The "Compare a White Prospect to a Black Pro" Thread!
Ryan Kelly-Brian Cook
Mason Plumlee- Ian Mahinmi
Jeff Withey/Alex Len- Poor mans Roy Hibbert
Cody Zeller- Lamarcus Aldridge
Kelly Olynyk- Ronnie Turiaf with a jump shot
I really know, just off the top of my head. Haven't seen enough of the rest to compare.
What exactly are you trying to prove with this post??? What does color matter, I doubt that Aran or any of the staff goes about comparing prospects just strictly off the color of their skin. If a prospect is being compared to another prospect i'm almost sure its strictly based off their opinions of skill set or projection long term. I believe on this site Cody Zeller's comparison was Lamarcus Aldridge...a white guy and a black guy.
I'm not talking about the comparisons done by Aran and the site. I love those guys ;) But I AM talking about some of the comparisons made by users in threads. For instance, let's compare a tall white guy who can shoot threes to Dirk Nowitzki. That's the worst one. But there are other similarly egregious white-to-white comparisons and they're unfair.
I understand the "fun factor" you were going for here- but always gotta be careful when you bring up race at all.
And like Flagrant says, Cody Zeller has always been compared to LaMarcus Aldridge the who year.
Now about disagreeing about the comparisons, you must first determine that their current comparisons are wrong. The only one I question is Adams being compared to Mullens.
Yeah the Adams- Mullens one is a stupid too.
They're both tall and athletic, but one doesn't want to bang and would rather play like a finesse 4 with no defense, the other plays like a defender/ rebounder/ paint protector with little offense.
McDyess was one of the first players I really liked when I started watching basketball. I was pretty young and didn't understand much about basketball at the time but McDyess & Kemp was the first jerseys I ever bought! His injuries were very unfortunate but I still to this day highly respect the way he altered his game to still become effective post-injury with developing that deadly mid range jump shot.
How is Zeller any similar to LaMarcus Aldridge? LA's best attribute is his length. His ability to shoot over defenders either facing up or from the post with his length and unblockable release. His length has also enabled him to become a pretty respectable post defender as well. He's got a high center of gravity, so his quickness isn't all that great for a PF, but he he has solid footwork.
So basically you're saying that a short-armed big with quick feet is most similar to a long-armed big with not so quick feet.
I think the comparison is terrible.
Zeller and LA are both mobile, finesse bigs with face up games. Neither is a huge fan of contact and both have decent bodies, but not great in terms of handling banging inside. Their strength is scoring, but neither has a great post up game. LA is longer, yes. Zeller is faster in open floor. AL isn't fast in open floor? That's news to me.... Also LA is a borderline all star (deserved) and Zeller has a good chance to be that level of NBA player IMO .... You won't find an exact comparison for every player.... Who is a better comparison for Zeller, critics?
Good hands, feet and touch. Some ball skills for bigs, solid passers. Both run the floor well for bigs. Both know how to move without the ball, getting a lot of their buckets off of cuts and duck ins. Good enough quickness to face up and put the ball on the floor for blow by's and running hooks.. Zeller's quickness will be his greatest physical asset vs bigs. Both needed to develop a face up jumper in the pros, which Lee did. Good PnR options because of their mobility, hands and soft touch. Both have good feet but have some awareness issues as well as strength and length issues. Lee has actually become a solid defender in space now that he has a coach who demands defense. He has exceptional PPPa rates in help defense situations, but still struggles with man defense.
You can point to the 2 inch height advantage, but what does that actually translate to? Seeing over the defense? Sure, but it won't help him shoot over shot contests. Zeller's wingspan will mean that he'll play smaller than his height.
I have trouble comparing a player in LA, who's greatest physical asset (his near 7'5 wingspan) is the other player's greatest weakness. LA basically has a half a foot in length over Zeller.
LOL, no seriously I have been campaigning the Cavs taking him #1 overall, too much size and skill to pass up on considering his competition is injured.
Here are my lottery selections
Cody Zeller makes the most sense at #1 to the Cavs
Trey Burke to the Magic
Otto Potter to the Wizards
Ben Mclemore to the Hornets
Nerlens Noel to the Suns
Alex Len to the Pelicans
Anthony Bennett to the Kings
Victor Olapido to the Pistons
Kentavious Caldwell Pope to the Timberwolves
Shabazz Mohammed to the Blazers
Steven Adams to the 76ers
Kelly Olynyk to the Thunder
Dennis Schroeder to the Mavs
Micheal Carter Williams to the Jazz
CJ McCollum to the Bucks
Jeff Withey's defense and shot blocking skills have really gone under the radar during the draft process. All he did in college was block 4 shots and grab 9 rebounds a game his senior year. He also had great defensive performances against college superstars such as: Jared Sullinger (13 points on 5/19 shooting), Anthony Davis (6 points on 1/10 shooting), Derrick Nix (8 points on 2/8 shooting) and even more athletic bigs like James Michael McAdoo (11 points on 5/19 shooting). His defense and shot blocking abilities warrant lottery consideration expecially in such a week draft.
Best Case Scenario: Poor man's Dikembe Mutombo
Worst Case Scenario: Samuel Dalembert
Cody Zeller- Joe Smith
Alex Len- Roy Hibbert
Dario Saric- Quincy Miller
Kelly Olynyk- Marreese Speights/Drew Gooden
Steven Adams - David Robinson
Mason Plumlee- Chris Wilcox/Ekpe Udoh
Sergey Karasev- Anthony Morrow
Jeff Withey- Brendan Haywood
Nate Wolters- Jarrett Jack
Ryan Kelly- Brian Cook
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Are you tired of seeing athletic white players ridiculously compared to other white NBA players? Well, here's your chance to let your voice be heard. In this thread, give comparisons for this draft's white prospects. But here's the catch: the NBA players you compare them to must be black. (Bonus points for accurately comparing a black prospect to a white pro). Here's a list of this year's white prospects:
Cody Zeller-
Alex Len-
Dario Saric-
Kelly Olynyk-
Steven Adams (ok, I know he's not white, but he's not black so I'm including him here)-
Mason Plumlee-
Sergey Karasev-
Jeff Withey-
Nate Wolters-
Ryan Kelly-