Profiling the guard from UCLA.
Often times if a prospect is an elite athlete and has shown flashes of brilliance, he’ll be a lottery pick even if he didn’t exactly dominate early in the college game. Zach LaVine is the epitome of this. Some are already labeling the UCLA freshman guard the biggest “boom-or-bust” prospect of the draft.
The hype behind Lavine is obviously fueled by his athleticism and overall physical makeup. Standing at 6’5” and weighing in at 180, LaVine has the ability to play either guard spot effectively. While watching LaVine you’ll instantly note how he’s almost impossible to stop in transition thanks to being so big, fast and strong.
Attacking the rim should be Lavine’s go-to move in the NBA, but he’s not a bad shooter at all and he’s only going to improve. There’s no doubt his mechanics could use some work, but LaVine is currently shooting 60% (10th in Pac-12) on two point attempts and 46.7% from deep. LaVine also boasts a very impressive true shooting percentage of 64.2% which is sixth in the Pac-12. Even though LaVine isn’t starting he’s still third on the team in scoring with 12.6 PPG, and that would adjust to 19.8 PPG per-40 minutes.
One of the more concerning aspects of LaVine’s game right now relates to getting to the rim. I said earlier that if he’s going to become a star in the NBA, it will be because he’s unstoppable driving to the rim. Early in his college career he hasn’t able to blow by defenders as easily as he should, and this leads to him being too reliant on his jump shot. Simply put; he needs to learn how to get to the basket more efficiently in half court situations.
I touched on Lavine’s impressive physical traits earlier, but I would like to reiterate that he has ideal length to be a combo-guard in the NBA. However he does need to add some upper body strength so he’ll be able to finish in traffic at the rim, but this isn’t something a little hard work in the weight room shouldn’t be able to cure. That’s another thing; apparently LaVine is a very hard worker which is always a positive trait in a prospect.
Defensively LaVine has potential to be outstanding, although right now it’s easy to point out he can be too reliant on his athleticism. Nonetheless he still has quick hands and feet and should be very difficult to get past as he grows and learns as a player.
Many scouts would also agree LaVine needs to improve mentally. If LaVine is going to play as a PG he needs to improve his decision making and ball-handling. Currently he’s averaging 2.2 assists to 2.6 turnovers; far from ideal.
Right now there’s too much to like about LaVine to even imagine he could fall out of the top-10. Saying he’s the next Russell Westbrook may be a bit premature, but if he reaches his ceiling I do believe he can be about that good. As I’ve mentioned he’s only going to improve as a shooter and he has the skills to be unstoppable on drives to the hoop.
Player Comparison: Russell Westbrook
Next Week’s Report: Wayne Selden
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