The Hoops Junkie

• After seeing most of the highly ranked college teams play so far this year, I feel pretty strongly that Kentucky, Texas, and Kansas are the 3 best teams in the country. They’re just on another level talent-wise than any other team I’ve seen. Even though it’s early in the season, I’ll go ahead and say that I’d be pretty surprised if one of those 3 teams doesn’t win the national championship this year. continue reading »

• Tyreke Evans is a beast. I was trying to think about who his game most reminds me of, and Baron Davis (from about 2007) was the best I could come up with. Baron was a little more athletic, but Evans is 3 inches taller and has a much better feel for the game. They both play kind of a power point guard role, using their size and strength to post up or drive to the hoop. And Evans finds a way to get to the basket even when the guy guarding him is sagging off. He’s not much of a shooter right now, but he knows that and doesn’t force up the crazy off the dribble pull up 3’s that Davis tends to shoot. One of the most impressive things about Evans though is his willingness to make the easy pass. He’ll throw the look ahead pass to a teammate running the floor, he’ll make the extra pass around the perimeter, and he’ll make the easy kick out to a 3 point shooter if the defense collapses on his penetration. I like his demeanor too. He plays hard and with confidence, but his facial expression doesn’t really ever change. I thought he’d be a good NBA player, but I’m much higher on him now than I was after seeing him play at Memphis last year. Maybe I just didn’t see him play enough.
• I’ve been president of the David Lee fan club since his rookie year. He’s an athletic big who runs the floor well, is super active on the glass, is a good passer, and can finish with both hands. He’s taken his game up a notch this year though by turning himself into a pretty decent shooter out to about 18 feet. I’ve been waiting for this to happen for the last couple years. It will be interesting to see what happens with him this summer when his 1 year deal expires. I would love to see him on a good team. continue reading »

• I witnessed a white-out in an NBA game last night. In the 3rd quarter against the Wizards on ESPN the Kings were playing a lineup of Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni, Omri Casspi, Beno Udrih, and Sergio Rodriguez.
• James Harden may not be getting the hype that some of the other rookies are so far, but the Thunder made a good pick taking him at number 3. He’s not getting to play a featured role like Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans are, but he’s got a really well rounded offensive game. He’s smooth, has a great feel, can shoot it, attack the basket, and is a good passer. Right now he’s getting decent minutes off the bench, and it will be interesting to see if they ever move him to the starting lineup or keep him behind Sefolosha in kind of a Manu Ginobili/Jason Terry role off the bench. continue reading »

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