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January 23,
2005 Early,
early, early, 2005 NBA Draft thoughts are always posted with trepidation. I
give BIG disclaimer that I have not yet seen and researched many players that
I will, in time, see. My list below is my ranking of the top 20 players I
have seen and researched so far. It is also limited to college seniors, and
International players. In other words, college freshman, sophomores, and
juniors ARE NOT included. 1. Martynas Andriuskivius -
Lithuania 7’2” 240 Center 2. Dusan Sakota -
Panathanaikos 6’10” Power
Forward. 3. Ryan Gomes — Providence 6’8” 248
Small Forward. 4. Danny Granger -
New Mexico 6’8” 225 Small Forward. 5. Michael Harris -
Rice 6’8” 225 Small Forward. 6. Odartay Blankson - UNLV 6’7” 220 Small Forward. 7. Johan Petro
- Pau Orthez (France) 7’1” 258
Center. 8. Drago Pasalic - Split (Croatia) 6’11” 231 PF/SF 9. Wayne Simien - Kansas 6’9” 255 Power Forward. 10. David Lee
- Florida 6’9” 240 Power
Forward. 11. Channing Frye - Arizona 6’10” 240 Power Forward 12. Matt Nelson - Colorado State, 7’0” 245 Center 13. Jamar Howard —
Wichita State, 6’5” 184 Shooting Guard. 14. Marcin Stefanski -
France, 6’7” Small Forward. 15. Erazem Lorbek -
Skipper Bologna 6’11” 243 PF/SF 16. Rob Lewin
- Troy State 6’7” 230 Small
Forward. 17. Omar Thomas
- UTEP 6’5” 205 Shooting Guard 18. Jason McKrieth -
Rice 6’4” 210 Shooting Guard. 19. Eddie Basden -
Charlotte 6’5” 205 Shooting Guard. 20. Chris Thomas - Notre Dame, 6’1” 182 Point Guard. ...Too bad
the Knicks can’t fire Tim Thomas. His BasslineSpin.com Efficiency Rating is a
woeful .288. Thomas should be the poster guy for why you don’t judge a
basketball player solely based on his running and jumping ability. ...Allan
Houston, coming off micro-fracture surgery, is also a part of why the Knicks
don’t win more often. Ditto for Penny Hardaway who should probably be
considering retirement. ...The Bulls win streak should be credited mostly to
the great play of Kirk Hinrich, and Tyson Chandler. ...I don’t think the NBA
media gives Manu Ginobilli enough credit. ...The Kings Team Store TV
commercial is embarrassing. The song in the background is annoying and lacks
creativity. The guy dancing is Kings hype man Big Mike. His dancing is
neither comical nor good. So why? The fact that people around the country see
those spots on Direct-TV further propagates Sacramento as a minor league
cow-town. ...The Lakers NBA.com web
site irritates me too. A McDonald’s logo takes over as the cursor when you
access team stats. The logo is so big you cannot see what you are pointing at
sometimes. ...Celtics rookie Al Jefferson shows immense promise. January 11,
2005 Doug Christie to the Magic for Cuttino Mobley and
Michael Bradley. The Kings get better by a few efficiency points but they
also get younger. That makes this a good trade, even if it were straight up.
We really liked Michael Bradley coming out of college but he hasn’t done much
as a pro. Bradley is mostly a tenacious rebounder, and underrated shot
blocker. He shoots a high FG
percentage, and hits the glass well.
Bradley may become a viable option off the bench. He was an early
entry candidate in the 2001 draft.
Bradley started his collegiate career at Kentucky before transferring
to Villanova. He shot an amazing 69%
from the field in his junior season. He is a clever player that can score
when he gets deep position. He has good footwork, and a feel for the
game. The 25 year-old is not a great
perimeter shooter but he did pass the ball well in college. He averaged 20.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, & 2.8
apg in his junior year in the Big East.
He struggles at the free throw line shooting just 52% for his career.
...Okay the All-Star deal is getting dicey. I heard the TV guys say there is
no justice if Mike Bibby is not an All-Star. Maybe so but I think it’s gonna
be tough for the “Bibbster.” Here’s who we think is worthy according to the
stupid positions the NBA assigns. Ex. Amare Stoudemire is listed as a forward
by the NBA but he plays Center on the Suns. WEST: Guards: Steve Nash, Kobe
Bryant, Manu Ginobilli, Tracy McGrady. Forwards: Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan,
Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Pau Gasol. Centers: Yao Ming,
Brad Miller. (That’s 12 without Bibby, Ray Allen, Chris Webber, or Sam
Cassell.) ...EAST: Guards: Dwyane Wade, Steve Francis, Larry Hughes, Stephon
Marbury, Allen Iverson. Forwards: LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Paul Pierce,
Raef LaFrentz, Dwight Howard. Centers: Shaquille O’Neal, Nazr Mohammed. ...It
would take some pretty progressive thinking to get Nazr Mohammed on the
All-Star team. Likewise, Raef and Dwight Howard are long shots too. But with
Ben Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, and Ron Artest all involved in their fracas,
they could be left off. Jason Kidd was hurt most of the year, and he too
could be left off. Most likely, the East will reward Grant Hill, Gilbert
Arenas, Richard Jefferson or someone
from the Pistons. I will have no problem with Arenas or Hill but I don’t
think Rip Hamilton or Chauncey Billups is having an All-Star type year. |