Heralded as a mediocre draft class, this year's group of Rookie's has been surprisingly good.
Let's take a look at some of Streeze's favorites;
Let's take a look at some of Streeze's favorites;
Stephen Curry: The Davidson standout whose game many thought would not translate into the NBA has been having a great campaign. Boy, were they wrong. While he still remains a defensive liability because of his
small stature and lack of strength against larger point guards in the post (see: Chauncey Billups abuse last night), Curry is nothing short of gifted offensively. Being the son of one of the best set shooters in NBA History, Dell Curry, certainly doesn’t hurt the pedigree either. After his breakout March Madness year in 2008, big things were expected of Stephen in his final year at Davidson. Not only did Curry lead the nation in scoring with a beautiful three point stroke, but he really silenced his critics his ability to be a playmaker and create for his teammates. For this reason, I knew he had the tools to be a successful NBA player. Getting nearly 35 minutes a game in his first season, Curry is shooting over 40% from deep and is nearly automatic from the strip (88%). Amidst the clusterfuck of talent on the Warriors roster, Curry looks like he will be leading this team for the long haul. He gets my “just sick” seal of approval.Tyreke Evans: The best pure scorer of the bunch, Tyreke is outperforming what anyone
expected of him. He is not a point guard and would rather drive than shoot; he is certainly a hybrid guard. His ability to put the ball in the basket even prompted the Kings management to ship their previous franchise player, Kevin Martin to provide even more shots for the young Evans. With a solid build, he is a terrific two way player with a surplus of potential. At 6-6, 220 he is a difficult matchup with a high octane motor. Though his outside shot and decision making (3 turnovers per) could use some work, Evans has proved that he will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. His ability to get to the line and fill the stat sheet has him flirting with Steve Franchise like rookie numbers of 20-5-5. With a nucleus of Evans, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, newly acquired Carl Landry and fellow rookie Omar Casspi; Kings fans have a lot to look forward to, and I don’t just mean Andres Nocioni coming off their cap.Ty Lawson: When he and Tyler Hansborough dropped out of the 2008 Draft, it was not initially
because they wanted to pursue a NCAA Championship at UNC, but because they simply were not going to be drafted as high as they would of liked. So Ty did the smart thing; went back to school, ran shit, won the chip’ and still dropped to 18th in the draft. Did we miss something? What else did he have to do to become a Lottery Pick?! Described as a “speedy and gifted ball-handler who excels in the open floor” in his Draft write up; Lawson has proved that he can do much more than that. Not only is he currently the best percentage three point shooter in the draft class at near 44%, he and DeJuan Blair are the only players averaging at least 5 ppg and 50% from the field. He is the fastest player in the draft, has a high basketball IQ and shoots the ball very efficiently. Not to mention he has probably picked up a few tricks this year, considering that he is working under the tutelage of one of the best point gods of the generation, Chauncey Billups. The Nuggets should feel very secure about who is going to be running their team and appeasing Melo in the 2010’s.
Taj Gibson: A USC product, Taj has been a very pleasant surprise for the Bulls this season. Don’t let his averages of 8.5 and 7 fool you, this guy can play. The Bulls certainly think so, as they let coveted forward Tyrus Thomas go to make more room for Taj. A solid defender with a long reach, Gibson has watched his minutes go up and has become a double double machine as of late. With a nice mid range game, an athletic frame and the ability to get down and dirty, the Bulls have got to be happy with the value they got out of the 26th pick. Let’s not forget they took James Johnson with the 16th pick, so it kind of evens out.
DeJuan Blair: Though he has struggled for
minutes this year, with only about 18 per, Blair has proved he can bang with the best. I would describe him as Paul Millisap meets Robert Traylor. He if undersized in terms of height, but makes up for it with a combination of strength and a soft touch around the basket. He has the makings of being a powerful offensive rebounder, but will really need to work on his post defense in the offseason if he hopes to get more minutes at this level. Hopefully Timmy will teach him the art of bank; because youth is something the Spurs do not have a surplus of. DeJuan will be heading the eventual rebuilding effort of the Spurs once the team realizes that their current core is no longer capable of romping with the West’s elite.Darren Collison: There really was only two people who benefited from the understated in
jury to Hornets point guard, Chris Paul; Darren Collison and the person who picked him up in their fantasy league. Despite a tendancy to turn the ball over, Collison is a lightning quick NBA point guard with good court vision and ability to both score and distribute. The Hornets best young players are both point guards, which makes the question arise; What now? Still stuck in the contracts of Morris Peterson and Peja, the Hornets simply do not have a competitive squad at the moment. Trading David West will let CP3 know that this team has thrown in the towel and will be rebuilding and there is no way that the owners are going to be spending any more money considered they are currently operating at a loss and are already well over the salary cap. Collison will have great trade value at seasons end, but dare they trade one of their best young assets. In brief, the Hornets just my “Just Trash” award.
-----
Yes, I left Brandon Jennings off this list. His play has got increasingly poor as the season has progressed. What else has he been doing since the 50 point game? I posted a video of him almost a year and a half ago, warning of his future impact on the NBA; http://christians-thoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Brandon%20Jennings . He will need to show me can he be a more efficient and complete player before I get back on the bandwagon I once steered.
jury to Hornets point guard, Chris Paul; Darren Collison and the person who picked him up in their fantasy league. Despite a tendancy to turn the ball over, Collison is a lightning quick NBA point guard with good court vision and ability to both score and distribute. The Hornets best young players are both point guards, which makes the question arise; What now? Still stuck in the contracts of Morris Peterson and Peja, the Hornets simply do not have a competitive squad at the moment. Trading David West will let CP3 know that this team has thrown in the towel and will be rebuilding and there is no way that the owners are going to be spending any more money considered they are currently operating at a loss and are already well over the salary cap. Collison will have great trade value at seasons end, but dare they trade one of their best young assets. In brief, the Hornets just my “Just Trash” award.-----
Yes, I left Brandon Jennings off this list. His play has got increasingly poor as the season has progressed. What else has he been doing since the 50 point game? I posted a video of him almost a year and a half ago, warning of his future impact on the NBA; http://christians-thoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Brandon%20Jennings . He will need to show me can he be a more efficient and complete player before I get back on the bandwagon I once steered.
