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Something specific to watch for with Kanter

His defense was much better then what I thought since I saw that draft express video on him and man they ripped him saying he doesn't deserve to be selected 3rd overall even in this last draft class. Most of his shots and rebounds are a little misleading since there were a couple of times where he hit the rim on a shot and rebounded it back himself and tossed it again and missed.
 
I thought Kanter did some nice things but the thing that impressed me the most was his effort. The kid plays hard.

He definitely needs to start taking the 10 fts he has. That will open up the inside for him. I wish he had made the jump hook because it was a sweet move. Enes needs to work on his vertical jump. He can do that in the off season. He needs to be quicker to the basket and finish with authority. Part of this finishing problems is the speed of the game, he is adjusting to it so I think he will get better as he gains more experience.

Another issue is that the Jazz shot poorly last night so they were not helping clear space for Enes to work down low. Overall I was happy with his effort and the rebounding. He battled Gasol even though he lost most of the battles he still made Gasol work.
 
Cyrone Torbin said:
Gasol scored on him every time he got the ball. I was relieved he didn't let Josh McRoberts score on him, but I wouldn't call what he did decent D.
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He was very good in defense. Maybe he was prone against quick first step but how many big men in the world are quick as Gasol, and how many defenders are there Gasol can't score against?
The good thing is he doesn't jump around like a monkey, he knows what to do and he doesn't lose his balance. No one claimed he is the best defender in the planet, but you should be happy with what you see after watching guys like Boozer or Big Al
 
Kanter's athletic ability leaves a lot to be desired. But 11 rebounds in <21 minutes. Jesus. I loved his hustle and ability to box out and get rebounds. His offense will come in time. He'll be limited by the basket because he's not very long and he's not very athletic but still, it'll come in time. He's 19 for God's sake and has never played competition like this. I am very excited for a Favors/Kanter future.

Some other notes from what I observed in the first three quarters. I didn't bother watching the fourth.

Harris is awful at running an offense.
Jefferson has no shot selection still.
Hayward looks much bigger and much more confident. In fact, he was the only one who seemed confident out there.
Miles still sucks.
Howard looked promising and could/should improve dramatically here over time this year.
Bell didn't look so bad.
We have no true alpha dogs who wiil grab the reins.

My verdict? I'm not sure. There are almost too many guys on this team who need or deserve time. I do know Miles isn't one of them if for no other reason then if I have to see his God awful body language out there anymore, I may shoot myself. I'd love to trade Harris and Miles for someone like Hinrich though I'm not sure what his contract's like and I think he and Watson were already paired up before (Milwaukee? Seattle?) and led their team to something like 25 wins.

In short, we need Marshall from UNC.
 
doubledribble said:
Josh McRoberts is your typical average PF in the NBA. If a 19-year-old rookie steps on the court in his first game and is ready to defend an average player at his position he is a pretty solid defender.

And if Pau Gasol could be even moderately slowed down by rookies playing their first games he would not be the 6th highest paid player in the NBA.
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Good points - people should chill the **** out on Kanter. It's readily obvious the foundation is there. The kid will be a double-double machine by the time he's 21. WTF else do you want?
 
The thing that encouraged me the most was that he sprinted back on defense each time. Once he stopped a McRoberts' alley-opp because he ran the play down. Memo or Jefferson never make that play in a million years. Millsap probably would have bee too short too.

In isn't a vertically explosive athlete but people are selling his athletic ability short. He has good balance and agility. He is very strong and has good speed in the open court.

I think in time we will see him out running opposing centers.

In the paint I think he was just freaking out. I think he will get his shot blocked often but he will start to hit his easy ones.
 
It's pretty obvious that Kanter is going to take a while to develop. I have my doubts that he will ever be a legitimate center. I am willing to admit, we made a mistake on Kanter. We should have taken Brandon Knight. Kanter can develop, but he isn't going to grow, he's not going to be any quicker, and he's not going to jump much higher. Just the Jazz luck to get the third pick in the draft, only to pick a center who isn't a center.
 
sojodave said:
It's pretty obvious that Kanter is going to take a while to develop. I have my doubts that he will ever be a legitimate center. I am willing to admit, we made a mistake on Kanter. We should have taken Brandon Knight. Kanter can develop, but he isn't going to grow, he's not going to be any quicker, and he's not going to jump much higher. Just the Jazz luck to get the third pick in the draft, only to pick a center who isn't a center.
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Brandon Knight's never shown he can run an offense. Silly.
 
Wes Mantooth said:
Brandon Knight's never shown he can run an offense. Silly.
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Exactly.

I can assure everyone that KOC was told by Calipari that, with Enes, he'll get one of the best rebounders in the NBA. Then, in time, he'll also add 15 - 20 per game (Cal told them after two seasons.)

He's alsready there on rebounding (could he get better, though? Yikes!), his passing will come quickly, as will his more deliberate moves around the rim.
 
How many more games is Kanter allowed to go 1 for 7, missing mostly easy bunnies before we everyone gets mad? Half a season? A whole season? 2 years?
 
candrew said:
Good points - people should chill the **** out on Kanter. It's readily obvious the foundation is there. The kid will be a double-double machine by the time he's 21. WTF else do you want?
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No ****. Everyone who watched him play Euro isn't surprised one bit by the first ****ing game of his career. He hasn't played much competition in two full years and can still get on the court? At 19, I'd consider that a pretty big deal.

The kid has as much heart and drive as anyone I've seen come out of the draft. He wants to be the best player in the world and that's going to solve most the problems these premature chumps are pumping after ONE GAME.
 
Cyrone Torbin said:
How many more games is Kanter allowed to go 1 for 7, missing mostly easy bunnies before we everyone gets mad? Half a season? A whole season? 2 years?
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About the same amount of time as any other rookie. I would expect to see inprovement this year. Nothing earth shattering but improvement. I am not going to dump on a guy during his first regular season NBA game.
 
Cyrone Torbin said:
How many more games is Kanter allowed to go 1 for 7, missing mostly easy bunnies before we everyone gets mad? Half a season? A whole season? 2 years?
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No one has called those numbers acceptable. I only see those stating those things he did well, or average, and stating offense will come in time .. most saying years. Don't worry though, Cy, if he's still hitting 1-7 at the end of this season, you'll have plenty of company. For now, you can hang out with AKMVP.

Question, for ya though .. what if, tonight, he's 6-7? Will you make excuses why he's playing against inferior competition, or do you also have the ability to see half-full?
 
PKM said:
No one has called those numbers acceptable. I only see those stating those things he did well, or average, and stating offense will come in time .. most saying years. Don't worry though, Cy, if he's still hitting 1-7 at the end of this season, you'll have plenty of company. For now, you can hang out with AKMVP.

Question, for ya though .. what if, tonight, he's 6-7? Will you make excuses why he's playing against inferior competition, or do you also have the ability to see half-full?
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I've yet to "hate" or "diss" his game. I wasn't saying I'm irate he went 1-7 (even though if he still doing it in a month on shots that routine, I will be very concerned), just asking a serious question.
 
prodigy said:
Trying not to get caught up in the Kanter homers vs. Kanter haters clash. But all about we do know at this point is that he can rebound the basketball. Nice to have at least one skill you can be potentially elite at. How the rest of his game will come along it'll take years to see. But right now he's not going to get bailed out with the calls that he got in Europe, rookies don't get calls in this league, it's going to be a tough lesson for him to learn this season.
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Yes this is big- especially to show this in the first game. Also I was surprised at just how big he is- he's very robust.
 
Nothing so far surprised me about Kanter in last game. His lack of lift and explosiveness was already no news to me but it is just more exposed playing vs NBA talent. He got away with that somewhat vs inferior competition in Eurobasket ( struggled vs contenders) but in NBA he will struggle every game unless he adjusts and learns quickly. He has no left hand or at least he does not trust to use it in game situations ( I saw him making layups and short hooks with left in his predraft workout video, haven't seen so far a single left handed attempt in any of his real games). He needs to learn to pass out of the post if he can't get good shot - he failed to do it yesterday. But I can give him props for trying hard, effort and rebounding well. I was thinking he will play only 10 min a game this season but Okur's trade and numerous blowouts Jazz will be involved opens playing time for him so he should get better and better as he gains experience.
 
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