The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[white men can't jump]

Probably not just saying ...if Anderson plays 4 he will get destroyed


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For sure. Maybe for short stretches in small ball lineups....But while he has a decent physical profile, it's pretty likely he needs to get stronger to play the 3 in the NBA on a consistent basis (which is normal for a young guy). I can't imagine many, if any, NBA GMs evaluating Anderson as primarily a 4.

[grindhouse]

If Anderson is not drafted even in the first round I wouldn't be surprised because he is not the norm.


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[mcHAPPY]

Sorry, I made a typo....meant to say "[B]not[B] the worst strategy to not play your good, young.... and it's for the reasons you mentioned quoting the article, adding that so much losing can break a young player. Not sure which view you side with.

I say play them.

If you have strong leadership and high character people throughout the organization the effects of losing shouldn't be permanent.

[BobLoblaw]

It's funny because the new RPM stat ESPN brought out this week rates Henson as one of the worst players in the league (430 of 435). He's 23 in his 2nd season, so there's still upside, but depending on how the Raps analytic dept feels about him, maybe is the Raps that don't make the deal.

Looking at that stat now for the first time, Nick Collison is no.6, Afflalo is no.371, Anthony Davis is no.88, Al Jefferson no.99. I guess it's interesting to look at it, not much more.

Ever since Hollinger left, ESPN has been introducing new stat after new stat. It's their catnip. Same game logs, another way to adjust plus minus, slap a new title, write a bunch of articles about it, bingo, another one stat to rule them all.

Everyone else is trying to break every little thing into a million pieces and measure everything. The little bits of data that Daryl Morey and other NBA people throw out there sometimes, I wish we had more of that available, it's so ridiculously far ahead of what ESPN is doing.

[3inthekeon]

For sure. Maybe for short stretches in small ball lineups....But while he has a decent physical profile, it's pretty likely he needs to get stronger to play the 3 in the NBA on a consistent basis (which is normal for a young guy). I can't imagine many, if any, NBA GMs evaluating Anderson as primarily a 4.

I know they have different games, but how does he compare with Novak as far as strength, athleticism, footspeed?

[mcHAPPY]

The ever-debatable Zach LaVine checks in to DraftExpress.com with a write up and video scouting report:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...reakdown--4443

[white men can't jump]

I know they have different games, but how does he compare with Novak as far as strength, athleticism, footspeed?

They don't just have different games, they have different body types I think. Novak is below average (far below in many ways) in every single possible way imaginable by NBA standards.

I'd say Anderson can get stronger than Novak is. He's 20 and weighs at least 230. Novak is 235 and much older. Anderson definitely needs to add some strength, but it seems quite feasible.

His athleticism, specifically quickness is the biggest concern, but also hard to judge. But is he Novak bad? I doubt it. He's not that unathletic. He just doesn't have standout athleticism in any way. At best average and maybe below average in certain ways.

He's going to have some issues trying to guard perimeter players in the NBA, but I'm not sure how big the issues will be, and this will probably ultimately determine his outlook. However he has spent most of the time on the perimeter at UCLA, and from the few games I've seen he manages quite well. He can often make up for his lack of speed with his good length and solid bball IQ. This however will also be less of a factor against NBA SFs. So he's a tough one to figure out. For what it's worth, he's got a better DRTG (measured against his team's) than both Wiggins and Parker, and a better D win shares.

*I'm eager for his scouting report video to come out, because I only saw 5 UCLA games this year. I'm sure they'll break down his D which is probably going to be in the weaknesses area (or his athleticism and how it impacts his D). Could heavily sway my opinion of him as a prospect.

**A decent comparison in terms of athletic tools might be Turkoglu...maybe. Again, Anderson's hard to peg.

[3inthekeon]

Looking at that stat now for the first time, Nick Collison is no.6, Afflalo is no.371, Anthony Davis is no.88, Al Jefferson no.99. I guess it's interesting to look at it, not much more.

Ever since Hollinger left, ESPN has been introducing new stat after new stat. It's their catnip. Same game logs, another way to adjust plus minus, slap a new title, write a bunch of articles about it, bingo, another one stat to rule them all.

Everyone else is trying to break every little thing into a million pieces and measure everything. The little bits of data that Daryl Morey and other NBA people throw out there sometimes, I wish we had more of that available, it's so ridiculously far ahead ofdiscussion what ESPN is doing.

I'll take a wild stab and guess you didn't read the introduction I linked or listen to the Zach Lowe/Kevin Pelton discussion that Stooley linked. The guy who originated this stat came from the Phoenix Suns analytic department. ESPN is using it because it is the type of analysis teams are doing. Not the be-all end-all, but I'm sure it has value.

[mcHAPPY]

Well it happens every year.

The nike hoops summit is underway and Jusuf Nurkic is the guy who just rocketed up DraftExpress.com mock going from 45 to 11.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jusuf-Nurkic-7118/

Edit: oh man. Dyslexia and inattentiveness are not good attributes. Did you know that the draftexpress bit was on Nikola Jokic?

How embarrassing.

[white men can't jump]

Well it happens every year.

The nike hoops summit is underway and Jusuf Nurkic is the guy who just rocketed up DraftExpress.com mock going from 45 to 11.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jusuf-Nurkic-7118/

Whoa really? He must have had a crazy showing. The scouting report video they have is old, but this guy looks like a stiff. A slow guy with bad explosiveness. The weaknesses? Defensive discipline, explosiveness, decision making, intangibles (this last one includes conditioning and off-court issues). Has a decent touch around the basket...but it's hard to watch that video and not think that all his positives are due to being bigger/longer than other guys.

[grindhouse]

The ever-debatable Zach LaVine checks in to DraftExpress.com with a write up and video scouting report:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...reakdown--4443

he hit every single point on his weaknesses I felt like he was reading my mind. you guys still want lavine?

[BigCamB]

Jusuf Nurkic isn't even at the Nike Hoop Summit. DX has had him top 20 for a good while from what I've seen..........

[grindhouse]

They don't just have different games, they have different body types I think. Novak is below average (far below in many ways) in every single possible way imaginable by NBA standards.

I'd say Anderson can get stronger than Novak is. He's 20 and weighs at least 230. Novak is 235 and much older. Anderson definitely needs to add some strength, but it seems quite feasible.

His athleticism, specifically quickness is the biggest concern, but also hard to judge. But is he Novak bad? I doubt it. He's not that unathletic. He just doesn't have standout athleticism in any way. At best average and maybe below average in certain ways.

He's going to have some issues trying to guard perimeter players in the NBA, but I'm not sure how big the issues will be, and this will probably ultimately determine his outlook. However he has spent most of the time on the perimeter at UCLA, and from the few games I've seen he manages quite well. He can often make up for his lack of speed with his good length and solid bball IQ. This however will also be less of a factor against NBA SFs. So he's a tough one to figure out. For what it's worth, he's got a better DRTG (measured against his team's) than both Wiggins and Parker, and a better D win shares.

*I'm eager for his scouting report video to come out, because I only saw 5 UCLA games this year. I'm sure they'll break down his D which is probably going to be in the weaknesses area (or his athleticism and how it impacts his D). Could heavily sway my opinion of him as a prospect.

**A decent comparison in terms of athletic tools might be Turkoglu...maybe. Again, Anderson's hard to peg.

athletic thats a good comparison turkoglu can play D with the right people around him. he did it in orlando and went to the championship. he didnt play any in toronto.

defensively anderson biggest problem is he reaches

[BobLoblaw]

I'll take a wild stab and guess you didn't read the introduction I linked or listen to the Zach Lowe/Kevin Pelton discussion that Stooley linked. The guy who originated this stat came from the Phoenix Suns analytic department. ESPN is using it because it is the type of analysis teams are doing. Not the be-all end-all, but I'm sure it has value.

Can you link the intro again? I'm curious about this Suns guy. I listened to the podcast, Pelton said pretty much what I wrote, a slightly adjusted xRAPM. I'm sure it has value, like all similar stats, but I doubt this is how the Raptors or any other team would form their opinion about Henson. Although, who knows, this surely differs team to team.

I'm not a big Henson fan, by the way. I think he's physically gifted but clueless.

I'm just ranting about a pompous introduction of a new plus minus every year vs. gems that you hear when Morey, Mavs people, Voulgaris, etc decide to talk stats. I wish we had access to what those people are doing.

[BobLoblaw]

Jusuf Nurkic isn't even at the Nike Hoop Summit. DX has had him top 20 for a good while from what I've seen..........

Yep, they had Nurkic high for a long time. I remember a Givony radio interview quite a while ago, he was basically arguing that the draft lacks centers so Nurkic will go high. Givony was kind of making fun of Chad Ford in that interview too, it doesn't seem that those two like each other.