Future Washington Wizard?Hey there guys,
Well first off I am going to say that I haven't been doing picks recently due to some struggles with blogger, some struggles with home internet and I've been tweaking my calculation so that I can try and be as accurate as possible. I am currently somewhere around 50%. Ish. Anyway. Today I've got some NBA thoughts on my mind, I am mainly going to talk about the impact of the draft lottery and I will also talk a little bit about the two series currently underway in the NBA. This is kind of long but then again I have a lot on my mind. Get a drink and snack, prepare to sit down and read roughly
-NBA, Lottery effects on the Top 3
I've got a lot of NBA on my mind today, but let's start off with the Washington Wizards. Everyone's immediate question is who do they take? John Wall? Evan Turner? I'm personally holding out for Ole Miss' own Terrico White but I'm a realist. Got to wait for the 2nd Terrico. I'm sorry. But I like for Washington to pick John Wall here. I know that's going with what everyone else is saying but imagine the Wizards back court with Wall and Agent Zero (Gilbert Arenas). Wow. Gilbert may have been pretty/really stupid for the whole gun incident but in the end he is a VERY VERY good basketball player, probably best suited for the 2, but playing extremely well at the 1. John Wall is an exceptional athlete who actually likes being a PG. He likes to create opportunities for his team, yet at the same time can take over a game. He is in a sense, like a taller Rajon Rondo. A good, not dominant shooter, who can wow you with his out of this world assists, not afraid to mix it up down low, and has fantastic basketball intelligence. Combine Wall with a great shooter like Arenas, and then throw in 23 yr old PF Andray Blatche, who skyrocketed after the Wizards fallout this past season and you have the makings of a very talented team, who can push the Heat, push the Hawks, and maybe even the Magic? Doubt it but things could get very interesting if this team plays well together.
Actually that in itself is something to talk about. Whether or not this Washington team is going to be able to play well together. Arenas is...weird. He likes to joke around. In a dangerous/creepy way. Lose a poker game. Bring some guns to the locker room as a joke. WTF? Throw in that he wants to joke around about it with his teammates while the NBA is watching his every move trying to make a decision. And you can throw in stupid as well. Even promising forwards Andray Blatche has had troubles with coaches. And now they are about to bring in John Wall. An all around super star already and trust me. He knows it. And when things don't go his way he has no problem talking to the media or talking about his coaches. He did so at Kentucky as a true freshman. And maybe I am just someone who likes the old fashioned rule that as a college player, especially a freshman, you don't talk to the media, and if you do you never say anything negative about your teammates or your coaching staff. Now aside from Arenas tom foolery, these are all minor incidents in the NBA. But if you have problems with the guys you are playing with and/or have a problem with your coach it can turn out to be straight up disastrous. Just look at the Atlanta Hawks in the postseason. Again even after all of that I think that John Wall could be just what Wizard fans need.
Think about that for a moment. Washington fans right now. They already have one of the NHL's superstars in Alex Ovechkin, they just got future NFL Hall of Famer QB Donavan McNabb, the Nationals have the top prospect, and the only minor leaguer I have ever seen that thas had every start chronicled by ESPN, in Stephen Strasburg, and now the Wizards are about to get the biggest name in the NBA Draft in John Wall. It must be a great time for the D.C. area huh? Yes the capitals got ousted in the first round by the Canadiens but they owned the best record in all of Hockey and look to be just as good next season, the Redskins have renewed hope with McNabb and New Coach Mike Shannahan, Wall and Arenas could be the best back court in the NBA, but the biggest of the 4 hasn't even thrown a pitch yet. Stephen Strasburg is going to be the best thing to happen to a Washington sports franchise in who knows how long. People are going to argue that McNabb could bring back the Redskins to the playoffs, Ovechkin has made Washington one of THE NAMES in the NHL, and Wall is going to sell Jerseys, Shoes, and more importantly tickets for the Wizards. But Strasburg provides hope to a young franchise, and he will also be the first superstar that this team has had. It helps that they are a .500 ball club right now but when he comes up you know the seats are going to be packed, you know that ESPN or Fox is going to make that game special and focus on it, whether they get it or not they are going to be paying attention to it for as long as he is out there. And with the Braves and Met's struggles he could be the catalyst that maybe, just maybe, sends the Nationals to the playoffs as a wild card. I'm not saying it'll happen but who knows? The Padres and the Reds lead their divisions and the Blue Jays are 7 games over .500. Anything can happen in baseball right now.
But let's get back to basketball. If John Wall does go first everyone knows that Evan Turner is going to go #2. And Philly fans, you may end up getting the better long term player. Everyone has been going over the Evan Turner vs. John Wall argument. And I agree John Wall is the better athlete, but Evan Turner outscored Wall, and Turner missed an entire month with a back injury. Turner averaged 6 assists and Wall averaged 6.5. Wall averaged 1.8 steals per game and 0.5 blocks. Turner 1.7 and 0.9. Add in that Turner also averaged 9 rebounds a game and the 76ers are getting a more complete player. But let's take a look at what Philly is getting with this team next year. If they draft 6'7 Turner I think he moves into the 3 because that is what the 76ers are hurting at the most, but they will return 19yr old PG Jrue Holliday, who averaged over 6 assists a game over the last 2 months of the season while also showing at times that he could have solid scoring games as well, at the 2 you have 26yr old Andre Iguodola, who showed pre/during/post Iverson that he could be a very good scorer, and even averaged nearly 2 steals a game to go along with 6 assists and 6 rebounds a game, take the 6'7 Turner at the 3 where he has shown that he can play solid defense, mix it up down low, and of course, that he can score. At the 4 Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young make a great combination as they are both solid, not great, but solid players down low, and then you finish with the rebounding machine Samuel Dalembert who averaged 9.6 rebounds a game. More than likely the 76ers will have to deal someone to be able to hold on to Turner, which probably means they will be looking for someone to take Elton Brand but this is still a solid lineup with a team that now has the legitimate scoring threat that it was missing all last season. To go along with that the 76ers are going to be in a perfect spot to make a run at the playoffs this next season. Toronto is almost assured to lose Chris Bosh, New York looks more and more like a long shot to pick up LeBron, and the Nets missed out on Wall. I really think this is going to be big for the Philly.
But now that Turner and Wall are almost assuredly off the board, who do the Nets get? Despite their awful play during the regular season their is actually a decent amount of young talent on this team. Devin Harris averaged 16.9 pts/game and 6.6 ast/game and center Brook Lopez averaged 18.8 pts and 8.6 reb. They also have a solid defending 2 in Courtney Lee, who ended the season on a hot streak averaging 17 points over his last 5 games. They aren't dominant but those are some solid pieces to build your franchise around for now. The question is what do you with the 3 and 4? What is more pressing to go after? The 3 names I have heard the most being thrown around right now are Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins, Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors, and Syracuse's Wes Johnson. I am not even going to mention Cole Aldrich. Trust me he won't get drafted here. But I'll go in the order I mentioned. DeMarcus Cousins IS NOT GOING TO BE DRAFTED BY THE NETS. I bring that name up because while reading a poll on SportsNation 55% of the country thought that is who the Nets should draft. I don't even know where to begin. First off they already have their center of the future in Brook Lopez. In fact that is all you really need to know. Lopez gives the Nets a very good post player THAT STAYS ON THE FLOOR. Any coach wants solid minutes from his players and Lopez gives him that, 37 of them. Cousins? Nope. In almost 30% of Cousins games he didn't even play half a game. Half a game in College is 20 Minutes. Cousins is also known to get into foul trouble a lot. Lopez only fouled out of 2 out of 82 of the games he played in. Cousins will get drafted but it won't be in the top 3. His attitude problems are going to be the biggest thing holding him back. So do the Nets draft a 4 in Favors? Or a 3 in Johnson? The younger Favors offers a lot of upside and at times could be dominant but wasn't consistent, what he does do well is bring a lot of basketball IQ and some great defense and rebounding to the table. Johnson? I feel that Johnson is the more complete player, averaging 16.5 pts and 8.5 rebounds, plus he averaged over one steal and one block a game in the tough Big East. I like Johnson here. Do I think they'll draft him? No. Although I think that with Johnson closer, having played at Syracuse he'll bring a fan base with him, and can add a big time scoring threat. I don't think the Nets can go wrong with either player though.
After the Lottery Picks the rest of the draft doesn't even really matter. These we're my thoughts and I'd love to hear yours. You can either comment below or just email us at wherethelandsharksare@gmail.com
Thanks for Reading
Batteman
No comments:
Post a Comment