Brook Lopez

[GSW2K4]

I don't think Brook Lopez is going to be a bad pro or a great pro, I think he'll have a nice solid NBA career. But I think the entire big over small arguement is very flawed.

History -- 1998, 2001, 2003 (Darko), 2005, 2006 in the last 10 yrs -- seems to agree with you...

[Cammo101]

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Bogut's sophomore year:
20.4/12.2/2.3 on 62% shooting (and NCAA POTY)

Kaman's junior year:
22.4/12.0/1.2 on 62% shooting

Lopez's sophomore year:
19.3/8.2/1.4 on 47% shooting

Clearly Kaman and Bogut were worse college players than Lopez heading into the NBA.

Lopez played in the best conference in the country. Kamen and Bogut played in mid-majors.

[JMillott]

But Brook Lopez did not dominat that conference, in point of fact he wasn't even the best big in the conference Kevin Love was.

[GSW2K4]

Al Jefferson is basically my favorite player in the NBA right now, (Celtics fan) I couldn't agree less about Brook Lopez being a good fit next to him.

Draft stock aside -- why do you think they wouldn't fit together?

It seems like Lopez could complement him well with a high post game....and some defense...

[Cammo101]

But Brook Lopez did not dominat that conference, in point of fact he wasn't even the best big in the conference Kevin Love was.

If Lopez was on UCLA and Love was on Stanford, I can assure you Lopez would have been viewed as the better player last year.

[GSW2K4]

I don't know how you would substantiate a counter-factual like that -- "if they switched places, then we'd look at them differently"....

Anyway, it will be interesting to see where Lopez goes...today's "news" FWIW:

From Bilas:

The third-best prospect in my book is Stanford's Brook Lopez. He is still very young, although he is the elder statesman of the top 10 prospects and has the chance to be a really good NBA post player. He may not be a perennial All-Star, but Lopez will be an impact player that has the chance to be very good. The only thing that bothers me about Lopez is that he is not a great finisher around the goal, and he is not a high volume rebounder. In fact, on the glass and on the defensive end, Robin Lopez is the better prospect, and Robin improved greatly this past season. He should be taken in the middle of the first round.

From Ford:

The word among NBA executives drafting in the lottery is that Stanford's Brook Lopez may be the top name who could slip out of the Top 10. I spoke with a number of executives and scouts who said they thought he was a more appropriate pick in the 10 to 20 range. Some of them had both Kevin Love and DeAndre Jordan ranked ahead of Lopez on their draft boards.

That's out of sorts with what I've been told for months. What's changed?

"This is a process," one NBA GM said. "We are gathering information, going back to the tape and looking at things, and we're just getting a better feel for players. I know a lot of guys on our staff, me included, are worried about Brook. In fact, I'd say half our guys think his brother [Robin Lopez] will be a better NBA player. Workouts will really be important for him. I think we have a lot of questions about him right now."

I can't remember a legit big man free falling so I would say Charlotte is the place (they don't need Love, despite what people say -- Love, May, and Okafor just doesn't seem to work...).

Felton, JRich, Wallace, Okafor, Lopez, w/ May and Dudley off the bench... + Morrison crying in the locker room... that's a nice group to work with in my mind. Lopez would make them a stronger defensive team at least...

[BigSlam]

I can't remember a legit big man free falling so I would say Charlotte is the place (they don't need Love, despite what people say -- Love, May, and Okafor just doesn't seem to work...).

Felton, JRich, Wallace, Okafor, Lopez, w/ May and Dudley off the bench... + Morrison crying in the locker room... that's a nice group to work with in my mind. Lopez would make them a stronger defensive team at least...

I like Lopez, but not for us.

[Cammo101]

Charlotte needs Lopez in the worst way. A scoring center with solid defense that would allow Okafor to play PF. He is exactly what Charlotte needs.

[BigSlam]

Charlotte needs Lopez in the worst way. A scoring center with solid defense that would allow Okafor to play PF. He is exactly what Charlotte needs.

No, he is not.

Okafor plays best at the 5, not the 4. He is a natural centre, not a natural power foward.

If we have Lopez, that gives us two guys for one position - and who chases the mobile/athletic PF's like Bosh, Amare, West, Jamison, LMA, Odom etc who have a jump shot and pull Okafor out of the paint - where he plays the best?

Lopez is not what the Bobcats need. Anothny Randolph (in about 4 years and 40lbs!!!) is what the Bobcats need!!

[GSW2K4]

Cammo, we finally agree on something.

(EDIT...didn't see above)

[SoHo]

But Brook Lopez did not dominat that conference, in point of fact he wasn't even the best big in the conference Kevin Love was.

As Cammo said, places switched people would likely have a hard time saying that.

If you watched a lot of Stanford basketball and a lot of UCLA basketball you would notice that the rest of the UCLA team was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the rest of the Stanford team which has a big impact on who you see as better.

Also saying Brook didn't dominate the PAC-10 shows you have no idea what you're talking about, Stanford finished second in the conference, who else on that team would you say got them there? Heck they played UCLA very well and would have beat them if not for a non-existent foul call at the end of regulation in the PAC-10 tourney.

[Kcin11690]

Lopez played in the best conference in the country. Kamen and Bogut played in mid-majors.

I won't deny that Lopez had much better competition for the most part. However, I don't think you can say that hes a better player than those two OR had a better season, considering the statistics. Especially Bogut, who was NCAA POTY. Honestly, I think Lopez is a pretty good prospect, but the FG% really scares me.

[andyhop]

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Also, in situations like this you have to look at who is the better fit for Minny, and that is clearly Lopez.

Both Mayo and Lopez actually fit for Minny about equally.

The Wolves were 29th and 22nd in net PG and SG points last year,in PER at the 2 positions they ranked 30th and 29th.So whilst it is true that moving Al to his correct PF position and getting him help on the boards and defensively by drafting Lopez is a good fit, taking Mayo to improve scoring and defense at either PG or SG is equally a good fit.

That is why I will be happy with either.

[BBen]

Wow! A minny fan actually admitted that Lopez might be a good selection!!!! End the thread now!!!

[JMillott]

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If Lopez was on UCLA and Love was on Stanford, I can assure you Lopez would have been viewed as the better player last year.

I'm sorry but that is laughable. Kevin Love is just a better basketball player with a much better feel for the game.

[Jonathan Watters]

Well, I'm not so stubborn that I'll continue this argument in the face of a GM consensus from Chad Ford.

It all sounds crazy to me, especially the guy that thinks Kevin Love is a better player despite Love really struggling in their individual matchups, but history has proven that people like Ford have good information and that players rumored to be falling actually do fall.

I've this situation plenty of times with players I've been high on - sometimes I turn out to be right, but other times I've been wrong. I feel pretty good about my projection on Lopez and definitely believe that he'd be an absolutely steal if he slips out of the top half of the lottery, but we'll just have to see what happens...

[Cammo101]

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I'm sorry but that is laughable. Kevin Love is just a better basketball player with a much better feel for the game.

It did not help Love at all that he played with one of the best true PG's in college basketball and that UCLA had a bunch of perimeter scorers to unclog the post? Clearly that had nothing to do with Love being in a much much easier situation to excel. Both Love and Lopez are excellent players, but Love was clearly in a much easier situation to succeed. Lopez carried his team, Love was a piece of an ensemble.

[UGA Hayes]

^ Eh I wouldn't discount your opinion b/c of Chad Ford. I've found that GMs are pretty willing to lie to Ford about these issues AND that Ford is guilty of getting a player perconnel guy of giving him a really juicy quote and then constructing his article around that juicy quote.

In other words if one guy say Brook is free falling and that is Ford's Quote of the day he finds a way to make it sound like a consensus opinion. I mean do half of GM's staff really all the sudden think Robin is going to be the better player. What in the world is that based on (and I like Robin a lot).

[GSW2K4]

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I'm sorry but that is laughable. Kevin Love is just a better basketball player with a much better feel for the game.

I agree -- there's really no point in comparing Lopez to Love. There's not much similarity beyond the fact that they played inside.

I think JMillot nailed the most glaring difference with feel for the game.

All indications from scouting reports, Ford, Bilas, etc are that Love has it, Lopez doesn't. It's hard to just disregard that. Of course, they could all be playing off each other, but it's the same thing I see when I watch him -- he doesn't respond/adapt well.

Plenty of dominant college players have failed to be effective in the pros and usually it's because they never really had a great feel for the game to begin with -- they were just faster, stronger, or taller than everyone around them so they relied on that. When they were no longer athletically superior (in the NBA) and the pace of the game is moving faster that feel for the game becomes a lot more significant.

It's an intangible so every year people disregard it and every year those players prove people wrong. It has nothing to do with who's around that player, it's about how they respond.

I think as teams watch tape closely, that will become increasingly more evident.

[Jonathan Watters]

And I think people mistake a guy who doesn't jump out of the gym for not having a good feel for the game.

No, Lopez doesn't have the best feel for the game when he is being force fed on the low block.

That doesn't mean he has a poor feel for the game. His feel for the game on the defensive end is as good as one could ever ask for out of a big man.

Once again, I'll state that if Lopez had a poor feel for the game, Stanford wouldn't have been the 25th best offensive team in the country with Lopez as the team's most efficient offensive starter. They wouldn't have been a 3 seed with a mid-major supporting cast other than the Lopez'.

These are all questions that somebody claiming the Lopez vs Love comparisons are ridiculous has to answer at some point.

Just how in the heck was it that Stanford played neck and neck with UCLA twice in a two week span if Lopez has such a poor feel for the game and no supporting cast and Love has an amazing feel for the game and his ridiculously talented supporting cast?

It absolutely boggles my mind to hear people call Brook a poor rebounder and label Robin the good rebounder. The player that was significantly better as a defensive rebounder and nearly as good as an offensive rebounder despite taking more shots is the mediocre rebounder, and the one who didn't get defensive rebounds and barely outpaced the other on offensive glass despite almost never shooting...he's the good rebounder...

HUH?

It sounds nice to say that Lopez doesn't have a good feel for the game, but reality just doesn't line up that way at all.