NBA Draft Profile: Kristaps Porzingis

By MH
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Updated: June 20, 2015

H: 7′ 0″ W: 230 lbs PPG: 10.7 REB: 4.4 FG: 54% 3P: 38% FT:73%

Over the last week the draft stock has been rising for international star Kristaps Porzingis. What seemed to be a forgone conclusion on who the first three picks of the draft should be many draft experts have came out in full support of Porzingis being a top 3 pick. Chad Ford of ESPN.com went so far to say that the Lakers should take Porzingis with the second pick of the draft. Now I know Laker fans that nine time out of ten the Lakers are going pick Jahlil Okafor the big man from Duke, but I wanted to do some homework of my own and figure out who is this Porzingis guy. The draft experts compare him to a Pau Gasol or Dirk Nowitzki those two guys haven’t had a bad NBA career if you ask me. So let’s dive into the strengths and weaknesses of the Mr. Porzingis.

Strengths

Size

There’s one thing you can’t teach in the life and that’s size. Don’t we all wish we were a little bit taller? But seriously Porzingis is a 7 footer pushing 7’1” with excellent length and athleticism. While he’s the size of a big he has the mobility of some of the small forwards when it comes to his strides as he is able to cover a lot of ground and outrun his opponents down the floor. This leads to easy buckets and if he plays in a up-tempo offense could really use his length to his advantage. He also has a great understanding on how to use his length as he jumps straight up with the offensive player altering shots without necessarily blocking the shot. As the athleticism to play above the rim.

Offensive Repertoire

Don’t let the numbers fool you, Porzingis is able to score in a variety of ways. He is a silky smooth release that has most of the experts are getting excited about. The fact that he has NBA range today can help make an impact on an NBA team today, but he’s more than just a standstill shooter. He has the ability to space the floor for his teammates and get the shot off quickly before the defender can react. This leads to the pick and roll ability. Obviously the fact that Porzingis can shoot the long ball makes him a great candidate for the pick and pop, but his ability to use his athleticism to get to the cup allows him to use the pick and pop as well. This keeps the defense on their toes as they never know what he’s going to do out of the pick and roll situations.

Weaknesses

Strength

At 7’0”, 230 pounds Porzingis isn’t exactly scaring anyone in the post. His length makes him NBA ready but his strength is still lacking. He’ll need to add some weight in order to compete with the other power forwards in the league. Since he lacks in weight he gets pushed around down low and therefore gives up rebounds inside. He lacks the lower body strength to box out bigger opponents which can cause issues if you’re relying on him for rebounds. Lower body strength is an issue when opponents post him very deep in the post, driving him almost out of bounds giving up fouls or easy buckets. Porzingis knows that he’s not physically strong and will shy away from contact most of the time. He doesn’t get to the free throw line very much and will settle for jumpers frequently.

Basketball IQ

Porzingis is young and still developing his game. He doesn’t see the floor well at all as he makes up his mind what he’s doing before the play starts. His assist to turnover rate is bad, and I know you’re not expecting him to be Steve Nash but he should be able to use his size to see over the defense. He misses teammates a lot leading to forced shots or bad turnovers. He does have a tendency to bite on shot fakes which ones up free driving lanes to the basket, and his helpside defense is a little slow. From time to time he’ll get caught ball watching or hugging his man and doesn’t have enough time to react to the opponent. He’s awesome in pick and roll offense but guarding the pick and roll is a problem for him. All these things he’ll be able to work on a grow his skillsets in the years to come.

The NBA draft is less than a week away and many teams including the Lakers have something to think about when it comes to Kristaps Porzingis.

What do you think Laker fans? Should the Lakers entertain the idea of drafting the international superstar?

Comment below!

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