Analyzing Trentyn Flowers in an NBL Preseason Game Against South East Melbourne

September 16^th, 2023

This time around, I decided to watch Adelaide’s 6-8 forward, Trentyn Flowers play in a September 1^st NBL preseason game against South East Melbourne, with thanks to YouTube via South East Melbourne. Flowers is an athletic, energetic forward that has been getting some draft buzz, and this was a chance to see him play against a high level opponent early in the season. Here are my thoughts on how he fared as well as how his game may stack up for the NBA. Also, for those that are interested in the box score of this game, here is the link.

Trentyn Flowers is an athletic, energetic swingman whose ability to make high-motor plays combined with his upside could make him an intriguing second round prospect for the 2024 draft.
(Photo: Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports, via Sports Illustrated)

Trentyn Flowers turned in a decent showing in his team’s win over South East Melbourne. He showed a knack for scoring on hustle plays, and he is an unselfish player that would find open teammates. He will still need to improve his outside shot, ball handling, and defense, but he was able to make some solid plays in this game, especially on the offensive end.

Flowers showed a knack for scoring on hustle plays. He really excelled at scoring on quick, backdoor cuts. He showed good balance and finishing ability to score on a fallaway flip layup. He also managed to get the ball on a cut to score on a strong, two-handed dunk. He also ran the floor to score on a high-flying, two-handed jam. He also pushed the pace off of a defensive rebound once, but ended up missing wildly on a quick drive in transition.

Early on, Flowers was able to dribble off of a screen to score on a contested long two-pointer. He also dribbled right off of a screen to draw free throws on a floater from the baseline. But while he did take a couple of threes, he missed both of them from beyond the arc.

He also flashed some playmaking skills. Flowers would often bring the ball up as he would essentially be the team’s point forward, and he is an unselfish player that will look to find the open man. He would quickly swing the ball to open shooters, and he was able to notch a couple of assists. He also managed to set a solid screen, even though he appeared to get away with setting a moving screen, to help his teammate get an open lane to dribble up to take and make a three-point shot. On the downside, Flowers was also turnover prone. He tended to careless with the basketball when handling it, and he also would struggle to handle the ball when heavily pressured. He dribbled off his own foot that led to an over and back violation, and he also was called for committing a couple of traveling violations. Early on, he pushed the pace quickly, but he then threw an inaccurate drive and kick pass that sailed out of bounds.

Flowers showed a solid ability to rebound the basketball. He would crash the glass and leap up to get numerous defensive boards, and he would tend to push the pace to create fast break opportunities for his team. However, he also would sometimes not box out his man on rebounding opportunities, which would lead his team to allow opponents to get extra chances to score at the rim.

Defensively, he struggled in this game. On one good play, Flowers was able to recover on a drive to block a shot hard out of bounds. He also showed quick feet when defending out on the perimeter. However, he would tend to struggle to guard opponents in one-on-one situations. When defending in the post, he got overpowered early on and allowed an opponent to score at the rim. Later on when defending on a drive, he got beat off the dribble and later was called for committing a foul. He also would sometimes have lapses defensively. On one play, he didn’t hustle back and his team gave up a fast break score. On another, he didn’t have his hands up when defending a pass from an opponent, which led to an easy entry pass to get through to set up a score around the basket. Another time, he over-helped off his man as he and his teammate ended up both doubling an opponent out on the perimeter, but allowed the passer to find an open cutter that led them to give up a score at the rim.

Overall, Trentyn Flowers is an athletic forward that was able to make some hustle plays to give his team a boost, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He’ll need to work on adjusting to the longer three-point line, and on his decision-making and defensive skills. He needs to improve in the finer points of the game, but he is an athletic, energetic swingman that may have considerable upside, and he could project to go in the late first to the second round range in the 2024 draft.