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11th May, 2009 - 9:56 pm
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| Current Features |
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SCOOP DU JOUR: 32 Fearless Predictions For The 2011 NFL Draft
The draft is less than a week away. Draft boards from teams are essentially set and are now being carefully guarded. Here are some predictions for what we'll see next week. Some are serious, some are fun, and less than five will probably come to fruition.
TEAM RANKINGS: Euroleague Top 16 Power Rankings
Barcelona, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Maccabi, Madrid and Siena enter the Top 16 phase as likely contenders to win the 2011 Euroleague.
STANDING 10: Non-National Games Of The Week (1/17-1/23)
The Knicks make three appearances this week, along with several from Blake Griffin and the Clippers.
PLAYER RANKINGS: 2010-11 NBA Player Rankings Through Dec. 14th
Now that more than a quarter of the season is in the books, we don't have many aberrations in the player rankings as Pau Gasol, Kevin Love, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and LeBron James comprise the top-five.
LOCKER TALK: Nash, Cleveland, & Orlando
Steve Nash could draw trade interest this summer and Cleveland isn?t overlooking Orlando?
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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By Christopher Reina
The more tape I watch and more people I speak to about this class, the more it becomes increasingly clear that there are huge differences of opinion on just about every player outside of Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio. There are a lot of players you could see fitting in excellently on specific teams, while they could just as easily become colossal busts on a team with a system that doesn't play to their strengths.
Because of this, a reliable consensus has yet to really materialize and I don't expect that to change substantially even on the eve of the draft.
This is what will happen for a lot of teams: they will walk away from the draft with a good feeling of grabbing a player who was way higher on their draft board than their pick number, yet somehow feeling a little uneasy about the pick nevertheless.
(A few adjustments in this mock following Patrick Patterson's decision to withdraw.)
Power Forward. Oklahoma
Nothing has changed for Griffin since he declared and there have been no potential red flags to make any team really consider Rubio instead of him at this point. He is the standalone stud of the draft, similar to the gap between Kenyon Martin and everybody else in the 2000 class.
Point Guard. DKV Joventut
Rubio is a transcendent point guard offensively, a very good defensive player and has a huge wealth of big game experience. Unlike some point guards in this class he is actually a true point guard and unlike the others, he has good size for the position.
Power Forward. Arizona
Hill is one player that could potentially slide a little depending on who picks when and doesn't represent a ton of value this high in the draft. He should be a nice starting power forward and a good piece to have, but not someone that really turns around a franchise. In other words, there is a large gap between the talent at two and the talent at three.
Center. Connecticut
Thabeet is far and away the best center in the draft and that says more about the state of the position than it does about the big man. For a team that can score a lot and needs a reliable shotblocker and occasional finisher, he is the perfect complement.
Shooting Guard. Arizona State
In recent years there haven't been too many pure shooting guards that are more sophisticated scorers as a sophomore than James Harden. He is just shy from being great, which has become par for the T-Wolves course as they stockpile young talent.
Combo Guard. UCLA
Holiday is a tremendous athlete and has been playing the Russell Westbrook role this year. He has an excellent handle and when he gets into the paint, he will be able to bounce off defenders and finish much the same way as Chris Paul. If Darren Collison didn't stick around for his senior season, we would have a bigger sample size of his point guard abilities and his stock would be higher than it is presently. He will be a measurement/workout stud and dismiss many of those doubts as the next few weeks play out.
Combo Guard. Memphis
Evans initially had some struggles when arriving at Memphis, but his play has been much better of late. He has shown the ability to play the point position, which is tremendously valuable given his size and build. He's also shooting the ball efficiently from the perimeter. He would be the perfect solution for Golden State because he would solve the Monta Ellis positional conundrum, due to his ability to play the point and defend big wings.
Point Guard. Wake Forest
I keep going back and looking closer at Stephen Curry to see if I'm missing something that could make him worth the eighth overall pick for a Knicks team that needs a home run and I still can't see it as anything more than a reach. He would only be this valuable to the Knicks if they were to sign LeBron or Wade next summer, where Curry wouldn't have to handle the ball as much and could spot-up all day long. Teague is a significantly better player in all aspects of the game other than as a perimeter shooter. But Teague even shot 44.1% from beyond the arc compared to 38.7% for Curry. Teague truly is the better option for the Knicks regardless of what happens over the next year.
Shooting Guard. Louisville
Even though his shooting percentages are far from ideal for a wing, he has good mechanics and a compact form. He has excellent athleticism, a good handle, a great feel for game and should have an Antonio Daniels type of career in the NBA as an incredibly productive combo guard. If the Raptors are serious about taking the Chris Bosh-era beyond the upcoming season, Williams has the best chance of making an immediate impact and at a position they need an upgrade at.
Point Guard. Roma
Jennings is a really good jump shooter and will have one of the NBA's best crossover dribbles. He is quick enough to beat his man nearly at will, especially because he's so slippery and with his very good in-air body control, Jennings is a skilled finisher.
Combo Forward. Louisville
I go back and forth on Clark and DeRozan quite a bit and always end up feeling better about the former. With great ball skills considering his height, Clark is eerily reminiscent of a Ron Mercer. He does a whole bunch of things on the floor, especially with the dribble, that few players his height are capable of at any level. He has a quick release with his jumper and a capable shot, though his efficiency is disconcerting.
Guard/Forward. USC
His athleticism is clearly off the charts, but he is so far away from being a finished product, it is difficult to envision exactly what he will look like in four years. He does a lot of things that nobody else in this draft is capable of, yet he also struggles with some of the basics.
Power Forward. Pittsburgh
This spot belong to Patterson in the previous version and gets handed off to Blair. There are very few players left in the NBA that can play in the low post the way Blair does. We've seen undersized power forwards have some really nice success of late and I think his strength and width will allow him to overcome his lack of height and lift.
Point Guard. North Carolina
Lawson could easily move up into the top-10, which I felt was an unlikely scenario when his junior season began because of concerns about his jumper. He has improved that facet of his game in shockingly quick fashion, which leaves the injury bug as the only thing that lags him behind the other point guards of this class.
Point Guard. Syracuse
Flynn has great intangibles and I expect him to actually be a better pro than he was a college player depending on the offensive system he ends up in.
Power Forward. Wake Forest
I think the Bulls would like to find a true power forward with this pick and leave their second number one selection for a wing since there is more depth at that position. Johnson is a tweener much the same way Tyrus Thomas is, but he is capable of being more of a bruiser down low, even though he has fallen in love with life on the perimeter.
Combo Guard. Davidson
The Sixers need a perimeter shooter and will also need a point guard, so Curry can deliver both. He isn't a bad point guard, but he doesn't have the handle or distribution skills that the players ahead of him have and I think the shooting of those players are more likely to eventually match Curry than the other way around.
Combo Forward. Gonzaga
His lack of athleticism and slow physical maturity will hurt him in the NBA initially and is why he should stay at Gonzaga for his junior season, but he has all of the natural skills and instincts to become everything Jared Jeffries couldn't at the next level. He has an excellent inside/outside game, both in the post and shooting off the dribble. I also like pairing him with the more physical Al Jefferson/Kevin Love, because his finesse game at 6'11" really will complement those two.
Point Guard. UCLA
Since arriving as a freshman so many years ago, Collison is a much better shooter and has decreased his turnovers. He should be able to play immediately and doesn't have a lot of negatives.
Shooting Guard. Duke
Henderson is incredibly smooth and sound in just about every facet of the game. He is a little small and underwhelming to be anything more than an average NBA shooting guard, but would be a valuable fit for the way Utah plays.
Point Guard. Florida
Drafting a pure wing with a perimeter jumper would make sense for New Orleans and there are several (Henderson, Ellington and Budinger) that would be logical, but preventing Chris Paul from wearing down should be a priority. He is a pure point guard, but he has enough size to play some shooting guard as well.
Point Guard. VCU
With all of the other guards that are out there, I don't see him as anywhere close to those other ones. He is unquestionably a very pure scorer, but is more of a scoring point than a pure point; a four-year point guard that commands as much attention as a scorer as Maynor did at VCU should get more easy shots for teammates than he did. Also, how will he adjust to a system where he can't overdribble and isn't the focal point? Lastly, I'm not uniformly skeptical of small school seniors, but the upside of said players is almost always dubious.
Point Guard. St. Mary's
ecause he's so slight and quick, he's more Tony Parker than Chris Paul, except with a better shot. That is high praise, but he is a very capable point guard and his 3-point percentage in the NBA should increase, similar to Curry, because so many of his collegiate attempts were closely contested.
Small Forward. Texas
The Blazers need some toughness in the frontcourt and James can certainly deliver that. He would fill a similar role playing alongside LaMarcus Aldridge that P.J. Tucker did while those two were (also) at Texas.
Shooting Guard. North Carolina
Sam Presti could get cute here like they did last year with Serge Ibaka, but a straightforward shooting guard who is a San Antonio-esque role player/winner to give their wing position some depth is the wise play.
Small Forward. Arizona
The Bulls will need to find a formula for the kind of players to surround Derrick Rose and Budinger fits that with his perimeter shooting and ability to also put the ball on the floor a little.
Center. Ohio State
For the same reasons why the Grizzlies grabbed Darko and the fact that they can afford to wait a few years of Mullens in the D-League. He is the best value play out of any player in the 20s and probably would have been a lottery pick in 2010 if he game GMs and scouts one more year of college ball.
Small Forward. Tennessee
Tyler Smith would be much better served being drafted by a team like the Lakers and Cavaliers so he can simply be a utility guy on a good team, but he could be better than most of Minnesota's small forward options already.
Shooting Guard. LSU
Thornton can make a nice impact offensively in a number of ways and I think he is better suited for the triangle than the other shooting guards in this area of the draft. He is a crafty scorer and while not a pure shooter, he has a quick release and nice lift.
Small Forward. Georgetown
Summers has a ton of toughness and skill, which makes him a prototypical NBA small forward. But he should have played significantly better this season, which has scared a lot of people off of him and this slot represents that much more than it does how much he is thought of.
Second Round
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Small Forward. Maccabi Tel Aviv
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Point Guard. France
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Power Forward. Mississippi State
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Point Guard. UConn
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Small Forward. Pittsburgh
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Power Forward. USC
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Point Guard. Gonzaga
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Forward/Center. Georgia Tech
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Power Forward. St. Joseph's
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Power Forward. North Carolina
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Shooting Guard. Temple
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Point Guard. Cholet
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Power Forward. Gonzaga
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Shooting Guard. Kentucky
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Point Guard. Tennessee-Martine
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Power Forward. Georgia Tech
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Small Forward. Villanova
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Combo Forward. Spain
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Power Forward. Connecticut
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Combo Forward. Missouri
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Small Forward. North Carolina
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Combo Forward. Memphis
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Small Forward. Sweeden
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Point Guard. Maryland
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Forward/Center. Netherlands
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Shooting Guard. Central Florida
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Combo Forward. Xavier
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Power Forward. LSU
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Shooting Guard. Marquette
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Small Forward. Auburn
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