Cheick Diallo is oozing potential. The New Orleans Pelicans big man has the makeup of someone who can do a lot offensively. He's also an underrated rebounder and solid defender wrapped up in a 22-year-old body.
In Saturday's contest against the Los Angeles Lakers, he showed off some of that defensive prowess, with a strong block at the rim on Brandon Ingram.
Listen to David Wesley — give Cheick Diallo more minutes and look at what he can do with them. He's extremely athletic and will only get better as he gets more time. That much is evident by his last two outings.
Diallo's only averaging 11.5 minutes per game on the season. He got 26 minutes on Friday and 19 more on Saturday.
In Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers, Diallo dropped 16 points and 18 rebounds (career-high) on 5-of-7 shooting (6-of-7 from the foul line). He added an assist and a block as well.
Then on Saturday against the Lakers, Diallo went for a double-double again. This time, he dropped 18 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-8 shooting (2-of-2 from the foul line). The 6'9″ forward added a steal and two blocks on the night as well.
Wesley's wish should come true. Diallo should get more minutes for the rest of the year, especially with the Anthony Davis drama going on. Even when/if Davis plays any more, he won't be getting the hefty minutes he like before.
With those minutes needing to go somewhere, the logical choices would be Diallo and Jahlil Okafor.
If both play well (which they have lately), the Pelicans could have an extremely young big man tandem that they can watch grow together.
No matter what they do with Cheick Diallo going forward, tonight's game and that nasty block are proof that he can ball when given the chance.
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