[外電] Hawks Draft Preview: Part II
Hawks Draft Preview: Part II
Zettler Clay IV - 26th June, 2006 1:41 AM
Only a 10 dollar snitch could drop more names than all the ones
that we have heard in the days leading to the draft. Sheldon
Williams, Marcus Williams, LaMarcus Aldridge. Rajon Rondo, Randy
Foye and Brandon Roy. Aside from the similarities in the
phonetics of their names, these players all serve to contract
the gap between a 26 win team and a playoff team.
We even have an emergence of a Senegal native who can supposedly
touch the rim without jumping. Having said this, Hawks pundits
(and management) should keep in mind in what is needed and not
what is available. Looking at players by position alone is not
wise, nor is examining talent alone. We have seen many debacles
in which some organization ended up crisped picking for need
(most notably Portland, circa 1984).
History shows us when you have a draft as, for lack of a better
term, not as star-worthy, then the best player in the draft could
be the 9th pick (Amare Stoudemire, circa 2002 draft) or the 43rd
pick (Michael Redd). In fact, some would argue that the Hawks
boast the best player of the 2001 draft, and he was picked 10th.
But archives aside, we must, as true fans, be knowledgeable to
ascertain what players in this draft best serve this franchise.
But that won’t come without a few breakdowns.
“Yo Z, who are the best point guard options in this draft? I’m
hearing that this is a guard heavy draft, and we need one of
those, Lord knows we need one of those.”
Marcus Williams and Rajon Rondo are considered to be the best
pure point guards in the draft. These guys averaged 2.33 and 2.11
assist/turnover ratio, respectively. Marcus Williams in particular
did so in dominating fashion, having averaged 9.6 assists a game
in his last 10 games, against the likes of Washington, Villanova,
Kentucky, Syracuse, and West Virginia. In that span, he also
coughed up the ball 3.3 times a game for a 2.91 assist/turnover
ratio. His specialty is dishing the ball, along with the
occasional scoring.
The Hawks needs to limit turnovers, as well as stopping
penetrating point guards like TJ Ford, Jameer Nelson, Ben Gordon
(I know, not a point but he’s built like one), and Raymond
Felton from getting to the paint, therefore exposing our
butter-soft interior. If you can convince me that Marcus Williams
can do that, then I’m all ears. Marcus will be a very good point
guard in this league, but I highly doubt if that will be for the
Hawks…
Which brings me Rajon Rondo, who averaged a miniscule 1.6
turnovers a game in his last 10 contests. He has arms longer
than Scottie Pippen, and hands bigger than Brett Favre, which
aided in his 2.3 steals per game at Kentucky. Driving is a
specialty of his, in which he could expose other Pillsbury
interiors. He is a fire jump shot away from being a consensus
top 10 pick. If there is anybody who can benefit this team on
the basis of eliminating turnovers and playing tough as nails
defense, it’s the Oak Hill Academy graduate.
“But what about Randy Foye and Brandon Roy?”
Aha, you have just mentioned possibly the two best players in
this draft. These two athletes fit into that combo guard mold,
which is transforming the league right now. DWade, Gilbert, LB23,
Ben Gordon, AI, and Joe Johnson are a few to name. Brandon Roy
did everything well at the college level, and Randy Foye led an
undersized unit to a 25-4 record. Surely the Hawks have to
capitalize. Brandon Roy, at 6’6, is one of the few players who
probably will be a star, being that there is no discernible
weakness to his game. If anything he could improve his jump-shot,
but he shot 40% from 3 last year. I’ll let the nit-pickers pick
at that, but this guy is the real deal. So is Randy Foye. He is
quite interesting because here is a guy who, at Nova, met very
few shots he didn’t like. He jacked them, and was highly
effective doing so. Tough defense, fantastic ball-handling, nice
infiltrating abilities and great shot should guarantee stardom on
the NBA level. We know Roy and Foye can score, play D, and
rebound very well for their size (5.6 and 5.8 rebounds per game
respectively). Foye’s question mark is his passing ability,
which probably makes Roy the favorite. I’m not sure if the Hawks
can afford to pass on either of them, unless…
“With the number 5 pick, is it really worth passing over Roy or
Foy to draft a big man as you say? Bargnani, Aldridge, Sheldon,
Ty Thomas, and others? “
We want and need rebounding and interior intimidation, so Andrea
Bargnani is eliminated from this and any discussion thusly
elated. LaMarcus Aldridge has the game to be a star in this
league. He is young, boasts long arms, and is very skilled. He
rebounds and blocks. And as sporadic as his scoring appeared at
Texas, he flashed brilliance, noted in his 26 point, 13 rebound
game against West Virginia in the NCAA tournament last season.
The Hawks could use him, but something about that 4 point game
against LSU that scares me. Or maybe it’s those whispers about
the physical and mental fragility that has been attached to him
like Velcro since high school. That Kwame Brown factor comes to
mind too much with this talented kid....
Sheldon is everything coaches look for in a center, sans three
inches. What do the Hawks reek of? This guy averaged 3 blocks a
game over 4 years of solid playing time, against the best
competition in college basketball. What makes anyone think that
he is going to stop now? Strong as an ox, he straight up owned
the paint, as well as post a very respectable 18.8 points a game
his senior year. He is quite foul prone, averaging 3.1 fouls per
game at Duke, but that was due to more aggression than hacking.
If he was 6’10, he’s a top 4 pick, easy.
Tyrus Thomas has the highest “bustability” factor going for
him. Having your best and worst games of the year follow each
other to end the season is not the ideal way to end your
collegiate career. He played one year, and showed lightbulbs
of highlights, capped by blocks and dunks. Offensive game is
limited, and at 6’9, offers not much else to this team than we
already have. The Hawks already have one of his kind. Saer Sene
is a cat who seems to have snuck up on the fans, but NBA scouts
have been salivating on this athlete for some time now. At 7
feet, 7’8’5 wingspan, he will be easily the longest player in
the league. Right now, he’s more of a prototype and his
potential is as high as anybody in this draft. A Priest
Lauderdale he is not (hopefully) as any Hawk fan who has seen
this kid would be enamored to have him aboard.
“Ok, ok you broke it down a lil’ bit. But forget all of this
alking. What’s goin’ to happen come Wednesday night?”
I don’t know dude, I’m not a mind reader. But I’ll tell you
what needs to happen:
A good and savvy businessman always gets the most value for their
dollar. Don’t draft a player at 5 if you can get him at 10.
There are only two players in this draft that we need that can
be drafted straight up.
Don’t pass up on an obvious gift to pursue a positional need.
Don’t pass on Brandon Roy to get a true point guard. Don’t
pass on Sheldon to draft Patrick O’Bryant because he’s
“longer”.
Get the best player available to the skill set you need. If you
notice I have not mentioned position needs, only skills. This is
turning to a guard’s league where size is not as important as
skills and athleticism. If it comes down to Randy Foye v. Sheldon
Williams, compare impact potential of both players relative to
their position. And get the best player.
Last but not least, in a deep draft where there is no clear cut
superstar, 2 are more than likely to be better than 1. In this
draft, BK’s business savvy will be just as important as his
talent evaluation. It is also the very thing that could save his job.
“Come into the paint at your own peril” should be the Hawks
new motto, because that’s the only way they will get into the
playoffs. With the best guards in the league in the Eastern
Conference, the Hawks inside D needs to dish out more trepidation
than Sonny Corleone. Here is another year for the often maligned
management to get it right, since we are talking about a
franchise that hasn’t drafted an All Star since the debut of
Tony Montana.
資料來源
http://hawks.realgm.com/articles/554/20060626/hawks_draft_preview_part_ii/
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