CP was joined by NBA scouting expert Tommy Dee for KnicksFanTV’s newest Court Vision series.
In Court Vision, CP takes a deep dive into basketball film with the scouts and coaches who study the game the most. In the first episode, CP and Tommy Dee breakdown some of the biggest attributes that rookie Obi Toppin will bring to the Knicks this season.
Guard Skills
To start, Tommy Dee is very impressed by Obi’s court vision and guard skills for a big man. Obi started out as a 6-foot-2 point guard in high-school who then grew to 6-foot-9 by college. He evolved into an explosive, rim-running stretch four with point guard intangibles.
“I’ve been watching Obi a long time. He was about 6’1”, 6’2” in high school, all of a sudden sprung up to 6’9”. So he has those guard skills embedded in him, now he’s just bigger,” Dee said.
According to Dee, those guard skills will help Obi and the Knicks tremendously in transition. Obi has the awareness and court vision to run the ball up the floor, draw defenders into him, and kick the ball out to the open man. We caught a glimpse of this when he and Kevin Knox connected for the highlight play of the Knicks’ first preseason game against the Pistons.
Explosive Athleticism
Dee also thinks that Obi’s ability to explode down the court in transition and finish at the rim fits perfectly in Tom Thibodeau’s run-and-gun offense.
Coach Thibs is known to have no problem throwing his young players out there for 38+ minutes a night. Though the preseason starting lineup told a bit of a different story, expect coach Thibs to utilize how young and athletic the Knicks roster is to his advantage. Dee explained how this fast-paced, athletic style of play is a great formula to build around RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin – both players who reportedly smashed the Knicks’ training camp conditioning test. Dee also said not to be surprised if coach Thibs has his eye on Dennis Smith Jr. as his third athletic finisher.
“DSJ might get a look early on because he’s the third player who can run and finish,” Dee said. “Now you’ve got these really young, plus athletes getting out in space and making things happen,” he added.
An athletic young core of DSJ, RJ Barrett, and Obi Toppin could prove lethal in transition situations. Add elite rim-protector and rim-runner Mitchell Robinson into the equation, and it’s just lob city at MSG.
Effective Operating Out of the Post
Dee also explained how Obi’s mix of guard and big-man skills make him extremely effective at operating out of the post. Though he’s an elite rim-runner, he’s much more than that.
“Toppin’s not just a pick and roll, pick and lob type guy. He does have the ability to get the ball in the high-post and low-post.”
Obi’s combination of athleticism, guard intangibles, and playmaking ability make him and RJ a great pairing to build the Knicks franchise around, according to Dee.
“To me, when you talk about the NBA, it’s about hunting mismatches and finding that open space. Because [Obi] has those guard skills, and the ability to fake out of those dribble handoffs, he can certainly hand it off to an RJ Barrett who can attack,” Dee said. “I really think they’re going to make a nice two-man unit, because RJ attacks those gaps with such veracity and strength. Teams have to focus really hard and have help defenders on the roll for Obi, that’s going to create some space for RJ. It’s also going to create some kick out opportunities for Frank Ntilikina, Quickley, the shooters that are going to be able to benefit off that driving action. The key here being attack the basket, attack with athleticism, and attack with veracity.”
Check out CP’s full segment with Tommy Dee below and stay tuned for more episodes of KnicksFanTV’s Court Vision!
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