Skal Labissiere
- Thread starter Bricklayer
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Well obviously your definition of raw and mine are two different things. Not being strong enough isn't being raw, its just being not strong enough. That would apply to a l0t of the current draft picks. McCaw, Ingram, D. Murray, Baldwin, Poeltl, etc. In other words, its a common theme. Raw means not having good court awareness. Low BBIQ. Poor handles and lack of shooting skills. In other words, a player that is mostly a piece that needs to be molded. A player that is two to three years, maybe more, away from reaching his potential. That's not how I see Skal. Not anymore. Take Skal out of the low post and put him out near the perimeter, and he becomes a different player. That's how he was being used in summer league.
He suffered at Kentucky because they had him in the low post, and maybe Calapari did him a favor by playing him there. It showed him him weaknesses. I think he has the skill set to play in the low post, but not the strength. Time should remedy that. But for the present, he has great length and athleticism along with a perimeter skill set. He'll be hard to defend, and defend him you will or he'll burn you. Having him on the floor with Boogie will be a big aid to Cuz, and being 0n the floor with Boogie, will make getting open shots easier for Skal. I think they could compliment each other very well.
Of course that won't happen over night, but in time the Kings could have a very nice duo out there. Skal also showed some very nice shot blocking skills. Mostly weakside, but on occasion straight up. And, his ball handling is above average for a SF, much less a PF. Yes, he did turn the ball over a few times, but mostly because of poor decisions, not poor ball handling. Very few guards can dribble into a crowd and not lose the ball, so I certainly don't expect my PF to get away with it. Point is, don't dribble into a crowd. Biggest offensive flaw that I saw was his tendency to pass up an open shot and drive into a more difficult one. I can live with that. It's certainly correctable.
He suffered at Kentucky because they had him in the low post, and maybe Calapari did him a favor by playing him there. It showed him him weaknesses. I think he has the skill set to play in the low post, but not the strength. Time should remedy that. But for the present, he has great length and athleticism along with a perimeter skill set. He'll be hard to defend, and defend him you will or he'll burn you. Having him on the floor with Boogie will be a big aid to Cuz, and being 0n the floor with Boogie, will make getting open shots easier for Skal. I think they could compliment each other very well.
Of course that won't happen over night, but in time the Kings could have a very nice duo out there. Skal also showed some very nice shot blocking skills. Mostly weakside, but on occasion straight up. And, his ball handling is above average for a SF, much less a PF. Yes, he did turn the ball over a few times, but mostly because of poor decisions, not poor ball handling. Very few guards can dribble into a crowd and not lose the ball, so I certainly don't expect my PF to get away with it. Point is, don't dribble into a crowd. Biggest offensive flaw that I saw was his tendency to pass up an open shot and drive into a more difficult one. I can live with that. It's certainly correctable.
Griffin is a good ball handler. I still wouldn't call Skal a good ball handler at this stage.
Skal's minutes for his first few games: 31, 21, 13, 24, 24, and 29.
Well..for the entire season, he ended up averaging around 16mpg. You can definitely see that Calipari decided that Skal shouldn't be playing heavy minutes anymore. Calipari didn't use him "correctly" because he forced Skal to play more in the post, but Skal looked extremely lost on the floor at times. His defensive awareness was okay(did get confused at times), but his fundamentals were terrible. He would overhelp too much, and sometimes he wouldn't help at all. Other times, he tried to do too much when it wasn't necessary and fouled. He had a lot of trouble vs. stronger opponents. On offense, he still took a lot of jumpers. However, it seemed like he had a bit of trouble grasping the offensive gameplan. He seemed overwhelmed on both ends.
There are valid reasons for why he fell in the draft. Super high ceiling, but still has a long ways to go.
Skal's minutes for his first few games: 31, 21, 13, 24, 24, and 29.
Well..for the entire season, he ended up averaging around 16mpg. You can definitely see that Calipari decided that Skal shouldn't be playing heavy minutes anymore. Calipari didn't use him "correctly" because he forced Skal to play more in the post, but Skal looked extremely lost on the floor at times. His defensive awareness was okay(did get confused at times), but his fundamentals were terrible. He would overhelp too much, and sometimes he wouldn't help at all. Other times, he tried to do too much when it wasn't necessary and fouled. He had a lot of trouble vs. stronger opponents. On offense, he still took a lot of jumpers. However, it seemed like he had a bit of trouble grasping the offensive gameplan. He seemed overwhelmed on both ends.
There are valid reasons for why he fell in the draft. Super high ceiling, but still has a long ways to go.
I think more than anything, with Towns patrolling major minutes, Cal didn't know how to use Skal. That's not on Skal, you can see on numerous occasions over the years regarding Kentucky players being drafted and not showcasing their full arsenal under Cal, then coming to the pros and showing what they can really do. I think Skal will fall into that same category as his other alumni's.
Towns and Labissiere didn't play together.
Calipari took Cousins, put him in the post and limited what else he let him do. He took Anthony Davis who grew from a 6'3" PG into a 6'10" center at the end of his HS career and molded him into more of a big man. He took KAT who like to operate from the perimeter and forced him to work almost entirely inside. All of them benefitted from Calipari making them develop their big man skills. It rounded them out and allowed them to come to the NBA as legit bigs who could then go back to their wider array of skills to grow further.
It just didn't work with Skal. He never worked as a true big. Because he's not. He may get to the point where he's a very effective inside/out threat but for him it will probably always start with the face up game.
Right now I'm just happy with what I've seen from Labissiere because honestly he was one of my least favorite prospects in this draft because of what I saw in Kentucky. It may just turn out that he was used in the absolute wrong way in his one year of NCAA ball.
Calipari took Cousins, put him in the post and limited what else he let him do. He took Anthony Davis who grew from a 6'3" PG into a 6'10" center at the end of his HS career and molded him into more of a big man. He took KAT who like to operate from the perimeter and forced him to work almost entirely inside. All of them benefitted from Calipari making them develop their big man skills. It rounded them out and allowed them to come to the NBA as legit bigs who could then go back to their wider array of skills to grow further.
It just didn't work with Skal. He never worked as a true big. Because he's not. He may get to the point where he's a very effective inside/out threat but for him it will probably always start with the face up game.
Right now I'm just happy with what I've seen from Labissiere because honestly he was one of my least favorite prospects in this draft because of what I saw in Kentucky. It may just turn out that he was used in the absolute wrong way in his one year of NCAA ball.
I certainly don't know what to expect out of Skal up to this point. On the one hand I saw his workout-videos and was really impressed how fluid his jumpshot looks, how he effortlessy hops into it and how high he jumps when shooting.
On the other hand I saw him in SL and there was no grace in his movements. Somehow everything Skal does looks a bit weird and clumsy. Guys like Ben Simmons or even Willie just look so graceful and controlled in their movements despite being 6'10+. Skal often reminds me of a spider on rollerskates
On the other hand I saw him in SL and there was no grace in his movements. Somehow everything Skal does looks a bit weird and clumsy. Guys like Ben Simmons or even Willie just look so graceful and controlled in their movements despite being 6'10+. Skal often reminds me of a spider on rollerskates
thanks for the analysis Baja
Skal has a chip on his shoulder and much to prove - that will carry him far this season and offset whatever subjective 'raw, inexperienced' titles people throw at him. I predict cousins and Skal will hit it off and will actually see alot of each other in each other; talented, misunderstood, written off by many - long may it drive them both.
Skal has a chip on his shoulder and much to prove - that will carry him far this season and offset whatever subjective 'raw, inexperienced' titles people throw at him. I predict cousins and Skal will hit it off and will actually see alot of each other in each other; talented, misunderstood, written off by many - long may it drive them both.
On last note I would make on Skal is about his ballhandling. I saw every game he played at Kentucky, and never was his ballhandling an issue, why some on this forum want to make it so is beyond me. Joeger at summer league even commented that Skal's ballhandling was almost good enough to play the point, and he actually had him play the point in the 4th quarter of the 2nd game. When I watched him play at Kentucky, I got the feeling that he was more comfortable playing away from the basket, or in a face up position. He has the skill level to play the post, but not the strength. He can hook with either hand and has good footwork. But his lack of strength affects his balance.
I think if you play him to his strengths, or away from the basket until he gets stronger, you will have a player that can contribute now. His shotblocking timing is excellent, even on the perimeter where he surprised a few players who thought they were open. He has terrific length. He has good form on his shot, and seems comfortable to beyond the three point circle. His decision making needs to improve, but it will with experience. Too many times I saw him pass up an open shot, put the ball on the floor and drive into a more difficult shot. To his credit, he made most of those, but the NBA isn't summer league. Not to beat a dead horse, but sometimes it's easy to watch a player like Skal do the things he can do, and forget he's seven foot tall. Not a lot of seven footers have his skill set. Right now his future looks bright.
I think if you play him to his strengths, or away from the basket until he gets stronger, you will have a player that can contribute now. His shotblocking timing is excellent, even on the perimeter where he surprised a few players who thought they were open. He has terrific length. He has good form on his shot, and seems comfortable to beyond the three point circle. His decision making needs to improve, but it will with experience. Too many times I saw him pass up an open shot, put the ball on the floor and drive into a more difficult shot. To his credit, he made most of those, but the NBA isn't summer league. Not to beat a dead horse, but sometimes it's easy to watch a player like Skal do the things he can do, and forget he's seven foot tall. Not a lot of seven footers have his skill set. Right now his future looks bright.
Indeed, dude.
Let us not make the mistake that I think Coach Cal made (gasp!) and that is to play him at a position where he was not comfortable. I want him to put on a bit more muscle but not to help him change to a center or anything of the sort. Muscle hurts no one. Let the guy play on the outside with an occasional attack of the rim. It's natural to him.
Let us not make the mistake that I think Coach Cal made (gasp!) and that is to play him at a position where he was not comfortable. I want him to put on a bit more muscle but not to help him change to a center or anything of the sort. Muscle hurts no one. Let the guy play on the outside with an occasional attack of the rim. It's natural to him.
The thing is, the post game is all but gone from the PF position in todays NBA. The last true bruiser from another era, ZBO, is probably 2 or 3 years away from retirement. Quickness, Athleticism and length are far more important than pure size for defending the PF position anymore.
Now Skal is at a different level of small for sure, but I don't think he needs to put on a ton of weight to be an effective stretch 4. I mean, I know SL is a completely different animal, but we basically never saw him get completely bullied on either end.
Now Skal is at a different level of small for sure, but I don't think he needs to put on a ton of weight to be an effective stretch 4. I mean, I know SL is a completely different animal, but we basically never saw him get completely bullied on either end.
That might be true but I can't help but think that teams will start exposing Skal's lack of strength by posting up the player that he is guarding. I think any coach worth a half eaten mars bar would do that.
There are plenty of PFs out there who would be able to post up Skal. He does need to get stronger to play both ends of the court.
There are plenty of PFs out there who would be able to post up Skal. He does need to get stronger to play both ends of the court.
"Skal" is one of those, like most, new professional basketball players that will need time to grow.
Whether or not he is in the correct setting with a brand new Sacramento Kings head coach, dominant superstar center and a GM that realistically wants to be in the playoffs in 2 seasons, seems to be seen.
Skal has a great skill set, kind of lanky and I don't see him being a poor mans Kevin Garnett; but rather a rich mans Lawrence Funderburke
I'm excited to see "Skal" grow, and he should do very well on our team, I predict he will have a better season than our 1st pick "Papa".
Whether or not he is in the correct setting with a brand new Sacramento Kings head coach, dominant superstar center and a GM that realistically wants to be in the playoffs in 2 seasons, seems to be seen.
Skal has a great skill set, kind of lanky and I don't see him being a poor mans Kevin Garnett; but rather a rich mans Lawrence Funderburke
I'm excited to see "Skal" grow, and he should do very well on our team, I predict he will have a better season than our 1st pick "Papa".
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/the-wonderful-terrible-hopeful-journey-of-skal-labissiere
Nice article on Skal !!
At Summer League, Labissiere embodied both sides of the hope that summons basketball diehards, like pilgrims, to the desert in the dead of July: the opportunity to witness raw, untethered potential, as well as to be near to notoriety. Labissiere was one of the Kings' top performers, averaging 11 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24 minutes per game, and he improved as the tournament went on. He scored 19 points in the Kings' final game, a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
"At the college level, guys gotta focus on going to class, academic advisors, recruiting," says King. "They only get to work out for 20 hours a week, including practice." Labissiere's tumultuous upbringing never afforded him the luxury of simply playing basketball; for all his work, he's played a lot less than many of his peers in the draft class. "With the NBA, you've got your key to get into the arena any time you want. You can call your trainer or one of your assistant coaches to work out at 11 o'clock at night. I think that's really what he was looking for."
"He's very good at taking criticism," Kings assistant coach Jason March says. "When you've been through some of the things he's been through, you tend to put things into perspective. It's just a game. I just told him, 'Tomorrow in film, I'm gonna go at you, so get ready for it.' He'll be able to take it."
Growing up in Haiti, Labissiere played on a basketball hoop outside his home every day, dunking it into oblivion. His father was outside trying to fix the hoop when the earthquake hit. Three hours later, with the help of some neighbors and one of Skal's errant barbells, he dug through the tattered remains of their home and found his family. It's just one of the many ways basketball has saved Labissiere's life.
Nice article on Skal !!
At Summer League, Labissiere embodied both sides of the hope that summons basketball diehards, like pilgrims, to the desert in the dead of July: the opportunity to witness raw, untethered potential, as well as to be near to notoriety. Labissiere was one of the Kings' top performers, averaging 11 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24 minutes per game, and he improved as the tournament went on. He scored 19 points in the Kings' final game, a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
"At the college level, guys gotta focus on going to class, academic advisors, recruiting," says King. "They only get to work out for 20 hours a week, including practice." Labissiere's tumultuous upbringing never afforded him the luxury of simply playing basketball; for all his work, he's played a lot less than many of his peers in the draft class. "With the NBA, you've got your key to get into the arena any time you want. You can call your trainer or one of your assistant coaches to work out at 11 o'clock at night. I think that's really what he was looking for."
"He's very good at taking criticism," Kings assistant coach Jason March says. "When you've been through some of the things he's been through, you tend to put things into perspective. It's just a game. I just told him, 'Tomorrow in film, I'm gonna go at you, so get ready for it.' He'll be able to take it."
Growing up in Haiti, Labissiere played on a basketball hoop outside his home every day, dunking it into oblivion. His father was outside trying to fix the hoop when the earthquake hit. Three hours later, with the help of some neighbors and one of Skal's errant barbells, he dug through the tattered remains of their home and found his family. It's just one of the many ways basketball has saved Labissiere's life.
Labissiere plans to venture back to Haiti soon, to set up basketball camps, connect with philanthropists, and potentially start an academy. The prospect of returning for the first time in years fills him with excitement: spending time with his sister, embracing the friends he’s kept in touch with, reconciling the Haiti of his memories with the unrecognizably altered one that he left. “He has a strong affection in his heart for trying to help kids [in Haiti],” says his agent, Travis King, of Independent Sports & Entertainment. “To give them the opportunity he had to get off the island and excel in the States in high school and college.”
You have to admit that if it comes down to us moving on from Cousins (I hope not), that a Labissiere/Cauley-Stein frontcourt has intriguing potential.
Both have great size, length, quickness, speed, & hops. Both are projected to be good defenders and shotblockers as well. Not to mention, you probably couldn't find a better set of athletes at PF/C defending the perimeter or PnR.
On offense, you have Cauley-Stein playing close to the basket, looking for garbage points, etc. while Labissiere has the faceup game & jumper to complement.
The downside would probably be their strength and rebounding, but nonetheless, it would be intriguing. The plus is that we could see them on the floor together (in the future) with Cousins still on the team.
Both have great size, length, quickness, speed, & hops. Both are projected to be good defenders and shotblockers as well. Not to mention, you probably couldn't find a better set of athletes at PF/C defending the perimeter or PnR.
On offense, you have Cauley-Stein playing close to the basket, looking for garbage points, etc. while Labissiere has the faceup game & jumper to complement.
The downside would probably be their strength and rebounding, but nonetheless, it would be intriguing. The plus is that we could see them on the floor together (in the future) with Cousins still on the team.
If Skal taps into his potential sooner than everyone thought (this year), we'll probably be looking to trade WCS...not Cousins. Skal isn't the perfect fit next to Cousins because he's ball dominant too.
If Skal flourishes this season, it definitely makes Willie expendable. However, if BOTH players make leaps and bounds this year, then I think we keep all 3 bigs. What's wrong with having 3 talented bigs? I think that's unlikely though. You're asking for a raw 20/21yearold PF/C to perform at a high level in professional basketball when he struggled in collegiate ball. Then, you're asking a non-offensive C to develop an offensive skillset within 1 year. Just doesn't seem plausible, but would be amazing if that happened.
If Skal flourishes this season, it definitely makes Willie expendable. However, if BOTH players make leaps and bounds this year, then I think we keep all 3 bigs. What's wrong with having 3 talented bigs? I think that's unlikely though. You're asking for a raw 20/21yearold PF/C to perform at a high level in professional basketball when he struggled in collegiate ball. Then, you're asking a non-offensive C to develop an offensive skillset within 1 year. Just doesn't seem plausible, but would be amazing if that happened.