I cringe everytime I see Shawn Marion and Josh Childress shoot the ball, but if it goes in, it goes in. What is interesting is both shoot decently (not sharp shooters but can hit the outside shot a fair amount) but also they do a lot of other things....multi-faceted.
Also, look at the bloodlines. If the Rockets were a track team, Carney's the man. Since the Rockets are a once and future basketball team, I go with Ronnie Brewer's genes.
I'm not sure yet how to vote here ... I am intrigued by Brewer, but right now I slightly lean towards Carney. I think Carney has the athleticism and can hit the three. Any time someone questions your motor, that's a big red flag ... but this almost reminds me of Robert Horry. On some nights he will be invisible, but on a lot of nights he could be a starter with a lot of upside and potentially the team's third scorer. What worries me about Brewer is that his potential seems limited compared to Carney. Is he just a defender off the bench for a few years? I admit my knowledge is somewhat limited on Brewer though -- I've only watched a few games, some of his highlights and some of what they're saying about him. The perfect guy to me that would fit the Rockets' needs is a 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-9 swingman who is very active defensively and can drill the open three-pointer. I realize those guys don't grow on trees. I personally like Brewer better for the motor and defense while Carney has the better shot -- both look like they will be fine athletically. To me, Carney just looks like he has more upside, so I'm slightly more in his corner. But then, this could be me utilizing Eddie Griffin-over-Richard Jefferson type of thinking.
Clutch, I agree that Carney has a lot of "potential/upside." No question his athleticism is off the charts. And it is very enticing! In fact it's as enticing as the thought last summer of adding that same athleticism of Stromile Swift to our front court! Unfortunately Swift's low motor/BB IQ just about negated any athleticism that was a positive for him. I have to say, the low motor factor really scares me with Carney. One more thing, it will be interesting to see what Morey thinks about the two. We already know Morey will be looking towards the future with this pick which could mean Careny-like upside. But we also know Morey will use his statisitical analysis to predict good results and a guy like Brewer can fill up the stat sheet with assists and steals.
Josh Childress was a sharp shooter this season. 55% FG and 49% 3pt. He either led the league in adjusted percentage or at least made top 3 in the NBA.
That's because Childress was judicious in his shot attempts. Surprisingly, even though Childress is wirey thin, he gets a lot of his points in the paint. He is pretty agressive. He gets rebound put backs and drives to the basket. He doesnt take a high volume of outside shots or crazy shots. His 3pt shooting has gotten better, but also the supporting cast has gotten better which provides him with more open 3pt looks. If you remember, I brought up the idea of the Rockets trading #8 for Childress a while back. I actually think Josh Childress and Ronnie Brewer could be very similar players. I think Brewer is a bit more athletic and stronger. And I think you could get away with Brewer as a part time PF in a 'quick lineup' whereas I dont think you could do that with Childress.
Yeah, Childress does get the shot to go. I was surprised when I started studying his statistics about how efficient he is. The one questionmark I have on him is he has been playing in Atlanta where teams didn't really care if he got off that funny looking shot because they were whipping up on Atl. When you watch his mechanics, it seems to me that he takes a day and a half to get that shot up. If he were playing for us with San Antonio, Dallas, and Phoenix scrambling at him, I wonder if he would be as efficient. Still not convinced he'd be the dead eye shooter we are looking for. But he would definitely be an upgrade over anything we have now. I like that kid. He's a smart baller.
I like neither to be honest.....I would rather have Reddick (47 % FG) if none of the top players slip (players clutch mentions in article). I would even take Sheldon Williams over Carney or Brewer and look to move one of our PF's.
I think despite the overwhelming posts in favor of brewer, what i see in these two players right now are exactly the same. carney may be a lil more athletic and a better shooter and brewer is the more "polished" player of the two. but i really think it's their environment now that determines which one will be the better pick. i think of them two as two identical balls of clay. which one will get molded into a nice cup or which one will end up a piece of crap is all determined by how the team as a whole works with them and playing opportunity.
That is interesting, but it seems to be the exact opposite of what i've read at draftexpress........these are the kinds of things that drive a fan nuts when trying to decide who they'd prefer for their favourite team.
I wouldn't listen too much to the sport analyst for about.com. This is what the same guy wrote about Dwight Howard a couple seasons back. Also said his "realistic comparison" was Clifford Robinson. Reading this guys analysis of Howard, you wouldn't ever think he would be 2nd leading rebounder in the league in his 2nd year.
Yeah, I was looking for info on Brewer a few weeks ago and came across that about.com breakdown. The guy seems to be going against EVERYTHING I've read about Brewer on EVERY other site. I doubt this guy magically knows something more than anyone else does.
Of course nobody expected that Howard was going to bulk up over the summer and be the second coming of Moses Malone. But you're right about the Cliff Robinson comparison. That was patently absurd from the beginning. Howard always had athleticism and size that Cliffy could only dream of.
I would take Carney simply because I can't think of any player that has been a bust when they are the best athlete in the draft. Everyone said that Andre Iguadala would be a bust. He is doing great. Jason Richardson was the best athelete. Corey Maggette was also a great athelete. Even Marvin Williams came on at the end of last year. Usually the best athelete is taken in the first few picks so they are a lock to be good/great NBA players but this year its different we seriously have an opportunity to get our hands on the best athelete in the draft. No doubt you take Carney. He can even shoot which is a plus.
FYI: Everyone expected Howard to put on bulk because of his enormous frame. He was wider than KG with similar athleticism and muscle mass.
Swift was a huge mistake because the Rox couldn't have possibly done their homework in selecting him, he has got one skill he can jump, I never had the opportunity to watch him for an extended stretch but when he joined the Rox you could see he had so many holes in his game. We wasted an MLE and a season in picking up SS and we can't afford to do it again with a valuable resource like a lottery pick. The Rox brass better get it right.
There's a difference between bulking up, and putting on what appeared to be 25-30 pounds of muscle over the summer. Because he went into that draft process with a pretty put together body for a high schooler (great for a 18 year old, but not sculpted like some of these pro athletes), and started the regular season looking like Karl Malone. I don't think it's just my imagination because I recall it being widely remarked at the time.
I remember remarking that the reason Dwight Howard wouldn't have an immediate impact unlike Amare and Lebron was because he didn't have the body yet, based on the pre-draft stuff I had seen. Like you said, he then started the season looking like Karl Malone. Definitely fishy.
