Detroit Pistons: Setting realistic expectations for Sekou Doumbouya

Defense down the road

Doumbouya has to master the fundamentals to become a great defender. He certainly has all the tools for it. Big strong dudes that can move their feet are generally really good defenders in the NBA.

And I’m confident he’ll be a good defender. He’ll lower his stance, he’ll clean up his footwork, he’ll make a habit out of boxing out, he’ll learn how to close out and how to better time his help-side defense. The question is not “will he?” but “how fast?”.

Rudy Gorbert  chimed in during a Q&A with Eric Woodyard:

"“I think he’s a steal,” Gobert said. “He’s an unbelievable talent. He loves the game. I think he’s a competitor and he’s made so much progress in such a short time this year that I don’t see any limits for him. It’s going to be up to him to be whatever he wants to be. He’s got all the tools to be an amazing two-way player. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”"

Players that never learn the fundamentals usually have low IQ, poor work ethic or bad teachers. Doumbouya has a reputation for working hard and has Dwane Casey on his side. The acceleration of his improvement will mainly depend on his IQ. The smarter you are, the quicker you learn, so the main thing I’ll be looking for will be the rate of his development.

You can learn to be aware on defense but to be a truly elite defender you need to see all the things that most players don’t. You need to process the situation faster than everybody else. That’s how Draymond Green manages to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate every year. Athletic freaks like Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis have it much easier but Doumbouya has nowhere near that kind of physical profile unless he grows to be 6-foot-11.

I wouldn’t expect Doumbouya to ever reach elite status on defense because I haven’t seen those kinds of flashes in his game. But there’s a non-zero chance.

Bad positioning on defense can be explained by inexperience. Only having played six years of basketball, the rookie didn’t have a lot of time to learn the intricacies of the game. Plus, he did make some defensive plays last year where he showed great recognition, which gives me hope.

Given that his awareness is not that poor to begin with, the fact that he hasn’t been playing basketball for long and the strides he’s made so far in a short time, I’d expect him to eventually become a great defender.