The year? 2003 The starting 3? Dunleavy! The GM - RT??? The 'new' coach - Dunleavy! I have heard nothing about that but it just kinda jumped around in my brain area!! To quote my Vulcan friend...there are always possibilities!
i keep hearing the comparison to BIRD...let's not forget.. larry lengend in his senior season averaged 28.6 points, 14.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals. while leading his team to an undefeat reg. season before losing to magic in NCAA finals....
You are so right. There will never be another Bird. I just happen to think that Dunleavy is the closest thing to Bird that we have seen since Bird and their games are very similar.
Just want to remind everyone not to assume the Rockets will get the 5th pick in the draft. Not because of the top three possiiblity, but because there is a very good shot we end up at #6, possibly even #7. Every year it seems some team that does not belong there makes it - two years ago the 7th seed got the top pick (New Jersey). Last year Atlanta (5th seed, like us) got in there at #2. I just get the feeling some may be setting themselves up for disappointment with the assumption we get #5 as a lock if we're not lucky in the lottery.
I'm not a big fan of Mike Dunleavy, but seeing as how I've never seen Woods play and think that Caron Butler would not be utilized correctly in our offense, he's the best option at small forward. The really attractive thing about drafting him is that his transition to the pros would be accelerated by the fact that our offense is predicated on the exact same principles as that of Duke's team (ie: penetrate and kick). The only difference is- Francis+Mobley> Williams+Duhon. All of this is moot though, since I sold my soul to the devil, and Yao Ming will be a Rocket.
If we haven't been lucky int eh lottery for a few or more years, chances are, we may even end up 4th this year, right? Last 3 or 4 years, we've either stayed put or dropped a few spots. Statistics say, every year that we don't improve, the next year, chances are better than we'll jump UP. Right?
Crash, thanks for the excellent links. You also raise a good point about MoT having it going. I remember alot of games where MoT gave us a really quick 10 points in the first quarter. Contrast that with this season where we often struggled to get our offense on track in the first quarter.
First of all, I'm not a racist and will explain why. I never will be a fan of placing a 6'9 1/2 white guy at the 3 postion in the NBA. That's straight up asking for it! Night in and night out he will have to face BIG GUARDS and watch them blow past him, not being able to handle anyones first step. BUT, if anyone (a white Guy) is capable of doing such a task, it's Dunleavy's baby boy. The kid is sick and can play 4 postions on the court. He is smart, quick, can shoot the freakn lights out and plays good defense. He would be a great addition to the Roxs and I personal would be thrill to have him.
Expanding on this..it appears some of teams with top picks may not have much interest in drafting Woods, because he isn't ready enough yet. From this article a few months back: http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/tigers_mens_basketball/article/0,1426,MCA_652_979433,00.html Grizzlies director of player personnel Tony Barone, on the other hand, will be the first to recommend Woods goes to the U of M, regardless of his draft status. "He's not ready to play in the NBA," said Barone, who has seen Woods on four occasions. "By signing with Memphis, he's got an advantage because John, having been an NBA coach, can certainly give him more guidance about the NBA game than most college coaches. "I think he's a wonderful talent," Barone said. "But he needs to go to college because he's not ready to play in the NBA." But, as last June indicated, you don't have to be ready to play in the NBA to be drafted. Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry weren't ready. And neither were Tyson Chandler, DeSegana Diop or Kedrick Brown.
Sane - it is not statistically possible for the Rockets to get the 4th pick. If the Rockets do not receive one of the top 3 picks, they will get # 5 if and only if no teams with better records get into the top 3. The Rockets drop to #6 if one team does, 7th if two teams do and 8th if all three top picks are teams with records which are currently better than the Rockets (records currently 6 through 13 before the drawing). This is what Clutch was trying to say about not being disappointed if we drop to 6 or 7. It is a possibility we need to consider when "dreaming about the future".
Clippers not Dunleavy's dream team -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services Mike Dunleavy apparently is not a fan of the Los Angeles Clippers. ESPN's David Aldridge reported Sunday that if the Clippers receive one of the top picks in the June 26 NBA draft, Dunleavy will pull his name from consideration and return to Duke for his senior season. The order of the draft lottery will be determined May 19. Dunleavy has until June 19 to withdraw from the draft. The Clippers will receive only six chances out of 1,000 to win the draft lottery based on their 39-43 record last season. Eleven teams will enter the lottery draw with more "chances." Hmm.....
That's kind of random. I wonder what it means.... is there some sort of dad vs. Gentry thing that I don't know about? Is he afraid of a contract dispute 5 years down the road? Hell, there uniforms are cool, they have a new stadium and they're one of the best teams in the lottery. What gives? If it were something about the merits of their offense, it seems as if Aldridge would have mentioned the Rockets being on Dunleavey's cra... oh I get it. Billy Crystal. That's it, huh Doc.
Come to think of it, Chicago and GS would both trade down for a apackage involving Dunleavy, wouldn't they? He fits nicely on both teams. Fortson was a stupid signing on GS's part though. Also, the fact that Dunleavy doesn't want to play for the Clipps may be implying he doesn't want to go athletic? Maybe they made a mistake in reporting, and what he meant was, he's hoping to get picked earlier?
How a guy who is the 2nd or 3rd best player on his college team gets compared to Bird is beyond me. Dunleavy isn't even a college Glen Rice or Walt Williams--let alone Larry Bird. Dunleavy is at best an average college defender. He isn't strong and isn't quick--even by college standards. He has good length for his positition (a 3), an excellent understanding of the game, good fundamentals, and a good but not great shot (he is not the caliber shooter of say Rice or Battier). IMO you would likely majorly regret using a top 5 pick in this draft on him.
ESPN insider had a story that Chicago Tribune is lobbying the Bulls to pass on both Williams & Wang and select Dunleavy.
