Some Overlooked But Effective Players
Offense makes playoff contenders, but extensive defensive versatility wins championships. These are a few up and coming players who will get an even bigger stage to show their talents.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — Brooklyn
On a team desperate for hope about the future, Hollis-Jefferson has provided a sorely needed defensive presence to a Brooklyn team devoid of talent for years. Hollis-Jefferson has steadily improved since his rookie year, where last year he posted his first double-digit scoring year (13.9), and per 36 numbers of 17.7 PPG and 8.6 RPG. He has been used as an athletic, playmaking roll man with D’Lo. He likes to roll hard, playing at full speed, whether that be to his detriment. He’s very athletic for the 4 so he gets where he wants to go, whether he successfully acts on a double is yet to be proven. Running, H-J with big-man Jarrett Allen will be a very fun pairing this year, with two rollers pounding the paint and mid-range, D’Lo should be freed up to create for himself and his team, even more, this year. Though his three-point shot has yet to take the necessary step (23.7% overall and 31% from corners), H-J still has averaged a decent 76.7% from the free throw line. His form is far from broken too, frankly, his mid-range jumper is as effective as anyone else, he shot 46.9% between 10–19 feet and 47.3% on pull-up jumpers last season. His efficiency within the arc is nothing to scoff at but it’s his three-pointer, (for the fourth straight year), that is a major question about his development.
James Ennis III — Houston
With the departure of Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, Houston desperately needs to fill a void at the wing, thus the perfect opportunity for Ennis. At 6'7, 210 pounds, Ennis is the ideal 3-D wing Houston needs to play alongside Harden and CP3. Ennis presents a well-rounded and gritty skillset that should allow him to effectively switch picks and grab rebounds. Ennis has never made his career from raw offensive talent, but what he has done is the dirty work that no one else on the floor particularly wants to deal with. He grabs rebounds, guards the tough assignments, and snuffs out steals. Versatility really makes him, he can keep pace with any wing and make a few 4s works for their money. As the Rockets make their second push for a championship, get ready to hear James Ennis a lot more among basketball nerds and NBA media.
Jakob Poeltl — San Antonio
The Austrian 7-footer who was just traded with DeRozan could very well fill in as the future replacement for 19-year vet Pau Gasol. Poeltl plays very fluidly for a guy his size, especially when moving laterally. His determination, size, and quickness all make for a very effective rebounder at 9.3 boards per 36 minutes. For a guy his size, he can switch on picks and still stay with his man quite effectively. Offensively speaking Poeltl is quite limited outside the paint, and to an extent within the interior too. Even though he has elite height on anyone, his frame is still a bit thin which has it’s pros and cons. On one end he can roll to the rim much more effectively with speed and a quick leap. On the other end, however, Poeltl still struggles to gain inside position and consistently create for himself down under. He has shown his touch, shooting 22 of 40 (55%) on hook shots and 72% within the restricted area, it is just a matter of how much he will be able to make shots for himself. The biggest area for Poeltl to improve on is his jumper, where last season he only took 41, making a competitive 46% of those. For example, backup big Domantas Sabonis took 223 jumpers, (on 36%), while averaging 24.5 minutes of play as opposed to Poeltl’s 16.3 minutes per contest. These are very different skillsets obviously, but it should be recognized that Poeltl took on average less than one jumper per game; on a Spurs team that will undoubtedly struggle with spacing and shooting outside the arc, Poeltl will want to add a jumper if he wants to be anything more than a rim-running shot blocker (which by no means is a bad thing). This year Poeltl could very easily gain the starting job for San Antonio, potentially propelling him into an even larger role in the tail end of the Popovich era.
Frank Ntilikina — New York
The Knicks’ will undoubtedly have a rough season from a win percentages standpoint, but their youth looks to dazzle The Garden. As the training camp hype train emerges information on radical changes to skillsets and physical dimensions. Frankie Smokes has shown all the requisite change to instill hopes to the New York fanbase. For starters, Frank has presented all the physical and IQ information we need to build around a defensive stud. He reportedly grew another inch (puts him at 6'6) and gained 15 lbs (now 205 lbs) which is everything you want to see out of a quickly maturing combo guard. Frank was and still is a project, it’s unrealistic to expect him to put up more than 13 PPG, especially with a crowded guard lineup with Mudiay, Burke and now Trier. Ntilikina notably shot the ball very poorly last year, (36.4% FG, 31.8% 3P), even though his form did not look particularly disgusting. As Frank grows into his body, there’s no reason he cannot be much more aggressive on the offensive end. Last year, Frank played well within the system, frequently navigating picks and simply making the right play. Plus some guy named Kristaps Porzingis could very well be out the majority of this season, allowing Ntilikina more touches, hopefully allowing him to take another leap this season.
