Zombie 2012 NBA Draft (4 Viewers)

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So a solid role player who will never be the best player on his team, or even a primary offensive threat?

That's not worth a #2 pick, is it? Kidd-Gilchrist had better have more upside than a non-crazy Artest.

And that's the problem. What happened to having multiple star players in a draft?
 
And that's the problem. What happened to having multiple star players in a draft?

Look at Anthony Davis, even. While I think he's going to be a very good pro, because he's both coordinated and athletic for his height, he shot 1-10 in the biggest game of his life, and the most FGA he had in a game last year was 13, and that was 2 times. He only had 10+ attempts 15 times in 40 games and he only averaged 5 FTA/game. He was an afterthought on offense, basically, even though he shot 63%.

I'm not sure about anybody in this draft. Davis is the clear #1, but is he going to be an MVP-level player? Maybe, but he has a long, long way to go offensively as of right now.
 
You're right about A. Davis not having a polished skillset, but the foundation is there. You see him flash deft ballhandling now and then. He'll make a gorgeous pass every so often. Yes he has a long way to go, but he seems committed to fundamentals, extremely passionate about the game, hard working, and coachable. He has a great "feel for the game" as they say and seems to have great awareness. Kentucky didn't really have any great go-to scorers, so they had a 4 or 5 different guys getting a similar number of looks/touches.

And as for the 1-10 game in the tourney, Kansas also held Sullinger to 5/19 (IIRC) the game before. I've seen people use it as evidence that Sullinger will never be able to score on tall/lanky players. The fact is that almost no one in college bball has a frontline like Kansas' combination of Robinson and Withey. These guys are used to playing against smaller and less athletic guys. Yes, they struggled with a big, talented frontline. But it doesn't mean they'll never be able to adjust. You're talking about an 18 year old and a 20 year old here who are extremely advanced for their age. They'll figure it out, make adjustments, get better.
 
seems like every year there is some so called "unathletic/undersized" hyper productive college pf that slips on draft day, sullinger might be that guy, and if he does, hes gonna be a steal
 
seems like every year there is some so called "unathletic/undersized" hyper productive college pf that slips on draft day, sullinger might be that guy, and if he does, hes gonna be a steal
I'd love a Trobb/Sullinger draft. Trade Sullinger next year after he shows he was a steal at 11.
 
Is Rivers the best slasher in this draft?

[video=youtube;Hri3JPrYjkA]

He and Lillard would make for an interesting backcourt duo. So much versatility and scoring.
 
[video=youtube;OJX8YUrItR8]

This guy gets to the rim at will in the condensed spaces in college. Guys who do that with ease on the collegiate level flourish even more in the NBA with more room to operate and fewer gimmick defenses.
 
I find Rivers extremely intriguing. Haven't seen a ton of him, but he looks like a smaller BRoy without the unselfishness. If a coach could get him to make the right pass you have to think he'd be a pretty dynamic penetrator/scorer in the league.
 
You don't know how many times I've made the BRoy comparison for Rivers. Roy was obviously stronger and more efficient. But Rivers is only 1 year removed from HS-- he can develop into a more efficient player.
 
I find Rivers extremely intriguing. Haven't seen a ton of him, but he looks like a smaller BRoy without the unselfishness. If a coach could get him to make the right pass you have to think he'd be a pretty dynamic penetrator/scorer in the league.

I'm warming to Rivers. Not a fan of his dad, but Austin has a good pedigree, he's tough, heady, and a solid slasher. From the video I've seen on him, his game may very well translate to the NBA. Put another ball handler at SG, and you may very put together a different, but solid backcourt (potentially).
 
You don't know how many times I've made the BRoy comparison for Rivers. Roy was obviously stronger and more efficient. But Rivers is only 1 year removed from HS-- he can develop into a more efficient player.

Roy was also a legitimate 6'6" with a great handle. Rivers will be lucky to measure at 6'2".

Beal is probably the closest thing to BRoy in this draft, and he'll likely measure 2" shorter than Brandon at the pre-draft camp.
 
Looking at his advanced stats he looks 'meh'

Though, Roy wasn't that impressive either during his freshman/soph. years.
 
he reminds me of of a shorter olden polynice with better handles and jumpshot, and worse at rebounding and defense
 
Some other stuff about Rivers I was looking into the other day: DX has Rivers measured at 6'5 in shoes, 203 lbs, 6'7 wingspan. They have Beal as 6'3.5 in shoes, 196 lbs, 6'7 wingspan.

Rivers shot 43.3% FGs, Beal shot 44.5% FGs.

Rivers shot 36.5% from 3, Beal shot 33.9% from 3.

Rivers got 5.4 FTA/game, Beal got 4.7 FTA/game

Both had roughly 1:1 ast/TO ratios.

Obviously I'm not the first one to wonder why the hell people like Beal so much, but look at how similar these guys are in so many respects. Beal does look like he'll hold up to an NBA pounding much better, and hes got some more explosiveness though hes certainly no Eric Gordon/Monta Ellis as far as athleticism. He had better defensive statistics and probably will be the better defensive player. Rivers' inability to play D could mean he'll never be a starter on a good team. But in the end Beal looks like an undersized SG who can't create his own offense. Is his shot really good enough to where you can use him like a Rip Hamilton/Reggie Miller? Those guys were tall too.

Rivers looks like he can penetrate on anyone. Hes not an explosive athlete but hes just got that uncanny ability to get into the lane completely under control like a smaller BRoy or a bigger Tony Parker. Apparently hes quite selfish and it shows in how few assists he gets despite getting into the lane so much. Hes probably not the 6'5 DX lists him at (though fellow Dukie JJ Redick surprised everyone when he measured 6'5...) so perhaps hes knocked for not being big enough start as a SG due to defensive deficiencies and too selfish to play the point. In truth it looks like Rivers doesn't do anything well besides score and handle the ball. That is a big deal. That said, you have to wonder if he went to the right situation if a coach could get him to drive and dish, or could focus on converting him to PG a la Deron Williams coming out of college.

I see the flaws that make people rank him so low. But hes got a very valuable skill in being able to get to the rim at will and create offense. I'm interested as a W's fan because we currently have one ball handler in Steph Curry and its questionable whether he can even create offense for himself. I think the heavy focus on Harden/Ginobili as supersubs in these playoffs may help him out. Hes a cocky kid so maybe he wouldn't like a team drafting him with plans to not use him as a starter, but there seems to be a trend where teams are starting journeymen defensive players at SG and bringing flawed but explosive scorers off the bench for heavy minutes; Harden, Ginobili, OJ Mayo, Jason Terry, etc.
 
jj reddick has a wingspan shorter than his height, weird
 
I think Monta Ellis does too.
 
Looking back at some old mock drafts....... didn't realize how short Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook are!
 
Man, DraftExpress' final mocks over the past 4 years have been pretty dead on!
 
Very important dates for 2012 draftniks. Set your DVRs if you're at work.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...evise-2012-nba-draft-combine-june-7-8/136454/

via press release:

Over June 7 and 8 ESPNU will present eight hours from the 2012 NBA Draft Combine at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago. Coverage will begin each day at 10 a.m. ET and will be highlighted by interviews with top draft picks, NBA and college coaches and general managers. The Draft Combine will also be available on ESPN3.



In addition to live reporting and analysis, viewers will get an inside look at how the expected top draft picks fair in The Following skills challenges:



· Standing Vertical Leap
· Maximum Vertical Leap
· Lane Agility Drill
· Modified Lane Agility Drill
· 3/4 Court Sprint


Ryen Russillo will host the two-day event with analysis from the network’s college and NBA experts. Analysts Fran Frascilla and Jay Williams will contribute their in-depth knowledge of each draftees college skill set, while Andy Katz reports from the court.

In addition, NBA analysts Chad Ford and Tom Penn will provide expert knowledge and understanding of the needs of each NBA team.

Of the 60 players confirmed to participate in the combine, No. 1 – 40 on Ford’s Top 100 prospects for 2012 are all represented. The list is highlighted by No. 1 Anthony Davis and No. 2 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. During the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery on ESPN Wednesday, May 30 college basketball analyst Jay Bilas made The Following evaluations of the top picks:

continued at link
 
Man, DraftExpress' final mocks over the past 4 years have been pretty dead on!

That's true; they seem to have some good sources. But I would be surprised if Blazers take either Sullinger or Marshall, unless another team wants them to. Of course i never would have expected them to take Nolan Smith or Victor Claver, so i probably don't know them very well.
 

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