Vital stats
Position: Centre/Power Forward
Height: 7’0”/2.13m
Weight: 224 lbs/101 kg
Date of birth: 09/20/1990
Current Club: Benetton Treviso
Strengths: Donatas is a highly touted, talented centre coming out of Benetton Treviso (the same team that produced NBA draftees such as Toni Kukoc, Jorge Garbajosa and Andrea Bargnani) and is a shooting centre with range all the way out to the 3-point line and can hit it from almost anywhere, as well as this he has a good dribble-drive and can finish with either hand, resulting in him being exceptionally hard to guard.
Donatas has great agility and athleticism, and European Prospects’ take notes that “The combination of talent, size, coordination and skills is rare in European basketball,” i.e. as well as being a great outside threat, he can bring it inside and has a range of interior moves. His great court visibility and height mean that when double-teamed, he can easily spot the open man and hit him for the assist.
Read the rest at http://www.ballineurope.com/us-basketball/nba/draft-profile-donatas-motiejunas/
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
New York Knicks Made Mistake Picking Hill
In Junes 2009 NBA draft the New York Knicks picked up Jordan Hill, a 6ft 10" Power Forward from the University of Arizona. What they really neaded thought was an actual Point Guard who could run the team better then Chris Duhon and one that might help convince Lebron James to go to New York in the summer.
The 2009 Draft was guard heavy, and the Knicks had the 8th pick to pick one up, Brandon Jenning was still availible, Ty Lawson, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison and Eric Maynor are just some of those that were also on the board when New York picked but still they decided to pick a PF.
Then after playing for New York for 24 games Jordan Hill was traded to Houston, Arizona, in part of the Tracy McGrady trade, luckily for him he now gets to play alongside ex-college team mate Chase Buddinger.... for the rest of the story go to - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/359045-knicks-made-mistake-picking-hill
The 2009 Draft was guard heavy, and the Knicks had the 8th pick to pick one up, Brandon Jenning was still availible, Ty Lawson, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison and Eric Maynor are just some of those that were also on the board when New York picked but still they decided to pick a PF.
Then after playing for New York for 24 games Jordan Hill was traded to Houston, Arizona, in part of the Tracy McGrady trade, luckily for him he now gets to play alongside ex-college team mate Chase Buddinger.... for the rest of the story go to - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/359045-knicks-made-mistake-picking-hill
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Who Can Beat LA Come Play-Off Time?
When the season started the LA Lakers were supposed to be the un-disputed champions of the West especially after bringing in Ron Artest to replace Tevor Ariza and re-signing Lamar Odom.
However now the Dallas Mavericks have gone 9 straight games without a loss and are 9 and 1 in there last 10, only losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder the day after the trade deadline when Caron was new to the team and they were still building chemistry.
Now though Dallas are steam rolling towards the top stop in the West and have received a huge boost after beating the Lakers (without Kobe) in Dallas. If Dallas can continue this run long into the playoffs much like Golden State did back in 2007..... Read the full article at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/356410-who-can-beat-la-come-play-offs
However now the Dallas Mavericks have gone 9 straight games without a loss and are 9 and 1 in there last 10, only losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder the day after the trade deadline when Caron was new to the team and they were still building chemistry.
Now though Dallas are steam rolling towards the top stop in the West and have received a huge boost after beating the Lakers (without Kobe) in Dallas. If Dallas can continue this run long into the playoffs much like Golden State did back in 2007..... Read the full article at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/356410-who-can-beat-la-come-play-offs
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
My Free Agency Hopes For The Chicago Bulls
Summer 2010 - The biggest free agency period in the history of the NBA, with players such as Lebron, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Shaq, Dirk (eto), Paul Peirce (eto), Kobe (player option), David Lee the list goes on and on.......
New York will look to sign a player like Lebron and if they dont get him then its Chris Bosh, in general the Knicks will sign whoever they can get because if they dont the fan's will be looking for blood.
Boston will probably try to keep Paul Peirce and Ray Allen and then if they want to they may try to get someone to trade for Allen to get some more young bodies.
Dirk will stay in Dallas because its his team and they are still serious title contenders.
Everyone will try to get everyone, as a Bulls fan however I have one player that I hope will decide to sign for Chicago.........
For the rest of the article go to http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/355637-my-free-agency-hopes-for-the-chicago-bulls
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Chicago Bulls Playoff Hopes
The playoff hopes of the Chicago Bulls rest firmly on the shoulders of Derrick Rose, however for thus team to be competitive in the playoffs they need the bench and other starters just to step it up a notch.
Rookie power forward Taj Gibson has to continue his stellar play and grab rebounds while also bringing that youth and energy to the squad, Brad Miller who has played brilliantly as a back up centre to Joakim Noah has to continue to play well off the bench and score more inside resulting hopefully in fouls on opposing big men.
Starting shooting guard Kirk Hindrich played well in last years series with the Celtics but then he was a back up to Rose whereas thus year he will be starting and will need to continue to play well in crunch time.
Joakim Noah has to overcome injuries and give us a series much like last year but hopefully even better, Joakim brings hustle to the squad much like Kevin Garnett does for Boston.......
For the rest of the article visit - http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/355223-chicago-bulls-play-off-hopes-rest-on-these-players
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch
Rookie power forward Taj Gibson has to continue his stellar play and grab rebounds while also bringing that youth and energy to the squad, Brad Miller who has played brilliantly as a back up centre to Joakim Noah has to continue to play well off the bench and score more inside resulting hopefully in fouls on opposing big men.
Starting shooting guard Kirk Hindrich played well in last years series with the Celtics but then he was a back up to Rose whereas thus year he will be starting and will need to continue to play well in crunch time.
Joakim Noah has to overcome injuries and give us a series much like last year but hopefully even better, Joakim brings hustle to the squad much like Kevin Garnett does for Boston.......
For the rest of the article visit - http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/355223-chicago-bulls-play-off-hopes-rest-on-these-players
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Team Profile - Solent Kestrels
The Solent Stars were founded in 1980 with a starting line up of Ken Walton, Trevor Denny, Marvin Johnson, J Robinson, Paul Philip and Jimmy Guymon, who later founded the Solent Stars youth programme for young kids (mainly his son Matt Guymon) in Southampton who had asspirations of playing in the USA. The club had been formed at the end of the previous season from two Southern League teams - Portsmouth Pirates and Southampton Sharks.
The Solent Stars were successful for many seasons and in the 80's and 90's had a few thousand as the average attendance (which in the UK for that time was very high) they were increasingly successful, winning three national cups and four play-off championships.
Despite this going into the new millenium the team was on a downward spiral and at the end of the 2000-2001 season finished second to bottom in the National Basketball League Confrence, with a record of 6 wins 15 losses Solent was lossing and lossing bad, they tried to make amends in 2001/2002 finishing the season in 3rd place behind Plymouth Raiders and Teeside Mohawks from there however the seasons got worse finishing from between 8th and 12th in the rest of the final years of the club, eventually finishing 8th in 2006/07 when the club finally folded after receiving minimal support.
The final closing of the Solent Stars was expected to end the Solent youth programme however they decided to break away from the Stars broke after the team started using the youth funds to pay for players and hall rental, this eventually leaded to the creation of the Solent Kestrels the current best youth team in Hampshire and possibly the South of England.....
Find the rest of the article at
http://www.ballineurope.com/countries/uk/club-profile-the-solent-kestrels/
The Solent Stars were founded in 1980 with a starting line up of Ken Walton, Trevor Denny, Marvin Johnson, J Robinson, Paul Philip and Jimmy Guymon, who later founded the Solent Stars youth programme for young kids (mainly his son Matt Guymon) in Southampton who had asspirations of playing in the USA. The club had been formed at the end of the previous season from two Southern League teams - Portsmouth Pirates and Southampton Sharks.
The Solent Stars were successful for many seasons and in the 80's and 90's had a few thousand as the average attendance (which in the UK for that time was very high) they were increasingly successful, winning three national cups and four play-off championships.
Despite this going into the new millenium the team was on a downward spiral and at the end of the 2000-2001 season finished second to bottom in the National Basketball League Confrence, with a record of 6 wins 15 losses Solent was lossing and lossing bad, they tried to make amends in 2001/2002 finishing the season in 3rd place behind Plymouth Raiders and Teeside Mohawks from there however the seasons got worse finishing from between 8th and 12th in the rest of the final years of the club, eventually finishing 8th in 2006/07 when the club finally folded after receiving minimal support.
The final closing of the Solent Stars was expected to end the Solent youth programme however they decided to break away from the Stars broke after the team started using the youth funds to pay for players and hall rental, this eventually leaded to the creation of the Solent Kestrels the current best youth team in Hampshire and possibly the South of England.....
Find the rest of the article at
http://www.ballineurope.com/countries/uk/club-profile-the-solent-kestrels/
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Hasheem Thabeet Assigned to D-League
On Thursday 25th of February the Memphis Grizzlies assigned the number 2 overall pick from last years draft to the D-League after averaging 2.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 50 games on an average of 10 minutes per game, in my mind that is a waste of a pick especially the 2nd player drafted last year, the Grizzlies have instead opted to play Hamid Haddadi from Iran showing just how little confidence the team has in Thabeet.
Last night Hasheem made his D-League Debut by playing just 17 minutes 51 seconds and scoring a very low 8 points while grabbing 2 rebounds and a block, However this guy is like 7ft 3'' he should be grabbing more rebounds than that. Thabeet is know for his defensive presence yet last night he also got 4 personal fouls and 2 turnovers while only blocking 1 shot not much of a defensive presence to me.
The thing that I find shocking is that most people who play in the D-League either were not drafted or were second rounds picks or maybe even low first round picks, not the 2nd player taken overall. To me I always felt that Thabeet should have stayed in college and developed his game a little better improved his offensive repertoire rather than declare but no Hasheem felt that the NBA was where he deserved to be plus a multimillion pound contract does that to you.
There are guys in the D-League who are better than this guy yet thanks to the Grizzlies need for a big he was the one selected if I was the Grizzlies GM I probably would have picked Dejuan Blair because I have more trust in his Non-Existent ACL's than I do in Thabeet developing an offensive game.
Last night Hasheem made his D-League Debut by playing just 17 minutes 51 seconds and scoring a very low 8 points while grabbing 2 rebounds and a block, However this guy is like 7ft 3'' he should be grabbing more rebounds than that. Thabeet is know for his defensive presence yet last night he also got 4 personal fouls and 2 turnovers while only blocking 1 shot not much of a defensive presence to me.
The thing that I find shocking is that most people who play in the D-League either were not drafted or were second rounds picks or maybe even low first round picks, not the 2nd player taken overall. To me I always felt that Thabeet should have stayed in college and developed his game a little better improved his offensive repertoire rather than declare but no Hasheem felt that the NBA was where he deserved to be plus a multimillion pound contract does that to you.
There are guys in the D-League who are better than this guy yet thanks to the Grizzlies need for a big he was the one selected if I was the Grizzlies GM I probably would have picked Dejuan Blair because I have more trust in his Non-Existent ACL's than I do in Thabeet developing an offensive game.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Suprises Since Trade Deadline
Since the trade deadline one team has made a serious surprise, Since trading away 2 of their former All-Stars (Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison) the Washington Wiza
rds have won 3 and lost 2. Andray Blatche is averaging 24.8p.p.g in those 5 games, as well as 9.8 rebounds and 2.8assists, Al Thornton is averaging 16p.p.g and 6 rebounds, James Singleton is averaging 8.4 rebounds per contest and scoring 7.4 points, JaVale McGee is has started the last 5 games after starting the season as a bench player has gone to average 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds, I could go on for another 10 lines but basically what I'm trying to say is that these guys are stepping up, they have not seen their all stars leave and decided to give up, they have continued to fight, they have committed to make this team better by using the youth which is available to run and play with energy, They have beaten teams like Denver the night after it beat the Cavs, they beat the Bulls who were on a 4 game winning streak, last night they lost by 5 to the Memphis Grizzlies a team that has proven scorers in Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and OJ Mayo, a team who earlier this season were in playoff contention in a competitive Western Conference, The Wizards don't want to wait until the Draft to get a starting block to build the franchise around they don't want one of the free agents available this summer, they want the building block to be what they have now a team with young, dependable scorers who have the will power to make this team better each and every game.
rds have won 3 and lost 2. Andray Blatche is averaging 24.8p.p.g in those 5 games, as well as 9.8 rebounds and 2.8assists, Al Thornton is averaging 16p.p.g and 6 rebounds, James Singleton is averaging 8.4 rebounds per contest and scoring 7.4 points, JaVale McGee is has started the last 5 games after starting the season as a bench player has gone to average 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds, I could go on for another 10 lines but basically what I'm trying to say is that these guys are stepping up, they have not seen their all stars leave and decided to give up, they have continued to fight, they have committed to make this team better by using the youth which is available to run and play with energy, They have beaten teams like Denver the night after it beat the Cavs, they beat the Bulls who were on a 4 game winning streak, last night they lost by 5 to the Memphis Grizzlies a team that has proven scorers in Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and OJ Mayo, a team who earlier this season were in playoff contention in a competitive Western Conference, The Wizards don't want to wait until the Draft to get a starting block to build the franchise around they don't want one of the free agents available this summer, they want the building block to be what they have now a team with young, dependable scorers who have the will power to make this team better each and every game.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Andy Salmon Makes All-District
Andy Salmon the Ex-Solent Kestrel has made the All-District Team in Mississippi (one of four guards) where he is currently playing High-School basketball, this will hopefully contribute towards him receiving a scholarship to a top NCAA or NAIA college in September. Andy also has England Under 20 trials this summer.
I would just like to congratulate Andy and wish him the best in the future.
I would just like to congratulate Andy and wish him the best in the future.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Working Towards Greatness
So far its too early to tell who out of the 2009 NBA draft will reach greatness but seen as thought people thought this would be one of the weakest classes ever (i didn't, see my site http://www.behindtheback.webeden.co.uk ) this class has surprised and as the season has gone on people have realised just how good some of these players are, guys like Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Dejuan Blair (a shock 2nd round pick) and all this without the number 1 pick Blake Griffen even playing a game, and he was expected to be the best player and clear number one out of all of his peers.
But now at the half way point of the season it is Tyreke Evans who is dominating this draft class and is probably the greatest last years draft will produce, he's on route to join elite company as one of the only rookies ever to have a 20 - 5 - 5 season, company such as Lebron James, Jordan etc. so far Tyreke Evans is the clear pick for Rookie of the year.
Stephen Curry is another player who has been playing great this season, he's had great numbers so far especially considering he has been playing along side guys like Monta Ellis and for the start of the season Captain Jack, he's an amazing 3-point shooter like he showed us in college at Davidson and he is defiantly living up to dads expectations.
Another player looking for greatness and looking to prove those who let him slip so low in the draft is Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings a guy who scored 55 points in just his 7th NBA game, yes his production has been down since but he is still scoring in bunches and is leading all rookies in assists.
Jonny Flynn is actually pretty used to greatness mainly from his days at the orange of Syracuse but now in the NBA hes been a solid starting point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hes scoring well especially considering hes been playing alongside scorers such as Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, and he is playing well as a starter ahead of Ramon Sessions a player who broke out last season in Milwaukee.
The last player I'm going to mention is actually one of my favorites, Dejuan Blair in the rookie challenge over the weekend he truly deserves M.V.P as he grabbed 23 rebounds and scored 22 points, but its not like hes not used to such large numbers such as his regular season game where he was the first rookie since Timmmy D to grab 20 - 20 in one game when he grabbed 21 and scored 28 in a game VS Oklahoma City on the 13th of Jan this year this hopefully will be just a look at things to come in the future.
This class has many many excellent players, if they turn great? well only time will tell, but I will enjoy watching this group of young men grow and continue to work towards that ever elusive goal.
But now at the half way point of the season it is Tyreke Evans who is dominating this draft class and is probably the greatest last years draft will produce, he's on route to join elite company as one of the only rookies ever to have a 20 - 5 - 5 season, company such as Lebron James, Jordan etc. so far Tyreke Evans is the clear pick for Rookie of the year.
Stephen Curry is another player who has been playing great this season, he's had great numbers so far especially considering he has been playing along side guys like Monta Ellis and for the start of the season Captain Jack, he's an amazing 3-point shooter like he showed us in college at Davidson and he is defiantly living up to dads expectations.
Another player looking for greatness and looking to prove those who let him slip so low in the draft is Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings a guy who scored 55 points in just his 7th NBA game, yes his production has been down since but he is still scoring in bunches and is leading all rookies in assists.
Jonny Flynn is actually pretty used to greatness mainly from his days at the orange of Syracuse but now in the NBA hes been a solid starting point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hes scoring well especially considering hes been playing alongside scorers such as Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, and he is playing well as a starter ahead of Ramon Sessions a player who broke out last season in Milwaukee.
The last player I'm going to mention is actually one of my favorites, Dejuan Blair in the rookie challenge over the weekend he truly deserves M.V.P as he grabbed 23 rebounds and scored 22 points, but its not like hes not used to such large numbers such as his regular season game where he was the first rookie since Timmmy D to grab 20 - 20 in one game when he grabbed 21 and scored 28 in a game VS Oklahoma City on the 13th of Jan this year this hopefully will be just a look at things to come in the future.
This class has many many excellent players, if they turn great? well only time will tell, but I will enjoy watching this group of young men grow and continue to work towards that ever elusive goal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)