Finally got to see a second SL game tonight (Knicks game)...
I believe there's enough data to draw some preliminary conclusions on some of these prospects:

Blalock- Strong upper body…He’s creative with quick feet… killer quick crossover… finishes at a fair rate (at least the two games I saw)… is willing to drive and kick (good sign)… active quick feet on defense… Nate Robinson did shake n bake him off the dribble a couple times .. still has a good rate of keeping his man in front of him…. As the draft report says his outside shot is not consistent.

Amir- He’s added some muscle tone. It looks like he’s gained 5-10 lbs… still could add 15 more lbs. He’s got an awkward looking jump hook (did work a couple times)… he can hold his position as long his back is to the basket… Shows flashes of a quick effective inside shake move. On rebounds he gets pushed out… has a nose for coming up with loose balls (save the jokes)…. Still has a funky looking outside shot (didn’t attempt many)… at this point I’m not confident that he can knock em down with much consistency…. He did use the dribble a couple times to score… I’d say he’s lacking a half court game. Amir has problems keeping up with his player on defense (off the dribble or in transition)… He does have good instincts for shot blocking (prolific blocker in HS). Gotta keep them fouls down though. He looks like he needs another year in the D-League…. Still high on his upside.

Acker- When he takes his man off the dribble (usually successful) he is much more likely to shoot than pass… draws a lot of fouls… He is very willing to feed a post player though…. His shot is smooth and natural (no bad misses) …Not many of his shots are forced as he has a knack for creating good looks. He has worked on his upper body strength but he’s still light in the pants and can be posted up (Green did it to him on three consecutive possessions)… Seems to have quick feet on defense but is prone to be beat on crossovers (Knicks have some creative guards)… He’s pretty good at slipping screens.

Samb- Best way to describe him is active. Non stop motion… seems to have good endurance as he stays at the same speed late in his shift. He has a smooth looking hook shot… this could be an awesome weapon with his length. As expected he can get banged around for rebounds… even though he can be pushed it’s still hard for opponents to back him down and get the shot over him. Samb is somewhat of an eager beaver as he tends to bite on everything, which leaves his own man open. I’ll side with Low in that this kid looks instinctive and a possible steal down the road.

Medley- Good BBall IQ… knows when to dribble, shoot, pump fake or pass. Looks like he has a nice shooting stroke…I would say he’s a poor perimeter defender… too often there was space between him and his man.

As a whole the youngsters all did a lousy job of transition defense in the two games I saw (often beat down the court from rebounds) and poor at preventing dribble penetration…. Defending the P&R was a joke. Cleaves actually had more success in this area (guarded Nate Robinson)… none of our bigs are good rebounders… Rickert did seem willing to mix it up inside some.



Cleaves- Doesn’t seem to get inside enough… and with his broken looking shot that doesn’t help… maybe I’m being too tough on him…he did do a pretty good job of staying in front of his man. He has slimmed down and is quicker. Just not much stands out.

Jmax- I don't see where he's lost any weight... still looks about 260 lbs or so. One thing that’s consistent, he will be able to get inside position (even against taller players)… he used angles really well and then bodies the defender before getting his shot off… results are either a score or a foul… his 42% shooting was mostly attributed from attempting mid range shots… he had a lot better luck in last years SL hitting outside shots… he is capable… I think he’s really focusing on his post game as he knows that’s a serious need for this team. He does seem late getting out and setting screens … Jmax can take his man off the dribble to get better position… A black hole when receiving the ball... doesn't recognize double teams well...sure looks like a Corliss….
He’s very active defensively…. I don’t see many PF’s having success posting him up… he will not give ground and he moves his feet well…. The kind of player that will give Jmax trouble are quick lateral PF’s with outside range…. IMO if he can add 10% to his FT % he could score 15 PPG if given 25+ minutes.

Rickert- He has beefed up… Willing to bang for rebounds and post position. Had a nice spin move against the Knicks… still seems kind of stiff… didn’t see any perimeter game (maybe Low saw something). Not much lateral quickness on defense. He’ll be borderline of making the preseason camp.

Hope this helps feed the need for info on these prospects.

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Big or Bust

Thanks for the report Merc.

Looks like the prevailing analysis is to only expect Maxiel next season out of this group with an outside chance for Acker?

Johnson and Samb are interesting prospects that may pay off but they are going to have to compete against the 2 1st round picks next summer.

I have to admit I only saw two of the games where Acker shot well.

I was able to see the DET vs PHX game and here are my thoughts.

Blalock: This guy can push the ball up the court. Makes mediocre decisions (mix of off the backboard flubs and some snazzy passes.) Hard to say he ran the offense well because of the lack of flow. The number of fouls called really hamper the big guys who hardly get to touch the ball because the guards shoot a lot of FT's. Nice ball handling that allows passes to be made at the right time...but maybe not at the best places or at the best angles yet. But its SL.


Cleaves: A cut above Blalock. Nice defense. Good floormanship. Brutal shot form. What else is new. If we could shoot, I'd like him over flip. Right now he's a poor man's Lindsey Hunter.


Acker: Good balance with the ball. Creates a stable firing platform when pulling up. Form is confidence inspiring but that could be I was looking at cleaves and blalock too. Made some nice passes. Ball handling is decent. Hard to judge defense but he got lost in the shuffle a few times and his man canned some spot up 3's. Penetration is hard to stop though esp with the way the game is called. Decent movement away from the ball but again its hard because that first pick that starts the play usually ends up with a whistle blown.


Samb: Good energy. Does good things on the court. Is OC. Flies from nowhere to try to get the block. Offensive rebound PHX. brrrp. shoot FT's. Rinse. Repeat. Doesn't set good picks.

Maxiel: Needs to lose some weight. I think its water weight. Not as active as Samb but I feel that he picks and chooses his moments. Some of those moments were jaw dropping. Needs to work on his shooting. Guard penetration made all our big guys look bad cuz they all collapsed and we either gave up an open jumper or let an opponent slip for an offensive rebound.


Johnson: I barely noticed he was in the game. I'm sure everyone else had the usual things to say about him.

Caner-Medley: Needs to work on his footwork and balance. He would be great to put on the team as a practice/DL player.

Rickert: Pretty productive guy in the game. doesn't have anything that makes him stand out to get him on our team.

Overall: our guards got chased out on a P&R while PHX had better success with it. I think its because our guys set lame picks. At any rate, they managed to disrupt our defensive sets by using picks, penetration and capitalizing on the rotations.

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I just watched the Clippers/Pistons game on NBAtv last night.

Amir Johnson looked like he has added some muscle up top. And he was playing great.

Also, Ben Wallace's cousin looked very quick and had a nice block.

Acker and Maxiell were a little off, but it was still good to see.

Saw the NYK-DET game on TV. It was a brutal affair for us. There were a few things that stuck out for me.

BLALOCK: Man, I really like his crossover move when he splits the two defenders on a pick and roll...it reminded me of vinnie Johnson when he would do that reverse dribble drive during the pick and roll. Good things happened most of the time he penetrated.

MAXIEL: Somehow never dominated the boards but crashed the offensive glass well and had some nice post moves. Free throws man. ugh!

ACKER: Another display of good scoring ability. made some great passes. forced some not so great ones. Somehow its acker's man who keeps hitting his shot. His off the ball defense. I dunno man.

SAMB: I need to block...your...shot...byaaah! We gave up Mo for this. This guy is definitely intruiging. Decent touch around the rim.

RICKERT: You would expect a guy 6'10" to do more than finger roll a layup but thats what he did. He produces when he plays though...be it a rebound or a put back or a baby hook. He manages to get things done.

Johnson: Last year he looked like a kid playing with the men. This year he looks like a muscled kid playing with the men. Every so often you see a hook shot or something but he still needs to learn how to beat an opponent without resorting to uber athleticism. He was seriously outplayed by Blankman or whoever that NY draft pick was.

Transition D was lame. The pistons did try to post more with Samb, Maxiel and johnson all getting decent opportunities there.

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Just caught most of (recorded the whole thing for later) the Celtics game.

Cheikh Samb definitely has upside. He needs a lot of seasoning to have a chance to be very productive in the NBA, but he's definitely got the work ethic, hustle, instincts, size and determination to succeed.

This will probably come down to how the Pistons develop him.

Will Blalock is not all that bad either. You can see he has some flashy passing skills and with some work on his defensive technique, could be an effective backup point guard in a year or two.

Bear in mind that Devin Harris of the Mavs doesn't really possess much of a jump shot either, and I'd say Blalock isn't the finisher he is, but is probably as good a passer.

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2010 NBA Draft Live Discussion Thread

the problem is the log jam of guys that look good but just aren't ready for us. I like blalock.