Tag: lamelo ball

Wanting To Win Should Be Part Of Cavs’ Evaluation Process.

To us, when it is played correctly, basketball is a beautiful sport to watch.  A local high school coach recently showed footage of the 1986 Boston Celtics moving the ball with the comment that the game never looked better.

Unfortunately, in these days of isolation and fans and players alike going crazy over fancy moves by players, sometimes that gets lost in today’s game.

We should alert you that this could come across as “get off my lawn” basketball guy.

One of the reasons for the popularity of the Golden State Warriors was the way they moved the basketball.  Yes, the long range shooting was a factor too, but when the Warriors were playing well, the ball moved rapidly and found the open player.

This isn’t a new concept.  The championship Knicks teams (yes, they were good once) of the early 70’s used the mantra “Find the open man”.

We see scouting reports on players and it talks about their shooting range, their leaping ability, how they can see the floor, and how strong they are, but if it’s mentioned at all, there isn’t much on the “team” attitude of the player.

What got us thinking about this was the Cavaliers’ interest in LaMelo Ball, if he is on the board whenever Cleveland makes their first selection.

First, we understand that Ball is still just 18 years old and his father has made the decisions about where he is playing basketball.

But his amateur career has been filled with going from team to team, looking for a way to best showcase his talents.

Quite frankly, it isn’t much different from what people call the “AAU culture”, where players hop from team to team to either play with their friends, which is fine, or to get away from an environment they dislike, such as having to play defense or not get as many shots.

The scouting report on Ball is he has good range on his shot, and can also get to the basket and finish.  He has tremendous court vision and can find teammates in stride or in rhythm, and can play defense when he is committed.

His weaknesses are that he’s not an explosive athlete and needs to improve his shot selection.  Both of those areas can be improved with a workout program and experience if he is willing to be coached.

So, he has talent.  Let’s face it, if you are being projected to be a top five pick in the NBA Draft, you can play the game.

But you have to wonder what it would look like if the Cavs took him.

Yes, we know he played at SPIRE Institute in 2018, so he’s familiar with the area, but we would wonder if he would be just biding his time until he can get out of Cleveland, which might also be said about several other players in the draft.

What we don’t know is what kind of teammate he is.  Is he someone who would be happy with 5 points and 7 assists in a win, or would he rather score 35 points in a loss?

We also understand the way players are viewed in the NBA has changed.  For many younger fans, winning has become secondary, visually pleasing play is better.  We’ve addressed this issue before.

How many of the younger players have adjusted their game to a style that leads to more winning?  We saw Collin Sexton make some strides late last season.

This isn’t an indictment of Ball, he just has the highest profile.  But the willingness to do things to win should be part of the equation.  It truly isn’t all about talent.

 

Season Continues Or No, Altman Has Key Decisions This Summer

With the season suspended due to COVID-19, the league that shutdown first, the NBA, is wondering what they should do when play can begin again.

While they would probably want to play some regular season games, at least to get players and teams in somewhat of a routine before the playoffs start, we believe the league should go right into the post-season.

In the Eastern Conference, there is a 5-1/2 game gap between 8th seed Orlando and the team with the ninth best record, the Washington Wizards.

In the West, the separation is 3-1/2 game between Memphis, who currently holds the final playoff spot and Portland.

With most teams having only 17-18 games remaining, it is doubtful any team currently qualifying for the post-season would drop off.  Yes, we understand it is mathematically possible, not in reality, not likely.

If that is the way the NBA goes forward, then the Cavaliers have the second worst record in the NBA, and by rules, would have a 14% chance at the first pick (the highest odds along with Golden State and Minnesota), and could not fall lower than the 6th overall pick.

According to NBADraft.Net, the top six players right now are as follows–

Anthony Edwards, Georgia  6’5″ Guard
LaMelo Ball, 6’8″ Point Guard
James Wiseman, Memphis (sort of) 7’1″ Center
Obi Toppin, Dayton 6’9″ Forward
Cole Anthony, North Carolina 6’2″ Guard
Jaden McDaniels, Washington 6’10” Forward

Who should Cavs’ GM Koby Altman select?

That really depends on what decisions the team makes regarding the talent currently on the roster.  Can Collin Sexton and Darius Garland play together?  Making that decision is probably the key to everything else.

Our opinion is they can’t, and not because of any flaw in either player’s game.  It’s because it is tough to be effective defensively, even in today’s NBA playing two guards under 6’3″.

And yes, we understand Portland has had some success, but to us, that’s the outlier not the norm.

And don’t forget the most impressive rookie for Cleveland this season, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler, who hasn’t played all year.

What we mean is this…if you get the first overall pick, the Cavs really can’t take Edwards, Ball, or Anthony without moving either Garland or Sexton.  We are not saying they don’t know that, but obviously you would get a decent piece for either player if they are dealt.

Obviously, the best fits for the wine and gold would be the big men, Wiseman, Toppin, and McDaniels.  The one who figures to help most immediately would be Toppin, who played two years as a Flyer, and is 22 years old.

He would seem to be able to step in at small forward, moving Cedi Osman either to a true swingman, coming off the bench to play both guard and forward, or to the starting #2 guard spot.

Toppin doesn’t have a comparable player on the site, but Wiseman, just 19, is more of a true center (compare to Hassan Whiteside/DeAndre Jordan).  If you select him, then Andre Drummond is likely gone after next season.

McDaniels, while talented, looks to be a project, weighing just 185 pounds.  He will need to add weight and muscle to be more than a bench player in his rookie season.  And you never know how big men with slight builds develop as NBA players.

Do they become Chris Bosh or Marquise Chriss?

This is a rather large off-season for Altman because of the decisions he has to make with his young backcourt.  He has three first round picks from the last two draft who are ideally guards, and only two can play.

And it is difficult to ask young guys to come off the bench in 6th man roles.  Sexton, Garland, Porter…which two are wearing wine and gold next season?

MW