Philadelphia 76ers: 5 reasons Landry Shamet was a good pick
5. Shamet recognizes and wants to improve limitations
Since every player in this year’s draft has aspects of his game to work on in order to be successful in the NBA, let’s get the negative portion out of the way first.
While some of the discussion about Shamet has revolved around a lack of athleticism that may prevent him from finishing well at the rim against elite length, another major concern is whether or not he will be able to be an effective defender at the next level.
At 6’5” and a 6’7” wingspan, Shamet has the size and length to be a disruptive force at either of the two guard positions, which is the good news. In spite of that length, though, Shamet averaged just 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks per contest. Even on an adjusted 40-minute scale, his steals numbers increase ever so slightly to 0.9 while the blocks remain the same.
Additionally, weighing 188 pounds could be a hindrance for Shamet in terms of being able to defend the stronger 2-guards. In other words, he will have to add some bulk to his frame in order to have any measure of success at that end of the floor.
If he can bulk up a bit, he’s got good length/size to the point where he can’t be religiously targeted on switches like Redick and Marco were against Boston. https://t.co/n62NZS3JFJ
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) June 23, 2018
Fortunately, Shamet recognizes this shortcoming about his game and emphasized this was an area he wants to get better.
"“Physicality on the defensive end,” Shamet told NBA.com when asked what area of his game he would like to improve. “It’s a different level from the college level. On the professional level, you’re going against grown men every night. So, continue to get stronger and learning how to be an efficient defender on the next level.”"
With those comments in mind, I think Sixers fans will appreciate his work ethic as he attempts to carve out a spot in the rotation.