During the NCAA Tournament, we NBA heads watch (almost) every game, judging the pro prospects of particular players. Inspired by our daily Doing Lines feature, Drooling Lines offers a daily summary of what the box scores tell us.This song has been sung frequently, but in case you missed prior renditions ...
Ty Lawson -- ... no one has helped his NBA stock more this season than Ty Lawson. The tournament has been the same exact tune, with Sunday's killer Elite Eight performance the latest verse.
Lawson led the Tar Heels in every sense of the word. No, really. This isn't just mushy mumbo about leadership -- he nearly led Carolina in every major category. The diminutive point guard had a team-high 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, a team-high five assists, a team-high three steals, tied for a team-high one block, and lagged behind team-leading rebounder Tyler Hansbrough by one rebound (with five). UNC won by 12, and you can basically credit Lawson completely. His teammates played well, but without him, they would not have played nearly as well.
Blake Griffin -- Speaking of playing well ...
Griffin completely torched Hansbrough: 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 16 rebounds (six of which came on the offensive glass). Griffin didn't get his usual passing game going, but when you're shooting 70+% for the tournament, you don't need to rely on cutters or shooters. As always, Griffin can and will handle his business. He's the No. 1 draft pick with a bullet, provided news that Ricky Rubio is a direct descendant of Christ or John Lennon doesn't come out between now and June.
Willie Warren -- A less-flattering sendoff for W.W., who scored 18 but shot only 2-of-9 from deep. If Warren's going to be a two-guard in the league, his translated shooting percentages need to improve. It seems more likely he'll become a point guard; in fairness to Warren, he rarely got the opportunity at OU to play lead guard, considering the presence of senior (and Griffin consigliere) Austin Johnson. (Johnson was dreadful across Lawson, by the way.) Jeff Capel has been in the rumor mill, and you wonder if that forces W.W. to keep an open mind about bolting. Eric Gordon's stock wasn't exactly at peak this time last year, you know ...
Earl Clark -- Good Earl Clark has been there for most of the Dance. Unfortunately, we saw something closer to Bad Earl Clark most of Sunday. Clark did heat up late in the second half, finishing with 19 points on 17 field goal attempts. But Louisville already trailed substantially by that point, and a few tough shots (the only kind with Earl, sometimes) didn't fall. 19/5/2/1 for Clark.
Terrence Williams -- Clark was mediocre, Williams was straight-up BAD. Five whole points for Williams when Louisville needed him to create desperately. His first basket came on an ill alley-oop to open the second half. Having watched enough Louisville this season (thanks ESPN-Big East partnership!*), I figured this would be the point in which Williams exploded, leading his team to overcome the stingy Spartan resistance. It wasn't so. Michigan State kept resisting. Williams couldn't slide in for putbacks or spring free for deep threes. On defense, the usually stout Williams was handcuffed by Rick Pitino's reliance on a 2-3 zone that failed miserably in the second half. Bad sendoff for Williams, and (if I know NBA scouts) a performance that could cost him five or so slots, fair or not.
* No seriously, thank you. Well worth a dozen Notre Dame games this year to see so much Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova and (even) Georgetown.
NCAA Tournament Action
GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 21: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Garrett Temple #14 of the Louisiana State University Tigers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 21, 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Wayne Ellington;Garrett Temple
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: A Washington Huskies cheerleader performs during a break in the action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Manny Harris #3 of the Michigan Wolverines jumps to the basket for a lay up against Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Harris
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Zack Novan #0 and Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for the loose ball with Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Gibson;Zack Novak;Blake Griffin
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Willie Warren #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners makes contact as he goes to the basket with Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first hafl during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Willie Warren
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the short jump shot against DeShawn Sims #34 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Taylor Griffin;DeShawn Sims
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a shot over Jon Brockman #40 of the Washington Huskies in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** JaJuan Johnson;Jon Brockman
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners and Zack Novak #0 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for position to the loose ball in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Novak;Taylor Griffin
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Michigan Wolverines yells from the sideline during their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Capel
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Lewis Jackson #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a layup as Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks on during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lewis Jackson;Quincy Pondexter
Getty Images
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-30-2009 @ 8:49AM
wdyea said...
Blake Griffin torched Hansbrough? Did you watch the same game? In the 1st half, Hansbrough only played 9 minutes due to foul trouble. During those 9 minutes, Griffin scored 0 points. During the other 11? Griffin scored 12. So I don't see how he torched Hansbrough.
Reply
3-30-2009 @ 1:06PM
neoatrix46 said...
yea ty lawson da man will go to the show and tear it up cmon knicks!!!!check out d a i l y b a l l b r e a k e r s for some good sports fun with great sports topics updated daily for you....
Reply