I always find the little steps when defending so interesting. I wonder if it’s for intimidation or whether it helps him react more quickly to a hard first step?
EquipmentNo9500
He just isn’t scared of a guy getting a step on him because he trusts that he can still contest the shot from there. And he’s correct. He has great reach and can bother shots from a step behind.
yyg2211
Love the LoonGod, hate the background music.
mandiblepaw
Loon God!!
SCalifornia831
Looney’s lack of athleticism helps him because he plays with his feet on the ground and doesn’t over commit to a single move. A lot of guards like to dance around out there but their counters are less effective when Looney uses his feet, stays in great positioning and uses his length to close the gap to contest shots.
SABJP
I’m not Bball expert but it’s just my observation that Looney being slow to react helps him a lot, like he recovers from fakes easily because he reacted late on that fake.
idahotee
As others have said, Loons footwork is one of strengths. For a big man, he has very agile feet and it allows him to get where he needs to be and stay in position.
shoedog10
When will they learn
Apart-Plankton9951
Looney is a perfect non-ball-dominant modern big if you think about it. His wide build makes it harder for taller and thinner centers to box him out. It also helps him offset his lateral quickness against guards. It helps him set better screens. His shorter height helps him stay better coordinated against guards.
stocktradernoob
How often can Looney be called underrated before it means he’s properly highly rated?
ambassadorofkwan
It looks like he defends the right hand side forcing the ball handler left in all these clips.
13 Comments
Guards think they can eat him up.
Really love this 2 pixel video.
I always find the little steps when defending so interesting. I wonder if it’s for intimidation or whether it helps him react more quickly to a hard first step?
He just isn’t scared of a guy getting a step on him because he trusts that he can still contest the shot from there. And he’s correct. He has great reach and can bother shots from a step behind.
Love the LoonGod, hate the background music.
Loon God!!
Looney’s lack of athleticism helps him because he plays with his feet on the ground and doesn’t over commit to a single move. A lot of guards like to dance around out there but their counters are less effective when Looney uses his feet, stays in great positioning and uses his length to close the gap to contest shots.
I’m not Bball expert but it’s just my observation that Looney being slow to react helps him a lot, like he recovers from fakes easily because he reacted late on that fake.
As others have said, Loons footwork is one of strengths. For a big man, he has very agile feet and it allows him to get where he needs to be and stay in position.
When will they learn
Looney is a perfect non-ball-dominant modern big if you think about it. His wide build makes it harder for taller and thinner centers to box him out. It also helps him offset his lateral quickness against guards. It helps him set better screens. His shorter height helps him stay better coordinated against guards.
How often can Looney be called underrated before it means he’s properly highly rated?
It looks like he defends the right hand side forcing the ball handler left in all these clips.