#1 CHICAGO – Derrick Rose, 6-3 196, Memphis
Throw him up there on the list… The list? Yeah, PG’s to go #1 since the NBA-ABA merger in ’76: John Lucas, Magic, AI and now Rose. Nice company… The Bulls get the local guy, and he’s immediately anointed The Savior… Provides athleticism, defense, good leadership, and best of all, a winning attitude from both HS and college… Unfortunately, he went ahead of Michael Beasley, who could have a HOF career, so basically Rose better do the same… Immediately made Kirk Hinrich expendable… As hyped as he was, his stock especially rose (no pun intended) in the last two weeks… This bloke is going to be good for Chicago.
#4 SEATTLE - Russell Westbrook, 6-4 192, UCLA
Stock didn’t just rise in the last few weeks it actually went through the roof… Some were scratching their heads at Seattle overlooking the talent available, but when you consider Seattle has Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour at the point, pairing Westbrook with Durant will get Oklahoma City, err, Seattle fans excited… Had dramatic freshman-to-sophomore improvement at UCLA… Can play either guard spot, and is, from all reports, an unselfish player.
# 9 CHARLOTTE – DJ Augustin, 6-0 172, Texas
Easily one of the more curious top-10 picks… Word on the street is that Raymond Felton is available and hence the Augustin pick… More of a true point than Felton, anyway… Put up 19 and six as a sophomore at Texas… CBS Sportsline threw out the Isiah Thomas-comparison; let’s hope they mean as a player instead of as a GM… Good shooter, is aggressive, and his (hopeful) duel with Felton will be a hot topic in training camp… Have fun playing for Larry Brown.
# 11 INDIANA (traded to POR) – Jerryd Bayless, 6-3 204, Arizona
Pacers fans went from elated (when he was picked) to heartbroken (when he was dealt) in the space of 60 minutes… Despite being just 6-3, he’s possessed with a scorers mentality… Has been compared to Golden State’s Monta Ellis… Scored more points than any other Arizona freshman ever… Athletic, quick, and as mentioned, more of a scorer than a distributor… Will fit in well in the Blazers youth movement… Pacers may regret trading him.
#26 SAN ANTONIO - George Hill, 6-2 181, Indiana Purdue
If Gregg Popovich says “We were thrilled he was still there” then you get the feeling they were happy to get him… Put up 21/5/4 on 54% FG and 45% 3-PT for national powerhouse Indiana Purdue… One of those stock-soared-after-pre-draft-camp guys… His name should perhaps be on a pensioners discount card instead of being read out by David Stern on draft night… As stated, the Spurs were very high on him - do they know something 25 other teams don’t?
#34 MINNESOTA (traded to MIAMI) - Mario Chalmers, 6-2 170, Kansas
Some had him going higher… Miami was very happy to get him; Pat Riley is a fan… Speaking of Riley, he listed three reasons why they traded for Chalmers: His defense, the fact he’s a combo guard, and he’s a low-mistake guy… Thankfully, Miami doesn’t have a logjam at the point (just Jason Williams and Chris Quinn) so Chalmers has a good opportunity… Yes, he’s the guy who hit the shot to force OT in the NCAA title game.
# 42 SACRAMENTO - Sean Singletery, 6-0 184, Virginia
Despite being three-time All ACC, he was under the radar of many a team… Actually came out for the ’07 draft, thought better of it, went back to school and – surprise! – didn’t hurt his chances… Sacramento might be a good situation for him, as Beno Udrih may opt out this week… From post-draft reports, was unhappy about his late pick and will try to pull an Arenas (translation: will use it as motivation).
#45 SAN ANTONIO (to PHOENIX) - Goren Dragic, 6-4 200, Slovenia
Phoenix actually traded up (from 48) to land Dragic… The Suns had him penciled in as the second-best PG in the draft behind Derrick Rose… Seriously, they did… Word is, the guy is a heck of an athlete and is very well-rounded… Good thing about his Spanish contract is that a buyout is possible… GM Steve Kerr stated on the team’s website that Dragic is a likely participant in training camp, and if he’s not available this season, he’ll “definitely” be there for the 2010 season.
#55 POR (to LAC) - Mike Taylor, 6-2 166, Iowa State
Taylor is the first player to be drafted from the developmental league ever… Did the JuCo thing before playing at Iowa State, where he was a stud on the court and a bonehead off it… Was kicked off the team… Averaged 14.5 points per for the Idaho Stampede of the NBDL… With the Clippers losing Sam Cassell last year and having just Dan Dickau at the point, Taylor has a (slim) chance of making the team.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Four PG's in Game 4
Game 4 was a classic in so many ways.
And the aftermath has indeed bought many reactions: Doc Rivers is out-coaching Phil Jackson (true), Kobe can no longer be compared to Mike (so very true), and the Celtics are tougher than LA (do I even need to mention how true that is?). But one thing that stood out to me when watching yet another Celtics-Lakers epic was the handling of the PG’s in the second half.
Derek Fisher was out there when LA built their 24-point lead, very present in helping them hold a 20-point lead through the first half of the third, and, along with Vladamir Radmonovic, was one of few Lakers who finished in the “plus” column as far as +/- for the game.
Yet, having said that, Phil Jackson stubbornly kept Jordan Farmar out there until the final minutes, but by the he finally pulled the second-year guard, momentum (“She’s a funny thing,” Jackson told ESPN after the third) was well and truly dressed in green. Worse yet, Fisher was one of the few Lakers willing to mix it up. On a crucial play in the third where Paul Pierce swatted Bryant that led to an Allen breakaway, it was Fisher’s hard foul on Ray-Ray that stopped a Celtics break. It was an anti-Gasol play if there ever was one.
On the flip side, Rajon Rondo was facing his own demons, that of the Lakers continuing to dare him to shoot. Jackson switched Bryant onto Rondo for Game 3, and it allowed Kobe to roam, to sit in passing lanes, to neglect Rondo, deeming him a non-threat. Rondo, who had been a key to the C’s home defense (he had 16 assists in Game 2) was suddenly inept in LA.
It is worth pointing out that Rondo missed most of the second half of Game 3 with a sprained ankle, and it unwittingly forced Doc Rivers’ hand to play Eddie House, a noted gunner who had seen his time handed to “the new guy” in Sam Cassell.
In Game 4, with Rondo again struggling, Rivers turned to House in the second-half. It was his jumper in the final minutes that game Boston their first lead, and surprisingly, Jackson and his Lakers didn’t respect House enough to do something about it. It’s especially noteworthy when you consider that House, when with Phoenix two years ago, was held without a three-point field goal through the first six games of that classic ’06 PHX-LAL matchup. That’s like a human going without water for six days. Seriously. The Lakers put serial pest Sasha “Tears” Vujacic on him, and House couldn’t get a sniff. Fast forward to Thursday’s game and House is bouncing around, firing jumpers, uttering expletives to motivate his teammates, and delivering a daggers (including the one to take the lead, right in front of the Lakers bench) that came to signify The Comeback.
And the aftermath has indeed bought many reactions: Doc Rivers is out-coaching Phil Jackson (true), Kobe can no longer be compared to Mike (so very true), and the Celtics are tougher than LA (do I even need to mention how true that is?). But one thing that stood out to me when watching yet another Celtics-Lakers epic was the handling of the PG’s in the second half.
Derek Fisher was out there when LA built their 24-point lead, very present in helping them hold a 20-point lead through the first half of the third, and, along with Vladamir Radmonovic, was one of few Lakers who finished in the “plus” column as far as +/- for the game.
Yet, having said that, Phil Jackson stubbornly kept Jordan Farmar out there until the final minutes, but by the he finally pulled the second-year guard, momentum (“She’s a funny thing,” Jackson told ESPN after the third) was well and truly dressed in green. Worse yet, Fisher was one of the few Lakers willing to mix it up. On a crucial play in the third where Paul Pierce swatted Bryant that led to an Allen breakaway, it was Fisher’s hard foul on Ray-Ray that stopped a Celtics break. It was an anti-Gasol play if there ever was one.
On the flip side, Rajon Rondo was facing his own demons, that of the Lakers continuing to dare him to shoot. Jackson switched Bryant onto Rondo for Game 3, and it allowed Kobe to roam, to sit in passing lanes, to neglect Rondo, deeming him a non-threat. Rondo, who had been a key to the C’s home defense (he had 16 assists in Game 2) was suddenly inept in LA.
It is worth pointing out that Rondo missed most of the second half of Game 3 with a sprained ankle, and it unwittingly forced Doc Rivers’ hand to play Eddie House, a noted gunner who had seen his time handed to “the new guy” in Sam Cassell.
In Game 4, with Rondo again struggling, Rivers turned to House in the second-half. It was his jumper in the final minutes that game Boston their first lead, and surprisingly, Jackson and his Lakers didn’t respect House enough to do something about it. It’s especially noteworthy when you consider that House, when with Phoenix two years ago, was held without a three-point field goal through the first six games of that classic ’06 PHX-LAL matchup. That’s like a human going without water for six days. Seriously. The Lakers put serial pest Sasha “Tears” Vujacic on him, and House couldn’t get a sniff. Fast forward to Thursday’s game and House is bouncing around, firing jumpers, uttering expletives to motivate his teammates, and delivering a daggers (including the one to take the lead, right in front of the Lakers bench) that came to signify The Comeback.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Ragin' Rondo
Just to throw a ridiculous stat out there: Coming into the 2008 Finals, Derek Fisher had accumulated 493 minutes of Finals’ experience. Rajon Rondo? 0. Heck, to take that a step further, Fisher has played in 20 Finals games lifetime; Rondo has played in 21 playoff games.
Anyway, the reason I write “ridiculous” is because it took Rondo all of 29 minutes to figure this thing out. Riding the wave that was The Pierce Return (by the way, it had more of a Bird ’91 feel to it than a Reed ’70, but hey, that’s just me), Rondo was the guy that got the ball to PP on consecutive possessions that resulted in two 3s; two 3s that basically turned the game.
Huge.
Why does that stand out? Rondo took an almost overwhelming moment and stayed in control. And people probably figure you could put a little sister of the poor at the point with the Big 3 and Boston would be good, but you can’t underestimate the two-stage growth of Rondo this year: 1) the regular season where he grew just about every game after the All-Star break and 2) the postseason that has seen him put up 10/4/6, come up big in several games, and has prompted me to write to someone that Rondo “had a little Fat (Lever) in him…”
And of course, Game 1 was basically a microcosm of all that. From the attempted dunk on Sasha Vujacic to the valued fourth scoring option to the 15/5/7 line to the aforementioned Pierce Moment, Rondo was superb. You can’t also forget he’s going against a guy (Fisher) who has been to the Finals four times.
But he handled himself well. Rondo didn’t ooze an ounce of nervousness in the first quarter; seemed quite at ease with it all actually. And he seems to be figuring out when and who to distribute the ball too. The Cs seemed to go to Allen early, KG in the second, and Pierce, of course, late. It was Rondo who was reading the temperature of each, knowing when to give it out, and not shying away from Phil Jackson’s psychological operation We’re Gonna Let This Rondo Guy Shoot The Jumper.
Of course, Game 2 is another day. But it sure is exciting seeing a young PG on the big stage.
Anyway, the reason I write “ridiculous” is because it took Rondo all of 29 minutes to figure this thing out. Riding the wave that was The Pierce Return (by the way, it had more of a Bird ’91 feel to it than a Reed ’70, but hey, that’s just me), Rondo was the guy that got the ball to PP on consecutive possessions that resulted in two 3s; two 3s that basically turned the game.
Huge.
Why does that stand out? Rondo took an almost overwhelming moment and stayed in control. And people probably figure you could put a little sister of the poor at the point with the Big 3 and Boston would be good, but you can’t underestimate the two-stage growth of Rondo this year: 1) the regular season where he grew just about every game after the All-Star break and 2) the postseason that has seen him put up 10/4/6, come up big in several games, and has prompted me to write to someone that Rondo “had a little Fat (Lever) in him…”
And of course, Game 1 was basically a microcosm of all that. From the attempted dunk on Sasha Vujacic to the valued fourth scoring option to the 15/5/7 line to the aforementioned Pierce Moment, Rondo was superb. You can’t also forget he’s going against a guy (Fisher) who has been to the Finals four times.
But he handled himself well. Rondo didn’t ooze an ounce of nervousness in the first quarter; seemed quite at ease with it all actually. And he seems to be figuring out when and who to distribute the ball too. The Cs seemed to go to Allen early, KG in the second, and Pierce, of course, late. It was Rondo who was reading the temperature of each, knowing when to give it out, and not shying away from Phil Jackson’s psychological operation We’re Gonna Let This Rondo Guy Shoot The Jumper.
Of course, Game 2 is another day. But it sure is exciting seeing a young PG on the big stage.
You Tube: Derrick Rose Mix
There's a young guy, a point guard actually, named Derrick Rose. He went to Memphis. He led his team to the NCAA championship game. He will be either a number 1 or 2 pick, depending on if John Paxson uses Chicago's first pick on Rose or Derrick Coleman's little bro Michael Beasley. I will stop talking now - just watch.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
LA-Boston: A PG history
As the NBA Finals feature the vaunted Celtic-Laker rivalry, we take a look back at some of the legendary PG's who helped make this matchup memorable.
So, the Lakers are playing the Celtics in the Finals, huh?
Rumor has it these two have quite a history – 11 meetings in the Finals. Not bad. But while the retrospectives on a whole can be left to everyone else, I’ll take the time to speed you up on what this means in PG translation. Not PG-rated, but Point Guard.
Just gonna throw some names out there: Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, and Dennis Johnson. Pick a legend, any legend. OK, lets:
Bob Cousy
Perhaps his contribution to the whole Celtics-Lakers thing is that his last game came against the Lakers – Game 6 of the ’62 Finals. It was the kind of ending that was scripted for Hollywood – the game was played in the LA Sports Arena. Cooz hurt his ankle at the end of the third, and the Lakers cut a nine-point lead to one, only to see him return and steady the Celtics, leading them to the win and a 4-2 series clincher. We’ve all seen the famous footage of Cooz running the down the far side of the court, cocking back and firing the ball roughly 30 feet in the air, only to be mobbed by his teammates. Yeah, well that was this game. Bill Russell always said the Cs had extra motivation to win titles for departing people – Walter Brown, Auerbach in ’66, etc – and this was no different.
Jerry West
He who is tortured. Met the Celtics in the Finals six times. Lost six times. Incredible, but so unfortunately true. As a matter of fact, in an unintentionally mocking gesture, the gallant West was awarded the MVP of the ’69 Finals, holding the dubious distinction of being the only Finals MVP winner from a losing team. You think he’d take a ring instead of a convertible? Yeah, I’d say that’s a given. Averaged 29.5 in the ’63 Finals; 33.8 in ’65; 33.6 in ’66; 31.3 in ’68; and 37.9 in ’69 including a 53-point and 10-assist effort in Game 1. And has zero rings to show for those super-human – actually super-human doesn’t quite cut it – efforts. This guy was good.
Magic Johnson
Believe it or not, there was a time when Magic was maligned. Typically, the only team that could bring him to his knees were the Celtics, who in ’84 turned up the defensive heat on him – well, to put it simply, they put DJ on him – and the end result was a severe choke-job in Game 7, and a new nickname bestowed on him by Cedric Maxwell: Tragic Johnson. Magic then turned the ’85 regular season into a cross-country killing spree, ending in another meeting with the Cs in the ’85 Finals. This time it was different. Magic ended the series averaging 18/7/14 and punctuated by leading his Lakers over the Celtics for the first time ever. Better yet, they claimed the win in Boston Garden, the equivalent of the sun rising in the east. In ’87, Magic’s first MVP season, he put up 26/8/13 over the six-game series to claim Finals MVP and his fourth title.
Dennis Johnson
I would love to go on and on about his buzzer beater in Game 4 of the ’85 Finals. The one where Bird drew two, kicked it out to probably the only guy he’d trust to take a shot that he didn’t, and DJ calmly sank a 21-footer that seemed to tear the net off, capping a 27/7/12 night. Or I’d love to talk about Game 6 of the ’87 Finals (which the Cs actually lost) but featured a truly heroic DJ performance: 33 points. But understand that this was at the end of a courageous playoffs that saw everyone not-named Bird or DJ go down with some ailment. Bird was even running on empty in this one; DJ though, his career in microcosm form, fought it out. Sorry, those two are dandy, but I’ve got another DJ memory in mind. Following Game 3 of the ’84 Finals, a 33-point Celtic loss, Johnson demanded that he be put on Magic, who was running riot. KC Jones obliged. DJ scored 20-or-more over the final four games, while pestering the usually-competent Magic into uncharacteristic brain-melts. Magic had seven TO’s in Game 7 alone, including a crucial one late, and DJ finished it with 22 points in a Celtics win.
As you can see, plenty of legendary PG’s have come through in this legendary rivalry. If history is any guide, this years LA-BOS showdown will provide plenty of memories at the point.
So, the Lakers are playing the Celtics in the Finals, huh?
Rumor has it these two have quite a history – 11 meetings in the Finals. Not bad. But while the retrospectives on a whole can be left to everyone else, I’ll take the time to speed you up on what this means in PG translation. Not PG-rated, but Point Guard.
Just gonna throw some names out there: Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, and Dennis Johnson. Pick a legend, any legend. OK, lets:
Bob Cousy
Perhaps his contribution to the whole Celtics-Lakers thing is that his last game came against the Lakers – Game 6 of the ’62 Finals. It was the kind of ending that was scripted for Hollywood – the game was played in the LA Sports Arena. Cooz hurt his ankle at the end of the third, and the Lakers cut a nine-point lead to one, only to see him return and steady the Celtics, leading them to the win and a 4-2 series clincher. We’ve all seen the famous footage of Cooz running the down the far side of the court, cocking back and firing the ball roughly 30 feet in the air, only to be mobbed by his teammates. Yeah, well that was this game. Bill Russell always said the Cs had extra motivation to win titles for departing people – Walter Brown, Auerbach in ’66, etc – and this was no different.
Jerry West
He who is tortured. Met the Celtics in the Finals six times. Lost six times. Incredible, but so unfortunately true. As a matter of fact, in an unintentionally mocking gesture, the gallant West was awarded the MVP of the ’69 Finals, holding the dubious distinction of being the only Finals MVP winner from a losing team. You think he’d take a ring instead of a convertible? Yeah, I’d say that’s a given. Averaged 29.5 in the ’63 Finals; 33.8 in ’65; 33.6 in ’66; 31.3 in ’68; and 37.9 in ’69 including a 53-point and 10-assist effort in Game 1. And has zero rings to show for those super-human – actually super-human doesn’t quite cut it – efforts. This guy was good.
Magic Johnson
Believe it or not, there was a time when Magic was maligned. Typically, the only team that could bring him to his knees were the Celtics, who in ’84 turned up the defensive heat on him – well, to put it simply, they put DJ on him – and the end result was a severe choke-job in Game 7, and a new nickname bestowed on him by Cedric Maxwell: Tragic Johnson. Magic then turned the ’85 regular season into a cross-country killing spree, ending in another meeting with the Cs in the ’85 Finals. This time it was different. Magic ended the series averaging 18/7/14 and punctuated by leading his Lakers over the Celtics for the first time ever. Better yet, they claimed the win in Boston Garden, the equivalent of the sun rising in the east. In ’87, Magic’s first MVP season, he put up 26/8/13 over the six-game series to claim Finals MVP and his fourth title.
Dennis Johnson
I would love to go on and on about his buzzer beater in Game 4 of the ’85 Finals. The one where Bird drew two, kicked it out to probably the only guy he’d trust to take a shot that he didn’t, and DJ calmly sank a 21-footer that seemed to tear the net off, capping a 27/7/12 night. Or I’d love to talk about Game 6 of the ’87 Finals (which the Cs actually lost) but featured a truly heroic DJ performance: 33 points. But understand that this was at the end of a courageous playoffs that saw everyone not-named Bird or DJ go down with some ailment. Bird was even running on empty in this one; DJ though, his career in microcosm form, fought it out. Sorry, those two are dandy, but I’ve got another DJ memory in mind. Following Game 3 of the ’84 Finals, a 33-point Celtic loss, Johnson demanded that he be put on Magic, who was running riot. KC Jones obliged. DJ scored 20-or-more over the final four games, while pestering the usually-competent Magic into uncharacteristic brain-melts. Magic had seven TO’s in Game 7 alone, including a crucial one late, and DJ finished it with 22 points in a Celtics win.
As you can see, plenty of legendary PG’s have come through in this legendary rivalry. If history is any guide, this years LA-BOS showdown will provide plenty of memories at the point.
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