Diamonds in the rough, or no such thing?

by Pradamaster on Jun 12, 2008 12:02 AM EDT in Draft

Draft Express is beginning to release their annual "Just by the Numbers" draft prospect comparison, starting today with the point guards. It's a really interesting read for what it's worth. Obviously, they don't tell you everything about a player, because there's a lot more to everyone than their statistics, even if the statistics are very good.

But taking a look at that list, is there any quantifiable difference between top-tier guys like Derrick Rose, Jerryd Bayless, D.J. Augustin and Russell Westbrook and lower-tier players like Ty Lawson, Mario Chalmers and Lester Hudson? You could definitely argue that the latter group outperformed the former. Rose finished no higher than third in any single category, and Westbrook and Bayless came up short in several areas. Meanwhile, Lawson and Chalmers had seven top-three finishes each, and they played small roles on big-time schools.

It just goes to show you that the difference between the fifth pick and the 18th pick is terribly small this year. Ernie Grunfeld should be able to find a solid player if he's smart enough to not trade the pick.

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Westbrook

These numbers reinforced a question I had. What has Westbrook done to be a lottery PG? I hadn’t seen him do much this past season, didn’t see a lot of UCLA basketball in general. So I figured it was me. Read a lot about his quickness and athleticism though.
Looking at the stats from the Camp Orlando I see he’s a good athlete, not great. His production was about the same. But lots of people love his “potential”.

Is he the guy who gets drafted WAY higher than he should have, has a nice career, but winds up playing for 4 teams because he’s never the answer they thought he could be? In other words, is he Antonio Daniels II? I keep running into similarities between them. Daniels measured 6’2 w/o shoes, 6’8 wingspan prior to being picked 4th overall. He never developed a consistent jumpshot beyond 17ft and often plays better as a wing/off the ball even though he’s a PG.

Lawson’s numbers don’t surprise me at all. People forget how well he was playing before the ankle injury versus FSU. No one could stay in front of him, even ater he came back he was still one of the fastest/quickest guys on the court, at 75%.

Chalmers stacks up well, as does George Hill. Jamont Gordon on the other hand, yikes.

by Jheiser3 on Jun 12, 2008 9:28 AM EDT 0 recs

Jamont Gordon

The thing about Gordon is that he’s not really a point guard….may never be.

He’s more like a tight end who only played point for Miss. State because he was the best player, and there was no one else.

Being a better driver, and not so much of a shooter, I’m not sure the Bulldogs would have wanted him to play off guard anyway…but at times during he college career, he played positions 1-4.

He’s a great rebounder because of his strength, and he has the ability to distribute for the simple fact that his strong drives command so much attention.

But decision making, between passing and shooting, is pretty terrible.

by Truth About It on Jun 13, 2008 11:48 AM EDT up 0 recs

Im on the DJ Augustine board

DJ Augustine was the best guard that I saw play last year and will be top 10 quickest in the NBA next season. He is a pass first guard that can score but his shot was streaky at times and he is small. He carried Texas all season. I do not know if he will be there at Wiz’s pick anyway.

I agree about Westbrook too.

What? They don't have TV in the D-League? Don't watch me, watch TV.

by Mac G on Jun 12, 2008 2:28 PM EDT 0 recs