NBA Draft: Dragan Bender vs. Marquese Chriss- Tale of the Tape

Traditional big, low post, bruising power forwards are going the way of the dinosaurs in the modern NBA. Teams are no longer looking for their power forward to be a slightly smaller version of their center. They want players at the four who can shoot the three, pass the ball, run the court, and either play perimeter defense or protect the rim (or both). This is what makes prospects like Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss so appealing. They are both versatile big men who can do a little bit of everything. Both show promising 3-point shots, both are long and can run the floor, and they can both can guard multiple positions. Bender has been pegged as a top 5 pick since December, while Chriss’ rise to the top has been a bit more sudden. This rise has reached a tremendous height too, he is in clear contention for the third overall pick and Chad Ford has gotten to wondering if he could unseat Brandon Ingram for the second pick (ESPN Insider Article Warning). Even questioning that Chriss could go top-2 seems a little absurd to me. This is probably just an “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine” situation going on with Ford and Chriss’ agent, but the hype for Chriss is real. After Simmons and Ingram are off the board, teams are going to have tough decisions to make. Especially if they’re deciding between these two power forwards. You’ll see why by the end of this piece.

One of the most important aspects that Chriss and Bender have going for them are their physical measurements. Both have great size for the power forward position, here’s how they measured:

Chriss	Measurement	Bender
6’10”	Height	7’ .5”
233	Weight	216
7’ .25”	Wingspan	7’2”
8’ 9”	Standing Reach	9’3”
38.5”	Max Vertical	27.5

Both of these players have measurements that leap out at you. Marquese Chriss might have the perfect body to play power forward in the NBA with his combination of height, strength and quickness. Combine that with his outstanding athleticism (evidenced by the 38.5” vertical) and you can see why scouts are drooling over his potential. Now, vertical leaping isn’t the only measurement for athleticism, but a max vertical that is three inches higher than Blake Griffin’s when he was at the combine is mighty impressive.

Dragan Bender’s biggest strength might just be his size. At a legitimate 7 feet tall at only 18 years of age, he will be one of the tallest players in the league, and he doesn’t even project as a center. He is rather thin at only 216 pounds and I’m sure that one of his priorities for his first year in the league will be adding weight. Bender’s height is coupled with his great wingspan that should help him contest shots and disrupt passing lanes.

Beyond the measurements, the stats for the most recent season for both Chriss and Bender could help differentiate the two and help us decide who will be the better player:

Chriss	Statistic	Bender
24.9	MPG	13.5
13.8	PPG	5.4
5.4	RPG	2.7
.8	APG	.8
1.6	BPG	.9
.9	SPG	.6
53.1%	FG%	57%
35%	3PT%	40%
68.5%	FT%	73%
2.0	TO	.6

Both played limited minutes compared to the other top prospects in this year and that is one of the factors that makes scouting these two players more difficult. Chriss has only been playing organized basketball for a few years so he is still a very raw player. Bender’s lack of playing time is a little more political. Firstly, young players oftentimes do not get lots of minutes in the European leagues. More often than not, you’ll have older players getting minutes over younger, more skilled players. Secondly, it has been known that Bender would be entering the draft and coming over to the NBA for some time now, so that gave his coach very little incentive to try and develop him by giving him heavy minutes. It was not a case of Bender not being good enough to play against European competition. In fact, when he played he was very good. If you adjust his stats to 36 minutes, it comes to a stat line of 14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Add to that his efficient shooting, and that’s pretty darn good for someone who doesn’t turn 19 until November. Chriss was also efficient in his scoring and he showed his ability as a shot blocker too. However, the statistics don’t tell the true story for either of these prospects. Let’s break them down:

Scoring

Neither of these two prospects should be expected to be the main scorer on a championship team at any point in their careers. That’s just not realistic, as scoring is only one part of both of their highly versatile games. With that said, both Bender and Chriss should have no problem getting the ball in the bucket when they need to. Bender displays a wide range of abilities when it comes to scoring. He has a promising three point shooting stroke, can attack the hoop well for someone his size, and could be a weapon in transition. His shooting mechanics have shown great improvement over the course of just a year. His shot is smoother, quicker, and more consistent and it shows in his shooting percentages. Check it out for yourself:

Bender loves to run the floor and this could be where a majority of his point come from. His long strides allow him to get out in front of defenses and his long arms are great for catching passes over the top. You could be seeing a lot of plays like this next year:

Chriss’ offensive game is currently a work in progress. He’s shown a lot of potential and he should be able to become a good scorer at the next level. His jump shot is smooth and he has great range for a power forward. He can shoot spot up jumpers and even displayed decent shooting off the dribble. His mechanics can still use a little work, but that’s expected for someone one who has only been playing for as long as Chriss has. NBA teams should love the fact that he is already as good as he is at shooting. Here’s his jumper, pretty nice right?

Chriss should be able to bring versatility to his scoring in the NBA. He can attack the hoop better than your average power forward which could cause matchup problems. He is also very quick and should be great in fast-breaks. His post-game is also developing nicely and could become a good tool for him in the NBA. His go to moves are turnarounds and baby hooks, but with his length, he should be able to get those shots off over most defenders. He needs to be a little more aggressive at times and not shy away from defenders. If he improves that, he could be a very well rounded scorer that could do it all when he has the ball in his hands.

Playmaking

Bender’s passing ability is what sets him apart from other big men in this draft. He has excellent court vision and seems to be able to get the ball right where it needs to go. He excels at outlet passes, high post passes, and even seems adept at hitting the roll man in pick and rolls. Passing big men are becoming more and more valuable as the NBA moves towards offenses that emphasize ball movement and shooting. Here you can see Bender’s court vision on display, he sees the seam in the defense and knows that his teammate will be cutting through the paint:

Bender is also a decent ball handler for someone his size and could potentially be a secondary ball handler in a few years. His ability to both pass and dribble could make him one of the best distributing power forwards in the league when it’s all said and done.

Chriss’ passing needs some serious work. Some of his deficiencies can be blamed on his lack of experience, but right now, his court vision is bad and he can definitely be a ball stopper on offense. If he is to play on the perimeter in the NBA, he’ll need to make some serious improvements when it comes to his passing. Chriss has shown some promise when it comes to ball handling and playmaking, but I do not believe this will ever develop into anything more than just taking his own defender off the dribble. 

This is probably the extent of his playmaking, which is by no means bad, it’s just not as much of a strength as Bender’s passing ability is.

Rebounding

Both Bender and Chriss have serious concerns when it comes to rebounding. Both have excellent height, Chriss has an insane vertical leap, and Bender has a great wingspan. Both prospects should be at least average rebounders for their positions. Much of these struggles are a result of physicality. Bender is not very heavy and seems to lack some of the lower body strength that would enable himself to plant in the paint and not get pushed out of position. Bender is willing to go inside and be physical in order to get rebounds, but his frame is just not at a point right now where he can fight and brawl for rebounds inside. Thankfully, he is only 18 years old and has plenty of time to bulk up and become stronger. This should help Bender put all of his other tools together and become at least an average rebounder. Here, you can clearly see how Bender’s lack of strength hurts him on the glass:

This could happen fairly often in the NBA where almost everyone is big and strong.

Chriss’ lack of rebounding seems to stem more from an unwillingness to do the physical work that is necessary to get rebounds inside. He hardly ever boxes out and he tries to rely on his leaping ability too often. He also needs to add muscle to his frame, but he also needs to be willing to fight for position and rebounds. Here, you can see how he doesn’t find his man to box out and instead just sits under the hoop and watches:

As Chriss gains experience muscle, he should be able to improve his rebounding. His instincts should improve which hopefully will lead to him boxing out more and seeing how shots are going to come off the rim.

Defense

Both prospects have the tools to be great defenders. Bender has length, height, and quick feet. Chriss has height, athleticism and quickness. Yet, both can be lacking on the defensive end at times. The cause of these problems are very similar to their rebounding problems. Bender lacks the necessary strength to guard the low post without getting bullied. Chriss can get caught watching seems to lack the defensive instincts to pair with his athleticism. However, both do have promising parts to their defense.

Bender has shown to be a potentially elite perimeter defender for someone his size. He combines quick feet with good positioning and elite length and that makes for a shutdown defender. He has the potential to guard 3-5 in the NBA thanks to his quickness and size. His long wingspan allowed him to block 5.7% of opponent’s shots during his time on the court in Israel. He also seems to have a very high basketball IQ and a tremendous motor on the defensive end. He does not fit your stereotypical “soft European big guy” role. He shuts down passing lanes, does not allow penetration, and overall plays with toughness. Here, you can see how well he stays in front of his man and keeps his hands up and active which leads to him getting the steal:

If Bender can bulk up and be strong enough to hang with centers in the NBA, he could be the best defensive player in this draft. However, for now, he should not be asked to guard centers or bigger power forwards that would take him into the low post. He should be able to stay with most threes in the NBA, especially those in second units where he’ll be getting most of his minutes, and stretch fours which are becoming more and more prevalent every year.

Chriss’ defensive struggles seem to be more due to lack of knowledge than anything physical. He seems to lack the fundamentals, positioning, and discipline to turn his physical tools into defensive production. He is quick enough to stay in front of anyone who plays in the front court, and his vertical lends itself to his excellent shot blocking number. But until he can nail down the nuances of defense, he will be a below average defender. Here, you can see how he doesn’t get low and use his quickness to stay in front of his man. Instead, he stands up which allows his man to go right by him to the hoop:

Thankfully, Chriss is only 18 years old and has plenty of time to work on his defense and his knowledge of the game. If he can improve that, he will be a very good defender due to his shot blocking capability and his quickness on the perimeter.

Both Bender and Chriss have a fouling problem that could be detrimental to their teams. Bender averaged 7.4 fouls per 40 minutes this season, which is an insanely high number. He relies on his length too often which leads to him trying to swat shots instead of just contesting them. His lack of defensive rebounding also puts him in a position to pick up fouls very often. Chriss gets himself out of position on defense which leads to him reaching or leaping into players trying to block a shot, like on this possession:

One of the keys to becoming better defenders for both of these players will be cutting down on their fouling.

Overall

Both Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender are young prospects with immense potential. Neither have the all-around game of Ben Simmons or the one elite skill like Brandon Ingram, and that is why they are not in contention for the top two picks. However, both show promise in many aspects of the game, on both ends of the floor. Bender could become a great perimeter defender while also bringing a combination of playmaking, shooting, and passing that is rare for someone his size. Chriss is going to be one of the best athletes in the NBA the minute he steps on the court. He also has a nice shooting stroke and has the potential to be an elite rim protector.

I would expect at least one of these players to go in the top 4 picks. I would not be surprised to see Boston and Phoenix pick them back to back in some order at the 3 and 4 spots. I think the lowest either of them falls will be to Sacramento at 8. If I had to choose, right now I would take Bender due to the uniqueness of his skills and his (comparatively) advanced knowledge of the game. I think both have the potential to become All-Stars at some point down the line. Fans should not be upset if their team picks either one of these young prospects, but they should also not expect them to make an immense immediate contribution. Both are fairly raw and will take a few years to develop into legitimate NBA players worthy of heavy minutes. If teams are patient with them though, they could have something special on their hands.