What about my fellow countryman?

Ed Pinkney · Post #1 » by **Ed Pinkney** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:52 am

I would love to see an Aussie boy play in the green so what about Nathan Jawai. Projected as a late rounder. Clifford Ray could really bring him along like he has for Al, Perk and Baby.

From Draftnet:

NBA Comparison: Charles Oakley
Strengths: Bruising bigman with a raw, unpolished game but shows a great deal of potential with his soft touch, size, strength and explosiveness ... He's 6-10 but plays bigger with long arms and excellent leaping ability ... Highly aggressive, loves to dunk on guys and really enjoys playing physical ... His attitude is one of his biggest positives. He can get angry and emotional, but that actually helps His game and does not hurt it. He is not foul prone either. he likes to get rough, can do the dirty work and shows passion ... Shows a soft shooting touch from the line at close to 70% which is a good sign that his offensive game can further develop. He's a good mid-range shooter and he displayed a nice variety of offense moves ... Considering his lack of experience playing the game at a high level, his (natural) feel for the game is very good ... He's a quality passer for a bigman, recognizing double teams and finding the open man ...has a good set of hands, catches the ball well, and secures the ball well on rebounds with his strong arms and sure hands ...

Weaknesses: He needs to keep developing his feel for the game and all around skills, but in particular his post skills ... Right now he is very poor at putting the ball on the floor, so getting better at knowing how and when to use the dribble to create shots without exposing the ball is key ... Does not run the floor well and lacks great foot speed ... He's very limited facing the basket and better with his back to the basket ... Still needs a bit of work on his stamina. He can only play stretches before his great size and lack of experience catch up with him and he needs a breather ... Working on conditioning will help him to become more consistent from game to game. He's above 280 right now and would be most effective at around 270 ...

Notes: Considered by International scouts as a potential late first rounder for the 2008 draft ... Jawai is averaging 18 and 10 in his first season of professional basketball (in the Australian league) ...

http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profile ... jawai.html

There is a Youtube file on the link above.

Celtics4Life · Post #2 » by **Celtics4Life** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:34 am

I'd be pretty happy with Jawai, definitely looks like he needs to work on his conditioning from the little I've seen of him. His mid-range game looks pretty solid for a guy in his first season of professional ball, though, and he seems to live up to that reputation of being aggressive. Lots of potential from the looks of it.

return2glory · Post #3 » by **return2glory** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:05 am

If we can't trade up to get Roy Hibbert, Nathan is the center I want. But I hear Detroit, who is picking in front of us, likes him.

Bad-Thoma · Post #4 » by **Bad-Thoma** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:29 am

Anyone looks good in a highlight video I guess, but his athletisicm looks great for his weight. That little 15 footer is pretty sweet too. 18 and 10 in a pro league suggests some consistency.

BillessuR6 · Post #5 » by **BillessuR6** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:06 pm

Can we get some first hand info on him from the "down under" guys who have seen him play...

Gomes3PC · Post #6 » by **Gomes3PC** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:14 pm

If Jawai is actually 6-10 with long arms I'd be fine with him at 30, so long as we are sure he'd come over to the US and not just **** us around. If he's actually 6-8 or 6-9, we don't need another undersized big. And if he might be unwilling to come over to the NBA this year or next, I'd also pass.