re: National Level Pels Coverage is Trash

Notice how I said “quality” scouting reports.

Kevin O’Connor is someone that repeatedly embarrasses himself as an analyst

This was put together by two current/former scouts, one formerly for the Suns, the other a AAU scout for various NCAA teams over the years....not some journalist grad with League Pass and a cocky arrogance in his opinion, even when most recently on the Ringer U his cohost had to stop Kev O and point out the criticisms he was making about Zion based on his college play(that he wouldn’t make for Morant) were incorrect. That as a Duke guy, he watched Zion and he always had a problem with ball watching and being late in read and react and it was one of the minor knocks on him.

quote:

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WEAKNESSES:

DEFENSIVE EFFORT/CONDITIONING:

- Poor effort defensively, rarely gets in stance, doesn’t play D at full speed. Conditioning questions, seems tired at times.

- Loses focus defensively at times, gambles for blocks and steals. Not always in great position, at times late on rotations


OVERALL Zion is a truly elite athlete with underrated feel and instincts, giving him the upside of a future NBA superstar. However, many still worry about his height, inability to hit jumpers and defensive conditioning. If he is even a slightly BELOW average jump shooter, should be a really valuable player.

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Thing is you can cover up a lot of weaknesses when you are playing against comparatively amateur talent on a condensed court. Which is what we saw with AD. Many expected him to come out playing at a minimum, like Marcus Camby on defense. But it took years for him to actually adjust to the space, complexity, and difficulty of defending in the NBA.