Ed Weiland

Of all the positions, the SFs have been hardest for me to get a handle on. With the other 4, I can point to certain statistics or a combination of statistics that seem to be a pretty good predictor of success. With SFs, that just isn’t there. The reason is because there are two types of SFs out there. There’s the 2.5, who is more guard-like. This player can slide into the backcourt as either a point forward or a SG in a big lineup. Paul Pierce and Richard Jefferson are examples of … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2007: Small Forwards

With the PFs, rating them turns out to be fairly simple. Or so it seems according to recent history. There are 4 categories that seem to be important: FG pct., points per 40 minutes, rebounds per 40 minutes and the sum of steals and blocks per 40 minutes. I would say that rebounds and FG pct. are probably most important, but the rospect can’t be weak in any one area. It’s also nice of they’re over 6’8”, or at least have real long arms, and play in a strong conference. As is the case … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2007: Power Forwards

A few months ago, as the college season was just getting revved up, I pondered the idea of whether or not the 2007 draft had a chance to become the greatest center draft ever. At the time there were seven to eight centers looking like solid pros while destroying non-conference schedules. Then the conference season started and these monsters, except for Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert, suddenly looked more human and rather ordinary.  Then Hibbert decided to head back to Georgetown and that … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2007: Centers

It’s still a question of Oden or Durant, though Oden seems to have taken the lead. For now I’m going to go with Durant as #1, because he’s a better fit in Portland the way the team is currently set up. It’s more than those 2 though. This looks like it will be the best draft since ’96 and has a chance to be the best ever. This draft is so good, it has the potential to turn the league upside down in a year or two. Considering the NBA’s current group of elite teams are either aging or … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2007: Early Mock Draft