CleaverGreene wrote:

KnickDanger wrote:Dayton's coach is on ESPN with Hahn and Bart (bless 'em, talking hard Knicks and NBA). Of course he's praising Obi but soberly and with details. Particularly interesting and encouraging to me is he emphasizes Toppin's basketball IQ and work ethic.

Players with high BB IQs and good work ethics usually find ways to play acceptable D, no. Missed the interview, but were his defensive deficiencies discussed?

Some of the video out there makes it seem that he has no concept on how to defend his position.
The dunks are nice, but isn't Thibs known for wanting players to grind it out on D?

I'm hoping they says things from him on D in any pre-draft workouts he showed teams.

The Dayton coach was very upfront about Obi's need to improve defensively. He basically said he believes that Obi can become adequate defensively which is fine with his offensive skill set. Obi has acknowledged the need as well. Effort and willingness are something we don't see enough of.

martin wrote:

CleaverGreene wrote:

NYStateOfMind wrote:Definitely OB1

BigDaddyG wrote:

Chandler wrote:^^ great question

does anyone have a clue what Thibs will do on defense, e.g., for pick and roll. i poked around some on this thinking Obi might be a liability in a pick and roll and was seeing a lot of criticism about his ICE scheme from Boston/Chicago/Wolves days.

further complicating the picture, someone like Frank has been very good defending PnR yet my memory of Woodson (now assistant coach) was switch on everything

anyone have any thoughts on what to expet?

No idea. I'm guessing Thibs had time to sit back and reflect during his brief hiatus, so it's possible he has new goodies to unwrap. Another question....what nickname do we give Obi. I saw someone suggest the "Dunkalorian" on Reddit and I've got to say...I'm all in. Also, Obi "Don't dunk on me."

Yeah...OB1 seems perfect to me.

And now that Portis is gone, the number is available!

The number one reason Portis had to go. Wish Portis had the opportunity to shake the rook down for cash before he was sliced from the roster. Going to miss Crazy Eye's energy. His game was all over the place, but he seemed like a good teammate.

Passing: Really nice passer for a big – shows real ability here passing all over the court. Can kick it up in transition, pass off of his handle, pass out of the post (loves kicking it to the opposite corner, which he can hit with one-handed / live-action passes with either hand), and has some beautiful short roll passes. Quick decision-maker out of the post and does a nice job reading the double team and getting the ball to the open man, whether that’s a cutter or out to the perimeter. Soft touch on his passes, throwing a very catchable ball. Also a nice high-low passer, making quick reads / quick lobs over the top after cutting to the top of the key. Nice swing passer, can drive and kick, and drive and drop-off. Really well balanced and versatile passer for a big – way more than a stationary passer.

https://www.thestepien.com/2020/02/19/obi-toppin-scouting-report/

Tell me I’m wrong

BigDaddyG wrote:

Welpee wrote:

KnickDanger wrote:Dayton's coach is on ESPN with Hahn and Bart (bless 'em, talking hard Knicks and NBA). Of course he's praising Obi but soberly and with details. Particularly interesting and encouraging to me is he emphasizes Toppin's basketball IQ and work ethic.

Keep in mind, his coach Anthony Grant was an assistant under Billy Donovan at OKC before taking the Dayton job. So he's a college coach with some NBA in his recent background.

By the way, does James Harden play defense? Isn't he a former league MVP? If Toppins plays as projected offensively all we need is for him to be adequate on defense.

Can't do that. OB projects as good offensively, but he doesn't project as one of the best scorers in the history of the game. Let's just go easy and see how he develops.

ankurk wrote:So what if we didn't get Zion last year - got Obi now. Same dunk package. Better 3. Worse on D?

Less injury risk (IMO) -

6'6" 284 lb - Zion

6'9" 220 lb - Obio

Obi has a frame which is much more likely to hold up for years.

Has Zion even played yet? It's been like over a year and such

BigDaddyG wrote:

martin wrote:

We can call him and Mitch the "Smash Brothers."

Even though defense is not Obi’s strength I am intrigued by the possibility of him and Mitch both protecting the rim with his length and athleticism

I expect the Knicks to be top 5 blocked shots per game this season

ankurk wrote:So what if we didn't get Zion last year - got Obi now. Same dunk package. Better 3. Worse on D?

Less injury risk (IMO) -

6'6" 284 lb - Zion

6'9" 220 lb - Obio

Obi has a frame which is much more likely to hold up for years.

This

A lot of interesting stuff here. Calls Myles Powell his “brother for life” cause they workout together?

martin wrote:So the Knicks fell from 6th to 8th in the draft lottery, but even if they ended up moving to 4th they would have selected Obi anyway?

Tell me I’m wrong

That is exactly right.

Knixkik wrote:

martin wrote:So the Knicks fell from 6th to 8th in the draft lottery, but even if they ended up moving to 4th they would have selected Obi anyway?

Tell me I’m wrong

That is exactly right.

I'm thinking the only player they would have selected ahead of Obi would have been LaMelo Ball.

If they had #2 and LaMelo was off board, maybe they trade down a few slots?