Garza's defense -- particularly on the perimeter -- is the main thing holding him back from being considered a first-round pick and surefire NBA player. While Garza is one of the most efficient college basketball players the NCAA has ever seen, as Jonathan outlined, his issues defending pick-and-roll are a big reason the Hawkeyes rank 95th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, on a team that often toggles between man and zone. He has done a great job of adding something new to his offensive repertoire every year, but Garza's feet aren't going to get much quicker, which isn't ideal in an NBA in which defending pick-and-roll is king.
With that said, not every NBA center is as nimble as
Bam Adebayo or
Anthony Davis when guarding ball screens, and most NBA teams still play drop coverage defensively in hopes of forcing contested midrange jumpers. So, for Garza, his best chance of not getting routinely exposed guarding pick-and-roll would be learning how to play the cat-and-mouse, bluff-and-recover game like we've seen from ground-bound NBA centers such as
Nikola Jokic,
Jusuf Nurkic or former Defensive Player of the Year
Marc Gasol. Both Jokic and Nurkic average 1.5 steals per 40 minutes for their careers, using their quick hands, anticipation and veteran mind games to add value as backline defenders despite lacking vertical explosiveness.
A center like
Brook Lopez wasn't always considered the pick-and-roll defender he is today, as he's now a key cog on a stellar Milwaukee defense predicated on playing drop coverage while living with above-the-break 3s. Slow-twitch bigs can develop into sound pick-and-roll defenders, but unfortunately for Garza, he doesn't have the length (7-1 wingspan) of bigs such as Lopez (7-6),
Nikola Vucevic (7-5) or
Ivica Zubac (7-4). That length really helps slower-footed bigs sit back in those deep drops and still impact the ball while not giving up lobs.
Garza would also benefit from becoming a more consistent rim protector when you consider how he projects as a pick-and-roll defender. He has solid timing in verticality situations and is blocking 1.7 shots in 30.3 minutes, but Garza struggles to cover ground swiftly and doesn't have any pop as a leaper, which clearly limits his upside as a shot-blocker. Becoming a sturdier one-on-one post defender and a dominant defensive rebounder like a
Jonas Valanciunas-type would also deter him from getting played off the floor. Garza ranks 20th in defensive rebounding percentage among our top 100 prospects, behind perimeter players such as
Joel Ayayi (Gonzaga) and
Jason Preston (Ohio).
Defense is the clear drawback to Garza, but NBA scouts are also debating just how much some of his interior scoring will translate to the highest levels. While also blessed with soft touch, Garza does a lot of his damage by sheer force via deep duck-ins and offensive rebounds, as Jonathan outlined. Almost 50% of his offense comes out of post-ups, and partially due to Garza's lumbering running style, Iowa ranks 103rd in the nation in pace. With so many talented perimeter players and athletes in the league, will an NBA coach be willing to slow it down and play through Garza when he's on the floor? Or will he be able to change ends through sheer effort like we've seen from bigs such as
Isaiah Stewart?
To his credit, Garza
has modernized his game with his shooting stroke, which will likely translate well to the NBA. Now it's about continuing to get more comfortable playing out of handoffs and short rolls, as most bigs who aren't run-and-jump centers really shine as ball handlers and facilitators in these situations -- like Gasol. Garza shows promise as a distributor when double-teamed and has the touch and feel to be a threat in 4-on-3 situations after rolling to the rim with more reps.
All in all, if you're going to be a liability on the defensive end of the floor at the center spot, you have to be so special offensively to warrant playing minutes. With Garza's quickness and agility likely difficult to improve, becoming an elite floor spacer, switch-punisher, short-roll facilitator and dominant rebounder is likely his most realistic road to doing that.
-- Mike Schmitz
www.espn.com
