2011 CelticsBlog Draft Board

[The Walker Wiggle]

Best move: Wiggle getting 2 first rounders

Worst move: Wiggle picking 2 power forwards,  

I just like being a topic of conversation, Nick.

I'd agree with MGent that Carmelo was a good value pick by the Jazz even if I like Chris Paul 8th by the league office and Tim Duncan 22nd to the Celtics even more.

And then I'd agree with you that there's not a player taken more than a few picks too early so "Worst Value" doesn't hold a lot of shame here in the first round. The second round is going to be a lot more fraught.

[nickagneta]

Best move: Wiggle getting 2 first rounders

Worst move: Wiggle picking 2 power forwards,  

I just like being a topic of conversation, Nick.

I'd agree with MGent that Carmelo was a good value pick by the Jazz even if I like Chris Paul 8th by the league office and Tim Duncan 22nd to the Celtics even more.

And then I'd agree with you that there's not a player taken more than a few picks too early so "Worst Value" doesn't hold a lot of shame here in the first round. The second round is going to be a lot more fraught.

Thanks for taking that the way it was meant, TWW.

[RebusRankin]

The second round will be interesting indeed. I disagree with Who that picks 17-24 were scrabbling for talent left. I thought many teams here got good talent.

[RebusRankin]

Who is Action781 a GM with?

[nickagneta]

Kings are excited that even if we don't make a trade that we are going to find real real good talent at the end of the 2nd.

[Kane3387]

Surprised so many people are down on the Pierce pick. He is better then Joe Johnson, Russell Westbrook, Tim Duncan, and Al Horford for the simple fact that he is a number one guy. He's a little older but he is still the guy out of all those players I want shooting with the game on the line.

I thought he should have gone above both Ginobli and Love.

[celticpride07]

looking to make deals my picks are in the sig..looking for another 2nd rounder

[action781]

Who is Action781 a GM with?

Pawnee Pacers.  And assistant general manager is my official title

 

[Bahku]

I see quite a few defensive liabilities already picked in the first round, if that's what we're going on here. Seems to me that most people have opted for offeensive strength in the first round, (with a couple of exceptions), so why is Love held to a different standard? I wanted a big man and offense with my first pick ... Kevin fit the bill perfectly.

Well there is a difference between what you mean by defensive liabilities, and what you mean by dominance.

My own pick, Amar'e, is weak defensively, in that its the worst part of his game. But not everyone is 'weak defensively' equally. Amar'e for instance is a pretty poor defensive anchor, but he's not bad on his man, and a good shotblocker. In that regard he's more than an adequate defender, especially if you look at his performance on the offensive end as a counterweight.

But Kevin Love is not on the same defensive level as those guys. While his rebounding is top natch and his shooting makes him a versatile offensive piece, his size and athleticism limits how much he can bother shots.

Hey Bahku, careful, live rounds!

Overall Defense
0.88 PPP Rank 184 Kevin Love
0.96 PPP Rank 351 Amare Stoudemire

Post Up Defense
0.87 PPP Rank 127 Kevin Love
0.90 PPP Rank 153 Amare Stoudemire

Pick and Roll Defense vs Roll Man
0.74 PPP Rank 22 Kevin Love
0.96 PPP Rank 63 Amare Stoudemire

Spot Up Defense
0.92 PPP Rank 110 Kevin Love
1.12 PPP Rank 204 Amare Stoudemire

Thanks for the ammo, TW2 ... apparently such stats, (and the ones I provided below), don't seem to carry much weight, though, cuz he's just "not dominant" and on a losing team. I've also been perusing some ranking sites and fantasy sites since making my pick, (to see if i was indeed making such a big mistake), which have him ranked even higher than I had him, (ie: Real GM at 3rd overall, behind James and Howard, many in the top ten, though that's a stretch, IMO). I still find him legitimate at #19 ... very much so.




> Love is the only player to ever average 20+ppg, 15+rpg and shoot over 85% from FT line.
  
> Love is the first player in NBA history to average 12+ rebounds per game and shoot 40% from three. Likewise, he's the only player to average 20+ppg, 15+rpg and shoot over 40% from three.


> At 4.5 offensive rebounds per game this season, Love is also the first player in history to average 3+ offensive boards per game while shooting 40% from behind from three.


> Love finished 2nd to Dwight Howard in total double-doubles with 64 (Howard had 66, Love did miss a few games to finish the season) after tallying 65 total over his first two seasons combined.


> Love had 51 double-doubles before the All-Star break this season - the most in NBA history. Only one other player has posted 50 double-doubles prior to the All-Star break (George Mikan, 50 in 1950).


> Love added 17 rebounds and five three-pointers to his career-high 43 points at Denver, marking the first time in NBA history that a player had 40/15 with at least five threes in a regulation-length game.


> Love posted three consecutive 20/20 games from Mar. 4-7, becoming the first player with three straight 20/20 games since Kevin Willis (Nov. 20-23, 1991).


> Love had four games this season with 30+ points and 20+ rebounds. There were only three such games in the NBA in 2010, and only two others in 2011 (Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard).


> Love had two 30/20 games during November this season. Only four players in the last 25 years have posted multiple 30/20 games in the same month - Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal are the others.


> Love is the only player in the league this season to rank among the league's 10 biggest jumps in points per game and rebounds per game compared to last season. Love also ranks among the league's most improved three-point shooters.




Can't dominate? Come on.

[mgent]

Best value picks: Lebron at 2, Dwight Howard 3

Number of players that ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY do not belong in this round for any reason: None.

Yeah, as crazy as it seems, I also think Dwight at 3 was maybe the best value pick.  #2 was guaranteed to at least get Dwight as an awesome consolation even if they did think Lebron is a clear better pick, so I wouldn't say they got too big of a steal.  But #3 was going to get what I think was a bit of a drop off from 1a and 1b Lebron and Dwight.

I think one of Love (leaning here), Manu, or Pierce is absolutely not a first round player b/c at least one undrafted player absolutely deserved to be drafted in the first round ahead of them.

Dwight and LeBron both were great value because they shouldn't have fell, but they still only fell one spot.  Carmelo is the best (arguably second best) scorer in the league and is on a completely different level than the other guys that were available at 15 or even 4-5 picks earlier, as opposed to Dwight who's only got a slight advantage on Wade or Kobe.

TP to the Jazz.

[Kane3387]

Best value picks: Lebron at 2, Dwight Howard 3

Number of players that ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY do not belong in this round for any reason: None.

Yeah, as crazy as it seems, I also think Dwight at 3 was maybe the best value pick.  #2 was guaranteed to at least get Dwight as an awesome consolation even if they did think Lebron is a clear better pick, so I wouldn't say they got too big of a steal.  But #3 was going to get what I think was a bit of a drop off from 1a and 1b Lebron and Dwight.

I think one of Love (leaning here), Manu, or Pierce is absolutely not a first round player b/c at least one undrafted player absolutely deserved to be drafted in the first round ahead of them.

Dwight and LeBron both were great value because they shouldn't have fell, but they still only fell one spot.  Carmelo is the best (arguably second best) scorer in the league and is on a completely different level than the other guys that were available at 15 or even 4-5 picks earlier, as opposed to Dwight who's only got a slight advantage on Wade or Kobe.

TP to the Jazz.

Ha ha thanks but I didn't draft Melo for me... That TP should go to Chicago. And ZBo was not mine either...

[action781]

Surprised so many people are down on the Pierce pick. He is better then Joe Johnson, Russell Westbrook, Tim Duncan, and Al Horford for the simple fact that he is a number one guy. He's a little older but he is still the guy out of all those players I want shooting with the game on the line.

I thought he should have gone above both Ginobli and Love.

Pierce is definitely guy you want shooting with the game on the line; I'll give you that.

But without 2 teammates who went in the first round and another who might go next round, who's to say he's involved in that many games that are even that close at the end?  Last two seasons he didn't have talent on his team, the celtics missed the playoffs (back when it was called the LEastern conference!) and he was in his prime during those seasons (though hurt for part of the second, they were still bad).  If Pierce doesn't have several top level players alongside him, I don't think he can carry a team anymore.  But I'll be interested to see how this team is built around him.

[Roy H.]

Ha ha thanks but I didn't draft Melo for me... That TP should go to Chicago. And ZBo was not mine either...

Intriguing.  Very curious to see how this shakes out.  Did Chicago decide to build around Carmelo and Randolph?  That ought to be an interesting offense (and defense) if so.

[indeedproceed]

To-do list:

1) Put on TrueBlood episode from last week on HBO on Demand: Check

2) Sort through all the trades: Going on now

3) Defend STAT against WW's vicious attacks: On deck

[action781]

Best value picks: Lebron at 2, Dwight Howard 3

Number of players that ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY do not belong in this round for any reason: None.

Yeah, as crazy as it seems, I also think Dwight at 3 was maybe the best value pick.  #2 was guaranteed to at least get Dwight as an awesome consolation even if they did think Lebron is a clear better pick, so I wouldn't say they got too big of a steal.  But #3 was going to get what I think was a bit of a drop off from 1a and 1b Lebron and Dwight.

I think one of Love (leaning here), Manu, or Pierce is absolutely not a first round player b/c at least one undrafted player absolutely deserved to be drafted in the first round ahead of them.

Dwight and LeBron both were great value because they shouldn't have fell, but they still only fell one spot.  Carmelo is the best (arguably second best) scorer in the league and is on a completely different level than the other guys that were available at 15 or even 4-5 picks earlier, as opposed to Dwight who's only got a slight advantage on Wade or Kobe.

TP to the Jazz.

Yeah, I think Melo was a great pick there too.  I think if argued properly, he can legitimately neutralize some of those elite wings drafted in the top 10 in a playoff matchup.  And he'll likely get a better supporting cast with these next two picks.  But who knows how things will shake out from here...