This past season, Louzada was arguably the most talented youth in Brazil's domestic league, the NBB. Not a traditional powerhouse, his team - Franca - powered all the way to the final, only to lose to Anderson Varejao's Flamengo squad. And Didi was a pivotal part of this success.
In final's action, Didi did not receive significant minutes for the first half of this series. But, by the fifth and final game, he not only saw significant playing time, but was his team's leading scorer throughout most of the contest. Unfortunately, Didi hyperextended his elbow and was forced to leave part way through the game. Still, his performance in the NBB playoffs highlighted his strengths and weaknesses on both ends of the floor.
Most importantly, Didi Louzada projects as a ballhawk at the next level. He was the most impressive defensive player that I witnessed in the NBB, boasting elite lateral quickness, which places him in rare company in the 2019 draft class. While still somewhat unrefined, Didi Louzada's defensive instincts, activity, vocal approach, and overall tenacity lead me to believe that he can develop into a lockdown wing at the NBA level. When examining film, the most evident thing that jumps out is Louzada's lateral quickness and ability to track his man. All season long, while defending on the perimeter, Didi was glued to his man's hip. He fought hard over the top of screens and regularly shadowed his man, limiting the effectiveness of both rub screens and pin downs. Didi is a willing help defender and regularly switches or leaves his man to defend the ball at the rim. He possesses quick and active hands, getting low in his stance and regularly stripping the ball without fouling.
With that said, he has a tendency to over-help at times, and this is particularly evident against strong side three point shooters. Louzada has a tendency of doubling offensive players attacking the rim, which leaves some perimeter shooters open on the strong side. Due to his elite quickness, Didi is often able to recover back to his man. But, this will not always be the case at the NBA level. Additionally, he does struggle at times to defend stronger players who are able to create space against him. Flamengo's Marquinhos, for example, often got the better of him by creating space and connecting on balanced jump shots. Given his innate ability to track and recover on offensive players, Didi must do a better job of selling push offs. In terms of closing out on shooters, Didi does an excellent job of extending his arm at the right moment when closing out on three pointers. With that said, he must be careful when contesting these shots at the next level, as players will draw a foul from beyond the arc if Didi extends his arm too early. Under the tutelage of NBA coaches, coupled with elite strength and conditioning programs, Didi should make these adjustments rather easily.
On the offensive end, Didi is mainly a three point shooter with a high basketball IQ. Though he is somewhat streaky, Louzada shot 42.7% on his 7.3 3 pt attempts per 40 minutes, due in large part to his consistent mechanics. While he does not sport the most fluid looking stroke - failing to release the ball at its apex and maintaining a very slight hitch - his shot was effective for most of the season. Didi is capable shooting off the catch or off the dribble, though the vast majority of his three point shots came off drive and kick plays. Additionally, the vast majority of the three point attempts that I witnessed were uncontested and a result of dribble penetration in Franca's four-out sets. As a result, I believe that Louzada still has room to improve as a shooter, though I expect him to excel shooting corner threes the second he enters the league. Didi must also develop more of a mid range game in the NBA, if he hopes to keep defenses honest. In terms of his post moves, Didi had been able to back down his man at the NBB level, before implementing a textbook drop step and finish. I do not believe that this will translate to the next level, however.
In terms of his ability to attack the basket, Didi possesses a very quick first step. He is an excellent athlete with the requisite creativity to avoid defenders and streak to the basket, finishing with exceptional hangtime. When getting downhill, Louzada's Euro step is deadly, and he is creative enough to finish at the summit. While he thrived attacking the rim at the NBB level, he will need to make some adjustments if he hopes to experience the same level of success in the NBA. To do so, he must first fine tune his handle, which is rather rudimentary at this stage. Importantly, he has not mastered any hesitation moves to keep defenses off balance simply because he has always been able to beat his man with a quick first step. Additionally, though his dribble is fairly high off the ground, Didi does an excellent job of shielding the ball, rarely turning it over. He must make adjustments here, though, if he hopes to be effective against NBA traps and double teams.
While Didi's elite tools give me confidence that he can develop as a slasher at the next level, his inability to finish through contact at the rim is still concerning. Importantly, Didi's play must be examined in the context of his four-out offense. Most of the film on Louzada shows that he rarely was met with a secondary defender at the rim after beating his man off the dribble, due in large part to his team's spacing. Given the fact that most of Franca's bigs were capable shooters on the perimeter, opposing defenses were rarely able to help on Didi. Thus, he often had one man to beat before scoring at the rim. This will change at the NBA level, where interior players possess far superior lateral quickness and rim protection. With that said, I believe that with improved strength and concentration, Louzada will be able to make significant strides in this area at the next level.
With regard to his basketball IQ, Didi's strong floor vision was masked by Franca's static four-out offense. Their sets featured limited movement off the ball, and as a result, Louzada was not able to showcase his elite vision hitting cutters - something that defined his play at the Nike Hoops Summit. To put this offense into context, a favorable comparison might be the Houston Rockets when Harden opts to go one on one, rather than utilizing pick and roll sets. Within the context of Franca's system, Didi did an excellent job spacing the floor and occasionally fed the post or hit cutters when met with a double team. Set apart from the context of his NBB offense at the Nike Hoops Summit, Louzada was extremely unselfish (often too unselfish) facilitating for his teammates, and demonstrated his knack for seeing plays before they developed. He consistently hit the roll man and did this before hunting his own shot. While he still must fine tune his handle, Didi Louzada should develop into an effective pick and roll player at the NBA level, due to his exceptional vision and quickness.
Ultimately, Didi's willingness to move without the ball and facilitate for his teammates makes him the perfect complement for master floor general Ja Morant in the Grizzlies' newly minted up tempo offense. Importantly, Didi is very effective in transition, and most assuredly Morant will push the pace. Further, given his elite athleticism and attention to detail boxing out, Didi Louzada is an effective rebounder who can leak out in transition. All in all, 6'6 Marcos Louzada is a special athlete who already spaces the floor and defends. While I have read some reports suggesting Didi is a decent draft-and-stash candidate, I do not believe that his skillset is best suited to develop in Europe. Didi's speed and athleticism will be most valuable in an up tempo offense. And, in order to ultimately reach his potential, Didi must become more effective in pick and roll sets, which are commonplace in the NBA. Importantly, it should be noted that Didi has received limited fanfare largely because Franca continued to play into June, and it is possible that he has slipped under the radar, given that he only recently started working out for NBA teams. Do not let the lack of buzz fool you: Marcos Louzada is the steal of the 2019 draft and should be the Memphis Grizzlies' selection at 23.
Images Courtesy of: Basquete de Franca, FIBA Basketball
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