A look ahead: Harrison Barnes

I like to keep a roving eye on the future, especially when the current state of NBA teams will directly reflect on number one draft pick in the 2011 draft. Obviously, we are going to pretend to have a stony silence on that which shall not be mentioned (hint: seven letters, starts with an L, ends with a T, and could be goddamn annoying). So when David Stern climbs the podium to announce next year's top pick, the player I'm most expecting to be called up first is North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes.

Barnes has been rated as the top prospect in the draft via several sources, including the one I respect the most, DraftExpress.com. The 6"8 forward is long, with a great wingspan, and is actually listed as a SG/SF on draft express. But what immediately attracted my attention towards him was Barnes' NBA comparison offered by NBADraft.net: Grant Hill.

Now, before the 38-year-old Hill became a model for geriatric basketball in the league, he was one of the most explosive all-round players in the league, way back in the 90s. In his prime, he was a poor man's, less explosive LeBron James, and was supposed to be the next Jordan before any of the other next Jordans.

Here's more information from NBADraft.net on Barnes:

Strengths: Athletic wing with long arms (7-foot wingspan), good muscle tone and excellent body balance ... Kid with a great attitude, work ethic and willingness to improve … Has a disciplined approach. Shows a good understanding of the game making positive decisions with the ball ... Has excellent form on his shot, and developing range … Can pull up off the dribble and hit shots … Does a good job of attacking the basket and creating contact and free throw shooting opportunities … Knocks down shots from the line at a good rate … Gives good effort on the defensive end getting low and using a proper defensive stance … Still shows a good deal of potential left in his game …
Weaknesses: Needs to work on improving his left hand and become equally adept at driving using either hand … Should look to improve his mid-range game and become a more consistent shooter from the perimeter …

As of now, the worst teams in the NBA are already on the 'Harrison Barnes' watch, because their position in the league will depend on their likelihood to get the first pick. The Clippers, Kings, Timberwolves, Nets, and 76ers are currently the league's five worst teams - all of them, except perhaps the 76ers, have a gaping hole in the small forward position and could use Barnes' services.

So while we pay attention to how this exciting season pans out, lets keep an eye on the future stars too... Barnes isn't the only one - players such as Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, and Perry Jones are also gathering respect from NBA scouts. Let's just hope we see them in action next season and avoid the dreaded L-word.

And by the way... These won't be the only rookies coming to the league. A certain Spanish point guard phenom will finally be making his way to the States. Ricky Rubio was drafted fifth by the Timberwolves last year but is yet to make an appearance in the league. Rubio is currently with FCB Barcelona in Spain, where he has been dominating. Whether or not he joins the T-Wolves next season is another question...

Here is my near-fiendish ode to Rubio.

Playoffs 2nd Round: On to the next one...

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The first round of the NBA Playoffs is over, and not without its share of surprises. When the dust settled, six of the eight teams that I predicted to make it through have done so - we had to wait till the Hawks beat off the Bucks in Game 7 a few hours ago to officially get all the matchups, and even though a few second round games have already been played, it's not too late for a preview...

But first, a short recap of that crazy first round. Cavs did what they had to do against the Bulls, getting by them in five easy games. LeBron - your repeat MVP LeBron - was amazing as usual, making the victories and the strain on his elbow look easy. Speaking of LeBron's Elbow, I may have found the greatest twitter account to follow of all time... @LeBronsElbow.

Back to the first round. Magic slept their way through the Bobcats series. You know a team is dangerous when they barely perform and the biggest story is their star player's foul troubles and they STILL sweep a series.

Hawks-Bucks was surprisingly close and exciting. Congrats to the undermanned Bucks for making a series out of it, but the Hawks finally woke up in the last two games and got their shit together.

Celtics-Heat was a much closer 4-1 than it looked. Even an old, tired, and uninspired Celtic squad is too good for the Heat. No one but Wade showed up for Miami in the series and it was sad. After blowing the large Game 1 lead to lose the game, Heat were blown out in Game 2, daggered by Paul Pierce at the last second in Game 3, and handed a routine loss in Game 5. Only Wade's 46 point heroics saved the sweep. Celtics are an underrated fourth seed, and they finally played how we have been expecting them to play all season.

Aah... the poor Thunder... I read somewhere last week that it's impossible to hate the Thunder, unless you're from Seattle or currently, a Laker fan. The young team played well all season to make the playoffs and then be baptised by fire, by none other than the Champion Lakers. But it was an amazing series - LA took it in 6 games, but not before Durant, Westbrook, Green, Harden, and the rest gave Kobe/Gasol hell. Artest made things a little difficult for Durant, and Kobe had to step up defensively against Westbrook, and it made for a great series. Too bad it had to end in such a tragic way as it did, with Gasol hitting the game winner and killing Thunder dreams at the Game 6 buzzer. But this young team will be back, and they'll be more dangerous next season. After the series, Kobe actually hugged Durant and Westbrook and said: "You all are two bad mother[fathers] … . I’m glad I’m done with you."

How about those Spurs eh? Are they ever going to go away. Just when you think Tony Parker isn't good enough, they find a George Hill. Just when they lose their hustle edge, they get DeJuan Blair. You hate them because you can't stop them, and because they geniunely look too mechanically boring to be stopped. Like Robocop. And the Mavs, even after their best squad ever, continue to be chokers of mammoth proportions. Sorry, Dirk.

Suns-Blazers was another series more competitive than expected. Blazers won a game without their best player Brandon Roy, and then another one with him struggling with injury. Still, when the Suns won, they won huge, blowing out all four victories. And Nash didn't need to be super brilliant or Amar'''e super dominant either - this was really Jason Richardon's series. And of course, congrats to my main main Grant Hill, who has made it out of the first round for the first time in his troubled but awesome career.

Finally, the Jazz pulled an "upset" over the Nuggets which wasn't really one. Nuggs have been reeling ever since losing coach/players to injury, and this was just a bad match-up to them. Plus, Deron Williams is another bad motherfather.

The second round match-ups are now set. Here are my previews...

Cavaliers vs. Celtics: Cavs in 7 - This is going to be an epic, epic series. I know it. LeBron, LeBron's elbow, Shaq, Jamison, Mo Williams first dunk ever, going against the rejuvenated Big 3 of the Celtics, and the "biggest" one outside the three in Rajon Rondo. Ya I said it, Rondo is gonna be the biggest Celtic in this series. His matchup against Mo will be the pivotal one. The Cavs have already won Game 1 as of writing this, but the Celtics will be back. They always are. It will go to 7 and require superhuman efforts from the MVP for the Celts to move on to the conference finals.

Magic vs. Hawks: Magic in 5 - Magic is too good for the Hawks here. The challenge of Jamal Crawford/Joe Johnson will finally wake up Vince Carter and he'll help Dwight make mincemeat out of the Hawks in this series. Plus Dwight Howard will be dominant as usual.

Lakers vs. Jazz: Lakers in 6 - Jazz always play tough, and they'll continue it in this series. It took late game heroics from Kobe for Lakers to win Game 1, but I see this series going to 6. Gasol vs. Boozer is critical here - when Gasol gets 20 and 10, Lakers win.

Suns vs. Spurs: Suns in 7 - If the Spurs are like Robocop, then the Suns the Transformers. Yes, I feel that a Sun victory is finally going to happen. The Suns have figured out the right amount of defense to play so that it doesn't hinder their offensive flow. It's gonna be a long, brutal, tiring series. People will be ejected, suspended, refs blamed. Duncan will try and smile and then change his mind. Ginobili will flop and Amar'''e will not play D. But in the end, Steve Nash will go buck wild on his shooting spree and help Phoenix through...

On to the next one..!

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