Domantas Sabonis thread

[Straight forward2]

No Sabonis in NBA draft combine. Interesting decision.

"Maybe Sabonis has a guarantee from a team that he will be picked. Maybe Sabonis' agent feels like he will add nothing to his profile by competing in workout drills of the combine. Either way, there were only three people to decline combine invites, and Sabonis is one of them. It will be interesting to see why and to see how this plays out."

http://www.slipperstillfits.com/2016/5/5/11604622/2016-nba-draft-domantas-sabonis-nba-draft-combine

 

[Straight forward2]

New Sabonis' scouting video with some new aspects of his game. "Well in my opinion he's the best post player in this year's draft". It's going to be a massacre in the post if all 3 JV, D-Mo, Domas will gather together in NT upcoming 10 years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfQt2pGPVtc

 

[LuDux2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_kQD1GGxQ0

 

[Straight forward2]

Some interesting numbers of Domantas' shooting in the workouts with NBA teams. I like that most experts treat him as NBA ready. If that happens to be true, it's says something about his chances in NT as well.

3. Domantas Sabonis - (PF/C, Gonzaga, 6-10, 240, Sophomore)

"Sabonis, the son of Hall of Fame center Arvydas Sabonis, has a chance to be an instant contributor at the next level. His represntation has been very selective in his workout schedule, focusing on four teams in the mid-late lottery. He took a huge leap between his freshman and sophomore season at Gonzaga, showing nice growth offensively with a well-rounded skill set (averaged 17.6 points per game last season). He's as versatile as any other power forward in this draft in that he can shoot the ball from around 15 feet as well as overpower his opponents in the post with his physicality. While he does lack length, and there are concerns about his ability to scoring against long athletes inside, his numbers show that he is an effective at finishing at the rim thanks to his soft touch and craftiness. During his two seasons at Gonzaga, the 6-foot-10 power forward demonstrated strong and polished post moves and the ability to take his man off the dribble. When he doesn't finish, he often absorbs contact and makes his way to the free-throw line where he made 76.9 percent of his attempts (attempted 5.4 free throws per game last season). Scouts not only love him for his scoring, but they also consider him one of the the best rebounding prospects in the draft. His strength, motor, and nose for the ball helped him corral 11.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore, including three offensive rebounds. He understands how to play in space and can make plays in pick-and-roll situations. He's also shown solid passing ability from numerous areas on the floor. Sabonis isn't a great athlete and often relies on his strength too much. It will be difficult for him to overpower NBA power forwards so he'll need to add a few more post moves to help him score. The most underappreciated part of Sabonis game is his outside shooting ability. He has routinely knocked down 70 of 100 three point shots in individual workouts with teams. While he didn't utilize that skill at Gonzaga, look for it to become a part of his game at the next level. His aforementioned strength and motor put him into foul trouble at times as a defender. He also needs to work on his overall post defense. Sabonis can go anywhere from the lottery to mid-first round. No matter where he's selected, though, he should be able to contribute to his team right away."

http://www.nbadraft.net/top-10-power-forward-prospects-1

 

[Svajunas2]

what team you do guys think out of TOR, PHX, UTAH, BOS would be best for Domantas and why?

I, myself, would lean towards Boston or Toronto. They are better organizations imo, should be both top4 in the east for years to come. Toronto lacks good PF , so he could get good playing time if no big free agent would be signed. Boston has Amir , Olinyk and someone else I dont remember, no star at PF either.

 

[Straight forward2]

what team you do guys think out of TOR, PHX, UTAH, BOS would be best for Domantas and why?

I, myself, would lean towards Boston or Toronto. They are better organizations imo, should be both top4 in the east for years to come. Toronto lacks good PF , so he could get good playing time if no big free agent would be signed. Boston has Amir , Olinyk and someone else I dont remember, no star at PF either.

No idea. The same Toronto might get a starting calibre PF in the off season and Sabonis would become a "project". It could very easily be other team than you mentioned, IMO. Good thing is that differently than D-MO was, Sabonis is ready to compete for minutes because of his toughness and defensive awarenes form the season 1. D-Mo was too light, couldn't even box out and was lost in the defence. I just hope he wouldn't warm the bench. Maybe even playing for a bit worse team in the first seasons would be better for him. Toronto is all about wins now and they won't try too hard to develop youngsters these days, they will see only as much time as they earn.

 

[CoachZ2]

You should hope that Boston takes him. Brad Stevens is a very, very good developmental coach (excellent record at Butler in this and also he is doing great with the current roster of Celtics). Also keep in mind that Celtics are really missing a physical presence on the boards and in the paint so that would give him a really great chance to play minutes early and contribute.

At the same time, Celtics run a lot of motion sets to draw out their big man to shoot from midrange or 3pt line and he could flourish in that system. They do a lot of this with Sullinger, Jerebko etc.

If I was him, I would go for Celtics. Utah is also fantastic in working with big men (Their work with Gobert, Millsap, Favors is just phenomenal) but keep in mind that this frontcourt is pretty much set and it will be very difficult to get minutes, especially since he won't be able to be a difference maker on defense right away and this is a must if you wanna play for Jazz now.

 

[Straight forward2]

You should hope that Boston takes him. Brad Stevens is a very, very good developmental coach (excellent record at Butler in this and also he is doing great with the current roster of Celtics). Also keep in mind that Celtics are really missing a physical presence on the boards and in the paint so that would give him a really great chance to play minutes early and contribute.

At the same time, Celtics run a lot of motion sets to draw out their big man to shoot from midrange or 3pt line and he could flourish in that system. They do a lot of this with Sullinger, Jerebko etc.

If I was him, I would go for Celtics. Utah is also fantastic in working with big men (Their work with Gobert, Millsap, Favors is just phenomenal) but keep in mind that this frontcourt is pretty much set and it will be very difficult to get minutes, especially since he won't be able to be a difference maker on defense right away and this is a must if you wanna play for Jazz now.

Good point though. One of 2 best NBA all-time franchises, young, promising coach, smart GM in Danny Ainge who must love fundamentally sound team players. Results are not exactly there yet, but they are treated as one of the best organisations these days already. And it's Celtics, they are green

 

[Straight forward2]

More and more sources say it's going to be Raptors. If that happens there's 2 positives - JV and Sabonis will know each other as twins and will bring that knowledge to NT game as well, and second it's easy to follow those 2 by live streams. Again, those are positives, I see a lot of negatives as well. Like Casey is the main. I think he has no idea how to use bigs generally and he doesn't believe in offensive power by bigs in current NBA. Raptors would try to make Sabonis as a stretch 4, come hell or high water as Casey says, while his game is post game mainly or they would turn him to only hustle, rebounding, defensive player like Tyler Hansbrough . All this is very likely because Raptors did a lot to reconstruct JV's nature- reducing his agility, heavy rolls to the basket, offensive minded game- in the first 2 seasons. We'll find out soon.

 

[Svajunas2]

Thunder it is!

 

[vaslover2]

Quite ambiguous trade for Domantas. Definitely that he has no chance to play in the paint while we could see Adams and Kanter there. I can,t say that he,s typical stretch four player,because Sabonis all the time like a magnet pulls in the paint. His mid-range shooting mechanics aren,t always consistent. In current moment i,ve doubt that he can be quite useful in pick'n'pop. Anyway, i wish him all the best and i hope that eventually he,ll realize his full potential.

 

[Svajunas2]

He pulled to the paint because Gonzaga had no other big guy to play there. Anyway seems here is a comment I found in reddit today. Which sums up what kind of player he is.

"submitted 7 hours ago by HuskerToke
I know Gonzaga isn't a huge draw especially with their late night games so catching them in the Midwest can be futile. As a diehard Zags fan I watched every game the past two seasons, most of which more than once so I thought it would be cool to stop by here and give you my take on your new PF with the hopes of being somewhat objective.
Offensively- I can pretty much guarantee there is not a more polished back to the basket big man in the entire draft. His footwork is absolutely impeccable (wonder where that came from?) He uses an array of low post moves and there isn't one move he doesn't have in his arsenal. He has fantastic leverage and for being as lean as he is typically buries most defenders to the point of no return with a great seal. His go to move is a really soft baby hook over his right shoulder but he has proven the ability to go over both. His second is a really special up and under. He also has a really nice running hook and a face up to spin move drop step. He uses the glass better than any prospect I've seen in many years.
His outside shooting is one area I am confident in that others might not be so high on. He is nearly automatic from 18 feet and in. He has perfect form and a high release point. He showed the ability to step back and hit 3's this year and confident this ability will only improve over time. Lastly, he is an 80% free throw shooter so you need not worry about any hack a Domas strategies.
It's pretty clear he is not the best athlete. He has a below average wingspan and is not an explosive jumper. He makes up for this with a tenacious motor (and I mean tenacious a la Adams) and an uncanny ability to judge the ball off the rim and attack it at its highest point. He does have very big, very strong, and very soft hands which is a huge attribute that he utilizes well. Additionally, his understanding of angles on court is also well beyond his age. He also runs and fills the floor very well. One aspect of his game that I do think was overhyped coming into the draft was his passing. Many scouting reports I read listed this as one of his best attributes which is only partially true. His natural passing is very solid if not above average. My big knock is that when he gets the ball in the post he looking to SCORE and often times gets tunnel vision. Many times he struggled seeing a double team coming and in turn missed the obvious outlet or turned it over. He will not be getting double in the NBA any time soon so hopefully his vision will improve.
Defensively he is pretty good but not great. He does some thing really really well and others that still need work. His lateral quickness is very very good. On switches he rarely gets beat by smaller guards. In the WCC championship he shut down All American Kyle Collinsworth for the better part of the second half. One knock on Domas (this is the name he goes by btw) is that he is foul prone. While this is true, I'd say about 60-70% if his fouls came on the offensive end going for rebounds. He rarely gets whistled on defense which brings me to my next point. He is essentially a non factor as a shot blocker. However, is is very good and maintaining verticality. I mean very good. He rarely jumps on first pump fakes, instead keeping his ground and only going up when his player leaves the floor. I honestly watched enough of him to see a potential shot blocker was there but Mark Few preaches the benefits of verticality to his big and this mentality rubbed off on Sabonis. His hedge and recover ability is well above average and as I mentioned before, he can switch on most guards and give a serviceable defensive effort. He absolutely dominated fellow lottery pick Jakob Poetl in their head to head limiting him to 5 points and eventually fouling him out. Domas had 19 and 10 going 8-12 from the floor.
I think Thunder fans will be very pleased with his acquisition. One thing that Zag fans came to love about Domas is that he will not settle for anything less than his best. He will bring it every night whether for 5 minutes or 35 minutes. He is also a great locker room guy and shouldn't have any problem getting along.
I forsee him being a really solid bench contributor next year. Probably around 12-15 minutes would be my guess with the potential for a bit more. His ceiling isn't as high as a lot of other guys but you will get a solid contributor for years to come."

 

[Hepcat2]

Poor Domantas! Oklahoma is a bleak place for anyone, let alone a Lithuanian fellow. To my knowledge there's just no Lithuanian community at all in the vicinity. He'll have zilch chance of finding any good cepelinai or kugelis there. I suppose he could hire his own full-time housekeeper....

 

[Straight forward2]

Not too happy to see this as Thunder is ultimate iso, hero ball team, but still better than Raptors though. On other hand, Domantas will play among hell of a bigs in Kanter and Adams and will play for a winning team which sometimes gives better dividends than playing for weaker team. On the brightest scenario I would love Thunder changing their culture, letting one of their super stars go and starting to play more of a team ball, but I can only dream about it. Well Domantas is young, very young, couple of first tough years in NBA would be completely normal in his development, I just hope he'll crack Thunder rotation from day view and will get consistent minutes on the court, be it limited.

 

[auris12]

Poor Domantas! Oklahoma is a bleak place for anyone, let alone a Lithuanian fellow. To my knowledge there's just no Lithuanian community at all in the vicinity. He'll have zilch chance of finding any good cepelinai or kugelis there. I suppose he could hire his own full-time housekeeper....

Where do i apply?

On the other hand, that picture you provided is nothing like kugelis i know.
Grated potatoes, lards on or speck or bacon and some onions, plus egg , all mixed and baked in oven. That is the way my wife bakes it.

 

[auris12]

He pulled to the paint because Gonzaga had no other big guy to play there. Anyway seems here is a comment I found in reddit today. Which sums up what kind of player he is.

"submitted 7 hours ago by HuskerToke
I know Gonzaga isn't a huge draw especially with their late night games so catching them in the Midwest can be futile. As a diehard Zags fan I watched every game the past two seasons, most of which more than once so I thought it would be cool to stop by here and give you my take on your new PF with the hopes of being somewhat objective.
Offensively- I can pretty much guarantee there is not a more polished back to the basket big man in the entire draft. His footwork is absolutely impeccable (wonder where that came from?) He uses an array of low post moves and there isn't one move he doesn't have in his arsenal. He has fantastic leverage and for being as lean as he is typically buries most defenders to the point of no return with a great seal. His go to move is a really soft baby hook over his right shoulder but he has proven the ability to go over both. His second is a really special up and under. He also has a really nice running hook and a face up to spin move drop step. He uses the glass better than any prospect I've seen in many years.
His outside shooting is one area I am confident in that others might not be so high on. He is nearly automatic from 18 feet and in. He has perfect form and a high release point. He showed the ability to step back and hit 3's this year and confident this ability will only improve over time. Lastly, he is an 80% free throw shooter so you need not worry about any hack a Domas strategies.
It's pretty clear he is not the best athlete. He has a below average wingspan and is not an explosive jumper. He makes up for this with a tenacious motor (and I mean tenacious a la Adams) and an uncanny ability to judge the ball off the rim and attack it at its highest point. He does have very big, very strong, and very soft hands which is a huge attribute that he utilizes well. Additionally, his understanding of angles on court is also well beyond his age. He also runs and fills the floor very well. One aspect of his game that I do think was overhyped coming into the draft was his passing. Many scouting reports I read listed this as one of his best attributes which is only partially true. His natural passing is very solid if not above average. My big knock is that when he gets the ball in the post he looking to SCORE and often times gets tunnel vision. Many times he struggled seeing a double team coming and in turn missed the obvious outlet.......

Really interesting read.
Thanks for that .
What are goods /r's about basketball there?

 

[Hepcat2]

On the other hand, that picture you provided is nothing like kugelis i know.
Grated potatoes, lards on or speck or bacon and some onions, plus egg , all mixed and baked in oven. That is the way my wife bakes it.

Yes, and eaten with sour cream and even more bacon bits! For that slow release energy one will need during the game tomorrow.

 

[Svajunas2]

Really interesting read.
Thanks for that .
What are goods /r's about basketball there?

Im not a big lurker there, but what i usually do is type in google: reddit okc, or reddit JV or reddit NBA streams.

 

[Hepcat2]

So I see that Domantas has given notice to the Thunder that he'll be attending the Team Lietuva camp instead of playing in NBA summer league. Good for him! That's certainly to his credit. Given the desire he's showing to play, I really hope he makes the team, even if Coach Kazlauskas has to go with six bigs.

 

[auris12]

Im not a big lurker there, but what i usually do is type in google: reddit okc, or reddit JV or reddit NBA streams.

I was a big fan of reddits nba streams. For a while they had direct Hd streams where i could watch them on my tv via firestick and Kodi. Then it was Youtube Hd ,but it did not last long . Then i had to go to BT sports streams and all them lags and buffering, and for the finals i was back on my ipad and some Russian streams ,which wasn't that bad in the end .