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Posts Tagged ‘O.J. Mayo’

(Photo credit: respectkobe.com)

The Sporting News released its Top 50 NBA Players list Thursday with the help of a panel of over 100 players, coaches, former players, front office executives, and announcers, including: Hubie Brown, Mike D’Antoni, Joe Dumars, Tim Hardaway, and Jerry West.

Overall, it’s a solid list. I’m picky, though. I had some problems with it. Not the least of which is that Dickie V had a vote. (Does he even watch NBA basketball?)

Here’s a breakdown of the Top 50 with commentary:

The Top 5

Kobe Bryant topped the list, while LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, and Tim Duncan rounded out the top 5.

I have no problem with Kobe at number one. He’s the best player on the best team in the league. He plays good defense. And he’s arguably the most dangerous offensive player in the league after training with Hakeem this summer. Yes, LeBron  was the MVP last year. But the two are neck-and-neck at this point, and Kobe has the better team. It makes sense to me that he’s number one overall.

LeBron and D-Wade are gimmes at the two and three spots. They’re the second and third most dangerous players in the league, respectively. Both have led their teams deep into the playoffs, and both are MVP candidates on a yearly basis.

Dwight Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, makes sense at number four. He’s the most dominant center in the league, and he led his team to the Finals last year. No argument here.

I was glad to see Tim Duncan round out the top 5. He’s arguably the best power forward of all-time, and the Spurs have a legitimate shot at the championship this year. He deserves to be mentioned alongside Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade as the league’s best.

Great top 5. The panel did well with this.

The Next Five

Spots seven through ten went to Chris Paul, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce.

Here’s where I begin to have a problem. Garnett is clearly not as good as Nowitzki this season. Dirk’s a top 5 scorer and one of the most league’s most dangerous closers. KG’s having one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, averaging just 14.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He’s the 41st best rebounder in the league, for crying out loud. Putting KG above Dirk is like putting Jessica Alba above Megan Fox. It just shouldn’t happen. Dirk is hands down a better player right now. He should be seventh, and KG should be somewhere between 12 and 15.

Other than Garnett, I think the panel got the top 10 right. Chris Paul, when healthy, is the best point guard in the league. Dirk is playing like a man possessed. Carmelo Anthony is the third toughest player to defend in the league (behind Kobe and LeBron). And Paul Pierce is shooting over 50 percent from the field for the first time in his career. All good choices.

Replace Garnett with Steve Nash or Deron Williams and I’m a happy man.

More analysis after the jump, including thoughts on Yao, Shaq, Elton Brand, and Andrew Bynum.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo courtesy of NBA.com.

I’m inclined to believe that the best fit for NBA legend-turned-”washed up” enigma Allen Iverson would have been Charlotte, but yesterday he agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with Memphis.

So much for a reunion with Larry Brown.

The reviews for Iverson’s new contract have been predominantly negative. Talk Hoops, Empty the Bench and Barkley’s Mouth all lampooned the idea, and SLAM’s response was tepid at best. These reactions make sense — Iverson is, after all, coming off of the worst season in his career — but the criticism seems knee-jerk to me.

Coupled with the acquisition of Zach Randolph, taking on Iverson looks bad for the Grizzlies, but, this is (allegedly) a different Iverson. He’s wiser now; more repentant.

That has to count for something, right?

Coming off the bench for a sub-.500 team may suit Iverson. It may not. He may stifle the growth of budding stars like O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay. He may not. Either way, the Grizzlies are getting a living legend and one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the league at a minimal expense.

Michael Heisley has to be happy about that.

In the end Iverson’s going to do what he usually does. Score, score and score some more. And, when the dust settles, these scoring barrages will either help the Grizzlies or hurt them.

We won’t know the results for a few months, but, like I always say, it’s fun to speculate. So, what do you think, Basketball Fiend readers?

Will Allen Iverson help or hurt the Memphis Grizzlies next season?

Vote below.

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Like Paul Blart: Mall Cop - which, surprisingly, has earned $112 million at the box office - the 2008 draft class has performed much better than expected. Despite receiving a lot of criticism this class is looking promising so far. Among the current rookies I count at least six future All-Stars (seven if you count Greg Oden), ten guys who will be bona fide role players on good teams, a Spanish rock star in Rudy Fernandez who will win the three-point contest at least three times in the next ten years and only two potential busts (Danilo Gallinari and Joe Alexander).

Even the guys from Deadliest Catch have to be impressed with a haul like that.

To honor this outstanding draft class, I’ve decided to deal out some midseason rookie grades. A report card, if you will. Keep in mind, though, that these are just preliminary grades. It’s difficult to judge a rookie class after just half a season because injury problems haven’t been established yet, potential hasn’t become fully realized and some players are, by no fault of their own, stuck behind more established players in the depth chart. So if your favorite rookie gets a bad grade here, don’t go all Christian Bale on me.

I’ve decided to break this feature into two parts. Part I covers draft picks 1-6. I’ll get to the rest of the lottery picks and a select group of late first-rounders/breakout second-rouners on Monday, February 23.

On to the grades!

Derrick Rose (PG, Bulls, #1 overall pick) - Grade: A+

While the Bulls struggle with inner turmoil, Rose has become a breakout star. He leads all rookies in assists (6.4 per game), is second in points (16.9 per game) and ranks just behind the big men in field goal shooting (47.3%). It’s difficult to make the transition from college point guard to NBA point guard (just ask Mike Conley Jr.), but D-Rose has done it flawlessly. 

If Chris Paul wasn’t in the league, we’d all look at Rose as the prototypical point guard. Rose has the quickness to get to any spot on the court he wants, the court vision to consistently find open teammates and the strength to finish around the rim.

Realistically, Rose has the ability to drive to the basket every play and finish. That makes him dangerous. But the fact that he chooses not to drive every play - and, instead, incorporate his teammates - is what makes Rose a great point guard.

The winner of this year’s PlayStation Skills Challenge, Rose is also a magician with the ball. He’s fundamentally solid, has better handles than a Chantal tea kettle and refuses to make bad decisions with the ball in his hands. Rose’s 2.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio is best among rookies.

Not only is Rose the Bulls’ primary ball-handler, he’s also the team’s go-to-guy down the stretch. Apparently first-year coach Vinny Del Negro has yet to master the skill of subtlety. In late-game situations, VDN runs slight variations on the same play: give the ball to Rose, let him drive the lane and hope that he can make something happen. Surprise! It doesn’t always work.

Oh well, Rose has plenty of time to master the art of the knockout punch.

Though the hype around him as the #1 overall pick wasn’t particularly intense, Rose has lived up to any and all expectations through 53 games. He’s going to be an All-Star for years to come and may even give CP3 and Deron Williams a run for their money in the Point Guard of the Future race.

If you feel compelled to bet on the Rookie of the Year race, I suggest putting your money on this guy. 

Michael Beasley (F, Heat, #2 overall pick) - Grade: B-

Coming into the season, I ranked preseason favorites for the Rookie of the Year award. Beasley came in a close second to Greg Oden (let’s just say I won’t be changing my name to Nostradamus any time soon).

While I haven’t been completely unimpressed with Beasley’s performance, I can’t help but feel that he’s landed in the wrong situation and will take longer than expected to develop. Which can mean a number of different things. Beasley can go the Chauncey Billups route (struggling for a few years before finding the perfect situation and thriving), the Derrick Coleman route (putting up good numbers in a career plagued by injuries and laziness) or even the Adam Morrison route (sucking outright and becoming an NBA cult figure).

Or maybe Beasley will blaze his own trail, turn it around and win a bunch of MVP awards. Who knows? Anything is possible. 

Stats-wise, Beasley has been okay in his rookie season (he’s averaging 13.2 pts and 5.2 reb and shooting 45.4% from the field), but he gets a “C” because no one really knows where he’s headed and no one expected him to be quite this awe-sucking (the opposite of awe-inspiring in case you’re wondering). Judging from his college stats (26.2 pts, 12.4 reb, 53.2% FG) Beasley should be a can’t miss scoring machine. Instead he’s been a part-time contributor. A sideshow to The Dwyane Wade Program.

Think about it. Beasley’s the number two overall pick in the draft and he’s not even starting!

When Shawn Marion was shipped to Toronto, I thought Beasley would see more minutes and step into a starting role. But Marion’s departure hasn’t guaranteed anything so far. Beasley still hasn’t won coach Erik Spoelstra’s confidence. As a result Spoelstra has given Beasley the Unleashed treatment, jerking his minutes around like Bob Hoskins jerked around Jet Li on that weird, futuristic leash. 

In Beasley, Spoelstra knows he has a supreme talent on his hands, but you can tell he doesn’t trust Beasley yet and is willing to take crazy measures to control him.

The Unleashed analogy is a bit dramatic, but - on a much smaller level - a similar relationship applies to Spoelstra-Beasley and Hoskins-Li. Beasley is this incredibly gifted force of nature (a player who dominated in the college ranks on the sole basis of his athleticism) who hasn’t learned yet how to generate shots within a team offense and has a propensity for making mistakes on the court. Recognizing this, Spoelstra spent the first half of the season trying to psychologically beat the bad habits out of Beasley (relegating him to a non-starters role, tinkering constantly with his minutes and benching him during the fourth quarter).

To some extent, the tough love has paid off.

Beasley is integrating himself better into the offense, taking better shots and cutting down on his turnovers. But even with that improvement, Spoelstra has kept Beasley out of the starting lineup; favoring Jermaine O’Neal, Udonis Haslem and James Jones as his front court starters.

I don’t know why Spoelstra refuses to let his prized rookie off the chain. But if he can’t trust Beasley, then neither can I. 

Due to a lack of maturity and, as I said before, the awe-sucking quality of his performance so far, Beasley’s grade is a “B-” for now. But I won’t be surprised if he puts it all together in the second half of the season and improves this grade quite a bit by the time the postseason rolls around.

O.J. Mayo (SG, Grizzlies, #3 overall pick) - Grade: A-

After firing head coach Marc Iavoroni, the Grizzlies are eager for something positive to happen. Why else would they devote three billboards in Phoenix to the O.J. Mayo For Rookie of the Year campaign and create a website dedicated to the same cause?

The whole campaign reeks of desperation, which is ironic because Mayo has a legitimate shot at winning the award even without the media blitz that the Grizzlies are trying to stir up.

Mayo started the year as the hottest shooting guard prospect since Dwyane Wade (23.1 pts, 48% FG, 42.1% 3pt in November), putting up 30+ points four times in his first 20 games. He has since cooled down, but Mayo is still at the top of the rookie class in scoring (at 19.3 pts per game) and has established himself as a deadly outside shooter (38.5% 3pt for the season).

For some reason (maybe his high shot count?) Mayo has been tagged as a selfish player this season. I refuse to jump on this bandwagon. Mayo is one of the least selfish players on the Grizzlies. He runs harder off the ball than any other player on his team and is always willing to make the extra pass. Despite being dubbed by many as the primary option on the Grizzlies, Mayo consistently defers to Rudy Gay.

What’s selfish about that?

If anything, Gay is the selfish one. That guy takes more contested shots than Alan Shore on Boston Legal. (That’s a reference to objections in court, by the way, of which Shore receives many…just watch the show).

A notorious hard-worker, Mayo is also showing improvement on the defensive end - at 6′4″, 210 pounds, he certainly has the build and athleticism to become an elite defender - and a recent scoring surge has inspired his team to a 4-2 record in the final six games heading into the All-Star break. If Mayo can return to his November form - or at least a semblance of it - he has a good chance of returning the Rookie of the Year hardware to Memphis.

Russell Westbrook (G, Thunder, #4 overall pick) - Grade: B

There’s a reason that Westbrook skyrocketed up the draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft. He’s an explosive guard who has the size and athleticism to excel on both ends of the court. Though Westbrook has terrific upside, he also has significant flaws in his game.

For one thing, he’s not a true point guard.

Westbrook is amazing on the break, but there’s more to being a point guard than that. He lacks court vision and tends to telegraph each pass like he’s Alexander Graham Bell. As a result, Westbrook is the worst of the rookie point guards in terms of turning the ball over (3.1 per game, 17.3% turnover) and has trouble running halfcourt sets.

Truth be told, Thunder rookie Kyle Weaver is a better playmaker than Westbrook, which doesn’t bode well for Westbrook’s status as the franchise’s point guard of the future.

So if Westbrook isn’t a natural point guard, he must be a shooting guard, right? Wrong. Though he excels around the basket, Westbrook leaves much to be desired when it comes to outside shooting. His release is flawed and inconsistent - a far cry from the wonder-stroke of Eric Gordon - and opposing guards generally let him take open threes. Through 53 games Westbrook is shooting just 40.8% from the field and 29.6% from downtown.

History shows that good shooters sometimes struggle in their rookie season, then find their stroke later down the road (Kevin Durant is the poster child of this mentality). But Westbrook wasn’t a good outside shooter in college either. His senior year at UCLA, Westbrook hit only 33.8% of his threes. Nothing is impossible, but it’s Stretch Armstrong to imagine that Westbrook will suddenly find his stroke at the age of 21.

Outwardly, Westbrook is a terrific prospect. He can beat any guard in the league off the dribble and his speed makes him a terrific thief on defense (Westbrook is second among rookies at 1.4 steals per game). But there are also a lot of holes in Westbrook’s game; primarily, outside shooting, ball security and court vision.

At best, Westbrook will be Monta Ellis with significant defensive upgrades. At worst, he’s a poor man’s Gary Payton. Either way, Westbrook’s deficiencies limit him to a “B” at this point in time.

Kevin Love (PF, Timberwolves, #5 overall pick) - Grade: B-

I have to admit that I had doubts about K-Love heading into the draft. It’s tough to determine whether good college players will match up physically with NBA talent and I’ve seen UPS workers with more athleticsm than Love. But what he lacks in physical skills, Love makes up for in size, intelligence and resolve.

Love has quickly established himself as the best rebounder of the rookie class, averaging a rookie-best 8.7 rebounds per game. He positions himself well on both the defensive and offensive glass (Love averages 3.5 offensive boards per game) and isn’t afraid to bang with bigger bodies on the inside. Though, to be fair, there aren’t many bodies bigger than the 6′10″, 260-pound Love. From what I’ve seen, 260 pounds is a conservative estimate of his weight.

Though Love has yet to establish a go-to move in the post, he rotates well on the pick-and-roll and gets a lot of putback opportunities thanks to his offensive rebounding prowess. Love also has an above-average stroke from the free throw line, which bodes well for his ability to add a mid-range game. These skills have allowed Love to pick up 13 double-doubles before the All-Star break (second only to Greg Oden among rookies).

Love is not without his deficiencies - chief of which is his outstanding lack of footspeed - but he has been better than advertised this season. Though I’m giving Love a B-, it’s only because I have concerns about his longevity and his ability to defend the fast break. Overall, I like what he brings to the table and I think he’ll be a good role player for years to come.

By the way, if you’re looking for a full inventory of Love’s abilities, check out Charley Rosen’s brilliant breakdown at FoxSports.com.  

Danilo Gallinari (F, Knicks, #6 overall pick) - Grade: D

I don’t want to jump to any hasty conclusions, but let’s just say this guy has high bust potential based on the fact that he’s only 20 years old and is already suffering from a back condition. Steve Nash, at the age of 34, is expected to have back pain. But a 20 year-old lottery pick like Gallinari? He’s not exactly a prime candidate for chronic back issues.

Gallinari has played in just 15 games this season and is averaging just under 15 minutes per game. He’s shooting well (46.9% from the field) and scoring at a decent clip (14.9 points per 36 minutes), but the fact that he has only been on the court for 220 minutes (total!) this season is bad news for Knicks fans.

Due to his absence from the court, it’s only fair to give Gallinari low marks at the midseason point. I’m sorry Knicks fans, but your lottery pick is a “D” until he proves otherwise.

That does it for Part I of our midseason rookie grades. Be sure to check back on Monday for the second half, along with some bonus coverage of the Oscars (I’m pulling for Heath Ledger and Slumdog Millionaire!).

The guys over at Dream Shake have teamed with an awesome cast of fellow NBA bloggers to compile votes for first quarter MVP and ROY.

No big surprises. LeBron topped the MVP voting, followed by D-Wade, Chris Paul, Kobe and Dwight Howard. Duncan, Nowitzki, Billups, Garnett and Bosh were also in the conversation.

Personally I would have put Kobe over CP3. But the Hornets have been on the rise lately. So maybe the Blog Mafia is accounting for future considerations (namely New Orleans getting the second seed in the West).

I also would have included Brandon Roy in the conversation (probably somewhere around KG’s spot). The guy has been a terror in fourth quarter situations.

ROY voting was more surprising. As expected, Derrick Rose got the nod at the top spot followed by O.J. Mayo. But Rudy Fernandez, Marc Gasol and D.J. Augustin rounded out the Top 5 in lieu of Michael Beasley and Russell Westbrook.

I realize Beasley has been a roller coaster this season. But any player who can score 20 points in 24 minutes (as Beasley did against the Grizz the other night) merits a Top 5 slot. Beasley should have made the cut over Marc Gasol.

Personality has played a big role in the devaluation of Beasley, though. Marc Gasol is more likable. Perhaps the Blog Mafia has a soft spot for guys who look like they should have been in Road House.

The argument in favor of Westbrook is more of a preference thing than anything else. Augustin struggles to defend bigger guards. Westbrook shoots a lower percentage from the field. But when it comes down to numbers, Westbrook has a higher efficiency rating on NBA.com (12.1 to Augustin’s 11.8). He should have got the nod.

Nonetheless, thanks to Dream Shake for the topic fodder.

O.J. Mayo’s name appeared in court today in West Virginia as part of a weird state appeals case.

In January of 2007, while at Huntington High School, Mayo was ejected from a game against Capital High School. The rules stated that Mayo should be suspended for two games because of the ejection but Mayo and company put up a stink and took the issue to court. In court, Circuit Judge Dan O’Hanlon decided to allow Mayo to compete in the two games, officially making O’Hanlon the most popular circuit judge at Huntington High.

O’Hanlon also ruled that the losing party (the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission) had to pay Mayo’s attorney fees. Afterwards, O’Hanlon pegged the commission in the head with a dodgeball and took its lunch money.

The WVSSAC predictably appealed O’Hanlon’s decision and now, nearly two years later, the case is finally being heard.

I’m no lawyer, but it seems like this ruling will get overturned pretty quickly. O’Hanlon based his ruling on the fact that there was a forfeiture rule that he deemed unconstitutional. That’s fishy, considering the forfeiture rule itself was never questioned in the case.

It seems to me that O’Hanlon simply didn’t want to be the judge who ruled against Mayo (the most popular high school athlete in the nation at the time) and so he used every loophole available to allow Mayo to play in those two games.

Now that Mayo is gone, the case doesn’t reflect on him. Unless, of course, they hold him to those lawyer fees. But I’m sure that’s just a minor concern now that he can afford just about anything he wants.

So the case will be overturned, the WVSSAC will go back to their crazy forfeiture rule, and O’Hanlon will keep cheering shamelessly as Mayo leads the R.O.Y. charge in Memphis.

While Michael Beasley talks of MVP awards, Memphis Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo lets his work ethic do his talking for him.

According to the Commerical Appeal, Mayo has been the talk of the Grizzlies’ training camp. From his work ethic to his competitiveness to his dedication to defense, Mayo has been wowing the local media (not to mention his coaches) for weeks.

Take this quote from head coach Marc Iavoroni for example:

“He’s a tremendous competitor. He pays a lot of attention to defense. He’s got a balanced game. He’s learning that he can be an assassin in this league.”

Speaking of assassins, how many rookies from the past can you give that title to? Allen Iverson? LeBron James? Chris Paul? Jason Kidd?

There are only a handful. That’s for sure.

Mayo has the smell of greatness to him. It’s hard to explain. But you can tell it from the way Iavoroni talks about him (a little bit cautious, maybe wary of giving the young man a big head with too much praise, but in awe nonetheless). Let’s just say the way Iavoroni speaks of Mayo is quite different from the tone the Heat are taking about their young star (Mike Beasley), who can’t even learn the Heat playbook without the assistance of accompanying music.

While B-Easy needs a babysitter, O.J. is showing up to practices early, asking questions, and absorbing as much as he can about the pro game.

When his teammates and his coaches speak about Mayo, they use terms like “leadership”, “competitor”, and “maturity”. Sound like anyone else to you? Kobe perhaps? LeBron? Jordan?

That’s high praise; I know. But Mayo shares with those three an extraordinary will to win and a will to get better. It’s reflected in everything that I have read about him from the beginning of draft preparation all the way through to training camp. This guy just flat-out wants to be the best.

I can imagine the thought bubbles above your head as you read this. “O.J. Mayo? It’s too early. Let’s wait until this guy has played a full season before we start saying stuff like this.” I know you’re thinking it and I respect your point.

But greatness begins in the preparation stages; in practice, in extra shoot-arounds, in the process of asking questions. You can see signs of it in the way a player carries himself. Not just confidence, per se. But a readiness to do everything that is possible to reach the top.  

O.J. Mayo has those qualities. The hunger for practice and improvement. The willingness to absorb coaching. The competitiveness. The will to do whatever it takes to get to the top. The ability to lead by example.

Whether it happens this season or a season sometime in the near future remains to be seen. But it is evident that the NBA has another special talent on its hands and O.J. Mayo will be an NBA superstar in the years to come.