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Domantas Sabonis thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter Straight forward2
  • Start date Start date
So Sabonis will compete with Kanter and Iliasova at 4 as it seems. I read this article which wonders if Sabonis could start for the Thunders. I hope he cracks rotation in the first place. Maybe he could grab some minutes at 5 as well. First year going to be pretty hard for him, IMO, as he will need to adjust to NBA's physicality. He overpowered everyone in NCAA, but now he'll have to count on his mobility in the first place. Also speed is different at NBA, so he might be a foul prone and turn the ball over a bit too much. However, his hustle, messing around in the paint should be useful for Thunder right from the day view.

http://newsok.com/article/5515124
 
Straight forward said:
So Sabonis will compete with Kanter and Iliasova at 4 as it seems. I read this article which wonders if Sabonis could start for the Thunders. I hope he cracks rotation in the first place. Maybe he could grab some minutes at 5 as well. First year going to be pretty hard for him, IMO, as he will need to adjust to NBA's physicality. He overpowered everyone in NCAA, but now he'll have to count on his mobility in the first place. Also speed is different at NBA, so he might be a foul prone and turn the ball over a bit too much. However, his hustle, messing around in the paint should be useful for Thunder right from the day view.

http://newsok.com/article/5515124
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I am not sure what to expect regarding Sabonis playing time .He probably wants as many minutes as he can get , coaches might have different ideas and I would be happy with him having 15-20 m per game .
His time on court will probably vary of how well Thunders can start the season .
Less success for the team ,more minutes for Domantas ?
 
Obviously Sabonis is working with Steve Adams before the camp starts. Thunder wants him to adjust to speeds and physicality of NBA in those 2 weeks left. Pretty good environment to progress this off season I would say: there's father's advices, competing with JV and finally learning from Adams:) I'm pretty sure OG experience was very valuable for him as well. Already want to see his first minutes on NBA court, hell, I'll even try to catch first friendly games where he should surely get decent minutes.

http://www.nba.com/thunder/feature/meeting-sabonis-160907/
 
Sneaked into Thunders pre-season schedule and guess what - couple of very friendly for us games: against Real OCT 3, 1:30PMct and against Barsa OCT 5 same time. Pretty damn good chance to see Sabonis in Thunders jerseys + Mačiulis.
 
Well, Sabonis started at both games. Pretty obvious he won't be playing a big role offensively, generally he sticks in perimeter, luckily nailed his threes (at least one three in all 3 friendly games so far, but I doubt he can keep it up as of yet), working as a screener, facilitator. He won't get many post possessions. Kanter, Adams and even Westbrook take those in the first place so Sabonis won't have a luxury to utilize his best skill most likely. However, his defence is solid, he sometimes looks like a veteran out there, I mean rotating, help defence, recovering, making aright pass at the right time and sort of stuff, there are very few to none 20yo bigs as polished as he is at both ends of the flour. Would love to see him playing inside more though.
 
Straight forward said:
Well, Sabonis started at both games. Pretty obvious he won't be playing a big role offensively, generally he sticks in perimeter, luckily nailed his threes (at least one three in all 3 friendly games so far, but I doubt he can keep it up as of yet), working as a screener, facilitator. He won't get many post possessions. Kanter, Adams and even Westbrook take those in the first place so Sabonis won't have a luxury to utilize his best skill most likely. However, his defence is solid, he sometimes looks like a veteran out there, I mean rotating, help defence, recovering, making aright pass at the right time and sort of stuff, there are very few to none 20yo bigs as polished as he is at both ends of the flour. Would love to see him playing inside more though.
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The only thing they miss using him only on perimeter is his elite rebounding. Strange that he goes to the defence like a guard right after someone shoots, without even considering ducking for offensive rebound. It will be intresting to see will they adjust that or not.
 
Nice to see Sabonis not chocking at the start of his NBA career. Hit a three, some jumpers, that's very important in the first games, that's how you get confidence. In last game - 8pts, 4 rebs in 17 minutes. So far I'm very pleased with how Thunder treat him. 16-18min per game while he's 20yo is all what he would want, great experience and a field to progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqjv_WMs0nI
 
Didin't expect D.Sabonis to be that consistent with his midranger and especially his three pointers. Comparing him with Olympics and now is like day and night, in Olympics he was missing everything.
 
Modis said:
Didin't expect D.Sabonis to be that consistent with his midranger and especially his three pointers. Comparing him with Olympics and now is like day and night, in Olympics he was missing everything.
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True. Many players, specially young ones, struggle at NT at first. What I don't like that he hasn't attempt a single free throw in 5 games. Wished that Thunder would give him more opportunities to post up. But it's very good that he is extending his game, playing more like stretch 4 and so far did well. Later in his career he should be able to play in and outside with a bigger role.
 
Sabonis with career high 15pts, 10 rebounds in 30 minutes against Heat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZgwmbxr9M8

He's adjusting to NBA very quickly. I will say this - so far (and I think that's remaining) 20yo rookie Sabonis looks better player than 20yo Valanciunas as a rookie. Sabonis does pretty much everything in the court playing for the better team, and 2012/13 Raptors is not even close to current Thunder. He plays D (which was huge problem for JV), notice how he stays even with Dragic and other guards at the defensive end, he is able to facilitate and his assists numbers will grow up (JV had tunnel vision and it's still a bit of an issue for him). Sabonis a very gifted rebounder, maybe even better than JV who is as well great one, the comparison here is complicated because Sabonis is playing at 4 and not 5 for the Thunder. Where JV was superior is his scoring explosiveness and efficiency and probably offensive rebounding. Overall, knowing Sabonis defensive ability, passing ability IQ, maturity, he is much more serious player than JV was at that age and so far he exceeded my expectation, he looks like a guy who will be ready for the PO minutes with his ability to adjust and improve. Avoiding rookie personal fouls is his main issue at the moment.
 
I guess that's what happens when you're in a right organisation. He gets playin' time, he has trust from coaching stuff, teammates. It's great to see him shooting from beyond the arc with such confidence even not bein' wide open, and we know that shooting jumpshots is not his main strenght at all. Maybe it's early to say, but I like the way things goin' with Domas. He is becoming much more versatile player, who can stretch the floor and that would benefit NT a lot in the future
 
Good game after a little slump recently (13pts, 6 boards in 31min). Just love how he's able to contribute in completely different ways than he used to in Gonzaga. Now he shoots threes and driving from the perimeter for a lay up. Suddenly he's in completely different role and managing to cope with that. Here's hightlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxQvyuz_zvE
 
Straight forward said:
Good game after a little slump recently (13pts, 6 boards in 31min). Just love how he's able to contribute in completely different ways than he used to in Gonzaga. Now he shoots threes and driving from the perimeter for a lay up. Suddenly he's in completely different role and managing to cope with that. Here's hightlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxQvyuz_zvE
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I loved the last basket he made .
And overall ,i think our silent prayers were answered twice over regarding his playing time and responsibilities .
http://www.nba.com/rookie-ladder

6. Domantas Sabonis, Oklahoma City Thunder
Last week: Not ranked

Even though he’s shooting 34.2 percent in his last six games, a bad slump even by the standards of an underwhelming class, Sabonis climbs back in the rankings after a one-week benching after either making the top five or contending for a spot in six categories: scoring (7th), rebounding (6th), 3-point shooting (6th), minutes (5th), double-doubles (3rd) and – yes – field-goal percentage (13th). In that perspective, he is more likely to climb the list than drop out again, shooting woes or not.
 
6th among rooks and that comes without using his 2 elite skills- post game (because it's not convenient for Thunder game plan and I totally understand that) and rebounding (Sabonis is spending time in perimeter so his offensive rebounding is nearly non-existant). Also Sabonis' body is not entirely finished product yet. He'll have to add just a little bit of mass to increase his defensive presence in the paint. So far he's doing perfect job and most impressive thing which was noted by most analysts - he never looks confused or lost, he's working like a vet knowing his role. Sometimes I miss his fire and emotions he was constantly showing last season in Gonzaga. I guess too concentrated, to busy not being lost in the court :)
 
Straight forward said:
6th among rooks and that comes without using his 2 elite skills- post game (because it's not convenient for Thunder game plan and I totally understand that) and rebounding (Sabonis is spending time in perimeter so his offensive rebounding is nearly non-existant). Also Sabonis' body is not entirely finished product yet. He'll have to add just a little bit of mass to increase his defensive presence in the paint. So far he's doing perfect job and most impressive thing which was noted by most analysts - he never looks confused or lost, he's working like a vet knowing his role. Sometimes I miss his fire and emotions he was constantly showing last season in Gonzaga. I guess too concentrated, to busy not being lost in the court :)
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You know, that thing ,about adding some extra weight, really did not work for JV .
And Sabonis ,when i was watching him play ,was always compliment for footwork speed . As in he is capable to follow/get back to his opponent when defending 2 on 2 and in exchange. (I hope it makes sense )It is my understanding that this is core JV issue in defense .
According to NBA stats ,Jonas is just 2 cm taller than Sabonis . (213 vs 211 cm ) . For me , there is no way Sabonis can be a center ,ever .
So having great speed when you are 211 is probably more beneficial instead of some artificial weight gain . He will gain weight in the future, and he will loose his speed eventually .For now ,playing big minutes is one sure way to improve .
 
Regarding his playing time most OKC fans think he's overplayed and it hurts the team at times, shows alot of potential of course but just isn't ready to be playing the minutes he gets right now, Kanter plays less but gets done more. Of course all great for us he's developing but its still interesting. We thought even D League would be good for Domas development if the club he gets to decides to do that but so far he's averaging 22 mins.
 
Modis said:
Regarding his playing time most OKC fans think he's overplayed and it hurts the team at times, shows alot of potential of course but just isn't ready to be playing the minutes he gets right now, Kanter plays less but gets done more. Of course all great for us he's developing but its still interesting. We thought even D League would be good for Domas development if the club he gets to decides to do that but so far he's averaging 22 mins.
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Kanter is a scorer and a good or maybe even great offensive rebounder, but he's a poor defender. There's a reason why Thunder wanted Sabonis. He can give things which Ibaka couldn't - passing ability, reading situations, flexibility, ballhandling ability, ability to shoot threes. They wanted someone like Sabonis at 4 to open things for Westbrook and overall to play more organic and flexible BB. Saying this Sabonis gets a little credit of trust from the coach but that's about it, everyone sees that the whole package of Sabonis is impressive, don't look only at points and rebounds. Kanter is a guy who is a great scorer, but that's it. He's like JV, but even without good ISO defence. All he does he scores and rebound. Sabonis can do a lot of things on the court.
 
Straight forward said:
Kanter is a scorer and a good or maybe even great offensive rebounder, but he's a poor defender. There's a reason why Thunder wanted Sabonis. He can give things which Ibaka couldn't - passing ability, reading situations, flexibility, ballhandling ability, ability to shoot threes. They wanted someone like Sabonis at 4 to open things for Westbrook and overall to play more organic and flexible BB. Saying this Sabonis gets a little credit of trust from the coach but that's about it, everyone sees that the whole package of Sabonis is impressive, don't look only at points and rebounds. Kanter is a guy who is a great scorer, but that's it. He's like JV, but even without good ISO defence. All he does he scores and rebound. Sabonis can do a lot of things on the court.
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I do not think i agree with you on this .
Ibaka is not that bad , Sabonis is not that good ,the way you described them . For once ...
Let just say that regarding capability to shoot 3 i think is an opposite of what you have said . Ibaka was developing that shot for many years where Sabonis made like 5 of them in total during his 2 years as a student .I do not know what happened to Ibaka's game recently ,but few years ago he was a really good player . So he got traded . Kanter ,with his 15 mil salary is on the way too .
I do not think that Sabonis is regarded as a franchise player yet, or ever . He is filling the gap , hence he needs to play play well no matter what .JV knew he would be starting the game no matter what right from beginning . And i do not thing Thunders necessary wanted Sabonis as such - just some young cheap guy able to fill temporary vacancy , fitting requirements .
Luckily for him , as you said , he has shown much versatility no one knew he had . Maturity if you will .But lets be honest - if it wasn't for his excellent 3 point shooting so far ,all of this would have been irrelevant .
 
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