Analyzing Bryant Crawford and Doral Moore

June 5, 2018

Recently, I decided to take the time to watch Wake Forest’s 6-3 junior point guard Bryant Crawford as well as junior center Doral Moore, as both of them are early-entry candidates for the 2018 NBA Draft. I decided to see them play in a February 7th game against Miami, as I was able to see this with thanks to YouTube via Ev Fed. Here are my thoughts on how both of them fared in this game, as well as how their skills may translate to the NBA.

Bryant Crawford is an athletic, skilled combo guard that can shoot and score the basketball, and he also is an unselfish player that can get assists when he is on the floor. Sometimes, he may play too wildly on offense which can get him into trouble, but his ability to make shots could make him an intriguing option for teams to select in the second round this year.

Crawford is a very good long-range shooter that can make plenty of spot-up threes from beyond the arc. He has a quick release and moves well off the ball, and he can quickly get his shot up before defenders close out on him. He also can make trail threes, and he can also draw free throws on pull-up three-pointers. Some of the latter was due to defenders being too aggressive on closing out on him as all of his long-range jumpers he made from beyond the arc were off the catch, but he did do a great job of making threes in this game.

However, he struggled to score consistently on aggressive drives to the basket. Crawford does have a fairly good first step off the dribble, and he is a skilled ball handler that can occasionally split double teams, but he tended to struggle to score in traffic, and he also had some trouble finishing plays around the basket. Crawford did have a good score in transition, as he managed to score on a tough, right-handed fast break drive once. Also, he was unable to connect on pull-up, mid-range jumpers.

He also displayed decent playmaking skills. Crawford is an unselfish player that will look to find the open man, and he can get the ball to teammates in transition to set up scores for his team. He also will set a screen every once in a while. However, he also can be turnover prone. Crawford may force passes into traffic that can be intercepted, and he also may struggle to make decisions when facing heavy ball pressure. He also can be inaccurate with his passes. Also, there was one play where he drove into traffic, as he ended up having the ball ripped away by a defender.

Also, he can also get his fair share of boards when he is on the court. Crawford will help out to get a few defensive rebounds, and he also managed to tip a ball to a teammate to help his team get a defensive board. However, there was one play where he committed a reach-in foul when he tried to go for an offensive rebound due to over-aggressiveness. Plus, he also played decent defense. Crawford is an active help defender that can roam around to poke balls away as well as to heap upon loose balls to get steals for his team. He also actively fought through a screen once, and he will close out on shooters to get opponents to miss on jump shots.

On the other hand, he can struggle to consistently stay in front of his man on drives, as he can get caught backpedaling too far underneath the hoop, and he also was beat on a stepthrough move another time, as this can lead his team to commit fouls and allow scores. He also can be prone to committing an occasional reach-in foul, and every once in a while he may have a lapse defensively that may lead his team to allow a score.

In general, Bryant Crawford had a fairly good showing in his team’s loss to Miami on this day. He is a skilled combo guard that shoots the ball well, but he will need to cut down on the number of turnovers he commits, and he will also need to shore up his position defense. Right now, he could be a potential second round pick in the upcoming draft. He ended up missing the combine, but his ability to put the ball in the hoop could help him get noticed by NBA teams, and in a favorable scenario, he could potentially develop into being an effective role player in the mold of a Chucky Atkins type in the association.

Wake Forest’s junior center Doral Moore showed off some inside scoring and rebounding skills, and his ability to make plays around the hoop could make him a candidate to possibly go late in the second round this year. Moore is an energetic player that excelled at scoring on hustle plays. He would often crash the glass to get offensive rebounds, and he would score on tough put backs in traffic. On one play, he managed to score on a powerful put back dunk, and he also scored on a tip dunk off of a teammate’s miss. However, he may not always roll hard to the rim, and his teammates also had trouble getting the ball to him on the move, as he didn’t really get good opportunities to score on rolls in this game.

He also did a decent job of scoring in the post. Moore only showed off basic moves, but he was able to get the ball inside once after an opponent allowed him to get an easy catch with his left shoulder on the right block, and he used a drop step to throw down a powerful jam to score that time. However, he missed on a separate play after attempting to score on a fadeaway jump hook. On another occasion, he set up too far away, and was unable to seal his man, so his teammate was not able to get the ball to him as an opponent deflected the ball way. He also did a very good job of rebounding the basketball. Moore is very active on the glass, as he will leap up to get numerous boards on both ends of the floor, and he does a great job of collecting offensive rebounds, as he can score off of them to provide second chance points for his team.

On the other hand, he displayed just average at best defensive skills. For the positives, Moore is a good shot blocker as he can make plays to protect the paint for his team. He managed to rotate to swat a shot on a drive off the glass, and he is a fairly mobile big man that possesses good timing. He also actively hedged out on a screen and was able to get back to his man. Also, he will actively contest shots inside the paint to force misses.

However, he can struggle to defend in space, especially when guarding quicker players. He can be late to rotate on opponents off of cuts or drives, which can lead his team to commit fouls and allow scores. He would rotate on drives, but would end up committing fouls in trying to contest shots. Moore also can tend to be late on his rotations, and there was one time where he sagged too far and didn’t step out on a shooter on a switch, as he allowed his opponent to make a three on a pick and pop play.

In summary, Doral Moore is a tall, big-bodied center that can finish plays above the rim, rebound, and block shots. However, he will likely need to expand upon his skill set offensively, as he will need to improve his low post game and work on his jump shot, and he will also need to improve his position defense. This year, he was unable to get a combine invite, and there may be a good likelihood that he may wind up going undrafted this year. But if he can work hard to hone his craft and make the necessary improvements, he could end up being an NBA player similar to a Dakari Johnson type, as he could develop into being a backup center in this league.