Dunleavy's not soft for a SF. He's soft for a PF (which he was at times at Duke). I don't know many SFs in the nation who would have looked tough playing out of position at PF. Not to mention at Duke, where he was asked to do many things that arent' considered to be physically "tough".
Dunleavy's pretty soft for a SF. Both Morris and Battier played PF in the ACC and were very tough on D and in the interior. Dunleavy was never even close to either of their levels. Morris is a SF, and Battier has been playing SG hasn't he? As for Dunleavy's ball handling skills, I personally think they're very overrated. Battier had similar skills to the point of being just about equal. And Battier was never touted as having great ball handling. He'd drive on players slower and bigger than he was, and as soon as you'd put a faster more athletic player on him, his dribble penetration was shut off like a light. Make no mistake, he's a very talented player and does a lot of things well. I just don't buy into the hype that he's the second comming of Lary Bird.
Although I like Dunleavy, the addition of his name into the draft makes this draft very deep, meaning that a very very good player will be around number 5. If Dejuan Wagner falls to the number 5 spot, would the Clips, who have been rumored to be in love with him, trade their number 8 and 12 picks for the number 5? Then at number 8 we draft Caron Butler who fills a need at the SF postion, either draft a big man(Marcus or Stuadamire) at 12 or trade down for a guy like Gadzuric, and send the number 15 to Memphis. In this scenario the Rockets fill their two most pressing needs, while fulfilling their obligation to Memphis, the only question is do the Clippers like Wagner that much? Now back to Gadzuric for a minute, he's a guy who will be around late in the first round, would you trade the number 15 for a late first rounder and a future round 1 pick for Gadzuric. Niether Marcus or Stuadamire really intrigues, but Gadzuric on the other hand is a seven footer with a great work ethic and is also very athletic. Could he be the 5 who can run with Francis, Mobes and Griff?
If Dunleavy is there at #5, I'D TAKE HIM IN A HEARTBEAT! Overall, I think he is a very good fit for the Rockets. We need shooters pure and simple. We won alot of games when Walt Williams would come out of his prolonged shooting slumps and get in a good grove. Does anybody remember how well we finished the last 15 games of the season two years ago when Walt's shooting caught fire. IMO, when Walt Williams played well, we were unbeatable. The problem was always that Walt would only play well about 25 out of 82 games. I sometimes wonder if Rudy T. and Co are still licking their wounds about not being able to trade up for Mike Miller a couple of years back. I remember not wanting Mike Miller at the time, boy was I wrong on that one! I consider it a lesson learned. I'd be very glad to get a tall point-forward type like Dunleavy who can really shoot the ball well with the 5th pick. I'm not very concerned about Dunleavy's defense (since we have TMo for matchups/substitutions), but I do have a few questions him. Perhaps someone who watched Dunleavy play more than I did could reply. For a good shooter, his free throw percentage at 68.1% isn't really great (has he got the same virus as Jason Williams at Duke?). For a supposedly good passer, why did he only have 2.1 assists per game last season? How well does he get up and down the floor on the fast break? And lastly, can he finish shots around the rim with both hands like Drew Gooden? Don't get me wrong, if he is there at #5, I'd be thrilled to see him in a Rockets uniform (hopefully not the PJs), but I'd love to hear an informed opinion on these questions.
Funny you should say that. Our team runs so much smoother when someone is stroking it from outside. Your right Walt was a key a couple of years ago when the Rockets had the nice run to finish the year. MoT had his stroke going last year when the Rockets made their big push to the play offs. While there were times when someone got hot this year no one had the consistant outside stroke that Walt had two years ago or that MoT had last year.
From George Rodecker: Mike Dunleavy Sr., seems to bring the most complete package of any college player today. The junior edition can handle the ball, take his man off the dribble and has perhaps the sweetest 3-point stroke in North America. Dunleavy is a solid open-floor player and finisher, a solid defender and a terrific passer. He also goes on to say that with another 10lbs that he would be the likely #1 pick next year. Here is a link: http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/ce/feature/0,1518,4781448_54,00.html From Andy Katz: Mike Dunleavy entered the draft. He can alter anyone from No. 3 to No. 8. He's got the ball skills, the shooting touch and the board work on the offensive glass to be an impact player once he adds bulk to his body. Here is the link: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j38053465&w=2014772 From Frank Burlison: Jerry West, who recently became the Grizzlies' president, is enamored with Dunleavy and would be expected to choose him with the second or third pick. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game this past season. He shot .378 (88-for-233) on 3-pointers. I think Jerry West is a pretty good evaluator of talent. It was also said that Dunleavy would be projected at big guard but this article was the only one that I have seen with that projection. Here is the link: http://foxsports.lycos.com/content/view?contentId=479504 From the NBADraft.net: Uncanny basketball smarts. Plays the game with great passion. One of the best shooters in college. Has a chance to be a special player on the NBA level because of his intelligence, desire, and abilities. Was a point guard in high school before growing from a 6-5 senior to his current 6-9 height. Still has superb ball handling and passing abilities. "The second coming of Larry Bird". Has that uncanny court sense of a coaches son. Amazing fundamentals and approach to the game. Crafty at getting his shot off. Excellent stroke. Very good athleticism. A wolf in sheep's clothing. Here is the link: http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/mikedunleavy.htm I think Dunleavy's play is a lot more similar to Larry Bird than the play of Dirk Nowitzki. I am not saying the Mike will be as good or better than Dirk but he is a much better passer than Dirk and looks like a better defender. I think drafting Dunleavy this year is just as safe as drafting Battier was last year. There is just very little doubt about their ability to perform at a high level in the NBA. I am not saying that Mike will turn out to be a hall of fame player but I do think he will be a all star caliber player and baring a dominant center I think a SF with Dunleavy's skills would be exactly what the Rockets need. He has the outside stroke to stretch defenses for Steve and Cat and he has the driving ability to keep defenders honest. While he may not be Shane Battier when it comes to defense he is certainly no slouch either. Drafting Dunleavy gives us a young player that has spent three years in one of the best college programs in the country facing the best competition that college ball had to offer, he also gives us someone that has been on a championship team. Dunleavy could come in and make an immediate impact with out having the words "project" or "needs time to develop" attached to his name. Most of the sources that I have read also regard Mike Dunleavy as next years #1 draft pick if he chooses to stay in college. If Dunleavy is still on the board when we draft we must draft him.
1 GOLDEN STATE - MING 2 CHICAGO - WILLIAMS 3 MEMPHIS - WAGNER or DUNLEAVY 4 DENVER - GOODEN or WAGNER 5 HOUSTON - DUNLEAVY or BUTLER However, trading down is being considered...
Excellent point (although a portion of the success should also be attributed to Hakeem). I will confess to not seeing MD Jr this season but let's supposed I had a crystal ball and told you Dunleavy in his first NBA season would play 29 mpg, average 12 ppg on 44% shooting (41% from the arc), grab 4 rebs/g & dish nearly 2 apg while commiting just a fraction over one TO/g. Would that be satisfactory? Well those are the numbers put up by Mike Miller in his rookie season and I think Jr is capable of that and maybe a lot more.
Doc, you just hit my biggest fear. What if Rudy & Co once again SHOCK THE NBA SCOUTS with their draft day decisions (not griffin, that was very un-Rudy like). There is WAY TO MUCH TALENT avaiable with our first pick to trade down. I think Dunleavy, Woods or Butler (worse case) would be on the board. To make things worse we give up our #15 to memphis, trade down for Marcus and all we have next year is TAYLOR & MARCUS, eating twinkies at the end of the bench. I have no problem with Dunleavy. I think odom has the edge since the Rockets desparately need somebody FRESH to run the offense. But nobody can deny what Dunleavy brings to the table. He might never be Larry Bird, but he would make opposing teams think twice about double/triple teaming our guards. BUT IN ORDER FOR THIS TO WORK, our guards have to pass the ball.
Does anyone else have a feeling that Rudy talked to Dunleavy Sr. and told him that they would draft his son at number 5 if he came out? Doc Rocket: It seems like Memphis is a little over loaded with SF type players in Gasol and Battier for them to go for Dunleavy. A team that I think might get him would be Denver.
barbourdg-that might be the thing. This draft has a top 10 with a LOT of talent, and not much of a difference in talent levels between 5 and say 8. Hypothetically, say the Rockets liked Dunleavy, Butler, AND Woods, and would be happy with any of them, and all 3 are there at 5 and you've got a team at 8 or so really looking to pick someone and is offering you something extra (pick, talent, taking a bad contract), wouldn't you do so? It's interesting Doc doesn't have Woods in his top 5. Here's my dream world scenario: Rockets get the #1 pick via the lottery, draft Ming. Because of the addition of Dunleavy in the draft, Butler slips to about #10. Rockets trade #15+KT for #10 and get Butler. Happy story. BTW-Maybe we can have Mo Taylor, draft Chris Marcus at #15, and then draft Marcus Taylor in the 2nd round. "Marcus, Taylor, Marcus Taylor, Francis, Mobley on the floor"
beautiful synopsis NIKE. but, since we're dreaming, do you think we can get them to take the kool-aid man instead?
I was a big Gooden guy earlier; but, I think he might be a tweener. I think the elite 4's (and there seems to be alot, lol) are gonna have their way with Drew. Brand, Duncan, KG, Malone, Dirk, Wallace, etc. Question is, is Drew quick enough to play the 3?
I don't know if Dunleavy can do everything Dirk does. Dirk is more athletic and a better rebounder, imo.
When I first heard that Dunleavy was coming out, the first thing that popped in my mind, "Oh God, the Rockets will surely pick him if he is still there." To that I said, "No!" There are better players out there mainly Caron Butler or Woods. If one of them is still available and we draft Dunleavy instead, I am going to be highly pissed!
Dunleavy is the sure thing... Woods hasn't proved anything. He hasn't played against any high level competition. Look at Dunleavy, he played in the ACC, which some consider the best conference. Dunleavy consistently played well against high level college competition. I don't know what his averages were exactly but somewhere in the neighborhood of 17, 6, 5. What has Q. Woods done to prove that he can play?
From everything that I've heard, he is NOT NBA ready at this time. Granted, who is REALLY ready but they say he's still got a long way to go fundamentally. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they said his shot was not good at all right now. I could be mistaken about that but I think I'm correct.
