SI's Scouting Reports on Every Team!

[Erick Blasco]

Hey guys, SI.com has their annual "Behind Enemy Lines" where opposing scouts dissect every team in the league. You can check out every single team in the NBA. I'll link to Houston's. Discuss, Discuss, Discuss!!!

 

Rockets

[Poe]

Looked over at the Warriors and...

 

Their best player is Stephen Curry, with David Lee serving as a close second. Curry has an incredible knack for the game as a young player. He understands where he fits in, he's a good and willing passer, and he shoots the three. He's not a great defender, but he's a more willing defender than Monta Ellis, who is basically a gambling-steals defender. So that backcourt is going to have to be shored up defensively as they move forward.

 

Wha?

 

 

As for the rest of the.. scouting report, it spent most of it's time talking about how good Curry and Lee are, and how the writer suspects Ellis will be traded. They failed to mention Dorell Wright's increased freedom in the offense and role as a playmaker, Reggie William's expected versatility to run the point, the overall increased depth the Warrior's have gained in the bigger positions, and the most important bit of all, how the Warriors may become one of the best passing teams in the league.

 

Not a strong analysis of the team, IMO. I might check out the others later. See if there are any better ones.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Poe

[Erick Blasco]

Looked over at the Warriors and...

 

 

 

Wha?

 

 

As for the rest of the.. scouting report, it spent most of it's time talking about how good Curry and Lee are, and how the writer suspects Ellis will be traded. They failed to mention Dorell Wright's increased freedom in the offense and role as a playmaker, Reggie William's expected versatility to run the point, the overall increased depth the Warrior's have gained in the bigger positions, and the most important bit of all, how the Warriors may become one of the best passing teams in the league.

 

Not a strong analysis of the team, IMO. I might check out the others later. See if there are any better ones.

 

A lot of basketball people aren't high on Ellis. He plays with his head down, he turns the ball over, he's not a great passer, and he has limited basketball IQ. It's why he tops a lot of overrated lists, and why I, myself, feel he should be traded to form a more balanced team.

 

Lee has become terrific. He won't play defense at all, but he can hit the mid-range jumper with regularity, he'll blow by centers off the dribble, he can pass, and everyone knows he can rebound.

 

Wright and Williams are a bit unproven, especially compared to Lee. I don't know enough about Curry, honestly, to form much of an opinion on him. I hated watching Golden State last year because it's not real basketball---which makes it hard to analyze a player like Curry. If he's going to play the point, how well can he run an offense---how do you know that when your offense is bring the ball up and shoot?

[Poe]

Ellis is still the team's leader and featured player. That makes him the best, overrated or not.

 

 

Concerning Lee's defense, he was always outmatched defensively at center, making his defense seem possibly worse than it probably is being outsized all the time. This year he is going to play next to Biedrins, where he can play a position more natural to him. There is chance we could see some level of improvement.

 

Wright and Williams may be considered unproven to a certain extent, but they will both share significant roles, one as a starter and the other as a sixth man. How the writer could only provide one sentence for each shows his lack of knowledge for the team as a whole. He only knew the stars, and that's all he wrote about. There is more to a scouting report than knowing the stars.

 

 

 

I don't know enough about Curry, honestly, to form much of an opinion on him. I hated watching Golden State last year because it's not real basketball---which makes it hard to analyze a player like Curry. If he's going to play the point, how well can he run an offense---how do you know that when your offense is bring the ball up and shoot?

 

Well I'd have a reason to believe he's an adequate point guard when he averaged 6 assists per game in his rookie year, was second in the league in ROY votes IIRC, and made it to the Olympic team.

 

 

I don't expect him to be as ball dominant as he was last year, though. This year, the team has players in the other positions capable have handling the ball and running the offense, like Ellis, Wright, and Williams.

 

The team will be very strong offensively with all the handling and playmakers. Other than Curry and the other perimeter playmakers, Lee has also proven he can pass well, and Biedrins is often considered underrated as a passer as well. The team has plenty of offensive talent and can hurt you in multiple ways. They have shooters, slashers, and post players, as well as improved depth. I can see them making a playoff push, though probably not enough since the West is still very tough.

[htown11]

That was a good read on the Rockets, and the common trend was the positive depth they have. Overall the scout clearly believes the Rockets are in good shape to be a competitive team this year. Glaring problem are defense and the center position still being weak, better than last year but still no stability.

 

Yao will be a question mark all year, and Brad Miller as the scout said is injury prone and has no post game, so the center position is still a huge worry. Adelman will have to work with Hayes, Hill, and Patterson (probably won't play much early) at times to get big and make the extra effort. Fortunately Chuck Hayes has been doing that his whole career, and Patterson looks like a hard worker while the verdict is still out on Jordan Hill's work ethic. Jordan doesn't have the greatest reputation when it comes to working hard but at the same time NY giving up on him that quick was a bad move IMO.

 

I was surprised they gave up on Trevor Ariza, because I thought he would play well with Yao. Courtney Lee is going to be better at shooting the three, but Ariza gave them a lot of easy points off his disruptions defensively, whether he was stealing off the dribble or in the passing lanes. Lee is something of a duplication of Martin in that both are not going to defend, so who is going to guard Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony? You can't put it on Battier to guard all of those guys.

 

I agree with this but at the same time I think Lee will actually commit to playing good defense, he won't be as good as Ariza but he won't be terrible either. I really have liked Lee's game so far, he's easily the better offensive player but defensively he will really have to commit.

 

Chase Budinger was a good second-round pick last year. He's a shooter who can also drive and finish up high at the rim.

 

I am surprised the scout didn't talk about Chase more... People are crazy over him here in Houston even to the point where they think he should start over Battier, but you do that and you probably have one of the worse defenses in the league. Chase had a great rookie year, he can do just about everything on the offensive end and is smart enough to be a decent defender, but I think Battier is the glue guy to the Rockets.

 

Overall seems like the scout knows that it will be hard for other teams to adjust to the various options that Adelman can throw out, it will be one style with Yao and another when he's out. Rockets fans got to see the run game in full effect last season without Yao and at time it was great, now you have the best of both worlds possible hopefully the Rockets capitalize on that.

[Erick Blasco]

Ellis is still the team's leader and featured player. That makes him the best, overrated or not.

 

It also makes the Warriors a really bad team.

 

 

Concerning Lee's defense, he was always outmatched defensively at center, making his defense seem possibly worse than it probably is being outsized all the time. This year he is going to play next to Biedrins, where he can play a position more natural to him. There is chance we could see some level of improvement.

 

Agreed, though I think there's a limit of how good Lee can be as a four. Plus on the flip side, Lee may be worse off offensively as a four when sluggish centers aren't checking him.

 

Wright and Williams may be considered unproven to a certain extent, but they will both share significant roles, one as a starter and the other as a sixth man. How the writer could only provide one sentence for each shows his lack of knowledge for the team as a whole. He only knew the stars, and that's all he wrote about. There is more to a scouting report than knowing the stars.

 

Quick heads up, this isn't a writer writing this in a traditional sense. It's either a scout writing this directly, or a writer transcribing the thoughts of a scout. Either way, the important thing is that this is a professional NBA scout dissecting how he gameplans a certain team. Usually you focus on the best three players then the top eight in a rotation.

 

The article spends a lot of time on Curry, Lee, and Ellis because ultimately, those three are the players who will probably shape Golden State's season. Few other players got more than a sentence treatment or two.

 

 

 

 

Well I'd have a reason to believe he's an adequate point guard when he averaged 6 assists per game in his rookie year, was second in the league in ROY votes IIRC, and made it to the Olympic team.

 

 

I don't expect him to be as ball dominant as he was last year, though. This year, the team has players in the other positions capable have handling the ball and running the offense, like Ellis, Wright, and Williams.

 

The team will be very strong offensively with all the handling and playmakers. Other than Curry and the other perimeter playmakers, Lee has also proven he can pass well, and Biedrins is often considered underrated as a passer as well. The team has plenty of offensive talent and can hurt you in multiple ways. They have shooters, slashers, and post players, as well as improved depth. I can see them making a playoff push, though probably not enough since the West is still very tough.

 

 

They had all that stuff last year---what good is all that offense if they have no defense at all? They don't have a lowpost player, Lee does nearly all his work facing up. If he plays the four, he probably won't be doubled on the block. They won't defend well enough to run efficiently. Do they have any above-average individual defender?

 

The west is full of powerhouse offenses. What are the Warriors going to do to slow down Utah, Portland, Oklahoma City, and these teams with big guards? Plus they have to unlearn years of bad habits from Nellie Ball. You can sig this, but I'd be stunned if the Warriors finished anywhere close to a playoff berth this season.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Erick Blasco

[Poe]

It also makes the Warriors a really bad team.

 

Not exactly. Ellis was top 6 in scoring last year (maybe not the top in scoring efficiency, but he is still up there) and the Warriors are more well rounded now.

 

 

 

They had all that stuff last year---what good is all that offense if they have no defense at all? They don't have a lowpost player, Lee does nearly all his work facing up. If he plays the four, he probably won't be doubled on the block. They won't defend well enough to run efficiently. Do they have any above-average individual defender?

 

The west is full of powerhouse offenses. What are the Warriors going to do to slow down Utah, Portland, Oklahoma City, and these teams with big guards? Plus they have to unlearn years of bad habits from Nellie Ball. You can sig this, but I'd be stunned if the Warriors finished anywhere close to a playoff berth this season.

 

My mistake in saying they have a low post player. They don't other than maybe Biedrins for 12 ppg max. For some reason Lee came to mind when I typed the response.

 

 

And for the record, if I'm going to make an official prediction, I don't think they will make the playoffs. 10th seed is where I'd place them.

 

They are still an improved team from last year's 26 win team in a year full of injuries, and their roster is almost completely different now. Ellis and Curry are the only players remaining on the Warriors that played over 40 games last year.

[AtTheDriveIn]

Ellis is still the team's leader and featured player. That makes him the best, overrated or not.

 

This coming year or last year? Last year, sure, he was the 'leader' but that doesn't mean he will be coming into this season which is what the article is talking about. I'll even contend that he lost that 'featured player' title at the end of last season to Steph Curry.

[Erick Blasco]

That was a good read on the Rockets, and the common trend was the positive depth they have. Overall the scout clearly believes the Rockets are in good shape to be a competitive team this year. Glaring problem are defense and the center position still being weak, better than last year but still no stability.

 

Yao will be a question mark all year, and Brad Miller as the scout said is injury prone and has no post game, so the center position is still a huge worry. Adelman will have to work with Hayes, Hill, and Patterson (probably won't play much early) at times to get big and make the extra effort. Fortunately Chuck Hayes has been doing that his whole career, and Patterson looks like a hard worker while the verdict is still out on Jordan Hill's work ethic. Jordan doesn't have the greatest reputation when it comes to working hard but at the same time NY giving up on him that quick was a bad move IMO.

 

 

 

I agree with this but at the same time I think Lee will actually commit to playing good defense, he won't be as good as Ariza but he won't be terrible either. I really have liked Lee's game so far, he's easily the better offensive player but defensively he will really have to commit.

 

 

 

I am surprised the scout didn't talk about Chase more... People are crazy over him here in Houston even to the point where they think he should start over Battier, but you do that and you probably have one of the worse defenses in the league. Chase had a great rookie year, he can do just about everything on the offensive end and is smart enough to be a decent defender, but I think Battier is the glue guy to the Rockets.

 

Overall seems like the scout knows that it will be hard for other teams to adjust to the various options that Adelman can throw out, it will be one style with Yao and another when he's out. Rockets fans got to see the run game in full effect last season without Yao and at time it was great, now you have the best of both worlds possible hopefully the Rockets capitalize on that.

 

Chase had a great rookie year and he's proving that he can score. I'm not sure if he can defend as well as they'd ideally want him to defend, and unlike K-Mart, I'm not sure if Budinger is a player who'll get to the line consistently. I think K-Mart is as soft as tissue paper but with all his pump fakes and ball tricks, he gets fouled a ton on the perimeter, which is efficient---the Morey way.

 

Houston may be the most interesting team in the year in that they have the ghost of a defensive powerhouse, and are a year removed from basically, an all-offense, uptempo, no defense approach, and they have a good mix of talent and intelligence. Charley Rosen thinks they can give the Lakers a scare. I wouldn't go that far, but they can win another playoff series.

[Sun Tzu]

What they say about the Suns is pretty much everything I think about them. I agree with the Suns review entirely.

[fish7718]

The only thing that can be said of Curry: Eddy Curry has an expiring contract -- that's his value.

 

Edited October 25, 2010 by STATCity

[NomarFachix]

Not a word about The Moz, disappointing.