Today in continuing our 2021 NBA Draft scouting report series, we examine a promising young forward out of Spain, Usman Garuba.
Defense-first players are commodities that aren’t quite as common in today’s NBA landscape and that can extend to the NBA Draft as well — though not always as exclusively. The issue that can tend to rise when it comes to defense-first players is that they can struggle on offense, meaning that when it comes to the playoffs, teams can load up elsewhere.
For the Hawks themselves in their second round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons’ struggles offensively became a key point in the series as the Hawks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.