Friday, January 26, 2007
Daisuke and the Gyroball
New SI.com column on Daisuke and whether or not he throws the so-called "gyroball." The verdict? Probably not. But for $103 million dollars, does it really matter as long as he can get hitters out?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Bird-dogging the next NBA draft
Two years ago on the list-serve that predated this blog I raved about the potential of Danny Granger. As a senior at New Mexico, Granger looked like he could step into the eight-man rotation of a strong NBA playoff team from day one. There was much gnashing of teeth in the B household when Indiana took him one pick ahead of the Celtics in the 2005 draft.
Last year in the early round of the NCAA tourney I posted about two college players that looked like late-lottery/mid-first round steals: Brandon Roy and Joaquim Noah. I wasn't alone. If Roy can stay free of injury he'd be the presumptive favorite for Rookie of the Year. Noah ended up getting lots of 'top three' pick buzz before electing to stay in school.
This year I'm not waiting for the NCAA tourney to give you an early favorite. Circle the name Corey Brewer in your programs. He's a 6'9" shooting guard for Florida who steals the show every time I turn on the TV to watch Noah and Al Horford (everyone’s' top 5 projected big men). Brewer is the classic example of a player who might slip into the late lottery or the middle of the first round because he looks like a super rotation player rather than a potential All Star. As a result he'll go after plenty of projects with upside potential (e.g. Hasheem Thabeet, Yi Jianlian), many of who'll bust out, and some already-decent team will luck into landing one of the top players in the draft.
Call it the Josh Howard/Tayshaun Prince phenomena
The last few Florida games I've watched I've loved Brewer. He's a defensive stopper who's fine with being the 3rd option but has real offensive ability (with the exception of a streaky jumper). There were several Florida games last year in which Taureen Green couldn't hit a jumper, the other team's big men were able to frustrate Horford and Noah, and Brewer stepped up and took over the offense.
His handle and ability to drive surprised me in those situations, and he shows a great understanding of where he ought to be on the floor. At the college level he can get any shot off he wants, without particularly exerting himself. He's not the most consistent at finishing at the basket or with his jumper. Both of these things will cause scouts to downgrade his value and should keep him out of the top 10. But these are also two of the things that are easiest to improve at the pro level with year-round practice and repetition. In his favor Brewer has got legitimate 3-point range, can hit the midrange pull-up and he does everything else well. Assuming the FG% improves he's going to be an excellent pick for somebody.
If he walked into the Celtics practice tomorrow he'd be an immediate improvement over Tony Allen and Delonte West at SG
Last year in the early round of the NCAA tourney I posted about two college players that looked like late-lottery/mid-first round steals: Brandon Roy and Joaquim Noah. I wasn't alone. If Roy can stay free of injury he'd be the presumptive favorite for Rookie of the Year. Noah ended up getting lots of 'top three' pick buzz before electing to stay in school.
This year I'm not waiting for the NCAA tourney to give you an early favorite. Circle the name Corey Brewer in your programs. He's a 6'9" shooting guard for Florida who steals the show every time I turn on the TV to watch Noah and Al Horford (everyone’s' top 5 projected big men). Brewer is the classic example of a player who might slip into the late lottery or the middle of the first round because he looks like a super rotation player rather than a potential All Star. As a result he'll go after plenty of projects with upside potential (e.g. Hasheem Thabeet, Yi Jianlian), many of who'll bust out, and some already-decent team will luck into landing one of the top players in the draft.
Call it the Josh Howard/Tayshaun Prince phenomena
The last few Florida games I've watched I've loved Brewer. He's a defensive stopper who's fine with being the 3rd option but has real offensive ability (with the exception of a streaky jumper). There were several Florida games last year in which Taureen Green couldn't hit a jumper, the other team's big men were able to frustrate Horford and Noah, and Brewer stepped up and took over the offense.
His handle and ability to drive surprised me in those situations, and he shows a great understanding of where he ought to be on the floor. At the college level he can get any shot off he wants, without particularly exerting himself. He's not the most consistent at finishing at the basket or with his jumper. Both of these things will cause scouts to downgrade his value and should keep him out of the top 10. But these are also two of the things that are easiest to improve at the pro level with year-round practice and repetition. In his favor Brewer has got legitimate 3-point range, can hit the midrange pull-up and he does everything else well. Assuming the FG% improves he's going to be an excellent pick for somebody.
If he walked into the Celtics practice tomorrow he'd be an immediate improvement over Tony Allen and Delonte West at SG
Monday, January 08, 2007
Charlie Rosen has nice things to say
The Celtics season has been full of all the short-term pains that come with watching an overwhelmingly young and semi-talented team get chewed up by a league that favors neither. There have been a few bright spots along the way and some potentially optimistic long-term developments. Of these, one of the most notable might be watching the team and Paul decide that the time is right for Pierce to pull a David Robinson and sit out the season before a stunning draft. If Pierce's current “foot injury” is in fact hooey, than we can reasonably expect nobody to ever admit it in public and on the record. Either way, the result has been whole lot (more) loses and the chance for youngsters like Tony Allen, Gerald Green and Al Jefferson to get an accelerated NBA education.
This week Charlie Rosen decided to watch the Cavs game, and came away impressed. I'll offer as context that this was clearly the best game the Celtics have played in the last two weeks, and they still lost to a Cleveland team that acted like they couldn’t possibly care less for the first 40 minutes. I mean, it says something about how pathetic your team is when opponents KNOW that they can spend the first three quarters doing shots at a bar down the street, show up for the final frame and still kick your butt at home. Ladies and gentleman, we are a bad team.
But we're a bad team that just got some good PR. So let's hope that as a result of some kind of domino effect any number of dumb NBA GMs come to decide that Tony Allen is worth having as a throw-in in a larger trade and send us something with real potential.
This week Charlie Rosen decided to watch the Cavs game, and came away impressed. I'll offer as context that this was clearly the best game the Celtics have played in the last two weeks, and they still lost to a Cleveland team that acted like they couldn’t possibly care less for the first 40 minutes. I mean, it says something about how pathetic your team is when opponents KNOW that they can spend the first three quarters doing shots at a bar down the street, show up for the final frame and still kick your butt at home. Ladies and gentleman, we are a bad team.
But we're a bad team that just got some good PR. So let's hope that as a result of some kind of domino effect any number of dumb NBA GMs come to decide that Tony Allen is worth having as a throw-in in a larger trade and send us something with real potential.
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