timvp
11-01-2012, 02:45 PM
Anthony Davis
Damn, he's going to be good. It's difficult to believe Anthony Davis is just 19 years old. Offensively, he's more advanced than I anticipated. He's a natural facing the basket and has the ability to shoot or take his man off the dribble. Watching him in college, I wasn't sure if he'd ever average more than 20 points per game. After seeing him in preseason and yesterday against the Spurs, now I think it's just a matter of time. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned his defense yet, which will ultimately be his biggest strength. He's an unbelievably fast jumper who can elevate and he's blessed with great timing. That recipe points to Davis becoming one of the best shotblockers in the league. The only limit to Davis' ceiling is how his body develops. He's skinny and lacks power -- especially in his upper body. If he fills out (and he probably will since he's so young), he could become a post-up threat and a strong post defender. Add those aspects to Davis' game and he has the potential to become basketball's next great bigman.
Austin Rivers
When Austin Rivers was at Duke, I never really saw much legit NBA potential. One game into his NBA career and I still don't see it. Other than his last name, why would anyone be high on this kid? He's the definition of a tweener guard: too small and too unathletic to be a shooting guard and too wild and too one-dimensional to be a point guard. Rivers doesn't pass the eye-test when watching him play and fundamentally there are a lot of holes in his game. He can't use his left hand at all; it was comical seeing how much the Spurs were overplaying his right hand and daring him to use that useless appendage on the left side of his body. I've never seen any evidence that he has any court vision and, like I mentioned earlier, he's not a notable athlete. I think Rivers will develop into a player who can put points on the board but will do so with poor efficiency and won’t contribute much else. I’d be shocked if he’s ever regarded as a quality starter in the league – there’s just not enough substance to his game. All that said, he’s only 20 years old and by all accounts he’s a smart kid and a hard worker so maybe I’m shortchanging his potential … but I doubt it.
Al-Farouq Aminu
To date in his NBA career, Al-Farouq Aminu has had no idea what he’s doing. To say he’s illustrated a subpar basketball IQ would be a giant understatement. He’s shown some flashes but overall he’s been a massive disappointment. But during the summer, I thought he played rather well with the Nigerian national team. It seems like that international play has done wonders for his game. Aminu still isn’t Robert Horry when it comes to basketball IQ but it looks like he will now be able to at least capitalize on his elite athleticism. His length, speed and jumping ability were difficult for the Spurs to contend with -- on both ends. When Aminu plays with purpose, he’s an NBA caliber player. That was the case on opening night; let’s see if he can keep it up. Left for dead by some NBA pundits, I wouldn’t bury Aminu quite yet -- especially since he’s still just 22.
Greivis Vasquez
If Greivis Vasquez can find a team that will let him be the leading playmaker, I’m beginning to think he could become a legitimate (yet low-end) starting point guard. I’ve never been too high on him since he’s such a poor athlete in addition to being below average shooter but his strengths are enticing. At 6-foot-6, Vasquez is huge for a point guard and his size allows him to take full advantage of his above average court vision. He has really good instincts when it comes to when to shoot and when to pass, plus he’s a strong-willed competitor who doesn’t back down. Vasquez is always going to be a really bad defender and he’ll need to become a better three-point shooter to stick as a starting point guard – but he’s beginning to make me believe in him.
Robin Lopez
Robin Lopez, for whatever reasons, has always played well against the Spurs. On opening night, he was once again pretty darn good. Lopez reached a dead end in his development while with the Suns, so I think it’s good for his career that he’s able to start over in a new situation. Playing next to Davis is one of the better gigs to fall into. Lopez has historically been a capable post defender and his overall strength can be imposing -- but everything else has been slow to mature. On Wednesday night, he showed off a little bit of a post-up game and rebounded much better than normal. With the opposition forced to spend so much time focusing on Davis (and Ryan Anderson, for that matter) Lopez has a chance to have the best season of his career. Considering that the Hornets snagged him with a three-year, $15 million in the offseason, I think the chances are good that he’ll live up to that reasonable deal.
Ryan Anderson
It’s a little bit surprising that the Hornets signed Ryan Anderson to a $36 million contract in the offseason only to bring him off the bench. But after giving it some thought, it makes sense. Davis and Anderson would probably be too soft of a frontline at this point of Davis’ career. Additionally, it’s difficult for bench units to matchup with stretch fours. Considering that Anderson might be the best stretch four in the NBA, he could be deadly in this role.
Roger Mason, Jr.
It looks like Roger Mason, Jr. finally got rid of that baby fat that had been slowing him down the last few seasons. Could this skinnier version of RMJ have a breakout season? It’s doubtful. In fact, I’m not sure how a shooting specialist who hasn’t shot over 40% from the field since 2009 is still in the league.
Jason Smith
I’ve always liked Jason Smith’s game. If he could ever stay healthy for a long stretch of time, he has the ability to turn into a premier backup bigman. He’s a good athlete for his size who also has range on his jumper. Smith plays hard, even if his defense is never going to be a strength. At seven-feet, he’s a bigman that a lot of teams would love to have on their team.
Darius Miller
Darius Miller exhibited some promise in preseason but his 14-minute NBA debut was forgettable. Other than his lone three-pointer, he was otherwise very unimpressive. I didn’t see any ballhandling or other perimeter ability and he was indecisive in his movements. Defensively, he was a sieve. This second round draft pick will have to do a lot more to stick in the league.
Damn, he's going to be good. It's difficult to believe Anthony Davis is just 19 years old. Offensively, he's more advanced than I anticipated. He's a natural facing the basket and has the ability to shoot or take his man off the dribble. Watching him in college, I wasn't sure if he'd ever average more than 20 points per game. After seeing him in preseason and yesterday against the Spurs, now I think it's just a matter of time. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned his defense yet, which will ultimately be his biggest strength. He's an unbelievably fast jumper who can elevate and he's blessed with great timing. That recipe points to Davis becoming one of the best shotblockers in the league. The only limit to Davis' ceiling is how his body develops. He's skinny and lacks power -- especially in his upper body. If he fills out (and he probably will since he's so young), he could become a post-up threat and a strong post defender. Add those aspects to Davis' game and he has the potential to become basketball's next great bigman.
Austin Rivers
When Austin Rivers was at Duke, I never really saw much legit NBA potential. One game into his NBA career and I still don't see it. Other than his last name, why would anyone be high on this kid? He's the definition of a tweener guard: too small and too unathletic to be a shooting guard and too wild and too one-dimensional to be a point guard. Rivers doesn't pass the eye-test when watching him play and fundamentally there are a lot of holes in his game. He can't use his left hand at all; it was comical seeing how much the Spurs were overplaying his right hand and daring him to use that useless appendage on the left side of his body. I've never seen any evidence that he has any court vision and, like I mentioned earlier, he's not a notable athlete. I think Rivers will develop into a player who can put points on the board but will do so with poor efficiency and won’t contribute much else. I’d be shocked if he’s ever regarded as a quality starter in the league – there’s just not enough substance to his game. All that said, he’s only 20 years old and by all accounts he’s a smart kid and a hard worker so maybe I’m shortchanging his potential … but I doubt it.
Al-Farouq Aminu
To date in his NBA career, Al-Farouq Aminu has had no idea what he’s doing. To say he’s illustrated a subpar basketball IQ would be a giant understatement. He’s shown some flashes but overall he’s been a massive disappointment. But during the summer, I thought he played rather well with the Nigerian national team. It seems like that international play has done wonders for his game. Aminu still isn’t Robert Horry when it comes to basketball IQ but it looks like he will now be able to at least capitalize on his elite athleticism. His length, speed and jumping ability were difficult for the Spurs to contend with -- on both ends. When Aminu plays with purpose, he’s an NBA caliber player. That was the case on opening night; let’s see if he can keep it up. Left for dead by some NBA pundits, I wouldn’t bury Aminu quite yet -- especially since he’s still just 22.
Greivis Vasquez
If Greivis Vasquez can find a team that will let him be the leading playmaker, I’m beginning to think he could become a legitimate (yet low-end) starting point guard. I’ve never been too high on him since he’s such a poor athlete in addition to being below average shooter but his strengths are enticing. At 6-foot-6, Vasquez is huge for a point guard and his size allows him to take full advantage of his above average court vision. He has really good instincts when it comes to when to shoot and when to pass, plus he’s a strong-willed competitor who doesn’t back down. Vasquez is always going to be a really bad defender and he’ll need to become a better three-point shooter to stick as a starting point guard – but he’s beginning to make me believe in him.
Robin Lopez
Robin Lopez, for whatever reasons, has always played well against the Spurs. On opening night, he was once again pretty darn good. Lopez reached a dead end in his development while with the Suns, so I think it’s good for his career that he’s able to start over in a new situation. Playing next to Davis is one of the better gigs to fall into. Lopez has historically been a capable post defender and his overall strength can be imposing -- but everything else has been slow to mature. On Wednesday night, he showed off a little bit of a post-up game and rebounded much better than normal. With the opposition forced to spend so much time focusing on Davis (and Ryan Anderson, for that matter) Lopez has a chance to have the best season of his career. Considering that the Hornets snagged him with a three-year, $15 million in the offseason, I think the chances are good that he’ll live up to that reasonable deal.
Ryan Anderson
It’s a little bit surprising that the Hornets signed Ryan Anderson to a $36 million contract in the offseason only to bring him off the bench. But after giving it some thought, it makes sense. Davis and Anderson would probably be too soft of a frontline at this point of Davis’ career. Additionally, it’s difficult for bench units to matchup with stretch fours. Considering that Anderson might be the best stretch four in the NBA, he could be deadly in this role.
Roger Mason, Jr.
It looks like Roger Mason, Jr. finally got rid of that baby fat that had been slowing him down the last few seasons. Could this skinnier version of RMJ have a breakout season? It’s doubtful. In fact, I’m not sure how a shooting specialist who hasn’t shot over 40% from the field since 2009 is still in the league.
Jason Smith
I’ve always liked Jason Smith’s game. If he could ever stay healthy for a long stretch of time, he has the ability to turn into a premier backup bigman. He’s a good athlete for his size who also has range on his jumper. Smith plays hard, even if his defense is never going to be a strength. At seven-feet, he’s a bigman that a lot of teams would love to have on their team.
Darius Miller
Darius Miller exhibited some promise in preseason but his 14-minute NBA debut was forgettable. Other than his lone three-pointer, he was otherwise very unimpressive. I didn’t see any ballhandling or other perimeter ability and he was indecisive in his movements. Defensively, he was a sieve. This second round draft pick will have to do a lot more to stick in the league.