2011 CelticsBlog Draft Board

[Rondo2287]

Chris Singleton

A small forward with terrific size and length for the position … He is an explosive leaper and has next level athleticism … A very good player in transition, he runs the floor extremely hard and is able to finish plays above the rim in open lane situations … His upper body is well built, and he has the strength to move defenders on drives to the basket … Has developed into a formidable catch and shoot threat … With his feet set he can shoot the ball with range and fairly consistently knock down jumpers from deep … Shows the ability to make shots from the NBA three point line … His biggest impact is on the defensive end, where his size, length, athleticism and terrific instincts make him a lockdown defender … He possesses all the tools to be able to translate his defense to the NBA level … Can guard multiple positions … His ability to anticipate and jump into passing lanes combined with shotblocking, make him a very rare threat on the defensive side of the ball … He is a blue-collar player and is capable of impacting the game without needing the ball in his hands or getting plays called for him … A solid rebounder, he is especially good on the O glass, where he uses his length and athleticism to get to rebounds …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMC71wpjZzQ&feature=related

[mgent]

CB looks mint from my phone.

Surprised Brad Miller is still available, I think he's got a year or 2 left as a solid backup.

Good rebounding and defense and does a great job at spacing the floor.  Plus I'm in the same division as Boston so we know Tommy loves this pick.

[Lucky17]

Weaknesses: Not a natural wing player, he is not very smooth with the ball and does not have the ballhandling skills which would allow him to create his shot with consistency … Not a great scorer, lacks the feel and touch around the basket and depends too much on his physical prowess to get him thorough situations… Has the size and length to score with his back to the basket, but his poor footwork and bodycontrol make it hard for him to get good shots off inside … Still a very streaky shooter, especially on the move or off the dribble … He tends to shoot without squaring his body, his stroke is not the most natural, and his release comes too far off his head … His legs are fairly skinny but he is top heavy, which makes his movements awkward but it also gives him poor balance … Improved on his free throw percentage, but it’s still not where it needs to be …

Note: Singleton fractured his foot on Feb. 12 and had surgery shortly after. It will be interesting to see when he is able to return and if he will be effective enough to keep his stock high enough to remain in the 2011 draft.

I know he won't be asked to score. But footwork and balance are relevant to defense.

How much of his defensive prowess at the college level was simply his ability to overpower weaker, lesser athletes at his position?

Not a huge issue, as LeBron will play 40-45 minutes a night or so.

[Rondo2287]

Weaknesses: Not a natural wing player, he is not very smooth with the ball and does not have the ballhandling skills which would allow him to create his shot with consistency … Not a great scorer, lacks the feel and touch around the basket and depends too much on his physical prowess to get him thorough situations… Has the size and length to score with his back to the basket, but his poor footwork and bodycontrol make it hard for him to get good shots off inside … Still a very streaky shooter, especially on the move or off the dribble … He tends to shoot without squaring his body, his stroke is not the most natural, and his release comes too far off his head … His legs are fairly skinny but he is top heavy, which makes his movements awkward but it also gives him poor balance … Improved on his free throw percentage, but it’s still not where it needs to be …

Note: Singleton fractured his foot on Feb. 12 and had surgery shortly after. It will be interesting to see when he is able to return and if he will be effective enough to keep his stock high enough to remain in the 2011 draft.

I know he won't be asked to score. But footwork and balance are relevant to defense.

How much of his defensive prowess at the college level was simply his ability to overpower weaker, lesser athletes at his position?

Not a huge issue, as LeBron will play 40-45 minutes a night or so.

first team all defense in the ACC two years in a row, wont be asked to score, elite defender.  Thats all we need.   Oh and at 6'9 as a SF he will be able to overpower most nba SF's as well.

And the poor footwork is in regards to his post game, nothing about his defense, not sure why you drew that conclusion...

[Lucky17]

Weaknesses: Not a natural wing player, he is not very smooth with the ball and does not have the ballhandling skills which would allow him to create his shot with consistency … Not a great scorer, lacks the feel and touch around the basket and depends too much on his physical prowess to get him thorough situations… Has the size and length to score with his back to the basket, but his poor footwork and bodycontrol make it hard for him to get good shots off inside … Still a very streaky shooter, especially on the move or off the dribble … He tends to shoot without squaring his body, his stroke is not the most natural, and his release comes too far off his head … His legs are fairly skinny but he is top heavy, which makes his movements awkward but it also gives him poor balance … Improved on his free throw percentage, but it’s still not where it needs to be …

Note: Singleton fractured his foot on Feb. 12 and had surgery shortly after. It will be interesting to see when he is able to return and if he will be effective enough to keep his stock high enough to remain in the 2011 draft.

I know he won't be asked to score. But footwork and balance are relevant to defense.

How much of his defensive prowess at the college level was simply his ability to overpower weaker, lesser athletes at his position?

Not a huge issue, as LeBron will play 40-45 minutes a night or so.

first team all defense in the ACC two years in a row, wont be asked to score, elite defender.  Thats all we need.   Oh and at 6'9 as a SF he will be able to overpower most nba SF's as well.

And the poor footwork is in regards to his post game, nothing about his defense, not sure why you drew that conclusion...

Body control as well. When he's chasing opponents off/through screens, or an opponent gives him that little nudge for separation, will he be able to keep on his man?

Kid's got the ability to be a top notch defender at the NBA level, no doubt.

[Rondo2287]

Weaknesses: Not a natural wing player, he is not very smooth with the ball and does not have the ballhandling skills which would allow him to create his shot with consistency … Not a great scorer, lacks the feel and touch around the basket and depends too much on his physical prowess to get him thorough situations… Has the size and length to score with his back to the basket, but his poor footwork and bodycontrol make it hard for him to get good shots off inside … Still a very streaky shooter, especially on the move or off the dribble … He tends to shoot without squaring his body, his stroke is not the most natural, and his release comes too far off his head … His legs are fairly skinny but he is top heavy, which makes his movements awkward but it also gives him poor balance … Improved on his free throw percentage, but it’s still not where it needs to be …

Note: Singleton fractured his foot on Feb. 12 and had surgery shortly after. It will be interesting to see when he is able to return and if he will be effective enough to keep his stock high enough to remain in the 2011 draft.

I know he won't be asked to score. But footwork and balance are relevant to defense.

How much of his defensive prowess at the college level was simply his ability to overpower weaker, lesser athletes at his position?

Not a huge issue, as LeBron will play 40-45 minutes a night or so.

first team all defense in the ACC two years in a row, wont be asked to score, elite defender.  Thats all we need.   Oh and at 6'9 as a SF he will be able to overpower most nba SF's as well.

And the poor footwork is in regards to his post game, nothing about his defense, not sure why you drew that conclusion...

Body control as well. When he's chasing opponents off/through screens, or an opponent gives him that little nudge for separation, will he be able to keep on his man?

Kid's got the ability to be a top notch defender at the NBA level, no doubt.

You are taking it out of context.  He is referring to his post game, you wont find anything online that says he is physically or mentally not able to play top NBA level defense, your grasping at straws here for some reason, not sure why

[Lucky17]

Perhaps I misconstrued your posts. I thought you were saying that Singleton will be an elite NBA defender next year, as a rookie.

Let me reread them.

Yeah, I must have been reading between the lines there. We both agree he was a great defender at the college level, and possesses the tools to do so at the NBA level as well.

I guess I was taking issue that it's a foregone conclusion, which you weren't saying.

[RebusRankin]

Wait Deron Williams is out of El Salvador? But he's allegedly the best pg? (We all know the best pg is Russell Westbrook)

[Rondo2287]

Perhaps I misconstrued your posts. I thought you were saying that Singleton will be an elite NBA defender next year, as a rookie.

Let me reread them.

Yeah, I must have been reading between the lines there. We both agree he was a great defender at the college level, and possesses the tools to do so at the NBA level as well.

I guess I was taking issue that it's a foregone conclusion, which you weren't saying.

Im saying that practicing against lebron on a daily basis he will be more than suitable defend and  to play the 5-7 minutes per game that lebron is on the bench.

[action781]

CB looks mint from my phone.

Surprised Brad Miller is still available, I think he's got a year or 2 left as a solid backup.

Good rebounding and defense and does a great job at spacing the floor.  Plus I'm in the same division as Boston so we know Tommy loves this pick.

NAMES!!   

[Roy H.]

CB looks mint from my phone.

Surprised Brad Miller is still available, I think he's got a year or 2 left as a solid backup.

Good rebounding and defense and does a great job at spacing the floor.  Plus I'm in the same division as Boston so we know Tommy loves this pick.

NAMES!!   

I think that was his pick.  Names, in such case, are appropriate.

[Roy H.]

The reason I think it's a good idea is that it makes the Celticsblog draft that much more realistic.

I tend to agree with Fafnir regarding the suggested injury situation.  The CelticsBlog draft isn't realistic, and it's not a simulation.  It's a voting-based projection based upon throwing a bunch of players together.  It's meant to judge drafting prowess, vision, strategy, persuasiveness, etc. 

To throw random chance into that just doesn't sound fun to me.  No matter how skilled a player is, random luck can take them out of the game.  Yes, that's more akin to the real NBA (to some extent, although injuries aren't completely random), but I don't think it's particularly fun.  A GM can have a perfect strategy, pull off brilliant trades, and still get screwed because of a bad number draw.

I think this is one of those ideas that would sound good (to some) until it was actually put into practice.  Then, when people had to participate in a game with no Dwight Howard or Deron Williams, they'd think better of it. 

It's an idea that can be further explored, especially if there's a strong demand for it.  However, I personally don't care for it.  "Realism" is only so much fun, I think; it's the reason we don't use a salary cap and a CBA in this thing.  Less realistic, certainly, but more fun I think.

[indeedproceed]

Trade Announced:

NYK trades Tyreke Evans, Andrei Kirilenko, John Salmons

MIL trades Deron Williams

[Roy H.]

Trade Announced:

NYK trades Tyreke Evans, Andrei Kirilenko, John Salmons

MIL trades Deron Williams

[Lucky17]

Trade Announced:

NYK trades Tyreke Evans, Andrei Kirilenko, John Salmons

MIL trades Deron Williams

So, MIL goes from a Deron-Monta backcourt to a Tyreke-Monta backcourt?