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Last edited by Taker597; 03-20-2021 at 06:19 PM.
I'm on your side with that.
''If Zion doesn't develop a more well rounded game, then his ceiling is a 2x MVP and DPOY who breaks a ton of NBA records and has some of the best individual seasons of all time and turns his team into a top seed every year with serious title aspirations.''
Like... oh no? I guess? That's supposed to be a bad thing now?
Basketball.
If anybody thinks Zion's defensive ceiling is Giannis, they are crazy. When most say Giannis, they are talking about offense. As I said, maybe you could see a Siakam type defensive ceiling. Maybe.
And OF COURSE we would all take that player on our team. The question was - What would you have to surround/compliment that player with to have a legit shot at a title?
@mcnamara247
Except his ceiling on offense is higher than Giannis. He's already comparable to him there, a better scorer at this stage with comparable playmaking instincts (his creation load is considerably less, obviously).
Just because they both score almost exclusively in the paint, doesn't mean their ceiling's are analogous offensively. Zion scores more in the paint than Giannis (because he is somehow a more unstoppable slasher, which is legitimately crazy), and is still more efficient despite a higher volume of attempts at the rim, and his ceiling as a playmaker is probably higher as well given he's much further along at the same stage.
Frankly, the gap between Zion and Giannis is almost entirely on the defensive end, so I really don't think the guy who has been at the forefront of the #1 offense in the NBA since like February at the ripe age of 20 is going to just stop improving on that end.
And if theirs anything he needs to "improve" his offensive game, it's not a jumpshot (an extremely tired narrative), it's a post game.
What has limited Giannis in the postseason in the past is largely not his lack of a jumper, but rather the lack of any offensive versatility in his attack. The ability for players that are predominantly slashers to have a back to the basket game from at least the midpost keeps defenses honest and gives you another area on the floor to put pressure on defenses (particularly when you are also closer to the rim), force help and leverage the threat of your scoring into playmaking for others. Giannis really still to this point doesn't have that, thus it's no wonder that his patented 'ISO at the top of the key and drive into 4 dudes' doesn't work as an exclusive offensive fixture in the postseason.
Like, look at Miami LeBron. After 2011, part of what helped him overcome his postseason struggles wasn't simply an improved jumper, but a more reliable post game, (I mean, before then, the dude couldn't even post up JJ Barea in the finals, that was a serious hole in his game).
Zion already has displayed more ability than Giannis to operate out of the post IMO, and even so it's still something he needs to work on when teams inevitably deploy the "build a wall" strategy in the playoffs. THAT is what's going to take his game to the next level (along with improving his defense, obviously) not taking the occasional spot up 3 that teams wouldn't respect regardless because no one on planet Earth is going to try to stop that rather than contain his drives to the paint.
Like I've been saying, he has a higher ceiling on offense and a lower ceiling on defense. I think he could legit have a top 10 offensive peak OAT while topping out as an above-average defender (but certainly not Giannis level, who's engineered all time regular season defenses already). Kind of MJ-esque, honestly (that is a crazy high bar, obviously, but he's that gifted)
Dame and CJ missed all of their 3s against the Mavs.... crazy.
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