Having the length, quickness, attitude and already some decent strength, just a bit of understanding of the game is required to produce a good defender; and Splitter is oozing with it. The Brazilian shows excellent decision making on defense. He enjoys remarkable lateral quickness, understands defensive angles extremely well and is highly efficient in his movements. If the defensive rotation calls for it, he can switch his matchup onto a wing player and still manage to contain the rival. He also enjoys excellent timing in pick and roll plays, stepping out to slow down the ball-handler and recovering his matchup quite fast.

Splitter never avoids contact in the low post, being able to hold his ground against the physicality of stronger players (up to a certain point). He does a great job of keeping his hands in the air and not reaching down for ticky-tack fouls (although he doesn’t get much respect from the referees, often being called for very questionable fouls due to his age). He also shows good positioning on weak-side defense, nicely executing rotations or quickly going for the block if the proper situation arises, again with nice timing.

However, while he certainly provides some intimidation, Splitter is not a shot-blocking type of defender; he never risks his defensive position for the sake of adding blocks to his stat-line. All in all, he’s quietly becoming one of the best defensive big men in Europe.

...

Playing for Tau, if Splitter gets the ball in the high post or further, he will pass it or, much less frequently, put it on the floor to come closer to the basket with the intention of posting up whoever he finds in his way. When playing for Brazil, he doesn’t hesitate to face and attack his matchup while looking for a layup, showing surprisingly good ball-handling skills (particularly considering how little dribbling he shows in Spain), a really interesting first step and some nice footwork. Although still inconsistent, this could potentially become an excellent weapon to better take advantage of his quickness. He even shoots the ball from the perimeter playing for his National Team, enjoying range out to the international three-point line.

Attitude, maturity, intelligence and character are key factors when discussing Splitter’s skills and potential. Whenever other players produce doubts and questions about their real desire and ability to fulfill their potential, the Brazilian transmits confidence in a successful development that already has taken him quite far. Splitter is a hard worker that still puts great effort on improving his weaknesses beyond the team practices. The same attitude is translated to the court, where he delivers full effort throughout the game. Rebounding is a good example, as even if it’s not his best strength, he delivers nice aggressiveness cleaning the glass, particularly on the offensive end, besides showing nice timing. But he’s also a smart player, extremely well coached (and coachable), that accurately executes what’s expected from him, committing few mistakes while slowly (but constantly) expanding his game. He enjoys a high basketball IQ, showing good decision making, and some nice passing ability, especially facing the basket and on the move after putting the ball on the floor while driving towards the basket, although you will also see him passing the ball out of the low post reasonably well.

Posted by BigSm00th:

i haven't seen splitter play and the fredric weis saga (and even fran vasquez) hangs in the back of my mind. same thing with bellineli. i'd be tempted, but if a draft pick is used on these guys and they decide to play wherever they are now, that'd be a dagger.

morris almond -- 45% from 3 in the last 3 years in college, premeir scorer and shooter, ideal size for a 2. love everything i hear about him.

sean williams -- his ? marks are what? if this guy went to UCONN he might've been suspended once. this guy was a 3.2 GPA in BC's business school who liked to smoke weed. its not his fault that BC's athletic dept polices its athletes unlike any school in the country (BC has a 100% graduation rate for football and skinner's bball teams usually churn out players who graduate (with some exceptions, obviously williams being one of them). fact of the matter is he averaged 5 blocks a game in a premier conference, was the only player who showed up against a team full of lotto players on the raod vs. kansas and was arguably the most dominant player on the floor, and had a GPA over 3 at one of the top 35 schools in the country. but he smokes weed (according to josh howard, so do most nba players). he doesnt blow lines, he doesnt shoot up, he doesnt beat his girlfriend, these are facts. if hes around at the knicks pick they have to seriously consider him unless almond isnt there. he is a GAME CHANGER and with the matadors on the perimeter and eddy curry's 5" vertical, williams is a NECESSITY on this knicks team. if williams went to UCONN or texas or a premeir bball program he would not have been kicked off the team b/c they make exceptions for their athletes, and he would be a top 10 pick guaranteed.

afflalo is a good 2way player but i'd like either almond or williams.

[Edited by - bigsm00th on 05-01-2007 2:54 PM]

Posted by codeunknown:

Posted by Caseloads:

Posted by codeunknown:

Marcus Williams, Bellinelli, Almond are all decent picks at 23. I'd prefer to trade Frye and maybe Curry to move up.

If you can make a play for Conley, Brewer or Law, I think you have to dangle some of our parts and make it happen.

[Edited by - codeunknown on 04-30-2007 7:04 PM]

conley is a small point - if anything, bigger points are needed in todays NBA. Smaller points get abused regularly in my opinion.

Chris Paul dominates the league and he's smaller than Conley. AI is primetime and TJ is tough to deal with. Raymond Felton looks like he might be a player as well.

Its a matter of deciding whether, in this case, a height disadvantage outweighs superior offensive skill. In my opinion, it doesn't -Conley has the skills and quickness to be an elite point guard. Being 6' 1" instead of 6' 2" isn't a significant drawback.

Plus, Conley has long arms, which should help his ability to guard taller PGs. This kid is the real deal at point if you want an uptempo offense.

Posted by Ira:

When we look at picks, we go by where the draft sites place the players. But we all know that Almond is too good to be there at 23. How can all the nba gm's not know this. If he's there, definitely take him. But if not, don't be too disappointed.

Posted by rvwink:

It seems a few members of this forum are trying to grab 3 slices of pie off the plate at during the same meal. We already have brought in Randolph Morris, who would likely have gone as a high draft pick this year. At 23 Isiah will deliver a second draft choice with the 23rd pick. Now we want a third draft pick? I think 3 rookies on the same squad is too much.

Also I think both Sean Williams, and Morris Almond are not the right choices for the Knicks. The problem with the Knick's current lineup is that most of the current players don't play both offense and defense. If you want a scorer who doesn't defend well, Jamal Crawford seems to fit that requirement quite well already. What the Knicks need during the current draft is a player capable of maturing into both an offensive and defensive force. That's why Rodney Stuckey seems a much better choice than Morris Almond imo. Concerning Sean Williams, Isiah has been trying to build up team chemistry and morale in the lockerroom. Apparently Williams received a number of chances at BC, and despite that couldn't manage to behave. You see it over and over again, the loose cannons of the sports world, seem to find ways to shoot themselves in the foot. Not that it is possible that Sean Williams might be able to grow up. But doing what he did, and jeopardizing his ability to earn a good living, so he could indulge his habit, doesn't seem to me to be someone I want on my team.

Posted by knicksbabyyeah:

Briggs,

Stuckey is the only and best option for Eastern Washington. Defenses collapse on him and still he shoots 25% from college 3 and racks up a decent assists. If he were on a more talented team we'd be talking lottery.

I've never seen him play--so I cant really comment other than looking at his numbers and size. It's a little bit harder to shoot from a longer range with pro athletes guarding you than playing in the big Sky Conference--that's not to say someone cant improve. I have seen Almond play 3-4 times and was very impressed with his physical size and ability to shoot a high % while facing double and triple teams. He's going to shoot 42-45% from 3 in the NBA and close to 90% from the line--rebound the ball from the 2 and get to the line. He's going to be a big time scorer in this league--a gun and ready to play now. We already have Crawford who is 6-4 who plays a 2-1 combo and shoots erraqticly--why duplicate him?