Scouting Pape Sy at the D-League Showcase, Day Two

Previously: Day One

Pape Sy received more extended run (17:24) in Utah's second appearance at the D-League Showcase and played the point for just 90 seconds allowing a broader view at the current state of his game. When his man had the ball, he again defended generally well though he struggled to deal with ball screens. Matched up against JamesOn Curry much of the first half, Sy showed a fine ability to stay with his man off the ball.

After going both scoreless and shotless yesterday, Sy scored 5 points this afternoon but needed 7 shots and 4 free throw attempts to do so. As in Vegas, Sy showed an ability to get into the lane a draw contact but, as in Vegas, Sy never looked under control enough to make a bucket in traffic and draw a foul. That Sy missed two layups on drives on which he did not get fouled perhaps aggravated this sense.

The rest of the Pape Sy shooting experience didn't look much better. It took obvious effort for him to get his lone three-point attempt to the basket. He received the ball on the deep right block twice, resulting in a an air-balled right-handed jump hook and a wild, missed left-handed runner across the lane. He attempted two pull-up jumpers, making one. The make involved him catching the ball on the left wing and dribbling left before pulling up. The miss saw him dribble from the left wing to the free throw line, where he pulled up for an unguarded shot that hit the backboard before the rim. His legs flailed as awkwardly on that shot as they did on his three-point attempt. In fact, Sy's shooting form looked so bad that I suspect it's related either to his pre-season back injury or his struggles in adjusting to the relatively high level of play in the D-League. I can't believe the Hawks would invest in an unknown 22-year-old whose shot looked like that during a pre-draft workout.

Through six games with the Flash, 17 of Sy's 30 D-League points have come at the free throw line and it's worth remembering that, according to Kevin Pelton's D-League translations, Free Throw Rate diminishes more than anything else in a player's statistical record in the transition from D-League to NBA basketball.

His updated stats through six D-League games (which now account for more than a quarter of his professional basketball experience):

Name	MPG	Pts/36	2PTFG%	3PTFG%	eFG%	FT Rate	TS%
Pape Sy	20.7	8.7	20.0	10.0	18.6	48.6	33.2

Name	MPG	A/36	TO/36	BS/36	S/36	OR%	DR%	PF/36
Pape Sy	20.7	3.2	4.6	0	0.6	6.6	11.3	5.2

Unofficial on/off numbers, assuming Utah haven't played much faster or slower with Sy on the court and that he's played an equal number of offensive and defensive possessions: Utah are -10 points per 100 possessions with Sy on the floor, -0.6 points per 100 possessions with Sy off the floor over the last six games.

The Flash return to action on January 14th.