cade cunningham – Brainiac Sports

In Basketball

2021-22 NBA Season Predictions

October 19, 2021 No Comments

For the third time in 373 days, we will have an NBA season to watch. Seems crazy, but thus the world that we live in. A new NBA season is here, with plenty of predictions and takes to follow. Every year I put out who I think will make the playoffs and win awards at the end of the season. This year, I’ll be doing so in addition to picking over/under lines for each team. We’ll get to revisit this at the end of the season to see how wrong I ultimately will be, but for now, let’s have some fun. Happy new NBA season everyone!

NBA 2021-22 Over/Under Predictions:

Atlanta Hawks (46.5): Over

Brooklyn Nets (56.5): Over

Boston Celtics (45.5): Over

Charlotte Hornets (38.5): Over

Chicago Bulls (42.5): Under

Cleveland Cavaliers (26.5): Over

Dallas Mavericks (48.5): Under

Denver Nuggets (47.5): Under

Detroit Pistons (24.5): Under

Golden State Warriors (48.5): Under

Houston Rockets (27.5): Under

Indiana Pacers (42.5): Under

Los Angeles Clippers (42.5): Under

Los Angeles Lakers (51.5): Over

Memphis Grizzlies (41.5): Over

Miami Heat (48.5): Under

Minnesota Timberwolves (34.5): Over

New Orleans Pelicans (39.5): Under

New York Knicks (41.5): Over

Oklahoma City Thunder (24.5): Under

Orlando Magic (23.5): Under

Philadelphia 76ers (50.5): Under

Phoenix Suns (51.5): Over

Portland Trail Blazers (44.5): Under

San Antonio Spurs (28.5): Under

Sacramento Kings (36.5): Under

Toronto Raptors (35.5): Over

Utah Jazz (51.5): Over

Washington Wizards (33.5): Over

NBA 2021-22 Playoff Picks

East

1) Brooklyn Nets

2) Milwaukee Bucks

3) Atlanta Hawks

4) Boston Celtics

5) Miami Heat

6) New York Knicks

7) Philadelphia 76ers

8) Charlotte Hornets

9) Chicago Bulls

10) Toronto Raptors

West

1) Utah Jazz

2) Los Angeles Lakers

3) Phoenix Suns

4) Denver Nuggets

5) Golden State Warriors

6) Dallas Mavericks

7) Memphis Grizzlies

8) Los Angeles Clippers

9) Portland Trail Blazers

10) Minnesota Timberwolves

Finals: Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers: Nets 4-2

NBA 2021-22 Awards Predictions

MVP: Kevin Durant SF BKN

MIP: OG Anunoby SF TOR

6MOY: Tyler Herro SG MIA

COY: Nate McMillan ATL

DPOY: Anthony Davis PF/C LAL

ROY: Cade Cunningham SF DET

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Sharife Cooper Is the Next Pick and Roll Maestro

July 28, 2021 No Comments

Before we start up this draft profile, I want to give you all a blind resume of two players’ stat line per 40 minutes.

Per-40	Pts	Asts	TOs	Rebs	Stls	FG%	3pt%	FT%	FTA	FGA
A	30.9	9.8	5.9	4.4	1.9	42.2%	36%	86.1%	9.7	21.8
B	24.4	9.8	5	5.1	1.2	39.1%	22.8%	82.5%	10.4	18.5

Pretty similar, right? One would think stat lines that close to each other would mean both players are of comparable caliber, huh? Well, Player A is what Atlanta Hawks’ superstar Trae Young pulled off during his lone season at Oklahoma. Who is player B? Don’t worry, I got you. The answer to that question would be… Auburn’s Sharife Cooper.

Granted, Trae Young played a full season at Oklahoma, while Sharife Cooper only played 12 games this season for the Auburn Tigers. but I think it is important to bring Trae Young up and what he did in these playoffs when assessing Cooper’s potential. Now, I’m not saying that Cooper is for sure going to be ‘the next Trae Young,’ but both play with similar styles. I think it is important to bring Trae Young up though and what he did in these playoffs when assessing Sharife Cooper’s potential. In a pick-and-roll-centric league, Young dominated each and every one of his NBA opponents with his supreme blend of playmaking and scoring in that regard. Cooper could possibly be the best pick-and-roll playmaker in this draft outside of Cade Cunningham, but he needs to improve as a shooter to maximize his potential. We’ll talk about that later. But what may be stood out the most to me watching Trae in the playoffs was how he was able to survive on the defensive end of the floor.

I think this is the most important piece of this conversation. The expectation from many, including myself, was for Trae Young to get massacred on the defensive end of the floor. That simply did not happen. Young was mostly able to hide on spot-up shooters, hedge when forced to come up in ball-screens and fight to not relinquish his plush defensive duties while the Hawks’ primary defender fought to get back to his man. On top of that, even when the offense won this power struggle, Young was adequate enough to be far from bbq chicken. This stop on Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will forever ring in my mind to give Young his respect as a defender in the postseason because he stepped up to the challenge, despite his diminutive size at 6’1” 180 pounds.

As luck would have it, Sharife Cooper’s size is comparable to Young’s at… 6’1” 180 pounds! On top of that, the times I’ve seen Cooper play, he gets after it defensively. Cooper moves his feet well and has good hands to get steals and deflections. Cooper is not afraid of withstanding contact either. This play is a great example.

Cooper is right there with Devontae Shuler of Ole Miss, a talented scorer in his own right, matching Shuler stride for stride to give him a solid contest at the rim. This was not an isolated incident, either. No one is going to mistake Cooper for Marcus Smart or Jrue Holiday as a defender, but to me, he showed more often than not he’s up to the task defensively and could stay on the floor in pressured situations, especially if he’s asked to hide on lesser offensive players the way Young was.

Where Sharife Cooper needs to make up ground, however, is his shooting. We all knew Young could scorch the earth from distance while at Norman and uses that to his advantage in the NBA to get to his patented floater. Cooper does not have that same luxury. He shot just 22.8% from deep at Auburn this past season. The advanced numbers don’t paint a rosy picture either. According to Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, Cooper generated less than 0.7 points per possession when shooting off the dribble this season. Whether his defenders would get caught on screens or they’d go under, Cooper simply didn’t make defenses pay when he got cut off from the paint.

I think Sharife Cooper can improve as a shooter and finisher, though. Cooper did shoot 82.5% from the free-throw line this season, which has been a better indicator of shooting success over the years than three-point percentages. Though floaters are not there in his bag quite yet, he’s shown he does have soft touch around the rim.

We’ve also seen plenty of instances where guys enter the league not known as shooters only to improve once they’re coached up and have more time to focus solely on basketball. Guys like Lonzo Ball, Kawhi Leonard, Jaylen Brown, and plenty others are just a few examples. Cooper is not a great shooter right now, but it certainly is an area where others have improved, and Cooper has a baseline to get better to be a threat from the outside.

Just because Sharife Cooper’s jumper isn’t up to par yet, that doesn’t mean he can’t score. Cooper has a great handle to match top speed to be able to get by his defender to the rim when he has that runway to get there. Cooper also matches that handle and speed with excellent patience and a change of speeds in the halfcourt to throw off defenders and buy himself extra time and separation to get where he ultimately wants to go. He does all that but also doesn’t mind physicality either. You don’t just luck into 8.6 free throw attempts per game. In fact, Cooper managed to attempt at least 10 free throws in half of his games this season, including a gargantuan 21 attempts in an upset win over Missouri in January. Cooper’s shiftiness matched with his speed and poise to attack once he sees daylight is what allows him to be able to be such an effective scorer without a dependable jumper to rely upon at the moment. Watch how he combines all of those attributes here to earn himself some free throws.

Getting a jumper is important because it can set up his best and most important skill: his passing. In a draft with Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, Scottie Barnes, Josh Giddey, Cooper might be the best of them all when it comes to passing and playmaking. He is an absolute savant of a playmaker who manipulates defenders like a puppet master. He sometimes sees plays so quickly that his own teammates don’t even suspect it.

In the pick and roll, he sees everything. What stands out so much about Cooper running pick and roll is his patience reading the floor. He will hardly ever rush or force a pass. Instead, he lets plays develop and pounces on scrambling defenses. A lot like what guys like Trae Young, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, and others do, when he sees the weakside defender tagging the roll man, Cooper will laser the ball to the player that defender is guarding like it’s nothing. Advanced reads and passes like this are not that common amongst NBA stars, let alone prospects.

His playmaking genius applies against zone defenses as well. What’s great about Cooper’s playmaking is that he sets up his teammates to succeed in situations that won’t always lead him to assists. He’ll rack up a ton of hockey assists as well when defenses send extra attention his way and force him to give it up. This play here is an ultimate example. Ole Miss’ defenders at the top of the zone creep up towards Cooper, so he sets up teammate JT Thor in the middle of the zone, who then zips a pass to another teammate for a layup.

This play right here encapsulates Sharife Cooper and his talent level in a nutshell. He gets a stop on a drive at the rim, gets the outlet pass, and rifles a bounce pass from one end of the court to the other.

Sharife Cooper’s feel and playmaking are not easy to find. He really does look like guards of Trae Young and Ja Morant’s level as a passer and playmaker. We just saw Young absolutely dominate the playoffs and carry his team way sooner than expected to the Eastern Conference Finals and what could have been the NBA Finals had he not turned his foot on the shoe of a referee. Again, I’m not saying that Sharife Cooper is going to be the next Trae Young, but his playmaking and frame make it hard not to think of Young when watching Cooper play. Young showed a guard like him can lead a team to playoff prominence. Wouldn’t more teams want a guy like Trae Young?

The NBA is a pick-and-roll game. Sharife Cooper has all the talent in the world to be a big-time difference-making star for whatever team that drafts him, in my opinion. While I’ve made the comp to Trae Young for Cooper, I’m not expecting him to replicate Young and his outstanding achievements, but Young’s success perhaps opens more doors for Cooper to get the chance to attempt to do the same than otherwise. Cooper has work to do with his shooting to enter that stratosphere, but I firmly believe he has what it takes to get there. I think Sharife Cooper should be at minimum a lottery pick and work his way inside the top ten. I’m all in on the Sharife Cooper bandwagon, and there’s plenty of room and time to hop aboard.

In Basketball

Evan Mobley Is the Next Unicorn Big Man

July 26, 2021 No Comments

The NBA has revolutionized. The pick and roll has completely taken over the game. Thus, the emphasis and importance of having the top-of-the-line pick-and-roll creators that can bend the game to their will are at the top of the minds of NBA teams. The bigger the creator, the better. That’s why Cade Cunningham is at the top of seemingly everyone’s draft boards, and rightfully so. That’s how Luka Doncic can step into the NBA and immediately dominate it. It’s why LeBron James is arguably the greatest player of all time. That isn’t to say Cunningham is going to be either of those two, or anything close, but I do happen to think he is going to be great because he has the facilities to play a similar style those two shares as well.

You don’t have to be 6’8” or above to dominate the pick and roll either, though. We just saw Trae Young will his Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals way ahead of schedule. Neither Chris Paul nor Devin Booker exceeds 71 inches in height, but they’ve led their teams to the NBA Finals executing the most beautiful and sophisticated pick and roll attack in the NBA today. Look across the landscape of playoff teams and you will find far more dynamic pick and roll creators than skilled, difference-making big men. This shifting NBA landscape is how and why G League Ignite alum Jalen Green is gaining momentum towards being the second pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and could maybe push Cade Cunningham for the top spot.

Yes, it is harder to build around a big man as an offense’s primary option and focal point in today’s NBA. Just look at the Philadelphia 76ers and the constant juggling of their roster surrounding Joel Embiid trying to find the right fits around him, and part (most?) of the reason for their yearly postseason flameouts is the lack of a signature pick and roll creator. Tobias Harris being your primary perimeter creator in the halfcourt and Ben Simmons’s lack of evolution in this field has proven to not be enough.

The Sixers are just one example though. Teams building relying on big men as top-notch offenses still have enjoyed success in recent seasons. Though the Los Angeles Lakers are fortunate to have LeBron James on their roster, Anthony Davis was just as big a factor in their quest to a championship a season ago as the perfect pick and roll dance partner to go alongside LeBron James. Giannis Antetokounmpo only recently becoming more accepting of being the screener and roller in the pick and roll this postseason has helped the Bucks advance further than they ever had in the Giannis era. Nikola Jokic just won the league’s MVP award this season.

Because here’s the thing: every pick and roll needs an avenue towards creating an advantage. And another thing: if you know your opponents are more and more frequenting toward the pick and roll as their primary offensive function, you need a way to stop it too. Though guards screening for each other has grown more and more in popularity (The Atlanta Hawks just used this to their advantage to oust the Sixers in the playoffs by picking on Seth Curry or Furkan Korkmaz every chance they got), it’s arguably easier to gain this advantage with the most versatile of versatile centers. Davis and Antetokounmpo’s combination of lob threats matched with either post force or finesse will either create easier opportunities for them to dominate switches against smaller defenders or their pick and roll partner to create great looks for themselves or their teammates. Neither are great shooters but Davis is at least a capable one from range who can stretch bigs off the floor if they’re unable to defend on the perimeter. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray feed off of each other better than perhaps any duo in the entire NBA. Switching is non-negotiable or else Murray is roasting a center in isolation or Jokic is picking a scrambling defense apart. Both the Bucks and Nuggets had offenses finish inside the top six in the NBA during the regular season, according to NBA.com. The Lakers were tenth in offensive rating at the time Davis got injured and before their season got derailed, so teams can have success offensively off the strength of a big man and have it carry over to success in the postseason. However, the common threading between those teams is they all have a pick and roll partner (LeBron James, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Jamal Murray) to accentuate their strengths.

So, what’s more important: the dynamic creator capable of creating shots for himself or others and able to bend the game to their will, or the versatile big who can punish mismatches, finish at the rim, and score on the perimeter as well? The answer is… it depends. If you have a big, bruising, playmaking wing who can score like a guard as well as a LeBron James or Luka Doncic, that should be priority number one, in my opinion. But if there is a big man who *can* stretch the floor, punish mismatches, be a lob threat, pass out of double teams AND be able to defend all of those plays on the other end of the floor without putting your defense in a massive disadvantage the way an Anthony Davis or Giannis Antetokounmpo can do, I think recent NBA trends have shown they can be difference makers and ceiling raisers that can lead your team to championships. Perhaps the last two championships have shown that the NBA is changing again.

I swear all of this rambling is for a reason. It’s to get us talking about USC’s Evan Mobley. Mobley is in many ways similar to Davis and Giannis. Mobley is a long seven-footer who is extremely dynamic and versatile on both ends of the floor. In just about any other draft, Mobley could easily have his name called first by commissioner Adam Silver but could see himself fall to the third pick in the draft. According to Kevin O’Connor of ‘The Ringer’ the Rockets, holders of the second pick of the draft, currently favor Jalen Green at the moment. I don’t think the Rockets really could do anything wrong with Green or Mobley assuming Cade Cunningham is on his way to Detroit, but if we’re going to split hairs here, I’d slightly prefer Mobley and his supreme versatility than Green’s perimeter creation.

Let’s start defensively regarding Evan Mobley. Mobley is one of the better rim protectors I’ve ever seen at the collegiate ranks. Granted, the NCAA’s rules allowing players to camp out in the lane for more than three seconds really helps matters, but Mobley is already so great at positioning himself in the pick and roll, something that takes big men years to master. Mobley already has it down pat. Take this play as proof:

Mobley sticks himself right where he needs to be to take away both the threat of the lob pass and the mid-range jumper. But the job isn’t done yet. Oregon State’s ballhandler goes to the Nash dribble along the baseline to try to clear out the paint. Evan’s brother Isaiah takes the ballhandler and Evan takes Isaiah’s man in the paint. After that, Mobley sees a Beaver cutting to the rim and rotates over to block his shot. That’s pretty insane defense and just shows that Mobley is already ready to protect the paint. In an NBA that asks its players to switch onto guards and wings, Mobley is already capable of doing that too. He answers the bell of what NBA teams *need* from their big men in the modern game defensively.

Offensively, there just isn’t a lot Evan Mobley can’t do. Mobley wasn’t a great floor spacer, but that’s about it. But he can create space vertically, however. Last season, Mobley generated 1.089 points per possession as a roll man. Considering Andy Enfield’s insistence on cramping the spacing for his team as much as possible by pairing another big man alongside Evan Mobley, this is pretty damn impressive. Look how much attention Mobley garners in the paint when he rolls:

Evan Mobley can also get you a bucket with the ball in his hands. In isolation situations, Mobley generated 1.077 points per possession. That’s a monster number. Not many seven-footers can match athleticism with supreme skill and feel like this.

Ehh, just casually bringing the ball up the floor after a rebound, then spin to dribble at the rim with his off-hand and finish through contact for an and-1, no biggie. Good God, that’s incredible. That’s not just a thing Mobley can pull off in transition with a head of steam, either. Mobley can create shots like that off the dribble in the halfcourt, too.

Evan Mobley is already damn near impossible to guard as is, but what makes it all the more difficult to check him is his passing ability. Mobley averaged 2.4 assists per game, though did also put up 2.2 turnovers a game as well. To put that in context, however: Tennessee guard and possible lottery pick Keon Johnson averaged 2.5 assists per game with 2.6 turnovers a game, so you’re getting guard-like passing from Mobley as well. What is so great about Mobley is you can give him the ball at the elbows, run the offense through him, and know he’s going to make the right play and execute the offense.

What’s most noticeable from Evan Mobley’s feel and passing ability is how great he is passing out of double teams. It can take big men a very long time to be comfortable reading the floor and finding open teammates in the midst of chaos, but that’s a breeze for Mobley.

Look how patient Mobley is waiting until his teammate finds open space along the three-point arc. As soon as that happens, Mobley sends a laser from one of the floor to the other to create a wide-open three along the wing. Unfortunately, Mobley doesn’t get the assist here, but he was able to get countless others doing the same thing over the course of the season.

The NBA has changed, but it might be changing again. Though the NBA is now a perimeter, pick and roll centric game, there’s still room for bigs to wreck the game. With all this said, I’d still take Cade Cunningham first overall if I had to make the choice. Were someone to take Jalen Green second, I wouldn’t fault them whatsoever given the direction the league is going. For a big man to warrant a top-three pick, they have to be able to dominate on both ends of the floor. Fortunately, Mobley is a two-way force with the goods to make that so. It shouldn’t shock anybody if we look back on this draft class in five or ten years from now and refer to Mobley as the best player in this class that eventually leads whatever team that drafts him to a title. He’s that good and can change the direction of whatever franchise drafts him.

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Moses Moody Is the Modern-Day Wing Every Team Needs

July 23, 2021 No Comments

The 2021 NBA Draft is slowly but surely here. Granted, a month later than normal, but a (still) raging pandemic answers to no one. But every year, there are a few prospects that twinkle my eye and warrant me highlighting as they reach the precipice of making the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice worthwhile in fulfilling their dreams of becoming an NBA player. This year is no exception. Everyone is looking for wings that can shoot from deep. Arkansas wing Moses Moody is amongst the best in this year’s class.

Moses Moody is a complete prospect who checks just about every box a team would want out of a modern-day wing. His wingspan (7’3″) is on par with that of a pterodactyl, and if you needed proof then check out this photo of him from three years ago Moses’ mother tweeted showing Moses stretching his gangly arms from the floor to the top of a door frame. To think those arms likely have only gotten longer since that photo was taken. Moody takes advantage of his bountiful assortment of limbs time and time again on the defensive end of the floor to wreak havoc. He does a great job of getting deflections defending both on and off the ball and has good timing to swipe the ball away when his man goes up for a shot. Moody has solid feet to go with those long arms too to keep his man in front of him. Moody can have a difficult time playing through contact defensively, however, whether that be defending a bigger defender or navigating through screens, but those long arms and overall tenacity to stick with the play allows him to recover whenever he does get beat or still contest a shot from a larger offensive player. With his effort, size, and measurables, it’s hard to see a scenario where Moody is not a very good defender at the next level.

Moses Moody’s defense provides him with one baseline to have a high floor as an NBA prospect. His shooting gives him another. Moody’s stroke is beautiful, majestic, and one of the best in the entire draft. If he gets a clean catch-and-shoot look beyond the arc, you best believe it will be cashed. Coach Eric Musselman used Moody in some creative ways and halfcourt sets to take advantage of Moody’s superior sharpshooting. This one right here in a pick and roll setting was a particular doozy that NBA teams run, or something akin to it, quite frequently.

Moses Moody shot a hair under 36% from three in his one season. Personally, I think he’s a better shooter than that percentage suggests. I think he can improve upon his 81% mark from the free-throw line, perhaps a more conducive indicator of Moody’s shooting prowess. Regardless, these shooting numbers to go with his defensive abilities are more than passable at the next level. He provides enough gravity to an offense that he should constantly force his defender to be occupied with the threat of Moody’s jumper beyond the arc at all times, and the ability to make a defense pay when his defender gets cute or is forced to rotate off of him to put out a fire elsewhere. Essentially, at worst, Moses Moody is your prototypical ‘3-and-D’ every NBA team can’t ever get enough of. What’s interesting is how much more Moses Moody can be than just that.

Every team needs as many ‘3-and-D’ players they can get their hands on. Sometimes though, that designation feels like a slight to a player that receives that label because it insinuates they can’t go eat for themselves as an offensive player. That’s not the case with Moses Moody. Before the start of the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend of games, Bleacher Report’s Draft guru Jonathan Wasserman posted a spreadsheet of prospects comparing their efficiency as pull-up jumpers. Moses Moody checked in hovering around one point per possession on pull-up jumpers over the course of the season. Granted, it wasn’t on the type of volume one would like from a potential lottery pick, but he did boast an efficiency better or near the likes of potential number one overall pick and high school teammate Cade Cunningham, other likely top five picks in Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs, likely top ten picks in Davion Mitchell and James Bouknight, and other lottery picks who play a similar style to Moody in Franz Wagner and Corey Kispert.

The film backs up the numbers too. Moses Moody is already a pro at creating off the bounce after he gets run off the three-point line. This play here in transition is a great example of Moody leveraging his shooting ability to his advantage to get a better shot (a layup) in return once the defense takes away his corner three.

Unfortunately, that won’t always lead to layups, especially in the NBA. Luckily, Moody has great touch inside the arc to make defenses pay by burying them with floaters and mid-range jumpers too.

Clearly, Moses Moody is not *just* a ‘3-and-D’ guy. The first step to being more than that is being able to create in situations just like those, and Moody proved time and time again he’s capable of doing so. But is Moses Moody the type of guy to go get you a bucket whenever you need it? I don’t think he’s quite there yet, but I do believe he is capable of reaching that level as a scorer, which, combined with his other impressive set of skills, starts putting you on the level of stardom in the NBA.

The NCAA Tournament was a bit of a rude awakening for Moses Moody, however, where he shot just 16-48 from the field in four tournament games. His efficiency waned the further his Arkansas Razorbacks went in the big dance. The Elite Eight matchup against the Baylor Bears was particularly jarring, where Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler flat-out refused to let Moody get comfortable at any point of the game. That’s where Moody’s area of improvement with his handle, strength, and playmaking really came to focus.

But, Moses Moody isn’t starting from scratch here. His handle isn’t the tightest in the world, but with the help of excellent footwork and the threat of his jumper, he’s still able to create plenty of separation in 1v1 situations. Take this play against Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament for example. Moody hits his defender with a jab step and follows it with a mean, quick crossover and then a step back to finish it off once his defender tries to get back into the play, splashing a jumper in his grill. Later in that same game, while Texas Tech was on the comeback trail and dwindled Arkansas’ lead down to just one point, Moody hit Tech with that same crossover stepback jumper to give him room to bank a three to get the lead back up to four.

Moses Moody’s got the finesse to his game offensively, but he also isn’t afraid of contact either. There were numerous games this season where Moody wasn’t seeing the fruits of his labor from his overall percentage from the field, so he made up for it by getting to the free-throw line. Moody shot nearly six free throws a game last season. Moody had six games this season alone where he shot at least ten free throws. He was unafraid to stick his nose in the thick of things on the offensive glass to try to buy himself either a layup or free throws. That type of toughness will not only help boost his own efficiency but help whatever team drafts him as a whole.

Moses Moody is one of this draft’s safest prospects. You know you’re getting a long, versatile, 6’6″ 205-pound wing that can defend multiple positions, spread the floor, and attack a closeout. In that sense, Moody reminds me a lot of Mikal Bridges of the Finals-forged Phoenix Suns. But I believe Moody has the tools to gradually work his way into becoming an able scorer who can initiate offense and be a constant threat roaming the three-point line like Ray Allen when he donning the green and white in Boston. I have zero doubts that Moses Moody is and can be a winning player in the NBA the second he gets there, and I firmly believe Moody becoming an All-Star and the type of player Allen was as a Celtic is within his range of outcomes. It’ll take some work for him to get there, but by all accounts, Moody is a great young man with a hard and diligent work ethic who is willing to put the time in to be great. The fact that Moody is one of the youngest players in the draft, having just turned 19 years old at the end of May, can’t hurt his cause either. Hopefully, NBA teams picking in the middle-to-late of the lottery see Moses Moody similarly, or they will regret not drafting him for years to come.

In Basketball

A Way-Too-Early 2021 NBA Draft Prospects Breakdown

December 8, 2020 No Comments

Typically, the NBA Draft doesn’t take place a month before training camp and just a week before, but 2020 has been anything but normal. Normally, the NBA doesn’t start after the college game has tipped off, but here we are. Before I get to talking about the upcoming 2020-21 NBA season, I wanted to give a glimpse into what I’ve seen from the top freshman from this much-ballyhooed class. This class received a lot of hype prior to stepping onto the court, and it has lived up to it. They surely will have a say this upcoming NBA season too; not everyone is going to make the playoffs, and with an exorbitant amount of teams able to talk themselves into possibly making the postseason or play-in games, there will be the couple who find themselves in the top five of the 2021 draft. And, odds are, they’ll enjoy who they end up with.

Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State: Currently slated to be the number one pick in ESPN’s Jonathan Givony’s Way-Too-Early 2021 Mock Draft, Cunningham has been getting hype as the next future star player for some time now. He’s making good on those prognostications so far through the first four games of his college career. He already seems adjusted to the speed of the college game. He doesn’t force much on the floor. He’s already an extremely crafty playmaker. Once he gets into the teeth of the defense, he knows exactly how to react to the defense’s reaction as they’re in motion. He already is a machine for creating corner threes in the halfcourt. In transition, he constantly makes the throw ahead pass to set up fantastic looks for his teammates. Playmaking seems to be the ace in Cunningham’s repertoire.

Cunningham has looked more than cozy when looking to get his as well. His shooting capabilities were a supposed knock on Cade Cunningham, but he’s made that look like a walk in the park as well, hitting 46.2% of his threes (3.3 per game) and 84.2% of his free throws (4.8 per game). When teams go under Cunningham’s ball screens or the big drops/is late to switch, he’s made teams repent for their sins. But that isn’t Cunningham’s only avenue to scoring. He isn’t particularly bouncy or explosive, but he seeks out contact and is adept at finishing through it or venturing to the free-throw line. On top of that, Oklahoma State will find ways to get Cunningham the ball at the post when he’s defended by smaller players, almost a necessity for a guy his size in the NBA. As you could probably imagine, that’s an advantageous idea to exploit.

I don’t want this to sound inflammatory, but Cunningham reminds me a lot of Luka Doncic, style-wise. Now, before you call me all kinds of names and exile me the same way the Soup Nazi did George Costanza, hear me out for a second. Like Luka, Cunningham doesn’t seem too fazed by anything out there and is a next-level playmaker that finds multiple ways to create for himself or others. Neither possesses the freakish hops or burst of a LeBron or a Giannis, but both still find ways to get to the rim and do damage. Do I expect Cade Cunningham to be the next Luka Doncic? Hell no; that’s an impossible task. But let’s just say I haven’t seen anything to talk any GM out of taking Cunningham number one overall in next year’s draft.

Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga: Outside of Cunningham, I don’t think any freshman has been more spectacular than Jalen Suggs has. He already looks like a fifth-year senior at the helm for a team that is probably the best in all of college basketball, at least in my opinion. The man is a heat-seeking hound defensively. He isn’t afraid to guard anybody and will run down and dunk it the other way the second you lob a grenade anywhere near Suggs’ direction with how great his hands and defensive instincts are. Suggs is also a rugged rebounder for a point guard as well. By eliminating the middle man, he can kick-start fast-breaks himself and launch throw-ahead passes even sooner than the defense anticipates, getting his team a layup.

That’s one end of the floor. On the offensive end of the floor, Suggs is a genius playmaker. Through three games, Suggs is averaging 6.3 assists compared to just 1.7 turnovers That’s just outright preposterous for a freshman stepping into the national spotlight. He hasn’t played against cupcakes, either. Suggs has done this against three great programs, first against the Kansas Jayhawks, then the Auburn Tigers, and lastly the West Virginia Mountaineers. Suggs just sees things before they happen on the floor. Check this play out. You can see he is about to hit his teammate Drew Timme on the roll… before Timme is even looking for the ball! Some seasoned NBA struggle to make this pass and Suggs makes it look routine. This play is pretty awesome too. Check how Suggs freezes the Kansas big man with that one last dribble, buying up extra time for Drew Timme to be all alone in the paint the same way Will Smith was in his house. Then when the roll isn’t there, Suggs already is great at delivering the crosscourt pass to the corner for an open triple.

Jalen Suggs is already just an awesome defender and playmaker. Suggs hasn’t shown much as a guy who can create for himself but hasn’t needed to while playing for a kickass title contender. He’s already, however, shown he can excel in the areas teams need their point guards to excel. He reminds me of Kyle Lowry or Fred Vanvleet, with just how relentless yet brilliant Suggs is on the court. Unfortunately due to COVID concerns, Gonzaga’s (#1) matchup against the second-ranked Baylor Bears got postponed, another big-time setting to watch Suggs perform in. However, if he keeps this rate up, Gonzaga will likely have a very fruitful season, and Suggs would be very deserving to become a lottery pick in some fashion.

Evan Mobley, USC: Evan Mobley may look Spongebob on stilts when took Pearl to the dance, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Mobley is a supreme talent. Mobley has long strides and uses it to his advantage to saunter his way to the rim even when he catches the ball far beyond it. Mobley will even bust out a Giannis Antetokounmpo or Bam Adebayo impersonation and take it coast-to-coast himself, something that should be illegal for seven footers to do. He has good touch around the rim and constantly finishes around it. Perhaps what sticks out the most about Mobley’s game is how good a passer he already is. For some reason, USC Head Coach Andy Enfield seems hell-bent on giving his star big men as little space as possible (just look at how many defenders swarm the paint when Mobley rolls to the rim), making it easier for teams to get the ball out of Mobley’s hands and harder for him to get the ball closer to the rim. However, Mobley already knows how to beat defenses when they send double teams toward him and make the manipulative pass to an open teammate, both when teams double him on the catch or while Mobley is on the move. When Mobley isn’t still on the post, he already can operate as a fulcrum for the offense from the elbow and beyond and create offense that way. It takes some big men time to become fruitful passers, but Mobley seems fluent in that regard already.

Defensively, he looks the part of a rim protector. USC likes to play a zone and plop Mobley directly in the middle of that zone and let his ludicrously long limbs do the work. He has good timing and positioning, forcing teams to retreat as opposed to attacking him. When they do, it tends to end poorly. Mobley has all the goods of the big man en vogue in today’s NBA. He’ll be a top 5-10 pick, for sure.

Ziaire Williams, Stanford: Williams is one of those that guys that just looks smooth on the floor. His percentages don’t bear it out (32.6% from the field and 26.3% from deep), but his jumper looks pure and super silky. There isn’t a shot Williams can’t take or make, whether it be step-backs, pull-up jumpers, catch-and-shoot threes, etc. He’s shown a nice handle on some of these pull-up jumpers he’s nailed so far this season, most notably busting out this beautiful hesi between-the-legs dribble to shake his defender and drill a jumper at the elbow. He also has a solid feel for the game. Williams can make the right pass when teams throw help in his direction. He still has work to do in this regard (6 assists to 11 turnovers so far), but he’s shown flashes of playmaking while running the pick and roll. You’d like the shooting percentages to be better with Ziaire Williams, but when you can hit jumpers like he can (and make 100% of your free-throws, though admittedly just four in four games) and he continues to improve as a passer, I’m willing to bet he becomes a more complete offensive player sooner than later.

Defensively, Williams can be a problem there too for the opposition. He is super long and athletic to stay in front of anyone, from point guards to wings. He is very active off the ball, properly rotating or using his athleticism to get back to his man. Just watch how much ground he covers here, going from helping on a Tar Heel in the paint to straight-up blocking the jumper of his man who thought he had a wide-open jumper, only to be presented with a false delusion of grandeur. Of course, Williams followed that block by drilling a transition three of his own. Williams is a slender guy who needs to get stronger, but the skills to be a super versatile wing in today’s NBA are all there.

Brandon Boston Jr., Kentucky: Brandon Boston Jr. (or BJ Boston) kind of encapsulates the Kentucky team as a whole: extremely talented, but still adjusting to the college game. This is typically the case with just about every Calipari-led Kentucky squad with how many NBA-bound freshmen they churn year-in and year-out, but the pandemic seems to not have done Kentucky any favors, squashing their matchups with the cupcakes they schedule every and being thrown right into the fire against the big boys, giving this team less time to iron out the kinks and get adjusted to each other. That’s the main reason why I think Boston, Terrence Clarke, and others on this team have struggled so far. Boston has been used to being the main guy on his team (though he did play with other great players at Sierra Canyon), but adjusting to Kentucky’s team style has been difficult, sometimes jacking up bad jumpers instead of keeping the ball moving.

With all that being said, Boston’s talent is something to behold. He is another slender guy, but I love how physical and willing a driver he is. He reminds me a lot of Brandon Ingram in this regard, how, even though Ingram would get bumped or sent backward early in his career before his frame filled out, he’d still put pressure on the rim. Boston does the same. He’s getting to the free-throw line nearly three times a game and shooting just under 82% on those, a great sign for him going forward.

Like Ziaire Williams, Boston hasn’t been off to the strongest of starts shooting from the field. Part of this is because of the forced shots he’s been taking, but he’s been getting good looks that haven’t fallen either. He’s also been able to create some great looks for himself, like this sick step-back jumper. Calipari always gets his Kentucky teams rolling at some point, and this one seems like no exception. It’ll take some time, but I think they’ll right the ship, with Boston playing a big part in the turnaround.

Terrence Clarke, Kentucky: Terrence Clarke is a bit different than Boston. Both had to adjust to the new level of play, but Clarke likes to play with a bit more finesse. He has a nice float game with the speed and quickness to get to that just about any time he wants. Clarke also likes to get to the post and bully smaller guards defending him, a nice tool to have when things get tight. Unlike Boston, Clarke has shot well from the field, but not from the free-throw line (both at 50%). Again, I expect we’ll get a better glimpse of him once Kentucky starts to figure some things out, but Clarke looks like the next flammable Kentucky guard capable of busting off at any point, like Malik Monk, Jamal Murray, Tyler Herro, and Tyrese Maxey before him.

Josh Christopher, Arizona State: It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a game or few where Christopher just unleashes hell on whoever plays against him. He’s got a hefty bag to unleash, with a 28-point sneak peek of his powers against Villanova in November already under his belt. That’s noteworthy because that already is more points in any game than James Harden, the best scorer we have in the NBA today, ever had as a freshman at Arizona State. Christopher is able to rise up for a jumper from all kinds of moves, whether it be cross-overs, stepbacks, or pull-ups. Getting to the rim isn’t a problem for Christopher either, and even when he can’t get there he has a nice touch around it to flick in floaters over bigs protecting the rim. Christopher does have a bit of tunnel vision when he’s dancing with the ball (he has only three assists in four games), but I do like he at least is a strong cutter to keep the machine humming in some fashion. Christopher needs to become a more complete offensive player (he is a pretty good and willing defensive player who should be able to guard multiple positions), but someone who can defend and have the ability to drop 30 on anybody is already a pretty desirable outcome.

Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky: Isaiah Jackson looks like a Mitchell Robinson clone on the basketball floor. He looked every bit the part against Kansas, where he swatted the Jayhawks a preposterous eight times in 30 minutes of game time. He’s an athletic specimen rumbling down the lane as well, fitting the bill of a vertical spacer for today’s NBA. Jackson still has a way to go, but it isn’t hard to see his potential role at the next level.