Goga Bitadze looks more than capable of playing in the NBA, but he has plenty to learn as he joins in the Indiana Pacers.
With the 18th pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the Indiana Pacers selected Goga Bitadze, Georgian big from Mega Bemax. Fans met the pick with much consternation, as the Pacers already have two big men whom they’re building the franchise around.
In my opinion (and that of many others), the Pacers’ passed their draft test with flying colors in selecting Bitadze.
The ninth-ranked prospect on my board, Bitadze was fantastic value for where the Pacers selected him. The aim of the draft is to collect talent and the Pacers did just that. There is no question to whether Goga Bitdaze is talented.
The Georgian big has been on NBA radars for a while, but he took a sizable jump this season athletically and started playing in the EuroLeague, the second best league in the world.
Given Bitadze is only 19, his production overseas is wildly impressive. He split time between the EuroLeague and the weaker (but still strong) Adriatic League. Before Mega Bemax loaned Bitadze to Buducnost, he dominated the Adriatic league, posting a line of 28.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 3.6 blocks per 40 minutes on a blistering 67 true shooting percentage.
His early season dominance and late season play with Buducnost led him to win the Adriatic League MVP.
In the EuroLeague, his production didn’t decline much considering the level of competition. In 13 games with Buducnost, Bitadze averaged 20 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 3.8 blocks per 40 minutes on a 63.4 true shooting percentage.
Teenagers don’t produce as Bitadze did in the EuroLeague unless they are special (hi Luka Doncic!). The film backs up his talent on the stat sheet, so let’s dive into Bitadze’s game.
Goga Bitadze is extremely capable on offense
Bitadze excels as a pick and roll big man, his 6’11 250 pound frame and soft touch helping him dominate around the basket. In the Adriatic League, it was clear he was too good for the league at many instances, bullying his opponents.
Bitadze is a monster foul-drawer, with an absurd 0.801 free-throw rate in the Adriatic (for comparison, former Adriatic giant and Portland Trail Blazer Jusuf Nurkic posted a .793 free-throw rate in ABA play). Here’s Bitadze backing down former Saint Mary’s powerhouse Jock Landale with ease.
Goga’s vertical spacing out of the pick and roll is going to be a bankable skill for him on day one. His size, fluidity moving and touch makes him a tough cover as a roll man. He finishes with both hands, over and through contact.
Where Goga stands out from the glut of replaceable big men is with his skill game and IQ, first as a shooter. He only shot 31.2 percent from range in the EuroLeague, but his 40 percent across all competition is a closer reflection of his true shooting ability. His touch around the basket is apparent on his three-pointers, as he shoots an easy ball, this one on the pick and pop from NBA range.
As a passer, Bitadze is a mixed bag at this point. Bitadze is a solid overall decision maker and his lack of great passing chops doesn’t damage his game much due to his general decisiveness and ability around the basket. In the EuroLeague, his 0.83 assist/turnover ratio is solid for a 19 year old big given the circumstances.
However, he does miss far too many open windows at this point, leaving open shooters stranded on the perimeter.
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Bitadze does flash some passing vision in a variety of situations, offering some optimism for him as a passer in the future. He’s shown the ability to hit the weak corner out of the short roll.
Here’s a nice kick out of the post when Bitadze catches the eyes of the help defenders latching onto him, Goga feeds the backdoor cutter.
Goga has the right idea here trying to locate the cutter, but he should have threaded the initial bounce pass instead of lobbing and turns it over.
For a big of Goga’s dimensions, he is surprisingly mobile, fluid and coordinated in space as a handler. How many near seven foot, 250 pound big men can pump a three and attack a closeout as fluid and quickly as Bitadze does here?
How many bigs can block a shot, lead the break and finish the play with a dump-off pass for the assist?
With his handle, shooting and pick and roll finishing, Bitadze’s has the skill and IQ to separate himself from the pack of bigs on offense, even if he never develops into a plus passer.
Speaking of defense…
Goga Bitadze’s defense
Bitadze’s defensive calling card is his rim protection, where he erases shots constantly despite his lack of elite vertical athleticism. His high-level IQ and awareness and his seven-foot-two wingspan make him the rim protector he is, posting a 10.6 block percentage and 3.8 blocks per 40 in the EuroLeague. His reaction time here is impressive, noticing the cutting offensive rebounder and swatting his shot.
Bitadze shows impressive recognition here, guarding two players at once. He helps on the driver and stays grounded, forcing a pass, recovering and contesting the shot.
Even in the EuroLeague playing against grown men, Bitadze has the strength and reaction time to send shots away as a primary post defender.
At times, Bitadze’s lack of vertical athleticism loses him blocks, where he can’t load quickly enough to reach a floater or a high layup.
As almost all young bigs do, Bitadze struggles with fouling, averaging a staggering 6.0 fouls per 40 in the EuroLeague. This isn’t a major red flag, as almost all young bigs foul a ton and fouling is a sign of aggression and playmaking.
Bitadze is still growing into and learning to understand his body and his foul issues should decrease as he matures. As of now, Bitadze is too jumpy, leaping out of control and fouling offensive players.
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Bitadze’s pick and roll defense should translate to the NBA well, as he’s a plus hedge and drop defender. He is not a switch big (almost no bigs are in the NBA, despite everyone wanting their bigs to switch onto guards regularly), but Bitadze is mobile and fluid, covering ground well in pick and roll defense.
While he isn’t overly quick moving East-West, he moves well North-South, which is why he’s so great in drop coverage. He tracks back quickly and under control, reading the attacker’s movements and timing his jump perfectly for the block.
Bitadze is a solid hedge defender as well, with fluidity to get out to the ball and recover to his man quickly. He hedges well, recovers and blocks the shot.
Bitadze can cover a ton of ground after his hedges with his general mobility. Guarding the pick and roll, he hedges, drops back into the paint, stops the ball and turns around quickly to pin the layup off of the backboard.
More good work hedging here, as Bitadze contains the drive and forces a pass to the corner. Waiting until the right moment to jump, Bitadze moves his arms into the passing lane and forces a turnover.
While Bitadze’s awareness and sense of positioning is strong, he can lose focus and become confused with more complex actions and more dynamic offensive players. Anadolu Efes repeatedly targeted Bitadze with a Spain pick and roll and he often was slow to process, giving up easy shots.
As I mentioned before, Bitadze’s perimeter defense is around average for bigs his size. He doesn’t have stone feet, but he’s no Nic Claxton either checking guards. Shiftier guards can exploit Bitadze’s lateral movement, blowing by him in hard hedges or on straight switches.
Bitadze does flash competence on the perimeter at times, sliding his feet well and containing and contesting with length.
Defense is Bitadze’s biggest strength, where his pick and roll coverage meshes well with what the Pacers like to do, projecting him as a plus defender.
Pacers’ Fit
With Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis occupying minutes in the frontcourt, Bitadze’s fit on the team is dicey. Assuming one is not traded, he will likely see most of his minutes at the backup five. On offense, Bitadze’s strong rolling game out of the pick and roll provides a different dimension than Turner’s pop-centric assault.
Defenses are used to Turner’s pick and pop jumpers, opening up Bitadze’s dives to the rim. Bitadze can pop as well, keeping defenses honest. We all know how Nate McMillan adores the post up and Bitadze should be effective there as a pro as well.
The Pacers have their bigs drop in pick and roll coverage the majority of the time, suiting Bitadze’s skillset as well. Playing with Sabonis, he adds a rim protection threat Sabonis does not. Given Turner’s improved perimeter defense and agility, the Pacers could conceivably run Turner at the four and Bitadze at the five, allowing for a surplus of rim protection.
When talent is on the board who shouldn’t be there, the smart move is to pick him and figure it out, regardless of fit. Landing a top ten talent at 18 is always a success and Kevin Pritchard did a fantastic job identifying value and jumping on top of it.
Bitadze’s refined skill set and IQ on both ends, combined with his production overseas, make him a strong bet to be a good NBA player for a long time, whatever Indiana decides to do with him.