2012 Hawksquawk Summer Dynasty Draft - Post-season Review

[AHF]

As we are getting ready to kick off this summer's draft, I thought I would throw this out there for a look bat at last season. I also thought it might be interesting to see where the win share totals came in for everyone who is interested in looking those up (available for free at http://www.basketball-reference.com/).

Round 1

1 - Devon - Kevin Durant
2 - Supporter - Lebron James
3 - JayBirdHawk - Kyrie Irving
4 - Capstone - Chris Paul
5 - AHF - Dwight Howard
6 - sultanofatl - Andrew Bynum
7 - Diesel - Kevin Love
8 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Deron Williams
9 - Dolfan - Blake Griffin
10 - Mutombolievable - Russell Westbrook
11 - Alejandro09 - Derrick Rose
12 - Buzzard - DeMarcus Cousins
13 - jy23 - Rajon Rondo
14 - Nicholasp27 - Anthony Davis
15 - LethalWeapon3 - Ricky Rubio
16 - coachx - James Harden

Round 2
17 - coachx - LaMarcus Aldridge
18 - LethalWeapon3 - Marc Gasol
19 - Nicholasp27 - Roy Hibbert
20 - jy23 - Dwyane Wade
21 - Buzzard - John Wall
22 - Alejandro09 - Al Horford
23 - Mutombolievable - Josh Smith
24 - Dolfan - Greg Monroe
25 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Carmelo Anthony
26 - Diesel - Ty Lawson
27 - sultanofatl - Kobe Bryant
28 - AHF - Tony Parker
29 - Capstone21 - Al Jefferson
30 - JayBirdHawk - Tyson Chandler
31 - Supporter - Pau Gasol
32 - Devon - Chris Bosh

Round 3
33 - Devon - Serge Ibaka
34 - Supporter - Joe Johnson
35 - JayBirdHawk - Dirk Nowitzki
36 - Capstone21 - Rudy Gay
37 - AHF - Andre Iguodala
38 - sultanofatl - Manu Ginobili
39 - Diesel - Marcin Gortat
40 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Demar Derozan
41 - Dolfan - Danny Granger
42 - Mutombolievable - Monta Ellis
43 - Alejandro09 - Paul George
44 - Buzzard - David Lee
45 - jy23 - Michael Kidd Gilchrist
46 - Nicholasp27 - Eric Gordon
47 - LethalWeapon3 - Amare Stoudemire
48 - coachx - Luol Deng

Round 4
49 - coachx - Stephen Curry
50 - LethalWeapon3 - Nicholas Batum
51 - Nicholasp27 - Danilo Gallinari
52 - jy23 - Paul Millsap
53 - Buzzard - Klay Thompson
54 - Alejandro09 - Joakim Noah
55 - Mutombolievable - Brook Lopez
56 - Dolfan - Brandon Jennings
57 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - David West
58 - Diesel - Aaron Afflalo
59 - sultanofatl - Ryan Anderson
60 - AHF - Kevin Garnett
61 - Capstone21 - Javale McGee
62 - JayBirdHawk - Kawhi Leonard
63 - Supporter - Nene Hilario
64 - Devon - Kyle Lowry

Round 5
65 - Devon - Tyreke Evans
66 - Supporter - Ersan Ilyasova
67 - JayBirdHawk - Marshon Brooks
68 - Capstone21 - Wesley Matthews
69 - AHF - Bradley Beal
70 - sultanofatl - Steve Nash
71 - Diesel - Paul Pierce
72 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Andrew Bogut
73 - Dolfan - Kenneth Faried
74 - Mutombolievable - Wilson Chandler
75 - Alejandro09 - Hold the Mayo
76 - Buzzard - Derrick Favors
77 - jy23 - Tim Duncan
78 - Nicholasp27 - Tristan Thompson
79 - LethalWeapon3 - Thomas Robinson
80 - coachx - DeAndre Jordan

Round 6
81 - coachx - Brandon Knight
82 - LethalWeapon3 - Brandon Rush
83 - Nicholasp27 - Jrue Holiday
84 - jy23 - Zach Randolph
85 - Buzzard - Michael Beasley
86 - Alejandro09 - Udonis Haslem
87 - Mutombolievable - Anderson Varejao
88 - Dolfan - Tony Allen
89 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Mike Conley
90 - Diesel - Jarrett Jack
91 - sultanofatl - Gerald Wallace
92 - AHF - Kevin Martin
93 - Capstone21 - Andrea Bargnani
94 - JayBirdHawk - Thaddeus Young
95 - Supporter - Goran Dragic
96 - Devon - Jordan Crawford

Round 7
97 - Devon - Andre Drummond
98 - Supporter - Nikola Pekovic
99 - JayBirdHawk - Kris Humphries
100 - Capstone21 - Evan Turner
101 - AHF - Carlos Boozer
102 - sultanofatl - Kendrick Perkins
103 - Diesel - Trevor Ariza
104 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Tayshaun Prince
105 - Dolfan - Jeremy Lin
106 - Mutombolievable - Iman Shumpert
107 - Alejandro09 - Devin Harris
108 - Buzzard - Chauncey Billups
109 - jy23 - Steve Novak
110 - Nicholasp27 - Avery Bradley
111 - LethalWeapon3 - Jonas Valančiūnas
112 - coachx - Harrison Barnes

Round 8
113 - coachx - Spencer Hawes
114 - LethalWeapon3 - Jeff Teague
115 - Nicholasp27 - Damien Lillard
116 - jy23 - Ray Allen
117 - Buzzard - Jared Dudley
118 - Alejandro09 - Landry Fields
119 - Mutombolievable - Isaiah Thomas
120 - Dolfan - Tiago Splitter
121 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Tyler Zeller
122 - Diesel - JJ Hickson
123 - sultanofatl - Taj Gibson
124 - AHF - Enes Kanter
125 - Capstone21 - Raymond Felton
126 - JayBirdHawk - George Hill
127 - Supporter - Lou Williams
128 - Devon - Dorrell Wright

Round 9
129 - Devon - Darren Collison
130 - Supporter - Marcus Thornton
131 - JayBirdHawk - Meyers Leonard
132 - Capstone21 - Samuel Dalembert
133 - AHF - Eric Bledsoe
134 - sultanofatl - Mario Chalmers
135 - Diesel - Emeka Okafor
136 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - J.R. Smith
137 - Dolfan - Danny Green
138 - Mutombolievable – Marvin Williams
139 - Alejandro09 - Gordon Hayward
140 - Buzzard - Jose Calderon
141 - jy23 - Zaza Pachulia
142 - Nicholasp27 - Shane Battier
143 - LethalWeapon3 - Kevin Seraphin
144 - coachx - Thabo Sefolosha

Round 10
145 - coachx - Andre Miller
146 - LethalWeapon3 - Courtney Lee
147 - Nicholasp27 - Tom Thibodeau
148 - jy23 - Ramon Sessions
149 - Buzzard - Lamar Odom
150 - Alejandro09 - Gregg Popovich
151 - Mutombolievable - Omer Asik
152 - Dolfan - Doc Rivers
153 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Rick Carlisle
154 - Diesel - Nick Young
155 - sultanofatl - Derrick Williams
156 - AHF - Rodney Stuckey
157 - Capstone21 - Jerry Sloan
158 - JayBirdHawk - George Karl
159 - Supporter - Chandler Parsons
160 - Devon - Scott Brooks

Round 11
161 - Devon - Brandon Bass
162 - Supporter - Phil Jackson
163 - JayBirdHawk - Kemba Walker
164 - Capstone21 - Alonzo Gee
165 - AHF - Chris Kaman
166 - sultanofatl - Jeff Van Gundy
167 - Diesel - Gerald Henderson
168 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Glen Davis
169 - Dolfan - Shawn Marion
170 - Mutombolievable – Stan Van Gundy
171 - Alejandro09 - Perry Jones III
172 - Buzzard - Reggie Evans
173 - jy23 - Larry Brown
174 - Nicholasp27 - John Jenkins
175 - LethalWeapon3 - Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
176 - coachx - Pat Riley

Round 12
177 - coachx - Bismack Biyombo
178 - LethalWeapon3 - Kevin McHale
179 - Nicholasp27 - Mirza Teletovic
180 - jy23 - Gerald Green
181 - Buzzard - Jared Sullinger
182 - Alejandro09 - Nikola Vucevic
183 - Mutombolievable - Ed Davis
184 - Dolfan - Brandon Roy
185 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Channing Frye
186 - Diesel - Rick Adelman
187 - sultanofatl - Kyle Korver
188 - AHF - Jeff Green
189 - Capstone21 - Louis Scola
190 - JayBirdHawk - Jordan Hill
191 - Supporter - Jason Terry
192 - Devon - Chase Buddinger

Round 13
193 - Devon - Caron Butler
194 - Supporter - Marcus Camby
195 - JayBirdHawk - DeJuan Blair
196 - Capstone21 - Ronnie Brewer
197 - AHF - Dion Waiters
198 - sultanofatl - Fab Melo
199 - Diesel - Hedo Turkoglu
200 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Anthony Morrow
201 - Dolfan - John Henson
202 - Mutombolievable – Greivis Vasquez
203 - Alejandro09 - Kendal Marshall
204 - Buzzard - Frank Vogel
205 - jy23 - Ivan Johnson
206 - Nicholasp27 - Boris Diaw
207 - LethalWeapon3 - Mike Dunleavy Jr.
208 - coachx - Jamal Crawford

Round 14
209 - coachx - Festus Ezeli
210 - LethalWeapon3 - Luke Ridnour
211 - Nicholasp27 - Scott Machado
212 - jy23 - Nick Collison
213 - Buzzard - Antawn Jamison
214 - Alejandro09 - JJ Redick
215 - Mutombolievable - Al Farouq Aminu
216 - Dolfan - Austin Rivers
217 - PSSSHHHRRR87 - Tyler Hansborough
218 - Diesel - Byron Mullen
219 - sultanofatl - Grant Hill
220 - AHF - Larry Bird
221 - Capstone21 - Amir Johnson
222 - JayBirdHawk - Corey Brewer
223 - Supporter - DJ Augustine
224 - Devon - Jason Thompson

Edited June 21, 2013 by Dolfan23
Fixed link

[AHF]

Coach: Larry "Legend" Bird

PG: Tony Parker* (9.3) / Eric Bledsoe (4.7) / Rodney Stuckey (no double counting)
SG: Kevin Martin (7.0) / Bradley Beal (3.0) / Rodney Stuckey (2.5) / Dion Waiters (0.9)
SF: Andre Iguodala (5.6) / Jeff Green (4.7)
PF: Kevin Garnett* (5.6) / Carlos Boozer (5.7)
C: Dwight Howard* (7.6) / Enes Kanter (2.3) / Chris Kaman (1.6)

* = 2013 All-Star

Total WS: 60.5

Looking at my squad, I still think this team would have been a contender. It would have been elite defensively with a frontcourt of Iggy, Garnett and Howard leading the way. It would have been an excellent rebounding team and had plenty of good perimeter shooting with Martin, Beal, and Green to stretch the floor. Parker would have been able to penetrate and dish to Howard down low, Iggy slashing, Garnett in the high post, or Martin on the perimeter. The second unit would hold up well with Boozer providing the offense in the post, Kanter (a top rebounder per minute) supporting down low, Green having a career season offensively, Bledsoe disrupting on D, and Beal coming around quickly into a top perimeter shooter. The squad suffered through some injuries but by the time the playoffs started the only regular who was hurting was Kanter and Chris Kaman put up 18 pp36 and 10 rp36 so we had another big body just itching to get in anyway.

This team has great versatility and good depth and would have been a handful for anyone in the playoffs.

[Admin]

The Dolfan Dynasty Team - 2012 (with 9th picks in odd rounds, 8th pick in even rounds)

PG - Brandon Jennings (5.8) / Jeremy Lin (5.4)

SG - Tony Allen (5.1) / Brandon Roy (-0.1) / Austin Rivers (-1.1)

SF - Danny Green (5.9) / Shawn Marion (5.3) / Danny Granger (-0.1 - Injured)

PF - Blake Griffin* (10.6) / Kenneth Faried (7.8) / John Henson (1.9)

C - Tiago Splitter (8.2) / Greg Monroe (5.9)

* = 2013 All-Star

Coach: Doc Rivers

Total Win Shares: 60.7

Total Salary: $63.5 million

My team had a major injury to Danny Granger and he ended up missing the season, which caused me to have to shuffle my lineup and move Danny Green to SF while starting Tony Allen at SG. The problem there was that my backup SG Brandon Roy also missed almost the entire season and his backup, rookie Austin Rivers, started off very poorly and didn't improve much on that. I was pleasantly surprised at how well Kenneth Faried and Tiago Splitter played off the bench for me and in fact Splitter did so well that he ended up surpassing my most disappointing player, Greg Monroe, who was my starting C and 2nd round pick.

Clearly my weakness was among my guards this year while my front court carried me. I will have to get on my coach, Doc Rivers, for not getting more out of those guards and especially his rookie son.

But overall we did pretty well, considering we were under the luxury tax and had season long injuries to our starting SF (3rd round pick) and backup SG plus a disappointing season from our 2nd round pick C.

[capstone21]

Its http://www.basketball-reference.com actually and I believe this has already been done previously

[Guest]

Its http://www.basketball-reference.com actually and I believe this has already been done previously

I was just about to say that half my squad was not on the site.

Thanks for the correction.

[Admin]

I was just about to say that half my squad was not on the site.

Thanks for the correction.

That was the old website URL, if I remember correctly. Not sure why they still have it up since it hasn't been updated in a few years.

[Admin]

Its http://www.basketball-reference.com actually and I believe this has already been done previously

It was sorta done and was only after the halfway point of the season. I think some people did win shares and others, like me, did EWA (estimated wins added). I wish there were an easy way to do this without looking up each individual player one at a time since I know most of the teams won't go back and do this as it takes about 20 minutes to complete, but it would still be interesting to see how the season ended.

[Buzzard]

I wish there were an easy way to do this without looking up each individual player one at a time since I know most of the teams won't go back and do this as it takes about 20 minutes to complete, but it would still be interesting to see how the season ended.

I will do this once I get home. I Don't think I will be a top team but it will be a good refresher on my good and bad picks!

[Admin]

Antawn Jamison 4.3 , Jared Sullinger 2.7 , Reggie Evans 4.3 , Lamar Odom 2.7 , Jose Calderon 7.4 , Jared Dudley 4.8 , Chauncey Billups 1.3 , Michael Beasley -1.5 , Derrick Favors 4.4 , Klay Thompson 4.3 , David Lee 9.1 , John Wall 4.5 , DeMarcus Cousins 4.4

Four picks cost me dearly. Sullinger 2.7, Odom 2.7, Billups 1.3, and Beasley at a - 1.5

My rooks only did average in my opinion and I really expected more out of Wall 4.5 and Cousins 4.4.

Its is exactly what it is though. WS 52.7

That's really tough! Who would have thought that David Lee would have been your best player and that Calderon would have been your 2nd best? What rounds were those guys picked in? I'm surprised that Klay Thompsons numbers weren't higher since he was a big part of a team that won a good amount of games. Cousins could have been better but his team was pretty bad so there weren't a lot of wins to go around.

[Buzzard]

Antawn Jamison 4.3 , Jared Sullinger 2.7 , Reggie Evans 4.3 , Lamar Odom 2.7 , Jose Calderon 7.4 , Jared Dudley 4.8 , Chauncey Billups 1.3 , Michael Beasley -1.5 , Derrick Favors 4.4 , Klay Thompson 4.3 , David Lee 9.1 , John Wall 4.5 , DeMarcus Cousins 4.4

Four picks cost me dearly. Sullinger 2.7, Odom 2.7, Billups 1.3, and Beasley at a - 1.5

My rookie deals/contracts only did average in my opinion and I really expected more out of Wall 4.5 and Cousins 4.4.

Its is exactly what it is though. WS 52.7

[Buzzard]

That's really tough! Who would have thought that David Lee would have been your best player and that Calderon would have been your 2nd best? What rounds were those guys picked in? I'm surprised that Klay Thompsons numbers weren't higher since he was a big part of a team that won a good amount of games. Cousins could have been better but his team was pretty bad so there weren't a lot of wins to go around.

I don't care what stat system you use, Lee is a fantasy beast and Calderon is the most under rated and bashed PG in the NBA. My list above is in opposite draft order. My bottom half starting with Calderon did as well as my top half due mostly to where I took Beasely and Billups.

[LucastheThird]

I'm still confident that I drafted a competitive team even without any production from D. Rose. I also drafted some rookies and it's kinda hard to say they would do well in my team when they haven't had much pt. Here's how my team compares using OWS, DWS, and WS

PG-Derrick Rose (0-injured), Devin Harris (1.8 1.5 3.3), Kendall Marshall (-0.4 0.2 -0.2)

SG-OJ Mayo (2.8 1.3 4.2), Gordon Hayward (4.2 1.2 5.4) JJ Reddick (4.0 0.5 4.5)

SF- Paul George (6.1 11.4 9.0) Landry Fields (9.8)

PF- Al Horford (4.7 4.1 8.8) Udonis Haslem (1.2 2.0 3.2) Perry Jones III (-0.4 0.4 0.0)

C- Joakim Noah (2.7 4.7 7.3) Nikola Vucevic (2.8 2.9 5.7)

Calculating the WS that comes out to 61 win shares without my best player Derrick Rose. You add on top of this my coach Gregg Popovich, who is known for getting the best out of all his players and I look for my team to compete on a yearly basis. With D. Rose hurt the first year, we were a first maybe second round playoff bounce; but with him healthy this looks like a Finals team to me.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Head Coach: Rick Carisle

Starters:

C – Andrew Bogut
PF – David West
SF – Carmelo Anthony
SG – Demar DeRozan
PG – Deron Williams

Bench:

SG – J.R. Smith
PG – Mike Conley
SF – Tayshaun Prince
PF – Tyler Hansbrough
C – Tyler Zeller
SG – Anthony Morrow
PF – Glen Davis
PF – Channing Frye

Salary for Starters: $63 mil
Salary for Bench: $37.6 mil

I feel I have a great team albeit an expensive one. I feel that 80% of my players are great, two-way players that can play multiple positions. I have a team that is great in the low-post with Bogut and West while still having a backcourt that is capable of three point shooting and drive-and-kick/finish action. PnR is deadly with Williams and West. On top of it all is my number one guy Carmelo Anthony who is the top scorer in the league. Having Carmelo’s scoring ability backed by the ability of the drive-and-kick/finish, PnR, 3 pt shooting, and great low-post offense, we are one of the most dominate offensive teams in the league. We are good on the defensive end as well. Bogut anchors the defense, but it all starts with our back court. Williams is a good defender that is a thief while DeRozan is the fastest vertical defender in the league.

Our bench is one of the top benches in the league. We have the sixth man of the year in J.R. Smith who is a very capable scorer and defender and would be a starter on numerous other teams. We also have a backup PG in Conley that when in the game, we feel we lose nothing. Prince is the best defender on the team and we have hustle guys in Davis and Hansbrough that adds toughness to the team. Our best 3pt shooter is Morrow.

I feel this team has just a few flaws:

[*]Backup center [*]Number one guy is ball-dominant [*]Bench is made up of mostly hustle players, no real offense [*]Lack of a third PG [*]A lot of salary for a team that is mid-tier at best defensively

After season review:

Eight of the thirteen guys on my roster not made it to the playoffs this year. Of those eight, seven made it to the second round while four made it to the conference finals. I took a little bit of a gamble on one of my favorite young players in the league, Demar DeRozan, by drafting him high in the third round and I feel it paid off tremendously. J.R. Smith was the sixth man of the year and Carmelo Anthony was the league’s scoring champion. I feel I have the best Big 3 in the league with Anthony, Williams, and West. All in all, I am happy with my team and feel that this is a championship caliber for as long as the ownership can afford it. Likely, we would end up moving some of our top dollar aged talent (i.e, David West and Andrew Bogut) for expiring contracts (i.e. Pau Gasol) to make this team more affordable and reduce tax penalties.

[Nicholasp27]

I drafted for the future and did pretty wellLillard was a steal so i now have 2 good pgs in him and jrue for depth or tradesUnibrow played well for his first season and is looking brightHibbert showed his value in playoffsGallinari beasted until injury and then self-healed last month so no longer needs surgeryGordon just needs to be uninjured at some pointMy core for the future is bright:Lillard/JrueGordon/JenkinsGalloBrow/TristanHibbertDiaw/Battier are just filler for now, not the future Thibs is an awesome coach, ldo

[Diesel]

My team Sucked... by win/shares...

Love = 1.0

Lawson = 7.4

Gortat = 3.4

Afflalo = 2.0

Pierce = 7.2

Jack = 5.6

Ariza = 3.1

Hickson = 6.9

Okafor = 4.5

Young = 2.3

Henderson = 3.3

Turk = -0.5

Mullen = 0.1

I was surprised by Mullen of all people. He scores about 11 ppg and pulls down about 6.5 rpg... Not bad but this guy shoots a worse percentage than me... drunk.

My total was 46.3. I think Rick Adelman could get something out of these guys. Maybe he could use Young or get Gortat to do something. IF Love didn't get injured, I think he would have added about 10 more win shares so that would have been respectable but still.

[Admin]

Win Shares is severely flawed here unless we find some type of standard to modify them by. For example on my team Monroe had a much better season than Splitter but because the Spurs won 58 games vs the Pistons winning 29, which made it appear like Splitter had the better season due to there being a lot more win shares to split up. So maybe there should be some type of standard, whatever you math guys call it, to where you multiply the teams wins by a number to give them 82 wins and then you take that number and multiply the players win shares by that amount. That way each team has 82 wins and player win shares are increased proportionately. Does that type of thing make sense to do?

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Win Shares is severely flawed here unless we find some type of standard to modify them by.For example on my team Monroe had a much better season than Splitter but because the Spurs won 58 games vs the Pistons winning 29, which made it appear like Splitter had the better season due to there being a lot more win shares to split up. So maybe there should be some type of standard, whatever you math guys call it, to where you multiply the teams wins by a number to give them 82 wins and then you take that number and multiply the players win shares by that amount. That way each team has 82 wins and player win shares are increased proportionately. Does that type of thing make sense to do?

It does, but we'll see if someone takes initiative to do so. More math than I care to do at the moment... lol

[AHF]

Win Shares is severely flawed here unless we find some type of standard to modify them by.For example on my team Monroe had a much better season than Splitter but because the Spurs won 58 games vs the Pistons winning 29, which made it appear like Splitter had the better season due to there being a lot more win shares to split up. So maybe there should be some type of standard, whatever you math guys call it, to where you multiply the teams wins by a number to give them 82 wins and then you take that number and multiply the players win shares by that amount. That way each team has 82 wins and player win shares are increased proportionately. Does that type of thing make sense to do?

I am pretty sure these are the main reasons:

Splitter .609 TS%

Monroe .527 TS%

Splitter 12.7% turnover %

Monroe 16% turnover %

Given the levels of production aren't hugely different on a per minute basis (17 and 10 versus 15 and 9), the finishing and turnovers make a big difference. (Spiltter was also the superior shot blocker during his minutes which is likely a bigger factor on team defense than steals where Monroe is quite good).

This is the same reason Monroe wasn't an impact fantasy player this year. His shooting fell off a cliff last season and he had a career high TO rate (and total number). If he rebounds to the .570 TS% level of his first two seasons, he will have a much high WS number.

In fact, just look at his WS/48 number. It went from .161 to .105 despite the Pistons winning 4 more games last season. The WS drop is a factor of Monroe's play much more than team wins and Splitter looks great due to his great efficiency.

[lethalweapon3]

The 2012-2013 Lethal Pelicans (30-52) suffered a complete power outage at the power forward position, which was especially disconcerting when considering the reputation of the head coach. The ticking time bombs known as Amare Stoudemire’s knees went off at the start and the end of the season, making him a virtual non-entity. After a promising finish to 2011-2012, Kevin Seraphin flopped as spectacularly as any young veteran post player in the league, showing no polish to his robotic offense and literal nonchalance on defense. Lotto pick rookie Thomas Robinson proved that, thus far, he can do nothing productive with his hands, aside from rebounding the ball. His turnovers and subpar shooting compelled McHale to keep him benched at the close of the season. Between Seraphin and Robinson, there is much more hope in the latter developing his game in a positive direction going forward, particularly on Kevin McHale’s watch.

Those failures at the four spot were satisfyingly offset by the centers. All-NBA Second Teamer Marc Gasol has become as balanced and strong as a floor leader as any big man you’ll find in the league right now. Jonas Valanciunas emerged after a mid-season injury, surprising many with an aggressive approach to his offensive game and making the All-Rookie Second Team. Looking ahead, this team will be hard-pressed to find a way to keep both players on the floor. Twin Ivory Towers, anyone? (Don’t abbreviate that.)

Ricky Rubio provided flashes of stardom throughout the season, but the L-Pels’ top pick was ultimately too unsteady to regain the starting point guard spot away from Jeff Teague. Teague himself was inconsistent but exhibited his best regular season as a young pro. Playing through chronic injuries, Luke Ridnour was perhaps overutilized at the shooting guard spot alongside Rubio and Teague.

Pushed to the forefront after the injury that short-circuited Brandon Rush’s season, Courtney Lee struggled out of the gate at shooting guard and disappointingly lost confidence as the season wore on. Mike Dunleavy’s perimeter shooting was a career-best, but he served mostly as a band-aid for an erratic young Pelicans offense.

That offense was emblemized by Nic Batum, who had a high usage rate (especially jacking up threes) but a low production volume. A lack of assertiveness still dogs him on a team that sorely could have used more, but he did improve as a secondary passer this season. Like Dunleavy on offense, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute served as a defensive band-aid, but like Ridnour was overutilized and fought injuries all season.

Much of the growth for this team will come from within, especially during summer league, training camp, and offseason conditioning and development. But major draft help is needed at the 2 and 4 positions to allow the Pelicans to improve the quality of its depth and compete next season.

2012-13 LETHAL PELICANS

aPER: 14.38

70% EWA: 30.1

sigmaWS: 45.5

PLAYER (Tm/Overall Draft Pick) [PER/EWA/WS] – Could’ve Taken:

RICKY RUBIO (1st/15th) [16.20/4.4/3.0] – James Harden

MARC GASOL (2nd/18th) [19.57/12.5/11.5] – N/A

AMARE STOUDEMIRE (3rd/47th) [22.16/3.6/2.7] – Stephen Curry

NICOLAS BATUM (4th/50th) [15.76/7.3/5.8] – David West

THOMAS ROBINSON (5th/79th) [10.97/-0.3/-0.1] – DeAndre Jordan

BRANDON RUSH (6th/82nd) [12.00/0.0/0.0] – injured – Jrue Holiday

JONAS VALANCIUNAS (7th/111th) [15.62/3.7/3.9] – Harrison Barnes

JEFF TEAGUE (8th/114th) [16.82/7.6/6.1] – Damien Lillard

KEVIN SERAPHIN (9th/143rd) [10.37/-1.0/0.1] – Thabo Sefolosha

COURTNEY LEE (10th/146th) [11.71/1.2/3.3] – Coach Greg Popovich

LUC RICHARD MBAH A MOUTE (11th/175th) [9.09/-1.6/0.5] – Bismack Biyombo

COACH KEVIN MCHALE (12^th/) – Nikola Vucevic

MIKE DUNLEAVY (13th/207th) [13.64/3.0/4.4] – Jamal Crawford

LUKE RIDNOUR (14th/210th) [13.07/2.6/4.3] – Corey Brewer

Rotation:

JTeague/Rubio/Ridnour

Dunleavy/CLee/Rush (inj.)

Batum/Mbah a Moute

Stoudemire/TRobinson/Seraphin

MGasol/Valanciunas

McHale (Coach)

All-Could’ve Taken Team:

StCurry/Holiday/Lillard

Harden/Sefolosha

HBarnes/CBrewer

DWest/Jordan

MGasol/Vucevic/Biyombo

Popovich (Coach)

~lw3

Edited June 23, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[jy23]

I'm not even going to do mine since my number 1 pick got hurt mid way through the year, I just know I wouldnt win