Terry Shilton

1. Chicago Bulls ~ Derrick Rose, scouts love the PG, he’s local, character guy, proven winner, needs to improve outside shot, immediate impact

2. Miami Heat ~ Micheal Beasley, crazy scorer, future ROY, potential 25 pt plus 10-15 rebound per game guy

3. Minnesota Timberwolves ~ OJ Mayo, best player available, immmediate impact, eventual star

4. Seattle Supersonics ~ Brooks Lopez, can score from post and board clears the way for them to deal Chris Wilcox

5. Memphis Grizzlies ~ Kevin Love, athletic, fundamentally sound big man to replace the one they lost.

6. New York Knicks ~ Jerryd Bayless, stock rising as he has been great in workouts, D’antoni loves the scoring PG

7. La Clippers ~ Eric Gordon, Clipps need backcourt help bad, Westbrook will be tempting but that good at everything great at nothing PG will lose out to Air Gordon’s scoring ability, maybe a steal here

8. Milwaukee Bucks ~ Joe Alexander, New Gm drafts best athlete in draft, crazy upside, super athlete, possible star, almost certain to create most rookie highlights, dude can fly

9. Charlotte Bobcats ~ Russell Westbrook, currently no backup PG to Felton, worth the risk as Westbrook was once thought to be top 5 pick, does everything well

10. New Jersey Nets ~ Danilo Gallinari, versatile scorer, can really shoot has Toni Kukoc like game, lacks athleticism

11. Indiana Pacers ~ DJ Augustine, undersized, great shooter, good leader if they make that trade for TJ Ford, look for them to pick a centre here.

12. Sacramento Kings ~ Anthony Randolph, upside and risk here Anthony is either the next Chris Bosh or the next Bust, looks great and lost at times, Mario Chalmers also strong possibility here

13.  Portland Trailblazers ~ Mario Chalmers, suprise here Mario has been great in work outs, good defender looks Nba ready, would allow the Trailblazers to move Roy back to SG more often, also maybe pick most likely to get dealt; Portland has great young team need to add a Veteran or two

14. Golden State Warriors ~ Kosta Koufous, doesn’t Gstate always pick around here in the draft, nice pickup good upside, solid Nba centre, a year or so away developmentally, projected top 5 pick in 2009 came out 2008

15. Phoenix Suns ~ Brandon Rush, smart, athletic outside shooter, champion, good defender, Barbosa’s replacement?

16. Philadelphia 76ers ~ Deandre Jordan, quick big man, needs time to develop, low post scorer at one time thought to maybe be top 10 pick

17. Toronto Raptors ~  Alexis Ajinca, big euro center, meaning he can pass and understands basketball but needs to get stronger

18. Washington Wizards ~ Darrell Arthur, He can move, and score, handle the ball, but probaby destined to be a somewhat decent contributor off a bench; think Antwan Jamieson type game

19. Cleveland Cavaliers ~ Marreese Spreights, Cleveland want a big who can score, they have many who can defend either Spreights or Hibbert here; personally I think Spreights has more upside

20. Denver Nuggets ~ Javale Mcgee, struggled in camps, bit of suprising drop to here, has size and alot of upside potential contributor in a year or two, good quickness, and transition for a real big at 7′0

21. New Jersey (from Dallas) ~ JJ Hickson, nice combo of strength, wingspan, quickness, and a lot of offensive moves

22. Orlando Magic ~ Robin Lopez, an energetic, hustling big guy who can take up space and make some noise; think Anderson Varejo his hustle makes up for natural ability

23. Utah Jazz ~ Roy Hibbert, the Jazz have fingers crossed he’ll fall in their laps especially during the Cav’s pick, Roy is skilled but can’t run the floor, very effective in methodical half court offense, wonderful fit

24. Seattle (from Phoenix) ~ Serge Ibaka, former Spurs exec and current Gm goes international here, Serge is potentially Lottery pick next year came out a year early, likely to stay in Spain and hopefully develop into player

25. Houston Rockets ~ Courtney Lee, tough choice for Houston between Lee and Douglas-Roberts, but Lee is a shooter and Douglas-Roberts more of a slasher, The Rockets will take Lee and hope he can contribute at the SG position right away

26. San Antonio Spurs ~ Ryan Anderson, PF that can shoot the lights out, Robert Horry’s replacement

27. Portland Trailblazers (from New Orleans, traded for cash today) ~ Nicolas Batum, a quick, leaping scorer with nice potential and very good defensive ability

28. Memphis Grizzlies (from La) ~ Jason Thompson, close here with DJ White, Grizzlies need front court help Jason can rebound and defend at an Nba level any scoring would be a bonus

29. Detroit Pistons ~ Chris Douglas-Roberts, suprising fall here, Gets to the rim, scores, shoots and can defend. Some wonder if his upside is limited

30. Boston Celtics ~ Richard Hendrix, A smart power forward with low post game who can help an NBA team’s bench. Understands basketball

UPPER SECOND ROUND / FIRST ROUND BUBBLE:
DJ White (PF 6-9 250 Indiana)
Bill Walker (SF 6-6 220 Kansas State)
Gary Forbes (G/F 6-7 220 Massachusetts)
Mike Taylor (G 6-2 190 Iowa State/D-League)
Ante Tomic (C 7-2 245 Croatia)
Omer Asik (F/C 6-11 230 Turkey)
DeVon Hardin (C 6-11 250 U of Cal)

MID/LOWER SECOND ROUND:
Joe Crawford
Trent Plaisted
James Gist
Davon Jefferson (SF 6-8 215 USC)
Shawn James (PF 6-10 225 Duquesne)
Drew Neitzel
JR Giddens
James Mays
Josh Duncan
Malik Hairston
Sasha Kaun
George Hill
Josh Duncan
Richard Roby
Pat Calathes
Joey Dorsey
Sean Singletary
Vladimir Gulubovic

This post’s Comments will be updated throughout the day with Draft Rumours so please check back often
 

Terry Shilton

What a series so far, the up’s and downs, the emergence of Chris Paul unbelievable, I personally wonder how many journalists would like their MVP vote back. This playoff run has saved basketball in New Orleans this team was essentially the only team without a home court advantage during the regular season as any away team that played in the Hornet’s nest had more supporters than the home team. But now season ticket sales for next year are way up, numerous stars were courtside and their the hottest ticket anywhere. They should honestly do an NBA where the “improbable happens” commerical for this years Hornets, 39 wins to 55 plus, quite the Cinderella story and honestly who’s favorite player right now is not Chris Paul he has been brilliant and done it in such an entertaining way as Greg Popovich put it “he turns games into an organizied playground.”

The Game goes Monday May 19th and is the Can’t miss game of the year.

Keys to Victory for the Spurs

1. Clutch Shooting, the Hornets have doubled Duncan fairly effectively so the Spurs need to make the Hornets pay for doubling him, especially Ginobli if he gets going he can be unstoppable in big games
2. Contain CP3, the Spurs have made a great coaching adjustment here by placing Bruce Bowen on Peja, your not going to stop CP3 from getting his points but if you can contain him from getting everyone else going he can’t beat you alone.
3. Patience, I said to a buddy before the Suns vs Spurs series you didn’t need a shot or game clock to decide this series just give each team 10 possesions and who ever executed them the best would win the series; this game will be the same the Spurs are an exceptionally patient team setting and re-setting plays, experience here is everything, if they control the games Tempo and don’t waste possesions they’ll roll into the West finals again.

Keys to Victory for the Hornets

1. CP3, Chris has been amazing and to beat the Spurs he’ll have to be on Monday, the key is to get other players involved early, if he can get Peja and West going the Hornets have a shot, that being said it won’t be enough just to get them going he will have to shoulder the load on offense as well, To win he’ll need another 30 point 10 assist night any less i see this Cinderella story coming to an end.
2. Foul Trouble, The Hornets have really only two people capable of playing Tim Duncan one on one with any effectiveness; David West and Tyson Chandler if either gets into early foul trouble it will be a long night as they’ll have to double nearly every touch and leave the perimeter open. Chandler is maybe slightly more disruptive defensively because of his length and may be the real key here.
3. Moment, the Hornets can’t get sweeped up in the moment and force turnovers and waste posessions but if they feed of the crowd, run the break, get an alley-oop, or a replay worthy play that positive Cinderella adrenaline can sweep the team, arena, city and can carry them through a major upset. I just love the turn around of this arena the last home game not a fan would sit for nearly the entire first half.

Prediction

I am trying to have some kind of bias here but let’s face I too have been sweeped up in the performance of CP3 and the Cinderella story of the Hornets, plus I have endured enough of the Spurs their dynasty has seemingly no end in sight, I won’t buy into that their boring thing, they play the game with a medical precision have unselfish players, the best power forward ever to play the game, a fantastic coach, hit big shots, even in this series came back from the brink; it’s just that I’m sick of them, it’s like that awkward moment now they have hung around too long for them to be interesting to me anymore, if they win it all again honestly give Tim a statue like MJ but someone please force him to retire.

Final Score: Hornets 103 Spurs 98

Terry Shilton

So the match-ups are finalized in the Wild West, it’s near impossible to pick a team to go through as no less than 5 teams from this conference have a legitimate title shot. But here is my breakdown:

La Lakers vs Denver Nuggets Upset Potential 5%

This one is a lock for the Lakers they will roll over Denver quickly and easily, two reasons, first Kobe Bryant  he has been unbelievable down the stretch offensively and defensively he will help neutralize Carmelo but Melo will not be able to slow Kobe at all. My call for this one is 5 games only because I think AI has one 40 plus game in him and could steal the show at least for a night. 

New Orleans Hornets Vs Dallas Mavericks Upset Potential 40%

This one is going to be closer, This years MVP vs last years a great point guard dual and certainly some pressure on Dallas to exercise  the demons of last years early exit. My call is Dallas in six, as much as I like Chris Paul he has to carry his teams offense night in and night out West, Chandler, Peja are great role players but all rely heavily on Paul to create opportunities for them. Dallas will be at there best defensively and by comparison have Jason Kidd to create opportunities for their role players but also have Dirk, Terry, Howard who can create their own shots this will be just two much for Paul and the Hornets.

San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns Upset Potential 50%

This series is as close as they come can Phoenix overcome their arch nemesis and put behind them their past bad luck and what ifs; what if Diaw and Amare didn’t leave the bench, what if Joe Johnson didn’t get hurt or demand a trade.  Shaq was brought in to be help overcome these Spurs expect the benches led by Manu and Barbosa to play a huge factor. My call is Phoenix in 7, I just think that the Suns luck has to change at some point… fair warning for the rest of the conference if the Suns somehow end it early say in 5 the ego boost will carry them to the finals regardless of who’s in the way; it will be one of those defining moment type victories 

Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets Upset Potential 35%  

This series could be a good one Houston went up 3-0 last year against Utah before collapsing… Houston has been on everyone’s radar because of the 22 win streak and despite going to the Western Conference Finals last year Utah is still a kind of cinderella in the West. Houston is better defensively than they were last year but Utah will still be to much. My Call is Utah in six they have some weapons and play very smart basketball even in the playoffs, Houston will make the key mistakes and that will be enough. Mcgrady still won’t get that first round victory this year and will still be the “best player to never win a playoff series” in history