Draft Pick Tournament Round 2

Now that the NBA Finals are over, and we are complete with pictures of Lebron James partying while wearing his face, we can start re-focusing our attention to the NBA Draft. A few weeks back, we looked at the best teams that could be made with each draft pick of the last twenty years. Round 1 of the tournament is in the books, and if you missed it you can check it out here:  Draft Pick Tournament Round 1.

Without further ado, let’s jump back into it.

9^th Pick vs. 1^st Pick

9^th Pick Roster

Center- Amare Stoudemire, 2002, Phoenix Suns

Power Forward- Dirk Nowitzki, 1998, Milwaukee Bucks

Small Forward- Shawn Marion, 1999, UNLV, Phoenix Suns

Shooting Guard- Tracy McGrady, 1997, Toronto Raptors

Point Guard- D.J. Augustin, 2008, Texas, Charlotte Bobcats

Sixth Man- Joakim Noah, 2007, Florida, Chicago Bulls

1^st Pick Roster

Center- Shaquille O’Neal, 1992, LSU, Orlando Magic

Power Forward- Tim Duncan, 1997, Wake Forest, San Antonio Spurs

Small Forward- Lebron James, 2003, Cleveland Cavaliers

Shooting Guard- Allen Iverson, 1996, Georgetown, Philadelphia 76ers

Point Guard- Derrick Rose, 2008, Memphis, Chicago Bulls

Sixth Man- Dwight Howard, 2004, Orlando Magic

Winner: 1^st Pick in five games

Reason: It’s a shame that the 9^th Pick Team has to play the 1^st Pick Team so soon, as they are loaded for a middle of the lottery team. They can likely steal a game from the team full of 1^st Overall Picks due to some of the offensive power they have. The weakness that D.J. Augustin provides at point guard is something that would be very tough to overcome, especially in a matchup against Derrick Rose. The combination of Shaq, Duncan, and Howard is going to be quite dominating overall inside, but there is one weakness that might plague the 1^st Overall Team later in the tournament, and that is outside shooting.

Iverson and Rose are scorers that can get points no matter what, but their strengths lie with having the ball in their hands constantly and slashing at the basket. Spot up jump shooting is not how either of these players get their points. As we saw very recently in the NBA Finals, Lebron is at his best when he can dish out of the double team to an open outside shooter, but perhaps the depth on this roster will prevent double teams on Lebron.

10^th Pick vs. 2^nd Pick

10^th Pick Roster

Center- Andrew Bynum, 2005, Los Angeles Lakers

Power Forward- Kurt Thomas, 1995, TCU, Miami Heat

Small Forward- Paul Pierce, 1998, Kansas, Boston Celtics

Shooting Guard- Joe Johnson, 2001, Arkansas, Boston Celtics

Point Guard- Brandon Jennings, 2009, Milwaukee Bucks

Sixth Man- Jason Terry, 1999, Arizona, Atlanta Hawks

2^nd Pick Roster

Center- Marcus Camby, 1996, Massachusetts, Toronto Raptors

Power Forward- Alonzo Mourning, 1992, Georgetown, Charlotte Hornets

Small Forward- Kevin Durant, 2007, Texas, Seattle Supersonics

Shooting Guard- Steve Francis, 1999, Maryland, Vancouver Grizzlies

Point Guard- Jason Kidd, 1994, California, Dallas Mavericks

Sixth Man- Tyson Chandler, 2001, Los Angeles Clippers

Winner: 2^nd Pick in seven games

Reason: This matchup is a coin flip. Having the 10^th pick in the draft apparently can lead a team to have an opportunity at a great player. In the end the difference between these two teams is Jason Kidd. The problem with the 10^th Pick Team is that they have a lot of isolation scorers, but Jason Terry is the only player with a lot of skills playing off-ball on the wing. Unfortunately for Terry, Brandon Jennings isn’t the best passer in the league. On the other hand, the 2^nd Pick Roster has a lot of defensive stoppers in the paint, but not a lot of wing scoring. Kidd doesn’t create a lot of points for himself, but will be able to find Kevin Durant for quality shots with great regularity.

Combine that dangerous pairing with allowing Steve Francis to  own a couple of possessions with isolations, and the 2^nd Pick Team will be able to get enough points to allow their superior interior defense to dominate. There would be a few games in this series where the 10^th Pick Team would get hot from the 3-point line, and would be too much for the opposition.

6^th Pick vs. 3^rd Pick

6^th Pick Roster

Too much shimmy leads Tone to
exit in the second round.

Center- Chris Kaman, 2003, Central Michigan, Los Angeles Clippers    

Power Forward- Antoine Walker, 1996, Kentucky, Boston Celtics

Small Forward- Shane Battier, 2001, Duke, Memphis Grizzlies

Shooting Guard- Ron Mercer, 1997, Kentucky, Boston Celtics

Point Guard- Brandon Roy, 2006, Washington, Minnesota Timberwolves

Sixth Man- Danilo Gallinari, 2008, New York Knicks

3^rd Pick Roster

Center- Al Horford, 2007, Florida, Atlanta Hawks

Power Forward- Pau Gasol, 2001, Atlanta Hawks

Small Forward- Grant Hill, 1994, Duke, Detroit Pistons

Shooting Guard- Anfernee Hardaway, 1993, Memphis, Golden State Warriors

Point Guard- Deron Williams, 2005, Illinois, Utah Jazz

Sixth Man- Carmelo Anthony, 2003, Syracuse, Denver Nuggets

Winner: 3^rd Pick in four games.

Reason: The team full of 3^rd Overall Picks continues to dominate. The depth and quality of all players on this team is quite well rounded. They have two players down in the post who are very good passers and they also have the outside shooters capable of taking advantage of open looks. Their offense is in great hands with Deron Williams’ decision making, and Grant Hill can provide them with a shutdown wing player if they need it.  The problem for the 6^th Pick Team is that they really have no offensive threats to speak of. Gallinari would be great in this tournament as a spot up shooter, but will be covered quite closely, as neither Ron Mercer nor Shane Battier are drive and kick threats. This team will get too caught up in Antoine Walker trying to isolate and create shots for himself, which will likely yield lots of rebounds for Al Horford. The 3^rd Pick Roster is looking like one of the rosters that combine together the best, rather than being a large collection of talent.

5^th Pick vs. 4^th Pick

5^th Pick Roster

Center- Kevin Garnett, 1995, Minnesota Timberwolves

Power Forward- Kevin Love, 2008, UCLA, Memphis Grizzlies

Small Forward- Vince Carter, 1998, North Carolina, Golden State Warriors

Shooting Guard- Dwyane Wade, 2003, Marquette, Miami Heat

Point Guard- Ricky Rubio, 2009, Minnesota Timberwolves

Sixth Man- Ray Allen, 1996, Connecticut, Minnesota Timberwolves

4^th Pick Roster

Center- Rasheed Wallace, 1995, North Carolina, Washington Bullets

Power Forward- Chris Bosh, 2003, Georgia Tech, Toronto Raptors

Small Forward- Jamal Mashburn, 1993, Kentucky, Dallas Mavericks

Shooting Guard- Russell Westbrook, 2008, UCLA, Seattle Supersonics

Point Guard- Chris Paul, 2005, Wake Forest, New Orleans Hornets

Sixth Man- Lamar Odom, 1999, Rhode Island, Los Angeles Clippers

Winner: 5^th Pick in seven games

Reason: This would be quite the fun series to watch. The advantage inside goes to the 5^th Pick Team, as Kevin Love can really fill up the box score, and Kevin Garnett has done a good job on Chris Bosh in past meetings. This past season, Bosh did a great job on Garnett in the postseason once he returned from injury, but when the players were both closer to their primes, Garnett was one of Bosh’s nightmares. The advantage on the wing goes to the 5^th overall team as well, as they have a wide variety of players to throw at the opposition. Dwyane Wade is one of the best players in the tournament, and will be able to dominate. In his prime, Vince Carter dominated as well, and will be able to tear Jamal Mashburn apart. Ray Allen will have the ability to be left wide open for the corner three way more than any team would like to see.

The advantage for the 4^th Pick Team is at the point guard position where Chris Paul can make a claim as the best point guard in the tournament. The 4^th Pick Team also has the ability to let Westbrook take the ball up the court for his patented pull up elbow jumper. Ricky Rubio has a lot of passing ability, but is in over his head in this tournament, as he will be best served passing the ball off to other veteran players. The advantage that Paul and Westbrook have over Rubio is enough for the 4^th Pick Team to win a handful of games, but in the end, the other positions end up being too much.

After two rounds, the only team outside of the top 4 to advance is the 5^th Pick Team, although the 2^nd Pick Team had quite the tough time advancing. Come back to see how the Final Four matches up. I’m getting the feeling that the series will be going longer and tighter, with some potential controversial decisions being made. Feel free to weigh in below and let us know some of your thoughts on the tournament.

-Adam