Pavel Savkov Scouting Report
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Team: Sammic ISB
DOB: 13.04.2002
Nationality: Russia
Height: 6-foot-7
Wingspan: 7-foot
Shooting hand: Right
Primary position: Shooting guard
Secondary position: Forward
Projection: EuroLeague (1), NBA (2), EuroCup & Basketball Champions League
Pavel Savkov was born on April 13, 2002, in Russia. Savkov played for some local teams in Russia and he attracted big team’s scouting staff in very short time. He signed with Baskonia in 2018 and he played at the U16 Euro Championship B division.
Savkov was one of the best players in this tournament. He won the gold medal. Played in eight games and averaged 15.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks, 1.1 turnovers while shooting 29.2% behind the arc in 8.1 per attempt and 39.3% from the court in 14.6 per attempt.
After a year in Baskonia where he played excellent Torneo Junior L´Hospitalet 2020, he went to Sammic ISB with another notable 18 years old basketball prospect Ondrej Hanzlik. He played three games in LEB Silver so far for the ISB and averaged 12.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, one steal, 3.3 turnovers while shooting 38.9% behind the arc and 60% from the court.
Physical & Athleticism
Standing 6-foot-7 with an elite wingspan, Pavel Savkov has excellent length and agility for his position that allows him to play as a versatile perimeter player on the offensive end. However, Savkov could not develop much physically. He has grown stronger since the tournament in 2018 but has not gone through a good process overall. He has very narrow shoulders compared to his wide wingspan. Hollow chest, arms are not thin, but I think he needs to work on biceps and triceps to be more competitive at the upper levels. Also, he has to add some kilos to grow. He is not a bad physically but I think what limits Savkov’s projection is the significant developmental areas he has physically. Since he is only 18 years old, I don’t think it is necessary to completely lower his career line, but I think how much weight and muscle he can add to his upper body in the next four years will determine his career projection.
The lower body is better than the upper body. I have a very simple reason, agility. Pavel Savkov is not someone who has excellent smoothness or quickness but he is really comfortable on uses his quick feet, hip mobility, average and pretty nice pop. Also, he uses his quadriceps on the defensive end when he guarding back-to-the-basket situations. But I think working on legs will not hurt him, but again, this is not as much of a necessary thing as on the upper body.
The athleticism window is a little bit complicated. Lack of strength in the upper body hurt his finishing ability around the rim, attack to the basket and one-on-one situations (last for on the defensive end). However, he also can go to the basket by using his change direction ability, burst and shifty ballhandling. I do not think that he is a good fit for the NBA or Euroleague from the athleticism window. I do not think he can fight against physical guard defenders at the high-levels for now due to lack of strength and elite smoothness and explosiveness. But Savkov has the perfect length to fill. In other words, if he gets stronger in the coming years, he will be a better player in athletics and will increase his influence at higher levels. I wonder how much PS can improve in Spain.
Last note for his shooting. As you can see below, Savkov is an incredible pure shooter and has a chance to be an elite shooter. I think the only problem with Savkov’s shot is power. Savkov, after trying six shots in the match, the ball hits the front of the basket a little bit more. In other words, Savkov is losing his strength and cannot transfer good power to his wrists. Since he has a pure shooting form, I don’t think he needs to gain much power in his wrists, but I think the Russian player can be a stable hot shooter even during intense match weeks or high game tempo if he can load strength on his chests and shoulders. (just like what Alberto Abelde did)
Offense
Pavel Savkov makes his money as a shooter on the offensive end. He is an incredibly talented shooter, creates his own shot off the dribble, is a sharpshooter from distance, shows good flashes on knockdown 3-points, off the catch and off the dribble. Good creation on mid-range distance. Looks very comfortable shooting after one dribble or two dribbles around the baseline zones or off the hop. Not a big fan of his role as a ATO, BLOB or SLOB shooter. He is not a shooter who can make money in detailed offensive sets but good on CnS and spontaneous creation.
Pure shooting form. Pavel Savkov looks very comfortable when he shoots the ball with his two motion shot mechanic. Body positioning is generally excellent in my opinion. He can position his knees and feet parallel to the line and to the basket. He bends his knees and hips simultaneously and at the right angle. He has a mini and nice jump, can coordinate his hips and kneecaps at the same time, consistent elbow points allow him fluidity, eyes on the target. But as I mentioned, lack of strength hurt his shooting form sometimes.
Pavel Savkov is a smart shooter. While pump fake, he uses his BBIQ and timing well, while shooting as an open man, he observes his surroundings quickly as the ball comes to him and takes the shot. But Savkov sometimes gets too much tension in the match and uses unnecessary shots. Not all shots are wrong, but I think he should be a bit calmer.
Pavel Savkov does not get to the basket often but is a solid finisher with soft touch when attacks. He can finishes with both hands with the style of inside hand. He is not a tight space or traffic finisher due to lack of strength and elite vertical pop.
Savkov can change direction on the ground very well, and he usually changes his direction behind the line, usually goes to the left offensive zone but then turns to the right offensive zone quickly, and attacks to the basket. I think that Savkov should be able to do at least a little better as a self-creator when drives to the basket. I would like to see him more with a combination of burst, handle and aggressiveness.
However, this kid knows how to use his length when he drives to the basket. Because as a 6-foot-7 guard, he generally takes advantage of matchups in his class.
Passing ability is the most critical thing on his offensive arsenal in my opinion. Because Savkov is a 6-foot-7 guard and can shoot, can see the court, and has a decent passing package.
He can feed the under the basket from the top of the key well, and can throw skip passes when the opponent team defends sliding on the weak side wrongly. He’s not a good operator on pick-and-roll, but when the opposing team double-teamed him, Savkov can jump and give the classic reacts pass. In the flow around the perimeter, he can give the passes with the right timing. He can see his teammates on off the ball motions with soft touch passes. But there are two important points here. First, PS gambles on passing lanes while trying to be creative and quick. Secondly, he lost the ball due to lack of elite handling against the pesky defense and gives his opponent easy transition points. In addition, due to his weak upper body, he cannot create a full shield around the ball, and he has difficulty in protecting the ball well.
That’s why I can’t pinpoint a clear good or bad projection of Pavel Savkov. Savkov cannot play small forward because he does not have elite athleticism and drive to the basket skills. He plays as a shooting guard, but sometimes he dominates the ball, which reduces the efficiency of the point guard. I don’t think he can play consistently as a point guard because has not elite handling and change of the game tempo skills. This is both a curse and a blessing. A blessing because if he can play as a point guard as a 6-foot-7 shooter, he can be the player that 30 teams will want in the NBA. A curse, because how much he can improve physically is a big question mark.
Defense
Pavel Savkov’s BBIQ makes up for his lack of strength and elite athleticism package on the defensive end. He knows how to use his length and how to push the offense by using his body very well. Also, has pretty good team awareness.
He can guard multiple positions thanks to his length but usually plays against point guards and shooting guards on the defensive end. In one-on-one situations, Savkov’s lower stance, quick hands and timing make him a good defender behind the 3-points line. He is not a defender who puts all the pressure on the ballhandlers. Also, he is not good at guarding live dribble situations, stays behind the shifty ballhandlers in one-on-one situations but when works come to the balanced, low tempo game, Savkov’s defensive efficiency increases.
Hunter in the passing lanes, Savkov does not comes with a lot of steals or blocks to the table defensively but he does a lot of important off-the-charts jobs in my opinion. So, good deflection ability. Uses his wide wingspan very well in passing lanes. Smart, really smart off the ball defender. If his man has a shooting threat, he usually chases him closely, he fluid around the screens thanks to his quickness. But if his man is not a good shooter, he usually shoots the gap to avoid the possibility of screen fake.
He sometimes looks asleep on the weak side, just watches the ball but not all the time. Not a rim protector but has shown flashes rotating from the downhill to under the basket to help his team’s main rim protectors.
Good in back-to-the-basket situations. When the offense turns his hips and shifts his weight to Savkov, Savkov uses his lower body to make uncomfortable his man. He pushes the offense legally and breaks the offense zone, which is great.
At the end of the day, Savkov is a smart and good team defender. He has a lot of room to improve live dribble and inside ISO (face up) situations and should work on lateral and vertical moves. Because lack of strength hurt his stock here again. He dislodges by the ballhandlers easily. And I would like to see him calmer in off the ball situations. Also, he should work on lateral and vertical moves.
Questions
Will he able to add some elite athleticism skills?
What will his most efficient position?
Will he able to shoot the 3-points consistently at the high-levels against pesky and physical defenders?
Overall
Pavel Savkov is an excellent shooter and good passer. On the defensive end, he has shown a lot of promising flashes in the team harmony. I think he has the potential to use his elite shooting threat at high-levels. Because this kid’s shooting form is excellent in my opinion. Also, I think he is a great passer for efficient interior scorer. However, he has to add weight and gain muscle to be good defender and all-around scorer at the EuroCup, BCL, NBA (?) and EuroLeague levels. If he can add muscle and gain weight, and shoot the ball consistently, well, Savkov really a good fit for the NBA.