From the 52nd pick in the second round, the cornerstone of the Trail Blazers, what is Yang Hansen s teammate Kamara selected for the best defensive team in the league

The Trail Blazers management has been questioned in recent seasons. They used the first round high pick to build a team, Sheden Sharp, Henderson, and Chris Murray, all of whom grew slowly. The team's general manager Cronin scratched his head every day, and his head shape became brighter and brighter. Of course, there is also good news, that is, Avdia and Kamala who were traded by the team successfully achieved reputation, especially Kamala. He was the 52nd pick in the second round of 2023, and now he has successfully achieved a cornerstone position. Cronin can judging the wise and identify players with such low picks has also regained some reputation. So what level is Kamala now? Today's Star Test Yang Hansen's teammate series will bring you Kamala's data analysis.

Kamala is a non-European mixed race. His father is a Malian immigrant and his mother is a Belgian. He grew up in Belgium since childhood. Belgium belongs to a basketball desert country. He has not entered the main game this time. He is able to grow into an NBA-level player in a basketball desert country, which is legendary in itself.

Kamala participated in the 2023 rookie joint trial. The specific physical test data is 2 meters tall, 2 meters 71 in standing height, 2 meters 14 in arm span, 104KG, agility test of 10 seconds 70 (6th place in the draft, first Grant Nelson 9.99), a 3-second run (8th place in the draft, first Dick 2.98), a three-quarter intensity sprint of 3.41 in 3.48 (48th place in the draft, first Terrence Shannon 3.06), a standing bounce of 72 cm, and a running bounce of 84 cm.

From physical test data, it can be seen that Kamala has excellent wingspan talent and is the most scarce forward player in the league. At the same time, he has good agility. His disadvantage is that his bounce and explosive power are slightly insufficient.

Among the top 100 NBA 2024-25 stars selected by the ringer website, Kamala successfully stood out from 569 players and squeezed into the top 100 season. He ranked 95th in the league at the end of the regular season and currently ranks third in the Trail Blazers (Avdia 61st and Ju Holiday 69th). The website comments are as follows:

A defensive player with comprehensive skills and active fighting is waiting for a larger stage to exert his more comprehensive game influence.

Kamala is the defensive player that the troubled Suns need most, but it is regrettable that in the 2023 NBA draft, the Suns selected him at the end of the second round, but traded him only three months later. Now Kamala has quickly grown into the tenacious "soul figure" of the Trail Blazers, and is also one of the core reasons why the Trail Blazers have always maintained competitiveness in the second half of the season and have not completely become a "bottom" team.

Although he has just entered the second season of his career, Kamala has become one of the top NBA defenders and has become a powerful star in the league who "everyone who understands the ball knows it". He has received unanimous praise from all parties in the league - including management, coaches, and even star players who have been entangled on the court for more than 30 minutes. Judging from his physical condition, he is simply the "perfect template" of modern defensive forwards: his wingspan is slender, his athletic ability is excellent, his movements are flexible, and his body is extremely strong. Therefore, this 24-year-old Belgian player can not only face the top outside scorers of the defensive league, but can withstand the pressure and compete with him even when facing inside giants like Jokic and Antetokounmpo. In addition, he has a strong ability to read the game. As his reputation for "hard defense" in the referee circle gradually becomes more aggressive on the court. Combining these two points, he has become the player with the most offensive fouls in the league this season.

This innate sense of stadium smell is now beginning to show its power on the offensive end. Kamala's outside shooting ability has been greatly improved. For him, three-pointers are more like a stepping stone to win playing time, but not all of his offensive methods. In the game's offense and defense transition, he can provide great help to the team in many aspects: accurate passes, solid covers, timely cuts, high-altitude finishes, and even occasionally breaks with the ball and attacks defensive players. So, although Kamara seems to fit in the position of a "3D player", he is actually an extremely outstanding all-round player and any team is eager to recruit him.

From the high evaluation of the website, it can be seen that Kamala relies on top defense to build reputation, and its defensive ability directly determines the player's lower limit in the NBA. As long as the player has excellent defensive ability, he will definitely get a contract and get stable playing time. This is why Kamala can counterattack from a low pick show, especially now that the Trail Blazers head coach Billups wants to build a defensive team. Yang Hansen must recognize this. He must work hard to raise his defense to the extreme level like Kamala, and then display his talents on the offensive end. Then we can see how excellent Kamala's defense is through specific data.

Kamala has been successfully recognized by the league. He won the 9th position in the selection of the best defensive player of the season. At the same time, he was selected as the second team of the best defensive team with Gobert, Zubac, Jaylen Williams, and Jaren Jackson Jr. These honors have fully demonstrated that he is the strongest defensive player in the league.

Kamala is very good at playing football, and is a smart player. It is reflected in the data. Last season, he created a total of 31 fouls by his opponent, ranking first in the league. The coach likes such a smart player the most. Kamala can do the best when the data cannot be reflected in tactical execution, how to stand on the court, and when should I defend. This is the embodiment of the basketball business. In contrast, Scott and Shedensharp, the pair of fouls, have top physical talents and athletic abilities, but the performance on the court is really hard to describe. To put it simply, it is not easy to understand.

Last season, the opponent averaged 13 shots in front of Kamara (ranked third in the Trail Blazers, 14.8 times lower than Ayton and 13.6 times in Klingen), and his opponent's shooting percentage reached 49.1%, while his opponent's shooting percentage increased by 2 percentage points on his defense..

Single, Kamala's defensive efficiency is not up to standard, but we have to look at it in combination. The Trail Blazers ranked 15th in the league with 114.7 last season, which is the league's mid-level defensive level. The team's outside defense efficiency is very poor. Simmons' average shooting percentage of defense opponents increased by 4.4 percentage points, Henderson's average shooting percentage of defense opponents increased by 3.5 percentage points, Sharp's average shooting percentage of defense opponents increased by 2.6 percentage points, and Avdia's average shooting percentage of defense opponents increased by 1.2 percentage points. It can be said that the team's main players' outside defense level is all unqualified, so Kamala's defensive efficiency must be dragged down.

In addition, his defense targets are all opponents' arrow characters, which belongs to the most difficult defensive task in the NBA. With the list of his top fifteen players against the defensive time, everyone can feel it.

Defense Booker 27 minutes and 27 seconds, Booker hits 45.5%

Defense Alexander 23 minutes and 52 seconds, Alexander hits 62%

Defense Curry 19 minutes and 59 seconds, Curry hits 44.4%

Defense Harden 18 minutes and 53 seconds, Harden hits 26.7%

Defense Jamal Murray 17 minutes and 08 seconds Seconds, Murray hit 64.7%

Defense Edwards 15 minutes and 04 seconds, Edwards hit 35.7%

Defense Garland 13 minutes and 41 seconds, Garland hit 54.5%

Defense Paul 13 minutes and 29 seconds, Paul hit 0%

Defense Cunningham 13 minutes and 25 seconds, Cunningham hit 56.3%

Defending Trae Young 13 minutes and 13 seconds, Trae Young hit a shooting percentage of 38.5%

Defending Van Vreet 12 minutes and 47 seconds, Van Vreet hit a shooting percentage of 40%

Defending Lillard 12 minutes and 40 seconds, Lillard hit a shooting percentage of 33.3%

Defending Jokic 11 minutes and 48 seconds, Jokic hit a shooting percentage of 64.3%

Defending Ingram 11 minutes and 36 seconds, Ingram hits 47.1%

Defense Reeves 11 minutes and 32 seconds, Reeves hits 22.2%

Through the counter-defense effect, it can be seen that Kamala is really merciless to the veterans of the league. He must be careful not to have the idea of ​​retirement, and at the same time he also has strong suppression on short guards. Of course, there is no way to deal with MVP-level Alexander and Jokic.

At the same time, Kamala is also a multi-functional defensive player, able to defend from 1 to 5. The defense data of last season was:

Defensive back players 594 minutes and 3059 rounds, accounting for 60% of the total defensive time. The defenders hit a shooting percentage of 46.2% under their defense, which is an excellent defensive efficiency.

Defensive forward players have 1,500 rounds in 287 minutes, accounting for 29% of the total defensive time. The forward players have a shooting percentage of 49.7% under their defense, which is a general defensive efficiency.

Defensive center players have 576 rounds in 108 minutes, accounting for 11% of the total defensive time, and center players hit 60% under their defense.

From the defensive position effect, it can be seen that he has excellent defensive efficiency against defenders with the help of arm span advantage, but he encountered the disadvantages of forward and center players such as bounce and weight, and his defensive effect was average.

Next season, Kamala will have another defensive master like Ju Holiday, and his defensive tasks will definitely be reduced. I hope he can seize the opportunity to raise his reputation to a new level.