Kyle Filipowski Scouting Report: Defense
Kyle Filipowski is a 7-foot sophomore for Duke who's having an incredibly productive season so far.
He's averaging 17.5 points, three assists, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 75.5% from the free throw line through two seasons and 32% from three this season (38 attempts and 5.8 3PA per 100 possessions). Additionally, he meets the four criteria of the most difficult Productive Sophomore Query threshold, a threshold in which, if met, 71% of sophomores that qualify play five or more years in the NBA.
While Filipowski is best known for his offensive talent, he has been impactful on the defensive end of the floor so far this season as well. Let's take a look at how Filipowski can provide value to an NBA team on that end of the floor.
On-Ball Defense
First, let's break down Filipowski's on-ball defense. Similar to his offensive fluidity for a 7-footer, Filipowski moves his feet well on the perimeter defensively for someone his size. While he likely isn't a player who can contain guards on the perimeter consistently in the NBA, he's shown enough mobility to not be a liability in switch situations off of pick-and-rolls. Below is film that shows him staying with driving guards using a blend of solid lateral quickness and strength. This includes going up against impressive players such as Kylan Boswell, Caleb Love, and Miles Kelly.
Pick-And-Roll Coverages
Show Coverage
Sticking with Filipowski's adequate mobility, the sophomore's best fit defensively is in show coverage. It allows him to utilize his lateral quickness without having to worry about having the foot speed to contain drivers all the way to the rim.
Drop Coverage
Filipowski has also shown potential in drop coverage, where he usually positions himself well between the ball-handler and roller to simultaneously contain both players while his teammate recovers in their rearview pursuit. Additionally, he is mobile enough defensively to help his teammate momentarily if they get caught on the screen.
However, there are times when the Duke big will over-rely on his strength and end up having to compensate with inadequate foot speed. Therefore, this can lead to a bucket for the opposing team when in drop coverage. Other times, as shown in the second clip, Filipowski may not begin backpedaling quick enough and leads to him being out of position for a contest at the rim. Overall, as mentioned earlier, show coverage is likely preferable to drop coverage for Filipowski as he can rely more on lateral quickness than foot speed in show coverage.
Paint Defense
Statistically, Filipowski is fairly impactful at the rim defensively. He's recording a 7.5 block percentage and opponents are only finishing 45% of their attempts at the rim when he's the primary paint defender. These are both solid numbers but, for reference, are not at the level of recently drafted rim protectors (ex: Chet Holmgren or Walker Kessler).
Holmgren recorded a 12.6 block percentage as a freshman at Gonzaga while opponents finished only 35% of their attempts at the rim against him. Kessler, meanwhile, recorded a 19.1 block percentage and opponents only finished 33% of their attempts at the rim against him when he was a sophomore at Auburn. While not a completely fair comparison since Kessler and Holmgren are two of the best rim protectors from recent classes, it's important to analyze the production previous, recently-drafted rim protectors had in college when projecting future NBA prospects.
All above at the rim data is from Synergy Sports
While Filipowski sometimes has impressive blocks due to his length and timing, as shown in the first set of clips below, other times players finish through him at the rim. Therefore, it's unlikely he will project to be a team's primary rim protector in the NBA but rather he can provide occasional, supplementary rim protection. This means that Filipowski is better off as a four defensively, allowing him to showcase some of his mobility without having to be relied upon as a rim protector.
Lastly, while not directly relating to defense, it's important to point out at that Filipowski is an excellent rebounder. He has a 27.1 defensive rebounding percentage and 8.4 offensive rebounding percentage so far this season.
Defensive Summary
Overall, Kyle Filipowski is a 7-foot big who could project to be a Mobile Big in the NBA. While he would likely need to continue improving his lateral quickness and foot speed to have the same impact at the NBA level as he does at Duke, he's undoubtedly shown potential containing drivers, switching, and executing show coverage.
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