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Ty Lawson’s game is almost completely predicated on the extreme speed of his dribble.

He loves going coast to coast after made buckets, which puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the defense. He’s a slump buster to stop opposing teams' momentum with an easy layup. Even when he doesn’t score, his speed makes teams play defense for the entire possession, and he is a pacesetter.

Lawson doesn’t frequently use pre-dribble ball fakes, shot fakes; or jab steps; instead, relying primarily on the pure explosion of his first step and a deadly crossover. If he adds a consistent use of these pre-dribble moves to his repertoire, he will become a truly dangerous offensive player.

He is as skilled as anyone as splitting defenders in the open floor and in the halfcourt because of those bursts of speed and how he’s able to push the ball out in front of him in a controlled way.

He does a good job smelling out the seams in the defense when he penetrates. He has great hang time and is acrobatic when he gets space in the air. He has superb body control and finishes very well on continuations.

Lawson also is able to get to the rim despite his lack of height because of how well he uses his body to protect the ball and his extra burst of speed when nearing the bucket.

He sometimes tries to climb the ladder on big defenders; however, it is a low percentage scoring opportunity but is consistently successful in drawing fouls. He is much better off pulling up from around seven-feet when he can’t blow by all of the defenders.

But, he does have great hang time and elevation. He is an extremely rare dunker, only on absolute breakways, but he really has moves in traffic that few people his size are capable of.

He has great changes of pace and spin moves with the dribble, and he has impeccable balance and control. He has a good handle with either hand, but at the same time he highly prefers his right-hand, at least with what he uses.

When he converts his pull up jumper out of a full speed dribble, there is absolutely no way he can be defended. He prefers shooting runners and wide open 3’s and will need to get more comfortable in the mid range.

Here is what I wrote about Lawson's perimeter shooting last year:

Lawson’s mechanics on his perimeter shot are not his best attribute. His release is a little low, but more importantly he doesn’t extend his follow through all the way; it is somewhat of a push shot/set shot which doesn’t have much arc or softness. He does get his lower body underneath the shot, and bad mechanics don’t necessarily make a bad shooter.

His outside shot must be contested, and he’ll make open shots the defense gives him. He has enough strength to eventually extend his range once he improves his accuracy, but that accuracy now quickly diminishes the further out he shoots.

He made a huge improvement in his outside shot from his sophomore to junior season, going from 36.1% from beyond the arc to 47.2%. All those things he was doing wrong last season; low release, bad extension and low arc have all been improved upon substantially. He is now a reliable perimeter shooter, something that is a necessity for player of his size to make a big impact.

He is a good passer but not a great creator for other players considering point guard standards.

Most of Lawson’s assists come from the threat of him scoring, and he’ll get good kick out assists and wrap around passes to his bigs. He does a nice job of delivering the ball in a way to maximize its catchability.

Being so short is a detriment because he’s unable to always see and pass over the defense and occasionally telegraphs his passes.

He creates his own fastbreak opportunities after made baskets strictly on how quickly he advances the ball. But he makes himself visible and readily available for outlet passes.

He won’t get a ton of rebounds because he likes to leak out, but he has the capability of getting up in the air for them.

Lawson’s strength and quickness will also make him a difficult and pesty defender. He, of course, will have a tough time one-on-one in the post against bigger point guards, but his low center of gravity and developing craftiness will prevent him from ever being a real liability.

He should be a league leader in steals per minute. He will get many of them right off the top against the pass after made buckets by catching the in-bounder being too casual. He will act like he’s running back on defense and practically disappear before bursting towards the ball.

Lawson also has good instincts getting into the passing lanes and is able to use his quickness there. Because he’s so quick, any steal he picks up on the perimeter becomes an instant fastbreak, and he has a great conversion rate here.

Finally, he also possesses great lateral quickness defending against the dribble and will be able to pick up opposing point guards in the backcourt for added pressure, wearing them down.

If his body can be a little healthier than it was in college and not breakdown in the 82-game season, Lawson will become his team's starting point guard for many years to come.

Click here to read RealGM's draft reports on other members of the '09 class.