Dwyane Wade…is Back

A few posts ago I said LeBron was the best player in this Olympics but I may have been a bit premature with that statement.  Dwyane Wade is showing that he is still a dominant basketball player (though LeBron was dominant also against Greece with 13 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals).  He pretty much single-handedly picked apart the Greeks and ignited the Redeem Team to victory.  Flash did everything:  Scored baskets (17 points), created (5 assists including that ridiculous alley-oop to Kobe), got to the line (9 free throw attempts), and played great D (6 steals).  He did everything but make his free throws, missing 5.  His +/- must’ve been the highest on the team today by far, possibly along with Chris Bosh.  I still can’t get over how all these people (possibly including his own team) gave up on him and said he was done.  D-Wade is back and he’ll be exciting to see the rest of these Olympics, this season, and in the future.

LeBron still doing what he does.

Team USA vs China

I think LeBron proved that he’s the best player on Team USA today against China.  He seemed to do whatever he wanted offensively AND defensively.  He had three ridiculous blocks and ended up with 18 points, 6 boards and 3 assists.  But it’s not about who’s the best on this team as much as I’ll want to keep talking about it.  As long as they win the gold everyone will be happy and I’m still saying they will.

But today’s game wasn’t even about Team USA.  It was about China.  It was incredibly inspiring to watch them play.  Yao Ming, in many regards the face of these Olympics, opened the game with a 3-pointer and the thunderous reaction from the crowd was touching.  China as a team played inspired basketball in the first half, keeping it close for the most part (though I think Team USA helped them out by being nervous to open the game.  They kind of played down to the competition by committing some unforced turnovers and being too aggressive on defense and getting burned for it a few times, though that seems like a footprint of this team).  Even after Team USA was up by 30 and Yao Ming had checked out, to see him so fired up on the bench and so happy for his teammates after every made basket just put a smile on face.  A true ambassador for China who represents all that is good for his country and deserving of his status as a national hero, Yao knew his team wouldn’t be winning this game but still played his hardest and just enjoyed this time, the biggest 40 minutes of his life.  A 31 point loss would not bring his spirits down because in the end, he was a winner as well.

Gold Guarantee

LeBron guaranteed a gold medal in Beijing. I love the confidence.  Now make it happen.

What the world can look forward to.

Already Hurt

Eric Gordon pulled his hamstring. It’s just begun.  Sorry Clipper fans.  You guys might be better served trading him for Zach Randolph.

Why B. Diddy’s Career is Over

The Clippers’ renounced their rights to Shaun Livingston.  How the hell can they do that to him after he suffered one of the most gruesome injuries ever (so bad that the Youtube community has flagged the video as being inappropriate for young children) while playing for their pathetic franchise.  Heartless bastards. I don’t blame Elton Brand for jumping ship.  Good luck Baron.  You’ll need it.

Here’s the video of the injury but I strongly suggest not watching it.

Why Anyone Can Be a GM…

Andrew Bogut just got a 5-year $72.5 million extension.  If this isn’t a horrible contract then I don’t know what is.  I can’t wait how in 2-3 years we’ll be hearing about how the Bucks are trying to get rid of the bad Bogut contract.  I mean, Elton Brand just got a 5-year $82 million contract from the Sixers.  So Bogut is worth only $10 million less than Brand?  Really?  Bogut is a solid player but no way should he be making that much money.  Besides…his teammates don’t even care about him…

NBA Draft Analysis – Pacific Division

And finally…the Pacific Division.

Golden State Warriors

• Anthony Randolph – #14
• Richard Hendrix – #49

Tall?  Check.  Long wingspan?  Check.  Raw?  Check.  Athletic?  Check.  Huge potential?  Check.  They just picked Brandan Wright for the second straight year.  Why would you do that.  Now that I know B-Diddy is taking his game to LA, they should’ve taken a guard!  But really, they could’ve picked anyone else.

Los Angeles Clippers

• Eric Gordon – #7
• DeAndre Jordan – #35
• Mike Taylor – #55

Surprisingly, Eric Gordon was one of the most athletic players in this draft.  I say surprisingly because he is built like a uhh…big-boned little tank.  He is 6-3 222 lbs with a 40 inch vertical.  He has 8.2% body fat which is a lot for an NBA guard.  I swear I just see pulled hamstrings and sore knees in his future.  He’s already had multiple injuries in his one year of college and I don’t see it stopping.  The Clippers took a huge risk in signing Boom Dizzle because also given HIS injury history, they could potentially have him and Gordon missing over half the games in their Clipper careers.  If healthy though, they could have one of the best backcourts in the league.  If all else fails, at least Eric Gordon can get an MVP profile on ibeatyou.com from Baron.

DeAndre Jordan is an enigma.  He had lottery written all over him with his size and raw talent but he slipped to the second round.  Kind of like what happened to Chris Taft.  Seems like DeAndre will continue following that same path.

Los Angeles Lakers

• Pau Gasol – #28
• Joe Crawford – #58

The Lakers had the best draft of the night.  With the 28th pick in the draft they got an NBA-ready guy from Spain who could average 20 and 10 right away and take them from good team to potential NBA Champion.  A serious upgrade over Kwame Brown (who isn’t), Pau fits perfectly into the vaunted Triangle with his great passing skills and him and Kobe should form a duo to be reckoned with.  You could call him a steal.

He should be able to help Kobe bring the Lakers back to the Finals.  Oh wait…

Phoenix Suns

• Robin Lopez – #15
• Goran Dragic – #42

I guess I can see the Anderson Varejao comparisons with Robin Lopez.  Or maybe it’s just the hair.  I don’t know if Robin will make much of an impact.  I don’t even know if learning from Shaq will be of much help to him.  But what I do know is that it’s probably a good thing that he doesn’t have to play with his brother.  Now he can play out of his shadow and show what he can do.

Sacramento Kings

• Jason Thompson – #12
• Sean Singletary – #42
• Patrick Ewing Jr. – #43

I heard a lot of things about Jason Thompson this year.  He got a decent amount of pub and was regarded as one of the top seniors all through the year even though he played at a small school (Rider).  The question is whether they overpicked for him.  I’m guessing they did and they couldn’t find a suitable partner to draft down to so they had to use their pick on him.  Thompson seemed like their guy all the way.  (By the way, it was funny to see how in Mark Jackson’s quick notes he said the Kings needed a frontcourt player but when asked about this pick he said they should’ve taken a guard.)

Singletary is a nice player.  Pure scorer but probably too small to make any kind of impact.  Same player as Quincy Douby though.  Ewing is the type of dude that could be effective in the NBA even though he wasn’t that great in college.  He is one of the best athletes in this class and those guys are always nice to have on your team.  The Knicks should’ve taken him.

NBA Draft Analysis – Atlantic Division

Atlantic Division.

Boston Celtics

• JR Giddens – #30
• Bill Walker – #47
• Semih Erden – #60

This was a decent draft for the Celtics.  But when you’re World Champions, hey I guess that’s okay.  Giddens is a former McDonald’s All-American who could’ve been part of last year’s Kansas team but transferred a few years earlier.  He’s got a ton of talent and good athleticism but I guess he also has some maturity issues.  Their grade suffers a bit because the Celtics may have reached a bit to pick Giddens and there were a few other guards they could’ve taken, most notably Chris Douglas-Roberts.

I am not sure what to make of Bill Walker at #47.  A former high school teammate of OJ Mayo, he probably would’ve been a lottery pick if he came out of high school.  But he didn’t really impact college basketball the way such a highly touted recruit should.  I saw flashes of talent from him but he was never that consistent.  On top of that, he’s torn his ACL and injured his knee again in workouts.  If the KG, The Truth, Ray and the coaching staff can tap that potential AND he can stay away from more injuries, then Walker is a huge steal in the second round.  I’ll say there’s an 8% chance of that happening.

New Jersey Nets

• Brook Lopez – #10
• Ryan Anderson – #21
• Chris Douglas-Roberts – #39

The Nets had a great draft (Lopez will be a serviceable big man, Anderson is an underrated 4 and CDR should be an effective role player and he’ll get a chance to play on the rebuilding team) but the bigger story was all the cap space they saved by trading away Richard Jefferson.  They will have all the cap space they need to sign LeBron in 2010 and will have a nice team to play with.  If Yi Jianlian can figure things out and be a good NBA player I think LeBron would absolutely LOVE to play with him.  Bron’s popularity in China will explode because Yi and I can only begin to imagine all the cross-promotional things he’ll be able to do with Yi.  I think the Nets will have to add another big man and they’ll be able to absolutely dominate the League.  Maybe Bron will be able to bring Bosh or Amare with him like I’ve read he’s trying to do.

What the Nets can expect in 2010.

New York Knicks

• Danilo Gallinari – #6

I guess I’m in the minority with this pick.  I actually like this selection.  A me-first player who doesn’t fully grasp the team concept is the last thing the Knicks need.  They have too many of those already.  I think a Euro player is exactly what they could use.  Just hopefully he’s not Frederic Weis.  Gaillinari has been playing in a pro league for the last few years and he’s been one of the top players.  He should be able to help right away and his versatility on the offensive end should make him extremely effective in Mike D’Antoni’s system even at the age of 20.  I don’t know if he’ll be a star but he certainly has the chance to be one.  I don’t think he’ll be a flop though.

Philadelphia 76ers

• Marreese Speights – #16

Again, I don’t know much about him.  I didn’t get a chance to watch much Florida basketball this year but he’s a low post player who averaged 14 and 8 in 25 mpg.  He shot an amazing 62% from the field.  He seems to be a raw player so if he can develop his skills then he has a chance to be a solid starter in the league.

Toronto Raptors

• Nathan Jawai – #41

No idea.  But they got Jermaine O’Neal.  If he can stay healthy then him and Bosh will be an intimidating frontcourt.  Well Bosh isn’t intimidating but they’ll be very good and productive.

NBA Draft Analysis – Southwest Division

Southwest Division.

Dallas Mavericks

• Shan Foster – #51

A good pick for the Mavs late in the second round.  Foster was arguably the best player in a tough (but overrated) conference.  Not sure if he makes the team though.

Houston Rockets

• Donte Greene – #28
• Joey Dorsey – #33
• Maarty Leunen – #54

Greene looked like he was gonna be a stud early in the year.  But then he must’ve shot like 21.3% the last 20 games of the season.  He was awful.  Joe saw him play in person vs the Hoyas and said he was absolutely terrible.  He wasn’t even the best freshman on his team.  That distinction goes to Jonny Flynn.  But Donte is still young and is a nice little project at #28.  And given his stats (6′9 220 lbs SF) I’ll probably draft him in NBA 2k8 and have him play 2 minutes a game behind LeBron.

Joey Dorsey seems like he should be able to be an NBA player.  But I think he’s got some serious maturity issues.  I don’t know if he’ll ever get his act together to even be a role player in the league.

Memphis Grizzlies

• OJ Mayo – #3
• Darrell Arthur – #27
• Adriana Lima (through trade)

The Grizz picked up, in my opinion, the best pro player in the draft in Mayo.  But it cost them one of the premier big men in the L (Gasol).  They also lost Mike Miller and took back some horrible contracts, including Marko Jaric’s.  But then again, that did net them Adriana Lima.  But really…do you expect her to be visiting MEMPHIS any time soon?  Doubtful.  But back to Mayo.  I think he’ll be the best player out of this draft.  I saw him play in person against Derrick Rose and he held him to 9 points.  His D impressed me a lot.  But the Grizzlies have too many guards, which makes you scratch your head at the Gasol trade even more (they got Javaris Crittenton).  They gotta move a couple of them soon before they start to lose value.

Just because…

Arthur is a great pickup at #27.  He is one of the more skilled big men in the draft.  The big thing I have on him though is his lack of consistency.  Hopefully his kidney issue is no issue and he’ll have a healthy career.

New Orleans Hornets

• No picks

Like with the Hawks, it’s not a big deal.  They’re already a top 5 team in the NBA and another year of experience for CP3 will only make them stronger.

San Antonio Spurs

• George Hill – #26
• Malik Hairston – #48
• James Gist – #57

I was surprised the Spurs didn’t take a foreign guy like they usually do in the first round.  Matter of fact, they didn’t take any foreign guys in the whole draft.  With that said, I don’t know much about George Hill except a lot of people thought he should’ve stayed in school.  I am not sure any of these guys make it on the team.  San Antonio definitely needs to get younger but I don’t know if any of these guys are the answer.

NBA Draft Analysis – Central Division

Onto the Central Division

Chicago Bulls

• Derrick Rose – #1
  
• Omer Asik – #36

It’s tough to grade the team that had the #1 overall pick.  It was pretty obvious they were going to take him.  I don’t think Rose will be the best pro in this draft though.  He’ll be a solid, solid player but not franchise changing.  I think he can average 18 ppg, 7 apg and 4 rpg.  To be honest, I don’t understand the comparisons to Jason Kidd.  He is nowhere near the passer J-Kidd is and he’s much more athletic.  I don’t think he’s a true point guard; I see him as more of a combo guard.

Generic Derrick Rose mix.

The Bulls traded three second-round picks for to get Asik.  You would think he should be good.  Only time will tell.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• JJ Hickson – #19
• Darnell Jackson – #52
• Sasha Kaun – #56

Let’s say JJ Hickson becomes the second coming of Tim Duncan.  He won’t become that for about four or five years and LeBron will have opted out of his contract and in Brooklyn.  I guess you can’t ask any of these rookies to come in and be productive right away so I can’t be too harsh.  I don’t think JJ is gonna excite anyone in Cleveland though.  Maybe he’ll be a sleeper.

None of these guys will match LeBron’s rookie season.

Detroit Pistons

• Walter Sharpe – #32
• Trent Plaisted – #46
• Deron Washington – #59

Don’t know much about Sharpe but I saw Plaisted play once against UNC.  The big man almost upset my Tar Heels but came up short.  He’s a slow 7 foot Mormon who will probably have several foot injuries in his future.  Washington jumps out of the gym but he looks like he’s about 100 lbs.  Doubt they’ll make it to the NBA.  Congrats on getting drafted though.

Indiana Pacers

• Brandon Rush – #13
• Roy Hibbert – #17

I am not sure what to make of Rush because after all…he is a Rush which has become synonymous with underachieving.  But he has long been regarded as the Rush with the highest potential and so he was the highest drafted Rush brother.  He is a 6′6 natural SG who can shoot and play some defense.  I think he’ll be able to play right away and it should be comforting to know he’ll be on the team with his brother (though it wouldn’t surprise me if Kareem got shipped out soon).

Hibbert would’ve been a top 5 pick last year but really didn’t play well this year.  My boy Joe, who went to Georgetown watched Big Roy his entire career and has complained to me several times about his lack of athleticism and skill.  He keenly observed that Hibbert might be the only 7′2 guy that has never dunked in his life.  The guy just refuses to dunk the ball.  Roy…now that you’re in the NBA, please dunk the ball.

Milwaukee Bucks

• Joe Alexander – #8
• Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – #37

I think Alexander has the chance to be very good.  He is very athletic and strong and has a wide variety of moves on the offensive end.  He is extremely confident, actually pretty cocky but I think that is a good thing as long as he doesn’t show up any of his other teammates.  His awesome work ethic is well-documented and Scott Skiles will love him.  Dude just wants to ball.  He doesn’t care that he’s in Milwaukee.  He’ll earn a bunch of playing time next year as long as he works on his defense and I have no doubt that he will.  I am not completely sold because he only had like an excellent 3/4 of a year but I can’t wait to see how he pans out.

Mbah a Moute is horrible.  NBDL for life.