Announcement

Collapse

The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
See more
See less

O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

    I know this is probably material for the Draft thread, but I made a thread for it here so it wouldn't be overlooked. Evidentally it is some info regarding O.J.'s rising draft stock due to character issues not being much of a concern anymore...should be an interesting read considering our history with players whom have character concerns and how we are going to do background checks and yada yada yada... anyway, if anyone has ESPN Insider and would access this for us all it would be greatly appreciated, then we could probably move it to the Draft thread afterwards...yes? good. Thanks everyone.

    http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...ftWatch-080508
    Roy Hibbert.... It's the POWER!!!

  • #2
    Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

    Chad Ford
    ESPN.com
    http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...ftWatch-080508

    Draft Watch: Mayo's stock is on the rebound

    With the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NBA draft behind us, NBA scouts and GMs are ramping up for the Orlando predraft camp on May 27, and individual workouts after the camp ends three days later.

    Right now, teams are prohibited from conducting draft workouts until after the camp ends. That means time is being spent in Europe (a number of GMs attended last weekend's Euroleague Final Four in Madrid), in the video room reviewing tape and on the phone doing background checks on prospects.

    That might not sound like much, but interesting insights are being gleaned.

    Draft prospects, meanwhile, are working hard in gyms in Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas preparing for Orlando or workouts.

    In the next few weeks, I'll be traveling to gyms throughout the country to give you a firsthand look at how players are preparing for the draft.

    In the meantime, here's the latest word from around the league …

    • It's not easy for a draft prospect's stock to move up much when teams can't watch him play. But I'm hearing significant movement is taking place for USC's OJ Mayo.

    As more NBA teams watch his tape and do background checks, the more it looks like Mayo may become the consensus No. 3 pick in the draft.

    Mayo's stock suffered at the start of the season based on some pretty unrealistic expectations. He's been on scouts' radars since the eighth grade, and many expected him to be a LeBron James-type dominant player as a freshman.

    His per-game numbers were excellent for a freshman: 20.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. But they didn't blow anyone away.

    Scouts complained about his shot selection and the fact that he didn't appear to have the point guard skills they thought he might have. Many dropped him from the top 10 on their draft boards.

    But Mayo finished the season strong enough that teams had to go back and re-evaluate the tape. What they're seeing now is generating significant buzz. Multiple GMs are now telling me that Mayo's talent may be as good as advertised.

    "When you start to reassess a kid like that and quit looking at just the flaws, you see a very talented basketball player," one prominent GM with a pick in the lottery said. "I think he's going to be great."

    But there's another story, too, that's helping Mayo's stock. More and more teams are reporting that their background checks are coming back as positives for Mayo. Teams say that he earned good grades at USC and was a good citizen for coach Tim Floyd, and they report multiple instances of Mayo volunteering to help underprivileged kids.

    "Everything that we're hearing is that he's basically a good kid," another GM said. "It's a big deal when you're drafting high. He's got to be good both on and off the court. I had my worries about OJ. But my people are telling me he's OK."

    We've moved Mayo up to No. 3 on our big board and will do a more extensive report on him in the coming weeks.

    [+] Enlarge
    Mario Chalmers

    AP Photo/Eric Gay

    Mario Chalmers' title-game heroics have helped his draft stock.

    • KU forwards Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush, along with point guard Mario Chalmers, are all still seeing a bump in their draft stock off their NCAA championship run.

    I've had a number of GMs and scouts tell me that I have all three ranked too low in our Top 100. GMs are now saying they have Arthur ranked anywhere from 10-15 in the draft. Rush is ranked as high as 15 on many boards and no lower than 25 on the boards of the teams I spoke with. Chalmers sneaks into the late first round on many of the boards and doesn't drop below 35 on any.

    It will be interesting to see if the bump continues once they get into individual workouts. We now have Arthur at No. 13, Rush at No. 20 and Chalmers at No. 31 in our Top 100.

    • A number of underclassmen said they would not hire agents when they declared for the draft. However, in the past few weeks, it appears that some of those players have moved off the fence and are strongly leaning toward staying in the draft.

    Among those who said they're testing but are likely staying in the draft?

    UCLA's Kevin Love, Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan, Ohio State big man Kosta Koufos, Syracuse forward Donte Greene, Texas guard D.J. Augustin and Florida forward Marreese Speights look like they want to stay in for good.

    • A number of NBA GMs and scouts were in Madrid last weekend to watch the Euroleague Final Four. What did they find?

    Only one serious draft prospect, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Omri Casspi, played in the event. Casspi saw just four minutes of action in the first game versus Montepaschi Siena and didn't do much. He was better in the finals versus CSKA, scoring nine points on 3-for-6 shooting in 12 minutes of play.

    [+] Enlarge
    Omri Casspi

    AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

    Maccabi Tel Aviv's Omri Casspi is drawing NBA interest.

    Casspi has great energy and toughness, but he's a borderline first-round pick. Much has been made of the Spurs' apparent interest in Casspi … it's possible, but some of that has to be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, they've made several trips to Israel this year, but many of the Spurs are involved in PeacePlayers International and like to make stops there when going overseas to support the program.

    Nike also sponsors a junior tournament every year, and the two big names that came out of that were Serbia's Dejan Musli, a 7-foot-1 center who is just 17 years old, and England's Ryan Richard, another 17-year-old stud. Neither player is eligible for this year's draft.

    Overall, the feeling among scouts and GMs is that the talent level in Europe is way down. Some of that is backlash from a number of seemingly high-profile Euro busts, including Darko Milicic, Andrea Bargnani and Marco Belinelli.

    There is no question that the enthusiasm that surrounded international players five years ago has significantly waned -- despite the successes of players like Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol and Jose Calderon.

    "These things are cyclical, but it's been a while since a young international player has come into the league and turned the league on fire," one GM said. "Then you have a strong collegiate class, and I think it's hard to get too excited about some of the prospects over here."

    The main player suffering a bit right now is Italian forward Danilo Gallinari. Three years ago, Gallinari would've been a lock for the top five -- especially given how well he's been playing in the Euroleague. However, teams are worried about his average athleticism and streaky jump shot and how he'll handle the cultural change.

    A few years ago, it was all about what international players could do -- the basketball IQ, the versatility and the experience playing in Europe. Now virtually everyone has reservations.

    And here's the biggest proof that the Euro stock is at rock bottom. While a couple of teams told me that Gallinari would be a top-five or top-10 pick, I couldn't find one team that actually has him ranked that high on its own big board. Telling.

    Next year, however, that could change with Spain's Ricky Rubio. There is already significant buzz about his being a potential No. 1 pick in the draft. As one GM said … these things are cyclical.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

      I've been in basic agreement with the GM/scouts comments on both Mayo and the KU kids.

      Mayo comes off a bit like Jordan in attitude, demanding and brash in the sense that he knows he has talent and wants the team around him to match that level. But it was OJ that insisted on D'ing up on Rose early in the season, just as one example. He demands of himself and others it appears.

      Doesn't fix his streaky shot, but he is young. Moot point to Pacers fans because he's gone before their pick regardless.

      I'd love to get back into the late first and grab Chalmers. It might take him a year but he could PG around the Rondo level I think. Not all star, but eventually a reliable starting distribution PG.

      Gallinari dropping hurts Indy though, you'd like to see him bump some other prospects down to us. As long as Bird doesn't grab him instead.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

        Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
        Moot point to Pacers fans because he's gone before their pick regardless.
        Cue the Colbert
        You Got The Tony!!!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

          If a team happens to pick Rose at #1 based on need... like Seattle, Clippers or Knicks, who would have to pick second for them to select Mayo over Beasley?

          Would anyone?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

            Damnit, I want Mayo...I have been high on him for a long time, as well as a long time member of the "competitive fire" over "disruptive premadonna" wing of discussion as well. He is going to be a hell of a player in the league.

            Also, Thank you to MAL for posting this piece.
            Roy Hibbert.... It's the POWER!!!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

              Originally posted by iPACER View Post
              If a team happens to pick Rose at #1 based on need... like Seattle, Clippers or Knicks, who would have to pick second for them to select Mayo over Beasley?

              Would anyone?
              I still don't get taking Rose over Beasley. Though the teams you list could use a point guard, they could also use a power forward.
              You Got The Tony!!!!!!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                Originally posted by AesopRockOn View Post
                I still don't get taking Rose over Beasley. Though the teams you list could use a point guard, they could also use a power forward.
                The Knicks have Randolph at PF. The Clippers have Brand who probably won't opt out so both would take Rose.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                  Originally posted by AesopRockOn View Post
                  I still don't get taking Rose over Beasley. Though the teams you list could use a point guard, they could also use a power forward.
                  Beasley is going to be an NBA small forward.

                  He's going to measure out somehwere between 6'7"-6'8" w/o shoes.

                  Even if he was a PF, that wouldn't stop the Knicks from taking him even if they have Zach Randolph. Zach Randolph isn't a good enough player that he would start to dictate how you used the #1 overall pick.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                    6'8" or not, he's going to be on the block. Whether he's posting up other small forwards is up to the coaches. I love Elton (for a Dukie) but if you get a player of Beasley's caliber, you trade Brand. Ditto on Middle Name McKinley.

                    A Durant-Beasley combo is much scarier than a Durant-Rose combo for the future. It would probably be more even for the other two. Although Miami (which has the best odds) seems to want Rose, Beasley would be a much better fit for them since Marion isn't going to run a pick and roll. I guess I'm kind of biased towards B-Easy because I've watched him play.
                    You Got The Tony!!!!!!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                      Originally posted by AesopRockOn View Post
                      6'8" or not, he's going to be on the block. Whether he's posting up other small forwards is up to the coaches. I love Elton (for a Dukie) but if you get a player of Beasley's caliber, you trade Brand. Ditto on Middle Name McKinley.
                      Beasley is going to play a lot on the block against smaller guys. He's going to face up on bigger guys. Kind of like David West. West only posts up on the block against smaller guys. Otherwise, he's a faceup player. I don't think you want Beasley defending most able bodied 4s in the NBA and you certainly aren't going to get the helpside defense that you look for out of your PF.

                      I see him playing a lot like Carmelo in the NBA. Carmelo's best asset might just be his play on the low block.

                      If the Clips got #1, a good chance they'd trade down with whoever is picking #2 and take Rose there. I could see that.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                        Just reading over this, I wonder if as we get closer to the draft, if the line between Beasley and Rose and the next group gets blurred.

                        They say its them 2 and the rest are a notch down, I'm not so sure now. I wonder if there are any "franchise" players in this draft at all or at least in perception.

                        All I'm getting at is if someone gets the 1 or 2 and doesn't think the player there is worth a pick that high, maybe you can trade into the 1 or 2.

                        I say this, knowing its a reach and also knowing that the Pacers probably don't have the assets to outbid anyone for a pick in the top two unless you include Granger, then that brings us back to the trade Granger/top 5 pick discussion.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                          I suspect that a few years from now, any GM that takes Beasley
                          over Rose is gonna be answering alot of questions as to what the
                          hell he was thinking/doing back in June-08.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                            Originally posted by d_c View Post
                            I see him playing a lot like Carmelo in the NBA. Carmelo's best asset might just be his play on the low block.
                            Very good comp.

                            I'd trade back too if Beasley was on the board.

                            1. Rose
                            2. and 3. Mayo and Lopez

                            These are my options for the Pacers in the lottery. Lopez and Mayo both fit needs and both I can see becoming very good. Since it's becoming a small guy's league, I might lean towards Mayo. He's similar to Roy and J. Johnson and would fit nicely at the 2 for the Pacers.

                            Lopez was extremely impressive and would be very good in the low block and allow JO to move to the 4 and high post.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

                              Originally posted by jmoney2584 View Post
                              Damnit, I want Mayo...I have been high on him for a long time, as well as a long time member of the "competitive fire" over "disruptive premadonna" wing of discussion as well. He is going to be a hell of a player in the league.

                              Also, Thank you to MAL for posting this piece.
                              Well I can see him failing just as much as many of the other top prospects, but what I like about him is that if he does fail it won't be for lack of desire and effort. Unless he's pulling a pretty crafty mirage.

                              I won't like it if a pick busts, but I can accept that it happens. Just get a guy that COULD work out and fits the Pacers situation. Obviousy Mayo, Rose, Bayless do that. EJ does too, though I worry about local pressure with him.


                              I know Beasley isn't as tall, but he reminds me of Karl Malone in his game. Where and how he likes his jumpers, how he works the lane. He's comfortable being physical. I don't really get the Melo/SF vibe from his game at all. I mean I realize that as far as SFs go Melo is fine with contact and inside play, it's just different.

                              Maybe it's just the moves they each go to or the types of shots they take in traffic. Melo is physical but he's still slashing. Beasley doesn't really slash, he's got more PF bull to his moves. It's just that with his speed he beats his defender to the bull move rather than counting on just his strength to back him off. And he likes to turn to both hands, spin into semi-hooks, other post-like moves even out of some of his "drives".

                              I don't know if he'll reach HOF level, but if he does I'd expect it to look like a mash up of Barkley and Malone ultimately.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X