Well he isn't a bad defender anymore. But he's an elite, probably top 5 offensive player at 24 years old. His impact is underrated when his team isn't very good yet.
@@ShaunhanM really shows u that wingspan and jumping ability isn't the measuring tools of a good defensive center, habits/effort/IQ are just as important
jeppep95 i have an idea why back in hs and college he was just so much better and bigger than anyone else that this funny hops and swishes at the ball where enough to be a great defender but in the nba those things just dont work the same and even hinder him
There’s so many stars in the league today that mainstream media can’t report on all of them, thank you for everything you do. This is important work brother
True that and this guy also goes deeper in detail with the stats he provides compared to what the general public has access to. The time this guy disappears from YT is the time he gets hired by an NBA team.
@@thisismarkbro He is a player with a pretty alternative playstyle in the modern NBA and opinions seem to vary wildly as to how good he is. I think an objective look would be very interesting.
Hi Ben, could we have a video on DeMar DeRozan? He is in the middle of a historically efficient offensive streak at the moment and I wondered how you would say he has turned himself into a clearly above average efficiency offensive player.
What is "historically efficient" about what he's doing? He's efficient this year, no doubt, but it's not like he's leading the league in TS% or PPP or anything.
I know. As a raptors fan i still think his years in Toronto were the best but right now he's having an historically efficient season. His game is so smooth and controlled and 22 ppg is still great but he has potential to do better.
This is a great analysis. Really refreshing to watch something with some depth and basis in evidence, as opposed to the ignorant crap you get from the TV pundits or most fans parroting stuff about Towns being "soft" or "lazy" on defense. His problem isn't being lazy or soft- he has some SERIOUS defensive IQ and footwork/technique issues. He bites on fakes way too much. But there's also some things on defense he does well- there's just fewer of them, and they're not as significant or noticeable as the things he does poorly. And his offense is elite. He's never going to be an Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid, but he is and is likely to become more of a Dirk Nowitzki 2.0: not a great defender, but an absolutely game-changing offensive player.
I think a video on why Kevin Love is no longer as good as his Minnesota Days. I'm a huge Kevin Love fan, but he has steadily dropped off, and seemingly not from lack of talent. Is it injuries, weight loss, play style, or the league itself that is changing? Also It would be nice to just give Love some credit for simly how great he was in his earlier years since a lot of people just write him off.
the nba has left many slower footed bigs in the dust too, he is a valuable catch and shoot player but can't create as much as is expected from all stars and guys making $40M/year
He's kinda like how Harden was the first few years in Houston, him adding just a little defense put him up into the MVP discussion because his team did better and he also got better on offense.
Now that we got Wiggins out of there, I'm slightly more confident. Along with a really solid draft pick, I believe the Wolves will have some improvement soon
I would love a video on KD's offensive game. Top 3 offensive players already if not number 1. His skillset is on another level. He passes the eye test and his stats support this. I would love a breakdown of his offensive game.
@@JoseSanchez-wg4bd bro i just remembered that but if im not mistaken thats a video from 16'. Slim reaper played bit different for gsw. Plus he was goatman on 2017 finals. KD was the VILLAIN in that series. I think a new video is necessary
Z11 Zen yeah and with his new team that he has of all elite three point shooters right now he’s like the center version of James harden and the old rockets
Was looking forward to this video, and gratified to see that you largely have the same conclusions about Towns that I do. I'm especially glad that someone's finally calling out his passing, it's an underrated part of what makes him so good on offense. Now if only he had some more reliable teammates...
He does offer the most value in playmaking for his team because he has more options to score at different spots of the half court. The passing numbers just come along that way with playing the offense through him. Jokic offers similar comparison to some extent though he arguably has better court vision. However Jokic also has Jamal Murray and a squad of cutters/corner shooters that KAT doesn't so his better angles for those looks pays off for the team more frequently.
In my opinion, with his physical capabilities, he should be modelling his defensive game after marc gasol. Not particularly agile nor airborne but possesses the discipline and defensive IQ to be a defensive anchor.
Yup. I just think he has weak lower body strength which results in him not being able to stand his ground, move in a low stance that well, and sometimes bad footwork trying to recover from a bad situation. He used to bite on every shot fake and get into foul trouble very often, but now he has slightly improved on that field. His rim protection is ok, but his drop coverage is what burns the entire team against good midrange/pullup shooters like Kawhi, PG, Mitchell, heck even Chris Paul. But then again, I think it goes back to his lower body strength because once he is in a bad stance, it takes a long time to recover from it resulting in a foul. I think he has the eagerness to play defense, but his bad habits and strength issues are what limit him from being an elite defender imo.
Great analysis! I was just discussing KAT and we concluded exactly what you said. The man can score no argument there. Its his defensive effort and really his attitude that is his downfall. I believe that JThe Jokeris a better version of KAT because he does it all and helps his team to WINS. KAT is just a good scorer who will not necessarily be the difference in games. Evident when Butler was there and when he left, they still had Wiggins and Russell yet with him as NO.1 that team just sucked.
If he gets leaner and stronger in his core, he could be one of the best of the generation. But he isn't strong enough on defense, and that is more problematic for a Center, than a guard.
@@jetmirlekiqi7963 He isn't getting low enough though, either effort, conditioning or strength. Like he could be quicker a lot of the time, but he doesn't have the defensive energy to slide his feet
@@Unreelme I agree, he seems so agile on offense, similar to AD. Weird how it hasn't translated to defense. I like his post defense, even though he gets bullied from time to time
@@andrewk1037 Why isn't he resting then, that seems fucked up, they aren't going to make the playoffs and the team plays ok with giant contract Dieng in the game.
RedWood I think AD will be voted in as a power forward. He’s played the majority of his minutes there. I think KAT is a top 3 nba center but won’t get an all-nba spot due to lack of team success.
This may sound far fetched but imo his play style is very similar to that of dirk, minus the one legged fade away. I know people would point to porzingis, but I've watched all 3 of them play a lot of times and I just think dirk had a lot more similar post moves and drives with KAT than KP. It wouldnt be a bad idea if he tries to get dirk to coach him a little and try to copy that fade away.
Now what if KAT and Giannis teamed up... Towns would run the risk of being an overqualified Brook Lopez in offensive role but there is a lot of complimentary potential on both sides of the ball.
Hi Ben! Love your content as always. Would it be possible for you to do a video on Khris Middleton? Narratives on him has been "not good enough for 2nd star, borderline all star, on the team with best record in nba" But i do not agree watching all of his games. Also seeing stats comparison vs Klay, it is intriguing to see Middleton is much more efficient shooter than Klay!! Middleton does so much more for bucks this year on the court (not just shooting) and I am really curious to find out what's your view on him. Thanks!
Did you watch him in the playoffs last season? He was taken off in some games where he wasn't going off simply because he can't put the ball on the floor and create his own shot. This was apparent in the Raps series where they dared Giannis to do damage and hope the rest of his team can keep up. But they can't when outside of Kawhi, you had Siakam and Lowry who can handle the ball and score. Also I'll still take Klay because he still does well while spending most of his time guarding the opposing teams best perimeter scorer. Plus on a very good night Klay can go off for 40+ points and that production can keep his team in the game.
Dirk in general was both a great shooter and post up player . He actually has much higher shooting% across the boards than towns when you look at 3pt%’s, mid range %’s and free throw %
I really do hope the wolves can pull off a trade for Simmons. They are a damn near perfect fit as Simmons compensates for KAT’s defense while KAT compensates for Simmons’s inability to shoot
Yeah I had Towns as a top 10 guy this year with the absence of Curry and Durant and with the possible setbacks on Embiid and Jokic. But it looks Jokic is playing in top level form the past month or so and Embiid (at least prior to his finger injury) was continuing his progress, though a downgrade from his last season performance so far. KAT was also side lined but offensive wise he is making huge progress as a scoring threat. If his defense doesn't improve hopefully his passing and vision continues to improve to add value to his team. Because what would help rosters that build with him is having length at the 1-4 to help make those stops a the perimeter and helping off switches.
Are we taking into account experience when athletes enter "prime of career"? A 4 year guy at college and a 23 year old who got drafted at 20 in the first round would be "nearing prime career" but at totally different places
I appreciate KAT's game more now, I thought he was kinda soft but hes not. I think he lacks strength, I think he should get stronger legs & have more muscles in his upper body so he doesnt get pushed out of position in the post. He can add finesse moves in the post like Dirk or wing players wit fadaways & pullup middys but he has power moves lke a traditional big, he just has to have more dog in him, embrace physicality more & get stronger. Sky's the limit for KAT, he can be the GOAT, has the potential to have the off the dribble skills as a wing player, be a Curry/Klay 3 shooter & has potential to even be a great defender. KAT should try to practice ball in the summer time at Rucker Park or Drew League, he needs more grit in his game but his skillset is off the chart
You speaking about towns not being mvp levels and yet rating him incredibly high in most metrics makes me curious. Perhaps you could do a series about previous mvps and how they merited mvp status? Lebron is still a monster on all stations but how would he have been rated on your metrics in his championship and mvp years? Id love to see that. For other players too. Also my son's name is Ben. Based partly on the fact ive never 'met' or met a Ben i didnt like. Thanks for keeping it up
He makes it pretty obvious in the video that he thinks KAT is a bang average defender. That automatically disqualifies you from MVP discussion (although sadly not in real MVP voting). When you say 'incredibly high in most metrics' you are choosing to ignore literally half of the game of basketball.
Think about it this way ad Giannis even embiid are all better two way overall players than Kat. Harden is a better offensive player than Kat so in order for Kat to be mvp he has to have offense better than harden/Luka and even then Giannis probably wins since he’s a two way player. He’s a solid 7 guys down or so.
At least from last decade the regular season MVP winners were either very dominant on offense displaying amazing court vision or provided equal dominance on both ends of the floor (Westbrook, Heat Lebron, Giannis). Steph has the shooting but the man attracts gravity like no other even without the ball. KD will get his even as a mid range threat because only a handful players can actually try freeze him when he's pulling up. Harden's ability to kill you one on one and draw contact is historically dominant. And hell at their best Giannis and Heat Lebron were absolute monsters when given space out in the open either in half court or transition that nobody could easily defend. You can see this in the eye test as well. KAT may be elite in some parts of his offensive game but is still lacking overall. He doesn't attack and finish with contact in comparison to some these guys and doesn't attract as much gravity.
@@t4d0W That's opinion. Not that I don't agree with it, but I watch this guy for the insightful statistical analysis, cuz, no offense of course, every one has an opinion
Interesting you think he could become a slight negative with his defense in playoff games where they typically slow down in pace. Wouldn't that favour his better post defense?
Dirk? Towns is playing in the big man weaksauce era Dirk went up against some of the best PFs in NBA history KG, Pau, TD etc. Dirk was able to be a stretch 4 during an era where hand check was allowed if he played he'd pud up better numbers than Luka.
Mark HenDerson They don’t lie. Karl Anthony Towns has never shot 50/40/90 lol. Dirk has a clear higher mid range and free throw % with towns only having a slight 1% advantage in 3’s. One was winning finals MVPs against a big 3 Miami team; the other is averaging garbage time stats on a losing team lol. Stats don’t lie LOL.
Mark HenDerson In the playoffs it’s not even close with towns having a 73% free throw and a 27% 3pt while dirk is shooting 89% from the line and 36% from 3 in the post season LOL
He was mainly a 4 but every now and then he would play the 5. Usually when the Mavs went to their small line up he would rotate down to 5 and the Matrix would play the 4.
Analyze Luka again: why is he averaging 32% from three, and 4.2 turnovers a game? Why is his defense apparently worse this year? Does he really deserve to be in the MVP talks with all these flaws?
Short and Long: YES. Lebron leads the league in assists and he's 6th in TOV per game. If you look at the top 10 guys in TOV you see all the MVP candidates there. Those regular season turnover numbers aren't much if your offensive game is as elite as Harden, Lebron, Giannis or Doncic. But if you are say Devonte Graham or Ben Simmons and you are choking the ball that hard while not getting that gravity against defenders, then you are a liability as a ball handler.
Towns is a solid 1on1 defender but a terrible pick and roll defender but his coach just makes him sag which is trouble but I cant blame first year Saunders.
He's the most efficient scoring big of all time. As an overall scorer of 20ppg or more he's second only to Curry. The play for Towns in FA or trade is going to change the league. He's KD at the 5. All he needs is a four who can defend. Aaron Gordon or any Draymond like player is desperately needed.
At this point maybe we have to stop comparing players to their role in a classical sense. Is it really surprising to have a great passing and shooting big man in 2021 ? Then he also gets the ''center''-lable so that we can say ''Oh wow, what an unusually skilled center''. I feel like these statements are becoming more and more useless. Soon almost every big NBA player will have to be a good shooter and hopefully a good passer aswell.
Dont know if this make issue, but most of his defense flaw highlights are against like Kawhi... but im agree that he sucks against bigs that have good footwork
i love these individual players and their games videos and i think he should give each player he talks about in these videos a 2k rating :) like so he can see this !!
Wow he really is a very poor defender, that deep dive analysis had some highlights that were truly cringeworthy! A potentially all time great offensive talent though for sure.
@@jillwilliams3087 nah pal, his defence sucks don't fall into the illusion of stats, steph curry led the league in steals, was he DPOY? that is definitely an area of improvement, these things are literally highlighted in the video dont act like they dont exist
