Is Tacko Fall actually a good center?

https://sports.yahoo.com/tacko-fall-actually-good-center-001058849.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_04



Is Tacko Fall actually a good center? At least one prominent analyst says yes


Justin Quinn
Mon, January 18, 2021, 5:10 PM·3 min read


So far this season, we have seen Boston Celtics two way center Tacko Fall take a big step forward (no pun intended) in his growth as a player, showing off some flashy new skills early in the 2020-21 NBA season.

The University of Central Florida product has shown vastly improved conditioning running the floor, keeping pace with all but the fastest players on the court. He also has better timing and court awareness translating to improved defense — even on former league Most Valuable Players — and Fall has even shown he has a near 3-point jumper with the ability to put the ball on the floor and slash to the basket.

But are these new skills only a mirage deployed against some of the league’s worst teams?

To be transparent, his two best games have come against the Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic — not exactly a pair of NBA powerhouses.

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor thinks Fall is for real despite this, and shared that he believes that the Senegalese center has what it takes to stick in the league in a recent article.


“If you search for anything on Google, a section turns up related questions called ‘People Also Ask.’ When I searched for ‘Tacko Fall,’ the first question I saw was: ‘Is tacko fall actually good?'” related O’Connor.

“Well, people of the world, I have the answer: Yes, Tacko Fall is actually good. This season, Tacko has blocked Russell Westbrook, banked in a 3* (*actually a deep two because the tippy-toes of his size-22 feet were on the line), attacked a closeout to shake Earth with a dunk, and has just been an overall blast any time he graced the court. Tacko … has a career 25.7 PER, ninth all-time among players to appear in at least 10 games—just behind Wilt Chamberlain and just ahead of Kevin Durant. Legendary stuff, folks.”

“What we have here is another Boban Marjanovic. Boban, who ranks sixth all-time in PER, carved out a career for himself by supersizing lineups and being a lovable teammate” he added.

Pointing to those newly-developed skills, O’Connor is a bonafide believer in Fall’s NBA future after the last week if not before.

And after what we have seen from the gregarious big man, we have to say we’re inclined to agree.


Bob
MY NOTE:  A little early to permanently promote Tacko, in my opinion, but there's no doubt he has made large strides (see what I did there?) over the past year and a half when he first played in summer league.  He's still rough around the edges, he doesn't prowl the baseline as well as he could/should and he doesn't roll as aggressively on pnrs on offense like he should but he is head-and-shoulders better (this is the last one, I promise).  3 games into this season and he's played 33 minutes.  Last season he played in 7 games and still only played 33 minutes.  This is his year.  Due to COVID and the recurring losses of players due to health & safety protocols, and the suspension of limits on two-way players being with the team will give him significant real game experience and then we'll really see what we have.  So far, though, so good.  

Vote cancelling allowed, so you can change your mind. No multiple choice. Pick a position and explain it (until you change your mind, then you should explain why the change of heart).


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Bob,

I agree, so far, so good. He still has a way to go to be considered "Good".

Too early to tell but the improvement is encouraging.

Berlin-T

A little too early to form a real opinion. Is he fun to watch when finally entering the game? Most of the time, yes. But that is because the game is out of reach one way or another and they are playing loosey goosey. However, when everyone was out with Covid protocal, or Covid, he held his own. That night he had at least three if not four blocks. So, there are good signs that he has improved on his footwork and shooting, where to be on the floor, and his tentativeness is alot less.

I love his attitude, his work ethic, so hopefully we will see more and more improvement

he has one attribute that he does not have to worry about and that is freakish size and length.  He has shown a lot of improvement but he still needs to be much better at.

moving laterally
reading the play
improving his stamina and speed
keeping the ball above his head
making multiple efforts
developing a signature move  (A hook shot!)

He should never be beaten at the rim by a bunch of midgets but his angles limit his ability at times.  He needs to stay lower in his defensive stance (if that i possible for a giant)  Basically his effectiveness on defense is related to positioning.  It is the same thing for every player.  The game has not really slowed down for him yet.  He appears to be a half second slow in reacting to plays in front of him.

The good thing about Tacko is his work ethic.  He wants to be a legit center.  His teammates love him.  

He will get a chance to play more provided Boston can be on the good end of blowout games after 3 QTRs.

As we look at our long term needs at center,  TT is on a 2 yr deal and DT has an expiring deal after this season.  In the meantime, RWIII looks like a guy who can get us 12/10 with 2 blocks if he is given playing time.  Tacko could be our BU center in 2 years, maybe.

I went with "Too soon to say."

I've got to add that "Meh. He's NBA quality, but good...?" might be one of my all-time favorite poll choices. Good work, Bob.

A combination of what I've observed and gut reaction tells me although still early, Tacko is already what he's going to be. I think he's a nice story and apparently a great human being, but not much of an NBA talent.

I believe he's got one attribute that's going to keep him around for a season or two though. He's really, really tall. That's it.

Fall has only been playing organized ball since his late teens. Pritchard has probably been playing since he could bounce a ball. Fall is obviously very intelligent and has shown an interest in learning to be a better player. He's not some string bean. Based on what we've seen in very limited minutes, he still has a significant upside. Like any developing player, he needs minutes. I'd say, from what we've seen, he's well worth it. Not a lot of teams have one bench player they can insert that completely upsets the other team's game plans. Small ball is fine but no team can just ignore Fall when he's on the floor.

I think he’s on his way to helping us.

Fall deserves even better literary double entendres from our sportswriter Bob H, but they were still pretty good.