NBA Retrospective: 1985 NBA Draft

Maybe it's old age, but I have been more interested lately in revisiting the NBA during the time I first started following it than following the developments today.  My first NBA publication was Zander Hollander's Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball 1985 edition.  It featured Patrick Ewing on the cover as the incoming number 1 pick.  I was 12 years old then, and it's been 31 years since I started following the NBA.

At the time I started, information was not yet as readily available as it is now.  There was no internet yet covering the whole history of basketball including statistics and year by year information.  You had to find hard copies, and back issues of magazines if you wanted to read about previous years.  I remember then that the era of Bill Russell seemed to be so far in the past, being 20 years or so from the time I was in.  Looking back now, the 85 draft is 31 years in the past, so it probably seems as ancient to new NBA fans as the Russell era seemed to me.

I recently bought a book which revisited the 1998 NBA draft pick by pick and decided I was interested in seeing how the past drafts worked out as well.  And what better point in time to start with than my first NBA draft.  Hopefully I am able to maintain enough interest to do this for more than one draft. 

1985 Draft Overview
This was the first year that the NBA shifted to the draft lottery.  The top pick was previously determined via a coin toss between the worst teams in each conference.  The league wanted to eliminate non playoff teams deliberately tanking their games in order to qualify for the coin toss.  Under this version of the lottery, the seven non playoff teams all have equal chances of winning the first pick.   New York ended up with the first overall pick.

At this time, the NBA had 23 teams, but the first round of the 1985 draft featured 24 picks.  This was because of a supplemental pick given to the Cleveland Cavaliers who had traded their first rounders for a number of years to the Dallas Mavericks.  They were allowed to purchase an additional first round pick which would be one slot after where their original pick ended up at. 

Draft Summary
This was still during the NBA's big man era.  The top pick the past two years were Houston's twin towers (Ralph Sampson in 1983 and Hakeem, then Akeem, Olajuwon in 1984).  This year's top pick was Georgetown big man Patrick Ewing, and the next two years also featured centers (Brad Daugherty in 1986 and David Robinson in 1987).  It was believed that teams needed a dominant center in order to compete for the championship.

Given that line of thinking, four out of the top 6 picks were centers.  A total of 7 centers were taken in the first round, along with 7 power forwards, 6 small forwards (though Chris Mullin started out as a guard then moved to forward after a couple of seasons), and only 4 guards.

An additional 10 big men made the league in the second round (only those who played in the league were counted).  This draft also featured a number of low picks who went on to have long productive careers, including two very small guards who had noteworthy careers (5-10 Michael Adams picked 66th overall in the 3rd round and 5-7 Spud Webb taken 87th overall in the 4th round).

Best Players
Three members of the original Dream Team were taken in this draft: Ewing at #1, Chris Mullin drafted 7th, and Karl Malone stolen with the 13th pick. A fourth, Joe Dumars (18th pick) made it to  Dream Team 2.

Aside from the 4 players above, 6 more members of this draft class were selected to at least one All Star Team: Xavier McDaniel (4th), Detlef Schrempf (8th), Charles Oakley (9th), AC Green (23rd),  Terry Porter (24th), and small man Adams (66th).

Pick By Pick Review Part I:  Lottery
1-Patrick Ewing, New York
The Georgetown big man was the consensus top pick even before the lottery was held.  It was just a question of who would end up with the rights to draft him.  He started his career slowly, missing 32 and 19 games to injury in his first two seasons, and was deemed to be progressing slower than the previous year's big man top pick Olajuwon.  Ewing did make the All Star team as a rookie and averaged 20.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 2.1 bpg but his team continued to miss the playoffs until his 3rd season in 1987-88.  He faced off against Olajuwon but lost in the 1994 NBA Finals.  The Knicks made another Finals appearance in 1999, but Ewing missed the series and playoffs with an injury.

Ewing played most of his 17 year career with the Knicks before being traded to Seattle in 2000-01 at the age of 38.  He moved to the Orlando Magic the following year before retiring. For his career, he averaged 21.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg, and 2.4 bpg.  He averaged at least 20 ppg in his first 13 seasons.

2-Wayman Tisdale, Indiana
The late Tisdale was the leading rebounder of the 1984 US Olympic Team featuring draft mates Ewing and Mullin, and 1984 draftee Michael Jordan.  He had a dominant college career which lead to his selection behind only Ewing.  As a pro, however, he was not even the second best at his position considering the careers of Malone and Oakley, while Green made more All Star teams than Tisdale (none).  Some would even say that second round pick John Hot Rod William was more valuable as a pro.

While Tisdale may not have lived up to his draft status, he was a productive player over his 12 year career.  After starting slowly due to weight problems, he developed into a deadly low post scorer who averaged in double figures every year except for his last season.  He scored 15.3 ppg over his career shooting better than 50% from the field.  He had his best years after being traded to Sacramento for LaSalle Thompson and Randy Wittman during the 1988-89 season.  As the Kings' featured scorer, he averaged 22.3 ppg on .525 field goal shooting with 7.5 rpg in 1989-90.  The next year he had 20.0 ppg and 7.7 rpg.  He continued to score well with Sacramento averaging 16.6, 16.6, and 16.7 ppg the next 3 years before joining the Phoenix Suns in 1994 and winding up his career as the designated scorer off the bench. 

In hindsight, and with 20-20 clarity, the Pacers could have taken Karl Malone or even Charles Oakley for their power forward needs.  Given that they already had solid though unspectacular frontline at that time (Clark Kellogg and Herb Williams at forward and Steve Stipanovich at center), they could have taken Chris Mullin for their backcourt and to shore up their poor outside shooting.

3-Benoit Benjamin, LA Clippers
Another attempt to find a dominant big man.  There were no questions about his talent level even as high as the third selection, but the issues surrounding him were about attitude.  He had a 15 year career in which he showed glimpses of what he could do.  He had decent statistics which were probably more impressive than his actual play: 11.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.0 bpg including 16.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.8 bpg in his fourth season with the Clippers.  He played for 9 teams which was indicative of teams willing to gamble in their search for a big man, but also of teams giving up on him because he did not live up to expectations.

Despite the many centers taken, only Ewing was worthy of a lottery pick.  Hindsight picks here would mean going smaller.  Again Malone and Oakley among the big men, plus Mullin, Schrempf, McDaniel at the wing positions would have all been better choices.

4-Xavier McDaniel, Seattle
He started strong, even arguably being the best player from the draft in his first two years.  A strong rebounder at the small forward spot, he averaged 8.0 and 8.6 rpg his first two years.  His best year was his sophomore year, when he scored 23.0 ppg on .509 field goal shooting.  Ironically, when he was named an All Star in his third year, his statistics dipped slightly to 21.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg and .488 field goal percentage.  He played 6 years for Seattle with averages of 20.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and .494 field goal shooting.  He was traded to Phoenix (15.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg for half a season) and traded again to the Knicks (13.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg for 1 season) where his toughness fit in perfectly.  He moved to Boston as a free agent for two years, before ending his career as a bench player for parts of 2 seasons with the Nets.  He averaged 15.6 ppg for his career.

During his peak proved worthy of the 4th overall pick, though Chris Mullin could be considered a better choice specially considering the entire career. 

5-Jon Koncak, Atlanta
Not making race an issue here, but the first of five 7-foot white centers drafted in the first round.  While he had his moments, and had a long career as a defender, he never did anything to justify being drafted this high.  His best year was actually his rookie year, where he produced 8.3 ppg (career high) and 5.7 rpg.  He played his first 10 seasons with the Hawks with averages of 4.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg in 21 mpg as a part time starter.  Koncak moved to Orlando for a season before retiring.

Blair Rasmussen, drafted 15th and who became a teammate with the Hawks in 1991, might have been the best of the 35 feet of white centers but was not considered a lottery talent.  Power forwards Malone and Oakley, and wings McDaniel, Mullin, and Schrempf would all have been better picks here. 

6-Joe Kleine, Sacramento
Second of five.  Had an impressive college career holding his own against the big names like Olajuwon and Ewing.  Unfortunately was purely back-up material in the NBA.  Had his best year in 1987-88 where he started 60 of the 82 games and delivered 9.8 ppg and 7.1 rpg in 24 mpg, but he played that much only because the woeful Kings didn't have anyone better.  At his best value as a big body off the bench.  Was able to translate limited skills to a 15 year career mostly as a back up big man.

Same alternatives as Koncak, and was taken this high only because of the quest for a dominant center.

7-Chris Mullin, Golden State
One of five 1984 Olympic Team members (Ewing, Tisdale, Koncak, Kleine) and with Ewing and Malone, a member of the 1992 Dream Team.  Started his career as a shooting guard before moving to a point forward role in his third year.  That started a string of 6 seasons of at least 20.2 ppg, including five in a row averaging between 25.1 and 26.5 ppg.  Played his first 12 seasons with the Warriors before Larry Bird traded for him in Indiana to provide a veteran presence.  He returned to Golden State for his last year.

Mullin was the third best player in this draft, and during his peak, a case could be made that he was at par with Ewing and Malone in terms of value. 

2015 UAAP: Early Impressions

Ateneo (3-1)
After being blown out by FEU in the opening game, the team has quietly put together a 3 game winning streak against the lower performing teams (Adamson 0-3, UE 2-2, NU 1-3).  On one hand the team has shown its depth, playing a deep rotation, but this same depth is also indicative of an uncertain rotation.  Hopefully the team will get its rotation set as they get more games under their belt.  Key developments so far:

• PG:  3 man rotation without a clear starter.  Jerie Pingoy appears to have the edge, with Matt Nieto emerging ahead of Hubert Cani at this point due to Cani's conditioning or lack of it.  Pingoy clearly has more talent than Nieto but has struggled when pressured.  He is, however, the only player capable of creating his own offense when Ravena sits.
• OG/SF:  Clear starters are the veterans Ravena and Pessumal, though Von has not progressed into anything more than a spot up shooter.  When Black and/or Wong come in off the bench to relieve Kiefer, the team struggles without any creator.  They need to keep Pingoy in the game when Ravena sits as despite his pronouncements, Pessumal has shown no progress in becoming more than a spot up shooter.  Black and Wong are also the same at this stage, though Black may be more advanced in creating his own shot.  At time two PGs play together and take up some of the OG minutes.
• PF/C:  These are the most unsettled positions with 7 players seeing significant time at the two positions.  Most of the minutes will go to Ikeh and Gotladera, while Babilonia and Capacio also seem to have regular slots in the rotation.  Arvin Tolentino has received inconsistent playing time, as have Vince Tolentino and Apacible.  At some point a 7 man rotation over 2 positions will be untenable on a regular basis.

UST (3-1)
They suffered their first loss today against NU after starting the season with 3 straight wins.  The team has a solid and flexible rotation up front with Abdul, Ferrer, Vigil, Lao, and Bonleon and solid at the shooting guard with leading scorer Daquioag.  Their biggest problem is at point where they rotate three players none of which is a clear starter.  This will continue to be their weak link as the season progresses as none appears to be capable of taking the reins.

FEU (2-1)
They are emerging as the team to beat, with solid and blowout wins over Ateneo and LaSalle sandwiching a stunning defeat to UST.  Despite their mediocre start, they remain to be the frontrunners due to their solid and deep rotation.  Finishing any place other than first should be considered a disappointment.

UE (2-2)
The team appears to be a legitimate final four contender.  They have a solid big man rotation led by Javier and De Leon who both shoot well from the outside and can force the opposing big man to go out on defense.  Batiller has been scoring well and doing it within the flow of the offense.  If Varilla and the big men can provide enough scoring support, they can surprise a few teams.

UP (2-1)
Impressive as their start has been, I don't see them as serious Final Four contenders.  They do have some pieces in Kone and Manuel but I think the pieces are just enough to make them competitive in games but not enough for a Final Four slot.

DLSU (1-2)
LaSalle has started poorly and there are rumors about internal bickering that is affecting their stability.  That aside, their lineup is not as balanced as it usually is.  They have holes at center and point guard, while remaining solid at the other 3 slots.  Luckily for them, Prince Rivero has stepped up and shown he can play starter's minutes at the 4 spot, allowing them to use incumbent 4 Perkins as an undersized 5 together with Tratter.  Perkins' game appears to have suffered by playing out of position but he remains their best option at the slot so far.  Rivero is solid as a 4, and Teng plays most of the minutes at the 3.  Rookie Caracut and Sargent give them a solid rotation at the 2, and with Teng at the 3 as well.  This though is not enough to make up for a glaring hole at the point where Torres and Go have proved inadequate.  They miss the presence of Montalbo, who would either give them a 3 man rotation or take over the position himself.  They need to have a couple of their bench players step up and cover the holes at the 1 and 5 spots.

NU (1-3)
While they are definitely weaker than last year's team with the graduation of Rosario and Khobuntin, they should still have a solid rotation.  The backcourt should continue to be solid with Alolino, Diputado, Javelona, and Alejandro, while center should be fine with Aroga getting most of the minutes and Neypes filling in for him.  Their problems are with the forward line, where no one has emerged to take over the 4 spot and the players at the 3 spot have not been consistent.

Adamson (0-3)
The projected cellar dwellers have performed up to expectations.  They have some talent, but Ochea will struggle as the go to player, and import Sarr is not an solid scorer.  Consequently they lack offensive punch and will continue to do so for the season.  They have players who step up every now and then but they lack someone to support.  They should be in last place all the way to the end of the season.

2015 UAAP: Ateneo Observations

Ateneo has just completed it's second game, a 24 point win over Adamson to match a 24 point loss to FEU.  While the outcomes of the two games were very different, what they showed about the team has been consistent.

• Ateneo is an offense oriented team.  Consistent with Bo Perasol's coaching style, which is also what he did with Coca Cola/ Powerade in the PBA, his teams are designed around the offense, and more specifically, a perimeter oriented offense.  Defense is something they play while waiting to get the ball again for offense.
• Bigs are there for rebounding and defensive rotations.  They score off drop passes and ball movement caused by penetration of the small players.  Post ups on offense occur occasionally for diversity purposes and results generated from there are a bonus.
• Player rotation is determined by what they want to do on offense.  Defensive balance is sacrificed for offensive balance.  That results in a hesitation to field two regular bigs at the same time, specially post up bigs.  For that reason, Ikeh and Gotladera will back-up each other and will rarely, if ever, play together because neither has an outside shot.  One reason for Gwynne Capacio getting more playing time this year is that he plays as a stretch 4 and also a mobile big man to complement the post bound offense of Ikeh and Gotladera.
• We do not have a defensively gifted front line.  Ikeh is best in a sweeper role as a ring protector, as is Babilonia.  But they have difficulty playing defense on their own man.  Our best post defender is Gotladera who can battle against power playing bigs and can play good position defense.  But he is not much help as the defensive anchor because he is not a threat to block shots.
• Ateneo will compete when their offense is clicking but will risk being blown out when they are cold because the team's defense cannot hold the opponents down. 

As an offensive oriented team, Ateneo has to improve the quality of the offense to an elite level if this will have to offset poor defense.  Our perimeter shooters have to be automatic when left open and ball movement has to be properly placed and efficiently delivered.  Given the quality of defense, this team will need to create an advantage by hitting threes against their opponents twos.

When playing defense, our wings need to be able to exert pressure on the ball and playing perimeter defense.  They must be able to cause turnovers before the opponent can get settled into their post offense.  In the Adamson game, an offensively limited big like Pape Sarr dominated inside on offense in the first half because we couldn't defend him in the post.  In the second half, he was limited because the defense was able to contain he ball on the perimeter and they were not able to set him up for the same post plays he had in the first half.  The guards absolutely cannot afford to be beaten off the dribble when Ikeh is not in the game.  They do not need to steal the ball everytime, but they need to ensure that their man does not beat them off the dribble.

Last year showed that a good offensive team can dominate the eliminations, but it will not be sufficient to win the championship.  If Ateneo's offense continues to improve and find its rhythm, the team can still do well in the eliminations, but they will have to find a defensive identity or find something that it does well on defense to avoid suffering the same end as last year.

2015 NBA Playoffs: Lebron's Cavs

I have been a Lebron hater since his Cleveland days.  I recognize and admire his talent as a player but it was how he played and handled things that made me lose my respect for him.  I have my reasons:  he gave up on the Cavs in the series against the Celtics, he did not behave like a sportsman when they lost a series to Orlando, his handling of "The Decision" and the arrogance that came with it in Miami, etc.  While he had the talent to be in contention for the GOAT conversations, he did not display the "warrior" mentality (no pun intended).  When faced with defeat, he pulled back instead of acting with a sense of desperation and doing whatever was necessary to win, including scratching, clawing, biting, and kicking his way in trying to win.

With his performance in these Finals, Lebron has finally started to act like a warrior.  Even if he does not succeed in taking the team all the way to the championship, the way he has fought in this series has been admirable.  He is finally playing with grit and determination even in the face of defeat.  Should he continue to play with the same fire as he did in the first 4 games, this series will be Lebron's greatest performance.

PBA: Greatest Players List

There was recently a lot of brouhaha over the PBA's release of the addendum to their 25 Greatest Players List.  The addendum was composed of an additional 15 players to update the list to become the 40 Greatest PBA Players in time for the 40th PBA Anniversary.

The release of the "next 15" players resulted in a lot of criticism and controversy, from fans and even to ex-players who were not selected.  At the core of the discussion were questions on the selection process and selection criteria and the credibility of the selection panel.  And personally, as a fan of the sport myself who has been able to see most of the players, I do agree that there are questionable choices.

The bulk of the controversy centers on the absence of or gaps in the selection criteria.  For example, since being an ex MVP was part of the guidelines, there have been few issues on the inclusion of the ex-MVPs.  The focus of the controversy has been on the players who were not selected as ex-MVPs.  Olsen Racela fans, for example, question only whether Jayson Castro should have made the list ahead, and not whether Jayjay Helterbrand, who was an ex MVP, should have made it.

Given that being an ex MVP is part of the guidelines, that leaves out the most questionable of the candidates:  Marlou Aquino, Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris, Chito Loyzaga, and Jayson Castro.  The most popular names raised against them are Nelson Asaytono, Dennis Espino, Jeffrey Cariaso, Bong Hawkins, Abe King, Dindo Pumaren, Olsen Racela, Danny Seigle, Yoyoy Villamin, and Arnie Tuadles.  Manny Victorino has also been mentioned, being a former member of the elite protected list of players who could not play together on the same team.  Other former members of that list were 25ers Ramon Fernandez and Abet Guidaben, and the unlisted King and Villamin.

The issue here starts because it is driven by numbers, rather than by "greatness".  The PBA needs the number of players to be at 40, regardless of whether there is a delineation of greatness between 40 and 41.  In contrast, take the US Basketball Hall of Fame.  There is no minimum or maximum number who need to qualify.  All are rated against a standard and those that make the standard make it and those that don't do not.  There is no magic number to target. 

Taking away the limitation of numbers, perhaps there are only 35 greats that are justifiable by set standards.  Or maybe it should be more than 40.  Without the basis of any criteria and purely on personal bias, I would rate them as follows:

All Time Great:  Nelson Asaytono, Bong Hawkins, Abe King, Danny Seigle, Yoyoy Villamin, Olsen Racela

Non All Time Great:  Marlou Aquino, Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris, Chito Loyzaga, Dennis Espino, Jeff Cariaso, Dindo Pumaren

Jayson Castro I believe will eventually be an All Time Great but has not yet done enough as of now to make it.  As for Victorino, he is no better than Aquino/Raymundo/Espino but if being on the protected list becomes a criteria, then I would have no objection to him making it.