The NBA
preseason is a wasteland. It's the only time of year when an NBA player
can go underground, or even into the woods, to live a seclusionist lifestyle,
out of the journalistic sphere for the three or four months between the end of
the season and training camp. If not for the existence of Twitter—along
with the irrepressible narcissism of some/most/all pro athletes—we'd have no
idea where any of these guys are, or what's become of them. Chris Kaman's
body could be decomposing in the woods behind his house for weeks before
anybody even noticed or cared, so thank god for Twitter. In certain cities
where an NBA player resides, anytime a player goes 72 hours without any action
on their Twitter account, protocol is for local law enforcement to do a precautionary
sweep of a player's residence. But that's not the point. The point
is there's nothing going on in the summer, nothing to write about. Yet, the
articles keep coming. You could call it metaphysical, the way basketball
writers generate something out of nothing. Smush Parker all of a sudden
becomes the epicenter of a media storm. A player takes a dump at Starbucks,
the wire picks it up, and we've got fifty articles by lunchtime—if you're an
NBA player, get everything 'To Go.' Then of course, every sports site and
publication does a season preview of every single team from the Raptors to the
Heat. Or they do a hokey, 'Players to Watch' segment. When the same
article gets done every year, especially when it's a segment that everyone does, you know
you're reading pork barrel journalism—writing that serves to keep the writer in
power more so than it serves the reader. That shit is so hack. With
that said, here's part one of my 'Players to Watch' series.
Now, this isn't the absolute
'Players to Watch' list. I don't care about Anthony Davis or most of the
top ten draft picks, because most of their teams won’t be relevant. I'm
not impressed by rookies who play well but don't win any games. Obviously,
anything can happen at any time, much of the world is predicated on this, but, best
case scenario: Anthony Davis isn't relevant until 2014. I also don't care
about the migratory effects of Joe Johnson, Andrew Bynum, Andre Iguodala, Steve
Nash or Dwight Howard. You have your optimistic projection of what those
guys will accomplish, I have my cynical projection, and they'll probably
disappoint us both by falling directly in the middle.
Instead, I've drawn up four groupings of marginal players that I believe have
speculative importance to their teams this year. Out of the fourteen guys
I'm highlighting in these categories, I’m thinking there may be one or two all-stars.
Maybe. BUT, all of them could be vital to their teams' runs at the
playoffs, or to their teams' success within the playoffs. No one will pin
the failures on these guys, and it's unlikely they'll be credited with much.
These are players who appeared on my radar last season, whom I've been
watching through summer league and exhibition. These are the players to
watch that nobody is watching.
ROOKIES
Perry Jones 3
He's a quick, agile, aerial power forward who fits perfectly between Ibaka and
Durant in the Thunder matryoshka set. Despite not having great stats at Baylor (13 ppg, 8 rpg) Perry was supposed to be a lottery
pick pre-draft, but he almost fell to the second round. My guess is that
he's more bounce than brains, so it makes sense that no lottery team would pick
him, because most teams in the NBA are looking for answers rather than thee, singular, answer.
Perry Jones's game is unintentional. He's probably going to be a
pick-setter, a put-backer, maybe a shot-blocker; not a leader or a determining
factor, but a utilizable addition to the repertoire of an already multifarious
team. The Thunder don't need Perry to think, they just need him to be
fast, play team defense, get offensive rebounds, and throw it down
occasionally, all of which he appears to be doing in exhibition games.
I'm guessing the only answer the Thunder are looking for is to
the velocity of the Miami LeBron Jameses. OKC was plagued in the 2012
Finals by an obvious inability to move in a timely and necessary manner.
Perry should help with that. And he very well has the ability to be
the best Stromile Swift of the decade. Perry, if you're listening, just
pick-n-roll. And don't stop rolling. Never stop rolling.
Projected statistical leader in: Converted Alley-Oops per 36 minutes
Projected statistical leader in: Converted Alley-Oops per 36 minutes
Damian Lillard
In Portland, where I currently reside, Blazer fans love every new
player they get. Too much even. Which explains the $46 million
Nicolas Batum contract. Shit, the Blazers probably could've gotten
present-day Toni Kukoc for the veteran's minimum to the same effect. What’s
my issue with Batum? Look, the Fred Meyer brand toilet paper I use is harder than Batum, and that’s just my starting
point. The larger point is, if there's someone who can balance out the
horrible Batum contract it's going to have to be a guy who plays for cheap, and
can overcompensate for the overpaid, underachieving diva that Batum will
inevitably be. Essentially, the Blazers need Nick Cannon. But Nick Cannon
is too expensive. Enter Damian Lillard. Lillard's the one guy who ripped it up in summer league, and he's been
steady in the preseason (16 ppg, 5.5 apg in 30 mpg). He can do a little bit of everything.
Reminds me of a more physically-imposing Chris Paul, minus some zest and
brains, plus some lift and muscle. The significant difference in the
Blazers' half-court game this year will be when Lillard's playing the
pick-n-roll with Aldridge. Unlike
Raymond Felton, Lillard is actually a threat to keep when Aldridge is
overplayed on the switch, and somebody gonna get banged on. Here in Portland, Lillard's being touted as the savior by the partisan analysts on CSN Northwest and in The Oregonian. Keep in mind, these are the same people who said the same things about Sebastian Telfair. Regardless, I'll hesitantly say the kid looks
legit. And he looks like a guy who can win you some games on his own. Every so often, a team appears to get worse in terms of personnel from one season to the next, but one player propels them to win games despite the spotty roster. Think early Derrick Rose or early Brandon Roy. Lillard might be one these guys. My guess is that most of Batum's shots are going to be created by Lillard. Batum better tip him out at the end of every game.
Projected
statistical leader in: FG made after a teammate returns a pass intended to be
an assist
Thomas Robinson
If DeMarcusCousins is your guy, I'm sorry. At every position, with the exception of
center, Sacramento has three legit starters but no obvious standouts, which
makes their starting line-up largely random and arbitrary. If the Kings
go on a playoff run, it will surprise everybody. They’ve had an in-flow
of lottery talent since before Obama took office, but no organization. Luckily,
Thomas Robinson is to organization as DeMarcus Cousins is to chaos. If
there's a reason Thomas Robinson didn't score forty points against Kentucky in
the 2012 NCAA title game, it's that he was trying to uphold Kansas's system,
despite it disintegrating all around him. Robinson is what they call
'mature', and his game hinges on wisdom. He's got a good inside presence,
a polished jumpshot, was an accomplished rebounder in college, and I doubt he
misses very many defensive rotations. He likes to take shots that he
knows he can make, so his shots are a deliberate few. Also, he can bang. He's a guy with a worthy presence, the anti-Cousins. The best thing
that can happen to the Kings is for Cousins to go down early in the season, so
we can see what the triage of Justin Thompson, Chuck Hayes, and Thomas Robinson
can do. Sacramento has the talent to make the playoffs, though I'm not
saying they will. If they can even get close to it, I'm presuming t.Rob
will have a lot to do with it.
Projected statistical leader in: Total unused picks set/Most tats
Royce White
If Royce White gets over his anxiety issues, he could be the best
player in the '12 draft, and he may be the best passer on the Rockets. The
last time we saw a point guard in a power forward’s body, his drugs weren’t
prescribed. Royce is also a pretty good
rebounder and he’s got grit. Though not a physically imposing guy by
comparison to average big men in the league, when he pulls down a defensive
rebound and then all six-eight, two-sixty of him competently leads the break,
it looks like a dangerous proposition for which there's no repartee.
Royce White isn't even in the top-five players on Houston, but he's
valuable to Houston because though Houston may have the best ensemble players
in the league, they only have one proven playmaker, Lin. If you've seen
Royce play, you know that he has the potential to be a great instigator, one the
best of the best even. I expect Houston to make the playoffs this
year, but in the playoffs it's easy to stop teams with one generator, so Royce developing
into something more than just a human interest story could be vital. The question is, where's his head at? Royce's game is intellectual, which
is problematic for a guy with overly-documented mental health issues. The
Rockets will need a guy like him deep in the playoffs, but he's no good to them
unless he's playing with an abundance of confidence. This is your potential
Jeremy Lin story for the year. A guy coming
from nowhere, who’s up against it. If Royce
goes on a Linesque rampage this year,
I will be the first one wearing a shirt that reads, ‘Insanity.’
Projected statistical leader in:
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Rewards points
