Analyzing Felipe Dos Anjos

May 18th, 2020

by Alan Lu

Recently, I decided to take the time to watch Chocalates Trapa Palencia’s 7-2 Brazilian center Felipe Dos Anjos play in two LEB Gold games, one that took place on November 3^rd against Tau Costello as I saw that one with thanks to YouTube via Juanma Pastor Lopez, and another that took place on November 9^th against Oviedo Baloncesto, as I saw the latter game with thanks to YouTube via Full Basketball Games.  Dos Anjos is an automatically draft eligible prospect, as he is a 1998-born international player, and I set out to watch him play to see how well he’s progressed this season.  Here are my thoughts on how he fared in these two games, as well as how his game may translate to the NBA.

Felipe Dos Anjos is a fairly good scorer in the post.  He possesses a pretty good blend of having the footwork, mobility, strength, and the shooting touch to consistently score on the block.  He will back his man down to score on right-handed hook shots, and he also can use a quick ball fake to score on a powerful dunk inside.  He also will use his footwork to get close-range scores at the rim.  He also would sometimes face double-teams in the post, but he would at times tend to try to barrel through to get his shots up, which can lead him to miss on off-balanced shots in traffic.

He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  Dos Anjos can finish plays above the rim, as he can throw down emphatic dunks off of put backs and by running the floor to score in transition.  He struggled to score from further away from the basket, though.  On one drive from the high post into traffic, he ended up missing it short, and he also missed a mid-range jumper from the right elbow another time.

Also, he displayed adequate playmaking skills for a player his size.  Dos Anjos is a good screen setter that would consistently get his teammates open shots to set up scores for them.  He also managed to find an open shooter on a dribble handoff to notch an assist once.  Sometimes though, he can struggle to get ahold of the basketball in the post.  He did commit one turnover when he was in the paint for too long, as he was called for a three-second violation late against Tau Costello.

Dos Anjos also did a very good job of rebounding the basketball.  He was very active at crashing the glass on both ends of the floor, and he would leap up aggressively to haul in defensive boards.  He also boxed out his man to get a couple of defensive rebounds.  Sometimes though, he would tip balls that would end up going to the opposition.

He is a fairly active help defender, but he will still need to improve his on-ball defense, especially when defending screens.  For the positives, Dos Anjos will look to force turnovers, as he would poke balls away and jump on loose balls to help his team get steals.  He also would use his length to close out on shooters to force some misses, and he also will sometimes be able to cut off driving lanes to get his opponents to pass the basketball.   However, he usually would have trouble guarding pick and roll ball handlers off the dribble, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.  Other times, he would be late on his rotations, which would lead him to allow opponents to score on open shots.  Other times, he would not be able to get back on defense, which would lead his team to allow score on fast breaks.

In general, Felipe Dos Anjos is an tall, energetic big man that can score in the post and rebound, and he also can throw down some powerful dunks around the basket.  He will need to improve his face-up game and ability to guard opponents in space, and he seemed to lack the lateral mobility to ably guard opponents off of screens.  While he played quite well in Spain’s second league, the LEB Gold, he did not play in their top league, the Spanish ACB League, so he may be a long shot to be drafted this year.  If he does end up making his way to the NBA, he could fill a backup center role in the league similar to former Utah Jazz center, Greg Foster.

Other Notes:

I also was able to watch Tau Costello’s 6-6, 1999-born swingman, Josep Puerto play against Palencia, and he is a mobile, skilled sharpshooter that can make some solid plays on both ends of the floor.

Puerto is a very good shooter that specializes in knocking down three-point shots, and he was able to make 48% of this threes for Tau Costello this season.  How he was never called up to Valencia Basket to play for their ACB team this season is beyond me, as that team could have used his sharpshooting skills to play for them.  Anyways, Puerto excelled at making threes both off the catch and dribble.  He has a lot of range on his shot, and he has a quick release that allows him to easily get his shot off.

Also, Puerto excelled as a scorer in transition.  He was able to score on a right-handed drive on the break, and he also drew free throws another time.  He didn’t look to shoot the ball very often, but he was very effective when he would hoist up shots on offense.  He shot the ball really well this season, and he could look to be more aggressive on offense to help his team score more in games.

 He also displayed adequate playmaking skills.  He can throw accurate passes off the dribble to set up scoring chances for his teammates.  He did throw a high entry pass that his teammate almost dropped, but Puerto did a good job of not turning the ball over on offense. Plus, he also was able to help his team get rebounds on both ends of the floor, and he also managed to push the ball up the court after leaping to get a defensive board once.

Puerto also played solid defense.  He will quickly rotate to contest shots, and he showed good recovery speed and timing to swat a shot off of a drive once.  He does a good job of closing out on shooters to force misses, and he will fight through screens and hustle back on defense. 

Overall, Josep Puerto is a skilled swingman that shoots the ball well, and he should see plenty of playing time in the Spanish ACB League next season.  It’s uncertain if he will get drafted in 2021, as he doesn’t have much experience in playing in Spain’s top league, but his ability to make shots and defend could allow him to thrive in professional basketball.  If he does make it to the NBA, he could end up being a solid role player at that level.

Palencia’s 6-9, 2001-born forward, Jaime Pradilla also played for his team in both contests.  He is an energetic big man that can score in a variety of ways, and he will look to set many screens for his teammates.

Pradilla is a good low post scorer that can frequently score and draw fouls from the block.  He is a crafty scorer that was able to use a shoulder fake to score on an up and under move, and he also used a pump fake to score on a turnaround, jump hook.  He has good strength to back his man down in the paint to establish getting deep position inside, and he has good footwork to be able to get his shot off.  Sometimes though, he can tend to force up contested shots that may lead to misses.

He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  Pradilla would frequently run in and leap up to score on tip-ins off of offensive rebounds.  He also is a decent scorer off the dribble, and he is a good finisher around the basket.  He tends to favor going to his right, but he is a patient player that can score on straight-line drives, as he can also score on an emphatic dunk at the rim.  However, there was one play where he drove into traffic, where he ended up missing awkwardly off the glass.   While he didn’t take many outside shots in either of the two games, Pradilla was able to make an open spot-up three off the catch, and he should look to take long-range jumpers far more often.

He also displayed decent playmaking skills.  Pradilla is an unselfish player that would make the extra pass to keep the ball moving, and he also managed to throw an accurate outlet pass from the ground after getting a steal to set up a score for a teammate on the break.   Plus, he alos sets good screens to help get his teammates open jumpers.  He did commit one turnover though, as he had the ball ripped away from him off of a drive from the blind side.

Plus, he was able to get his fair share of rebounds in these games.  Pradilla would sometimes leap up to get defensive rebounds, and he would sometimes be able to collect offensive boards.  However, sometimes he would tip balls that would either go to his opponents or out of bounds, and he also committed an over the back foul when going for an offensive rebound once.

However, he will need to improve his defense.  For the positives, he will actively look to play passing lanes, and he was able to tip a pass and dive for a loose ball on the ground to get a steal.  He also will actively contest shots off the dribble, and he has good strength to defend in the post to force some misses.  However, he had some trouble guarding opponents in one-on-one situations.  He would sometimes get backed down in the post or bite on pump fakes, which would cause him to commit fouls and allow scores.  Other times, he would struggle to move his feet when defending out on the perimeter, which would lead him to commit fouls.  Other times, he would sag too far off his man, which would cause him to allow opponents to score on jumpers.

Overall, Jaime Pradilla is a skilled combo forward that can make shots from all over the floor, but he will need to improve his rebounding and defense to increase his odds to end up in the NBA.  He will also need to look to take more jumpers and also tighten up his handle.  He is a talented player who very well could end up playing in the Spanish ACB League next season.  Right now, he is a prospect that could project to go in the second round range in the future.