Links to the Present: April 20, 2012
2012-04-20
In a column that detailed which rookies he thinks have the most potential, ESPN Scouts Inc. analyst David Thorpe ranked Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson at one and two, respectively. The piece is Insider-only, but if you’re a subscriber, you can find it here. I wonder about the scouting instincts of a guy who characterizes Ricky Rubio, at his current age, as “a nice bench player,” but, y’know, it’s a conversation starter.
And the Cavs will make a decision on whether or not Anderson Varejao is going to play again this season sooner rather than later. An interesting mini-revelation from the linked article: Byron Scott says he would love to shut down both Irving and Varejao, but he knows they’re too competitive and would like to play. Good to know Scott’s got his head on straight when it comes to the risk/reward of playing these guys late in a meaningless season.
That’s a pretty disingenuous shot at David Thorpe given that in context he was talking about Rubio’s floor on a good team, who would ostensibly have a complete PG. He immediately followed that up by offering only two areas that, if Rubio becomes competent at, he can be a perennial All-star. Being clever is cool but not at the expense of accuracy. “It seems impossible to imagine that he’ll never become a better shooter/scorer. If he doesn’t, then I still see him as a nice player off the bench. But if he just improves his paint finishes, that will solidify… Read more »