Tag Archives: Tim Duncan

THE 2014 NBA PRE-SEASON RODA RATINGS – “ THE FINE FIFTEEN”

THE TOP FIVE

1 San Antonio Spurs  – Defending champs, Tim Duncan comes back at a discount price to help keep Boris Diaw and Patty Mills and the team stays intact. The favorites to start the season for sure.

2 Oklahoma City Thunder – While they lost veterans Sefalosha and Butler, they added shooting guard Anthony Morrow in free agency who is a career 43% shooter from beyond the arc and picked up a big in Mitch McGary and a defensive minded wing in Josh Huestis in the draft. Oh yeah K.D. and Russell Westbrook are still there too.

3 Los Angeles Clippers – With Doc Rivers fully in charge, the Clippers have had a quiet, but productive off-season so far. In free agency they’ve added stretch-5 Spencer Hawes and point guard Jordan Farmar to help with their depth and offense. In the draft L.A. selected shooting guard C.J. Wilcox who can knock it down from long range and cash in at the free throw line, and is a solid defender already.

4 Chicago Bulls – Even though they didn’t get Carmelo Anthony, the Bulls did add Pau Gasol in free agency and will be getting former league MVP Derrick Rose back. Adding those two All-Stars to a team that made the playoffs last year and the Bulls are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.

5 Cleveland Cavaliers – Bringing LeBron James back in free agency not only makes the Cavs a playoff contender, but a lot people feel an NBA Championship contender.  I’m not ready to go there yet. Let’s wait and see what happens with all of these Kevin Love rumors. But even if they don’t deal for Love, with James, number #1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and Kyrie Irving serving as the Cavs big three, David Blatt’s team is one to watch out for in the East, which is now up for grabs.

THE BEST OF THE REST

6 Portland Trail Blazers

7 Indiana Pacers

8 Houston Rockets

9 Golden State Warriors

10 Memphis Grizzlies

11 Washington Wizards

12 Miami Heat

13 Dallas Mavericks

14 Phoenix Suns

15 Toronto Raptors

KANSAS COACH BILL SELF BREAKS DOWN POTENTIAL NUMBER #1 PICKS JOEL EMBIID AND ANDREW WIGGINS

I had a chance to go 1 on 1 with Kansas head coach Bill Self to get his input on Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins and who the Cavaliers should take with the 1st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

bill-self
(photo courtesy/sportsspeakers360.com)

INSTANT ANALYSIS: GAME #3 NBA FINALS- SPURS 111 HEAT 92

A budding superstar “Kawhi Was The Guy”, Kawhi Leonard came up big for San Antonio to give the Spurs a 2 games to 1 lead in the NBA Finals! Listen to my recap of the game here:

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RODA REPORT – NBA FINALS GAME #2 RECAP – HEAT 98 SPURS 96

LeBron played all four quarters in Game #2 and he was the difference as the Heat evened the 2014 NBA Finals at one game a piece. Here’s my instant analysis:

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RODA REPORT – NBA FINALS GAME #1 RECAP – SPURS 110 HEAT 95

No LeBron no chance for the Heat and that’s what happened in the 4th quarter of Game #1 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio. Here’s my “Roda Report Recap” –

NBA Basketball Close Up
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COLLEGE COMPARISON’S – THE FRESHMAN YEARS – THE 2014 POTENTIAL TOP 3 PICKS

It’s not quite as good as Saved By The Bell: The College Years with C’Town’s own Bob GolicSaved By The Bell - The CollegeYears

But as the June 26th NBA Draft gets closer here’s some more info to process as you and the Cavs try to decide who should be the #1 overall pick. Each of the Top 3 candidates have been compared to some current or former NBA stars, so I went back to all of their freshman years in college to see how their stats stack up against one another.

JOEL EMBIID

Joel Embiid photo - Courtesy of USA Today

Joel Embiid –  7’1-255-2014 – 11.2ppg  –  8.1rpg  –  2.6blk  –  62%fg  –   20%(3fg)  –  68%ft

H.Olajuwon – 7’0-255-1982 –   8.3ppg    –  6.2rpg  –  2.5blk  –  61%fg  –   0%(3fg)  –  56%ft

T. Duncan –6’11-248-1994 –  9.8ppg    –  9.6rpg  –  3.8blk  –   54%fg  –  100%(3fg) –  74%ft

 

 

ANDREW WIGGINS

AP FORT HAYS ST KANSAS BASKETBALL S BKC T25 KS

A. Wiggins – 6’8–200–2014 – 17ppg – 6rpg – 1.5apg  – 44.8%fg – 34.1%(3fg) – 77.5%ft

M. Jordan –   6’6–195-1982 – 13.5ppg – 4.4rpg – 1.8apg – 53.4%fg – 0%(3fg) – 72.2%ft

Sidney Moncrief -6’3-180-1976 –12.6ppg – 7.6rpg – 2.1apg – 66.5%fg – 0%(3fg)– 72.7%ft

 

 

JABARI PARKER

Jabari Parker Photo 1

 

J. Parker – 6’9-240-2014 – 19.1ppg – 8.7rpg – 1.2apg  – 47.3%fg – 35.8%(3fg) – 74.8%ft

Melo Anthony – 6’8-230-2003–22.2ppg–10rpg– 2.2apg – 45.3%fg – 33.7%(3fg)– 70.6%ft

Paul Pierce – 6’6-230-1996 – 11.9ppg – 5.3rpg – 1.8apg – 41.9%ft – 30.4%(3fg) – 60.6%ft

(Photos courtesy of USA Today, StandingOSports.com and Zagsblog.com) 

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I TALK EMBIID, WIGGINS AND PARKER WITH JOE KOTOCH FROM PROBASKETBALLDRAFT.COM

ProBasketballDraft.com’s Joe Kotoch and I break down the three prospects the Cavs are considering for the number #1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

David Griffin 2014 NBA Draft Lottery Photo

MY JOEL EMBIID PLAYER BIO AND SCOUTING REPORT

Joel Embiid

Center  –  7′-1″  –  255lbs  –  Age – 20  –  Kansas  –  FR.

Reach  – 9’5.5    –  Wingspan  –  7’5.75    Max Vert  –  ??

Averages  –  11.2 PPG-8.1 RPG-1.4 APG-2.6BLK-62.6%FG-20%(3FG)-68.5%FT

Draft Projection: Top 3 – if healthy should be the number #1 overall pick

Joel Embiid photo - Courtesy of USA Today

Strengths           

A true center that has a solid all-around game for only having played basketball for the three to four years. Can face up or play with his back to the basket. His best years are ahead of him, as his ceiling is extremely high.

His length and athleticism make him a defensive presence, a rim protector. Not only will he block shots, he will alter and change them. He’s an eraser in the paint and will be the anchor of your defense.

He’s is an above average rebounder who will battle for boards in traffic.

He plays with a little nastiness on defense, he doesn’t mind mixing it up a little.

A good athlete who can run the floor and has above average footwork for a 7-footer with limited experience. Plays with good energy and effort.

His jumper is solid for a 7-footer and showed range out to the college 3-point line. Has a decent touch for a big guy and can finish around the hoop with either hand.

He’s not a liability at the free throw line as he made almost 70% from the charity stripe at Kansas.

His ball handling is above average for a man of his size and should only get better with practice and more experience.

 

Weaknesses     

Has to get in the weight room and get stronger and put on some pounds.

The Cameroon native lacks the practice and in game experience at this point in his career because he hasn’t played a lot of basketball compared to the other potential top picks in the draft.

His basketball IQ isn’t the greatest either as he falls for a lot of pump fakes and that lands him in foul trouble. But again that comes from his lack of game experience.

His biggest weakness though and the major concern is the health of his back. After only 28 games at Kansas he had to shut it down because of a stress fracture in his back. Embiid and his agent say he’s 100% healthy now, but no team is going to believe that until they put him through their own thorough physical. Teams are going to want to find out if this could be a chronic injury or just a one-time thing. Bigs and bad backs aren’t a good mix, especially if you’re thinking of using the number #1 overall pick on a 7-footer.

 

Roda Thoughts:  If 100% healthy, to me and other NBA people that’ I’ve talked to, there’s not a player in this draft who could be more more of a force and dominant his position if he hits his ceiling than Embiid. If his back is not an issue, and he continues to progress at the pace that he has, the sky is the limit for the 7-footer from Cameroon.  Joel Embiid could end up being not only a game changer, but a franchise savior. I’ve heard NBA comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon to Serge Ibaka to Tim Duncan. So I went back and compared Embiid’s freshman numbers to those of Olajuwon and Duncan and I’ll leave you with those stats as you, just like David Griffin and the Cavaliers, make up your mind as to whether or not Embiid deserves to be the Number #1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft just like Olajuwon and Duncan were!

FRESHAMN STATS IN COLLEGE:

Embiid              11.2ppg  –  8.1rpg  –  2.6blk  –  62%fg  –   20%(3fg)  –  68%ft

Olajuwon          8.3ppg    –  6.2rpg  –  2.5blk  –  61%fg  –   00%(3fg)  –  56%ft

Duncan             9.8ppg    –  9.6rpg  –  3.8blk  –   54%fg  –  100%(3fg) –  74%ft

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A CASE FOR WHY THE CAVS SHOULD DRAFT JOEL EMBIID

As David Griffin and the Cavaliers continue their search for a head coach and who they’re going to select first overall in the June 26th NBA Draft should they keep the pick, let’s focus today on just the draft and one of the candidates who’s being discussed for that top pick – center Joel Embiid.

David Griffin 2014 NBA Draft Lottery Photo

In talking with numerous people throughout the Association, it’s apparent to me that if there were no injury concerns about Joel Embiid’s back he would be the clear-cut choice to go number #1 overall. But there are concerns, and thus the debate continues for the Cavs. After having your doctors look at Embiid, if you like what you see medically do you take him and don’t worry about it anymore? If there’s even a bit of a concern with Embiid physically, do you shift your focus to either Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker? Or do you go in a completely different direction and look to trade that first overall pick?

Joel Embiid photo - Courtesy of USA Today

photo courtesy of USA Today

Here’s my case for drafting Joel Embiid if, and that’s a big “IF”, he is cleared medically by the Cavs teams doctors:

He’s a legit center at 7’0 – 255 pounds with a 7’5 wingspan.

Cavs G.M. David Griffin talked about finding the right fit. Well Embiid fits! The Cavs are looking to get bigger, tougher, become a better shooting team and they want to spread the floor. Embiid does all of that for you right away. He has a nice soft touch for a big man who has only played the game for 4 years. He’s already a 68% free throw shooter.

He has the most upside or potential in this draft!

He will be a rim protector.  An eraser to make up for all of the other players defensive shortcomings like Larry Nance was for the Cavs in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He’s a shot blocker, a shot changer and he plays with a little nastiness in his game which the Cavs need in a big way.

He’s a very good athlete who runs the floor well and has outstanding footwork. He can drop step and spin move on you with ease already. Plus he’s got a face up and back to the basket game that’s only going to get better. Plus he’s a hard worker and wants to improve.

The comparisons I’ve read with Embiid are with Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan. To me, I see more of Olajuwon than Duncan because of his defense and footwork.

Let’s compare Embiid’s numbers his freshman year at Kansas with those of Olajuwon and Duncan in their freshman years. Remember Olajuwon ended up playing three years of college ball and Duncan four years. Embiid is heading to the NBA after just one year of NCAA action for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Embiid          – 11.2ppg – 8.1rpg -2.6blks – 62%FG – 68%FT – 20%(3FG)

Olajuwon     –  8.3ppg – 6.2rpg – 2.5blks – 61%FG – 56%FT – (No three point line)

Duncan         –  9.8ppg – 9.6rpg – 3.8blks – 54%FG – 74%FT – (1 for 1 in 3-pt shots)

 

Is Embiid the perfect player? No he is not. Nobody in this draft is. Embiid has to get stronger. He’s inexperienced as far as actual games played and he has the injury issues that need to be put under the microscope. His handle needs to get better as he turns it over in the post a bit, but that can change with more playing time. However he brings an emerging offensive game along with an above average defensive game to the table already and his potential is through the roof. He’s already a two-way player who’s only going to get better.

Check out a recent work out here courtesy of ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and Rodger Bohn –

@chadforinsider – Here’s a nice video compilation of Joel Embiid’s workout on Fri via @rodgerbohn. http://youtu.be/Gp7PX7hYUFQ 

 

Here’s one more thing to keep in mind about Embiid and big men. We hear how the NBA game is changing to more of wingman’s game and based on the last two NBA Championships won by LeBron James and the Heat you could make that argument. But consider these facts, of the last 15 NBA Championships that have been won, 11 featured impactful, if not dominate 7’0 foot centers as one of the core pieces of the team – (Shaq and Duncan 4 titles each, Pau Gasol/Andrew Bynum 2 titles and Kevin Garnett 1) – To me that sample size proves more than what’s happened in just the last two years.

So if Joel Embiid’s back is indeed 100% healthy and there are no red flags about his health, it’s going to be very hard for Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin to pass on such a talented 7-footer who is only going to get bigger, stronger and better.