Goal No. 1: Be stronger in the paint
If you have studied the play of European basketball players, you will find that moving strong to the basket and drawing hard fouls is not part of the game. Boxing out can be counted out. These things are taught from a very early age in the US. American players forget to box out as well, but every big man has seen Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and others kill the basket when they dunk the ball.
Zub started out in the NBA Summer League last season doing a good job trying to kill the basket and he had some exciting key blocks. In the D-League he battled for position to get the ball down low to go up and get a lay up, a sky hook or a dunk.
Then he moved onto the Lakers and showed promise, garnering respect from his fellow teammates and fans. This summer he seemed to revert back to pre-2016 form. Zub needs to step up and channel both Shaq and Kareem Abdul Jabbar this season. I hope the coaching staff have him working with both of them. He needs the killer instinct under the basket.