Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland
The best "inner chi" shooter that I've seen in this draft
How did we get here?
Today I found out the Lakers had Bones Hyland in for a player workout. He’s a player that I’ve roughly had in the mid 1st round and didn’t think would be there by the Laker pick. But, as mentioned in the Jaden Springer piece, sometimes players slip down the draft, and good NBA talent falls to the late 1st or even early 2nd round.
Daniel Sangjib Min/TIMES-DISPATCH/
Bones recently had a great draft scrimmage game. It was so good, he was shut down for the following game, because he finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, showing NBA executives what he does best and how easily it’s translatable to the NBA game.
Size: Bones is listed at 6’2” (w/o shoes) with a 6’9.25” wingspan at 169lbs, 5.8% body fat, and 8.75” x 9” hands, length by width, with a standing reach of 8’5.5”
Notes: It appears he gained some weight leading up to the draft combine to at least get to 169lbs., but what I like here is, he has the wingspan of a wing player, with a standing reach of an average NBA shooting guard.
Shooting Numbers: Link provided by Hoop Math.
59.6% True shooting percentage
30.6% of his Field goal attempts are at the rim
63.5% Finishing ability at the rim
34.8% Assisted shots at the rim
14.7% of his Field goal attempts are 2-point range
34% 2-point field goal shooting
17.6% Assisted shots in 2-point range
54.7% of his Field goal attempts are 3-point shots
37.1% 3-point field goal shooting
.321 free throws attempted for every field goal attempt
86.2% free throw shooting
Notes: He’s an individual shot creator, as shown by his low assisted shot rates in 2-point range. More than half of his total shot attempts are beyond the 3-point line. Despite his frame, he’s well within the average in terms of aggression and getting attempts at the rim, finishing well at the rim, and a fair free throw rate as well.
Skillset: As mentioned earlier, I refer to him as the best “inner chi” shooter in the draft. That’s because at 169lbs., he makes shooting from off-the-screen distances look easy. Really, shots 27’ and beyond look easy for him, and he makes those shots off the dribble as well! He has a remarkable ability to stay on balance, and his body is well-sync’d from his feet to follow through. The ball flies off of his fingertips with great arc. He doesn’t get a ton of elevation on his jump-shots. All of the power gets translated into the shot, and it’s a complete contrast to Kessler Edwards’s shot.
The Sexy
This shot in transition starting at the 0:44 mark, looks effortless.
At the 1:16 mark, he shows how effortless the shot is in a catch-and-shoot situation. This is Klay Thompson-level touch time.
The Special
He draws gravity out to the 3-point line and beyond. The gravity is so good, it opens up a ton of backdoor opportunities. In this unique case, he drew two defenders on the cut, off the ball, and then faded to the corner for the open shot. How often do you see drop coverage in a situation that isn’t a pick-and-roll? Hyland’s defender got spun. This is rare, special, and unique.
Same defender. Same backdoor cut.
The Complementary Skill
Defenders guard him tight behind the line, so when he doesn’t cut away from the defensive pressure, he uses that gravity to his advantage on the drive.
Heavy deceleration and soft touch shown here:
He demonstrates the ability to play at intermediate speeds as well. Not everything is a high-flying 3-point shot. He’s aware of using his body as a shield to attack the defensive pressure, and shows his soft touch again.
He Does That Too?
When the screen isn’t there and defenses switch, he shows his isolation ball-handling ability. All of it looks like rhythm dribbling until he gets into the shot. Here, he doesn’t create a ton of space, and is still comfortable with the shot all the way through.
A series of self-creation shooting starts at the 0:47 mark:
There Is No Spoon
Remember this scene from “The Matrix?”
Someone told him the truth. Someone taught him early, “There is no line.”
Then, he started shooting outside of the camera view. (3:00 mark)
He’s a 3-level scorer with ability to create his own perimeter shot in a given space. He has underrated mid-range touch, even if the 34% shooting from all other 2-point range reflects otherwise. Three-level scoring is the high level threshhold as an NBA prospect for success. Keep in mind, he’s age 20. This is his baseline level scoring foundation, it’s a ton to build on.
Unfortunately defense is an issue. Now, defense is an issue with all incoming NBA rookies, but in Hyland’s case, he has a high post base, is lightweight, and isn’t the quickest laterally. Point of attack defense is going to be a challenge next level.
I’m starting with this particular clip, because the one before it, has him caught looking away and the opponent catches him off guard.
He’s not a big fan of physicality along the perimeter as well. The arm bar at 9:09 freezes him just a touch and gives the opponent that much more room to attack. This is where it helps to have a big chest (like Jaden Springer) to absorb that kind of contact without issue and continue beating a player to a spot.
Freezing the video at 9:14 shows that he isn’t completely square to his assignment and it opened up the middle of the floor just enough. He was already on his right back heel and that put him at an immediate disadvantage. At 9:19, he was in no man’s land. He couldn’t defend the pass, and wasn’t in position to defend a drive.
These are defensive position issues.
His current frame doesn’t allow him to fight through screens well. He needs to find a way to get skinny, skinnier than he currently is, to go through the screens and get back into defensive position.
Other advanced numbers via Sports Reference:
8.9% Total Rebound Percentage
16.3% Defensive Rebound Rate
16% Assist Rate
3.5% Steal Rate
0.6% Block Rate
15.9% Turnover Rate
31.8% Usage Rate
Notes: His offensive rebounding ability, 0.7% is an indicator of going away from physicality as well. Here, he has a solid defensive rebounding rate, but it’s more along the lines of chasing rebounds instead of boxing out and holding position. His 3.5% steal rate is an indicator of his team defensive ability, but shows best when he’s defending latter offensive perimeter options that spot up. In that case, he reads the floor from a corner, and uses his length to deflect passes and draw steals. This is where he’s optimized defensively.
Next level, he won’t be expected to have that high of a usage rate early on. Yes, he’s a 3-level scorer with unique scoring abilities, but his focus is mainly on the rim and not the full width of the floor. Not that he’s an unwilling passer of course, but he’s more of a short-range drive and dump off kind of passer. It’ll also be interesting to see how his scoring translates with less usage as well. Some guys just need to get touches and get a feel for the basketball. Some guys, don’t.
Would like to see with NBA development:
Strength seems like an obvious issue, but he’s been working on that over time already. From the jump, I’d just like to see him hit open catch-and-shoot 3’s from the corners, attack closeouts, and show his floater touch. Over time, when he starts drawing NBA gravity out to the 3-point line, pick-and-roll repetition would be great, along with improved ability to hit the open man out of that playtype.
Where does he fit?
The Lakers do need a scorer, especially a player that can make shots at all three levels. Hyland’s path early on may lead to some bench scoring punch from the jump. He’s the kind of shooter that initiators can seek out specifically through the pick-and-roll playtype and Hyland will relocate to an open spot and hit contested shots.
Players that draw the kind of shot gravity with his kind of shooting range are rare and special. Jamal Crawford created a 20-year NBA career with a similar skill set.
The Lakers need talent, and I’m all for choosing the best player available. If someone told me, “Hey, you could probably draft a 20-year player at the #22 pick,” I’d take that every single day. That’s immense value for the given draft spot, and for once, it would be nice to have a bonafide shooter that can not only shoot behind the arc, but create their own shot from that distance, and attack closeouts comfortably. That kind of player would add offensive dimension that is simply hard to find.
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