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Sorry about the lack of pots recently. Hopefully today’s post is the start of a new trend—not going two weeks without posting. Also, here’s a little mock mock draft I cooked up—if you’re interested in reading pre-draft coverage after the draft.

Before I get to some specific picks that rubbed me the right or wrong way, I need to mention the apparent inefficiencies in the draft that only team like Portland and Seattle are capitalizing on. Because of the NBDL and the ability to leave players in Europe, every single draft pick is much more valuable that it used to be. In the past if you had a 2nd round pick who was good, but had no roster spot, you had to cut him. Now you can send him to the NBDL and watch him get better. Why would any team not be willing to trade cash considerations in order to take a chance on DeAndre Jordan or Bill Walker in the 2nd round. Isn’t is stupid and naive to say that their potential isn’t even worth giving up nothing for? Ok, on to the picks

1. Derick Rose — Chicago

Not sold on him. He’ll only become a great player if he becomes a great shooter. That’s not a sure thing. I also would have liked to see him get more easy layups in college. When guys like Steve Francis and Jason Williams were in college, they would blow by their men for uncontested layups three or four times a game. Rose can get by his man but it always seems like he’s forced into a more-difficult-than-it-should-be finish.

2. Michael Beasley — Miami

I love Beasley. Maybe he’ll be too small in the end. Maybe he’ll get into trouble. But there’s not a small forward or power forward in the NBA who can guard him.

3. O.J. Mayo — Memphis

Just like with Kobe, LeBron, and Derrick Rose, Mayo development as a shooter will make or break his career. If he turns those 8-25 games he had in college into 12-25 games in the NBA, he’ll be a good one.

4. Russell Westbrook — Seattle

Seems like a reach. He’ll need to become a better shooter, but I love his Monte Elllis drive-and-jump-over-the-big-men potential.

5. Kevin Love — Minnesota

Love is going to have an up and down career because his production will depend on matchups. If he’s against and undersized big man he’ll be able to beat him on the glass and back him down for jump hooks. But he’s going against a guy like Dwight Howard or Brenday Haywood, or a big man who puts the ball on the floor, he’s going to get torched.

6. Danilo Gallinari — New York Knicks

He plays in Europe. Nobody knows how good he actually is.

7. Eric Gordon — L.A. Clippers

I hated Gordon is college and I was ready to laugh at whatever team wasted a high pick on him. He’s a carbon copy of Ben Gordon. All he can do is score. He can’t play defense and can’t create easy baskets for his teammates. Ninety percent of the guys in the NBA can score so what’s the point of having a guy like Gordon? But the more I think about it, every other player on the board is flawed, and Gordon’s ability to score is more impressive than any ability of anybody who was left (other than Anthony Randolph’s ability to not gain weight). The Clippers needed a scorer, and in the end I think Gordon was the right pick.

8. Joe Alexander — Milwaukee

I think the American public will never accept the fact that a white guy can be described as having freakish athleticism. So close your eyes and imagine for a second that Alexander is black. You have a guy with “freakish athleticism” who can shoot the lights out and has a developing back-to-the-basket game. Seems like a pretty good pick.

9. D.J. Augustin — Charlotte

I think Augustin is underrated player. He spent two years getting his teammates involved instead of putting up big numbers. If he’s not to small he’ll be solid. Still, there’s no excuse for not picking Jerryd Blayless.

10. Brook Lopez — New Jersey

A no brainer, but it’s hard to like a 7-footer who can’t even get easy shots in college. It’s nice that Lopez can make a fadeaway 15-footer, but shouldn’t he be backing guys down for dunks? I call this the Adam Morrison Corollary. (It was nice that Morrison was making fadeaway 20-footers, but where were the easy baskets. Oh right, there were none.)

11. Jerryd Bayless — Portland

The Trail Blazers are one of the few teams taking advantage of the increasing talent pool of the NBA draft. Bayless is a steal here. Just give the 2010 Championship to the Blazers right now.

12. Jason Thompson — Sacramento

This pick took guts. Even if the Kings think he’s good, why not wait and trade down? Or just wait until somebody else drafts him 20 picks later and then acquire him for cash considerations. This was not good pick value management.

13. Brandon Rush — Indiana

Bayless was better, but Rush can do it all.

14. Anthony Randolph — Golden State

Again, with the NBDL waiting there, why not? Clearly there’s something about him scouts believe could make him a good basketball player.

15. Robin Lopez — Phoenix

He’s a really really good defender, but I still think it’s not a good sign when your ceiling in Anderson Varejao.

16. Marreese Speights — Philadelphia

Big man. Big body. Big numbers. Solid pick.

17. Roy Hibbert — Indiana

I have the same problem with Hibbert as I have with Brook Lopez. Not enough easy baskets in college for a guy with that kind of physical advantage. Hibbert also looks two calculated in all his movements, like he’s consciously trying to remember the footwork he learned at Pete Newell camp. It ends up looking smooth, but it’s really slow. All in all, I don’t think Hibbert has the athleticism to make it.

18. JaVale McGee — Washington

Hate the pick with J.J. Hickson and Darrell Arthur still on the board. The Wiz blew it.

19. J.J. Hickson — Cleveland

My favorite pick of the first round. Hickson dominated the ACC as a freshman. He shot 59% from the field (Hansbrough was 2nd at 54%), and did it against the front lines of Duke, UNC, Clemson (great frontcourt), and Maryland (with the 2nd and 3rd best shot blockers in the ACC, James Gist and Bambale Osby). Hickson isn’t just a big body. He has inside skills and nice touch on his jumper. I think he can be another David West-Carl Landry-Antoni0 McDyess-type player.

20. Alexis Ajinca — Charlotte

He plays in France. Nobody knows how good he actually is.

21. Ryan Anderson — New Jersey

He played at Cal. Nobody knows how good he actually is.

22. Courtney Lee — Orland0

The Magic need a shooting guard. Lee can score. Good need-based pick.

23. Kosta Koufas — Utah

Who doesn’t need another Mehmet Okur?

24. Serge Ibaka — Seattle

At least him and Sene can hang out on their D-league team.

25. Nicholas Batum — Houston

He plays in Europe. Nobody knows how good he actually is.

26. George Hill — IUPUI

I’m willing to trust whatever the Spurs do at this point. They’re clearly smarter than everybody else. I can judge what the Grizzlies do. I can’t judge what the Spurs do.

27. Darrell Arthur — Memphis

He’s a steal. That’s about all I have to say about that.

28. Donte Greene — Houston

A 6″9 athletic guy who can shoot. Sounds good to me.

29. D.J. White — Detroit

They might have been able to get him later in the draft, but I think White will be a solid NBA Player. When healthy, he physically dominated the Big 10.

30. J.R. Giddens — Boston

It’s always nice to see a guy who transferred from a big program to a smaller program get drafted in the first round. Giddens is freakishly athletic, but he needs to learn how to shoot.

And now a little love for the 2nd round…

34. Mario Chalmers — Miami

I love point guards who can shoot. They change the whole game. Chalmers is the perfect fit for the Heat.

35. Deandre Jordan — L.A. Clippers

Like Anthony Randolph, there’s something scouts like about Jordan. He’s a perfect 2nd round pick.

39. Sonny Weems — Chicago

Weems is big, can shoot, is a lock down defender, and comes off as one of those guys who’s an absolute battler who refuses to let his team lose (you know, unlike Kobe).

40. Chris Douglas-Roberts — New Jersey

He’s a steal here. One reason is that slashers like Douglas-Roberts are really hurt by there not being a semi-circle in the paint in college basketball. They can’t take it to the rim aggressively because somebody will be standing under the basket to take a charge. That won’t happen in the NBA.

47. Bill Walker — Boston

He has a chance to be good. That’s what the 2nd round is all about.

55. Mike Taylor — L.A. Clippers

Here’s what I like about Taylor. He’s already dominated the NDBL when he should have still been in college. I feel like people don’t realize the quality of competition in the NBDL. It’s higher than any conference in college basketball. The NDBL is full of seasoned veterans or guys who were stars in the NCAA. Taylor proved himself against them, and he might soon prove himself against the guys in the NBA.

57. James Gist — San Antonio

Gist has freakish athleticism, was one of the best shot blockers and rebounders in college basketball, has decent post moves, and can make a 20 footer. But he spent four years in college so there must be something wrong with him.

58. Joe Crawford — L.A. Lakers

He just strikes me as the kind of guy who struggles through his college career and only realizes his potential once he gets to the NBA.

 

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Ok. I’m sufficiently recovered from the Penguins Stanley Cup loss and ready to blog once again. Forcing me to get back into the swing of things was Kobe Bryant’s performance last night. It was hands down one of the worst games any player has ever played in the NBA Finals. And I’m not talking about his offense. I’m talking about Kobe’s defense.

The entire game Kobe was mired in his “I’m a freelancer who doesn’t have to guard anybody” mindset that he had from being matched up with Rajon Rando. That’s the reason James Posey and Eddie House made six three pointers. That’s the reason Ray Allen repeatedly got to the basket.

In the 4th quarter Kobe and Paul Pierce went head-to-head. It was mano-a-mano for game 4 of the NBA Finals. Kobe had no chance. Pierce abused him at will, culminating with a horrendous final-minute blocking foul on Kobe 30 feet from the basket. The Lakers effectively needed a stop to keep the series from getting out of hand, and Kobe couldn’t even move his feet.

Offensively, Kobe was no better. During the 4th quarter (while Pierce was repeatedly blowing by Kobe) he could do nothing. Pierce repeatedly forced him into bad shots which Kobe was all too content to take.

Earlier in the game, it was Kobe’s selfishness that helped fuel the Celtics comeback. The Lakers built up a 20 point lead thanks to great ball movement. Kobe wasn’t being a dynamite scorer, he was a ball-mover and a role player and it was working.

In the second half Kobe decided he wanted to join in on the fun. Expecting to turn the game into an even bigger rout, Kobe started with the 1-on-1 possessions. Unfortunately for him, the Celtics kept playing defense and repeatedly forced him into bad shots. Before Kobe knew it, the Lakers’ once mighty lead had been cut in half.

The result? The remaining games the Celtics need to win to secure a title has also been cut in half.

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Game 5 showed every single reason why nothing compares to a sudden death Stanley Cup Playoff game. A team on the brink of elimination was getting pummeled. They held on by a hair, gritted their teeth, and left two of everything they had on the ice. The crowd was living and dying with every play. Twenty thousand fans were 30 seconds away from their pinnacle moment as a sports fan—they were going to see their team win the cup on home ice.

(And by the way, hockey is probably the best sport to witness a championship in person. In all other sports the teams celebrate on the field, but they’re in a hurry to get to the locker and really celebrate. When a team wins the Stanley Cup every single player skates around with it as the fans cheer for him. It’s such an authentic and meaningful interaction between player and fan.)

As the 20,000 Red Wings faithful stood on their feet waiting for the cup, Max Talbot put the puck in the back of the net. (Speaking of Talbot, he’s only 24 but you can already tell that when he’s old, young playoff teams will constantly be trying to acquire him at the trade deadline to bring in veteran leadership and toughness. He’s already that solid of a player.) When Talbot’s shot went in a unique gasp bubbled up from the crowd. It was part “Damn my wife is gonna be pissed I’m coming home late,” part “Fuck, I had $1,000 on Detroit winning,” part “I wanted to see the big shiny cup,” and part “I don’t like Marc Andre Fleury.” Two hours later, thanks to Peter Sykora, in was just another Stanley Cup loss.

Of all the predictions made by players over the years, Peter Sykora’s has to be the craziest. It’s one thing for a player to guarantee a win or great performance in a big game. But to declare you’re going to score a goal during the second overtime of a Stanley Cup game in which your team is getting crushed is completely ridiculous. What were the odds on the Penguins scoring? Sykora scored about 12% of the Penguins goals during the regular season but there was only about a 25% chance the Penguins would score. That means it was at least a 25-1 one shot Sykora would score.

There’s also the possibility Sykora was just joking around with Pierre McGuire. Maybe McGuire was joking that the game was so long and he had to go sleep and Sykora just said something like “Don’t worry, I’m gonna score.”

Though Sykora’s goal came on a legitimate power play, the referees are still getting a lot of shit for the two questionable goaltender interference calls they made earlier in overtime. Here’s the thing. They were the right calls. In both cases a Detroit player skated into the crease and knocked over Fleury without the assistance of a Penguin. If Detroit scored off either of those scrums it would not have been a fair goal. Since the referees can’t wait and just waive off the goal, they have to call a penalty.

Finally, you can’t say enough about Marc Andre Fleury. The save he made on a 2-1 late in the 2nd period is the best save you’ll see in hockey. I’m not saying its the greatest save of all time, but you can’t argue that there’s a tougher save.

Fleury leveled the playing field. He took over the game. He’s the reason the two teams will pay again tomorrow night.

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