Improvement Areas For Second-Year NBA Players
The 2023-2024 season is closing in, which means we here at Draft Digest will soon leave the 2022 rookie class in the rearview mirror.
However, before we do, let's take a look at the improvement areas we're hoping to see for three players entering their second NBA season.
Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
The Rookie of the Year forward, needless to say, had a ton of skill. He averaged 20.0 points, got to the free throw line a whopping 7.4 times per game, and created almost 55% of his own made field goals throughout the season, displaying an incredibly high capability of shot-creation at the power forward position.
Two key areas stand out for Banchero when it comes to development, though.
First and foremost, Banchero needs to get more efficient. He hit just 42.7% of his shots, including 29.8% from long range. For Banchero to reach the true upper elite company of NBA All-Stars, he'll need to be much more effective as a shot-maker.
Secondarily, he needs to boost his rebounding. The Magic were 16th in the league in rebounds per game, with Banchero hauling in 6.9 of them per game in 33.8 minutes. At 6-foot-10 and with a sturdy 250-pound frame, Banchero should grab that number almost by mistake every single night.
Fortunately for Banchero, he isn't starting from scratch when it comes to efficiency. His jump shot is fluid, his release consistent and his lack of efficiency is more so a result of inexperience and having the green light to test things out. With a full season now under his belt, Banchero is far more likely to pick his spots better, understand when to scale down and when to scale up in terms of volume.
Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
The teenage center exceeded expectations in his first year, all as the youngest player in the league. Duren proved to be a highly capable rebounder and had the necessary understanding of when to take the right shots and wherefrom.
Going into his second season, it's time to figure out just what type of player Duren is going to become. Will he be more of a complementary rim-running center, like Clint Capela, or will he have much higher impact, and become this generation's Dwight Howard?
In order to find out, Duren is going to have to gain a better feel offensively, when he has the ball in his hands. He's served primarily as a finisher, being assisted on 66.7% of his made shots. That number needs to go down, just a smidge, this year for the Pistons to test out his ability as a shot-creator. If Duren shows just enough skill to call his own number, and do so reliably, that changes his career trajectory in a positive way.
Duren will also need to break a traditional pattern of being a center with low free throw success. He converted on just 61.1% of his freebies, albeit on low volume (157 total attempts on the year), which could prevent him from finishing games over the course of his career, if he doesn't improve from the foul line.
Like Banchero, Duren has plenty to work with. His release isn't broken and he's surprisingly adept around the basket when he puts the ball on the floor. He converted on 74.7% of his shots from within three feet of the basket and showcased a patience down low usually not found in players that young. He rarely panicked and he seems to understand how dominant his own physique is, which should bode well for the future.
(It also wouldn't hurt the Pistons if Duren extended his range in the coming years, as his game would outright explode if teams also have to guard his jumpers.)
Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs
I'm going to honest here. What I'm about to write about Branham's areas of improvement has little to do with him as a player, and more so to do with the fact that he played on a Spurs team last season that provided him with very little opportunity to succeed in those areas.
Good efficiency is incredibly hard to come by when teams don't have a lot of talent. Defenses won't have to send as many double-teams, and especially young players are often left to their own devices in terms of having to create tough looks.
Branham is no exception. His 30.2% from downtown is not representative of his skills as a shooter, and it would come as a major surprise to me if he isn't hitting close to 40% this year, when the team finally has a primary player to take a ton of the attention away from him.
So why bring up his shooting? Right now, he's a theoretical shooter who has yet to bring the efficiency at the NBA level. We can talk about skills, setting and opportunities all day long, but fact of the matter is we need to see him convert on those shots this season to become the well-rounded scorer he has the potential to be.
It also wouldn't hurt Branham to become a better defender. At this stage of his career, his offense is clearly ahead of his defense, a trait that might remain for the rest of his career. But as he ages and develops, he'll need to close that gap.
Currently, Devin Vassell is ahead of him in the pecking order, in some part due to Vassell being more reliable as a two-way player. Branham is unquestionably the more talented offensive player with the higher offensive potential, but in order to get the minutes load he wants to have, off-ball defense in particular will need to become a major focus of his going into his second year.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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