details on the Battier vs Richardson dunkfest

[kevin <kevinlok@yahoo.com>]

got this on the hawks ng. good info.

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http://pub12.ezboard.com/fhawksquawkfrm8.showMessage?topicID=3258.topic


My thoughts after watching today's workout.....
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 I was privaledged to watch today's workout with Battier, JR, Morris,
Moon, Evans, and another player who I did not know (second round
material I guess since no one else knew him either).

Well where do I start? Battier is extremely intelligent on the court.
He started off the morning by shooting lights out then struggled a bit
with his shot. His defense is VERY good. The guy can play D and gave
JR fits all day. But JR did get past him occasionally (more in a
moment). Battier is a NICE player who I'm sure will have a NICE career
in the NBA. Did I see a star in him on the court today? No. I'm not
saying the guy won't make an all star team or won't score 15 a game.
He might. But the one thing that stood out was his experience and his
intelligence on the court. Plus the guy rooted for everyone else to do
well throughout the workout - especially rooting for the JUCO kid. 

The one thing I really noticed between Richardson and Battier is
projectability. I see Richardson getting MUCH better than he already
is, and he is a great player NOW. I just don't know how much better
Shane can get. I might be wrong as hell on him, but this is just my
gut. When you looked out there on the court with the 6 guys, you saw
Battier stand out mainly due to his poise and even his leadership
abilities in a 3on3 drill. 

As for Richardson, well I really wish we had two picks and had a huge
need for a shooting guard. The kid is gonna be an all star.
ATHLETICISM all day - all night. He does not give up one bit when he's
on the court. He is still learning and he listened closely when Gar
and Rick and Chris were leading the drills. Richardson also enjoyed
the challenge of going up against Shane. He did very well. The guy is
FLASHY. He can shoot - but seemed a bit nervous with a bunch of media
types on hand (knowing they were there to see Battier). 

Late in the morning, the coaches put the six through a series of three
drills. One was leaping off rebounds; one was power layups; and the
last one was dunks! I knew I had to get in position to watch JR with
the dunk portion. Well he put on a show. You had two balls on the side
of the free throw lane and then you had to pick them up and dunk as
many in a row as possible. When you missed your first dunk, it was
over. This was not a timed drill, but it was after they had already
done the first two, which were timed for one minute apiece. IT WAS
TOUGH. Don't think it wasn't.

Richardson went into the 30's and started putting on a show. A few
backward dunks - palmed it almost every time. JR had one dunk that
made Lon get out of his seat! He finished with 63 I believe, which was
at least 20 more than the other four had wracked up. He didn't miss
one; he just gave up being dead tired. Then Battier - who was at the
other end of the court doing it at the same time but slower - tried to
break JR's mark. He did it - with everyone rooting him on. He finally
missed one on his 71st try. Talk about tough. I've never seen anything
so tiring.
The JUCO kid gave out at 22! But JR and Battier battled it out til the
end.

Evans would be a nice second round pick. He's not a bad player - but
he's just that same old tweener size of 6-5.
I'd much prefer Terrence Morris. I just don't know what happened to
his rep. This guy was suppose to be a top pick this season, but
instead he will be lucky if he's drafted. But he's not a bad player,
and he's more polished than Evans. He's a bit bigger at 6-9, but he
still a 3.

Conclusions: IF Babs really wants Battier (and he might) then we will
trade down. Would I be terribly disappointed (given what I saw today)
if we did trade down to get Battier? No, as long as we got something
else in return. For instance, #3 and Hendu for #6 and Bibby might
work. That type of deal, not necessarily that one - so don't
overanalyze it.

Battier will be a contributor to a NBA team. But the question Babs
must answer is: Does he want a star (which Griffin, Brown, Curry, or
Richardson might be) or a solid contributor who will be a tremendous
presence for this franchise?

IF it were me, I'd be very interested in what happens when I see the
top 3 players work out. You should be able to tell (even by a workout)
if a player has star potential. I didn't see Battier have that today.
I saw he had the potential to be a very good NBA player. I saw JR had
the potential to be a star - but we don't need a SG and that's what he
is.

IF we were still at 5 or had dropped to 6, I would be thrilled at the
prospect at getting a guy like Battier. We all prayed for a miracle to
move up - and we did. So we can't afford to pass on a player that has
STAR potential.
You almost are guaranteed of a player with star potential at 3 - while
at 5 and 6 you may get a player on that level - but the odds are
better at 3.

While I haven't seen them workout yet, Curry, Griffin, and Brown sound
like they have star potential and projectability. Shane may have
reached his peak - which won't be bad, but may not be as good as the
three just mentioned. Their peak might be high - it might be in 2003
or 2004 - but it might be VERY high.

I'm prepared to wait IF we feel we can get a guy who can be our next
star. With Battier, we'd be better. But I don't know if we'd be
championship material with him next year or three years down the road.
With the other three, I think we'd have an excellent chance to being
championship contenders in a couple of years.

BTW, Moon is an athlete, but not an NBA player.