Don't get me wrong. I am not stating emphatically that Tacko Fall belongs on the Celtics final 15-man roster. But I will make an argument why he may fit at the end of the Celtics bench.
Here's my point. The low-minutes guy for Boston last season was Guerschon Yabusele, logging 6.1 MPG - scoring 2.3 PPG and taking down 1.3 RPG. Nothing stands out there. Rob Williams averaged 8.8 minutes/game while scoring at a 2.5 PPG clip, rebounding at 2.5 RPG and blocking shots at 1.3 BPG. The rebounding for Rob Lob stands out a bit, but the blocked shots really get our attention. Rob's blocks project to 5.1 blocks/game over a 36-minute span.
So how does this affect Fall's chances at making the roster. Look at Danny Ainge's comments in the above tweet. I will start with this portion:
I saw this on multiple occasions watching Summer League play. Tacko's height, length, reach and soft hands lend themselves to these types of bail-out plays on offense. He's not known as Fall The Wall for nothing. As I have written, Tacko covers an 10-foot-high (reach) by 8-foot-wide (wingspan) wall very effectively. That would work nicely on covering the opponent in-bounding the ball.
I am not done. Extremely tall NBA players often have trouble butting bodies with the burly-brute centers. A high center of gravity is part of the problem for the very tall, slim guys. Fall carries roughly 300 pounds on his elevated frame. Look at his legs and shoulders. He is no long toothpick - and he can gain more strength with the right conditioning. But I doubt he will be pushed around even now.
I have one more. Rob Williams or Jaylen Brown is at the foul line for critical free throws (I'm not picking on them, but they need work on free throws). Get Tacko in the game. Even several feet away from the hoop, his length will allow him to go over opponents, grab the rebound and score on a put-back. How may put-backs did he have in Summer League? Quite a few.
That's it folks. This Green Giant is no usual end-of-the-bench player. He has attributes that Brad Stevens can use in specific circumstances. Case closed. Sign him up - at least on a 2-way deal - elevating Tremont Waters to a standard contract.
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and Facebook
Danny Ainge on Tacko Fall: "We want to take his development very very seriously. He’s a high priority for us to try to really develop into a player.” pic.twitter.com/mwcbx0zu4o
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) July 17, 2019
Here's my point. The low-minutes guy for Boston last season was Guerschon Yabusele, logging 6.1 MPG - scoring 2.3 PPG and taking down 1.3 RPG. Nothing stands out there. Rob Williams averaged 8.8 minutes/game while scoring at a 2.5 PPG clip, rebounding at 2.5 RPG and blocking shots at 1.3 BPG. The rebounding for Rob Lob stands out a bit, but the blocked shots really get our attention. Rob's blocks project to 5.1 blocks/game over a 36-minute span.
So how does this affect Fall's chances at making the roster. Look at Danny Ainge's comments in the above tweet. I will start with this portion:
"Guards just get in a bind and they just throw the ball into the air. Then Tacko grabs them and makes tip-toe dunks from under the basket."
I saw this on multiple occasions watching Summer League play. Tacko's height, length, reach and soft hands lend themselves to these types of bail-out plays on offense. He's not known as Fall The Wall for nothing. As I have written, Tacko covers an 10-foot-high (reach) by 8-foot-wide (wingspan) wall very effectively. That would work nicely on covering the opponent in-bounding the ball.
I am not done. Extremely tall NBA players often have trouble butting bodies with the burly-brute centers. A high center of gravity is part of the problem for the very tall, slim guys. Fall carries roughly 300 pounds on his elevated frame. Look at his legs and shoulders. He is no long toothpick - and he can gain more strength with the right conditioning. But I doubt he will be pushed around even now.
I have one more. Rob Williams or Jaylen Brown is at the foul line for critical free throws (I'm not picking on them, but they need work on free throws). Get Tacko in the game. Even several feet away from the hoop, his length will allow him to go over opponents, grab the rebound and score on a put-back. How may put-backs did he have in Summer League? Quite a few.
That's it folks. This Green Giant is no usual end-of-the-bench player. He has attributes that Brad Stevens can use in specific circumstances. Case closed. Sign him up - at least on a 2-way deal - elevating Tremont Waters to a standard contract.
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and Facebook
🏀 x ⚽️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 22, 2019
That reaction from @VirgilvDijk 😱@tackofall99 and @Grant2Will from @celtics got quite the reception from the Reds last night 👀🔴 pic.twitter.com/eaMa7K5PLQ
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