Only five players in the history of the NBA have scored 30K points. Who might be next? … Andre Drummond finding his way with Detroit … Derrick Wiliams’ agent unhappy with T’Wolves …
Dec 072012
Nov 252012
The Knicks have done exactly what they needed to so far against the 3-10 Pistons: make a big statement. Here are five observations at the half:
1. Carmelo Anthony’s hot start, once again: He scored 15 points in the first quarter on 6-for-7 shooting (3-for-3 from downtown). He missed his first shot with 37 seconds remaining when he drove to the basket and got blocked on a layup attempt by Pistons backup center Andre Drummond. Melo took advantage of his power-forward matchup against the slower-footed Jason Maxiell.
Oct 142012
The Detroit Pistons drafted Andre Drummond ninth overall, but Lawrence Frank is not guaranteeing the young big man anything.
Aug 142012
“I’m not saying I didn’t like ‘Picture’ — heck, I’m in Detroit now; I certainly can’t speak ill of the Kid — but … I mean, I guess I’d just prefer to hear you get a little more ‘Strong Enough’ with it. A little more Lilith with it. I’ve got some bass tracks I’ve been working on that I think you’d really dig. … And seriously, [EXPLETIVE] Lance Armstrong .” — Detroit Pistons rookie center Andre Drummond, probably.
Best caption wins the beginning of a beautiful friendship . Good luck.
In our last adventure , lo those many days ago: Team USA gets its Edvard Munch on .
Aug 072012
While everyone noted that Terrence Ross was a talented player, many draft experts were confused when the shooting guard out of Washington went so high in the draft when players like Austin Rivers and Andre Drummond were still on the board.
John Hollinger of ESPN said, “I had Ross 27th on my board. Not a fan of the pick and thought they could have traded down if that was their guy.”
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated was less harsh in his proclamation, but still stated that, “while Terrence Ross (No. 8) was expected to go later in the lottery or possibly in the late teens, it’s not really a surprise that he landed here.”
Although Bryan Colangelo’s pick of Ross may have been higher than many experts expected, Ross fits the Raptors system very well and should shine under Dwane Casey.
After trading Leandro Barbosa to the Pacers in March, the Raptors were left without a guy who could consistently knock down three pointers. Despite shooting at a very high volume of 5.5 three point attempts per game, Ross still shot over 37 percent beyond the arc, a very high mark considering how many he attempted. While DeMar DeRozan may still become a very good player in this league, he will never become a knock-down shooter which is why drafting Ross was so important.
Not only is Ross a great shooter but he is also very athletic. Dwane Casey preaches defense and Ross should become a favorite right away if he uses his athleticism to help stop opponents from scoring. If DeMar DeRozan shows he can be an effective small forward, don’t be surprised if Ross enters the starting line-up early on in the year.
While Ross struggled at times with his three point shot, overall he played well in Summer League. Ross was second on the team with 14.4 points per game and also tacked on 3.6 rebounds per game. At Washington, Ross averaged 6.4 rebounds per game and should continue to grab boards in the NBA because of his incredible leaping ability.
Ross may not have been a very big name compared to other lottery picks before the draft, but he will certainly be one of the top players in the class. Ross’ strengths are all things the Raptors value (shooting, defense and rebounding), so don’t be surprised if a few years down the road, he is being considered for All-Star teams while Austin Rivers is still learning how to pass a basketball.
Read more Toronto Raptors news on BleacherReport.com
Aug 072012
While everyone noted that Ross was a talented player, many draft experts were confused when the shooting guard out of Washington went so high in the draft when players like Austin Rivers and Andre Drummond were still on the board.
John Hollinger of ESPN said, “I had Ross 27th on my board. Not a fan of the pick and thought they could have traded down if that was their guy.”
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated was less harsh in his proclamation, but still stated that, “while Terrence Ross (No. 8) was expected to go later in the lottery or possibly in the late teens, it’s not really a surprise that he landed here.”
Although Bryan Colangelo’s pick of Terrence Ross may have been higher than many experts expected, Ross fits the Raptors system very well and should shine under Dwane Casey.
After trading Leandro Barbosa to the Pacers in March, the Raptors were left without a guy who could consistently knock down three pointers. Despite shooting at a very high volume of 5.5 three point attempts per game, Ross still shot over 37 percent beyond the arc, a very high mark considering how many he attempted. While DeMar DeRozan may still become a very good player in this league, he will never become a knock-down shooter which is why drafting Ross was so important.
Not only is Ross a great shooter but he is also very athletic. Dwane Casey preaches defense and Ross should become a favorite right away if he uses his athleticism to help stop opponents from scoring. If DeMar DeRozan shows he can be an effective small forward, don’t be surprised if Ross enters the starting line-up early on in the year.
While Ross struggled at times with his three point shot, overall he played well in Summer League. Ross was second on the team with 14.4 points per game and also tacked on 3.6 rebounds per game. At Washington, Ross averaged 6.4 rebounds per game and should continue to grab boards in the NBA because of his incredible leaping ability.
Terrence Ross may not have been a very big name compared to other lottery picks before the draft, but he will certainly be one of the top players in the class. Ross’ strengths are all things the Raptors value (shooting, defense and rebounding), so don’t be surprised if a few years down the road, he is being considered for All-Star teams while Austin Rivers is still learning how to pass a basketball.
Read more Toronto Raptors news on BleacherReport.com
Jul 132012
The NBA Summer League is the time for some of this year’s most talked-about prospects to either prove the critics wrong or, unfortunately, prove them right.
In particular, many of the top big men from this year’s draft crop are going to be working tirelessly in the coming weeks to prove that they have the athleticism, speed and motors that got them so much attention leading up to the draft.
They have to prove that they can put their raw talent to good use and start living up to their potential—immediately.
Here’s a look at some of the big men who can benefit the most from Summer League play. You can see the full schedule here.
Tyler Zeller
Once Andre Drummond was off this year’s draft board, Zeller became the next best option for teams looking to develop a young, athletic center. The Cavaliers will now turn to him as one of the key frontcourt components of a very young team with a lot of potential—if he can survive the Summer League.
Given all of the youth on the Cavs, it’s going to be particularly important to see how these players perform together as they start to forge an identity over the summer.
Zeller has the potential to be a key member of this roster for years to come because of his natural athleticism and his mobility, despite being a seven-footer. He just needs to grow into himself a little bit.
This summer will be the perfect time for the Cavs to assess how much more work he has to do physically.
Andre Drummond
Though the former Husky was initially projected to be a top-five pick this year, he ended up falling to the Pistons at No. 9, and they made the right choice. Drummond was the best center on the board, and, simply put, the Pistons needed one.
Now, Drummond has a lot to prove. Leading up to the draft, we all heard so much about how passive he can be and how he has yet to learn how to use his size to his advantage. All that doubt should give him a nice chip on his shoulder this summer.
Drummond is already off to a good start: Against the Jazz in an Orlando Summer League game earlier this week, he had eight points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks in 27 minutes.
If he can continue to earn his keep defensively while improving his offense, he could soon develop into a high-quality center in a league that is nearly devoid of them.
Perry Jones
Jones could have the most to prove of any player this summer given his unlikely plummet in the draft a few weeks ago.
The Baylor product was expected to go in the late lottery or in the top 20 at worst, but just days before the draft, he was red-flagged for a knee problem. As a result, he fell all the way to the Thunder at No. 28 overall.
The Thunder have to be thrilled. Jones isn’t the perfect prospect—most notably, he can’t escape complaints that he has a weak motor—but he has the ideal size for an NBA 4 and is one of the most athletically-gifted post players in this year’s class.
In the Orlando Summer League, he’s already been doing his best to show his coaches and his teammates that he can be just as tough and gritty a player as anyone, and it’s been paying off. Just ask his teammate Reggie Jackson, who told NBA.com’s Fran Blinebury:
Freak athlete. Freak competitor. That whole talk about his motor, I don’t know who started that but I believe that was probably a bad rumor. The guy loves to get out there, he loves playing hard. He just tries to get it done, do whatever he can.
One by one, Jones has been proving the skeptics wrong. If he can stay healthy this summer, he can easily become a must-have on the Thunder’s roster.
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Jul 122012
Kris Joseph played well in the three Orlando Summer League games leading up to toady’s game against the Detroit Pistons. However, Joseph looked special today.
Kris scored 17 points and registered 11 rebounds against the Pistons. Although his contributions were not enough for the Celtics to pull out a win, he still looked very impressive.
The one area that Joseph struggled with was his three-point shooting. Kris went 0-for-3 from downtown, which lowered his three-point shooting percentage to 12 percent during summer league play. However, Joseph has shown that he has the ability to knock down the three with consistency in his college days, so Boston Celtics fans shouldn’t worry too much.
Fab Melo had another solid defensive performance for the Celtics, but did almost nothing on the offensive end. Melo contributed two blocks and three rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. However, he went 0-for-3 from the field, totaling zero points. Melo was given a taste of his own medicine when he was rejected by fellow first round pick Andre Drummond.
Joseph is averaging 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, while Melo is averaging one point, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game so far in the Orlando Summer League.
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Jul 112012
There are rumblings of a possible Ben Wallace revival in Detroit, and the Pistons couldn’t ask for better news as it relates to their first-round draft pick, Andre Drummond.
According to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News, “A source close to the situation tells the Detroit News that ‘it’s a pretty good chance’ Ben Wallace will return to the Pistons for another season.”
This report contradicts what Wallace said after the end of the 2011-2012 season, when he alluded to the fact that he was finished playing in the NBA. But as we’ve seen so many times in the past with athletes in all sports, quitting is never an easy thing.
His inability to walk away from the game he loves would be the best possible outcome for the Pistons, though. They have a young group of big men that need a savvy vet like Wallace to show them what it takes to succeed in the NBA.
Drummond is going to be the cornerstone of their team for a long time if he pans out, and he looks to be a massive version of what Wallace has been for years: a defensive dynamo. The biggest knock on him this summer leading up to the 2012 NBA draft was that he is immature.
What else would you expect from an 18-year-old kid fresh out of high school? But I digress.
Drummond has all the physical tools to become great.
He just needs to keep up his motivation and drive if he is going to succeed in the NBA, and there isn’t a better mentor for him in this regard than Wallace, who is the antithesis of lazy. He’ll teach Drummond how to work his butt off every day in practice so he can become an elite player in the league.
Oh, and don’t forget, Wallace—the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year—can still play.
He won’t just be there to teach, though that will be his most important role. Wallace isn’t washed up quite yet, and his energy and enthusiasm on the court on game days will go a long ways towards making the 2012-2013 Pistons a dangerous team to deal with.
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Jul 102012
Ah, the NBA Summer League, when rookies, recent draft picks and young journeymen descend on Orlando to showcase their talents and learn the tricks of the NBA trade.
While the Orlando Summer League will be mostly devoid of big-name lottery picks, there are nonetheless a few rookies from the 2012 draft class worth keeping a close eye on.
From two top talents who dropped down the board to a young center with a limitless upside, I found three players you’ll want to monitor in Orlando.
Let’s break them down.
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
Drummond had top-five talent, but questions about his motor and consistency dropped him down to the Pistons with the ninth pick. Now, all eyes will be on the freakishly athletic center to see how he adjusts against a higher level of talent in the summer league.
He had a decent first showing on Monday, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks in 27 minutes against the Utah Jazz. Finishing with four steals as a center should give you an idea of just how athletic Drummond is.
What you’ll want to watch for isn’t so much how consistent Drummond is—he’s 18, after all, and this will be a learning experience for him—but those occasional moments when he flashes his upside.
Will Drummond show glimpses that he could be a top center some day? Or will he he simply get lost in the shuffle?
It will be interesting to see how Drummond reacts to his first taste of play at the next level.
Perry Jones III
After just one game in Orlando on Monday night, Jones showed the upside that could make him one of the best draft steals in the past 25 years after he dropped to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 28th pick.
From Brian Windhorst of ESPN:
Jones had 16 points and eight rebounds, and showed off a wide-ranging display of ability: step-back jumpers, long-range shooting, hard defensive rotations, running the floor and a deft passing touch. If you’d never seen him before and didn’t know what the general scouting report was, you’d never scribble down “poor motor” in your notes.
According to his teammates, he’s been that way since the team started practicing last week.
Like Drummond, Jones oozes talent out of his pores, and he could make a whole lot of teams regret passing on him. In OKC, he should be a solid fit, where he can learn behind young stars like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook while slotting in at both forward positions and adding even more athleticism to the young Thunder.
As if they weren’t already athletic enough.
It’s hard to say dropping out of the lottery to the 28th pick is a blessing in disguise, but if there was a perfect spot for Jones to land once he did start dropping, it was OKC.
I think he’ll be a valuable player off the bench for the Thunder as soon as this upcoming season.
Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics
Sullinger is a bit undersized at the 4, isn’t very athletic, has a limited array of offensive moves and has some injury concerns.
Oh, and he can also flat-out play basketball.
Sullinger made his debut for the Celtics against the Thunder on Monday night, and all he did was score 20 points and nab six rebounds.
Sure, this is just summer league ball, and sure, NBA scouting reports will soon have all of his tricks and habits documented. But whereas a lot of young prospects are often limited by their weaknesses, Sullinger consistently found a way to overcome them during his time at Ohio State.
I wouldn’t bet against him doing the same in the NBA.
No, he’ll never be a star. But he has the chance to be a very solid player for the Celtics, and if he continues to play like he did in his summer league debut, he’ll be a very solid player for the Celtics in the 2012-13 campaign.
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