Domantas Sabonis thread

[Straight forward]

Sabonis highly underappreciated even in Indiana, the team as though given next life to Domas Let's see at numbers, his PER is highest in the team, he's the best rebounder, he's 6th in entire NBA shooting from the field, third best scorer in the team, yet...7th in the team per touches. That means six chuckers are having more touches in front of Sabonis, the MVP of the team and the second/third best player in the team (it's between him and Turner and not shoot or die Bogdanovic as some though). After Dipo injury he had a slump, but when he came back strong again his touches from 9 reduced to even 7. That means Pacers got on some chucking feast after Dipo injury and Bogdanovic on some crazy 15 shots per game mode. I don't care that Indiana is winning now because without Dipo they would be trashed in PO. Bogdanovic would be shut down as he wouldn't be able to lead the team and not the first time I'm noticing how badly Sabonis is being utilized by Pacers. I mean, he is being used like a scrub now with 5 touches per game recently while he is one of the most flexible and efficient offensive bigs in the league. Personally I would love to see Sabonis playing thirty minutes as a starter and getting appropriate role. Too bad such fundamentally sound player ended up into the teams which don't play fundamental basketball and just looking for the right moment to chuck.

[madmax]

Sabonis highly underappreciated even in Indiana, the team as though given next life to Domas Let's see at numbers, his PER is highest in the team, he's the best rebounder, he's 6th in entire NBA shooting from the field, third best scorer in the team, yet...7th in the team per touches. That means six chuckers are having more touches in front of Sabonis, the MVP of the team and the second/third best player in the team (it's between him and Turner and not shoot or die Bogdanovic as some though). After Dipo injury he had a slump, but when he came back strong again his touches from 9 reduced to even 7. That means Pacers got on some chucking feast after Dipo injury and Bogdanovic on some crazy 15 shots per game mode. I don't care that Indiana is winning now because without Dipo they would be trashed in PO. Bogdanovic would be shut down as he wouldn't be able to lead the team and not the first time I'm noticing how badly Sabonis is being utilized by Pacers. I mean, he is being used like a scrub now with 5 touches per game recently while he is one of the most flexible and efficient offensive bigs in the league. Personally I would love to see Sabonis playing thirty minutes as a starter and getting appropriate role. Too bad such fundamentally sound player ended up into the teams which don't play fundamental basketball and just looking for the right moment to chuck.

Hm hm, not so very long ago you were singing a different tune - praising Indiana for their team oriented basketball and how they treat every player fair and square... Now suddenly after Sabonis came back to Earth and is playing mediocre they are selfish chuckers already. I really wonder if someone is suffering from a bipolar crisis here

[LuDux]

it's not his fault chuckers aren't taking away shots from JV lately

[Straight forward]

Hm hm, not so very long ago you were singing a different tune - praising Indiana for their team oriented basketball and how they treat every player fair and square... Now suddenly after Sabonis came back to Earth and is playing mediocre they are selfish chuckers already. I really wonder if someone is suffering a bipolar crisis here

Nope, just your old lack attention to the details and particulars Last season, first Sabas' season in Indie, he even started 8 or so games and they were playing terrific offensive basketball sharing the ball. Later in the season they discovered Dipo as an all star and chucking fiesta begun, Indiana was one of the worst teams assists wise. This season they did much better job, even Dipo wasn't going for hero ball all that much and they now are among top 10 best ball sharing teams, but after Dipo injury I see that some players going ISO too much. Those who can't pass are involved more as Bog and Turner. Sabonis role decreased and that's unexplainable. In last three games he gets only 5.5 touches while shooting like 80% from the field. Indie should feed Sabonis, he's wasting his talent over there.

[Straight forward]

Here's fresh article on why Sabonis is the best sixth man in the league : https://eu.indystar.com/story/sports...ch/2905918002/

And here says Sabonis is among top three underrated NBA players - https://fastbreakdaily.com/2019/02/1...rated-players/

And here different folks on sixth man of the year award:

Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo: There are plenty of candidates for this award, from old staple Lou Williams to former MVP Derrick Rose to newer reserve standouts Spencer Dinwiddie and Montrezl Harrell, but nobody has produced quite like Sabonis. In 25 minutes per game off the bench, the 22-year-old is (nearly) averaging a double-double, all while making roughly two-thirds of his shot attempts.

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today: Indiana’s offense and defense hum with Sabonis on the court. He can defend, shoot, pass and rebound.

Sean Deveney of Sporting News: No one has done more to carry a bench that badly needs help than Sabonis. ... He’s doing it in just 25.1 minutes per game, and is a plus-4.6 as a reserve, tied for first among players who have appeared in 25 games off the bench.

Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated: No big has won Sixth Man of the Year since Lamar Odom in 2011, though that should change now that Sabonis and Harrell have established themselves as worthy favorites. The trick is choosing between them. Both are prolific, efficient players who make incredibly few mistakes. Harrell is the classic hustle player, evolved — capable now of not only outworking opponents, but outsmarting them. Sabonis plays at a calmer speed that is no less effective, dismantling opposing defenses from the inside out. Both the Clippers and Pacers, respectively, are at their best when Harrell and Sabonis are on the floor. Their choice to bring them off the bench is purely a matter of logistics.

Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports: This guy is an absolute stud. The 22-year-old has been a monster for the Pacers’ nasty second unit along with Tyreke Evans and Cory Joseph. ... He doesn’t have Anthony Davis’ wingspan, but he doesn’t need it to make an impact defensively.

https://eu.indystar.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2019/01/17/nba-most-improved-player-domantas-sabonis-indiana-pacers/2607611002/

[Hepcat]

So Domantas sprained his ankle against the Pistons on Monday and will be out one or two weeks.

[Straight forward]

So Sabonis with Indiana will go against Celtics. Tough luck. On other hand, we'll get to see Sabonis vs Baynes action. Here's a good mix of Sabonis highlights this season. he added right hand in the post this season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zklYLR9ldb8

[Straight forward]

So I didn't watch the first PO game, but got a nice peace of video. Obviously Sabonis had his day off in terms of a shooting touch, missed most of his credit card shots. Also you can see that the home court advantage was really being felt. Sissy call on Sabonis for a little poke on Morris back 2:02, surely not a PO foul and in the other end Sabonis left unnoticed when there was more contact towards himself. From these highlights, it seems refs allowed much more for Celtics. They really were beating Sabonis rather openly and probably Turner as well. Also Sabonis was doubled teamed in quite few possessions so Celtics tactics are pretty clear. Indiana needs to score more from outside. But Sabonis is fighting like a lion out there, fun to watch. It's interesting that Indiana was leading in double digits after first half basically. With Dipo this would be a series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt2czOwJNAo

[Straight forward]

Wow, Pacers pushed the second game to the last seconds. Respect to the them how they playing without their main guy. With Dipo they would set afire for this Celtics team. They needed almost 40pts by Kyrie to get this one. Sabonis on other hand getting precious lessons now. He faces very tough defenders, playoffs treatment and only yet to adjust. It will be interesting how Pacers will look at home.

[Straight forward]

Finally solid game for Sabonis. 12pts, 7boards, 6 assists. His jumper still off. That's another step to him, to learn how to maintain one's range while playing physical PO basketball. Boston allows him to take jumpers, knowing that he most dangerous in the post. But I love those moments when he puts the ball on the floor to initiate fast brakes, he can really push it and he can really pass. I already see the Lekavicius, Grigonis, Ulanovas/Giedraitis, Kuzminskas, Sabonis up tempo line-up. All loves to run, and there's a point-center who can put the ball on the floor in the middle. Adomaitis will have so many interesting material this summer.

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

[Shawshank]

Pacers just dont have enough offense to have a chance in this serries...all 4 querters are all Boston...Brad Stevens scouting report obviuos : let Sabonis shoot midrange,but do not let go inside.For me Domantas played way better in last years playoofs ofcourse opponenets was way easier inside,Horford and Baynes toug tough bigs,Domantas dont have strenght advantage over them.

Valanciunas is bigger force inside,he was making more problems for opponenets in Raptors playoofs runs.Sabonis has better all around game,but easier to stop inside.

People laughing about Raptors playoofs runs,atleast they were winning first round...Sabonis teams are losing all first rounds 3rd season.

[Straight forward]

People laughing about Raptors playoofs runs,atleast they were winning first round...Sabonis teams are losing all first rounds 3rd season.

Raptors was facing crappy opposition and struggled while they were first/second team in the East after regular season. Indiana is 5th team in the east which lost their main guy. Last season they went against Lebron's Cavaliers and gave them heck of a fight, no-one expected so much from them. Now they facing freakin' Boston, the team which is way much talented and better defensive team as well, the result is objective. And Raptors wasn't winning first rounds. They choked against Nets and Wizards, only later with huge struggle they passed first round. Those are completely different narratives. Indiana facing elite teams in the first round, Raptors struggling against weaker teams.

As for JV, he's better player in PO than regular season. The pace getting down and for lumberjacks centers it's even better environment. Nothing to take way from JV, he was always the best center on the floor. His best opposition was Gortat and he also had few games against Whiteside (got injured later). Other than that he was clearly best center in the series. Sabonis is going against Horford, 5 time all star. JV never played against that kind of an opponent in PO. And Sabonis is playing without their most creative player, JV always had Lowry around him. With that said, Sabonis has been struggling in first 2 game, so it's a good school for him. I like that he's facing super physical opposition, that will lift him to another level.

[madmax]

yup, nothing new here it seems - always excuses for Sabonis poor play and then trying to diminish what JV accomplished with the team which didn't even want to play him 25 minutes a game most of the time...guys, it's OK just to admit that JV is a much better playoff performer and player overall - it won't hurt your feelings you know. The hate that JV receives from even lithuanian posters who should otherwise be always supporting him is mind boggling to me and I have absolutely no clue where it's coming from...

[Straight forward]

yup, nothing new here it seems - always excuses for Sabonis poor play and then trying to diminish what JV accomplished with the team which didn't even want to play him 25 minutes a game most of the time...guys, it's OK just to admit that JV is a much better playoff performer and player overall - it won't hurt your feelings you know. The hate that JV receives from even lithuanian posters who should otherwise be always supporting him is mind boggling to me and I have absolutely no clue where it's coming from...

JV has been better in PO thus far than Sabonis, I have no problems to say this. I like how JV turns on PO mode. He had some amazing series, some amazing starts of PO. Don't be silly, sensitive homer. I stated obvious fact that JV never played against Horford level payer in PO.

[madmax]

JV has been better in PO thus far than Sabonis, I have no problems to say this. I like how JV turns on PO mode. He had some amazing series, some amazing starts of PO. Don't be silly, sensitive homer. I stated obvious fact that JV never played against Horford level payer in PO.

a Horford level player?
and who is that exactly? Horford is not even an All Star, so I fail to see your point here. JV played against all the best centers in NBA and outplayed or went toe to toe with all of them - Embiid, Anthony Davis, Cousins and etc. I don't think opposition really matters here, it's all about producing when it matters the most