Samuel Dalembert 2007 Season Review
Stats: 33.2 MPG / 10.5 PPG / 51.3% FG / 70.7% FT / 10.4 RPG / 0.5 APG / 0.49 SPG / 2.34 BPG / 1.9 TOV
I was happy (not satisfied) with Sammy’s production at center this season. He played all 82 games for the second straight season while logging the most minutes per game of his career. Can you say durable? He also fouled out less (3) and had 26 double doubles, both career bests.
Defensively Dalembert did a good job of controlling the paint and even had some game-changing/winning moments with his shot blocking and altering ability.
Offensively did you know Sam led the team in points per shot (1.31)? Only Thaddeus Young was a more efficient scorer than Sammy this season. Yet Sammy was only 4th on the team in shot attempts, and I wonder what would have happened if our 51% shooting center took more than 8 shots per game. Do we think he would maintain the same level of efficiency?
Grade: C+
What Samuel Dalembert Should Improve
3 main areas I think Sam should focus on in the off-season (in order of importance):
- Go-to low post move. I don’t care what it is (hook is preferable), but he needs to develop a move that he feels 100% confident taking every time he is in the post. What I see when Dalembert posts up is a man lost and confused. He has no idea what to do when he gets the rock inside and often he takes one dribble nowhere and passes. Or he will make a host of ineffective fakes or spins and take a contested, off-balanced shot. When you watch good low-post players you can quickly and easily point out their signature moves. I think we all agree we don’t want or think Dalembert is good enough to improvise in the post, therefore he should be more robotic and go with his trusted move until someone learns to stop it. With his length a hook shot with both hands would be nearly indefensible.
- Mid-range jump shot. I took a trip over to 82games.com to research Sammy’s detailed shooting stats. What I found was 42% of his shots are 2-pt jumpers, and he is only shooting 35.5%. Whereas he is shooting 62.8% on his inside shots. The number that should stand out the most is the high % of jumpers he is taking. I’d like to see his shooting % in this area around 45% or better. This would make him a much bigger threat in the pick-and-pop game that killed the Sixers during the Detroit series. It isn’t like these shots are tough, or highly contested either. Most of the time he is wide open in four locations: the elbows and short corners. If we get a post scorer that can command a double team, Dalembert’s short jumpers will be even more important to the offensive success of the 76ers.
- Passing. This one is tough because passing is more mental than skill practice and repetition and we all know Dalembert’s basketball IQ isn’t the highest. But if we get a scoring PF we will desperately need Dalembert to be capable of making solid high-low passes. He is rarely double-teamed so I am less concerned with his passing out of the post. With that said, he could still improve his passing to cutters when he is on the block.
Should Dalembert Be on the Roster Next Season?
Without question. I don’t know what Sixers fans think, but you can’t easily replace a top 10 rebounder and top 5 shot blocker in the NBA and that is exactly what we get from Dalembert. Oh, not to mention he is ONLY 26-years-old! Feel free to disagree, but I stand firm on this point.
Ideal Role for Samuel Dalembert on the 2008 Team
Let’s keep it simple for Samuel so he doesn’t get confused at any point during the season. Play solid post defense, it will help the team if they don’t have to double your guy in the post. Block shots in help defense situations, keep doing what you’re doing here. Make your free throws and open 15-17 jump shots. If you improve just those two areas you go from a 10 PPG scorer to a 15-16 PPG scorer. Finally, don’t be a distraction with ridiculous comments in the media!
I am looking for continued improvement with Dalembert next season on the offensive end and in his decision making. I don’t see why he can’t play the role that say a Tyson Chandler does for the 50+ win Hornets.
Next - Thaddeus Young
See all players reviewed in the Evaluating the ‘07-’08 76ers Series
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8 comments ↓
[...] Samuel Dalembert [...]
DANNIE: I agree. As long as Dalembert focuses on defense, rebounding and shot blocking he will be a valuable component of the team. Your points are well taken. He can get his points from running the floor, offensive rebounds, lobs and the occasional elbow jumper. I also feel that the less he handles the ball the better.
I was referred to this site for an original outlook on philly sports. For the most part, i have agreed with most things that I have read here. This article about this player, in my opinion is absurd. Your points run around each other. They are spoken like a 1 or 2 guard, who doesnt understand the big man role.
You want him to develop a go to low post move? Exactly how many players that werent just bigger, or stronger then everyone else have had “one” move that worked? Dont say Shaq, because he was just stronger. Dont say Kareem because when he played, he was just bigger.
At some point in the day you have to just accept a player for what he is. He isnt going to develop a great low post move. He lacks the coordination, strength or touch to do such a move. He isnt a horrible shooter either, he shot 70% from the free throw line and is a career 68% shooter from there. Not horrible, but not bad for a center at all.
At the end of the day, he is what he is, and that will not change. He is not strong enough to overpower people, and he isnt athletic enough to just jump over them. He is a decent athlete yes, but not a great athlete. He also lacks the basketball IQ to put those natural gifts to full use. That is not something that you can teach someone in the offseason.
The guy shoots 50% from the floor and was one of a handful to average a double double this year in the NBA. I dont think it is fair to expect more from him. Now being that he is the highest paid sixer on the team, it is fair to expect more from him. But in an “expert” review, you should be able to understand his game, his limitations and work with what you have. In this article, you havent done that.
From your biography, its pretty easy to understand why you may think this way. You were an athletic 1 or 2 guard. You can easily upgrade or enhance your skills at that size and position. You can learn to have a bettle handle, to see the floor better, to make better decisions with the ball. You can shoot all day long to improve 2-3% on your 3 pt FG% which makes a huge difference at the end of the year. As a big man, it just doesnt happen. You cant teach hands for one, and as a big who cant overpower people, you lose the powerful drop your shoulder and roll around move too.
Rob, I disagree with Dannie on a lot of points too, but just because he was a guard in college doesn’t mean he can’t understand what big guys do in the NBA.
Rob, let me first say thanks for visiting and commenting we always appreciate new readers especially those that spur more good conversation.
You are right I was a guard in college and worked very hard to improve my game. But if I am understanding you correctly you are saying big men just are what they are and have little room for development and improvement? Is that what you are saying? If it is it makes me wonder what basketball background you come from that leads you to that conclusion.
For starters no matter what position you play if you focus on an aspect of your game and put in the time, and in the NBA you have many assistants and specialist to work with, you game can improve. For example if all summer Sam just worked on free throw shooting and his mid-range spot up jumper (that’s all) you don’t think he would/could improve? You think that is an unreasonable expectation?
I agree it is very difficult (near impossible) to teach bball IQ to a player that doesn’t seem to have inherent potential in that area. So my thought of him improving his passing may be the only stretch in that article. But skill practice is about technique which can be taught and repetition which is were work ethic comes into play.
I have played and worked out with countless bigs who have vastly improved their game over the course of a season and over the course of their basketball lifespan. So to say a 26 year-old NBA center who already has pretty good technique on his shot can’t improve to me is a bit absurd.
Further, if you know the background of Dalembert you would know he was a late comer to basketball which typically means his growth period will extend further into his career as he picks up more of the game.
Regarding the go-to move, I think it is a matter of focus and practice. Through my basketball career the one thing I learned (from my own personal experience as a guard and working out with the bigs on my team) was how to practice, work out and improve. The key is focus. You can’t develop a go-to move if you spread your practice time too thin. If Sam and the coaches just said work on this and thats it he would get better. If they said take 1000 hooks shots a day all summer, he would get better. He is long and that is exactly why I mentioned the hook shot because it plays to his strengths.
I am with Dannie on this one.
It’s not unrealistic to expect a 27 y/o player to add something to his set of moves. As crazy at it might seem, more than a hook, I would like Sam to shoot more mid range jumpers, maybe working on the pick and roll with LW and Miller.
I think he would be pretty effective at that, his form is very nice for a center and he can hit some of those to open defenses up.
He also needs a scoring PF just as anybody else in this team, eventual double teams in the low post will free more space for him for alley oops and easy buckets
In general, I appreciate what Sam brings to the table and I agree that his production is good, but I think that there are players out there who provide MORE OR LESS the same things but for half the price… the names of Brendan Haywood and Kendrick Perkins are the first that come to my mind
So I would explore also trading options involving him, he’s not untradeable I mean
Was reading some of these back posts, interesting hearing people talking about “how” to improve.
I really do think any part of the game can be improved on, massively, given how hard you work. Everyone, due to genes, is going to have their ceiling and limit somewhere, but that’s the one thing out of a player’s control. Anything else, a person can learn, and at least improve at.
I actually don’t think bball IQ is an exception to this at all. The problem is, most people don’t know HOW to teach it, and it’s not something players usually look to learn about. I’d argue the reason that Phil Jax, Pops and LB are the three to coaches in the game right now is because they all understand how to teach fundamentals, as well as well bball IQ.
Phil Jackson talks a lot about this in his Sacred Hoops book, which is an interesting read. The reason his triangle philosophy is so effective is that it caters to less set plays and more offensive freedom…provided that his players are taught certain intuitive patterns and floor spacing.
He would talk about how Toni Kukoc, for all his passing and bball ability was clueless in the area of floor spacing, and particularly moving without the ball, and that Phil had to revamp Toni’s entire game to learn to start moving on the court and treating himself as an offensive threat at all times, finding the open gaps and geometric areas where he would be in an open seem when another player had the ball.
Popovich does the same thing…when you watch the Spurs unit play together, it’s obvious Pops has schooled them not only in the little details of fundamentals, but WHERE to be on the court at all times. He’s trained his entire team to move properly without the ball, so that when they are passing around the perimeter, there is extremely high level stuff going on, that usually leads to a wide open bucket. They understand how to set a pick and move to a position that might lead to an open shot unfolding three to four passes in advance of it happening…it’s beautiful to watch.
That’s also probably why his and Phil Jax’s system usually take 2-3 years just to start to pick up, and 4-5 to really start mastering…because they teach offense through IQ, the hardest thing to teach, and requires massive repetition, patience, and trust/chemistry with your teammates. It’s why any pass-first PG would usually make a great coach…Mark Jackson, Eric Snow, Avery Johnson…it came to them intuitively, and their level of effectiveness as coaches will usually be determined on how well they can teach and explain the concepts they understand intuitively to players that don’t.
I have changed my opinion on Dalembert this past season. I used to HATE Dalembert. Now I kind of like him. I think he would be SO much more effective with a true low post scorer to complement him. That was he has little post scoring responsibility. Then that frees him to attack the rim weak side, which is his strength. Defensivly he struggles with big low post guys, but really how many of them are there in today’s NBA? That said he is not untradeable, but it would take a big deal for me to want to move him.
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