Pat Mills (middle) and Joe Ingles (right) are joined by Brad Williamson in a cameo performance.
Who said basketball was struggling in this country? This picture can be found on the front page of ESPN's NBA section. Three out of the four are Aussies.
It seems that Pat Mills has come to life all thanks to the All Star Game that was held at the Reebok Eurocamp 2009.
Here is a review of how Mills looked today through the eyes of DraftExpress.
"Australian Patrick Mills was absolutely the star of the evening’s all-star game, posting an impressive 30 point performance on 8/18 shooting from the field and 12/13 from the line. Mills handled the ball on a string all game long, showing terrific quickness keeping his man off balance, and making an absolute living in the mid-range area with his deadly pull-up jumper. His ability to utilize strong hesitation moves makes him extremely difficult to stay in front of, and he did a good job not settling for tough shots from beyond the arc today, getting to the line repeatedly. He clearly thrives in up-tempo settings such as the one seen in today’s all-star game, which came in stark contrast to his morning performance, where he seemed to over-dribble somewhat while trying to create in the half-court.
NBA teams we spoke to still expressed some doubt regarding his point guard skills, which is something he could still stand to work on. He posted 3 assists compared with 4 turnovers in the evening game, seeming to be hunting shots quite a bit, and didn’t look all that comfortable getting others involved. Scouts generally were impressed by the quickness and shot-creating ability he showed, and he also did a better job defensively today as well. "
I hope Mills continues with the form he showed in scoring the basketball but can convince the scouts that he is capable of leading and distributing the ball amongst his teammates. Otherwise I fear he will be perceived as the next Earl Boykins. An undersized point guard with a scorers mentality.
- While it was a day for Pat Mills to shine, there is still plenty of buzz about fellow countryman Joe Ingles.
ProBasketballNews believes that Ingles is a "top prospect" and "may hear" his name called on Draft Night (June 25th, USA).
Also, when Ingles finishes in Europe in the next couple of days, he will head back to Chicago and workout for the Bulls on Thursday. Ater Majok will also join Ingles at this workout.
- Australian Opal Suzy Batkovic has tied the knot at the age of 29. Batkovic talks about her willingness to have children but it is "not set in cement - if it happens it happens".
With this attitude, I think "The OT" better hunt down the Olympian and have the "birds and bees" chat with the Seattle Storm centre before it is all too late.
- Yesterday I wrote about the draw for the upcoming 2009/10 NBL season. Some readers made comment and felt that I was "brown nosing".
I was just merely pointing out that the NBL has finally produced an even draw for the first time since 1996.
In 1996 we played 26 regular season games which meant we played each team (14 team comp) once at home and once away.
In the upcoming season each franchise will play each other four times. Two at home and two away.
Through my eyes this is fair and even (Yes, teams will argue about the schedule but venue availability plays it's part here, so get over it.). Where as over the past 13 seasons, one can argue over the fairness of the draw as there has been an uneven number of games against teams.
- I have not commented on the NBA Finals because my regular readers know how much I love Kobe Bryant's game, so I don't want to be tagged as being biased. But right now Kobe and the Lakers are letting their game do the talking against the Orlando Magic so I will leave the series alone.
I will let Lil Wayne's new song speak for my love of Kobe's game though.
Here is a review of how Mills looked today through the eyes of DraftExpress.
"Australian Patrick Mills was absolutely the star of the evening’s all-star game, posting an impressive 30 point performance on 8/18 shooting from the field and 12/13 from the line. Mills handled the ball on a string all game long, showing terrific quickness keeping his man off balance, and making an absolute living in the mid-range area with his deadly pull-up jumper. His ability to utilize strong hesitation moves makes him extremely difficult to stay in front of, and he did a good job not settling for tough shots from beyond the arc today, getting to the line repeatedly. He clearly thrives in up-tempo settings such as the one seen in today’s all-star game, which came in stark contrast to his morning performance, where he seemed to over-dribble somewhat while trying to create in the half-court.
NBA teams we spoke to still expressed some doubt regarding his point guard skills, which is something he could still stand to work on. He posted 3 assists compared with 4 turnovers in the evening game, seeming to be hunting shots quite a bit, and didn’t look all that comfortable getting others involved. Scouts generally were impressed by the quickness and shot-creating ability he showed, and he also did a better job defensively today as well. "
I hope Mills continues with the form he showed in scoring the basketball but can convince the scouts that he is capable of leading and distributing the ball amongst his teammates. Otherwise I fear he will be perceived as the next Earl Boykins. An undersized point guard with a scorers mentality.
- While it was a day for Pat Mills to shine, there is still plenty of buzz about fellow countryman Joe Ingles.
ProBasketballNews believes that Ingles is a "top prospect" and "may hear" his name called on Draft Night (June 25th, USA).
Also, when Ingles finishes in Europe in the next couple of days, he will head back to Chicago and workout for the Bulls on Thursday. Ater Majok will also join Ingles at this workout.
- Australian Opal Suzy Batkovic has tied the knot at the age of 29. Batkovic talks about her willingness to have children but it is "not set in cement - if it happens it happens".
With this attitude, I think "The OT" better hunt down the Olympian and have the "birds and bees" chat with the Seattle Storm centre before it is all too late.
- Yesterday I wrote about the draw for the upcoming 2009/10 NBL season. Some readers made comment and felt that I was "brown nosing".
I was just merely pointing out that the NBL has finally produced an even draw for the first time since 1996.
In 1996 we played 26 regular season games which meant we played each team (14 team comp) once at home and once away.
In the upcoming season each franchise will play each other four times. Two at home and two away.
Through my eyes this is fair and even (Yes, teams will argue about the schedule but venue availability plays it's part here, so get over it.). Where as over the past 13 seasons, one can argue over the fairness of the draw as there has been an uneven number of games against teams.
- I have not commented on the NBA Finals because my regular readers know how much I love Kobe Bryant's game, so I don't want to be tagged as being biased. But right now Kobe and the Lakers are letting their game do the talking against the Orlando Magic so I will leave the series alone.
I will let Lil Wayne's new song speak for my love of Kobe's game though.
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4 comments:
Hang on JR...IF Mills continues with the performance he just put up - won't he be considered the next Earl Boykins? It seems distribution needs to be a focus for a sub 6 ft PG and this is whee they are largely doubting his ability. He's already proven he can score with the best of them.
Eric:
Chees for the closeness as to which you read my words. Hopefully the new wording paints a better picture.
Being Earl Boykins is not a bad thing though, is it?
chees or cheers
Not bad at all. Gotta love a little man who can take over. Would love to see Millsy show just how well he can run a team tho.
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