It has been troublesome for anybody to determine themselves as a transparent quantity three choose in a draft that’s headlined by two clear entrance runners from non-collegiate backgrounds. There’s a group of younger gamers projected to finish their quick faculty careers as lottery picks, however nobody has actually set themselves aside from the pack but.
The College of Alabama ahead Brandon Miller, nevertheless, is solidifying his place as the perfect freshman in his class. Miller doesn’t solely lead the Crimson Tide crew in scoring but additionally all the Southeastern Convention, making him a favourite to win Freshman of the 12 months and a strong candidate for the Nationwide Participant of the 12 months award. It additionally makes Miller an attention-grabbing NBA Draft prospect.
Brandon Miller’s strengths
At 6-foot-9, Miller’s dimension and size are two of his greatest property. Together with his lengthy arms, he can contest loads of pictures all around the flooring and defend the rim. He’s additionally an excellent defensive rebounder, averaging 6.4 rebounds on that finish of the ground. Moreover, Miller has the instruments to be a strong on-ball defender on the perimeter along with his lateral quickness and lengthy wingspan, that are troublesome to navigate for ballhandlers.
Whereas Miller has the potential to turn into a very good defender on the subsequent stage, his offensive upside is far increased. At this level in his improvement, Miller is a simpler shooter than finisher within the paint, however he has the potential to be an actual three-level scorer. Miller’s three-point shot is particularly spectacular for a participant of his dimension. He at the moment shoots threes at 45.7 p.c, combining quantity and effectivity very effectively.
As a consequence of his dimension, it’s already troublesome for defenders to contest his shot, and to prime that off, Miller additionally has a lightning-fast launch, particularly on catch-and-shoot threes. He doesn’t must depend on teammates to create his exterior shot, although, as he has a fluid off-the-dribble jumper in his arsenal as effectively. In the meanwhile, Miller takes virtually three pull-up threes per recreation. There are only some NBA gamers of his dimension who match that quantity, together with Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and LeBron James.
That’s elite firm for a freshman, however it nonetheless stays to be seen how effectively Miller will have the ability to translate this ability to the following stage and towards stronger defenders. Loads of rookies earlier than him who excelled as exterior shooters on the collegiate stage struggled to create house for his or her pictures after they first entered the NBA.
Miller is greater than only a scorer, although. For his dimension, he is a superb passer who can idiot defenders with fakes and ship troublesome, well-timed dimes to his teammates. At 6-foot-9, Miller naturally has a excessive dribble, however he has discovered to guard it and is fast sufficient to make use of his handles to slide previous the primary line of protection and get into the paint. All that makes Miller a succesful playmaker and facilitator on the ahead place who can take some weight off the purpose guards.
Brandon Miller nonetheless has room for enchancment.
Whereas Miller is a gifted scorer on a number of ranges, he typically struggles with contact within the paint and ending on the rim towards stronger defenders. As of now, he averages lower than 50 p.c on discipline targets. A few of this may be attributed to tunnel imaginative and prescient. Miller tends to get on his solution to the basket, which results in him choosing troublesome pictures.
Most of it, nevertheless, appears to be on account of an absence of energy. If he might add some muscle, navigating the terrain would turn into a lot simpler. It could additionally assist Miller navigate screens and his physicality as a defender, or field out larger gamers, higher.
As a playmaker, Miller is already fairly superior for a freshman, however the subsequent step for him could be to enhance his imaginative and prescient and consciousness for passes on drives to the basket. As an alternative of trying a troublesome shot, he might dish out a further move and arrange a teammate for a better shot.
Whereas Miller is slightly older than the everyday one-and-done prospect, he’s nonetheless younger sufficient to have loads of room for progress and improvement. On the collegiate stage, Miller has already proven that he can influence successful, and if he provides some hustle and energy to his recreation, he might convey the identical factor to the following stage.
Miller’s ceiling is actually excessive sufficient to make him a lottery choose within the 2023 NBA Draft. If he continues to have a stellar freshman season and improves his effectivity within the paint, he would possibly even have the ability to solidify himself as a top-five choose. He isn’t Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson, however Miller is a strong choose for a younger crew trying to draft and develop new expertise.
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