SB Nation - John Lucas III

Lots of positives come in loss to Spurs

DolPhanDave — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:18:51 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Boan - AP

Daequan for 3....kaboom.

Without Dwyane Wade, Quentin Richardson, Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Quinn in the lineup on Sunday night, the Heat youngsters decided it was time to step up. Sure, it was against a Spurs team who had just as many substantial guys missing as the Heat (no Duncan or Ginobili, and Jefferson only played 12 minutes), but it's nice to see something good coming from the guys who a lot is expected of this coming season.

Michael Beasley started at power forward for the 1st time this preseason and looked very comfortable. The best sign that I saw was that Beas wasn't afraid to drive with the ball. We all know that the kid can shoot, but he needs to add dimensions to his offensive game. He finished with 16 points in 27 minutes, shooting 7-for-17. He also added 6 boards and 2 assists.

His co-sophomore Mario Chalmers also broke out of his shooting slump, drilling 6-of-12 from the field, including 1 of his 2 trey attempts. He was equally as good handling the ball, looking very comfortable running the offense. I kinda figured that Tony Parker would have his way with Chalmers, especially on defense, but that was not the case at all. Parker was made almost invisible, hitting only 1-of -4 and not doing much to stop Rio on offense.

The final ‘young star' to step up was perhaps the best player for the Heat on Sunday. Daequan Cook was the Heat's go-to guy on offense, and he did a great job handling and shooting the ball despite wearing a splint on his right wrist. I can definitely where the rumblings of Cook playing the point came from as he looks to have added another dimension to his game with his improved ball skills.

If Cook can create shots for himself while holding the ball, that would be a huge plus. He was the ‘Wade' of the game last night, as when the Heat we're down by 2 with under 10 seconds left, you knew coming out of the timeout who was going to get the ball. The shot was a little long, but he still managed to dribble his way into an open look for the game winner. Still, shooting 8-of-17 (4-of-9 from 3) for 20 points is something that I could definitely get used to coming from Dae Dae.

OTHER NOTES

In limited minutes, Udonis Haslem looked much better. He stayed out of foul trouble and hit his outside jumpers which are key to his game. He shot 4-of-7 for 10 points and added 6 boards in only 18 minutes.

Dorell Wright finally hit a shot, making his third and final attempt of the night, moving him to 1-of-10 for the preseason.

Erik Spoelstra gave us a little insight to Dwyane Wade's injury, which is a bit unique and may not be the simple thing that it was first made out to be.

"He was actually able to do quite a few exercises in the weight room and that's going to be part of the proactive approach we take with him, to try to gain more flexibility and also build up some strength," Coach Erik Spoelstra said of the rib injury. "What the training staff wants to do is build flexibility and build some strength in that area and hopefully that'll help. It's a unique injury."

John Lucas III looked good in extended minutes, but not good enough to make me write that he should be an everyday NBA backup. Apparently the Heat coaching staff feels the same way, as Coach Spo told reporters that he is meeting with Pat Riley about the possibility of bringing in a PG.

"That's something we'll definitely address," Spoelstra said. We haven't targeted a specific guy right now. But we've met about it and will continue to meet."

Pat Riley has a knack for bringing in guys just before the season begins (see Mourning, Alonzo), so the next few weeks could get interesting. One thing is for sure...the Heat brass is not pleased with what they have seen from their team so far, and I have to agree. For the talent they have on the roster, the level of play should be much better. Hopefully last night was a start.

Preseason Game 3: Spurs @ Heat GAMEDAY

DolPhanDave — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:03:56 -0000

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Heat will play a game in front of their home crowd. How much of a crowd is another story, but we'll find out soon enough. Either way, it's nice to get the feeling that basketball season is just around the corner. This could be the best time of year, when all four of the major sports are going at the same time.

Tonight the San Antonio Spurs come to town, but they will face the Heat without their superstar. Dwyane Wade suffered a strained muscle in his rib cage sometime during the Heat's loss in Orlando on Wednesday, but an MRI taken on Friday showed no major damage. Wade even said that if it was a regular season game he'd very likely be in the lineup, but no need to take any chances in the preseason.

"It's preseason. It just felt weird. It's a precaution and not overly serious," said Wade, "We got a long season ahead of us so I'm not trying to be a hero right now."

There will be a couple other Heat regulars out of the lineup tonight, as Chris Quinn and Jermaine O'Neal will also be sitting this one out. Quinn suffered a strained right foot during practice on Friday and will be wearing a protective boot for at least a week. As long as it's nothing serious, this is cool with me. I wanted to get a look at John Lucas III against some non-scrubby opponents.

O'Neal sat out practice again on Saturday with his bruised left foot and will be a game time decision. He has missed almost half of the Heat's workouts and practices since the preseason began last week.

Despite both teams being without their starting shooting guards (Manu Ginobili is also sitting this one out), several Heat starters will have very tough matchups to face against the Spurs.

Mario Chalmers will have a hard time breaking out of his defensive funk against Tony Parker, who is already playing like it's the regular season. Michael Beasley will be lined up against Richard Jefferson at small forward, which should be a great way to judge how far Beasley has come on the defensive side of things over the past few weeks.

We'll also see if Udonis Haslem can stay out of foul trouble for the first time this preseason against Tim Duncan, who never seems to have trouble drawing fouls (and complaining about the ones that don't get called).

For more Heat-Spurs information head on over to Pounding The Rock, SBN's Spurs blog. Really good position by position preview over there.

Tipoff at 6:00pm from the AAA. Anybody going?

Everyone enjoy your Sunday!

Heat fall to 0-2 in preseason with another poor shooting effort

DolPhanDave — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:58:26 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

Michael Beasley rocking the cornrows.

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The effort may have been there but the result was still the same, as the Heat lost for the 2nd time in two tries this preseason. Orlando got out to an early lead and never looked back, once stretching the lead to 18 points. The Heat were outscored in every quarter but the 4th, where once again John Lucas III led a comeback attempt that fell short at the end.

We're going to take a look at tonight's loss in three categories. The good, the bad and the meh.

GOOD

One thing that I was absolutely ecstatic about was the play of James Jones and Quentin Richardson. They were two guys that we highlighted before the game, hoping that they would step up. Jones looked like the J-J of old, showing a sweet stroke and hitting 5-of-7 shots (and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc). He finished with 16 points in 24 minutes and also let the team with 3 steals.

Richardson played only 15:48 but was very effective, scoring 9 points on 3-of-6, but just like Jones, a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond. He also added 3 rebounds. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from both.

John Lucas III could be playing his way into a backup point guard job. In very limited minutes (7:57) he equaled his point total from the last game in half the time, going 3-for-5, hitting a 3 and adding 2 assists.

Shavlik Randolph has been providing solid minutes as a backup power forward. In just under 14 minutes over the two preseason games, he's grabbed 8 rebounds. He has also scored 6 points, all from the foul line where he has shot 6-of-8.

BAD

Our other two point guards. Mario Chalmers is looking very uneasy and uncomfortable shooting the ball. He was only 1-of-6 from the field last night and added 3 turnovers. There were also 3 turnovers courtesy of Rio. Quinn wasn't quite as bad, as he dished the ball fairly well and was rewarded with 3 assists. However, he only shot 1-for-7 and had 4 of his shots blocked.

Heat shooting overall has been very poor. As a team they shot 33% last night, and 35% in the two games. Not to be outdone, our reputation as a poor free throw shooting team continues; the Heat have only made 70% of their foul shots.

The replacement officials have been nothing short of terrible. We'll take the words of someone who saw it firsthand:

The officiating by the replacements was so atrocious that fill-in official Robbie Robinson could become the first referee to ever be fired twice by the NBA.

The foul trouble reached the point that after the Magic's Vince Carter was called for his fourth with 52.4 seconds to play in the second quarter, becoming the fourth player with as many, he blared to one of the replacement referees, "You're messing up a good game."

The officiating lockout is beginning to wear on nerves, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra exhorting at one stage "Pay attention!", after a goaltending call was changed to offensive interference.

Dorell Wright isn't living up to his pre-preseason hype. He shot 0-for-3 last night and 0-for-4 in Detroit. He's added only 5 rebounds in a combined 41:30 over the two games.

MEH

Udonis Haslem was held to only 15 minutes thanks to the wonderful officiating. He hit 2 of his 3 shots and had no rebounds. This once again led to Michael Beasley getting more minutes at power forward then small forward. You have to give him some credit, as the position he has been preparing more to play isn't where he has been playing. Either way, he is struggling. He shot only 3-of-13 last night with 4 boards while leading the Heat with 30:24 on the court. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

Dwyane Wade got off to a very slow start again, hitting only 1 of his first 6 shots. He finished the game 5-for-8 with 17 points. I have high expectations for D-Wade, so these kind of games aren't what I like to see from him. The fact that he led the team in scoring is irrelevant. I think he should be scoring 25 points every night; nobody in the NBA can score at will the way Wade can.

Jermaine O'Neal was held out of the game, and he said that it was due to being kicked in the foot last week by Joel Anthony, and nothing to do with his knees. Uh huh. Call me a cynic, but I don't buy that. He's been seen with his knees iced, and if he was kicked last week, then how come he is only suddenly sitting out.

The Heat aren't back in action until Sunday when they will host the San Antonio Spurs at the AAA. Tip off is 5pm...anybody going?

Preseason Game 2: Heat @ Magic GAMEDAY

DolPhanDave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:39:50 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

2 months ago: Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, left, talks with official Ken Washington in the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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After a less then encouraging first preseason game on Monday night, the Heat will look to bounce back tonight in Orlando and show that they are in fact as good as we have been hearing all summer. It only took one poor game for the South Florida media to begin clamoring for a change, instantly looking at Pat Riley for his inability to bring in any major players during this offseason.

Mario Chalmers was pretty bad on Monday, so of course all the names of available players are being thrown around (Tinsley, Alston, Knight, etc.). At least give Mario a chance to get his legs underneath him. I don't think Rio will be getting out played by John Lucas III anymore, and if he does then we have a serious problem.

It's going to be a bit tougher on us, the fans, now that we can actually see the product on the court, as opposed to just hearing about practice reports. Ira Winderman says it well:

For an entire offseason, Riley and his staff has requested patience with the team's lack of personnel movement. Fine. Until Monday's exhibition opener, there was nothing to see. But that changes now. Now there is something tangible to judge. Monday hardly was a heartening first glimpse.

There are a few guys other then Chalmers who need to show us something tonight:

Jermaine O'Neal- One rebound in the first 30 seconds of the game and then none in his next 21+ minutes. Not good. Now remember, Jermaine plays a little more outside of the painted area then most centers, so his rebound numbers will suffer slightly due to that. But A- Jermaine needs to hit his outside jumpers if he is going to sacrifice his ‘big guy' stats and B- regardless of where he is on the floor, he should be busting his ass going for boards simply because he is bigger then pretty much everyone else on the floor.

Michael Beasley- Its very simple with Beas...he needs to improve on D. After looking foolish at times on Monday in Detroit, he was noticeably working extremely hard during Tuesdays practice. After all the preparation, Beasley blames his (and the teams) poor performance against the Pistons on first game jitters.

"All through the week, we worked on all of this stuff," Beasley said. "And then when the lights turned on (against Detroit), I think we sort of forgot about it. First-game jitters came on, and that was the game. But you do a little of both. You learn from your mistakes. And you have to put that one behind you."

James Jones/Quentin Richardson- Neither of them played on Monday, but both are expected to get extended minutes tonight against the Magic. Please, guys, give us something positive to look at. I've got high hopes for both of these players.

OTHER NEWS

Daequan Cook bruised his right thumb during practice on Tuesday and will be held out of tonights game. He will undergo further tests when the team returns to Miami.

Considred questionable for tonight is Dorell Wright, who continues to be held on a short leash by coaches. He reported no swelling in his surgically repaired left knee after playing 20 minutes on Monday.

Jermaine O'Neal was held out of practice today, icing both his legs. I'm not sure whether or not he will be playing, but I imagine he should be in the lineup.

Jamaal Magloire is still waiting to hear back from the NBA to see if he will be suspended for his role in an ‘under the basket skirmish' with Pistons rookie Jonas Jerebko. He is being accused of punching Jerebko in the nose when the two players fell to the ground fighting for a rebound. Magloire stands firm saying that anything that happened in that regard wasn't on purpose.

"Anything I did was unintentional," Magloire said Tuesday. "It happened so fast. I didn't think anybody hit anybody. I've been playing now in the NBA for 10 years. I've never been accused of throwing a punch. I find other ways to get my point across."

Tip-off tonight in Orlando is set for 7pm. You can hear the game on 940AM WINZ.

Training Camp Invites - Miami Heat

Jon L — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:00:55 -0000

Shavlik Randolph is among those trying to make the Miami roster.

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I thought I'd continue the series that JDS started by taking a team-by-team look at players who have been invited to training camp (since camp has started now, all of the invites are official). These are guys who normally would show up in Ridiculous Transactions - D-Leaguers, players who have spent time in Europe and other random NBA journeymen, all of whom are trying to either make the team they're with or impress any other team that might be paying attention. I thought I'd keep it in the Southeast Division and look at the Miami Heat.

Alade Aminu - Aminu played for Washington's Summer League team, though saying he "played" is a bit generous since he never saw more than 12 minutes on the court. He's fairly athletic and handles the ball pretty well for his size (he's 6'10", 225). He's also really, really raw. Bullets Forever's Mike Prada observed that Aminu defended Blake Griffin pretty well and showed a decent touch, but that he's "nowhere close to an NBA player." I'd be surprised if he makes the roster, but I'd like to see him spend a year or two in the D-League to hone his skills.

Shavlik Randolph - Randolph's per-minute numbers have been increasing more or less steadily the last few years, and are pretty good in the points and rebounds departments, but they've come in so few games (13 in '06-'07, nine in '07-'08, and ten last year) that I have a hard time believing them. He's a solid if unspectacular option for a third center, which essentially is what he's working for in Miami.

Andre Brown - I briefly wrote about Brown the other day. He's yet another PF/C-type who has bounced between minor league basketball, the NBA and Europe. He's a decent rebounder who usually shoots around .500 or better, though his free-throw shooting isn't great. I'd say Brown also is a longshot, but he's produced when given the chance to.

Anthony Tolliver - Tolliver saw a fair amount of playing time with the Hornets' Summer League team this year, but he didn't put up good numbers until the last few games, including the second-to-last one in which he made every single field goal and free throw. He wasn't always efficient, though, and he also fouled a little too much. DolPhanDave over at the Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier believes the team will be emphasizing defense this training camp, and Tolliver shouldn't have any problems there unless he's asked to keep up with perimeter players. Of all the big men the Heat brought in, I'd say Tolliver has the best chance to sneak onto the roster behind or in lieu of Joel Anthony, but this team apparently believes Chris Quinn is a decent backup point guard.

John Lucas - Speaking of whom, Lucas is here to give Quinn a push, and I sincerely hope he pushes Quinn off the team. Not because I like seeing people lose their jobs, but because Lucas can absolutely run an offense, and he has some experience playing off the ball as well. The Miami backcourt is what you'd call "undersized," though, and Lucas wouldn't do anything to change that. He's an excellent shooter from behind the arc and from the free-throw line, and he neither turns the ball over nor fouls very often. Lucas is probably the best player the Heat brought to their training camp.

As training camp approaches, Erik Spoelstra thinks there is a lot to be excited about with this years team

DolPhanDave — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:30:14 -0000

Erik Spoelstra thinks that the Heat are going to be a much-improved squad this season. That kind of optimism you would expect from the teams Head Coach, but Spo is backing it up with some facts that you cant help but pay attention to. We have guys coming back healthy who played much of last season hurt, or didn't play much at all. We have top-notch rookies coming back for a 2^nd season who have been working their butts off all summer.

Starting off with the youngsters, lets begin with the one who has gotten the most attention this offseason. Obviously, that's Michael Beasley, who returned to the American Airlines Arena on Monday and began working out with some of his Heat teammates. He had been working with Heat coaches, including Erik Spoelstra, while at the rehabilitation clinic in Houston, doing lots of on court exercises.

Spoelstra said Beasley (240 pounds) added 10 pounds of muscle, and "improved his perimeter skills -- he would show us something new all the time. He made dramatic improvements with individual defense. He's quicker. People will see more versatility. He can play either forward position. You'll see a different Michael Beasley. His skill level is so much more advanced than what it was. "

I'm still banking on Beasley coming off the bench this year, as Udonis Haslem is already penciled in as the teams starting power forward, and according to Spoelstra the starting small forward job is very much an open competition. It will be between Beasley, newcomer Quentin Richardson and James Jones.

Jones has come right out and said that he is back to 100% and should be playing at a high level after spending most of last season recovering from wrist surgery. When he finally returned to the lineup last year he was nowhere near his usual self, and is now very hungry to make up for a sup-par last season.

As for Richardson, I am very happy about that trade. Not only because we were able to dump the useless contract of Mark Blount, but more so because Richardson is going to fit right in with our team and add an element that we were really missing last year. Quentin can play the 2 or the 3; he can run the floor well, shoot from the outside and play the kind of defense that our coaching staff loves. Hard nosed, long armed and quick.

Spolelstra said Richardson ``is in the best shape of his life, 230 pounds. He hasn't weighed that since he was at DePaul 11 years ago. He's got defensive toughness, can post up guards and some small forwards.''

We'll move on to the guy who I see as this year's wild card, Jermaine O'Neal. Going into a contract year, J-O is out to prove he can still play at a high level, looking to regain his all-star form that would demand a high paying contract next summer. He is already going to be competing with other UFA's who are better and younger, so a great season would really help his cause.

Apparently, O'Neal is well on his way to having that kind of season. His main goal has been to regain the strength in his knees and regain some of the stamina he prided himself on while playing for Indiana. Should all the work he put forth this offseason translate into Jermaine being a 15 point 10 board kinda guy for us, while playing in around 70-75 games, I think that's a huge success. Says Spo about J-O:

``He's as healthy as he's ever been. We rewound the clock and brought him back to 26. He spent seven weeks with us'' working on strength and conditioning, then eight weeks with Chicago-based trainer Tim Grover. ``I went to Chicago and saw him in pickup games. He looks quick, jumping well. He looked like the guy I remembered with the Pacers, but stronger.''

You have got to love the way things are sounding, as well as the optimism that Coach Spoelstra is showing for his team. Apparently, the Heat organization holds a similar optimistic feeling about their coach, as it was announced earlier this week that Miami had extended the contract of Spoelstra. The teams of the extension have yet to be released, but it's believed to be for a year. That will be added to the reported 3-year contract that he received before last season, after he had been named the teams new Head Coach.

HEAT ADDING PLAYERS TO TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

As of now nothing has been confirmed, but it appears the Heat are going to add some players to their training camp roster. John Lucas III is a 6' point guard who went undrafted out of Oklahoma State is 2005. He spent two years playing for the Rockets, but after the 06-07 season he headed east to play in Italy, and since then he's spent time in the Spanish league as well as the NBA's D-League.

Lucas has been working out with fellow free agent Shavlik Randolph, and both are expected to receive contracts to join the Heat in training camp. Randolph, also undrafted in 05 (Duke), began his career in Philly. It was just beginning to get good when he broke his ankle during a late November practice. He spent one more year with Philly, then last year he signed a non-guaranteed contract with Portland. He did spend the season on their roster, but only played in 10 games and didn't do much to stand out.

Someone who worked out with the Heat a few weeks ago is also on the verge of returning for training camp. 6'9" power forward Andre Brown will compete with Shavlik Randolph for minutes behind Udonis Haslem. How much playing time and what kind of roles they are needed for will depend on whether Coach Spoelstra uses Michael Beasley as a power forward or a small forward. Brown is also a member of the undrafted club, coming out of DePaul in 2004.

All three will get non-guaranteed contracts, and its possible that none of them make the final roster, though unlikely. The Heat can carry up to 20 players on their roster until the regular season, at which time they must trim the roster down to 15.

These moves would leave the Heat's training camp roster looking like this:

Center- Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Magloire, Joel Anthony

Power Forward- Udonis Haslem, Michael Beasley, Shavlik Randolph, Andre Brown

Small Forward- James Jones, Yakhouba Diawara, Dorell Wright

Shooting Guard- Dwyane Wade, Daequan Cook, Quentin Richardson

Point Guard- Mario Chalmers, Chris Quinn, John Lucas III

That's 16 players, meaning should the Heat like what they see from everyone, only one player will have to be cut in time for Opening Night (Oct 28^th) against the Knicks. However, Pat Riley has said that its possible the Heat may end up carrying as few as the NBA minimum 13 players. Training camp begins in just 4 days on Tuesday the 29th.

I'd like to send out a thank you to everyone on this site for your patience during my recent health issues. Your kind words, comments and e-mails were amazing to read, and I fully appreciate everything. Thank you so much, it's refreshing to know what good people we have in our little online community.

Poll

How many games do you think the Heat will win this season?

60 or more

26 votes

55-60

34 votes

50-55

82 votes

45-50

117 votes

40-45

42 votes

35-40

10 votes

35 or less

13 votes

324 votes | Poll has closed

D-League Expansion Draft Tomorrow; RU Mock Draft Today

Jon L — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:15 -0000

The D-League rights of John Lucas III are available in tomorrow's expansion draft.

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In case you haven't heard, the D-League's Expansion Draft will be held tomorrow, September 2, at 2 p.m. ET. There are only two teams participating, the Maine Red Claws and the Springfield Armor (even though I didn't think the Armor were an expansion team, since they're just the new Anaheim Arsenal), and the list of players available can be found here. It's basically just the players from last year's Anaheim and Colorado rosters. The draft will be done snake-style, where the team with the first pick in the first round has the last pick in the second round, etc., which seems a bit silly with just two teams, but I'm not the one in charge here. The draft will last ten rounds, and Springfield won the coin toss so they're going first.

We thought it would be fun to run a mock draft, so Aisander and I drafted players we thought would be good for the D-League's two newest teams. He had Springfield, I had Maine. At least, he had Springfield until he stopped e-mailing me his picks. We limited our player list to only those who haven't already signed contracts in Europe or the NBA (except in a few instances I'll mention when we get to them) - even though the D-League teams are drafting a player's D-League rights, so for instance if Maine drafts Joe Dabbert he could join the team once the South Korean season ends or he doesn't feel like playing over there anymore. But, we thought this would be a little more interesting, and it also gives us a chance to comment in players who don't get a lot of mentions around here.

Check out the RU Expansion Mock Draft after the jump. All the player comments are mine except where noted.

Round 1

1. Springfield - James Mays, 6'8" F

If I'm Springfield (or any franchise for that matter), I want to make sure I'm getting a quality big man who scores efficiently and can rebound. Mays fits that bill perfectly. He was an absolute beast for the 14ers last year, averaging 19.0 points and just shy of 9.0 rebounds a game. He was one of the more dominant players in the D-League up until he was injured mid-season. And really, his ACL is the only thing that gives me pause. But if James Mays is healthy, then I'm taking him first. -- AD

2. Maine - Cedric Bozeman, 6'6" G/F

I had planned on drafting Mays, who went to Clemson, to try and get Maine's affiliate the Charlotte Bobcats to pay attention to the team even though we're so closely tied with the Celtics. But Bozeman's a good consolation prize. He's a versatile swingman who rebounds well for his position and can distribute the ball a little bit as well, so he's the Maine Red Claws' first pick.

Round 2

3. Maine - Josh Davis, 6'8" F

The versatility theme continues, plus Scott would have a fit if Davis fell any lower than this. Davis is a really solid frontcourt player who can shoot threes, defend, pass and rebound, and he even played some center in Colorado's fast-paced offense last year. With Bozeman and Davis on board, I'm liking the roster already.

4. Springfield - Kedrick Brown, 6'6" G/F

Well I was dying to pick Josh Davis, aka Scott Schroeder's man crush, but lo and behold you've snapped him up. So instead I'm going with a solid NBA-caliber swingman. Brown was originally drafted by the Boston Celtics, but has played the last two seasons with the Arsenal. He's been a solid player, averaging around 15 points and 6 boards a game. Brown is capable of scoring big numbers when he's hot, blowing up for over 30 a few times last season. He's a seasoned vet at this point in his career, which is something any new franchise/coach could use. -- AD

*It should be noted that Brown has signed a contract to play overseas this season, which I didn't realize until I was putting this post together. I'll leave him on Ais's roster as a penalty for his not finishing this thing. I also should tell you that Aisander was responsible for cutting out all of the players who had already signed elsewhere, so it's possible that he was trying to pull a fast one on me.

Round 3

5. Springfield - John Lucas III, 5'11" G

I was going to go with Eddie Gill here, but John Lucas really was solid off the bench for the 14ers last season, stepping it up when Gill was struggling. I like Lucas primarily because he's younger and a little bit quicker. As a point guard, he is a good, not great floor leader, who runs the offense smoothly and shot a blistering 45% from three last year. He's solid as a scoring and passing PG, averaging about 15 points and 4.5 assists last season. I also like Lucas because his assist-to-turnover ratio was 4:1, because hanging onto the ball is an important part of the game, no matter what Will Conroy might tell you. -- AD

6. Maine - Eddie Gill, 6'1" G

Lucas may be younger and quicker, but I like Gill to run the point for my team. It's true that he's had some stints with the New Jersey Nets, who the Armor are affiliated with this year, but I think first-year head coach Austin Ainge will appreciate having a savvy veteran running his offense and getting everyone in the right place. Gill sometimes settles for three-pointers a little too often, but he finished third in the D-League in assists last season both on a per-game and per-season basis, and there's the added bonus of him being a decent midseason call-up option for the Celtics should their search for a backup point guard prove fruitless.

Round 4

7. Maine - Marcus Campbell, 7'0" C

Marcus Campbell, 7'0" C - I guess someone has to draft a center, and Campbell's the best available. He was third in the D-League last year in rebounds per minute (just ahead of Kentrell Gransberry) and he's a decent shotblocker as well. He's 27, so this is probably as good as it gets for Campbell, and he doesn't get to the line quite as often as you'd like your big man to, but he'd give the Red Claws a solid inside game to go with their skilled perimeter players.

8. Springfield - Kentrell Gransberry, 6'9" F/C

Well it's official, the pickings are getting slightly slim. But I'll go ahead and take Gransberry, who is your typically undersized center with some weight issues. But there is some upside with Gransberry. If he can shed some weight and work on his footwork I think he's got a shot at being a decent bench rebounder/garbage scorer. He did not exactly light up the D-League last year, but he's a solid rotation player at this point. -- AD

Round 5

9. Springfield - Billy Thomas, 6'5" G

Thomas is a vet, and will give you some solid play as either a starter or off the bench. And it can never hurt to have a guy with NBA experience and a nice shooting touch. Thomas is not always a consistent scoring threat, but when he's on he can be a great asset to any team. I think he's a nice catch at this point in the draft. -- AD

10. Maine - Marcus Taylor, 6'3" G

Taylor was a high school All-American; that's how far back we have to go with some of the players left in the draft. Taylor played only three games with the Arsenal after signing with them in February, but he scored 28 points in those three games and had some decent per-minute numbers. Hopefully with some more playing time he can serve as a solid 2-guard.

Round 6

11. Maine - Ray Reed, 5'11" G

Reed was a combo guard at Cal State-Fullerton, and while he's been transitioning to more of a straight point guard that versatility may come in handy. He was also supposedly the Titans' best backcourt defender (according to the team's website, which is why I say "supposedly"), which is nice, though with his size I don't expect a ton of that in the D-League. Reed led the Arsenal in assists on a per-minute basis and doesn't turn the ball over too much, so I think he'll be a nice bench player for my Red Claws team. I have to say, I'm really starting to like this team I'm putting together.

12. Springfield - Malick Badiane, 6'10 C

This is where Ais dropped out. Badiane still has a lot of work to do on his game, but I'm not sold on Gransberry as a player who can give a lot of minutes at this point so Springfield needs another center to share time. Hopefully Badiane can continue to develop his athleticism (he'll occasionally spring for double-digit rebounds) into consistent production.

Round 7

13. Springfield - Noel Felix, 6'8" F

In case Badiane doesn't work out or Gransberry can't stay out of foul trouble, Noel Felix should step in as a solid interior defender. He's not a great rebounder, but he can block some shots and his scoring has improved over the last two seasons.

14. Maine - Jamar Brown, 6'9" F

Jamar Brown was the third-string center for the 14ers last season (or maybe fourth-string, depending on whether you call Josh Davis the backup), and he has as much propensity for foul trouble as Gransberry does, but Brown also grabbed more rebounds per-minute last season than guys like Erik Daniels or Jasper Johnson, and the fact that I can draft that kind of rebounding ability this late in the draft shows how much I'm dominating this thing.

Round 8

15. Maine - Andre Patterson, 6'8" F

I was trying to decide between Patterson and Ronald Allen, since the Red Claws as I've drafted them could use someone to fill in at small forward, and their stats are pretty similar. Eerily similar, in fact, at least on a per-minute basis. Patterson has a better field goal shooting percentage, though, so I'll take him. It looks like I win this round as well.

16. Springfield - Geno Carlisle, 6'3" G

Springfield needs a bench scorer and a backup shooting guard, so this is an easy pick. Carlisle doesn't do much besides shoot, and while his .375 three-point shooting percentage is good but not great, it's still pretty decent for the eighth round of an expansion draft.

Round 9

17. Springfield - Ronald Allen, 6'9" F

While I made it seem like taking Patterson over Allen is a big victory, I should reiterate that they're very similar numbers-wise, and Allen got more starts last year. He's inconsistent, but still solid enough to be a contributor for this Springfield team.

18. Maine - Dabo Kabov, 6'5" F

I have no idea what kind of player Kabov is. He played in 10 games for the Arsenal last year and never made more than one field goal, and shot only five total free throws. If there's an upside he also never turned the ball over more than once in a game. But, it was around this time that I realized there weren't enough players to fill out ten rounds, so while Kabov doesn't look like a contributor at this point, I'm sure that Austin Ainge's legendary teaching skills can mold him into a useful player.

Round 10

19. Maine - Dominique Coleman, 6'3" G

Yep, I went ahead and did it. Like I said, I needed to find a few more players, and Ais drafted a guy headed overseas a lot earlier. So the Red Claws will draft Coleman's rights as a longshot in hopes that he doesn't take a liking to Belgium and comes on back to the US. My crush on Coleman's game is well-documented at this point, but in short he can rebound, shoot threes, distribute the ball as needed, pick up some steals, and he made RU's All-Defensive team last year to boot.

20. Springfield - Kirk Walters, 6'11" C

Walters is a center who doesn't rebound particularly well, but Springfield needed another backup big and this is the last pick. Walters has decent size for a center, so despite the fact that he wasn't much of a rebounder at the University of Arizona either, perhaps there's some potential in there that just needs to be tapped into.

Let's review the draft:

Aisander Arsenal	Jon Red Claws
James Mays	Cedric Bozeman
Kedrick Brown	Josh Davis
John Lucas III	Eddie Gill
Kentrell Gransberry	Marcus Campbell
Billy Thomas	Marcus Taylor
Malick Badiane	Ray Reed
Noel Felix	Jamar Brown
Geno Carlisle	Andre Patterson
Ronald Allen	Dabo Kabov
Kirk Walters	Dominique Coleman

I think it's pretty clear who "won" this draft (hint: me). The Arsenal ended up with some talented players like Mays and Lucas and Badiane, but even without Dominique Coleman, I think the Red Claws ended up with a really solid roster, one that would have a chance at seriously competing in the Eastern conference. But we'll see how the real teams do tomorrow.

Q&A: Ridiculous Upside (Part 2 of 3)

Atma Brother ONE — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:15:10 -0000

If you thought we were ridiculous in Part 1 wait till you see what we've got here.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): In relative terms how good are the teams in the NBDL? Where would they finish in the NCAA tourney?

Ridiculous Scott (Ridiculous Upside): North Carolina was pretty good this season, and I'm not sure the best D-League team could beat them. Not in terms of talent, as there were more talented teams, but it's difficult to get any sort of roster continuity in the D-League, as they only carry 10 players, and thus, if a player isn't doing what he's supposed to be doing, he's going to get cut (this includes injuries as well). If a D-League team was together for three seasons, they'd be head and shoulders above any NCAA Team. The Colorado 14ers, this season's D-League champions, started Josh Davis (52 NBA games), Eddie Gill (187 NBA games) and Billy Thomas (53 NBA games), bringing John Lucas (60 NBA games) and Nuggets Rookie Sonny Weems off the bench. In January, Sean Williams (Nets) and Cheikh Samb were also assigned to Colorado. I would have no qualms taking them all the way in my bracket, though that doesn't mean much, as my wallet would tell you after this seasons Madness that happened in March.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): In your estimation is it better to send a young player who is riding the pine in the Big Leagues (ahem, Patrick O'Bryant) down to the Minors for "development" or keep him practicing with his NBA team? What can young NBA players gain from playing in the NBDL that they can't from practicing with their respective teams?

Ridiculous Scott (Ridiculous Upside): In my opinion, I'd prefer players to play in the D-League rather than riding the pine, and not just so the millions of GSoMer's start to read RU. Getting in NBA practices is great, but toward mid-season, NBA teams aren't regularly practicing, leading to the bench warmers basically turning into donut getters. In the D-League, players can gain confidence and, more importantly, real live playing time. Guys can learn a lot in practice, but executing in game situations is a whole 'nother ball game.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): Which D-League players in particular should NBA junkies be following closely? Who are we foolishly sleeping on right now? More specifically the biggest weaknesses on the 2008-2009 Golden State Warriors were passing and defense. Are there any hidden gems in the NBDL that can help the Dubs out in these areas?

Ridiculous Scott (Ridiculous Upside): Actually, the Warriors apparently nearly called-up Othyus Jeffers, who was, in our opinion, the best defensive player in the D-League this season (number 4 here). Other great defenders include, at the SF, Brent Petway (probably best remembered for winning the NCAA dunk contest), F/C Kurt Looby (rookie out of Iowa that averaged 2.5 blocks in 25 minutes per game), SF Renaldo Major (former GSW call-up) and PG Dontell Jefferson, if he isn't re-signed by Charlotte. As far as passing, options include Walker Russell or Jared Jordan. Both are short point guards, which I've learned you guys aren't interested in judging from the comments on my mock draft, but that's about all the D-League has to offer in terms of pure point guards.

**********

Can you believe we still have some more ridiculous in the pipeline? Don't forget to stop on by Ridiculous Upside for all your 2k9 NBA Draft needs.

Poll

Would Patrick O'Bryant be a much better player if the Warriors didn't send him down the D-League several times?

YES: The Notorious P.O.B. would be a much better player if he wasn't sent down

65 votes

NO: He's a bust, moving on...

365 votes

430 votes | Poll has closed

The 2008-2009 Colorado 14ers: A Look Back

Jon L — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:34:55 -0000

Drafting Trey Gilder was just one reason why the 14ers won the championship.

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Now that they've won the championship, I thought I'd take a look back at Colorado's season. Consider it an internet version of those Sports Illustrated videos that come out for whomever wins the Super Bowl. We'll start with the draft, then go month-to-month, highlighting key performances that helped the 14ers achieve victory.

The Draft

Colorado's draft was...top-heavy. Their first pick (second overall) was James Mays, a 6-9 forward from Clemson who had originally been drafteed by the Denver Nuggets. Mays started 12 games for the 14ers, averaging just under 19 points a game on 46 percent shooting, with eight and a half rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 33 and a half minutes. He tore his ACL in early January, though, and was out for the rest of the year. They followed that up with Trey Gilder in the second round and Dominique Coleman in the fourth, but those are really their only other draftees of note. Unless you're a big fan of Marlon Palmer, John Gilchrist or David Godbold, I suppose. Of course, almost none of the players available in, say, the ninth round of the D-League draft are good bets to be on a roster at the end of the season. Still, players they passed over at one point or another include Kurt Looby, Othyus Jeffers and David Noel.

Retrospective Draft Grade: B+; It's hard to argue with picking up two starters and a guy who probably would've been a sixth man on any other team in the first four rounds. Coleman and Gilder in particular had key roles in Colorado's championship run, which is discussed after the jump.

November/December

The 14ers got off to a good start, going 8-4 in the first month (plus three days) of the season. During that stretch they played Albuquerque in a home and home, Rio Grande Valley twice and Tulsa three times. Standout performances from this period include Mays, who had 27 points on 19 shots, 11 rebounds and six steals against Albuquerque and 37 points on 19 shots and 11 rebounds against RGV; Dominique Coleman, who in the second game had 20 points on 14 shots, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals; and Eddie Gill, who had 23 points on 12 shots, 10 assists, seven rebounds and two blocks against Sioux Falls Mays tore his ACL eight and a half minutes into the December 30 game against Fort Wayne, and wouldn't play again this season.

January

A new year, same result; the 14ers went 8-4 again in January. They spent a fair amount of time in Texas, facing the Toros three times (twice in Austin) and Rio Grande Valley three more times, all in Hidalgo. Notable performances include Cheik Samb, with 21 points on 12 shots, 10 rebounds and four blocks against Tulsa; forward/center Sean Williams, who had 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks and six assists against Austin; and Gill again with 20 points on six shots (he had a lot of free throws), 14 assists and six rebounds against Rio Grande Valley.

February

Colorado only played seven games in February, going 4-3 while playing Austin two more times. Vernon Hamilton saw some starts here, and while he provided some solid rebounding, he's not a very efficient scorer. Notable 14ers performances included Billy Thomas, who scored 24 points on 13 shots against Bakersfield and 30 points on 18 shots with six rebounds, seven assists and seven steals against Iowa; and Trey Gilder, who had 23 points on 15 shots and nine rebounds against Los Angeles and 19 points on 12 shots against Sioux Falls, all off the bench.

March

This is where Colorado really started to heat up, going 11-2 over the month of March. Austin was the league and division leader when the month started, but not when it ended. The 14ers played almost everyone in the league this month, playing 11 different teams. Notable player performances included Dominique Coleman, who scored 24 points on 18 shots with nine rebounds and eight assists against Dakota; Josh Davis, who had 29 points on 16 shots with seven rebounds against Austin; and Eddie Gill again, who had 12 points on seven shots and 12 assists against Idaho.

April (regular season)

Colorado finished the regular season 3-3 in April, including getting blown out in each of the last two games. Trey Gilder had a fantastic month, with 32 points on 19 shots and 12 rebounds and 26 points on 14 shots and 10 rebounds in back to back games against Albuquerque, and 25 points on 20 shots and 10 rebounds against Reno. Other standout games included Eddie Gill (he seems to have one big game a month) with 23 points on 15 shots, seven assists and only one turnover against Tulsa; and John Lucas III, who had 22 points on 13 shots and eight assists in the second Albuquerque game.

Playoffs

Colorado went undefeated in the playoffs (they pretty much had to), defeating Erie, Austin and Utah twice in the finals. They ran away with the game against the BayHawks, led by Josh Davis (33 points on 15 shots, eight rebounds and two blocks) and Dominique Coleman (19 points on 13 shots, 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals). Austin gave them a tougher time, but the 14ers won out behind solid performances by Eddie Gill (23 points on 13 shots and seven assists) and Sonny Weems off the bench (27 points). Colorado began the finals thinking they would cruise to a title, racking up 78 points in the first half of the first game against Utah. The Flash came back to make a game of it, even though the 14ers ultimately won that game, and kept it close in the second game until Colorado pulled away to win the title. Game one honors go to Billy Thomas (27 points on 18 shots and seven rebounds), Josh Davis (25 points on 15 shots and eight rebounds) and Sonny Weems (28 points on 13 shots). Game two standouts were Joe Dabbert (21 points on 10-10 shooting, seven rebounds and five blocks), Davis again (21 points on 7-10 shooting and seven rebounds) and Weems again (25 points, seven assists).

That wraps up Colorado's season. They were a contender pretty much from the start, and Eddie Gill provided some steady performances as players like James Mays, Sean Williams and Cheik Samb came and went. The younger players like Gilder, Weems and Coleman started stepping up as the season went along, giving the 14ers the best bench in the league and helping them win the 2009 D-League championship.

Colorado Wins D-League Championship 123-104

Jon L — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:00:14 -0000

Sonny Weems was a big reason why the Colorado 14ers won the D-League championship.

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We have a champion.

It really seemed like I was going to devote a lot of this recap to the referees (and I'll get to them), but Colorado picked up where they left off in the first half of Wednesday's game, running away with this one in the fourth quarter and winning the D-League Championship. This game was close through three thanks to lopsided foul calls in Utah's favor and a bunch of Colorado turnovers, but then in the final period the 14ers went on runs of 13 and 10 points to put this one out of reach. There was a complaint in the comments yesterday that I'm not providing you all with enough wrestling references, so this recap will be full of them.

The player who had the best game? Of all people, it was probably Joe Dabbert. Dabbert didn't miss a single shot and finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five blocks before fouling out with four and a half minutes left in the game. Because of his field goal percentage, Dabbert gets a Mr. Perfect video.

Other solid players for the 14ers were Sonny Weems, who had led all players in both scoring and assists with 25 and 7, and the assists are what impress me. Regular point Eddie Gill was struggling for large parts of this game, but Weems helped distribute the ball a little bit and got the other guys going, even throwing an alley-oop to Dabbert at one point. I said "solid" so of course Josh Davis is next, with 21 points and seven rebounds (and two key three pointers in the third quarter), Trey Gilder had 14 points and seven rebounds, and John Lucas III had 17 points and five assists, and was really the one who put the offense back on track in the fourth.

Utah was led by JR Giddens, who had another strong double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Kevin Kruger, who made his first eight shots on his way to 18 points and five assists. For them, I think the Rockers will do nicely here, with Giddens in the Shawn Michaels long-term star role and Kruger as Marty Jannetty.

The rest of the Flash played anywhere from fairly solid to pretty bad. Morris Almond and Ronald Dupree were fine, I guess, with 18 and 14 points each, but on the brink of losing the championship I would've liked to see more. Andre Ingram hit a few outside shots that kept Colorado on its heels. After that, though, it starts getting rough. Road Warriors, these guys weren't.

A quarter by quarter breakdown when you hit the jump.

First Quarter

Colorado started this game in almost entirely the opposite way that they ended it. There were a lot of lazy passes on their part, a lot of balls that had to be saved from going out of bounds and loose balls that weren't picked up cleanly. Weems and Gilder provided a spark off the bench, though Weems probably looked to shoot a little too often. The 14ers shot 1-6 on three pointers for the quarter. On Utah's side, Mo Almond had eight of his 18 points in the first and Giddens had four rebounds.

Second Quarter

This is where Dabbert and, on the other side Kruger, started going to work. Weems started shooting a little better, but Utah's Gavin Grant went on a nice little run to end the quarter, scoring five points in the last minute and a half. There was a stretch where fewer fouls were called that allowed the 14ers to start going on a run, but Brent Barnaky put a stop to that (and it really was all Barnaky last night. There was nary a peep from Magic Marat Kogut), and by the end of the half the Flash had taken 22 foul shots to Colorado's six.

Third Quarter

Colorado's three point shooting improved a lot after halftime, and Josh Davis hit a couple of key threes to keep Colorado in the game. Kruger continued his hot shooting, though Utah went three minutes of game time without scoring a point. There was also a lot of falling down in the third quarter - Kentrell "Grrrr" Gransberry, Josh Davis, Mo Almond, you name it.

Fourth Quarter

Colorado's run probably started with John Lucas III hitting a pair of jump shots a few minutes into the quarter, and his presence really seemed to energize the team. For whatever reason, Gill just wasn't getting it done tonight. Neither was Dominique Coleman, who in addition to getting burned by Giddens ended up with six points on 3-15 shooting. In fact, you could say Coleman was a disaster. Anyway, after Lucas's shots, Dabbert got back into the action with a dunk on Brian Jackson and then an alley-oop from Weems. The 14ers made five straight shots at one point, and ended the game - and their championship run - in the style they're most comfortable with.

Thanks again to all of the commenters who stopped by our playoff Open Source Live Blogs, they really were a lot of fun. Posting may be light this weekend as Scott and I figure out our off-season plans for the site, and because I don't plan on being around the computer much on my birthday. But rest assured, we'll have all kinds of good stuff in the months leading up to the NBA Draft and Summer League's.