Jericho Sims: The Lob Target
Klutch recently signed Jericho Sims as a client
Originally, I had a plan to cover the prospects on my general prospects lists and expand on it, but with the week of the draft combine, there’s been a lot of draft activity on big boards and additional signings.
One of those signings, is recently added Klutch client, Jericho Sims.
Photo provided by AP Photo/Eric Gay
There’s been a focus on guards and wings, or at least wing-like skill level on this site recently, but this piece will be focused on bigs and their responsibilities. Ball handling and shot variation won’t exactly determine a specific upside for a lob target kind of center. When it comes to this kind of skill set, there should be more of a focus on effectiveness with lower usage rates, low turnover rates, and minimal expectation on assist rates considering the role here is to strictly finish plays in the paint.
Size: Listed at 6’9” w/o shoes, 8’10” standing reach, 7’3.25” wingspan. Good hand size at 9” x 9.75” 5.5% body fat with a weight of 250.27lbs.
Notes: More or less, this is roughly average center size. While it doesn’t seem promising that Sims is a “true 7’ player,” his weight and low body fat result in immense strength when playing in the paint, and especially in his case, the ability to carve out space and explode to the hoop. Ideally, you’d like to see a center with a 9’2” standing reach and maybe with a slightly longer wingspan, but in the end, positions are still about skill set, and not player size.
Shooting numbers: Link provided by Hoop Math
65% True shooting percentage
83.9% of his Field goal attempts are at the rim
74.7% Finishing ability at the rim
64% Assisted shots at the rim (some indication of off-ball ability)
15.3% of his Field goal attempts are 2-point range
38.1% 2-point field goal shooting
0% Assisted shots in 2-point range
0% of his Field goal attempts are 3-point shots
0% 3-point field goal shooting
.73 free throws attempted for every field goal attempt
52% free throw shooting
Notes: Expected numbers in terms of percent field goal attempts at the rim and finishing ability. One thing stands out here as a surprise, and it’s the 38.1% 2-point field goal shooting, even with 15.3% of his total field goal attempts from all other 2-point range. That may give some indication of actual touch, since he’s not a perimeter shooter as shown with his free throw percentage and zero comfort at the 3-point line. The .73 free throw rate is good and may hint that he’s not afraid to get to the free throw line, even if he shoots at a 52% clip. Players that lack perimeter touch need to find ways to put pressure on the defense. Lob target bigs do that with their ability to finish around the rim, but they can also do that by getting defenses in foul trouble.
Skillset: Sims’s individual defense may surprise people. While he’s a big player, he’s also surprisingly agile laterally. He had multiple opportunities on defensive switches to wings and guards alike, and defended them successfully. It’s also a rarer quality for a big to defend with their feet first, chest second, and wingspan last, but Sims does that incredibly well. He denies the opposition certain angles of attack to the hoop with his mobility, absorbs the contact when they opt to shoot, and gets an unusually high rate of blocked shots with hands up due to the excellent defensive position and absorbing the initial contact.
Starting at the 2:28 mark; multiple examples of coveted switch defense against smaller players:
Here’s a quick example of that beginning at the 0:27 mark:
Sims met the point of attack at the free throw line, stood his ground, and got a blocked shot on a small jump. He just beat the point of attack to the spot.
Here, he demonstrates real recovery speed in transition beginning at the 1:27 mark:
Even in that situation, he was able to meet the opponent in transition at the spot he wanted to convert, and sealed off the driving lane.
He also has a unique ability to absolutely rise to rim level without having to gather up strength from his lower body in order to explode vertically to the hoop. When he gets a running start, he has the vertical of an elite wing. He maxed out at 44” vertical at the NBA combine, and this shows another example of that verticality:
Really, he’s just a special, unique athlete.
Other advanced numbers via Sports Reference:
10.2% Offensive Rebounding Percentage
16.4% Total Rebound Percentage
5.4% Assist Rate
1.7% Steal Rate
4.6% Block Rate
18.7% Turnover Rate
17.6% Usage Rate
Notes: Great rebounding ability tied to steal and block rates. Unfortunate has a foul rate of 6 fouls per 40 minutes and really hasn’t improved much in all four years at Texas.
Would like to see with NBA development:
Slow down the game a little bit. Sometimes he gets in trouble when a pick and roll situation gets pushed farther back, and instead of an easy roll to the hoop, he’s now in a short roll, decision-making situation. A lot of turnovers stem from his eagerness to just finish at the hoop with a dunk, but in a short roll situation, he still has a one-man advantage over the defense. He needs to proactively read if the defense is going to cover up the paint, make the catch, and then make a decision. Stopping mid-way and kicking to a corner shooter would go incredibly far for him. If he wants to develop short roll scoring moves that lead to a floater or a side step finish to the rim, that would also work well.
As much upside as he shows defensively, there has to be a certain discipline in keeping out of foul trouble. His skill set defensively is too important to give up any playing time over a hoop. Sometimes bigs mature and pick their spots of when they want to be defensively dominant. Sometimes they don’t. He has legitimate 2-way ability as a versatile defender and a lob threat. That is incredibly valuable in the league.
Where Does He Fit?
Considering the Lakers have just one first-round pick, the team may have to buy a 2nd round pick or hope he goes undrafted. But during the combine, he had such great finishes around the hoop and was able to catch any pass in the vicinity, that is draft stock shot higher after both draft scrimmages were over.
The Lakers missed having a vertical threat with Dwight Howard going to the 76ers and McGee heading back to Denver. Having a vertical threat just adds another dimension to an offense. Bigs on defense get caught making a decision between helping out a teammate defensively on a drive, or sticking to the vertical threat and preventing an easy hoop. Jericho Sims fits in this role, but has the added advantage of providing switchable defensive ability on the other end. He may not be a pure unicorn player with 3-point range, but having two of three unicorn abilities would go far for any NBA team, especially the Lakers.