The Southwest Division champion Spurs resume their series vs. the Thunder tonight, looking to hold serve at home in San Antonio. As ESPN.com's John Hollinger writes, the Spurs are very familiar with this situation, having entered a Game 5 with the series tied nine times already in the Tim Duncan era. Hollinger wonders what adjustments Gregg Popovich will make tonight, speculating that the team's changes could involve the use of Manu Ginobili and Matt Bonner. Here are a few more Monday updates out of the Southwest….
The Warriors were one of a few teams to benefit from Wednesday night's draft lottery results, hanging onto their lottery pick for another year. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, GM Bob Myers doesn't intend to use all four picks the Warriors hold, but views them as valuable trade assets. Myers also aims to land a starter with the seventh overall pick, pointing out that "I don't think anyone would accept the thought of drafting a backup" with a top-10 pick. Here are a few more of the morning's Warriors updates:
We're just a little over 24 hours away from tomorrow night's draft lottery, aka the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. While fans of the Bobcats, Wizards, Cavaliers, Hornets, and the rest of the lottery teams hold their breath, let's round up a few of today's draft-related items:
- The Celtics may be trying to package their two first-round picks to move up in the draft, tweets SI.com's Zach Lowe.
- Damian Lillard appears to be a likely top-10 pick, writes ESPN.com's Chad Ford in an Insider-only piece that also touches on Terrence Ross, Arnett Moultrie, Fab Melo, and a number of other prospects.
- Ford also fielded draft questions in his weekly ESPN.com chat earlier this afternoon.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio identifies his picks for the sleepers of this year's draft class.
- Seven-footers Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard highlighted the participants at the Trail Blazers' first draft workout today, and interim Kaleb Canales had compliments for both players, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com writes.
The big men in this year's draft class are chock full of intrigue, few moreso than Illinois' Meyers Leonard. The 7'0", 240 pound center didn't play a whole lot for the Fighting Illini in his freshman season but clearly improved heading into his sophomore campaign. This year, Leonard anchored his team's front line with 30+ minutes per contest. The center found his touch around the rim in 2011/12 and also found his way to the weight room, making him a force to be reckoned with. It wasn't necessarily a surprise when Leonard declared for the draft in early April, but it was something of a shock to see him projected as a top half first-round pick by many prognosticators.
On the defensive end, Leonard is a disruptive force with a 7'3" wingspan. This year, the big man swatted just under two shots per game while averaging 0.5 steals. His length combined with his leaping ability is fun to watch in action, but the mere threat of it is what really throws off the opposition. Leonard can contain opposing big men and force guards to stay on the outside.
Offensively, Leonard's game is a work-in-progress. His post game still appears to be awkward and he'll have to add more moves and fakes to his arsenal in order to score effectively at the next level. However, Leonard knows his way around the pick-and-roll game and seems fairly comfortable scoring in motion. One way or another, he doesn't profile to be an elite scorer – his NBA dollars will be earned on the defensive end.
Where does this leave Leonard amongst centers in the 2012 class? He's not nearly as polished as Jared Sullinger or as safe as a Tyler Zeller and it's hard to imagine him raising his stock above either player. At the same time, he could sneak into the back end of the lottery depending on where the ping-pong balls fall in Secaucus, New Jersey. Workouts leading up the draft will make or break his draft position. His ceiling figures to be in the high teens and his floor somewhere in the early twenties.
This June's NBA draft will take place at the Prudential Center, but it appears the May draft lottery will be moving from New Jersey to New York. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that the venue for the draft lottery will switch locations for the first time since 1994. We'll see if the new location turns out to be a good-luck charm for the Bobcats, Wizards, Hornets, or another club on May 30th. In the meantime, you can keep an eye on our tentative 2012 draft order to follow the latest odds on which lottery team will land that first overall pick.
Here are few more draft-related updates:
- Sophomore Meyers Leonard will forgo his final two years at Illinois and enter the draft, the team announced (hat tip to Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com). The 7'1" center is expected to be selected in the first round, with ESPN.com's latest mock draft slotting him at 20th overall.
- Point guard Damian Lillard will leave Weber State a year early. We heard last month that the junior was expected to declare his intent, and Martin Renzhofer of the Salt Lake Tribune says Lillard made the decision official today. The 6'3" Lillard is considered perhaps the top available point guard in this year's draft, and could be a lottery pick.
- Washington freshman Tony Wroten will hire an agent and enter the draft, the school announced today. Said Wroten: "I love the University of Washington, but I just feel that it's best for me to make the jump." The 6'5" guard is expected to be a first-round pick, ranking 19th among ESPN.com's top 100 prospects and 23rd on DraftExpress.com's list.
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) talks to scouts and GMs to get an idea of which players helped or hurt their stocks in the Final Four.
- Wizards point guard John Wall spoke to Michael Lee of the Washington Post about the possibility of Washington landing Anthony Davis in the draft.