First Impressions: Enes Kanter
While EuroBasket, and their preparation games, allow us to see NBA players in action, it also gives us first looks at a few interesting players. Perhaps the most interesting of them all is Enes Kanter, the third overall pick in this year’s draft. His Turkish team started their preparation schedule on Thursday, playing three games in three days (against Ukraine, Germany, and Serbia), giving us our first look at Kanter in about a year (the last look we got at Kanter came from a great post at Draft Express, using little-seen tape from 2009 and August of 2010).
Using tape of Kanter’s performance over the weekend (yes, I know, only three games), we can now look at how Kanter’s game has progressed during a year where he hasn’t played any live games.
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On a team that features quite a few NBA players, the 19 year old Kanter obviously won’t be one of Turkey’s main options. Even in his limited post opportunities, you could see Kanter’s smooth touch around the basket and his ability to make moves on the block when facing a straight man defense:
This is a NBA player, and actually current teammate in Kyrylo Fesenko, that Kanter made this move against, and it is a sweet move. Kanter does a great job of getting to a spot he wants on the court, spinning off of Fesenko, creating separation, and using his touch to hit the basket.
However, Kanter does run into some problems in the post. Unlike some of the best post players in the NBA, who anticipate doubles and uses that against the defense by kicking it out, Kanter always seems to have scoring on his mind when he makes the catch on the block. That’s a good thing when a double doesn’t come, but when it does, that can lead to problems:
On this play, Kanter makes his move as Germany sends the late double team. The actual man doubling the ball doesn’t have an effect on Kanter, but he does turn his back to his man, giving Kanter a great opportunity to kick the basketball out. Instead, he forces up a jumper over his defender, who is in great position.
Here, Kanter gets the ball and Ukraine sends a quick double team. Instead of kicking it out and reposting or accepting the double team and kicking it out (forcing the defense to recover and put them out of position), Kanter looks to score out of the post and ends up getting blocked.
Another positive offensively for Kanter is his hands and his ability to go right up when making the catch:
Watching these clips, you don’t really want to look at the result (though he makes/gets fouled on every attempt except the first one), but instead you want to look at the process. In the NBA, where defenders are longer and more athletic, any slight hesitation is going to result in a blocked/altered shot, so going up quickly is extremely important and it isn’t something guys pick up easily. So to see a 19 year doing that is definitely a positive. It’s catch, gain control, and quickly go up with it every single time.
When watching the above clips, you start to see a problem with Kanter’s game, and that problem is setting screens. Kanter really seems to struggle with both on ball and off ball screens, screening air more often than not. In fact, out of the about 20 or so screens (both on ball and off ball) that I saw Kanter set this past weekend, he set a good solid screen just once (and they scored off of it). I don’t know if it is trying to get a feel for new teammates or what, but it just looked like he was shying away from contact when setting screens:
The reason I say that Kanter’s poor screens could be Kanter adjusting to a new team is because maybe his teammates aren’t comfortable using Kanter’s screens and they don’t come off of it properly. In addition, Kanter seemed unsure about some sets, and that delay (and confusion) could lead to poor screens being set by Kanter. This is something that should be watched as Turkey continues their preparation schedule and plays through EuroBasket.
Much like on offense, Kanter is probably at his best defensively on the block when playing the post. When watching Kanter defend the post, there are a lot of things to like:
The first thing you like to see is Kanter’s physicality. When someone is fighting for position against him, Kanter is physical, does a good job of leaning on his defender and pushing his man from his spot. I also like Kanter’s recognition. Once his man makes the catch, he gets his hands off and stops pushing, understanding that would get called for a foul. He also likes to make use of his quick hands and long arms, as he tries to reach in and knock the ball away (not sure if this will be effective in the NBA). Finally, Kanter doesn’t really bite on fakes, instead opting to stay on his feet and keeping his arms long, contesting shots without fouling.
However, as good as Kanter is on the ball in the post, he’s that bad away from the ball in help situations and when trying to defend on the pick and roll. Kanter has a tendency to get lost on the defensive end, and in my opinion, this is where his lack of live game experience really hurts him. He is late recognizing when he should help and when he should stay home, and he tends to have the same problem when hedging on ball screens (he’ll hedge a little too hard when not needed). Kanter also has a tendency to ball watch a little too much:
In addition to watching the basketball a little too much, Kanter also has a tendency to focus on his man too much. Instead of keeping his head on a swivel, looking at everything and then brining help when needed. Kanter always seems to want to know where his man is (either by keeping his body on him or looking at him), and that leads to Kanter recognizing cuts off of his man or help situations too late, putting his defense in a tough position.
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I know it is just three games, but I think finally being able to see Kanter play a live game has helped get rid of some of the mystery around him. Sure it is just three games, and while nobody in their right mind would use these games to prove that Kanter is a bust, it should become obvious that Kanter needs a little more work than probably expected. The good thing about it is that some of the things that need correct (help defense, recognizing double teams, setting screens) are things that tend to get better with more experience. While he may not get a ton of playing time during EuroBasket (both Erden and Asik are sitting these prep games out but should be ready to go for the actual tournament), Kanter is definitely someone you want to pay attention to and see if he starts playing a little better with more experience.
