Bargnani Effect Case Study

Everyone says Lebron James is the best small forward, while a lot of other people say Kevin Durant is the best small forward. Lebron James shoots a .499 percent shooting field goals in his career while Kevin Durant shoots a .487 percent in his career. Kevin Durant and Lebron James are different because Kevin Durant has only 1 MVP. Lebron James has won 4 MVP. They are similar because they both won ¨Rookie of the Year¨.

Golden State will take advantage of Whiteside great inside presence to toughen up their interior defense which they badly needed since Andrew Bogut left the team last summer. He can protect the rim, have a good mid range jumper and can give a triple-double performance every

Finally, the player that changed the culture completely is their former All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. LaMarcus has been an important part of the Blazers since he joined the team in 2006. He became the franchise player several years later and improved every season. During this past season, he averaged a career high in ppg at 23.4 points per game. He's been the heart and soul and number one scoring option for the Blazers and they're going to sorely miss him. LaMarcus Aldridge bolted for the San Antonio Spurs this past weekend. Without Aldridge they lose a quarter of their offense and will struggle against the other dominant power forwards in the Western

Carroll immediately becomes the Raptors' best perimeter defender, which isn't saying much considering who he finds himself surrounded with. As Eric Koreen of the National Post acknowledges, having the former Atlanta Hawk in the lineup will allow DeMar DeRozan to defend smaller wings, leaving tougher assignments for the more adept Carroll to tangle with on a nightly basis.

Skilled big men are a highly sought-after commodity in the NBA. And there's no escaping the fact that the current Nets roster is awfully short on those, with only Lopez and Hamilton being able to play big minutes at the five. That's the biggest reason Sean Marks decided to take a flier on Egidijus Mockevicius, an undrafted 23-year-old Evansville graduate. Mockevicius was the NCAA's leading rebounder last season, averaging 14 rebounds per game for the Purple Aces. He also projects to be a decent rim protector, which is another thing NBA teams are high on. Like Ferrell and Beech before him, the Nets signed Mockevicius to a partially guaranteed one-year deal.

His field goal percentage is steadily increasing over the past three years that he spent in the league, yet he is not shooting a lot from outside, only having attempted around 1 three pointer each game, and 87% of his field goals attempted are two-pointers, and among those field goals he attempted, 50.2% of them are 0-3 feet away from the basket. It can be seen from his highlights and stats, that he finishes most of his possessions inside the paint or from mid-range. But if he wants to avoid injuries, in order to spend a preferably longer time in the league, and to have a more all-around game, a consistent long-range shooting ability is what he needs the most. In addition to working on his shooting skills, it would also help him join the all-star club much faster if he could learn to create his own shots. Throughout the past three seasons, 50 % of the field goals and 76% of the three pointers that he attempted were assisted by other teammates, so that means he was always on the receiving end of a pass while cutting, running down the court or running to an open spot. What he needs is to able to create shots for himself during an iso play, like Joe Johnson or James Harden. This skill would prove useful in a lot of occasions during crunch times or when his teammates are kept off

While Okafor does need to improve in these areas, people are forgetting what an incredible talent Okafor is. Okafor has a polished post game for just a one-and-done player. Not many players can walk into the NBA as a rookie and average 18 points and 8 rebounds, but Okafor has that potential. Nerlens Noel made his much-anticipated debut for Philly last season after missing the entire 2013-14 campaign with a torn ACL. Noel averaged 11.6 points and 9.5 rebounds on his way to All-Rookie First Team honors. The most impressive part of Noel’s game is his versatility on the defensive end. Noel has the speed to switch onto perimeter threats and is an outstanding rim protector. Noel accomplished the rare feat of finishing in the top-10 in both steals and blocks per

Often compared to Jason Kidd, Ball has been commended for his leadership qualities along with his maturity and court vision. He is a facilitator in the veins of a true point guard, something not very common in the league anymore. He had an impressive season averaging 14.7 pts per game, 7.6 assists, and 6.1 rebounds helping catapult UCLA to a number 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. \

Stephen Curry’s hard work started to bring attention to him. Although nationally ignored since his young age, Stephen Curry’s accurate 3 point shots could not be ignored anymore. His 3 point shots led the team into

Two players step to the forefront of about every conversation surrounding who the best centers are in the NBA today. Ironically, they both came to professional basketball 3 years apart from the same legendary college program.

Kristaps Porzingis had the highest free throw % for a rookie in 2015-2016 season. He has so much talent that he has not been able to show yet. He doesn’t play on the best team and doesn’t get a whole lot of opportunities to shoot the ball. He is deadly underneath the hoop and behind the 3 point line. Kristaps is one of the best picks the new york knicks have ever made and he is slowly working at breaking records.

For the past 6 months to a year, the NBA media have proclaimed Kawhi Leonard to be a player who is approaching superstardom. But in reality Kawhi Leonard has a long way to go before he reaches superstardom because at this current moment Leonard has yet to become one of the primary focal points within the San Antonio Spurs offense. When it comes to the Spurs offense, Tony Parker typically brings the ball up the floor until he gets up to the three point line, then he calls for a screen. Once the screen is set, he goes over the top of it and if there is no defender on the other side of the screen he will drive to the basket. Parker will try to score if he sees a wide open path towards the basket, otherwise he will pass it to the perimeter to try to get a three point shot for the team. However if there is a defender on the other side of the screen he will pass to the screener for a jump shot.

The flip of big men is a win/win for the Celtics, who likely shed money and bring in a better player. Theis is more versatile on offense and defense as the Celtics also brought in 2016 first rounder Ante Zizic, which would have limited Zeller's minutes even

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks are smack in the middle of the playoff hunt, yet there does not seem to be a clear answer as to what they might do. They already traded away Kyle Korver, but also appear poised for upgrades. When it comes down to it, the Hawks will only seek to add a player and take a risk with re-signing Paul Millsap this offseason.

While the sample size is small, Porzingis is having a monster second season. Compared to last season, Porzingis has nearly improved in every offensive category. He is averaging 19.1 points, 6.8 rebounds,1.4 blocks