<![CDATA[I am back again with scouting reports, this time of the NBA Draft variety. With the NBA Draft combine beginning on Thursday, I wanted to get a head start on this year's prospects. Like the 2014 NFL Draft, the 2014 NBA Draft class is stacked and has depth. This draft class been compared to the likes of the 2003 NBA Draft class but that is a wait and see.
Throughout the next few weeks, I am going to give you a report on at least 16 NBA Draft prospects as I am looking at his through the eyes of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers could possibly obtain the number one overall pick in eight days as that is when the NBA Draft Lottery will take place.
The areas of need for the Sixers are center, shooting guard and small forward. With that being said, majority of these scouting reports will be players who play these positions.
Without further adieu, I am going to breakdown center prospect Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic is an international big man that has tons of talent and with him only being 19 years old he has a ton of upside moving forward.
Here are his measurables and statistics from this season:
Height: 6-foot-11
Weight: 280 lbs.
Wingspan: 7-foot-2
Club: Cedevita
2013/14 season in the Adriatic league: 28 games played, 11.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game
2013/14 season in the Eurocup: 25 games played, 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game
Based on those numbers this season, he is a serviceable big man as of now but can get better since he is only 19 years old.
Now, here are his strengths and weaknesses based on game tape I watched on him.
Strengths:
When I watched film on Nurkic, I noticed that for a big man at his size he moves his feet well especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Sixers who love the pick and roll with Michael Carter-Williams will like Nurkic as well. Nurkic runs the pick and roll smoothly as once he sets the pick he automatically rolls to the basket which will consequently draw fouls on the opposing team.
Another strength that I saw and liked from Jusuf Nurkic is that he has soft hands. For a big man that is key especially when you want to run the pick and roll and throw the ball deep inside the post. To talk more about his post game, he has a good back to the basket game. With his back to the basket game, he can move defenders deeper in the post and when he doesn’t want to do that he can go to a quick spin move which as a 19 year old he has mastered pretty well.
To end off the strengths, for a big man as I mentioned before he knows how to use his body which good because he is a good rebounder and when you need offensive boards he can box out his man. Finally, what I noticed on the defensive side is that he can rotate well meaning switching off one man and then picking up another. That goes along with what I mentioned earlier with him moving his feet well.
Weaknesses:
Even though he is 19 years old, he has some holes in his game which can be fixed with age and the right coaching. As much as I praised Nurkic for how well he rotates on defense, he can get lazy sometimes. When I watched film on him I saw when he gets beat on the defensive end he will try to make up for it with his size which will then cause a foul.
Another thing I noticed with the youngster is that when he has a bigger center on him, they can bully him deep into the paint. Nurkic will have to learn to hold his ground and play defense with his hands up. On the offensive side, when he gets double teamed he will get flustered and make dumb passes and will force the issue scoring. With him being so young that is expected but that is something he can and will learn from.
Finally, something that is a minor issue I noted was that he complains about calls but every basketball player does that so I don’t hold that against him. Again, he is only 19 years old but I believe the sky is the limit for the big man and he could be starting for a NBA team two years down the line.
NBA Draft prediction: Lottery pick
[Photo: Jean-Marc Lequime]]]>Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
