NBA Mock Draft: Top five picks
BY KEVIN BERTRAM, Couchsideshow.com contributor
1. Charlotte Bobcats: Anthony Davis (PF — Kentucky — 19 years old)
Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis was named the Associated Press' Player of the Year this season.
Almost everyone has Davis as the consensus No. 1 overall pick this year, and there’s a good reason for that. He’s a defensive juggernaut who has a NBA-ready frame and brilliant athleticism. The AP Player of the Year is averaging 14.3 points per game, while hauling down 10 rebounds. However, these are by far his most ordinary stats: what comes next defines Davis as a special player.
First, he’s blocking 4.6 shots per game. When Davis is on the floor, Kentucky’s opponents watch their field goal percentages plummet: 14 percent of their total shots are blocked by the Wildcats when he’s patrolling the paint. He compares favorably in this regard to recent renowned, current NBA shot blockers when they were in college, as seen here in blocks / per 40 minutes:
- Anthony Davis, Kentucky (2010-2011): 5.85
- Emeka Okafor, Conneticut (2002-2003): 5.71
- Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut (2007-2008): 5.64 1
- Greg Oden, Ohio State (2006-2007): 4.84
- Tyrus Thomas, LSU (2005-2006): 4.63 (more…)
Lakers overcome preseason debacle with solid trades at deadline
BY MATTHEW VINSKO, Couchsideshow.com contributor
The Los Angeles Lakers acquired point guard Ramon Sessions from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday afternoon. Photo by: Bridget DS / Flickr
December, 2011 was a time to rejoice for basketball fans. After 161 painstaking days, basketball was set to commence on Christmas Day with a plethora of games set to kick off the NBA season in style. What wasn’t to like?
But December wasn’t pleasant for Lakers’ fans. No, I’m not talking about the opening day loss to the Bulls in a nail biter; I’m actually one of the few people proud of the Lakers for putting up that much of a fight against the reigning MVP without Andrew Bynum. What made opening day sour for many a Lakers’ fan was David Stern’s controversial overruling of a three-team deal that would have ultimately landed Chris Paul, arguably the best pure point guard in the league, in the same backcourt as ‘The Black Mamba,’ Kobe Bryant.
That was OK, though. For the most part, the same team that won back-to-back titles was intact, albeit two years older.
But it wasn’t OK for Lamar Odom, who was shipped to the Dallas Mavericks for a first round pick in order to clear up salary cap. Odom, apparently the sensitive type, couldn’t stand the thought of being included in the trade that would have sent Paul to L.A. Trading the reigning Sixth Man of the Year for a draft pick can be excused considering the Lakers’ salary cap issues with regards the luxury tax. Financial woes aside, the 2012 draft is already being considered one of the deeper drafts in recent history, so no harm, no foul, right? (more…)
