2015 Nba Draft Discussion: Russell, Nance Jr., Brown

Jordan also never played as much as Kobe did. Remember, Kobe started in the NBA at 18. Also, MJ never had the type of injuries Kobe did. Michael's teams were also good enough to keep his minutes and effort consistent, whereas Kobe would usually need to overexert himself.

What's best for Kobe now is 25-30 minutes per game, minimum back to back games, and monitoring of his injuries early and not allowing him to play through them.

 

I think that's a fair point. Although I would argue that it's likely a combination of both. While it's true that Jordan was able to average 35-37 minutes at age 38, it's the minutes played up to that point that make the difference between he and Kobe's situations. Consider that Kobe came straight out of high school, plus had 2-3 offseasons of playing for Team USA in the latter portion of his career. On top of that, Jordan took some time away from the game following the death of his father. All that considered Kobe's minutes are significantly higher than Jordan's at this point in his career, which I feel in some way had to have contributed to his unfortunate health the past few years.

 

Small ball was story of Finals, but bigs may own draft night

By TIM REYNOLDS8 hours ago

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FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2014, file photo, Duke's Jahlil Okafor, top, shoots over Elon's Tony …
Small ball was the story of the NBA Finals.


It might seem temporarily forgotten at the start of the NBA draft.

The first three players taken Thursday could easily be a trio of big guys. Karl-Anthony Towns seems the likely pick by Minnesota at No. 1, the Los Angeles Lakers would next figure to snare Jahlil Okafor at No. 2 and it wouldn't surprise many onlookers if Philadelphia then took Latvian prospect Kristaps Porzingis with the third pick.

Give or take an inch, they're all 7-footers.

So after a title series where Cleveland's LeBron James and Golden State's Draymond Green — both about 6-foot-8 — spent time at center and where the Warriors swung the series their way by going to a small lineup and forcing the Cavaliers away from what was working, all eyes when the draft starts will be on bigs once again.

"I think big men still run the game," Okafor said after a workout with the Lakers earlier this month. "When you have a dominant big man, that changes the aspects of the game. You can see that now, you can see the Golden State big men and the Cleveland big men doing big things for their teams. So we believe the big men still run it."

Not everyone would agree.

The dearth of the NBA big man has been well-chronicled, although it seems to be making a bit of comeback with Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin all ranking among the league's top eight scorers this past season. But in today's league, small ball — the type of play where speed and shooting takes precedence over size and power — is clearly en vogue, because it's working.

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FILE - In this March 28, 2015, file photo, Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns (12) shoots over Notre …
"I understand the small ball," Kentucky coach John Calipari said last week on a teleconference to discuss Towns and the Wildcats' six other draft hopefuls. "Small ball is because a 6-7 guy can move his feet and hands like a guard, but now you've got a 7-footer that can do the same. In three years, if someone has two 7-footers that can move their feet, then we're going back to the twin towers."

What Calipari is basically saying is that big men are trying to keep up with the times.

The notion of tall guys being able to shoot from deep isn't new — Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, Channing Frye and Dirk Nowitzki are all serious 3-point threats, and all stand at least 6-foot-10. Towns is working on his range, Okafor has been known to make 3's in practice and Porzingis' outside game is clearly ahead of his post skills.

In the small-ball party right now, the big guys apparently don't like being left out.

"By necessity, the league has gone smaller and more spread," said Fran Fraschilla, a former college coach who now is an ESPN analyst. "You're seeing more, what I would call, small lineups. What we call the stretch four-man. In part, this is because there are just a handful of low-post scorers."

If the draft starts with Towns, Okafor and Porzingis, it would be a rare big-big-big opening.

The last time three guys who were 7-footers led off a draft was 2007, when injury-prone Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Al Horford went 1-2-3. And the last time more than two true post players — Durant wouldn't count there, of course — led off a draft was 2001, with Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol and Eddy Curry were the first four selections.

Chandler and Gasol have enjoyed great careers, Brown and Curry not so much. It's a reminder that betting the franchise's future on big men is always risky, with the most infamous example coming in 1984 when Hakeem Olajuwon went No. 1, Sam Bowie went No. 2 and the player widely considered to be the best ever in the game was still on the board.

A lesser-known blunder from that draft was that 15 teams passed on John Stockton.

"You go back to the Olajuwon-Bowie-Jordan draft," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "In years past and maybe even today it makes sense to build around a big, but you don't want to take a big because it's a big and pass on the No. 3 pick — which turned out to be Michael Jordan."

Hence, maybe taking a guard the wiser move

"It can be argued in today's game that maybe you should do that," Kupchak said.

Odds are, he won't listen to that argument. Okafor wants to be a Laker and it'll probably work out that way. Small ball isn't everything — and Okafor wants to remind the league that's the case.

"I know what my bread-and-butter is," Okafor said, "and that's down in the post."


http://news.yahoo.com/small-ball-story-finals-bigs-may-own-draft-061524997--spt.html

 

Excellent Ford article on Okafor, encouraging numbers on how much he has improved athletically since the end of the college season. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draf...29007/nba-draft-jahlil-okafor-makes-case-no-1

 

Small-ball rules! How about just running an efficient offense that attacks seams, moves the ball, runs screen rolls, and takes advantage of maximizing the talent they have on the team? That's how I look at it. However, fans have become so resistant to change, that their idea of pounding the ball into the post is something that is just a lot harder to do In the current rules environment. Sure, you can do that. I just wouldn't do it very much. I'd use it as more of a secondary or tertiary action.

Either way, let's draft Okafor and see how it goes...

 

I don't think it's harder to do, I think it's mostly a lack of skill and development in that area. Players are getting worse and worse at the post entry pass, and players with skills in the post are almost extinct. Played at the highest level, the post is probably some of the most efficient basketball you can get. Getting a player who can score 55-60% for you in the paint is just as effective, if not better, as a player who can shoot 40% from the three point line.

It's just, players don't have a want to learn it. It's too much effort, too much time to invest in something that won't end up on these "highlight reels" ESPN loves putting together. My reasoning for this "small ball" type of movement is because of how players grow up watching ESPN and highlight reels of players dunking, making ridiculous shots, and wild passes. That's what kids get excited about nowadays. Call me old school, but I love watching players in the post. I grew up taller and loved banging inside and getting easy buckets. My favorite players were Cap, Shaq, and Hakeem. That basketball was beautiful to me.

RandleROFY, you are right, you do what you can with maximizing the talent of the team. Whether it is small ball, the triangle, or variations of it, a good coach will utilize it to their advantage.

 

Agreed with the last part. However, I like Okafor, but he's not Cap, Shaq, or Hakeem. Could he change the direction of the way this league is going? Potentially, but I wouldn't count on it. However, if Randle is in attack mode, I don't Okafor standing around clogging up penetrating lanes standing still; same goes for everybody else on our teams. We get everyone on the move and wreak havoc inside the painted area.

I'll be completely honest, though. As much as I want to see Okafor/Randle work, I have concerns.

 

We can talk small ball when we have talent like:

Curry - Thompson - Barnes - Green - Iguodala
or
Chalmers - R.Allen - Wade - Lebron - Bosh

Until then, I'll run with my big man, thank you very much.

 

I'm not saying Okafor is going to be any of those guys, but he's miles ahead of the competition in terms of bigs with skills in the post.

You also have to realize, Okafor was one of the best offensive rebounders in the game. That type of size kills small ball lineups defensively. When we had Pau and LO playing volleyball in the paint, teams running small ball like the Suns and Nuggets were helpless. He's an intelligent basketball player that will certainly learn to utilize his skills with a player like Randle. I can see the same with Randle as well.

Randle has pretty decent vision when he drives, underrated passer for his size. We saw it in Summer League last year. I can see him drawing doubles on his bully drives and handing it off to Okafor for an easy 2. I can see Okafor commanding a double in the post, and making a nice pass to a cutting Randle, Randle finishing through contact for an And 1.

These are some talented guys here, I don't think there will be that much of a learning curve as you think there will be. These aren't Deandre's and Earl Clark's we're working with here.

 

Wolves told Towns he will be taken #1: http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/6/22/8824779/lakers-draft-2015-wolves-towns-number-1