I'm going to start a few threads from here until the draft about some of the possible players who may be available when we select. I won't try and analyze every player, because there are several of them I have not watched enough to form an intelligent opinion about. One of which I have watched and studied however is Kevin Love, from UCLA.
Love is the topic of my first draft posting because, in many ways he is a difficult player to figure out. Like many real experts in the league, and like many of you have, I have went back and forth watching him and studying his strengths and weaknesses, and my opinion has ranged from him being a very good pro to being out of the league in 3 years. Because we are slotted perfectly to get Love at #11, and because some mock drafts have him being our actual pick, I decided to rewatch some of his college games I had taped this year.
Kevin Love, I have decided, is going to be a really really good basketball player at the NBA level. I think he will play on really good teams in his career, and he will be a main reason why they are good, because he does so many intangible things to help a team win throughout a game. Offensively, I rate him as an All Star level player, although defensively he is only average and will struggle in certain matchups.
Offensively though, he will be an immediate factor in key areas for us if he indeed ends up a Pacer:
1. He ends being our best passer on the team by far. Love makes the outlet pass on the fast break better than any big man I have seen play since maybe Bill Walton. He has strong hands, great vision, great timing, and a very good awareness of where everyone is on the floor. For a team that wants to play uptempo, Love is a great asset due to his defensive rebounding and outlet abilities.
2. Love is a great screener. Watching him on tape, he gets really good screen angles on people (A major Pacer weakness), and really hits people solidly. He gets low and wide most of the time, helping cutters like Westbrook and Collison and Shipp get open for shots/drives. By being a "big" screener, he helps everyone on the floor be a better offensive player....passers have more room to make passes, cutters have more space to clear defenders, and shooters have an extra second to get their shots off.
3. Love makes contested jumpers. What I mean by this is that while Love doesnt have driving ability, he can make tough jump shots with defenders on him closely. This is a difficult skill many cannot do. This makes him very hard and frustrating to guard. In the NBA, he will excel at making the "pick and pop" jump shot after a ball/screen, will excel at making the step back jumper, and will still be able to score inside on putbacks, and posting up smaller guys. I also think eventually Love will develop a 3 point game, much like Mehmet Okur for Utah.
4. In studying his strengths, I think it is very possible that Kevin Love was put on earth to play alongside a big man like Jermaine O'Neal. Love will compliment JO much like Brad Miller did once upon a time. I am not a proponent of trading O'Neal this summer like so many of you, and because of that a pick of Love looks better to me than it will most of you. If the Pacers draft Love but yet trade O'Neal, they will need to try to acquire a player like a Dale Davis or Rick Mahorn type.
In fact, in mentioning the old veteran Rick Mahorn, Love i think reminds me alot of.......yes, Bill Laimbeer. Laimbeer was the player I hated more than anyone growing up, but looking back now I see what a key member to championship teams he was. He made big shots, made big plays, and was a key leader on the floor. He played hard, took no prisoners, and was the heart and soul of a tough minded, hard as nails basketball team. Like Love, Laimbeer was limited and needed certain types of players around him, but still was an extremely good player.......a player I call a "winning factor".
Players I consider Love to be somewhat similar to in the league now are Nenad Kristic of the Nets and Mehmet Okur of the Jazz. I think Love ends up being better than both of these guys, and ends up being a slightly smaller and better version of Brad Miller. As Pacer fans, we'd be happy with that at pick #11, wouldn't we?
Now, if I were running the Pacers, I'd look to try and add another late first round pick and add another complimentary piece to the puzzle...but that is another topic for another day.
I'll have thoughts on some other players as we get closer to the draft. As far as Kevin Love goes, consider me a big fan.
As always, this is just my opinion.
Tbird
Love is the topic of my first draft posting because, in many ways he is a difficult player to figure out. Like many real experts in the league, and like many of you have, I have went back and forth watching him and studying his strengths and weaknesses, and my opinion has ranged from him being a very good pro to being out of the league in 3 years. Because we are slotted perfectly to get Love at #11, and because some mock drafts have him being our actual pick, I decided to rewatch some of his college games I had taped this year.
Kevin Love, I have decided, is going to be a really really good basketball player at the NBA level. I think he will play on really good teams in his career, and he will be a main reason why they are good, because he does so many intangible things to help a team win throughout a game. Offensively, I rate him as an All Star level player, although defensively he is only average and will struggle in certain matchups.
Offensively though, he will be an immediate factor in key areas for us if he indeed ends up a Pacer:
1. He ends being our best passer on the team by far. Love makes the outlet pass on the fast break better than any big man I have seen play since maybe Bill Walton. He has strong hands, great vision, great timing, and a very good awareness of where everyone is on the floor. For a team that wants to play uptempo, Love is a great asset due to his defensive rebounding and outlet abilities.
2. Love is a great screener. Watching him on tape, he gets really good screen angles on people (A major Pacer weakness), and really hits people solidly. He gets low and wide most of the time, helping cutters like Westbrook and Collison and Shipp get open for shots/drives. By being a "big" screener, he helps everyone on the floor be a better offensive player....passers have more room to make passes, cutters have more space to clear defenders, and shooters have an extra second to get their shots off.
3. Love makes contested jumpers. What I mean by this is that while Love doesnt have driving ability, he can make tough jump shots with defenders on him closely. This is a difficult skill many cannot do. This makes him very hard and frustrating to guard. In the NBA, he will excel at making the "pick and pop" jump shot after a ball/screen, will excel at making the step back jumper, and will still be able to score inside on putbacks, and posting up smaller guys. I also think eventually Love will develop a 3 point game, much like Mehmet Okur for Utah.
4. In studying his strengths, I think it is very possible that Kevin Love was put on earth to play alongside a big man like Jermaine O'Neal. Love will compliment JO much like Brad Miller did once upon a time. I am not a proponent of trading O'Neal this summer like so many of you, and because of that a pick of Love looks better to me than it will most of you. If the Pacers draft Love but yet trade O'Neal, they will need to try to acquire a player like a Dale Davis or Rick Mahorn type.
In fact, in mentioning the old veteran Rick Mahorn, Love i think reminds me alot of.......yes, Bill Laimbeer. Laimbeer was the player I hated more than anyone growing up, but looking back now I see what a key member to championship teams he was. He made big shots, made big plays, and was a key leader on the floor. He played hard, took no prisoners, and was the heart and soul of a tough minded, hard as nails basketball team. Like Love, Laimbeer was limited and needed certain types of players around him, but still was an extremely good player.......a player I call a "winning factor".
Players I consider Love to be somewhat similar to in the league now are Nenad Kristic of the Nets and Mehmet Okur of the Jazz. I think Love ends up being better than both of these guys, and ends up being a slightly smaller and better version of Brad Miller. As Pacer fans, we'd be happy with that at pick #11, wouldn't we?
Now, if I were running the Pacers, I'd look to try and add another late first round pick and add another complimentary piece to the puzzle...but that is another topic for another day.
I'll have thoughts on some other players as we get closer to the draft. As far as Kevin Love goes, consider me a big fan.
As always, this is just my opinion.
Tbird
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