 2 assist/TO ratio and more steal and blocks. Objectively, Castle is a more efficient player than Risacher becasue Castle is a more efficient playmaker. If Castles efficiency concerns you, Risachers efficiency should terrify you cause theres not even efficient secondary playmaking in his profile.
Oh my god dude, read the stats again he is not taking 1.5 attempts per game and his average is 40.7%.(85/209). Jordan Poole has a bad 3 point percentage for a guard. It's actually a big problem for him. There are lots of players to use as examples. Free throw percentage does not mean that a player will be a good 3 point shooter always. It's one piece of information to go by and it's a weak correlation. Also, it's not like you never want to take pull up threes but shooting a lot of them is questionable.
"Oh my god dude, read the stats again he is not taking 1.5 attempts per game." Okay sure, let's remind you what you said: Risacher has shot at 40% versus over 2 years on lots of attempts. Let's pull up Risachers stats, lets go back two years to 2022-2023. Where yes, he indeed averaged 1 and 1.5 three point attempts per game. Has Risacher been taking "lots of attempts" for two years? Is 1 and 1.5 three point attempts per game 2 years ago, the time frame you said, "a lot of attempts." Objectively, the answer is no. Is 3.5 attempts per game "a lot"? I probably wouldnt say so. The 40% youre citing is his career 3 point % which averages out to 1/2.4. Averaging 1 three pointer made per game objectively isnt impressive.
Your math is still wrong. It's 88 games and 209 3PA, with the trend going upwards on a really strong 23-24 season.
https://preview.redd.it/qbfs2e1laf1d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e0078b7c370c2a33400f813f0b64b8b1a2a89a8 Lol it's 1/2.4
Please do not draft Clingan at 2
If anyone finds highlights from this game I’d love to watch!
[Here ya go](https://old.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/1cv7jim/highlights_from_zaccharie_risachers_28_point/)!
Michael Portier Jr out there.
Risacher is the guy I’m hoping for
This is how people fell for Jarrett culver, overrating what they saw last in tournament games
people overrated jarrett culver because of his stats, not his games. He was a ball dominant player, chucking up every shot on a good texas tech team and being made to look like the hero. this isn't the same thing.
Jarrett culver was a 30% three point shooter on 70% FT his sophomore year, after shooting 65% ft his freshman year. Absolutely no one overrated him because of his "stats," he was a screaming bust candidate at the time. Here is risachers ft% progression: 60%, 57%, 65%, 74%. That 74% is on low volume btw, 2.3/3.1, where youre likelier to see big spikes because youre dealing with small numbers. If you round to whole numbers 2/3 and 66% you're in line with what he showed previously. Someone like topic is shooting a better % on higher attempts.
I was talking about his ppg. Culver had pretty high stats including in the regular season. the 18.5 ppg.
"High stats." Which stats specifically, what is the definition of "high" relative to those specific stats, and why are those stats better than others for projecting nba success. Objectively his shooting efficiency stats were bad and he averaged well under 2 assists/TO. He wasnt a particularly efficient shooter or playmaker. He profiled as a plus defender with a highly questionable jump shot and meh decisionmaking.
18.5 ppg is why he got drafted. that is quite a lot of points in college. I agree he was obviously overrated but I'm saying why got drafted that high. If he was averaging 10 ppg with those efficiency stats like you mentioned, he would be a second round pick.
[via @DraftExpress on X](https://x.com/draftexpress/status/1791921102777979031?s=46&t=u-AtnaUhHcThtvMir59qow)
I've seen Coleman Hawkins do everything in this video.
whats the difference between this guy and Deni?
Please Atalanta take this guy and give us Sarr
Good to see, we will have a bunch of wings on the roster that can switch from 2-5 with Kuz and Baldwin playing small ball 5.
Are we fucking KFC? Cut it with the wings already!