All Things Domantas Sabonis

Both Sabonis and Nurk can knock down open shots and you can’t leave either open because of their playmaking. Would be better than Simmons and Nurk in the same lineup

 

Sabonis is the better version of Zach Collins we thought we were getting....I really want this kid ...I'd actually trade for Turner and Sabonis....Levert not so much

 

40% 3pt shooter on almost 5 attempts a game. Mobile big who can trap and recover. League leader in blocked shots.

 

No like. With comments like these I'd much prefer Sabonis.

But I'd take either. This is just a bit of a red flag I'd rather avoid.

 

Shitty rebounder for his position, doesn’t pass, limited offensive value beyond spacing. Nurk is better in the passing lanes. Nurk gets to the line more. Nurk has a better PER. Better WS/48. Their BPM is identical as is their VORP. Its not the upgrade you or anyone else thinks it is. Sabonis actually brings something we don’t have and can play with Nurk.

 

i mean... how much of this is impacted by turner sharing the floor with Sabonis? We have enough evidence to know that a 2 center lineup doesn't work.

 

he’s pretty much been the same guy his whole career, before Sabonis even got to Indiana.

 

The only reason that Sabonis worked in Indy was because Turner became a good 3P shooter. Having both him and Nurk on the court would clog the lane on offense. In addition, Sabonis is not a plus on defense. Simmons shot the same 3P% last year as Sabonis does this year - and Simmons is a big plus defensively, can work as a backup PG and as a small-ball Center. Taking Sabonis over Simmons to pair with Nurk is not a good idea imho. Sabonis instead of Nurk as a smaller Center with better defensive wings makes sense - but having the two of them together does not sound like a good idea.

Turner can certainly replace Nurk as a mobile big that is a plus defensively and can switch much better than Nurk. He certainly can not score like Nurk in the post and can not rebound like him - but he is a much better 3P shooter.

Frankly, if you could flip Nurk, Roco and CJ for Simmons and Turner - you would be golden - but I just do not see the point of Sabonis + Nurk on the same team. This is not 2002 anymore.

 

theyre nothing similar

 

Agree. ZCo was mostly a mobile defensive player and a sub-par offensive player who could be used as the hub of the offense. Sabonis is a sub-par defensive player who is good as a post player that can pass.

ZCo, btw, would have been a perfect big to play in Billup's current defensive scheme.

 

Actually, he's been improving each year. The Ringer had an article recently on him and had some good stats. Regarding his improving efficiency by year:



As the author notes, as Indiana has become more Sabonis-centric, Turner has had to do more with less and he's risen to meet that challenge.

And regarding @illmatic99's question about how much of it is due to Sabonis, Turner is better when he plays without Sabonis, especially with his Assist Rate going up:



The whole article is worth reading, IMO.

 

And as I have been saying for a while now Turner is actually one of the best NBA comps for who we wanted Collins to be. Elite defender who can shoot threes.

The only similarity Zach has to Sabonis is the Gonzaga connection.

 

good article. im convinced he needs to be our target. Send Nurk somewhere and bring in Turner. Then see if you can package CJ+ Roc+ picks for Simmons.

 

That deal dies because if the 3rd team is trading for a center, why would they not want Turner instead of Nurkic?

 

i think a case (however flimsy) can be made for nurk being better than turner in a vacuum. turner is just a better fit for us.

 

Uhh yeah....key there is flimsy. I've canvassed the league and any team trading for a center would rather have Turner than Nurkic. Turner is the modern center. Nurk is a dinosaur. Unless we are throwing in Nas or something.

 

Maybe the 3rd team just wants an expiring...

 

Yeah, it's hard to talk about Nurkic in a vacuum--in previous eras, he'd be a tremendous center. He's obviously talented and very effective--he just lacks the versatility that modern schemes require. While Nurkic is valuable in an "old school center" role, very few teams are looking to build around that archetype. He just limits what you can do, offensively and defensively.

 

The team has been trying to figure out the Sabonis and Turner pairing for several years, hoping it could turn into the collective star power it needs. The initial solution was to move Turner to the wing and build around Sabonis operating in the middle. He started off as a high-post creator, but Carlisle has transitioned Sabonis to a pick-and-roll and floor spacer role to try to make a spread offense work. This year, they have a plus-9 net rating in the 437 minutes they’ve shared the floor entering Wednesday, a sign to Carlisle that the process is working.

“Well, you know, when I came in here, the big question that everybody was asking was can these two guys play together? Can two bigs play together in today’s game?” Carlisle said. “Well, look at their net rating on court together, they’re playing very, very well. They’re a positive in almost all areas. And so the answer is we want them to keep doing what they’re doing and we’ve got to do things to gain as many small one-, two-percent edges as we can.”
https://theathletic.com/3005965/202...rner-seeks-bigger-role-with-more-opportunity/

You couch GMs keep “canvassing the league” though. Lol absolute jokes.

 

Nurk is a dinosaur?

Adams
Vucevic
Jonas
Poeltl
Embiid
Jokic
Gobert
Plumlee
Zubac
López

All starting centers in today’s NBA.