Everything Christian Koloko

[slaw]

I don't think Koloko is going to get anything close to 18 minutes, maybe half of that.

A healthy Birch is still better at this point and no way Nurse plays an inexperienced guy who is still very green over him.

905 will be his home for the majority of his season.

Going to be very hard to crack the rotation. OPJ, Achiuwa, Boucher, and Young are the first four. Then you’ve got Birch and maybe Banton. Maybe Flynn after that. Don’t see Koloko getting minutes other than if injuries get overwhelming. Nurse won’t have a big rotation.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Don't try to convince me, convince Nurse. As soon as he loses trust in you, he is going to give the minutes to someone else.

Koloko will foul a whole lot & other than some pick & pop action + scoring in transition, he will be quite limited. By all means throw him out there on occasions (would really like to see if he can bother Embiid).

Remember even Thad said that the schemes the Raptors run are one of the most complicated in the whole league cause you need to know how to do everything.

listen to nurse speak about koloko first and foremost. nurse likes to let guys experiment here and there giving them one or two things to experiment with and then expands that if they succeed in those things or reduces down. Everyone is obsessed about embiid. NOONE is stopping embiid. Thad also came in with 75% of the season done instead of being able to come in during a training camp. Pick and pop action is precisely what I expect along with some pick and role with minor passing reads. Look im not expecting him to be the impacting the game to the extent where he is going to be relied upon for 25 minutes but any minutes from our key guys is big and when you add up 3-5 minutes reduced from the workload of pascal, precious, barnes, from guarding center and the spot minutes of Boucher at center being shifted towards more of a proper forward role then yes I don't see how 10-15 minutes is such an outrageous expectation. I don't think people really realized how bad our bench was on both ends of the ball at times last year it was really bad. The role you just described is still more than Bismack THAT is my point. He has passing reads he isn't useless he can dribble if necessary move very quickly. Combine that with bumps and bruises of players and the desire to keep minutes down. Yeah, I expect 10-15 minutes like I said before with 905 like banton. Banton averaged just under 11 minutes and I think he is overall less raw (plus a position of need) than banton and has a more instantly transferable NBA skill that is ready in the shot blocking AND defensive positioning.

I think there is a difference between putting lofty lofty expectations and just correcting the expectation. If you are JUST expecting him to be a dunker only and thats it that is all... then that is not a great comparison and frankly setting expectations a bit too low. I am not expecting him to be ibaka day one which is why i said robert williams with a better jumper from day one.

[Primer]

Don't try to convince me, convince Nurse. As soon as he loses trust in you, he is going to give the minutes to someone else.

Koloko will foul a whole lot & other than some pick & pop action + scoring in transition, he will be quite limited. By all means throw him out there on occasions (would really like to see if he can bother Embiid).

Remember even Thad said that the schemes the Raptors run are one of the most complicated in the whole league cause you need to know how to do everything.

Nurse just played Scottie more minutes than everyone else on the team and let him play through rookie mistakes.

He has a short leash with old journeyman like Birch but purposefully gives minutes to rookies to develop them.

I think Koloko gets 15ish mpg.

We also know Nurse doesn't care about regular season wins he is prepping for the playoffs, so another reason to let Koloko play through mistakes.

Birch is also straight up not very good so not like Nurse is gonna be sweating over taking his minutes.

I do think Koloko will get a heavy dose of 905 but I also think he'll get lots of big team minutes because Nurse will want to fast track his development and he's already raving about his defense and will want to utlize that.

Nurse doesn't have a single season myopic view he's going to look at the long game and give minutes to Koloko to speed up his development.

[golden]

Nurse just played Scottie more minutes than everyone else on the team and let him play through rookie mistakes.

He has a short leash with old journeyman like Birch but purposefully gives minutes to rookies to develop them.

I think Koloko gets 15ish mpg.

We also know Nurse doesn't care about regular season wins he is prepping for the playoffs, so another reason to let Koloko play through mistakes.

Birch is also straight up not very good so not like Nurse is gonna be sweating over taking his minutes.

I do think Koloko will get a heavy dose of 905 but I also think he'll get lots of big team minutes because Nurse will want to fast track his development and he's already raving about his defense and will want to utlize that.

Nurse doesn't have a single season myopic view he's going to look at the long game and give minutes to Koloko to speed up his development.

Nurse wants to win every single game… what have you been watching? He said as much in the end of season presser.

Exhibit A: running Fred into the ground to get regular season wins, which came back to bite us in the playoffs.

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

U guys realize his a second rd pick, just relax. It will take time. Look at Siakim, where he was and look at his career now.

[TrueTorontoFan]

U guys realize his a second rd pick, just relax. It will take time. Look at Siakim, where he was and look at his career now.

relax in what way though. I am just saying its ok to have mild expectations from Koloko. No one is talking about him as if he is the second coming.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Nurse wants to win every single game… what have you been watching? He said as much in the end of season presser.

Exhibit A: running Fred into the ground to get regular season wins, which came back to bite us in the playoffs.

well to be fair we played our bench more and it didn't work out which is why we were barely 10th place in the east... when we cut rotations we started winning. He did try.

[grindhouse]

relax in what way though. I am just saying its ok to have mild expectations from Koloko. No one is talking about him as if he is the second coming.

watched the first game and he was blocking everything till they pulled his man out to the 3 point line. in the regular season they will scheme for that and he will stay in the key. his closing range is insane one block he took a step from the free throw line and pinned the ball. that’s impressive. i don’t know if he can score but the rim protection makes him a starter day 1. we have other guys who can score

[Kagemusha]

watched the first game and he was blocking everything till they pulled his man out to the 3 point line. in the regular season they will scheme for that and he will stay in the key. his closing range is insane one block he took a step from the free throw line and pinned the ball. that’s impressive. i don’t know if he can score but the rim protection makes him a starter day 1. we have other guys who can score

If he can rebound well and develop a PnR game then he can be more useful than Birch.

[TrueTorontoFan]

watched the first game and he was blocking everything till they pulled his man out to the 3 point line. in the regular season they will scheme for that and he will stay in the key. his closing range is insane one block he took a step from the free throw line and pinned the ball. that’s impressive. i don’t know if he can score but the rim protection makes him a starter day 1. we have other guys who can score

That is the thing... he will have blocking.. but it isn't like he agile and fast. The hip movements were great the ground covered was impressive... the positioning and understanding was there. These are all transferable skills. He didn't look freaked out when he had to hold onto the ball for more than a second or two and made good plays out of that.

He has some offensive development to get there but hte fact that his free throws are there TODAY is huge... and the fact that he looks like he has softer hands is a good sign.

[TrueTorontoFan]

If he can rebound well and develop a PnR game then he can be more useful than Birch.

he will likely outplay birch over the course of the season and make birch obsolete... especially if his passing is at a level that I think it can be.

[grindhouse]

That is the thing... he will have blocking.. but it isn't like he agile and fast. The hip movements were great the ground covered was impressive... the positioning and understanding was there. These are all transferable skills. He didn't look freaked out when he had to hold onto the ball for more than a second or two and made good plays out of that.

He has some offensive development to get there but hte fact that his free throws are there TODAY is huge... and the fact that he looks like he has softer hands is a good sign.

watched him again today his scoring is like 1-2 years out. i think it’s nerves. outside of banton and dowtin the team play very very bad

[TrueTorontoFan]

watched him again today his scoring is like 1-2 years out. i think it’s nerves. outside of banton and dowtin the team play very very bad

I think that is fair... his defence again is the key that will keep him on the floor and buy him chances to play

[saints91]

To unlock his current offensive capabilities he has to play with a point guard that can run the pick and roll. It’s apparent that none of the guys on the Summerleague team can work that 2 man game with him.

[planetmars]

So how about that Hawkeye or I mean Hawkins kid? Finally watched the game, and man was it a dog.. but there was some good flashes from Banton and Koloko. But some ugliness from both too. We started off really well, and then just stopped playing defense.

Banton just isn't a good defender. He's got the length but doesn't have much awareness. Guys sort of blow by him. And he doesn't always feel engaged. Koloko is super raw offensively, at least up close. Nobody can pass to the guy, and when they do its really an unclean look for him. But he's got potential for sure.

That final quarter was great. Bulls already packed it in so it didn't mean much, but Hawkins was on fire. Hit like 2 logo shots. He's got a sweet stroke. Could we have found a cheap Duncan Robinson? I don't think he makes the roster or anything, but this guy may have something. He played pretty decent defense too.

Really unimpressed with DJ Wilson. He's trying to hard or something. He looked so much better last year. David Johnson wasn't really that special.. I wouldn't give him another 2-way deal. Dowtin was impressive again. Only starter that was a positive. Brooks was a lot more quiet this time around. Only took 6 shots.


Playing Utah tonight. Might just tape it and watch it later. Summer league is so much better with the fast forward option