Essential The Official ESPN Insider Thread (ESPN+)

Skooby

Skooby

Alone In My Zone
Supporter
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
25,166
Reputation
10,242
Daps
59,711
Reppin
The Cosmos
Dr. Narcisse said:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draf...x_cid=InsiderTwitter_Gruden_FavoriteProspects
Click to expand...


Gruden's favorite NFL draft prospects

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
I don't understand why he isn't the No. 1 player in this draft on Mel Kiper's Big Board. I don't know anybody in this draft that can do for a football team what Mariota can do. He can read the field. That whole thing about Oregon being a no-huddle, dive-option team, that is just a narrative resulting from a lack of information. The Ducks run a lot of pro-style concepts. Mariota does a lot with the protections. I've seen him throw the ball with touch and timing in tight windows.

Mariota is the same size as Jameis Winston. He runs 4.52 40, he is incredibly elusive, and man, is he a playmaker and a great competitor. I see him functioning in the pocket, out of the pocket, and if you want to run a zone-read, he'll rip the defense apart. He is like Russell Wilson, only he is 6-4.

Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Florida
In this draft I just don't see anyone who has the playing style of Fowler. I love people who physically intimidate you, and Fowler brings a presence to the field. You don't want to play against him. If you are a quarterback or running back, you know where he is, I promise you that. Even guards had better watch out for him. The second series of the bowl game against East Carolina was a perfect example. The left guard pulls and it's just unbelievable. Fowler drops him. You just don't see that from many edge defenders.

I do not dislike anything about him. He has the football savvy and football aptitude to move around the defense. Sometimes it looks like a freelancing freak show, but it'll be worth the price of admission. I see his passion for the game, while with some of these others I do not feel the same. Fowler is one of those players where I say, "Dante, we are going to play for nothing, and we are going to play a doubleheader" and he would be there because he loves to play. That is what I feel when I watch him play.

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
Cooper reminds me of a young Tim Brown coming out of Notre Dame. Tim was "The Natural" and so is Cooper. He will line up to the left, he will line up to the right, he will go in motion, and he will be in the slot. He runs a large inventory of routes. If the coverage rotates, he knows how to adjust the pattern. He can get in and out of his breaks. He has savvy and he is elusive after the catch.

We talk about how some players are high maintenance and some are low maintenance. There is no maintenance with Cooper. He just wants to be great and he goes up and gets it. He's got good length, good height, good vertical, and the way he competes when the ball is in the air separates him.

Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami
We talk about these quarterbacks all the time, but no one talks about the guys who set up the defense. We have to have somebody who has the football aptitude and the tenacity to set up our base defense, our nickel defense and our goal-line defense, and then you've got all these no-huddle teams.

Perryman makes all the tackles. He is the most explosive hitter in this draft. He has great zone awareness, and he understands routes. He can line up off the tight end, see the checkdown and make the play. College football is not producing players like this anymore. He has instincts, he has leadership, he has communication, and if he sees something, he will run through a backside swap combination and get a tackle for a loss. If he doesn't fit your defense, fire your defensive staff.

Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA
The way he runs and hits is outstanding. These guys like Perryman and Kendricks never leave the field, and they call all your signals. They have done it at a high level at major programs. I don't think there is a bigger hitter than Perryman, and I don't think there is a better all-around player than Kendricks. He is a polished pass defender and is also pretty good against the run if you cover him.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
There are two clear first-round backs in this class. Gordon has a slight edge over Todd Gurley in my book based on the injuries. Gordon has the best stiff-arm in the draft. He has 4.5 speed and his speed in pads on game day is the same. If I am the Dallas Cowboys and I want a back, I'm taking Gordon. If I'm San Diego, I'm looking at Gordon. I've seen him show awareness and I've seen him catch the ball at the combine and in games when thrown to. He looks like Roger Craig out there. He is going in the top 15 picks.

Bud Dupree, DE, Kentucky
Dupree is one of the top 10 players in this draft. He has very good size. I have seen him hold the point and be effective as a run defender in an odd front. I have seen him rush the passer. I also love his playing style because he'll come out of the stack, find the man with the ball and knock him down hard. He played right end, left end and outside 'backer. Two years ago I saw him rushing as an inside 'backer.

We see all these quarterbacks in the NFL running around and scrambling. You need a Dupree who can find the guy with the ball to get there. This kid can get it done as a pass-rusher in a one-on-one situation, and if you have a creative defensive coach who can scheme some one-on-ones for Dupree, he will be a real problem for tight ends and backs to handle.

Trey Flowers, DE, Arkansas
Flowers reminds me of LaMarr Woodley coming out of Michigan. He physically can play the run. He is a legitimate defensive end. He could be an outside linebacker and stand on his feet. He plays his butt off. There is a playing style that Fowler has, that Shane Ray has and that Flowers has. I love him. He has the ability to move on a zone blitz, read the quarterback, break on the ball and intercept it. He is instinctive, he is physical and he is relentless. A lot of times, teams are forcing you to play nickel all the time, anyway, and the outside linebacker in a 3-4 plays defensive end in the nickel. I need a guy who can play both positions. Flowers can do that.

Shane Ray, DE, Missouri

Unlike some of the sack artists in this class, Ray defends the run as well. I just love how he plays. He is just a pain in the butt to block. You can line him up at right end, left end or move him over the guard in your sub package. They stood him up as well. They used him on these stunts where he is really effective. People say he gets a lot of sacks on these stunts. Well, I know a lot of defensive ends that don't like coming in there because sometimes that center whacks your face off. Ray comes inside on these stunts with a recklessness that I love. He gets off the rock with an edge rush that is hard to block.

Eric Rowe, S, Utah
Safety has become such an important position. We cannot have one-dimensional safeties, because if we do we lose our disguises. I see Rowe as a man who can cover a third receiver the way Devin McCourty of the New England Patriots can. Rowe can come down in the box and be solid in all areas. I think he will be a great contributor right away on special teams.
Versatility is a big part of what I like about Rowe. It is great to have a player on your team like Rowe to whom you say, "Hey, we are seeing a team that plays a lot of four wides this week, so we need you to play a dime corner." Or you could put him at left corner in an emergency situation. Rowe might be one of the real finds in this year's draft.

D'Joun Smith, CB, Florida Atlantic
Smith is a bit of a sleeper. He is not the best corner in this draft -- Marcus Peters of Washington is my top guy, provided he goes to a team with a strong locker room. But some of the other corners you see rated highly just do not tackle well enough to be first-round picks in my book.

When I watch Trae Waynes and I watch Kevin Johnson at the point of attack, I'm disappointed. When I watch Smith at Florida Atlantic, I'm telling you, when it is time to crack and replace, Smith replaces. He will knock your running back down. He had seven interceptions two years ago. He does not have the ideal size, but neither does Waynes, and he's being mentioned as a possible top-10 pick. Smith looks like he enjoys tackling; I like that in my corners. I just know he is going to be one of the complete corners in this year's draft.

Jeremy Langford, RB, Michigan State
My dad coached running backs, and I've always had a special appreciation for the position. Gordon and Gurley are clearly the top backs in this draft, but Langford is a guy I really like. I don't understand why we don't hear his name more. He ran a 4.4. He gained 100 or more yards in every Big Ten film I watched. He breaks tackles, he picks up blitzes and he looks like an NFL back for sure. He is tough, he can catch, he has home run speed and I love the way they train guys at Michigan State.

Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
Agholor has taken four punts back to the house, so you know he can produce. He is tough and reliable. They run a pro-style scheme at USC, and Agholor can line up anywhere. He is outstanding after the catch. I don't think he has any fear going across the middle. I like him better than Marqise Lee coming out, better than Robert Woods coming out, because he can run double moves.

He is an excellent competitor. What I love about him is when you watch the Washington State game, you see the interception and know it is going to be a walk-in touchdown, but if you watch the play, you see Agholor put forth great effort to go try to make the tackle. I know he can run. I know he will compete.

Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa
There are no Anthony Munozes or Walter Joneses coming out of college this year, but there really aren't many great left tackles in the pro game, either. What is Scherff going to be? Who cares! If you take him, he is probably going to be your best left tackle. If you move him to guard, he'll be your best guard. If you play him at right tackle, he will be your best right tackle.

Scherff has great awareness, he will compete, and if you are a nickel blitzer coming off the corner, if he sees you, it might be over. We saw that in the Pitt game. He inflicts pain when he delivers a block. He uses his hands well, keeps his head out of it. Do I wish that he had longer arms? Yes. Do I wish he had the prototype measurables? Yes. But I still want Scherff on my team.

Jake Fisher, OT, Oregon
Scherff, Ereck Flowers and La'el Collins are my top three offensive linemen, but Fisher is someone I really like. Watch him use his hands and punch on tape. He is in shape, he is athletic and he can switch stunts. I think he can be a left tackle and probably will be a right tackle. He dominated Eddie Goldman in the Rose Bowl. I like him in the late first round and think he can be a sleeper pick.
 
KillaCali32

KillaCali32

Banned
Joined
May 5, 2015
Messages
213
Reputation
-170
Daps
109
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...o-heavy-play-leads-worst-postseason-start-nba

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...ity-thunder-coach-billy-donovan-obstacles-nba

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/201...n-rockets-versus-los-angeles-clippers-preview

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...i-parker-all-star-andrew-wiggins-nba-playoffs

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/201...veland-cavaliers-versus-chicago-bulls-preview

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...tential-free-agents-rising-value-playoffs-nba

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2015/in...lutions-magic-kings-pistons-hornets-nba-draft

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...ael-carter-williams-giannis-antetokounmpo-nba

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/12757120/nba-roster-reload-next-moves-milwaukee-bucks

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/12809856/nba-roster-reload-next-moves-san-antonio-spurs

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2015/in...profile-frank-kaminsky-draft-stock-pro-future

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2015/in...degrees-christian-wood-draft-stock-pro-future

hook it up....
 
Skooby

Skooby

Alone In My Zone
Supporter
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
25,166
Reputation
10,242
Daps
59,711
Reppin
The Cosmos
KillaCali32 said:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...tlanta-hawks-offense-stalls-clutch-situations

can you post this too skooby? Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Why the Hawks' high-octane offense has stalled in clutch situations

The Atlanta Hawks entered the fourth quarter of Sunday's Game 1 against the Washington Wizards in good shape to start their conference semifinal series with a 1-0 lead. Up two, playing at home, Atlanta had a 69.3 percent chance of winning according to Inpredictable.com. But the Hawks would score just 15 points in the final period, missing 23 of their 28 shot attempts as the Wizards stole Game 1.

This isn't the first time this postseason Atlanta's high-powered attack has sputtered to a stop in a clutch situation. ESPN Insider's team of Amin Elhassan and Kevin Pelton crunch the numbers and go to the video tape to try to figure out what's wrong with the Hawks' late-game offense.

The numbers: Korver shooting outage hurts Hawks
Kevin Pelton: Atlanta's 90.0 offensive rating in fourth quarters ranks 14th of the 16 playoff teams, ahead of the Chicago Bulls (87.4) and Milwaukee Bucks (79.3), two defense-minded teams who stopped each other's offenses in the first round.

Those results are especially odd because the Hawks, who ranked sixth overall in offensive rating, were the NBA's best offensive team in the fourth quarter during the regular season. They averaged 109.8 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com/Stats, while shooting an effective 52.1 percent from the field (counting 3-pointers as 1.5 field goals to reflect their extra value). Their effective field goal percentage is down to 38.9 percent in the playoffs.

In particular, Atlanta has gone cold beyond the arc in the fourth quarter of playoff games. They've made 11 of 56 3-pointers (19.6 percent). Forward DeMarre Carroll, the team's leading postseason scorer at 18.4 points per game, has done nearly all that damage in the first three quarters. He's averaging just 2.2 points in the fourth period, and has missed all five of his 3-point attempts.

The most notable culprit is guard Kyle Korver, the NBA's leading 3-point shooter for the second consecutive season at 49.2 percent. In fourth quarters, Korver has seen his 3-point percentage drop by more than half to 20.8 percent (5-of-24), a problem given that he's played more fourth-quarter minutes in the playoffs than any other Hawks player.

Korver misses highlighted a pair of possessions that epitomize Atlanta's offensive struggles. In Game 4 at Brooklyn, won by the Nets, Korver missed three 3-pointers on the same possession in the final minute of overtime when the Hawks had a chance to tie with a 3. Late in Sunday's loss to Washington, Korver had one of six Atlanta misses on one possession that started down four with just over two minutes to play. He then missed another, longer 3 on the following trip downcourt.

As Seth Partnow wrote last week, the Hawks have generally been getting good shots during the playoffs and simply making them less frequently than they did in the regular season. But that may not be the case in the fourth quarter, when the team's ball movement has broken down.

Atlanta has just 26 assists on 52 fourth-quarter field goals (50 percent), a far cry from the team's league-leading 67.6 percent assist rate in the regular season and the 72.1 percent of their field goals that have been assisted during the first three quarters of playoff games.

Because the Hawks don't have the kind of superstar talent to create shots one-on-one down the stretch, when their passing runs dry, so does their offense.

X's and O's: Hawks' end-of-game offense
Amin Elhassan: Atlanta's end-of-game offense during the playoffs hasn't resembled the high-octane attack we've seen all season long, or even during the first three quarters of most playoff games. Are teams more focused defensively and exerting more energy to prevent the Hawks from getting their customary good looks? Sure, but there's more to it than that. Here are three areas of self-inflicted damage Atlanta has perpetuated:



1. Missed wide-open shots

This is the easiest, most straightforward symptom that any layperson watching can identify: The Hawks simply haven't knocked down wide-open looks that they ordinarily make. Korver has had several looks in the fourth that ordinarily would be the equivalent of a layup for him, and it's not just that last game against the Wizards.

Here, he's already going into his shooting motion as Bojan Bogdanovic trails hopelessly. Meanwhile, Brook Lopez, the closest defender, has his arms to his side. If I told everyone in the Hawks organization they'd get a wide-open corner 3 look for Korver in the fourth quarter, I doubt I'd get a single protest. In the second halves of playoff games, Korver has had 24 looks from downtown where his closest defender is at least 4 feet away, which might as well be a football field away for a shooter of his caliber, but he's made just 10 of those shots. As Kevin Pelton discusses above, these late-game shooting woes have affected other Hawks players, but the expectation is that Korver should be the most impervious to the fancies of random misses.



Additionally, Atlanta has missed an inordinate number of layups and putbacks around the rim, particularly off offensive rebound opportunities.



2. Poor recognition

Beyond missed open shots, the Hawks haven't done themselves any favors with some of their decision-making in late-game situations.



Because of poor recognition, they've played lots of "Hero Ball," particularly when the offense begins to stagnate. Various Hawks players will "take it upon themselves" to save the day; of course this runs contrary to the team's equal opportunity offensive concepts.

Here, Jeff Teague drives off the high pick-and-roll with Pero Antic, forcing the defense to collapse (four defenders with at least a foot in the paint). Antic does a terrific job of sealing everyone, creating the perfect pocket of space for Teague to deliver a pass over the top (even an intentional miss off the backboard would probably get the job done). More important, Carroll is left wide-open in the corner by his man. Instead of either of these options, Teague opts for the long floater, a shot that he's reasonably decent at in normal circumstances, but certainly not under that kind of contest duress.



They've also been too methodical. The Atlanta offense is most successful when the motion is perpetual and the decisions made are instinctual. The ball rarely sticks or stops, and when guys get the ball, their decisions are swift. It makes it so tough to defend all the moving parts in their offense when the defense doesn't have a chance to take it all in for a moment, process what's happening and react, especially considering many of the progressions are not scripted plays, but read and reacts from the players. In recent fourth quarters, we're seeing a little more hesitation, and the offense as a result grinds to a halt, giving defenders time to recover.

Here, Paul Millsap catches at the mid-post defended by Paul Pierce as Carroll cuts to the weakside, Antic in the short corner area and Teague and Korver space. What usually ensues is a quick decision -- a catch and rip toward the middle of the floor, forcing the defense to collapse and creating the passing lane to Carroll in the corner (whose man would be screened off by Antic) for a wide-open 3, or even better, an extra pass to an open Korver should his man try to help. Heck, even a quick jab middle and rip baseline could get Millsap (or his teammates) a good shot. Instead, Millsap does his best Carmelo Anthony impersonation, backing down from 17 feet to a contested baseline jumper. He's got to do a good job of capitalizing on Atlanta's biggest advantage: the rapidity of team decision-making.

And players haven't recognized their roles. Atlanta's bench play in the fourth quarters has been less than reliable. Backup point guard Dennis Schroder has struggled with his decision-making (particularly pass vs. shoot), Kent Bazemore and Mike Scott haven't been able to find the range, and Antic's shot selection at times has been head-scratching.

Korver has just swung the ball to Antic from the top and immediately sprinted toward him, creating just enough space from the lagging Thaddeus Young. With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Antic decides to hoist the contested 3 rather than recognize Korver, which shouldn't be that hard to do since that action is a staple of the Hawks offense. This is especially egregious when considering Antic is shooting 30.1 percent from 3 this season, a hair above the Kendall Gill Line.



3. Defense to offense
A more subtle factor of Atlanta's offensive struggles has been their defensive issues. In many of these fourth quarters, they've been horrendous defensively, and that means two things:

• Less opportunities for easy fast-break scoring opportunities (by way of example, the Hawks had four transition opportunities in the fourth quarter against Washington and scored on three of those trips, yielding seven points).

• The offense is now coming down to a set defense, reducing the amount of confusion they can inflict on them.
 
Skooby

Skooby

Alone In My Zone
Supporter
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
25,166
Reputation
10,242
Daps
59,711
Reppin
The Cosmos
KillaCali32 said:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...0/kevin-pelton-crunches-hack-shaq-numbers-nba

these too..greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Everything you wanted to know about the Hack-a-Shaq

Having spent more than a week poring over play-by-plays in search of intentional fouls for today's column on whether the Hack-a-Shaq works, I learned more than I could fit into that piece. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about intentional fouls but didn't want to spend hours researching.





Most hacked


In the past three seasons, Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan account for more than half of all intentional fouls. With the help of ESPN Stats & Information and Basketball-Reference.com, I found five other players had been sent to the line intentionally more than 10 times in that span.



2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Total
DeAndre Jordan 13 52 109 174
Dwight Howard 43 67 15 125
Andre Drummond 8 13 13 34
Josh Smith 1 0 24 25
Andrew Bogut 9 2 3 14
Joey Dorsey 0 0 12 12
Omer Asik 6 1 3 10



Those fouls translate into 348 free throws for Jordan -- more than a quarter of the 1,252 he has shot the past three seasons.





Best shooter hacked

In a 2013-14 game, the Sacramento Kings intentionally fouled Jeremy Evans three times after the Utah Jazz removed previous hackee Rudy Gobert (a 49.2 percent foul shooter that season) from the game. Evans made 68.0 percent of his free throws in 2013-14, and is at 68.4 percent for his NBA career.


This season's best shooter was Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson, who made 64.6 percent from the line and is a career 63.3 percent shooter (including 69.1 percent in 2013-14, his first season shooting free throws right-handed after previously favoring his left hand). Despite that solid shooting, the Boston Celtics sent Thompson to the line four times during the teams' first-round playoff series.





Worst shooter infrequently hacked

It's mystifying that Howard has been intentionally fouled nearly four times as often as Andre Drummond, a 39.7 percent career foul shooter. Even this season, when Howard made a respectable 52.8 percent of his free throws, he still got hacked more often than Drummond in far fewer games.

Another interesting candidate is Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut. Bogut's 47.4 percent foul shooting this season isn't as bad as Drummond's or Jordan's, but remember that he's playing on the league's best offense. Bogut is slightly below the break-even point where fouling him would yield fewer expected points than playing the Warriors straight-up. Yet Bogut was hacked just once all regular season. The New Orleans Pelicans tried it once during the first round of the playoffs, and I anticipate we'll see it again.





Most frequent hackers (coaches)

Seven coaches have intentionally fouled opponents at least 20 times in the past three seasons, according to my research:



2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Total
Gregg Popovich 21 12 67 100
Rick Carlisle 5 9 32 46
Mike Malone 0 34 2 36
Scott Brooks 8 10 9 27
Brad Stevens 0 8 14 22
Jacque Vaughn 18 0 3 21
Kevin McHale 7 4 9 20



Naturally, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is far and away No. 1 when it comes to using the Hack-a-Shaq -- more than twice as often as any other coach in the past three seasons. Mike Malone, fired as coach of the Kings during the season, is an interesting case. His 34 intentional fouls led all coaches in 2013-14, and Malone was unusually aggressive in using fouls to guarantee the last shot of the quarter. Former Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn shows up on this list almost exclusively because of one game where his team fouled Howard 10 times.

After Kevin McHale, the next most frequent fouler left in the playoffs is Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau (16). Intriguingly, Steve Kerr of the Warriors is one of six current coaches (not counting newcomer Billy Donovan) not to have intentionally fouled in the past three years. It will be interesting to see, if the Warriors reach the Western Conference finals -- where they would face either the Clippers or Rockets -- whether Kerr sticks to his belief that hacking takes his own team out of its rhythm.





Most frequent hackers (players)

I don't have a complete record of who committed each foul, but the data I do have shows San Antonio Spurs reserves Aron Baynes and Patty Mills having committed the most intentional fouls. More surprising names near the top of the list include Pau Gasol (who as a Laker repeatedly fouled Howard in 2013-14) and Reggie Jackson.





Future candidates

With the NBA anticipating a debate on intentional foul rules changes this summer, it might not matter. But if the rules stay the same, this year's draft will bring a few potential Hack-a-Shaq candidates to the NBA, including one who could be the next Dwight Howard in this regard.

Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein has the worst projected free throw percentage (50.4 percent) of anyone likely to be drafted. However, Cauley-Stein has shown rapid improvement at the line. He shot 37.2 percent as a freshman and 48.2 percent as a sophomore before improving to a healthy 61.7 percent in 2014-15 as a junior.


Before being dismissed from the team, Washington center Robert Upshaw was intentionally fouled at times last season. He made 43.4 percent of his free throws in 83 attempts in 2014-15, and 44.2 percent for his two-year college career.

Neither Cauley-Stein nor Upshaw is likely to be a major scoring threat in the NBA. That means foul shooting could be a bigger issue for likely top-two pick Jahlil Okafor. The Duke center made just 51.0 percent of his free throws as a freshman, putting him in danger of the Hack-a-Shaq. Howard, for one, shot 67.1 percent at the line at the same age as an NBA rookie. He didn't dip below 58 percent from the line until he dealt with back injuries in 2011-12 and 2012-13, when he became a regular target for intentional fouls. Okafor could face the same fate if he does not improve.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top