Not quite great but he's getting there! He had some really good passes and showed he can even hit a 3 and stretch the floor. Rebounding and defensively he's ahead of where he was a couple years ago too. I just hope he gets more time to show what he can do and continues to improve.
I've been following his Summer League/G-League games since last year and he really seems to be putting it together. He's very intelligent at the high ball screen action above the free throw line extended, either handing it off or passing, and he rolls to the basket nicely. Still works hard on the defensive end as well. If he can consistently hit the three, he'll be on par with or better than at least half of starting centers. He's not an Embiid or Jokic type of player... they are way more offensively skilled, and better ball handlers, but he is definitely more than a Rudy Gobert type player who just protects the rim and dunks. A little bit better footwork would do him wonders. Not that his footwork is bad, but it's not elite or top tier.
I agree with all that, especially the footwork. It's the one knock on him now when guarding faster players on the switch. If he can get there his natural blocking ability and 7'4 wingspan could make him a menace. His offensive game is more polished now and I agree he makes great reads on high screen actions. He has developed a nice soft touch/floater from 6-8 feet, which helps as he's not the most explosive player attacking the hoop. All in all he's heading in the right direction, just needs to be more consistent and he'll get more PT
Games don't count, but it was a frustrating finish as Heat finished the last 3 minutes with a 12-0 run. Castleton and other Lakers seemed to tire out at the end. Knecht wasn't coming close on 2 or 3 late shots. I agree with all the positives and improvements people have mentioned in CC's game - particularly his passing. I still think he watches sometimes on defense when it looks like he could help out when people get in the lane. Other than taking a few jumpers, Bronny constantly defers on offense, so hard to tell if could be doing more. Doesn't (or hasn't yet) try tpo drive with the ball much at all. He has generally played mistake-free and comes up with some steals
In the game tonight between Houston & the Lakers, the Rockets won 99-80. Colin Castleton had another double-double though: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists. Knecht had a breakout night outscoring all players: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block For Houston, former Kentucky player Reed Sheppard also had a great night with a team-high 23 points. 23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal.
His steal %, Defensive Win Share and Defensive Box +/- were all the highest on the UK team last season.
I was a sub-par on ball defender and yet I got a lot of steals. I could see my teammates trapping a ball handler and I would just step into the passing lane to get the steal. My teammates did all the heavy lifting but I got the steal stat. Not saying that this is the case here but sometimes stats can be misleading.
Got it, but he did lead UK in the other 2 categories. FYI, I looked at the advanced stats on Basketball Reference.
Yes great game. 8 of 9 from the field too + 2 steals Good to see him keep his fouls down to 2, he had multiple 5 foul games prior
Been following Pullin this summer. Not looking good for him. His minutes keep getting less and less every game. Today only 4 minutes in a win over golden state.
Yet Pullin and the Heat win the Summer League championship tonight 120-118. Pullin had 8 points, 2 assists...and Pelle Larsson hit the last second jumper for the win.
