Biyombo's emergence as of late

[ND22]

We have to be patient. I'd say he's still 1-1/2 to 2 years away from reaching that potential, and by then he'll still be only 22. He has a ways to go with his fundamentals but you see what kind of potential he has when he does make the right play. Plus, the way he lays himself out there makes him easy to root for, I think John Hollinger said it best when he tweeted Biyombo probably guarded every player on the floor that last possession against Toronto.

[Chef]

things i like:
his hands have improved, which i think is more a result of getting a better feel for the game and expecting the ball in certain spots than actually catching the ball ie it was never that he couldn't catch

i absolutely love the way he sprints down the court on both offense and defense. most bigs only do it when they think they are going to get the ball.

his effort in game is more like a small player than a big player. he rarely loafs.

he is starting to be the main big setting picks. if he continues improving here over the next few seasons he will be a valuable member of any team.

he is working on his offense one move at a time. right now he is developing the jump hook. i like this approach, it cuts down on confusion and "robot moves".

things he needs to work on:
not getting out of position so much on defense. i notice him more than anyone else "scrambling" in the middle of rotations after helping or showing on a pick

staying on his feet more. shot blocking is as much about timing and knowing the offensive player as it is jumping.

timing on pick and rolls. i can't figure out if this is kemba's issue, biz's or a combo. i suspect it is a combo. biz sets solid screens and kemba does a great job setting up the defenders, but either biz's roll is too slow or kemba is attacking to quickly. it seems that they are off by about two steps. biz has to roll faster but i think like a running back in football waiting on lineman and setting up blocks, kemba has to wait to kick it into hyperdrive. this is where chris paul and rondo excel, kemba will learn it but right now the timing is off.

bringing the ball down after a rebound. brandon jennings must have had 5 pokeaways last night from this.

overall, i think he has righted the ship from the preseason. although, i don't think dwight howard is a ceiling anymore, i do see him becoming a pretty good center.

[Bama]

He will be a very good player once he matures... He's got a lot of maturing to do, he's definitely got a ton of potential, just makes a lot of mistakes.

[DY_nasty]

He looks like he finally understands the defensive mechanics and what Dunlap is trying to do. Maybe learned how to catch a little better and definitely polished up that hook if nothing else.

Other than that, I don't see an improvement of where he left off last year - which is still a very good thing. Just confirms that he hasn't taken a step backwards.

[TheBeagle]

His rebounding in traffic needs much work. The thing he needs to work on most here is to focus on planting his ass on an opponent and keeping them from pushing him under the rim out of position for the board. I noticed too many times vs. MIL that he was too far under the rim on defensive boards letting Ilyasova and Sanders get offensive putbacks. I think he's just focusing too much on the ball and not enough on position, which is something that will be fixed, I have no doubt.

And yeah, his and Kemba's pick and roll needs some fine-tuning, but I'm loving that they've progressed to the point that I don't think Biz has gotten one offensive foul called on him for a moving screen this year, unlike the guaranteed 1-2 per game last year.

[Bogg]

Biyombo's looking like he'll be just fine as a defender/shot-blocker, but if his offense doesn't come along (significantly) I'm not sure Charlotte will ever be able to lean on him as a full-time starter. Aside from working on his post moves and a short jumpshot, the biggest thing with him is just going to be his positioning and acquiring some basketball knowledge. I'd love to see Cho overpay a little bit to get Kurt Thomas this summer as a sort of a big-man player/coach, the guy has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to defensive footwork, professionalism, and playing the enforcer role. If it means you have to give him $2 million for one year instead of the vet's minimum for him to fill Diop's spot then so be it.

[spectre]

His rebounding in traffic needs much work. The thing he needs to work on most here is to focus on planting his ass on an opponent and keeping them from pushing him under the rim out of position for the board. I noticed too many times vs. MIL that he was too far under the rim on defensive boards letting Ilyasova and Sanders get offensive putbacks. I think he's just focusing too much on the ball and not enough on position, which is something that will be fixed, I have no doubt.

And yeah, his and Kemba's pick and roll needs some fine-tuning, but I'm loving that they've progressed to the point that I don't think Biz has gotten one offensive foul called on him for a moving screen this year, unlike the guaranteed 1-2 per game last year.

I totally agree, but ONE time I did see him plant his ass against the defender and push him backwards to get the board.

I cheered a lot on that one!

The boy HAS to learn to stay on his feet. That foul on the jump shot with the clock running down cause me to grumble a little bit.

[Stylesg1234]

@Bogg....Regarding Biyombo's offense and us being able to lean on him as a full time starter. Honestly its hard for me to to look down the road and see Biz as our full time starter regardless of what he improves. Im not sure that his offensive game will ever come around...sure it will improve from where it is right now but at best i see him maybe developing 1 or 2 post moves and becoming alot better around the rim and alot better on pick and rolls....i dont ever see him developing a mid range jump shot...im just not sure if thats his type of game...He does a really good job at setting picks and does a decent job of rolling but as far as the guards throwing him the ball on his roll i think its pretty obvious that they are very hesitant to throw him the ball bc of his past struggles with holding on to the ball and getting a little too excited and traveling

As he improves with catching the ball and holding on to the ball i fully expect him to get the ball alot more on the pick and roll and getting some easy dunks..Once he learns some patience around the rim instead of getting overly excited and throwing up bad shots then i think he can be get some points off put backs...these are things he definately needs to learn...i personally think that instead of focusing on developing a mid range game right now ( bc he just doesnt strike me as a shooter ) i think he needs to focus more on the things i listed above as well as his free throw shooting...if he can become an 80% free throw shooter it will go a long way....bc as the things listed above improve and he gets more experience he will start drawing alot of fouls and i think he can be a guy that can get 4-6 points from the line a game

Obviously he was drafted for his defense and i think with time he can be a great defender..right now he is decent and does a good job blocking shots but you can tell that he has alot to learn...way too often he is out of position on defense ...also he wants to block every shot which leads to unneccesary goaltends and very often falling for pump fakes and getting stupid fouls...if he can learn to improve these things i think he can become a really good defensive player

As far as his potential i honestly dont ever see him as a dominant big man in this league...and if we want to be a title contender 1 day i dont really see him as a full time starter..dont get me wrong it is very possible that he can be our starter at PF if we find a stud C to go alongside him but realistically i see him in his prime as a high energy guy who comes off the bench and gives us 25 minutes a game and puts up 8-10 points 10-12 rbds and 2-3 blocks a game ....which i will take all day ..i think he definately can be a major piece to this team going forward and a big part of our future success

[Bogg]

As far as his potential i honestly dont ever see him as a dominant big man in this league...and if we want to be a title contender 1 day i dont really see him as a full time starter..dont get me wrong it is very possible that he can be our starter at PF if we find a stud C to go alongside him but realistically i see him in his prime as a high energy guy who comes off the bench and gives us 25 minutes a game and puts up 8-10 points 10-12 rbds and 2-3 blocks a game ....which i will take all day ..i think he definately can be a major piece to this team going forward and a big part of our future success

He'll never be a dominant two-way player. Best-case scenario is probably a better-rebounding version of Serge Ibaka right now without the jump shot, but a more likely outcome is probably a solid third big who can change the pace of a game with his defense around the rim. Charlotte has a lot of guys who have the makings of a solid role-playing starter or great bench guy, but they badly need at least one stud big and elite(23+ppg) perimeter scorer.

[Stylesg1234]

Agreed Bogg....i see Biz as our backup big man who can come off the bench and give us some really good minutes...like u said i dont see him as the scoring version of Ibaka..honestly i hate the comparison to Ibaka..it seems like every1 wants to compare the 2...in my opinion the only things they have in common are the fact that they are both big men and both from Africa

I also agree that we have alot of guys who have the potential to be really good role players ( some of them starters ) but we really need that star...we dont need a Lebron James or Kobe or anything but like u said we do need a guy who is a consistent all star who puts up 20+ points a game and who is a guy that other teams game plan around..I will say that Kemba is proving this year that he has the potential and heart to be an elite PG...its only his 2nd year in the league and he has made huge strides...I really think that if he continues to improve that Kemba can be a star for this team...now dont get me wrong even with him possibly developing into a star we are still going to need a big time player to go with him...in my opinion we need that star to be a big man...a guy who can give us 20 and 10 on a consistent basis...with that said i really think we have some really nice pieces on this team , a PG who can become 1 of the better ones in the league in Kemba , a garbage guy who can fill up the stat sheet in MKG as well as some really solid role players ala Biz / Taylor / Henderson ( who also can possibly be a 20 pt a game guy / Mullens ..ect...if we can add a stud big man ( i really want Milsap bad ) and a few pieces here and there that we can be a contender very soon