2012 Draft Thursday, June 28th: Raptors select Terence Ross

[WJF]

I've really enjoyed watching Tyshawn Taylor from Kansas through the tourney. I'm not sure if he's a PG or SG, but he's a leader and shows no fear when taking it to the rim. He might be a good pick up with the later 2nd round pick.

I have watched his for a few years now (Bob Hurley senior was his high school coach) and think he has a decent chance at being a good pro if he gets on with the right team. While he has shot poorly in the tournament he had a good season. A little turnover prone, but brings a Jru Holiday type game to the floor.

[mcHAPPY]

Brown is leaving Texas. I think this is a huge opportunity for Kabongo. I hope he takes advantage of it.

[NoPropsneeded]

Tyshawn Taylor would look good on the Raptors

[stretch]

The biggest improvement Kabongo needs in his game is in his confidence or lack of it this season. Coach Barnes dealings with his point guard took away his swag he had coming into the program out of high school.

[Bouncepass]

I would pass on Tyshawn Taylor. He's a senior, and he still doesn't seem to make good decisions as a PG. He is several notches below Bayless in my books... enough said.

[Bouncepass]

It's amazing what moving up from 5 to 4 does in terms of options

I think it's hard to know how things will shake out in the top 5-6. I won't be surprised if Drummond impresses a few teams at the top of the draft with the combine and individual workouts. At this point, it seems to me that the following players are in the mix at the top, not necessarily in preferential order from a Raptors' perspective.

Davis
MKG
Robinson
Drummond
Beal
Barnes
T. Jones (I think he might be a sleeper)

Sullinger seems likely to drop a bit from earlier rankings, and I doubt that workouts will raise his stock that much.

Lamb (UConn) might rise into the top half dozen, I suppose. I like McAdoo, but I have my doubts about whether he will enter this year. Henson might also climb in workouts.

[mcHAPPY]

Projecting Anthony Davis' NBA Career: Ny

Interesting read.

NEW ORLEANS — Over the past 20 years there have been 10 clear franchise players taken with the first pick in the N.B.A. draft. The list includes Lebron James and Allen Iverson, Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard — players who immediately became the cornerstones of their franchise, were good pros from Day 1 and gave their team a legitimate chance to win a championship.

Kentucky’s Anthony Davis is that kind of player. He is the clear No. 1 pick in a deep and talented N.B.A. draft class. He is the most dominant player in college basketball. The question is not whether Davis will be a good pro — he is going to be a perennial All-Star — but whether he will become great the way Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan were. To understand Davis’s position in the pantheon of elite players, the best comparison may be to Chris Webber. He was an abundantly talented player who never seemed quite as dominant as his talent suggested he should be.

Physically, Davis and Webber are not alike. Webber was an electric athlete coming out of Michigan whose dunks were violent in the way that Griffin’s and James’s now are. Davis, at 6-foot-10 and 220 pounds, is different. Lithe and smooth, he glides up and down the court. He makes everything look easy, one of those players whose body defies his position and who looks as if he could play without breaking a sweat — like a bigger version of Rudy Gay, or Kevin Durant with a little less range. Those types of players can guard multiple positions, but are difficult to match up with when they are on offense. Davis projects to be an effective defender against centers and both forward spots, but it is not clear who will be able to guard him. Against bigger defenders, his quickness, ability to run the floor and deft shooting touch make him a difficult matchup. Against quick defenders, his size, length and finishing ability make him virtually impossible to guard.

Despite his similarities to Durant and Gay, comparing Davis to Webber is instructive. In college, both played with young and fantastically talented teammates. Both have elite skills — shot-blocking for Davis, rebounding for Webber — that translate immediately into success at the N.B.A. level. And both have perimeter skills that tantalize scouts and fans alike: Webber was a supernaturally gifted passer, while Davis possesses the body control and touch of a guard, allowing him to score in a myriad of different ways from virtually anywhere on the court.

The biggest question about Davis, as it was for Webber, involves his ability to dominate key situations offensively. Webber was often unselfish to a fault, allowing talented teammates like Jalen Rose to take big shots down the stretch. Davis, playing on the most talented team in the country, has the same luxury. In fact, his unselfishness — three of his teammates have taken more shots this season — is cited by Coach John Calipari as a key to Kentucky’s success.

For an N.B.A. scout, that trait should be worrying. Davis is by far the most effective scorer on Kentucky, shooting 64 percent from the field, yet at key times he seems content to let his teammates share the scoring burden. To truly be a great N.B.A. player, one worthy of being mentioned with players like Duncan and O’Neal, Davis will need to have the killer scoring mentality of Durant.

The danger is that he could become a bigger, better-defending version of Gay, content to take what the defense gives him and doing so with such ease that he always leaves observers wondering why he did not simply take over the game. That kind of player is still an All-Star. That player, at Davis’s size and with his game-changing defensive skills, is likely a second- or third-team all-N.B.A. performer. But that player is not James, Duncan or O’Neal, one who instantly makes his team a championship contender and continues to do so for a decade. It is a testament to Davis’s talent and ability that that is the standard against which he will be judged, but, as Webber discovered, that can also be a curse. When healthy, he was a game-changing superstar and one of the most memorable players of his era, but he was not judged against his peers.

A couple of times a generation, there is a player so talented and so gifted that the only way to truly understand his value on the basketball court is in his ability to carry his team to championships. Shaquille O’Neal did it. Tim Duncan did it. Davis will be judged against these players, but like Webber, his unselfishness may keep him from passing the ultimate test of N.B.A. greatness.

Source: The New York Times

[Bouncepass]

Interesting read.



Source: The New York Times

Interesting, indeed. For some reason I wonder whether Kevin Garnett might be a better analogy for Davis than Webber, Gay or Duncan. The seem to have a similar build, and both had good perimeter skills, along with elite defensive abilities. I am starting to see some fire from AD in the big games too, which is a KG trademark.

[Bendit]

Interesting read.



Source: The New York Times

I'll take the chance on him being unselfish. That is a nitpick criticism imo. Please dont tell me that Duncan wasnt the same. In a well coached system a player adopts the role he has been given on the team. So if Casey says you are option 1 or 2 and the ball comes to you and you have a mismatch or open shot he takes it and/or follows thru on the play called.. I remember reading (paraphrase here) that Calipari stopped him from taking too much of a role on the offensive side to concentrate on defense ...as well as that he is so good offensively that he'd become too much of a one man show....and this would not be conducive for team harmony with so many other talented players on the team. AD of course went along with this willingly. So whats not to like. Wasn't he like 7 for 8 in the last game and he made every post play I believe.

[grindhouse]

Watch out for tyshawn tayler at the next level his game is being held down in kansas offensive sets

[grindhouse]

I been saying Terrance jones since last year he is legit!

[grindhouse]

Robinson needs a pump fake to get these guys in foul trouble

[ReubenJRD]

Terrence Jones: I've always liked this guy. Man, even though he's a tweener, he's so skilled and long. His athleticism just adds to it.

Marquis Teague: Jumped with the hype coming out of high school. Didn't have that outstanding outlook because of MKG and AD, but man he is performing well on the big stage. He'll be a very solid pro.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: The guy plays with so much heart, hustle and passion. Runs the floor, great control in the open-court. Great finishing ability, great defense, can hit the boards... Add that perimeter game and he is going to be DANGEROUS.

Anthony Davis: Hasn't scored a SINGLE POINT, and is dominating this game on the boards, defensively, running the floor. Oh my god please let the balls fall the Raptor' way.

Thomas Robinson: Struggling, but he is so strong, nice finishing ability. Scary athlete, and defensively he can get after it. I think this game MIGHT hurt his draft stock, but by not very much.

[saints91]

"Robinson needs a pump fake to get these guys in foul trouble"


Ya, I was thinking the same thing or try to get a switch so he is playing straight up with Davis. Davis is killing him on the help D. If he can force Davis into foul trouble they have a chance. Take right at Davis, Robinson should be using his strength against him.

I can't believe how many players are shooting floaters to stop davis from blocking their shots or putting more arc on their shot. He really is a dominate blocker.

Imagine him on Charlotte! Biyombo and him would be insane inside on D.

[ceez]

Doron Lamb is cold blooded