Yaxel Lendeborg has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this season, but Steve Kerr has finally brought the focus back to basketball.
The Golden State Warriors forward gained immense popularity after his war of words with Luka Doncic in the opening game of the season, and a lot has been said about that already.
Kerr has addressed that situation, but he has now spoken about Lendeborg’s problems on the floor that need immediate attention.
Steve Kerr highlights Yaxel Lendeborg’s major weakness
Lendeborg has definitely done enough to impress so far this season.
In his three games for the Warriors, the 24-year-old has 50+ points, 25+ rebounds and 10+ assists, which makes him the joint-fastest player in NBA history to hit such numbers.
That deserves enormous praise, and he has been getting it from Warriors fans over the last week. His coach, Kerr, has been impressed too, as have his teammates.
However, there is still a lot more to come from Lendeborg, especially in defence, and Kerr has publicly highlighted the need for that improvement.
He said in his press conference after the defeat against the Suns: “Yeah, he’s fearless, he’s huge, and he’s got a great skill set. He can dribble, pass and shoot. The biggest thing is just continuing to learn the NBA, and he’ll feel that, he’s gonna do that.
'Very poor': Steve Kerr identifies major
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“There was a play in the first half where he got free, and then he launched himself into (Khaman) Maluach. We saw that play a few times last night with Edey. That’s gotta be a pull-up jumper, that’s gotta be a Euro step, that’s gotta be kick it out.
“In college he could do that, but this is a different league. He’ll learn. He’s playing a ton, and he’s gonna get all these reps, and we’re gonna keep showing him film, and he’ll get better and better.
“The defensive side is where I want to see the most improvement, though. His weak-side awareness right now is very poor. With his size, he should be one of our best defenders at the rim. And right now he’s unaware on the weak side, and that’s an area he really has to improve.”
Kerr is spot on. Lendeborg still does a lot of things that he will not get away with in the NBA, but it’s early days for him, and he will definitely get better.
If he does and reaches his full potential, we think he will become a real star.
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