I've been intrigued by the lesser-heralded Lopez for a few months now, and like his style, attitude and potential. The more I think about it, the more he seems like a good fit for the Rockets. Then I checked out draftexpress.com and nbadraft.net today and noticed both their mock drafts have him going to the Rockets at 25. Is he a realistic and good pick for the Rockets? While the best player available strategy is good for the first half of the draft, by the time you get to the end of the first round teams sometimes tend to look at plugging holes they have or in areas where they lack depth. You would think the Rockets would either go for a big man backup centre type such as a Hibbert or Lopez or a wing player like Douglas-Roberts or Batum. Lopez I feel fits because he's more versatile than Hibbert, brings energy and defensive tenacity to the team. You're probably thinking, 'we need more offense and skill, we already have enough defense and tenacity on this team!', but really the 25th pick is probably not the best way of adding offensive skill to a team, trades and free agency is the better way to go. Besides, with Yao, Scola, and Landry, the Rocks already have some decent offense down low, its perimeter scoring that is more of an issue. Plus, if Mutombo stays, Lopez could be brought up slowly, apprenticing under him and filling in if and when Yao goes down with his injury. This would give him time to develop his offensive game and make a gradual transition to a regular rotation player. If Mutombo retires, then the importance of a backup big man increases significantly, as you do not want to use up cap space to sign a backup centre. Lopez would be terrific insurance here, and his Varejao like energetic defensive presence would be good for any team, whether as a 8th man or a 12th man. Azim da Dream
Now THAT'S a misleading title if ever I soar one. I thought he was a fan or something. Bah, this doesn't even deserve a relevant response anymore.
This may suck, but I also like Loren Woods coming out of college so I wouldn't mind seeing what he can do next year.
LOL! My stomach hurts I laughed so hard. Good one. On a serious note, I think Robin Lopez might end up as good a player as Brook Lopez. I think he is underrated and Brook is WAY overrated.
I watched Stanford a lot, and I completely agree with that assessment. Brook is a far more polished offensive player, but I think both are too slow and mechanical to be low post forces offensively in the NBA. In the areas they can make a big impact -- low post defense, strength, shot blocking, lateral quickness and weak side offensive rebounding -- Robin is the better player. Brook definitely has the edge with footwork and his diversity of post moves, but due to speed issues I think that'll be somewhat neutralized. I think Robin has a really intriguing combination of strength and athleticism (for someone of his build) and I think he'd be a good pick at 25 too.
I only saw about 6 Stanford games but you explain it exactly the way I see it. This is why I don't see Brook being very successful in the NBA. Since Robin seems to be more athletic, I think he will be just as good at the next level.
You do realize that there will be many cheesy Batman and Robin headlines in Rockets game stories if this guy plays a significant role for the Rockets, right?
This exemplifies my thoughts on him. No to Robin Lopez or Brook Lopez for that matter. We need athleticism, in the vain of Brandon Rush or someone similar.
