(no subject)
Okay, so the NBA Playoffs have started. Being the basketball geek that I am, of course I'm following every matchup (in case an unlikely upset occurs).
One not-quite-playoffs-related thing I'm watching is the upcoming draft, which promises to be one of the deepest in years ever. (Yes, it could possibly rival the legendary '84 draft that produced Michael Jordan, Hakeem Oajuwon and Charles Barkley. It's that exciting.) And the crown jewels of this draft are two potential franchise players: Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Both of these players are young, being freshmen in their respective teams, but made such an impact that their teams played well deep into the recent NCAA tournament. Had the NBA not set an age requirement, both would certainly have made the leap to the pros straight from high school. Here they are in action:
Greg Oden
The dude's 7 feet tall but he runs well. And he blocks shots and grabs rebounds. Lots of them. I've read people comparing him to Bill Russell, who also blocked lots of shots and grabbed tons of rebounds. He's a nasty player but my only knock on him is he's too nice. Like Tim Duncan nice. And he has about as much personality as Timmy D, too, which doesn't say much.
But he kicks ass on the court:
Kevin Durant
Think Kevin Garnett--great scorer from outside, off the dribble or posting up. Pretty good defender. Great ballhandling for his size and aggressive rebounder. But add range to his jump shot, as in consistent three-point range. This kid is quite possibly Garnett++.
It isn't every year that a draft holds two potential Hall-of-Famers. This year will have two, plus a number of other impact players who, due to the talent of these two, are being overlooked. I'm watching the draft this year.
I can't wait to see them in action next year.
One not-quite-playoffs-related thing I'm watching is the upcoming draft, which promises to be one of the deepest in years ever. (Yes, it could possibly rival the legendary '84 draft that produced Michael Jordan, Hakeem Oajuwon and Charles Barkley. It's that exciting.) And the crown jewels of this draft are two potential franchise players: Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Both of these players are young, being freshmen in their respective teams, but made such an impact that their teams played well deep into the recent NCAA tournament. Had the NBA not set an age requirement, both would certainly have made the leap to the pros straight from high school. Here they are in action:
Greg Oden
The dude's 7 feet tall but he runs well. And he blocks shots and grabs rebounds. Lots of them. I've read people comparing him to Bill Russell, who also blocked lots of shots and grabbed tons of rebounds. He's a nasty player but my only knock on him is he's too nice. Like Tim Duncan nice. And he has about as much personality as Timmy D, too, which doesn't say much.
But he kicks ass on the court:
Click to viewKevin Durant
Think Kevin Garnett--great scorer from outside, off the dribble or posting up. Pretty good defender. Great ballhandling for his size and aggressive rebounder. But add range to his jump shot, as in consistent three-point range. This kid is quite possibly Garnett++.
It isn't every year that a draft holds two potential Hall-of-Famers. This year will have two, plus a number of other impact players who, due to the talent of these two, are being overlooked. I'm watching the draft this year.
I can't wait to see them in action next year.