Category: NBA (Page 39 of 595)

Scouting Report: Kyrie Irving

June 20, 2011 / John Paulsen

First, watch these highlights of Irving’s stint at Duke…

Irving reminds me a little of Chris Paul. He has that same speed and ball control, and while his vision may not be on par with Paul’s, it’s pretty close. He’s great on the break and does a nice job of making the right decision in transition or when he dribbles into the lane. He made 18-of-39 three-pointers (46%) while at Duke, which isn’t a huge sample size, but it appears that he has an NBA-ready jumper. He also nailed 90% of his free throws and shot a terrific 53% from the field.

NBADraft.net says Irving is “a facilitator who shows the ability to make those around him better … Great vision and passing skills … Great burst. Has the blow by speed to get past defenders off the dribble … Good decision maker. Looks to make the right play instead of always trying to dazzle.” Conversely, the site says that Irving’s durability is a concern and that he “could struggle with the transition to the NBA game with just 8 games of NCAA experience under his belt.”

Meanwhile, DraftExpress says that Irving is “not as blazingly fast with his first step as Derrick Rose, John Wall, or even Kemba Walker, Irving plays at a very unique pace that keeps defenses consistently off-balance and allows him to get to the basket seemingly whenever he needs to. Able to drive left or right almost equally well, he has excellent timing on his drives, very good body control, and the ability to operate at different speeds.”

It may take a while for Irving to mature into a franchise point guard, but he has all the tools to get there. The Cavs need a player to build around and Irving is that guy.

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2011 NBA Draft Cleveland Cavaliers Kyrie Irving

Dirk Nowitzki sings at championship parade [video]

June 18, 2011 / John Paulsen

Dirk did David Hasselhoff proud with his rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”

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2011 NBA Finals Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki

NBA Draft: Consensus Mock Draft

June 17, 2011 / John Paulsen

Below you’ll find the consensus mock draft from NBA.com. Click here to read the rest of the article.

Guys like Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris are familiar to most U.S. readers, but what about Enes Kanter and Jan Vesely?

Here’s a look at the four lesser-known prospects currently projected to go in the lottery.

Enes Kanter, Turkey (C)
6-11, 260 lbs, 19-years-old
NBADraft.net said “Bigman with excellent size, strength and polish … Combines brute strength with a high skill level … ” but that “One of the big concerns scouts have with Kanter is his physical health. He has had a history of knee problems and there are concerns about his knees not checking out 100% when he has NBA physicals.” DraftExpress says “Kanter has soft hands and displays good touch on his shots, both around the basket and from the perimeter. He’s a reliable finisher who can score in multiple ways in the paint — with a soft turnaround jumper for example” but that his “lack of experience shows up first and foremost on the defensive end, where Kanter was incredibly ineffective in the film we watched. His fundamentals, instincts and positioning leave a lot to be desired.”

Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania (C)
6-11, 240 lbs, 19-years-old
NBADraft.net says Valanciunas “uses all of his physical skills to the fullest when attacking the glass … Extremely aggressive rebounder both offensively and defensively …” while DraftExpress notes that “he’s an incredibly intense competitor, a boundlessly energetic player who never stops working for a moment and whose presence is constantly felt on the court” and that “Valanciunas’ most important source of scoring comes from his ability to finish plays created for him by teammates around the basket.” In other words, he’ll fare well in the pick-and-roll.

Jan Vesley, Czech Republic (F)
6-11, 240 lbs, 21-years-old
DraftExpress says that he “has terrific size and length for a small forward at 6-11 and couples that with incredible explosiveness. He looks a lot more confident in trying to utilize his athleticism as of late, as he’s been responsible for a number of unbelievable dunks this season.” However “watching him handle the ball in the open floor is definitely not a pretty sight.” NBADraft.net notes that “as a shooter he improved since last year and feels more confident taking shots outside the 3pt line and creating off the dribble; his mechanics and follow-through look fluid; good elevation on his shot” but that he “needs to continue improving his offensive skills.”

Bismack Biyombo, Congo (PF/C)
6-9, 240 lbs, 18-years-old
DraftExpress says that “his combination of length, strength agility and explosiveness is almost unheard of, causing many to marvel at his physical gifts despite the low-skill level he displayed” and compared him to a 6-9 version of Dwight Howard. NBADraft.net thinks that “Biyombo is a player who likes to play above the rim. Additionally he has nice skills in the low post to attack the basket, using fakes, spin moves and jump hooks.” However his “offensive game is a long ways from being NBA ready.”

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2011 NBA Draft

ESPN releases “Ultimate Team Rankings” – Packers rank first, Bengals dead last

June 17, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

ESPN just released their “Ultimate Team Rankings,” where they rank the 122 professional sports franchises using eight categories: Bang For The Buck, Fan Relations, Ownership, Affordability, Stadium Experience, Players, Coaching and Title Track. (Click on the link above for more details on what these categories mean.)

The Top 10:

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Bottom Five:

118. Minnesota Timberwolves
119. Sacramento Kings
120. Toronto Maple Leafs
121. Washington Redskins
122. Cincinnati Bengals

Check out the full rankings.

I’m not going to dive too deep into these rankings because I think they’re kind of silly. Are they fun to look at? Yeah, but so are pinwheels and I don’t want to break them down either. If you spend enough time, you can find a gripe about any team outside of the Packers. (It’s kind of hard to argue that they’re not the best franchise in sports right now across those eight categories, although somebody probably will – if they haven’t already, that is.)

Take the Bengals for example. You look at the Bengals and there’s a reason why they’re ranked so low. Their ownership sucks, they haven’t won a playoff game in two decades and their quarterback just quit on them. But in the “Affordability” category, they dropped from 80th last year to 114th this year, yet their ticket prices didn’t change. Their coaches dropped from 60th to 114th, which seems excessive even given Brad Bratkowski’s failures as offensive coordinator last year. And their players (which is a category based on effort on the field and liability off it) are 122 out of 122? Once again I’m splitting hairs because they’re ranked No. 121, but how are the Pistons not 122 after they quit on their head coach last year?

You get my point. These rankings are fun and they’re meant to be argued and debated, but I wouldn’t get too invested into the final numbers. I know there’s a lot of number-crunching that goes into some of the categories, but on a whole there’s a lot to be left up to interpretation.

That said, I’ll bite: What teams do you think should be ranked higher or lower? No surprise, I think my SF Giants deserve to be higher. No. 32 seems a tad low for a World Series champion with a beautiful stadium and players that are extremely well liked by fans. San Francisco is an expensive city so the Giants lose a little ground in “Bang For The Buck” and “Affordability,” but I was surprised to see them ranked in the 30s. (Especially considering the Rockies are ranked eighth – eighth!)

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