Atlanta Hawks 2017 NBA Draft Film Breakdown: Michigan’s D.J. Wilson vs UCLA’s T.J. Leaf
By Nile Goodwyn
Bad: D.J. Wilson on Defense
Defensively, Wilson struggled mightily in covering Leaf in the paint. At 4:40 in the video, Leaf received an entry pass from Ball, and began to work on Wilson. Leaf took a dribble to the paint, and turned over his right shoulder for a hook shot. Wilson failed in using his additional four inches of length (Leaf’s wingspan was listed at 6’11 at the 2017 NBA Draft Combine), and was late to challenging Leaf’s shot. At 8:52, Leaf received another post-up opportunity, and faked out Wilson with a drop step. This sent Wilson flying, and gave Leaf a open shot, which he could not convert. Leaf then followed his shot and grabbed his own rebound over three Michigan defenders, including Wilson, and got fouled by Wagner.
On the opening possession in the second half (play begins at 29:49 in the video) , Leaf faced up on Wilson and went to work for the first two of his ten second-half points. Leaf used jab steps to disarm Wilson, and went on to blow past him for a close range jumpshot where Wilson should have likley been called for his third foul.
At 36:08, Wilson commits a horrible foul on a three-point attempt by Lonzo Ball. UCLA’s freshman tandem of Ball and Leaf forced Wilson and Zak Irvin to switch, leaving Wilson on an island with Ball. Ball stepped back to about 40 feet and launched a three-pointer, which was actually a reasonable shot within his skillset. Even with this, Wilson jumped into Ball in his closeout and knocked him to the floor, gifting UCLA three free throws.
Wilson has the potential and length to become a plus defender, but was commonly exposed by Leaf and UCLA’s effective offense during this matchup.