Minnesota Sports Forum

Rubiooooooo wrote:

TRKO wrote:

Rubiooooooo wrote:

TRKO wrote:

Rubiooooooo wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:4:00 PM ET on CBS: Arkansas (Bobby Portis) vs Kentucky (Karl-Anthony Towns)

It's like Christmas morning for me. Two of my favorite prospects going head to head. It's also a huge game. UK is still undefeated and atop the rankings. ARK is second in the SEC and could use a big win like this to up their seed for the tourney. Their pressure defense is fantastic. Look to see UK's backcourt make mistakes and turn the ball over. Should be a good game overall.

I heard this. It could be a coming out party for Portis.

Is it just me or does portis seem a bit small to be a NBA 4? He seems to be having a ton of trouble dealing with Kentucky's length and strength inside.

Kentucky has a billion 7' guys. Portis is 6'10 240. I would say that is big enough.

You sure? He looks 6'8 to 6'9 and about 215. I realize Kentucky is big but that's like an NBA test. Plus most of the bigs on Kentucky are 6'10 to 6'11. Port is looks much smaller.

His profile on the Arkansas website has him listed at 6'11" 242

www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/sport/m-baskbl/2014/roster/53b342d3e4b0a4c99fcb0c91

I see what he is listed at but it doesn't quite fit the eye test. It wouldn't be the first time a player is given an inch or two

Beasley was listed as 6'10 in college.

Kaminsky, 25 points, 3 for 3 from downtown. 10 minutes left in game

Saw this on RealGM; thought I'd move it over here.

Stats from the month of February:

Jahlil Okafor: 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, 32.4 minutes, 26.9 PER
Karl-Anthony Towns: 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.9 blocks, 21.0 minutes, 33.0 PER
D'Angelo Russell: 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 34.5 minutes, 21.7 PER
Stanley Johnson: 12.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 27.0 minutes, 20.3 PER
Willie Cauley-Stein: 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 blocks, 22.8 minutes, 20.9 PER
Mario Hezonja: 10.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 18.6 minutes, 22.1 PER
Kristaps Porzingis: 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 21.8 minutes, 20.4 PER
Kevon Looney: 10.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.0 blocks, 30.6 minutes, 17.1 PER
Justise Winslow: 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.6 blocks, 34.1 minutes, 24.3 PER
Myles Turner: 10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 24.1 minutes, 21.3 PER
Kelly Oubre: 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks, 23.8 minutes, 22.2 PER

Thanks Cam.

I still like Stanley Johnson, but his play has been suffering a bit the past month. Love his intensity and defensive potential....that hasn't changed, but he is showing his limitations. Also got benched the other day in a critical time of game due to some poor decisions on the floor. At this point in the season, I would like to see improved play, not regression from these freshmen.

Winslow has really impressed me in the several games I have watched him. Big, athletic dude with some serious skill. Great rebounder, and is now at 40% from 3 for the season. Great size for an NBA 3. Wouldn't surprise me if he would be in the mix at pick 5-8, which may be where we fall.

Here's the problem, the prospect pool is filled with a bunch of high risk / high reward players. There isn't a sure fire pick in the bunch. However, several have at least a chance of becoming great NBA players. I think all you can do is rank the players in order as best you can, and then take the guy at the top of your list when your pick comes up. If that's too risky (and it may be for the Wolves), trade the pick for a young, proven star.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Here's the problem, the prospect pool is filled with a bunch of high risk / high reward players. There isn't a sure fire pick in the bunch. However, several have at least a chance of becoming great NBA players. I think all you can do is rank the players in order as best you can, and then take the guy at the top of your list when your pick comes up. If that's too risky (and it may be for the Wolves), trade the pick for a young, proven star.

Okafor is pretty surefire. At the very least he is a starting big on most of the rosters in the NBA.

thedoper wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Here's the problem, the prospect pool is filled with a bunch of high risk / high reward players. There isn't a sure fire pick in the bunch. However, several have at least a chance of becoming great NBA players. I think all you can do is rank the players in order as best you can, and then take the guy at the top of your list when your pick comes up. If that's too risky (and it may be for the Wolves), trade the pick for a young, proven star.

Okafor is pretty surefire. At the very least he is a starting big on most of the rosters in the NBA.

Yeah but he has huge question marks in terms of his defense.

Camden wrote:Saw this on RealGM; thought I'd move it over here.

Stats from the month of February:

Jahlil Okafor: 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, 32.4 minutes, 26.9 PER
Karl-Anthony Towns: 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.9 blocks, 21.0 minutes, 33.0 PER
D'Angelo Russell: 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 34.5 minutes, 21.7 PER
Stanley Johnson: 12.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 27.0 minutes, 20.3 PER
Willie Cauley-Stein: 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 blocks, 22.8 minutes, 20.9 PER
Mario Hezonja: 10.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 18.6 minutes, 22.1 PER
Kristaps Porzingis: 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 21.8 minutes, 20.4 PER
Kevon Looney: 10.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.0 blocks, 30.6 minutes, 17.1 PER
Justise Winslow: 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.6 blocks, 34.1 minutes, 24.3 PER
Myles Turner: 10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 24.1 minutes, 21.3 PER
Kelly Oubre: 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks, 23.8 minutes, 22.2 PER

Something to keep in mind....Hezonja and Porzingis are playing at a level of competition a notch or two higher than any of these other guys.

Winslow's numbers are very impressive. He's also a guy you notice when he plays. When I first watched Duke to check out Okafor this year, it was Winslow who stood out to me. He uses his size and athleticism better than Wiggins did at Kansas. I'm not saying he's a better overall prospect than Wiggins, but he is definitely someone to keep an eye on.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

thedoper wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Here's the problem, the prospect pool is filled with a bunch of high risk / high reward players. There isn't a sure fire pick in the bunch. However, several have at least a chance of becoming great NBA players. I think all you can do is rank the players in order as best you can, and then take the guy at the top of your list when your pick comes up. If that's too risky (and it may be for the Wolves), trade the pick for a young, proven star.

Okafor is pretty surefire. At the very least he is a starting big on most of the rosters in the NBA.

Yeah but he has huge question marks in terms of his defense.

I see the issues. But to me, especially for a big, so much about D is commitment and a good system. His abilities and physical traits make me believe he could end up being a net positive defender. Either way he is going to be at least a serviceable big.

thedoper wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

thedoper wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Here's the problem, the prospect pool is filled with a bunch of high risk / high reward players. There isn't a sure fire pick in the bunch. However, several have at least a chance of becoming great NBA players. I think all you can do is rank the players in order as best you can, and then take the guy at the top of your list when your pick comes up. If that's too risky (and it may be for the Wolves), trade the pick for a young, proven star.

Okafor is pretty surefire. At the very least he is a starting big on most of the rosters in the NBA.

Yeah but he has huge question marks in terms of his defense.

I see the issues. But to me, especially for a big, so much about D is commitment and a good system. His abilities and physical traits make me believe he could end up being a net positive defender. Either way he is going to be at least a serviceable big.

And that's my point, we have to do better than serviceable with this asset.