Upshaw leads the nation in blocks

Gladstone

Gladstone

New Fish
He already has fucking 33. Holy shit.

Finally...a RIM PROTECTOR

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Upshaw must have been completely checked out and giving minimum effort to play so poorly when he was at Fresno State. He is a monster and completely changes the game defensively. He's a solid piece on offense too. He's also probably the best big offensively since MBA. 9 points in almost 18 minutes is pretty good. Stretch his playing time out to 25 and he's getting 12+. Blackwell had more polish, but he had concrete in his shoes and wasn't anywhere close to the presence Upshaw is around the basket.

Upshaw looks like a future lottery pick to me. Spado probably thinks he will be the #1 pick.
 
Upshaw must have been completely checked out and giving minimum effort to play so poorly when he was at Fresno State. He is a monster and completely changes the game defensively. He's a solid piece on offense too. He's also probably the best big offensively since MBA. 9 points in almost 18 minutes is pretty good. Stretch his playing time out to 25 and he's getting 12+. Blackwell had more polish, but he had concrete in his shoes and wasn't anywhere close to the presence Upshaw is around the basket.

Upshaw looks like a future lottery pick to me. Spado probably thinks he will be the #1 pick.
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You had an upvote until that last sentence.
 
Upshaw has a lot of work to do - and most importantly is finding consistency in his game.

But for a big, he's very mobile and his wingspan (Jay Bilas will love him) is ridiculous. He's able to protect the rim without ever leaving his feet - which is huge for a big.

Offensively he's got a nice collection of hooks and moves around the hoop and he's not broken at all from the line unless he aims the ball resulting in a short arm attempt.

He's definitely not a lottery pick right now. But he does have ability and could work his way into that position through hard work and added consistency.
 
Upshaw has a lot of work to do - and most importantly is finding consistency in his game.

But for a big, he's very mobile and his wingspan (Jay Bilas will love him) is ridiculous. He's able to protect the rim without ever leaving his feet - which is huge for a big.

Offensively he's got a nice collection of hooks and moves around the hoop and he's not broken at all from the line unless he aims the ball resulting in a short arm attempt.

He's definitely not a lottery pick right now. But he does have ability and could work his way into that position through hard work and added consistency.
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Steven Adams, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, and Myers Leonard were lottery picks. Myers fucking Leonard! This year, Upshaw has been better than any of them were in college. None of them were on great teams either. Upshaw has far better per minute production.

Some more skilled 4/5's recently taken have been Kelly Olynyk, Cody Zeller, and Noah Vonleh. They all have more skill and polish, but who potentially is more likely to be a starter on a championship contender. An elite, shot blocking true center like Upshaw or those guys?

Javale McGee is making 10+ million per season. DeAndre Jordan has no offensive game outside of three feet and is considered a top 10 center. Roy Hibbert has a max contract. There has always been a premium placed on centers. I don't think it's far fetched at all that Upshaw is a lottery pick.
 
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Upshaw has a lot of work to do - and most importantly is finding consistency in his game.

But for a big, he's very mobile and his wingspan (Jay Bilas will love him) is ridiculous. He's able to protect the rim without ever leaving his feet - which is huge for a big.

Offensively he's got a nice collection of hooks and moves around the hoop and he's not broken at all from the line unless he aims the ball resulting in a short arm attempt.

He's definitely not a lottery pick right now. But he does have ability and could work his way into that position through hard work and added consistency.
Click to expand...

Steven Adams, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, and Myers Leonard were lottery picks. Myers fucking Leonard! This year, Upshaw has been better than any of them were in college. None of them were on great teams either. Upshaw has far better per minute production.

Some more skilled 4/5's recently taken have been Kelly Olynyk, Cody Zeller, and Noah Vonleh. They all have more skill and polish, but who potentially is more likely to be a starter on a championship contender. An elite, shot blocking true center like Upshaw or those guys?

Javale McGee is making 10+ million per season. DeAndre Jordan has no offensive game outside of three feet and is considered a top 10 center. Roy Hibbert has a max contract. There has always been a premium placed on centers. I don't think it's far fetched at all that Upshaw is a lottery pick.
Click to expand...
The challenge for Upshaw is simply going to be showing he can stay on the court long enough to justify a high draft choice. If he can stay out of foul trouble long enough to play 25-30 minutes per game he's a lottery pick talent, no question.
 
Upshaw has a lot of work to do - and most importantly is finding consistency in his game.

But for a big, he's very mobile and his wingspan (Jay Bilas will love him) is ridiculous. He's able to protect the rim without ever leaving his feet - which is huge for a big.

Offensively he's got a nice collection of hooks and moves around the hoop and he's not broken at all from the line unless he aims the ball resulting in a short arm attempt.

He's definitely not a lottery pick right now. But he does have ability and could work his way into that position through hard work and added consistency.
Click to expand...

Steven Adams, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, and Myers Leonard were lottery picks. Myers fucking Leonard! This year, Upshaw has been better than any of them were in college. None of them were on great teams either. Upshaw has far better per minute production.

Some more skilled 4/5's recently taken have been Kelly Olynyk, Cody Zeller, and Noah Vonleh. They all have more skill and polish, but who potentially is more likely to be a starter on a championship contender. An elite, shot blocking true center like Upshaw or those guys?

Javale McGee is making 10+ million per season. DeAndre Jordan has no offensive game outside of three feet and is considered a top 10 center. Roy Hibbert has a max contract. There has always been a premium placed on centers. I don't think it's far fetched at all that Upshaw is a lottery pick.
Click to expand...

He's definitely got the ability to be a lottery pick. I would bet on the side of him being one instead of not.

However, clearly there's something that happened in the past that he'll have to get past and after sitting out a year he's got to display some consistency.

He's a very talented project right now. He's definitely stronger defensively than he is offensively right now. If he can up his offensive game that will help him for sure. He will find his way onto a roster because of his defense alone ... but defense normally doesn't get you picked in the lottery.
 
Spencer Hawes was picked in the lottery. I would take Upshaw over Hawes any day.
 
Upshaw has a lot of work to do - and most importantly is finding consistency in his game.

But for a big, he's very mobile and his wingspan (Jay Bilas will love him) is ridiculous. He's able to protect the rim without ever leaving his feet - which is huge for a big.

Offensively he's got a nice collection of hooks and moves around the hoop and he's not broken at all from the line unless he aims the ball resulting in a short arm attempt.

He's definitely not a lottery pick right now. But he does have ability and could work his way into that position through hard work and added consistency.
Click to expand...

Steven Adams, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, and Myers Leonard were lottery picks. Myers fucking Leonard! This year, Upshaw has been better than any of them were in college. None of them were on great teams either. Upshaw has far better per minute production.

Some more skilled 4/5's recently taken have been Kelly Olynyk, Cody Zeller, and Noah Vonleh. They all have more skill and polish, but who potentially is more likely to be a starter on a championship contender. An elite, shot blocking true center like Upshaw or those guys?

Javale McGee is making 10+ million per season. DeAndre Jordan has no offensive game outside of three feet and is considered a top 10 center. Roy Hibbert has a max contract. There has always been a premium placed on centers. I don't think it's far fetched at all that Upshaw is a lottery pick.
Click to expand...

He's definitely got the ability to be a lottery pick. I would bet on the side of him being one instead of not.

However, clearly there's something that happened in the past that he'll have to get past and after sitting out a year he's got to display some consistency.

He's a very talented project right now. He's definitely stronger defensively than he is offensively right now. If he can up his offensive game that will help him for sure. He will find his way onto a roster because of his defense alone ... but defense normally doesn't get you picked in the lottery.
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Just think how good he could be when he gets to the nba and he can smoke weed freely!!!!
 
Spencer Hawes was picked in the lottery. I would take Upshaw over Hawes any day.
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and after 10 years people still don't appreciate what hawes brings to the floor. wow
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I know he's a five star seattle boy, but his career at U-dub was disappointing to say the least (i know, i know he got sick!) and Sacramento really wished they had their pick back (GASOL!). He wasn't worth the number 10 pick.

He's a decent NBA player, but he's not a difference maker for a championship. Upshaw has that shot blocking interior defense that can alter a series. I take him over Hawes for that alone. Plus Upshaw looks surprisingly smooth in the post, with a little bit of polish, he is going to be a monster.
 
Spencer Hawes was picked in the lottery. I would take Upshaw over Hawes any day.
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and after 10 years people still don't appreciate what hawes brings to the floor. wow
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I know he's a five star seattle boy, but his career at U-dub was disappointing to say the least (i know, i know he got sick!) and Sacramento really wished they had their pick back (GASOL!). He wasn't worth the number 10 pick.

He's a decent NBA player, but he's not a difference maker for a championship. Upshaw has that shot blocking interior defense that can alter a series. I take him over Hawes for that alone. Plus Upshaw looks surprisingly smooth in the post, with a little bit of polish, he is going to be a monster.
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I think upsahw is good, and could possibly grow into something, but he would get eaten alive in the nba right now. What he does, his size, is normal in the nba. He is not THAT good for nba standards. He still has time to grow into something, and no doubt a team would take him as a project if he keeps improving this season. That being said, he's got a lot of work to do in order to stay on a floor or be a regular in an nba lineup.
 
Agreed, he needs serious conditioning to be able to compete professionally. The NBA has grown soft over the years. Marc Gasol and Demarcus Cousins are the only real old school bangers in the league right now. Dwight Howard could be but he's a puss. Roy Hibb is a mental midget and disappears and points fingers.

Now more than ever there is a market for a tuff center.
 
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