Danny Granger: -One of the best scorers in the game. Continues to improve and with better teammates around him, he should only get better. An all-star, making the USA team should help him a lot especially with the confidence level which is always needed. -Strengths: Gets one third of his offense in spot up opportunities where he can make a play. Gets a significant number of touches in transition as well. Very consistent shooting stroke. Capable of hitting off balance shots with a hand in his face. Shoots a very good percentage from three point range. Good shooter off the dribble as well. Prefers to get to the rim though. Handles the ball reasonably well for a player his size. Solid passer as well. Will makes some bad passes sometimes. Hard to stop in one-on-one situations. Good offensive rebounder. Gets to the line at a very high rate and shoots an impressive percentage. Needs to work on finishing at the rim with contact since he draws so much of it. Very versatile and talented player. Darren Collison: -Averaged 13 ppg and 6 assists on 27 minutes of play. -Strengths: Smooth, heady point who is one of the quickest guards in college basketball ... Has extremely efficient numbers both shooting from all places on the court as well as decision making, running the team ... Has a high basketball I.Q. displaying excellent passing ability (averaged just under 2/1 T:O ratio his senior year) ... Collison has proven to be a true leader at the point guard position having led his team to three straight final four appearances before his senior year ... Uses his lightning speed to blow by defenders to get to the basket ... Excellent on the ball defender, his quick hands and long arms really cause trouble for opponents (over 1.5 steals per game for his career) ... Has a great handle with the ball, and rarely makes bad decisions, and has shown that he can run a team ... Has developed a solid runner that he utilizes to cut off drives before getting in too deep against long athletic post players … Has improved his shooting ability over his college years at UCLA by shooting just under 40% from 3, and over 50% from inside the arc this past season ... Has been a proven winner from high school all the way through college, finds a way to get the job done. Lance Stephenson: -Had a tremendous time at the summer league. Was really efficient and seemed like he can play the PG position. I think he is the biggest steal in this draft in the 2nd round. -Strengths: Nineteen year old freshman with an NBA-ready body ... At 6'5 210, has a rare combination of power and quickness ... Completely dominated the New York PSAL, almost single handedly leading Lincoln HS to four titles (Owns the all time scoring record in the State of New York) ... Was often the biggest and strongest guy on the court, and took advantage of it, routinely dismantling opponents using brute force ... Relentless attacker of the basket, seeking out contact and getting to the free throw stripe where he converts at a high % ... Excellent penetrator with a quick first step ... Utilizes change of pace dribbles, cross-overs and spin moves to get into the lane ... Able to slither his way in between small creases ... Superior ball handler with a flare for the dramatic (good or bad) ... Good court vision. Aesthetically pleasing shooting stroke ... Supreme accuracy on pull up J's, especially when dribbling to his left ... "Easy" three point range. Has shown flashes of lock down on the ball defense with his strength and 6'10 wingspan ... Should be an instant fast break running the point at Cincinnati with his rebounding ability ... "Born Ready" has been hyped since day 1 at Lincoln, playing under tremendous pressure and scrutiny every night, even appearing in a documentary about him. Paul George: -Had a great summer league as well. Showed he can play some serious defense setting the record for most steals. His shot wasn't falling but he showed different ways to score which is always good. -Strengths: Paul has some very appealing aspects to his game that could translate nicely to the next level ... a 6'8 small forward with a long wingspan and unlimited NBA range, he has a quick release and does not need much room to let it fly ... His athleticism and ability to run the floor make him dynamic in transition, resulting in big time dunks that can spark his team ... He attempted exactly 132 free throws in both his freshman and sophomore years, however he hit 28 more his sophomore year (a 70% to 91% jump)... Impressive vision and passing skills, which is not usually the case for a perimeter forward (3 assists per game) ... Rebounds well for a small forward at over 7 per game ... Defensively his athleticism contributes to over 2 steals and almost a block per game, illustrating his ability to anticipate and make a play on the ball. Roy Hibbert: -A pretty solid center. He also continues to improve and with great size, he shows some pretty good skill as well. -Strengths: Center with great size and strength ... Has soft hands, excellent touch on his shot ... Strong rebounder ... Very good free throw shooter, (around 80%) which is especially important for a center ... Post moves are developing well ... Smart player, has a good understanding of his role and what to do on the court ... Strong character guy ... Hard worker, has shown great improvement in his skill level, body and conditioning in his time at Georgetown ... Has transformed himself into a legitimate prospect ... More athletic than he appears ... His quickness in decision making has improved ... Body strength and agility seems to still be developing, his upside is very intriguing considering how much he improved in the past year ... Good vision and passing ability ... Calm demeanor, never gets out of control or loses his cool ... Has the size to block shots inside without jumping. Brandon Rush: -A really good role player if he can find out what he does best in this league. A good defender and a good shooter as well. -Strengths: Good size for a SG in the league at 66 210 lbs; also equipped with very long arms, measuring in with a 6'11 wingspan. Blessed with exceptional athleticism, runs the floor well and gets above the rim with ease; at his best in the open court. For the second year in a row Rush has led the Jayhawks in scoring at 13.8 ppg. Rush also collected 5.6 rpg, good for second on a very good rebounding Kansas team. Plays under control on offense, rarely ever forces the issue when the ball is in his hands, which has served the young Jayhawk team well as a steadying influence, evidenced by his 45% shooting mark. Gets good arc under his shot, shows a nice, fluid release. Excellent long-range shooter, shooting 43% from three his sophomore year, proving that his excellent shooting numbers from his freshmen campaign were no fluke. Excellent man defender, aided by his long arms and developed body. Defended the opposition's best player night in and night out; guarding Kevin Durant as well as anybody in their matchups. An excellent teammate who plays a solid all around game
darren collison is going to explode even more onto the scene next year. he already is the pacers' best player.
are you kidding me. I agree with you that he will have a good season but pacers best player is danny granger by far!!!!
I am amazed. Long-time pacer fan and board member here, and I haven't checking in for quite awhile. Larry Bird made a good trade. He actually did! Now with the expirings of Dunleavy, Foster, Ford (buyout?), and Posey in two years, salary cap hell is almost over. stunning!
Uhh... they have some solid fairly young pieces.. They aren't anything like the Thunder. Still would put them lottery bound. Roy Hibbert is a solid starter B.Rush is not very good but I suppose a decent backup. Paul George has a lot to prove. D.G. is awesome but everyone knew that. Collison busted out on the scene and will have to see if he can keep it up.
Netting Collison is huge for them, it won't be terribly hard to replace Troy Murph. They still won't be very good, but it's a big step forward. I'd say it's more like they are good at the 1, strong at the 3, and fair at the 5. Hibbert's got a good ways to go before he's a top 20 big man.
Granger and Collison are impressive, everyone else is not. They'll need one of their rookies to really exceed expectations if they want any chance of making the playoffs.
The Pacers won't be any good this year but fans have some hope going forward. I'll try to catch them a few times. I had given up on them the last several seasons. For the record, I think Collison gets too much love. I don't think he will be as good as many here think.
Danny Granger is definitely a lot better than Collison. Collison had one breakout season... Granger has had a string of successful consecutive seasons...
How much of Collison's success last season would you attribute to the offensive system in New Orleans?
Last season, I didn't watch the Hornets enough to have an opinion. I just don't think his upside is all that great. When I saw Collison play, he mostly looked pedestrian. For example, the two games when NO played OKC, Russell Westbrook basically chewed Collison up and spit him out. It was total, complete, utter and ugly domination. To me, it showed Collison's limitations as a player. Like everyone, I saw his stat lines against other teams but didn't watch those games. If he steps it up another notch next season like most very good PGs do, good for him (especially since he's on the Pacers now ). Whoever thinks Collison will be better than Granger next year is delusional.
