Charley Rosen's NBA Grades

[Erick Blasco]

HOUSTON: An example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Kudos to Rick Adelman.

Grade: A

 

LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Feasting on home cooking, lots of last-second rescues by Kobe, plus occasional bummers against both good and bad teams. In other words, business as usual.

Grade: C

 

NEW JERSEY: Ugh!

Grade: F-minus

 

ORLANDO: Vince Carter is a hit-or-miss player who misses too often. Dwight Howard doesn’t have the fire that burned so many opponents last year. Jameer Nelson has lost a step.

Grade: D

 

PHILADELPHIA: Andre Iguodala continues to prove that he’s not a franchise player. Samuel Dalembert has game, but is the wrong player for this team. Ditto for Elton Brand. The Sixers are slightly better on the road than at home -- but aren’t very good wherever they play. And brotherly love is in short supply in the Wachovia Center.

Grade: F-plus

 

SACRAMENTO: Kevin Martin is proving to be a tough re-fit, but Omri Casspi and Tyreke Evans have given the Kings a huge boost, and have made better players of the rest of their teammates.

Grade: A-plus

 

TORONTO: Chris Bosh is auditioning for his new team, and Andrea Bargnani is stretching out his talents. But the Raptors lack power and defense, so despite their improvement .500 is their upper limit.

Grade: B

 

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/rosen-nba-midterm-grades-012210

Edited January 22, 2010 by Erick Blasco

[Jenneral]

MILWAUKEE: The league has caught up to Brandon Jennings, Andrew Bogut only beats up on the NBA's weaklings, and Hakim Warrick’s dynamic offense hasn’t compensated for his dull defense.

Grade: C

 

Although I don't agree with a lot of what that guy had to say, he was at least right about this. I wish more people could see that Bogut is as inconsistent as they come. Against the bottom half of the centers he can put up 20 points with 15 rebounds, but once he's up against a top center he struggles to get 10 points or 10 rebounds. It's pretty pathetic for a #1 OVERALL pick. He needs to be a consistent 20/12 guy to actually be worth the pick. He seems to have improved this season, but he still needs to be more productive against the top players in the league.

[Erick Blasco]

Although I don't agree with a lot of what that guy had to say, he was at least right about this. I wish more people could see that Bogut is as inconsistent as they come. Against the bottom half of the centers he can put up 20 points with 15 rebounds, but once he's up against a top center he struggles to get 10 points or 10 rebounds. It's pretty pathetic for a #1 OVERALL pick. He needs to be a consistent 20/12 guy to actually be worth the pick. He seems to have improved this season, but he still needs to be more productive against the top players in the league.

 

It's the main reason why the Bucks haven't been able to even be mediocre.

[Poe]

MIAMI: Jermaine O’Neal is inconsistent, and the Heat are still without an effective point guard and creative bench scorer, so despite Dwyane Wade’s continued brilliance, Miami remains mired in mediocrity.

Grade: C-minus

I... disagree, mostly.

 

- Though JO is individually inconsistent, the main problem has been the team's collective inconsistency.

 

- The Heat just signed an effective point guard not too long ago, and I believe he was on an NBA Finals team last year.

 

- Even though Wright doesn't have the ideal scorer's mindset, he's been the Heat's best young playmaker off the bench, and he's been getting better each day.

 

- I know the Heat's record is mediocre, but when this team brings the right energy in games, they can hang with the best.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Poe