Ok, I'm taking a break from work/pouting that Who and IP drafted the two bigs I was desperately trying to deal up for this morning.
More snap judgments:
Round 2, Feb 1st
2. 1 Sacramento StartOrien DeAndre Jordan - The next two big men drafted are better right now and I don't love pairing Jordan with Cousins. That said, DeAndre is bigger than either Camby or Ibaka and may have the most upside.
2. 2 Minnesota Rondo2287 Rashard Lewis - Good fit? Minnesota needed more perimeter firepower. But this does strikes me as high for a player who may still be getting by on his 2009 play. Not a 3/4 that I had at the top of my board.
2. 3 New Jersey Action781 Aaron Brooks - Great pick. I love Brooks. He's somewhat off the radar owing to early season injury. That said, New Jersey now has a banged up, undersized backcourt, though one that will hustle, get into the lane, and shoot lights out.
2. 4 Washington wdleehi Jeff Green - Safe pick. Versatile, high character 3/4. "...Master of none" type. If he were a better defender he'd be a much more valuable player. Again there were tweeners I rate higher.
2. 5 Detroit 33-00-32 Dorrell Wright - If you don't mind making your decision off of half a season of play, this is a great pick. May have made the leap. And of course, I like any player that gets after it AND makes me look smart.
2. 6 Indiana Who Marcus Camby - Best big man on the board since before Gortat was drafted.
2. 7 Milwaukee IndeedProceed Serge Ibaka - I can give IP high praise here because I'm going to viciously bash his next pick. Five years younger than Gortat, two years younger than McGee, a year younger than Jordan, and he played more meaningful, "winning" minutes than any of them last season. He's the shortest tall tree, and the worst rebounder, but easily the fastest; is the best defender; and has the nicest stroke of the four.
2. 8 LA Clippers Greenfaith1819 Hedo Turkoglu - A system player if ever there was one. His value will depend a lot on his end role and the players around him. I'm biased against him.
2. 9 Charlotte Gainesville Celtic Troy Murphy - Rumor in the metro area is that his legs may be shot. Otherwise we can blame Avery Johnson's Napoleon complex. Gutsy pick.
2. 10 Philadelphia FairweatherFan Andersen Varejao - Great pick for a team looking a year ahead. Can't carry much of the offensive load but plays winning basketball.
2. 11 Golden State TheAuerbach 12:40 PM - "Incidentally, what's your policy on Columbus Day?"
2. 12 Houston Milwaukee Landry Fields - Compared to Jeff Green or Wright or a project big this pick would be fine by me. But turning a twenty-one year old borderline franchise point guard into a twenty-two year old role player, however high his basketball IQ and character, is a major misstep by the Bucks. I've been to a handful of Knicks games so far this season, and have a lot of affection for Fields, he's easy to like, but he's also already very close to his ceiling. There's a mob of fans in the parking lot, IP.
2. 13 Phoenix Lucky17 JJ Hickson - Will he put it together and if so when? Has a nice combination of size, athleticism, and skill. Not ready to seize the reins, but will benefit greatly from playing alongside Nash.
2. 14 Memphis Washington Greg Monroe - I haven't seen enough of this rookie to judge. Young big men are at a premium.
Just curious - what is your bias against Hedo?
He struggles when he doesn't have a very specific set of circumstances.
Hedo needs to spend a great deal of time on the ball and the freedom to be a playmaker + to play on a talented pick and roll team (a PnR/PnP guy and shooters to spread the floor) ... because his only high level skill is his playmaking ability off the pick and roll.
The rest of his game is fairly mediocre.
Without the pick and roll, Hedo fails to create separation from his defender on a regular basis - particularly against above average athletes + defenders at his position - and is unable to create high percentage baskets for himself or others. He is dependent on that pick and roll option.
I wouldn't say that the rest of his game is mediocre. In my memory, he played well against LA in the 08-09 finals.
He played well vs an above average Defender in Paul Pierce on Christmas Day (16 pts on 6-10 shooting, 4 rebs, 4 assists).
He can shoot over defenders with his height. He may not be the fastest or quickest, but he makes up for that with his length.
His 3pt% (39%) keeps the defense honest. Can't double-off of him. This leaves Blake and Okafor in single coverage.
He rebounds well for a SF, at 4.5. Total his rebs with Blakes and Emeka's, and you have a total in the upper 20's.
For me, he gives me another playmaker on the floor besides Baron.
In real life? Hedo Turkoglu MAY be the Crown Jewel of the trades that ORL did recently.
After reviewing his game logs, he seemed to do well vs teams with above average SF's. Check out the link.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=862 Some of the notable games were against NY (Chandler), BOS (Pierce), DAL(Marion).
Did he torch every SF? No. But he held his own against most. I'd rate him a top-10-15 SF, myself.