E’Twaun Moore’s 38 points leads #11 Purdue over #3 Ohio State Posted by John Paulsen (02/20/2011 @ 3:43 pm) E’Twaun Moore hit 13-of-18 shots (including 7-of-10 from long range) to lead the Purdue Boilermakers in a 76-63 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Purdue pulled away at the end, so the game was closer than the final score would indicate. JaJuan Johnson (13 points) was the only other Boilermaker in double digits. Ohio State got 25 points and six boards from freshman phenom Jared Sullinger, but the Buckeyes shot just 38% from the field and turned the ball over 18 times. That’s not going to get it done when playing on the road against Purdue. Moore is currently considered a second round prospect by Draft Express, while NBADraft.net doesn’t even have him going in the first two rounds. He’s averaging more than 18 points and is shooting better than 40% from 3PT range, so offensively he can score in a variety of ways. He’s a good defender, and although he lacks the physical tools that will wow NBA scouts, he’s a smart player and knows where he’s supposed to be on the court. That’s half the battle defensively. Kevin Love breaks record with 51st double-double Posted by John Paulsen (02/17/2011 @ 12:00 pm) Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love backs into New York Knicks forward Ronny Turiaf during their NBA preseason game in Paris on October 6, 2010. The Timberwolves won the contest, part of the annual NBA Europe Live tour, by the score of 106-100. UPI/David Silpa Rotoworld has the details… Kevin Love, who suffered a shoulder injury on Wednesday, had 18 points, 18 rebounds and zero 3-pointers for his 42nd straight double-double, and 51st before the All-Star break, setting an NBA record. George Mikan had 50 double-doubles before the break in 1950, but Love snapped that record tonight.
For those of you who have pretty much ignored the T-Wolves this year, Love is having an outstanding season, averaging 21.1 points and 15.5 rebounds, and is shooting 43% from long range. He was named to the All-Star Game as an alternate. The T-Wolves have their sidekick. Now they need to find a perimeter superstar who can shoot the lights out and/or create his own shot. They had two picks in the top 6 back in 2009, but passed on Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and DeMar DeRozan (who is averaging 16.4 ppg for the Raptors), and instead came out of the draft with Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. Curry looks like a star, while Jennings and DeRozan have shown flashes of that kind of potential. Now it appears that the T-Wolves may trade a first-round pick for Anthony Randolph, who can’t get off the bench for the Knicks. A mid to late first-rounder would be fair, but if the T-Wolves end up trading away their first-rounder (which project to be in the upper lottery) it will be a steep price to pay for a guy who hasn’t made much progress in neither Golden State nor New York. Don’t forget, they owe a first-rounder to the Clippers to finish the dreadful Marko Jaric trade. That pick is top 10 protected in 2011 but is unprotected starting in 2012. Scouting Report: Jimmer Fredette Posted by John Paulsen (01/27/2011 @ 2:15 pm)  Photo: Justin M. Bowen
With #9 BYU upending #4 (and undefeated) San Diego State last night, 71-58, I thought I’d take the opportunity to focus on BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette (43 points, 14-for-24 from the field) and look at him through an NBA lens. Everyone wonders what kind of professional player he’ll turn out to be, so read on to hear my take. OFFENSE On this end of the court, Fredette is clearly one of the most explosive scorers in the country. And it’s important to note, he’s a scorer, not just a shooter. He’s averaging 27.4 points, 4.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. He shoots 48.2% from the field (which is outstanding for a guard who shoots so many threes) and 42.1% from long range. He shot 44.0% from 3PT last season, so these numbers are no fluke. He’s also outstanding from the free throw line, hitting 90.1% of his attempts this season. He was an 89.2% shooter last year. He can score from all areas on the floor. He already has NBA range, and doesn’t need to have his feet set to get a good shot at the basket. His pull up jumper is accurate and he can hit it fading away as well. His upper body and core are strong which makes it easy for him to get his shoulders square even if his feet aren’t. He likes to use a wicked crossover going right to left and you’ll see a great example in the highlight package below. His strength also allows him to have a very quick release. He has a good handle, but is sloppy with the ball at times even though he does a great job of splitting the double team on the pick-and-roll. With his upper body strength, he’s able to finish well at the hoop and is able to finish with either hand in a variety of ways. He also has an effective runner/floater which will be important at the next level where the defenders are going to be taller and more athletic. I’d definitely describe him as a “crafty” scorer. He is a good passer in transition and made all the right choices on the break against SDSU. However, he is not much of an assist man in the half court. When he drives, he is typically looking to score, which makes sense given the makeup of the BYU team. In the NBA he will have to get used to setting other people up in the half court — right now, it’s a weakness. (He had zero assists against SDSU, but had a couple of “secondary” assists that led to buckets.) He has a tendency to get caught in the air and bail on his shot when a defender is in his face. At this level it usually doesn’t cost him, but in the NBA it will. Read the rest of this entry » Isiah Thomas rejoins the Knicks… Posted by John Paulsen (08/06/2010 @ 2:30 pm) …as a ‘consultant.’ Um, ok. Per Marc Berman: Knicks are about to announce Isiah Thomas will be named a part-time consultant to club but keeps his job at FIU. Weird.
This isn’t all that surprising after the Knicks enlisted Thomas in a last-ditch pitch to LeBron a few weeks ago. I don’t know why you would trot out (arguably, thanks to Kevin McHale) the worst GM of the aughts to try to convince one of the league’s best players that your team is headed in the right direction. If anything, wouldn’t you want to convince him that he has nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the franchise? For all of his faults, Thomas did draft pretty well while GM of the Knicks. Here’s a look: 2004: Trevor Ariza (#43 overall) 2005: Channing Frye (#8), David Lee (#30) 2006: Renaldo Balkman (#20), Mardy Collins (#29) 2007: Wilson Chandler (#23) That’s not a bad run considering he only had one pick in the #8. It’s not easy to find rotation players in the late first round (or second round) and he was 3-for-5 in that area, picking an All-Star (Lee) and two starter-quality swingmen (Ariza and Chandler). I could see a team putting him in charge of scouting or the draft, but I’d keep him out of all trade discussions. As for the fact that he’s going to keep his coaching job at FIU — WTF? Coaching a Division I basketball team is a full time job, and he’s going to be working part time for the Knicks? Posted in: Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip Tags: 2010 NBA free agency, 2010 NBA free agents, Donnie Walsh, Isiah Thomas, LeBron James, New York Knicks, Summer of 2010
Larry Sanders, the surprise of Summer League? Posted by John Paulsen (07/20/2010 @ 12:15 pm) Maybe the term ‘surprise’ shouldn’t be applied to the 15th pick in the NBA Draft, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Bucks’ first rounder, who was most often described as ‘raw’ by the draft punditry. A little background: Sanders is 21 and left VCU after his junior season. He averaged 14-9 with 2.7 blocks per game last season. He’s 6-10.5 in shoes and has a monstrous 7-5.75 wingspan, giving him a standing reach of 9-4, which in his draft class trails only DeMarcus Cousins, Solomon Alabi and Jerome Jordan, who all have a standing reach of 9-5. His athletic tests (vertical 28″, lane agility 12.49) were not good, though he can really run the floor for a guy his size. He also had a good Summer League…here are a few comments from around the internets: Matt Moore, CBS Sports: The Bucks are going to have a fleet of capable, talented power forwards this season. Sanders was one of the most impressive rookies in Vegas, playing solid defense, showing off a well-balanced frame, and looking very much like a versatile offensive option. Sanders’ mid-range game was considerably better than expected. He showed nice tough with the ball and again, is a mountain in terms of size. He needs to work on his spacing and defensive awareness, but it was a very impressive showing. TrueHoop: How will Larry Sanders’ game fit in with Milwaukee’s existing parts? His sound face-up 18-footer will help a Bucks offense that was choked for open space in the half court. He also gives Brandon Jennings another dependable partner on the pick-and-roll and wins almost every race to the rim in transition. A Sanders-Andrew Bogut tandem could eventually constitute the best defensive frontcourt in the league. Milwaukee is unlikely to reach the highest echelon in the East with its firepower, but by blanketing the paint with two capable pick-and-roll defenders who can block shots and clean the glass, the Bucks have the makings of a team that could post a stingy defensive efficiency rating in the high 90s. Read the rest of this entry » |