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Tacko Fall could be more than his height, but that is the start

By Philip Rossman-Reich

FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 10: UCF Knights center Tacko Fall (#24) plays defense during the American Athletic Conference college basketball game between the UCF Knights and SMU Mustangs on February 10, 2019 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 10: UCF Knights center Tacko Fall (#24) plays defense during the American Athletic Conference college basketball game between the UCF Knights and SMU Mustangs on February 10, 2019 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Khem Birch, Orlando Magic, Boban Marjanovich, LA Clippers
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 10: Khem Birch #24 and Wesley Iwundu #25 of the Orlando Magic box out Boban Marjanovic #51 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half of the NBA game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on March 10, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

The comp for success

There are certainly other players like him finding success in the NBA.

The 7-foot-7 7-foot-3 Boban Marjanovic averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 11.7 minutes per game last year for the LA Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. He has carved out a career as a game-changing center, immovable on the block, able to collect offensive rebounds and finish around the basket.

Even though Marjanovic has clear limitations, he is able to impact his minutes on the floor for the ones he gets. The team he plays for just cannot ask for much more.

Tacko Fall will be in that category of bigs. The team that takes a chance on him will have to use him in limited minutes off the bench and use him to change the pace of the game. He will not be able to step out and defend pick and rolls, but he can successfully protect the lane.

Fall knows how to use his length well. And playing without much concern for foul trouble could allow him to remain aggressive. Fall is a smart enough player that he would not waste that freedom.

But he is nowhere near as weighty as Marjanovic. Marjanovic is stockier and able to put on more muscle, turning him into an immovable object on the block. Fall has a more slender build. That makes him a bit more mobile so he can adjust if he gets beat. But that could make the specialty big role tougher for him too.

That is a map to Fall carving out a role in the NBA. He will come in for limited minutes and simply protect the lane. His role will be simple. But his size will enable him to fill that role pretty effectively.

Fall will play minutes in short bursts, like Marjanovic. A tool a team has to stifle dribble penetration from second units, especially. But someone they cannot ask to do a whole lot. The team will have to scheme around some of his shortcomings.

And it is just too difficult to do that for such a limited player for more than a quarter of the game.

The team that drafts Fall will have to understand this.