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Village Idiot wrote:how did Westbrook Project coming out of UCLA?Clarity wrote:Its funny that people are just now finding out that Oladipo's ceiling is Tony Allen.
He gives you a great motor, potentially elite defense but little offense.
Players develop. Okadipo has, every year...
Sure they are. Coming out of college they were both viewed as athletic freaks with a limited skillset who were role players on solid teams.Jsun947 wrote:I'm not sure where the Olapido/Westbrook comparison came from.
They are absolutely nothing alike...
"Physically, Westbrook is especially impressive, despite his tweener status. He has solid size at 6-3, an excellent wingspan, and huge hands, and is one of the most explosive players you’ll find anywhere in the country. Featuring an outstanding first step and terrific strength once in the lane, Westbrook’s ability to elevate off the floor has made his highlight reels the stuff of Youtube legend.
Offensively, Westbrook’s biggest source of production (nearly 30% of his offense) curiously comes in transition. He plays a fairly small role in UCLA’s half-court offense (only 8% of his offense comes from either pick and roll or isolation plays) , mostly as a complimentary piece—moving off the ball trying to find holes in the defense to get to the rim with his tremendous strength and leaping ability, or shooting wide open jumpers. It’s pretty clear when breaking down his footage that he lacks quite a bit of polish on this end of the floor, even if he is extremely effective at the few things he does well.
Westbrook’s ball-handling skills are fairly limited, as he has the ability the beat players off the dribble with his tremendous first step going left or right, and is solid getting to the rim in a straight line, but he struggles when trying to do much more than that. He lacks the advanced dribbling skills needed to create his own shot and change directions sharply in the half-court (for example at the end of a shot clock), and thus often looks a bit out of control when dribbling in traffic, forcing him to flip up some awkward shots at the rim. It’s not uncommon to see him called for various violations in the rare occasion that he tries to go out and make something happen on his own, be it traveling calls, palming or offensive fouls.
From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2VyvJQTSr
http://www.draftexpress.com"
An elite athlete with a chiseled frame and solid size and length for an NBA shooting guard, Oladipo combines his outstanding physical tools with a relentless motor, often overwhelming players at the college level as an on-ball defender and causing havoc off the ball.
Oladipo still does much of his damage offensively when he can get out in the open floor, as over 28% of his used possessions this season have come in transition. He's an absolute blur leading the break with the ball in his hands or filling the lanes, where he's capable of finishing with highlight-reel dunks.
In the half-court, Oladipo is primarily an opportunistic scorer at this stage, utilizing his athleticism and energy to make plays off of cuts and offensive rebounds (his 3.4 offensive rebounds per forty ranks first amongst all shooting guard prospects in our database). Over two thirds of his shot attempts come in the basket area, and he's converting on an outstanding 71% of those attempts, as he attacks the rim very aggressively and uses his good body control and excellent elevation to finish.
As we've touched on before, Oladipo is fairly limited as a ball-handler and playmaker, with most of his opportunities coming off of straight-line drives on close-outs or when he can catch the ball on the move.
From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2VyvpQSf0
http://www.draftexpress.com
DusterBuster wrote:Interesting you should point that out. Just as recently as this morning I saw a tweet from a reporter who quoted a GM who said something to the effect of, 'There's a lot of guys in this draft who're going to average 8 or 9 points for their career and Oladipo is one of them.' Whether or not that one GM's opinion is league wide, who knows, but he's definitely someone that's impossible to pin down.
EDIT: Here's the tweet:Sam Amico @SamAmicoFSO about 6 hours ago
NBA GM on Indiana G Victor Oladipo: "Great D. But lots of guys in this draft will average 8 or 9 points for their career. He'a one of them."
As for Shabazz, word just came out that he apparently had a really strong workout and interview with the Kings. He might still go Top 10 yet.
Jsun947 wrote:Zeller is very athletic and skilled.
I just can't get over the fact that he seemed so incapable of asserting himself against stronger bigger players, something he's going to see every night in the NBA. He's definately not going to impact the game on the defensive end (at least not in a positive way).
I think he'd probably be a better fit on a team like Memphis or Indiana.
Talent Chaser wrote:Jsun947 wrote:Zeller is very athletic and skilled.
I just can't get over the fact that he seemed so incapable of asserting himself against stronger bigger players, something he's going to see every night in the NBA. He's definately not going to impact the game on the defensive end (at least not in a positive way).
I think he'd probably be a better fit on a team like Memphis or Indiana.
The only game that he was over-matched physically was when Indiana threw him the ball in the middle of the Syracuse zone and he was getting double/triple teamed. Keep in mind Crean is a horrible coach and can't draw up a play for his life. I think Zeller is a top 5 talent in this draft but Crean didn't know how to utilize him correctly.
DaVoiceMaster wrote:DusterBuster wrote:DaVoiceMaster wrote:The Blazers can use a player at any position. SG is probably the one position I would least worry about at this point with Matthews, Barton and even Batum. I still believe the Blazers will resign Elliott Williams, as well. Every other position is wide open for backups and perhaps a starting center.
I really hope they don't bother. That money/roster spot could be put to so much better use than on a guy who's body clearly can't withstand the rigors of the NBA. I feel bad for the guy, but this is a business and he's not worth the investment anymore.
I just can't understand why else they did not waive him when trading for Maynor. Granted, they didn't really need Price, but why not waive the guy who can't play this year?
Goldbum wrote:Talent Chaser wrote:Jsun947 wrote:Zeller is very athletic and skilled.
I just can't get over the fact that he seemed so incapable of asserting himself against stronger bigger players, something he's going to see every night in the NBA. He's definately not going to impact the game on the defensive end (at least not in a positive way).
I think he'd probably be a better fit on a team like Memphis or Indiana.
The only game that he was over-matched physically was when Indiana threw him the ball in the middle of the Syracuse zone and he was getting double/triple teamed. Keep in mind Crean is a horrible coach and can't draw up a play for his life. I think Zeller is a top 5 talent in this draft but Crean didn't know how to utilize him correctly.
I'm divided by this one. I think you may be right but I just don't know. I remember him killing Anthony Davis last year and he was considered an epic college defender. On the other hand our scouts rated Babbitt as the 3rd best athlete in his draft based on very good combine numbers and you could measure his fast twitch muscle response with a sun dial. Barton tested out as a poor athlete but looks super athletic on the court. So I worry that when a player is rated poor athletically and then has an eye popping combine that maybe he isn't a great basketball athlete but just a great combine/measurables guy.
Prodigy73 wrote:fredericklove wrote:Chill out, bro. Things will get better when we face the next 3 games in Nets, Mavs and Rockets, relax, chill.
If we go 0-3 during that Imma chillllllllllllll
From a per-possession-efficiency standpoint, Zeller ranks as the best prospect on the board. The excellent athletic markers he displayed at the combine hold up statistically, as he's got the third-best ATH rating in this class. Zeller lags in the skill area in terms of outside shooting and passing, but I'm still convinced Zeller is underrated in the prospect rankings I've seen.
Adams is one of the big risers on the board in terms of disconnect between metrics and scouting rankings. He's got the best-projected rookie rates in 2-point percentage, overall rebound percentage and block percentage. Yes, his block projection is even a hair better than Noel's. Body type has a lot to do with that. Consider Anthony Davis, who projected to lap the field in rookie block rate last year. He indeed was an excellent shot-blocker, but Andre Drummond and Festus Ezeli both put up better rates. Despite a foul rate that looks problematic, Adams is a worthy project.
Caldwell-Pope has good stand-still shooting indicators but is held back by a poor defensive translation that conflicts with scouting reports.
LOOSH wrote:I prefer Zeller to Adams. Don't care if his future is at PF, just think he is a much better player.
lukeyrid13 wrote:Adams has the potential to fill all the holes that we need on this team. Problem is that we need those holes filled now and not with a 19 year old, very raw rookie. If we get 13 from Dallas then we could definitely afford to take a flyer on him. I don't want to draft a guy just to fill a need though when he's so raw that he won't even be doing what he was drafted to do.
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