NBA Comparison: Daequan Cook

Strengths: Athletic, lefty, guard/forward … Nice, wide shoulders, he could fill up his body nicely … Great leaper either off one foot or two feet… Has a very good first step… Ideal size for his position … Nice length, with a wingspan measured at 6’10” … Versatile, can play in either wing position and can guard all three perimeter positions … At his best on the open floor… Runs the court extremely well from the wings and can even be the one who starts the break… Very good finisher at the rim when he goes to his left, he often tries to finish plays hard with dunks… A very good slasher, especially when he goes to his left hand… He can change directions with ease at full speed and even do a eurostep when driving to the basket … Has a semi-dependable floater in his arsenal… Has shown some potential in Pull Ups … Has made strides in Pick and Roll actions as the ball handler… Can punish switches thanks to his great first step … Has improved as a passer in Pick and Rolls, he can either find the rolling big or a 3rd player on the perimeter … More comfortable now at having a player on his hip before attack or pass in Pick and Rolls … Draws a lot of fouls due to playing style … Good cutter, makes nice 45 cuts or baseline cuts and finish plays… Has improved in Spot Up actions… Has all the tools to become a good defender … Has nice lateral quickness … Good weakside defender, can get to the paint quickly and try prevent his opponents from scoring with his length and athleticism … Knows how to get to the passing lanes and make steals …

Weaknesses: Has a thin frame, he needs to bulk up his upper body considerably … Still has a lot of ups and downs in his game … Not always focused, he can lose concentration during a game on either side of the court … Ball handling still needs some polishing with his right (weak) hand … Shooting off the dribble is still inconsistent, he hasn’t completely added this to his game yet … Occasionally settles and takes some tough shots off the dribble that drop his efficiency… Has some wild misses from the 3-point line in Pull ups, with the ball not even touching the rim … Streaky shooter for now, not a real threat in Spot Up actions or in Catch and Shoot actions … Needs work when finishing plays at the rim with his right hand … Struggles to finish in  traffic or through contact due to lack of upper body strength … Decision making needs work … Court vision not completely there yet, rarely can see the cutter in Pick and Rolls … Might Pick up dribble too soon at times in Pick and Rolls when is defended with Blitz or Hedge Out and turn the ball over … Has an average-to-bad assist/turnover ratio (almost 1.3/1) …  Average rebounder for his size… Bigger wings can Post him Up… Gambles on defense, trying to go for a steal, which puts pressure on his teammates… Prone to doing some bad fouls … At times when he is defending in the weakside he stands too far from his player, which can lead to an open shot

Overall: Cazalon is a lefty, guard/forward with NBA size and athleticism … He was always considered a scorer in his younger days and worked a lot on his game to become an above average facilitator… His slashing ability, the way he runs the court and potential on defense always intrigued NBA teams … His streaky shooting was always the main issue for Cazalon (along with some ups and downs). If he manages to become at least an above average shooter then this could change everything for him …

Stefanos Makris 6/21/23