Domantas Sabonis season in review – Rookie makes his mark

Inaugural Season:

Domantas didn’t have the best rookie stat line by any means. He was streaky from time to time and couldn’t seem to find any confidence at first. This being said, he did have stats that showed some good potential.  For instance, he is the only other player, along with Russell Westbrook, who played in 81 games this season. Not only does this help his future with actual on court playing time, but will prove useful with the coaching staff to provide examples for him in the film room.  The amount of time Billy Donovan committed to the youngster should add to confidence level.  It is little things like this that make a good prospect, into a great player.

Shooting efficiency:

Sabonis shot a modest 32 percent from beyond the arc, but did have 159 attempts. In addition, he shot 47 percent when shooting between 16 and 24 feet. This is notable because it demonstrates his ability to shoot from various distances, a great commodity for a rookie  big man.  He registered thirteen games with ten or more points (including a twenty point game against the Celtics shooting 4 of 6 from range).

It is also conspicuous all of his stats came in only 20 minutes of game-time. Given the depth at the center position, and the acquisition of Taj Gibson, these were minutes we expected. The youngster gained confidence via this playing time and made the most of every single minute.