Just ran through a replay of the game quick and here were the standouts:
Courtney Sims -- Dude can put up numbers and he did again yesterday garnering all-star MVP honors..There's no denying he's a very effective offensive player..Very smooth..I think he deserves another crack at the NBA and I think he'll get it..Dude can score the ball from anywhere 15' and in in a variety of smooth, effective ways..Plus he can rebound a little bit..Those qualities alone make him better than about 75% of all the backup Cs in the NBA right now. I think he might be better than some starting 5s in the league as well..Whatever team gives him a chance this time shouldn't focus on what he can't do, only on what he can do..And if he's not gonna get a chance to play and show what he can do, I say don't even bother..Call him up to play him, not to have him just sit there. Guy doesn't need a cup of coffee again--been there, done that..He needs to come up and jump right into somebody's rotation head-first and play 20-someodd mins a night..He's got some limitation athletically but he can contribute if given the opportunity.
Marcus Cousin -- Really impressed me..Didn't really have an impressive college career, he now looks like your classic late bloomer..NBA-ready body at 6'11" 255, dude was active, he challenged shots at the rim and his mid-range jumper looked GOOD. I mean PURE..Good touch at the FT line too..Dude's definitely gonna get called up..Looked like Al Horford lite to me.
Chris Johnson -- Cousin was active but this dude looked EXTREMELY active - dunks, boards, blks, effective jumper with touch, and executed his post moves, some with a high degree of difficulty (had one quick, whirling baseline spin move from 15' that was all net)..He's a little thin but very quick--everything about him screams 'quick' for a guy 6'11". Plays hard & with some passion too..On one play he ripped down a rebound, took it the length of the floor showing a tight handle and dished off to someone for a layup. Who the hell knew he could handle it like that?? Pat Ewing Jr had the official play of the game with a reverse throwdown alley-oop (which was awesome) but this was a more impressive play to me.
*Tell ya right now, and it's a shame because we won't go there, but either Cousin, C. Johnson or Courtney Sims would be such a better C option next to Amar'e over Moz or Turiaf it's not even funny (esp. Mozgov), even for just the rest of the year.
DeShawn Sims -- at 6'8" 230 or so he's got very good size for a SF. His athleticism, criticized heavily over at nbadraft.net, looked very impressive to me as well as his ability to score the ball from just about anywhere: mid-range jump shot, dribble-drive, offensive putbacks, etc..Definitely possesses a scorer's mentality..Very solid prospect. draft.net might have been looking at him strictly as a PF coming out of college hence the criticism, but to me, he's a 3 all the way in the NBA or an occasional 3/4 hybrid in the Wilson Chandler mold based on a favorable matchup..Looked very good yesterday in this game. Looked good in summer league too last summer from what I remember. NBA future w/o question. Speaking of Chandler, Sims would make for a very nice replacement if we trade the Mayor.
Pat Ewing Jr. -- I don't think I've ever seen a guy take an all-star game more seriously than PEJ did yesterday..Dude was awesome -- he was all over the place..Scored the ball, blocks, steals..he did it all. Looks much improved overall from when we first had him a couple of years ago.
Scottie Reynolds -- never a favorite of mine and he had an uneven performance yesterday (converted a high-difficulty reverse layup on the run with a little english that was nice, then a lot of make a 3/miss a 3----nothing but air on one missed 3 where he had all sorts of time and his feet set), but what stood out though was his quickness with the ball, willingness to push the tempo and his ability to set up others..I don't remember seeing that a lot in college but I saw some glimpses of it yesterday.
Sean Williams -- appears to have taken his D-League experience very seriously..Every aspect of his game looks improved..Always a quality shot-blocker, now he's also showing the ability to score the ball a little bit, esp. putting it on the floor..Showed nice touch at the FT line too. Definitely looks better than when the Nets had him.
Othyus Jeffers -- didn't have a spectacular game yet he finished with 14 pts (4-7 FG, 6-6 FT)..Didn't really matter to me what he did in yesterday's game, I've seen him enough this year on the NBA channel to know he can play in the NBA..Good scorer as either a 2 or a 3 and he's a lockdown defender at either position..Good rebounder too that plays very hard. Right after the deadline passes, he'll be one of the 1st guys to get called up by someone.
Joe Alexander -- Not sure if he's gotten better (his hair has gotten a lot longer) but he's still a very interesting prospect..He's got a real toughness about him, he can hit jumpers out to about 20' and put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. Still has that sneaky athleticism to him---you don't expect it looking at him then bam, he surprises you..Didn't really show it yesterday but he's been a very good rebounder this year in the D-League..He'll get another crack at the NBA soon. Danilo Gallinari's replacement???
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It's a real shame if we make this trade for Melo and also have to take back a ton of Denver's garbage (Anthony Carter, Balkman, Shelden Williams [Williams admittedly wasn't terrible early on when Martin was sidelined but I'd still pass--we can do better], Melvin Ely). I'd much rather trade for Melo minus this junk and then call up guys from the D-League that fit our needs, instead of trying to shoehorn these Nugget spare parts into our lineup. 
We'd be so much better off..
2/19/2011 6:59 PM
