Preseason All-Rookie Team – Week 1

Oladipo is among our top rookies of the preseason.

Enthusiasm for preseason basketball has been rife among the Lottery Mafia team with all of us looking forward to covering what should prove to be an eventful NBA season. On behalf of us all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting the site, and I hope we can continue to provide up-to-date, informative analysis as we move forward.

What better way to start our coverage then than to take a look at some of the new faces that have been putting up good numbers over the first few preseason games. For those of you that managed to catch your fair share of Summer League action, you may well be familiar with a number of the names that will crop up in this article. However, teams have been holding their respective training camps for a number of weeks now, and there have been some notable improvements from July’s play.

Before naming my team of the week, I want to give a shout-out to a number of guys that have had impressive single games but are yet to string together back-to-back performances of real note. These are guys that are certainly worth keeping an eye on as we move towards ‘real’ basketball.

Nate Wolters – Milwaukee Bucks Point Guard

Dennis Schröder – Atlanta Hawks Point Guard

Phil Pressey – Boston Celtics Point Guard (undrafted)

Allen Crabbe – Portland Trail Blazers Shooting Guard

Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks Shooting Guard/Small Forward

Vitor Faverani – Boston Celtics Power Forward/Center (undrafted 2009)

Gorgui Dieng – Minnesota Timberwolves Center

(On a side note, one of my main aims for the season is to be able to spell Antetokounmpo without resorting to copy and paste.)

Let’s get straight in to my first All-Rookie Team of the 2013/14 season then.

Point Guard: Michael Carter-Williams (11th Pick, Philadelphia 76ers)

Taken 11^th in the 2013 draft, there was a fear that Carter-Williams’ struggles with turnovers at Syracuse would translate into the professional side of the sport. Through 3 preseason games however, it is beginning to look like holding onto the ball is an area that he has been really working on throughout the summer. Point Guards tend (rightly so in my opinion) to be judged on assist-to-turnover ratios and as of the date of this article, he is looking at a very healthy 16 assists to 1 turnover ratio. If you consider that the 76ers have collectively turned the ball over an almighty 71 times and that only one of them has come from their main distributor, his growth as a ball handler is there for all to see. I actually had the pleasure of watching him play in Manchester, England against the Thunder last Tuesday, and one thing he does not lack is confidence in his own ability. There was one play in particular midway through the 4^th quarter where he dribbled past half-court only to meet a retort from KD.  “Rook ain’t got no nuts” were the words that were uttered.  Carter-Williams calmly stepped inside the 3-point line and knocked down a lovely looking jumper, then gave KD a quick glance and a wry smile before turning back and attending to his defensive duties.  I’m really looking forward to watching this guy prove a lot of people wrong this season.

Highlight of the week:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWqLPSP8_nI]

Shooting Guard: Victor Oladipo (2nd Pick, Orlando Magic)

The number two pick in this year’s draft has done nothing but impress over the first couple of preseason games, averaging 14 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.5 blocks in just over 27 minutes of play off the bench per game.  With that level of play however, it won’t be long before he works his way into the starting rotation.  One of the key qualities that a rookie can possess in order to improve is the ability to take on information from seasoned veterans. Oladipo has, by all accounts, coined himself ‘SpongeBob’ as he looks to do exactly that. The Magic are very much in the midst of a rebuilding process, but if the first couple of preseason games are anything to go off of, Oladipo is certainly going to be a key figure as they move forward.

Highlight of the week:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IdfpBoOjRmk]

Small Forward: Anthony Bennett (1st Pick, Cleveland Cavaliers)

The surprise top pick in this year’s draft wasn’t looking like he was going to make the cut for this year’s first All-Rookie team. That was until he exploded for 14 points in the fourth quarter of the Cavs recent matchup with the Magic. Over a 4-minute spell in which he connected on 6 straight field goals, he showed exactly why the Cavs went against the odds and opted to take him over those considered potentially ‘safer picks’. Certain areas of the media have been very quick to label Bennett the next ‘draft bust’, and that bandwagon was only strengthened by a 2-12 shooting night in the Cavs preseason opener.  However, I for one do not see this materializing.  Instead, I see him developing into a very dangerous combo-forward in this league.

Highlight of the week:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSDXqEbe3UI]

Power Forward: Kenny Kadji (Undrafted, Cleveland Cavaliers)

Potentially a surprise selection, Kadji is a 25-year-old undrafted rookie who by all accounts turned down a number of substantial offers from overseas to play in training camp with the Cavaliers. Whilst his Summer League numbers were no more than average, his game appears to have taken a step forward over recent months as was evident in a 15 point, 5 rebound performance against the Bucks in the preseason opener. Kadji measures just under 7 ft and can shoot the three ball at a shade under 40%. Based on that alone, he can bring something to the Cavs roster. Offering greater shot-blocking potential than Bennett and with the ability to run the pick and roll with Kyrie Irving, Kadji could certainly see minutes in a notoriously injury prone frontcourt. The Cavaliers play the Bobcats on Tuesday, and I for one will be looking for a big performance from him.

Highlight of the week:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crG42tCzc0w]

Center: Kelly Olynyk (13th Pick, Boston Celtics)

The general consensus was that Kelly Olynyk was the best performing rookie across this year’s Summer League, and his play as we move towards the regular season has shown no signs of diminishing.  His basketball IQ appears well beyond his 22 years of age, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by his teammates. Courtney Lee, for example, has learned already that if he can find an open space, there is a better than average chance that Olynyk will find him. Against the Knicks on Saturday, Olynyk led a balanced Celtics offensive effort with 15 points and pulled down 6 rebounds in the process as they got their first win of the campaign, leading Brad Stevens to comment that “Kelly makes the team better whilst he’s on the court”.  Many experts are tipping Olynyk to be the steal of the draft class and with continued work on the defensive end, I for one don’t see any reason why this won’t be the case.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pfcwoQ9UUE]

By Marc Harries
Follow @Marc_Harries