Archive for the ‘Basketball Season’ Category
In the United States, college basketball has gained quite a following nationwide ever since it began in the early 20th century. Now, with the immense popularity of the NBA and its superstars, many students are looking to get noticed in college basketball recruiting, to play in college basketball teams and even perhaps in the NBA.
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed in 1946, at which the organization of the top professional teams began to gain greater attention. This in turn led to the increased popularity of the professional level of the game. The first professional game was played in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada on November 1, 1946. The teams were the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers. After three seasons, the BAA became premier top professional basketball league in the USA.
The NBA supports the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). It began in 1997, with a rather tenuous opening season. However, due to several prominent players including Sheryl Swoopes and Sue Bird contributed to the league’s popularity and increased level of competition. Other women’s professional leagues in the United States (such as the American Basketball League, for instance), have not been able to compete with the popularity of the WNBA.
In college basketball recruiting, it is necessary for a student needs to be noticed by to prospective coaches. Many students, however, underestimate this chance and tend to blow their chances at a scholarship from the very beginning. The Internet has proven to be a useful venue for both students in college basketball and coaches involved in the process. There are many websites and online forums wherein students and scouts can come together and interact. D1Athletes is an online community wherein high school athletes and coaches alike can share and exchange information they need during college basketball recruiting. D1Athletes offers them a place to build an online presence and gain important public exposure.
People have enjoyed playing the game of basketball since it was first introduced in the early twentieth century. Indeed, in the United States, college basketball has gained quite a following nationwide. Now, with the immense popularity of the NBA and its superstars, many students are looking to get noticed in college basketball recruiting, to play in college teams and even perhaps in the NBA.
In college basketball, the NCAA Men’s Division Basketball Championship is perhaps the most popular tournament of all. A total of 65 teams qualify for the NCAA championship, which is held in March and early April. Of those teams, thirty-one earn automatic bids by winning in their respective conferences. The Ivy League, on the other hand, does not hold a post-season tournament, and so the regular-season conference winner becomes the representative in the NCAA championship. The other thirty-four teams are granted determined by the NCAA Selection Committee, a board specifically appointed by the NCAA. This committee responsible for the seeding of all teams, and where they are to be placed in the bracket.
There are four regions in the tournament, and the teams in each region are seeded 1-16. The committee is tasked to make every region as comparable to the others as possible. The seeding results in the first team playing the last, the 2nd-ranked team playing the 15th, and so on. This arrangement ensures that the higher-seeded team faces their lower-ranked counterpart.
The Internet has proven to be a useful venue for both students in college basketball and coaches involved in the process of college basketball recruiting. There are many websites and online forums wherein students and scouts can come together and interact. D1Athletes is an online community wherein high school athletes and coaches alike can share and exchange information they need during college basketball recruiting. D1Athletes offers them a place to build an online presence and gain important public exposure
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in America. The rise of online betting has led to an increased interest in factoring odds for this sport. You have two main options when looking at basketball odds for betting. You can focus on professional basketball, or the NBA. Your other option is to focus on college basketball, or the NCAA. You could bet on both if you’re comfortable enough, but how much time can you devote to it?
There are several things to consider when looking at basketball odds for betting. You need to look at how the teams are doing in general. How many wins and losses does each team have? You should also look at how they’ve performed in past seasons. If they haven’t been consistent, what are the reasons for that? You also need to consider the status of the players. If a star player is injured, do you still feel confident enough in the rest of the team to place a bet?
When trying to ascertain the bet, you’ll also need to figure out which type of bet you want to place. For a point spread, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses. However, you’ll have to beat the spread in order to win. If you don’t want to bet on those odds, then try a win or lose bet. With this type, you’ll be betting on the outcome of the game. Both types involve analyzing the teams and players in order to decide where to place your bet.
Championship games for this sport are highly popular for betting. There are so many different rounds to go through before the actual championship game. Therefore, you have several chances to place bets. You can bet on quarter finals, semi finals, and finals. You can bet on the championship game itself. The odds for betting are important to take into account when betting on championship games. These typically have higher payouts than regular season games.
Basketball has certain advantages over other sports when it comes to betting. Fewer players and no weather delays or cancellations make the odds a bit easier to calculate. Basketball is also a higher scoring game, unlike hockey or baseball. But you still need to consider injuries and other factors which could affect the outcome of the game while considering your bet.
Whether you love the NBA, NCAA, or both, make sure you take these tips into consideration. You should already be familiar with your favorite teams and players. However, you’ll have to pay more attention to their opponents as well. It might take some time to get used to figuring out basketball odds for betting, but eventually your winnings will increase.
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There can be no overstating the importance of basketball practice drills that teach the fundamental skills of the game. Every player at every level needs to continually work on developing his basic skills – NBA greats still shoot hundreds of foul shots a day, dribble through cones and run basketball passing drills. That’s why they’re great.
No matter how complex your plays are, or how strategically-minded your players are, to get the ball into position for someone to score requires good basic skills. And to do that consistently requires good practice drills that place importance on the right areas.
Effective passing drills should do several things:
1. Stress Good Fundamentals. In the first couple of practices of the pre-season, many of your passing drills will focus solely on one type of pass – how to throw a chest pass, or an overhead pass, for example. From the beginning, teach proper form and enforce it. And then, as you introduce more complex passing drills, be sure to continue to stress good passing fundamentals – proper form needs to be enforced throughout all drills, at all times. When game time arrives, you want your players automatically using proper fundamentals – they can’t be out on the court trying to remember how to pass.
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2. Teach a Variety of Passes. Be sure players know how to use a variety of passes – chest pass, bounce pass, overhead pass, push pass – since different situations will require different passes carried out. In your basketball passing drills, this could mean a simple drill run several times, each time focusing on a different style of passing; or one drill that requires several types of passes to be used in some pre-determined combination; or a drill that places the player in a situation and he must react appropriately, choosing to use the most effective pass for the situation
3. Simulate game situations. At the beginning of the pre-season, your passing drills will be stand alone – two players passing the ball back and forth, working on form. But that only lasts for a couple of practices. Once the skills are learned well enough (which should only take two or three practices) basketball passing drills need to become more “game-like” – with players passing to players on the run, passing with defense creating pressure, making decisions and executing passes instantly under game-like pressure. Because that’s how they will respond in the game.
All basketball passing drills should emphasize best form and proper concentration, to build muscle memory so that, when the players are in the game, good mechanics come second-nature. In a game, there will be many situations in which players will not be able to use proper form – they will need to adapt their passing style to suit the situation. But without a base of good form, they will have little control and great difficulty passing effectively.
We can’t expect perfect passing form in the game all the time – too many variables that we can’t control, and players require some freedom to improvise if they are going to be effective. But we can enforce good basketball passing techniques in practice. The better their form is in practice, the better it will transfer to the game.
You’ll find more of my thoughts on how to coach passing as well as some basketball passing drills on this page: Basketball Passing Drills from my Better Basketball Coaching website.
Talent alone will not make you a great player. Work ethics is a huge part of it. Working on your game will get you the edge you need to dominate. However, during the season, the priority is the team, and you won’t have that much time to work on your individual game. This is why the off-season is so important. This is the time of the year when you can work on aspects of your game that need improvement such as conditioning, strength, left hand, athleticism… Summer work outs also boost your confidence because you will force yourself to beat the guy who did not work as hard as you did.
You need to find a way to spend three or four hours a day in the gym.
Take some time off!
A season can be very demanding for your body and your mind. Take ten days off to relax, and think about your season. After this break, your tendinitis or soar muscle will be gone.
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Offseason Workout Program – Plan the work
Pick two aspect of your game you had problems with over the season (shooting, conditioning, athleticism, left hand…). Since the summer is a short period, I recommend to choose the two most problematic part of your games and work relentlessly on them.
Main Focus
Core Strength: Core strength is the secret to basketball athleticism. Many abds and crunches.
Shooting: Work on your mechanics daily by doing form shooting one hand and two hand form shooting one day, and 500 free throws the next day (shoot them after you are done working on everything else. Shoot tired) Shoot game conditions shots. Start under the basket, curl around the screen (chair) and take the shot. GO GAME SPEED!
Ball-Handling
The game has evolved and even big men should work on handling skills There are many different ball handling drills so pick and choose freely
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
Defense:
It is difficult to work on defense by yourself. You can however work on foot speed and positioning.
Foot work, fundamentals
Work on your one on one arsenal daily. Lay up, Power lay up, pro hops, pull jumpers ect. When you are done, play one on one with someone and only use two dribbles. If you lose the game, run a suicide (that will make it competitive!)
HAVE FUN
Who can really say what those 10 are? How do you determine the best? Are they the most dramatic? The most historically significant? Those packed with the biggest stars?
It all depends on your criteria. Top 10 lists are as subjective as figure-skating scores. Anyway, taking into account all the above categories, here’s one man’s point of view:
1. 1957, NORTH CAROLINA 54, KANSAS 53 (3 OTs)
Three overtimes and Wilt Chamberlain. That alone should be enough to put this game at the top of any list, but there’s more.
North Carolina had played another triple-overtime game the night before, beating Michigan State in the national semifinals. Next came Kansas and the unstoppable Chamberlain.
UNC was made up of New York kids, brought to Chapel Hill by coach Frank McGuire when New York City schools de-emphasized the sport in the wake of point-shaving scandals.
With no player over 6′5″, McGuire had 5′11″ Tommy Kearns jump center for the opening tap. Unbeaten NC wrapped three players and a zone around Chamberlain, who got just 13 shots, and led most of the way. But Lennie Rosenbluth, the Tar Heels’ best and biggest player, fouled out with 1:45 left in regulation and Chamberlain sparked a Kansas comeback.
Each team scored just two points in the first overtime and none in the second. (How does a team with Chamberlain score just two points in 10 crucial minutes?) Finally, with three seconds left in the third overtime, N.C.’s Joe Quigg hit two free throws that decided the outcome.
2. 1966, TEXAS WESTERN 72, KENTUCKY 65
A relatively dull and uneventful game on the surface, no title matchup has ever been as important.
Until that season, no college team had consistently started five black players. The in-vogue racist thinking was that teams needed at least one white player to provide calm and intellect.
But Texas Western’s Don Haskins, a pool-hustling pragmatist, thought that was bunk and, despite the objections of his own college president, started five African-Americans. Kentucky, meanwhile, coached by scowling Adolph Rupp, had never had a black player and wouldn’t for another few years, even after the Deep South schools in the Southeastern Conference integrated.
This perfect little morality tale, with both a compelling villain and hero, changed collegiate sports. A year later, there were no more segregated leagues and very few all-white teams. By midway through the next decade, the changes the game had sparked, would change the face of college basketball.
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3. 1985, VILLANOVA 66, GEORGETOWN 64
Probably the title-game’s biggest upset.
Villanova had 10 regular-season losses, was an eighth seed, and opened up the tourney on its opponent’s home court.
Georgetown, meanwhile, was the overall No. 1 seed, the defending champion and making its third title-game appearance in Patrick Ewing’s four seasons.
The Hoyas’ intimidating in-your-face defense had held opponents to 39 percent shooting. But in the last title game without a shot clock or a three-point line, Villanova played miraculously.
Rollie Massimino’s Wildcats shot 79 percent, made nine of 10 in the second half and defeated John Thompson’s Hoyas, still the lowest seed ever to win the tournament.
4. 2008, KANSAS 75, MEMPHIS 68 (OT)
Any time John Calipari loses a game he should have won—no, make that any time John Calipari loses—is a great day for college basketball.
And the way Memphis lost made this matchup of No. 1 seeds memorable.
Calipari’s Tigers led Kansas by nine with just 2:12 to play, but Memphis’ Achilles heel was its free-throw shooting and four late misses from the line allowed Kansas to fight back. The Jayhawks’ Mario Chalmers buried a three with two seconds remaining to force OT. Memphis was done at that point. Kansas went on to a 75-68 victory.
5. 1979, MICHIGAN STATE 75, INDIANA STATE 64
Another example where the historical significance and the identities of its key players superseded the game itself.
State’s Larry Bird and Michigan State’s Magic Johnson were the two best players in college basketball, as they soon would be in the NBA. Their matchup intrigued America, even those who had never seen an NCAA Tournament game before. The stars starred, the ratings soared and March Madness was born.
6. 1983, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 54, HOUSTON 52
The last-second victory by sixth-seeded North Carolina State has grown even more dramatic in the years since their charismatic coach Jim Valvano died of cancer at age 47 ten years later.
Phi Slamma Jamma Houston, with Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, was a big favorite. But the lack of a shot clock allowed the Wolpack to hang with the Cougars. It was tied at 52-52 with seconds left when N.C. State’s Derek Whittenburg threw up a 30-footer.
The shot was woefully short but teammate Lorenzo Charles caught it and put the ball in as the buzzer sounded. Valvano’s reaction—running back and forth as he searched for someone to embrace—contributed to its legend.
7. 1982, NORTH CAROLINA 63, GEORGETOWN 62
A year before, Georgetown, with freshman center Patrick Ewing, seemed headed for the title everyone had virtually conceded it.
Carolina, whose widely admired coach, Dean Smith, had a team filled with future NBA stars—James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and a freshman named Michael Jordan—was a huge sentimental favorite.
Jordan hit what proved to be the game-winner, a jumper from the corner that put NC up, 63-62, with 15 seconds left. Georgetown didn’t call a timeout, but with seven seconds remaining Hoyas guard Freddie Brown inexplicably passed the ball to Worthy, the bizarre turnover clinching Smith’s first title and igniting Jordan’s legend.
8. 1963 LOYOLA OF CHICAGO 60, CINCINNATI 58 (OT)
Cincinnati, which had failed to win a title during the spectacular career of Oscar Robertson, was going for a third straight NCAA title since his graduation. Little Loyola trailed by as many 15 points in the second half, but guard Jerry Harkness hit a jumper with four seconds left to force overtime.
With the score knotted at 58-58, and seconds remaining in the extra session, Harkness’ shot was tipped. But, with everyone else standing flat-footed, Loyola’s Jerry Rouse re-directed it into the basket as time expired.
Loyola shot 27 percent for the game, but counterbalanced that by turning the ball over only three times.
9. 1944, UTAH 44, DARTMOUTH 42 (OT)
Utah had been invited to both the NCAA and NIT. Difficult as it is to fathom today, the latter was the bigger event then and the Utes opted to play in it. They were beaten in the first round by Rupp’s Kentucky, but before they could return home from New York, fate intervened.
An automobile accident had injured several Arkansas starters and the Razorbacks were forced to withdraw from the NCAA. The Utes were re-invited and this time accepted. They made it to the title game against Dartmouth, where the two teams traded the lead six times in the final two minutes. It went to overtime where, with three seconds remaining, a long one-hander by Herb Wilkinson gave Utah a 44-42 win and the championship.
10. 1987, INDIANA 74, SYRACUSE 73
Indiana’s Keith Smart, a junior-college transfer, scored 12 of the Hoosiers’ final 15 points including the game-winner with five seconds remaining to give Bobby Knight his third and final National Championship.
The 25-year-old, on his way to becoming one of the best basketball players in history, is about to become one of the wealthiest sportsman in the world as he decides which team he will be playing for in the NBA next season. Long before contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers expired recently, James had become the subject of one of the biggest transfer sagas in sporting history.
While Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Real Madrid took roughly a year to complete, a possible James move has been the subject of intense speculation for two years in the United States. Ever since it became clear the forward would become a free agent, observers have been guessing as to where LeBron will be playing when the new season begins in November. James can officially sign for a new team from this weekend at the start of what has become known as “The Summer of LeBron”.
Phil Taylor, senior writer of weekly US magazine Sports Illustrated, says LeBron essentially has the whole league on hold. “Maybe, in the end, it will have been worth it to go through all the speculating, analysing and downright guessing. But we won’t know that until LeBron James finally signs on someone’s dotted line,” he wrote recently. “For everyone’s sake, let’s hope they don’t drag it out. We ask only one thing of LeBron: Sign somewhere. Anywhere. Soon.” Like Ronaldo, who reportedly makes £11m per season as one of the best paid players in world football, LeBron can expect to earn an extremely lucrative contract. It is estimated that he will earn somewhere in the region of m (£10.6m) per season, although a recent Wall Street Journal article suggests that if each NBA team were not operating under a salary cap, LeBron could expect to earn approximately m (£28.5m) each year. Forbes Magazine has also estimated that the player earns m (£18m) annually in endorsements off the court. Perhaps it is unsurprising that James is so widely coveted. In the past season he averaged almost 30 points – the average for his position, small forward, is roughly 11. He is also a charismatic leader on the court, although he has been criticised for being a selfish player on occasions. Everyone has an opinion on which team James might end up starring for, be it sports fans, the media or celebrities appearing on chat shows. Even President Barack Obama has commented that LeBron “would fit in pretty well” with his hometown team the Chicago Bulls. American sports websites are full of LeBron news. Sports Illustrated have even started the ‘LeBron James Watch’ , which is purely dedicated to news regarding the two time NBA Most Valuable Player. The Twitter trend lebron ” is in overdrive. Cities are running campaigns to entice James to their teams. Unfortunately, as with all transfer sagas, fans somewhere are going to end up hurting. On this occasion, it might well be fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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James, an Ohio native, was taken as the top pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Unsurprisingly, Cavs fans took him to their hearts immediately as he looked likely to end the city’s failure to win a trophy in any major sport since 1964. US television network ESPN has labelled Cleveland as its “most tortured sports city”. Perhaps it is unsurprising that Austin Briggs, a Cleveland resident, is running a website dedicated to persuading the six-time NBA All-Star to commit to winning a championship with the Cavs. “LeBron is key to the future of Ohio. He brings economic and social value as a great role model and is an unbelievable athlete,” Briggs told BBC Sport. “What makes LeBron different is his dedication and caring relationship with his hometown of Akron. “It seemed like everyone in the media was counting on LeBron leaving the Cavs when the season finished, so I decided to come up with a campaign that would show the world how much LeBron is really needed at home.” But Briggs has several major campaigns working against his. In New York , Mayor Michael Bloomberg has starred as part of an online advertisement campaign asking LeBron to “write the next chapter in NYC basketball history”. In Chicago , fans have created a website asking for donations to help their campaign to bring The Chosen One to the Bulls. Ultimately, only one man knows where he will be playing next season, and that is James himself.
NBA or National Basketball Association is the most known basketball league in the whole world. If you are a fan, for sure you do not want to miss any game, especially the finals. As a fan, you are always watching and very eagerly to know the result of every game, wanting to know if your favorite team won and proceed to the finals.
Games in the finals like LA Lakers versus Boston Celtics in the recent 2010 NBA championship will surely catch your attention. Every steal, heavy guarding, high jumps, rebounds, fouls, three point shots, dunks, and exhibition shots made your heart pound and increased your excitement. Surely, you do not want to miss any of the 7 final games.
However, what if you could not watch the game for some reason and missed all the thrill and action? Moreover, what if the lights went off and you cannot watch the last quarter of the game? Then the next day, you would hear your friends or workmates talk about the high lights of the game and you are very disappointed that you did not see those exciting moments.
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Those kinds of situations are very common and something you can never control. It will only leave you unsatisfied and more eager to find out about the game that you had missed. Good thing, there are new trends that you can try and that can make you cope with the games that you have missed. There are sites that give you the opportunity to watch basketball online.
To watch basketball online is a privilege that you can get, all you need is a home computer and of course, the internet. This is what technology can offer you in this modern time. Imagine that this can make you watch your missed favorite show or basketball without waiting for the replay schedules at your cable TV.
There are sites that have live video streaming or even free video files of all the games in the previous championship and seasons that you have not seen before. Not only can you watch basketball online, you can also find updates on your favorite basketball player and team. It also gives you the chance to see some videos that has compilations of best shots of the season by certain players and teams.
Surely, technology made a lot of breakthrough that can make a lot of difference in our lives, especially internet. Online activities are very in demand, it gives us the opportunity to search and learn new things, find jobs and apply for it, gives information, and now it offers us to watch basketball online without any hassles.
To all the NBA fans out there, do not waste your time waiting for the replay and be left out by the crowd. Trying new stuff and trends can give us ease and can give what we are looking for. Start browsing the internet and be updated with all the happenings in the famous basketball world.
Grab this chance and enjoy the best that life can give!
From Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, to Michael Jordan, to Kobe Bryant to Lebron James, these amazing players have kept us glued to the seats to watch their game play. NBA had risen to fame from the 1980′s and this coming season is one of the most anticipated seasons. This is primarily due to the controversy free agents transfers. Hence, this season will be watched by many people. However, do not just watch the game, spend some effort to gain more from the game. That is to win from betting on basketball games.
The best way to make money from basketball betting is to avoid making the most common mistakes. Here are some common mistakes that you should avoid in order to be a successful basketball bettor.
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1. Betting irrationally
It meant that you are not betting objectively. For example, games that involved your favourite team, will you be willing to bet against them?
2. Place bets on all the matches
It is not advisable for you to place bets on all the matches. The best way is to specialize. Research thoroughly on a few teams and understand their playing style so that you can predict the outcome of the games. Then, wager only on matches involving these teams.
3. Double your bet whenever you lose or win
This is a very common mistake made. If you want consistent winning, you should follow strictly to your bankroll and not doubling your bet to bang on the winning streaks or to recover your money from a losing one.
Therefore, please avoid these 3 common mistakes so that you will be able to win consistently in NBA basketball betting.
The 2010-2011 NBA season is here – Whether you’re looking to enhance a particular stat and be dominant in that category, or looking to shore up a weakness; here are some fantasy basketball sleeper picks for you to help compliment your team’s foundation. Here are 10 sleepers in no particular order that you can take a flyer on in all formats
1. Dorell Wright SG/SF (GSW) – Wright has shown flashes of fantasy value while stuck in the Miami Heat doghouse. Former coach Pat Riley was never big on rookies, limiting Wright’s ability to show off his full potential. Now in position to start on a fantasy-friendly Warriors team, Wright should post around 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1.5 stl, 1 three, almost 1 blk with respectable shooting %s.
2. Ty Lawson PG (DEN) – The North Carolina PG has impressed in his rookie campaign. With starting PG Billups coming off a long summer and aging fast, Lawson could see 30+ minutes a night split between both guard positions. Lawson averaged 17 pts/6 ast/3 reb with a steal and almost a 3-pointer during eight starts last year.
3. JaVale McGee C (WAS) – A 3rd year player positioned to start in an all-of-the-sudden exciting Wizards squad with ROY candidate John Wall, McGee should provide an excellent source of blocks and boards late in the draft. Look for McGee to finish in the top 5 in blocks and average around 8 boards per game.
4. Francisco Garcia SG/SF (SAC) – As a starter, Garcia has averaged 13.7 pts, 4.3 reb, 2.6 ast, 1.5 stl and 1.3 three’s over his career. Aside from ROY Tyreke Evans & incoming rookie DeMarcus Cousins, there really isn’t too much talent on the Sacramento roster. Look for Garcia to start and post career numbers, barring injury.
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5. Anderson Varejao PF/C (CLE) – He’s not going to impress on the offensive end, but what he lacks in that department he makes up for with hustle. Now without a clear star on the Cavs, look for them to try various ways to pull out wins. Varejao should be a steady play all season and can be compared to Louis Scola’s breakout campaign with the Rockets in ‘09/’10. Only difference will be less points, more steals & blocks.
6. Ramon Sessions PG (CLE) – Sessions will play for his 3rd team in his 4 year career. He definitely has the ability to put up PG-2 worthy stats if he is the starter. Sessions has put up his best numbers as a pro on bad teams making the best of the situation (14 pts/8 ast/1.5 stl as a starter). Look for him to take advantage and compete for the starting job alongside Mo Williams.
7. Paul George SG/SF (IND) – Drafted as a possible franchise player to replace Danny Granger, this underrated wing player out of Fresno State will get every opportunity to produce immediately. Low shooting %’s and high turnovers will be a downside, as with most rookies. If/when the injury riddled Granger goes down, look for George to show off his true NBA potential being “the man” in the starting lineup. He still may eventually start at the SG, but will begin coming off the bench.
8. Hakim Warrick PF (PHO) – Has been pretty much a disappointment thus far in his career. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel here. Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns have made the best out of their roster in previous seasons. Just look at former boarder line busts turned fantasy studs: Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, and most recently Channing Frye. This will be Warrick’s last shot at being given 20+ minutes per night.
9. Jordan Crawford SG (ATL) – Another rookie that isn’t a lottery pick with a chance to make an immediate impact. As the Hawks just signed their soul away for the next 6 years (Joe Johnson), they will be desperately needing talent that is currently on their roster (since they can no longer afford any big trades/free agents). The other Hawks Crawford (Jamal) is becoming disgruntled about his contract situation. If this progresses into a standoff, look for the rookie to step into a perfect situation.
10. Ronnie Brewer SG (CHI) – Positioned to start and share the backcourt with All-Star Derrick Rose, Brewer should put up similar stats when he was starting in Utah alongside Deron Williams. Brewer is an excellent late-round source of steals. He has never been a 3-point threat, so we’ll see if he can hang onto his starting gig. My guess is yes strictly because of his defensive skills.