I'm definitely with you on this, unless we're talking about the style of his game, in which case Lang actually bears almost as much of a resemblance to today's Jokic as Jokic himself bore when he was younger.Jason94 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:34 amI did notice similarities but didn't want to mention it as you don't want to get carried away comparing a rising HS senior with one of the best players on the planet. But Lang does appear to utilize his size and vision to create for his teammates, and does like to use multiple angles/release points to get his shot off. The way he approaches and plays the game with his combination of size and skill would make him very difficult to defend.quasidiehardvandyfan wrote: ↑Tue Sep 13, 2022 8:16 am Says he models his game after Jokić, which we'll take - I can see that based on his passing ability and range in the highlight reel.
We'll see where this class ends up, but seems like we have some guys whose stock should rise in their senior seasons and fill some needed roles. Future looks good right now.
The biggest difference between 2014 Jokic (when he was 19 and first appeared on NBA scouts' radar) and Carter Lang right now is size. Jokic was enormous. At 19, he was 6'11" and 253 lbs., with a 7'3" wingspan and a 9'3" standing reach. That's very large, even by NBA standards, and Jokic has grown a little bit since then. Lang already seems to pass the ball as well as and more frequently than Jokic did at 19. But he's nowhere near the shooter that Jokic was. In 2013-14, while playing for Mega Leks in Europe against older players, Jokic hit 31.5% of his threes from the international line and made 65.6% of his free throws. In his NBA career, however, he's averaging 34.5% and 83.0%. So he's really bumped them up a lot. Meanwhile, Lang's numbers for Adidas club ball as a junior were 23% and 53%. So as a 17-year old (presumably) he has a long ways to go just to match Jokic's shooting numbers as a 19-year old. And not every player is able to improve their shooting the way that Jokic did. (SO many NBA draft picks are wasted on athletic non-shooters, mainly because of a handful of guys like Jokic and Kawhi Leonard who did improve rapidly.)
The thing that everybody seems to agree is a limitation for Lang is his athleticism and defense--in much the same way that they used to for Jokic:
But they also all seemed to say similar things about Jokic's "Basketball IQ":The big downside, though, is his athleticism. He doesn't get much lift off the floor at all, and he doesn't have the speed burst to drive past opponents or stay in front of them laterally.(Bleacher Report, 2014)
So how did Jokic go from being seen as someone whose "...defense will likely prevent him from ever playing 30-plus minutes or starting" to a two-time MVP at 27? He improved his shooting, yes. And the game has changed, too. But he also doubled down on his rebounding and passing and used that prodigious basketball IQ on the defensive end to become a solid, if unspectacular, defender. That's why I like this comment from 247 about Carter Lang:Jokic always seems to have a sharp sense of his surroundings. He has a great feel for when plays are developing and knows where his teammates are in relation to the defense. Consequently, he's able to make some superb plays as a passer and convert easy buckets as a cutter.
What he may lack in lateral quickness or vertical explosiveness though, he compensates for with overall basketball I.Q. He’s in all the right spots defensively, should be reliable understanding coverages and executing scouting reports.
Basketball history is full of big men with underwhelming athleticism and quickness who were able to compensate by knowing coverages and anticipating the other team's moves. Maybe Carter can do the same, even if he doesn't develop into a strong outside shooter?