[valentine]

 As we all know by now, this is the year of the power forward.

We also know that the small forward position is trending to taller and taller players, 6’8"-6’10" guys. LeBron, Carmelo, Parsons, Jeff Green, Otto Porter, Josh Smith, Greek Freak, Mirotic, Rudy Gay, Durant, DeMarre Carroll, Ariza, Harrison Barnes, Joe Johnson, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Sam Dekker, all these guys are at least 6’8 and many are 6’9+.

As small forwards get taller and taller, quick-footed power forwards gain more and more versatility to guard some of these guys.

With that in mind, there seems to be a good number of PF prospect in this 2015 draft who have enough footspeed and length to adequately defend at least some of the bigger and slower of these giant small forwards. But few if any are described as having such defensive versatility in the scouting reports.

WCS is the only guy getting cited for his ability to defend (some? All?) NBA small forwards, but I see quite a few others with at least some of this defensive versatility:

1: Chris McCullough: At 200 lbs, he’s obviously undersized for PF, and yet he gets no hype for his positional versatility. He’s quick, he’s light, he’s skilled, he can shoot, and yet few if any talk about his potential at small forward. Having elite length means you don’t need to be exactly as quick footspeed-wise. Guys like McCullough (and Durant, for instance) can give a smaller, quicker player a cushion, and still reach out and contest their jump shots.

2: Christian Wood: Not as quick footed as McCullough but even longer, Wood covers ground very well. He needs to improve his defensive fundamentals, but I’m convinced he can guard many small forwards at a non-embarrassing level, while giving his team a big boost in rebounding and weakside shot blocking from the small forward position.

3: Kristaps Porzingis: See #2, same deal.

4: Bobby Portis: Portis isn’t as quick as the above names + WCS, but he is a lot quicker laterally and defending in space than you would expect given his general lack of athleticism. He may not be able to defend small forward full time, but I’m convinced he play the position situationally in big lineups. Especially against guys like Melo or Parsons.

Keep in mind, I’m not saying that these guys have the complete offensive skillset to play the role of a traditional small forward. That’s not what this post is about. I’m talking about a "power 3" role, helping a team with rebounding and helpside rim protection while spacing the floor on offense or exploiting matchups in the post. 

 

 

 

 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

 This time I like your list. I’d add Kevon Looney.

 

 It’s important to notice that while they have a decent lateral quickness, most of them are poor low post defenders and they don’t have a consistent 3pt shot (except for Porzingis).

[arambone2]

 Looney and Portis shot over 40% from 3 on low volume. I’m confident in Portis’ 3 point shooting in the NBA, since he’s already a rock solid jump shooter and FT shooter.

Looney on the other hand shoots in the 60s from the FTline,  so I’d consider his outside shooting to be a work in progress.

Christian Wood only shot 28% from 3 in college, but his FT rate was mid 70s, and we all know his shot selection from 3 wasn’t good. Just like the Marcus Smart situation. High 20s 3pt% on high volume and bad shot selection, and good FT%, yet nobody sees the 3 pt shooting potential staring them right in the face. Same thing happened with Zach LaVine.

 

 

 

[arambone2]

 Looney and Portis shot over 40% from 3 on low volume. I’m confident in Portis’ 3 point shooting in the NBA, since he’s already a rock solid jump shooter and FT shooter.

Looney on the other hand shoots in the 60s from the FTline,  so I’d consider his outside shooting to be a work in progress.

Christian Wood only shot 28% from 3 in college, but his FT rate was mid 70s, and we all know his shot selection from 3 wasn’t good. Just like the Marcus Smart situation. High 20s 3pt% on high volume and bad shot selection, and good FT%, yet nobody sees the 3 pt shooting potential staring them right in the face. Same thing happened with Zach LaVine.

 

 

 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

 This time I like your list. I’d add Kevon Looney.

 

 It’s important to notice that while they have a decent lateral quickness, most of them are poor low post defenders and they don’t have a consistent 3pt shot (except for Porzingis).

[OhCanada-Participant]

 I don’t think any of those guys are ready to gaurd Lebron, or Brewer, or Wiggins, or Ross, or Marcus Morris for that matter. Also I’ve been noticing a different trend of combo forwards not necessarily making one position bigger or smaller but somewhat merging the position and creating different roles for different scenarios. I would call Parsons a combo forward not a 3 or 4. Great topic though very interesting.

 

 

[arambone2]

 Well, call them combo forwards. Of which Wiggins, Ross, and Brewer are not. Morris is though, and there’s a lot of them. Great size, mediocre quickness for SF.

And yet all the quicker PFs in this draft are not given due credit for having some versitility to defend this class of combo forward/big small forward.

 

 

 

[arambone2]

 Well, call them combo forwards. Of which Wiggins, Ross, and Brewer are not. Morris is though, and there’s a lot of them. Great size, mediocre quickness for SF.

And yet all the quicker PFs in this draft are not given due credit for having some versitility to defend this class of combo forward/big small forward.

 

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 I don’t think any of those guys are ready to gaurd Lebron, or Brewer, or Wiggins, or Ross, or Marcus Morris for that matter. Also I’ve been noticing a different trend of combo forwards not necessarily making one position bigger or smaller but somewhat merging the position and creating different roles for different scenarios. I would call Parsons a combo forward not a 3 or 4. Great topic though very interesting.

 

 

[arambone2]

Part of the reason I’m so high on this power forward class is because as a Celtics fan, my team has lots of stretch 4’s and 5s. A "power 3" on the Celtics wouldn’t need to be a great ball handler, passer, or even 3 point shooter to succeed on the Celtics, since our bigs spread the floor. 

A Christian Wood or McCullough might only rank in the mid-late 20s of this deep draft as pure PFs, but as versatile forwards who can play small forward in big lineups, and perhaps even full time, their value is higher.

And with the length, not to mention outside shots that Wood, McCullough, and Portis have, their longterm outlook includes three different positions, if not all at the same time. They all have some long term center potential, though McCullough less so than Wood and Portis.

 

 

 

 

[arambone2]

Part of the reason I’m so high on this power forward class is because as a Celtics fan, my team has lots of stretch 4’s and 5s. A "power 3" on the Celtics wouldn’t need to be a great ball handler, passer, or even 3 point shooter to succeed on the Celtics, since our bigs spread the floor. 

A Christian Wood or McCullough might only rank in the mid-late 20s of this deep draft as pure PFs, but as versatile forwards who can play small forward in big lineups, and perhaps even full time, their value is higher.

And with the length, not to mention outside shots that Wood, McCullough, and Portis have, their longterm outlook includes three different positions, if not all at the same time. They all have some long term center potential, though McCullough less so than Wood and Portis.

 

 

 

 

[arambone2]

 Jordan Mickey seems like another guy who can defend some small forwards, and play a garbage man role offensively next to stretch bigs.

 

 

[arambone2]

 Jordan Mickey seems like another guy who can defend some small forwards, and play a garbage man role offensively next to stretch bigs.

 

 

[juves4783Participant]

I would think that for bigs that can defend sf’s, the list would look something like this…
1. wcs
2. looney
3. lyles
4. martin
5. mccollough
6. mickey

[juves4783Participant]

I would think that for bigs that can defend sf’s, the list would look something like this…
1. wcs
2. looney
3. lyles
4. martin
5. mccollough
6. mickey

[King CaluchaParticipant]

Well, they all aprobably can defend the 3 in stretches. I’d never put Looney or Portis on guys like Durant or Lebron.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

Well, they all aprobably can defend the 3 in stretches. I’d never put Looney or Portis on guys like Durant or Lebron.

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