Ellington plays better, Lawson gets hurt, Green injures more body parts.
Wayne Ellington redeemed his performance from yesterday. Amazing what a dinner with Roy will do for your confidence. Ellington had 17 points in Thursday's game and also shot the ball extremely well during morning drills. The question is how much it helps his stock. NBA scouts tend to look for guys who stand out in a huge way but who are also consistent night in and night out. That means a lot pressure is on Ellington to perform well again on Friday and define himself on the basis of two good days, not the bad one. In my opinion, I think while Ellington played better it was nothing earth shattering which is to say his stock probably rose very little.
Ty Lawson followed up Wednesday's stellar performance by promptly getting a hip pointer during morning drills and sitting out the subsequent game. Lawson expressed little concern for not being able to play, mainly because he made such a great showing in the first couple of days. In addition Lawson has multiple workout scheduled with individual teams. On the flip side, I am surprised the toughness question has not reared it's head. Lawson had these questions flying around when his ankle was injured and it took seven games to get him back into the lineup. Granted that all seemed legitimate but in this setting I can see where someone might point to Danny Green's willingness to play through multiple injuries.
Green did not really show anything spectacular today and ended up adding his elbow and hip to the list of injured body parts to go along with the bum ankle.
How’s the ankle?
“The ankle’s doing better, but right now, I have other issues that I’m working on. I recently just hurt my hip and my elbow in the game trying to catch an oop from [Jeremy] Pargo… It didn’t feel right. My adrenaline after I dropped and hit the floor – everybody said it looked ugly – but I kind of braced myself because I knew it was happening. I was trying to hang on to the rim and ended up slipping off and tried to brace myself and then hit [my elbow]. But then I got back up and my adrenaline kept me going, but after I sat on the bench and got cold, it tightened up.“The elbow is feeling funny right now, the hip is tight, and they told me, ‘If you can’t play, then we’re going to have to tell you to come out.’ I was trying to keep playing, but they took me out anyway. So it was good, because it wasn’t loosening up.”
So is your elbow and hip just sore?
“Hip, elbow and ankle are the three things we’re worried about right now… But it’s a part of basketball. I’ve got to suck it up and keep playing. I’m trying to ice up and get ready for tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll play better tomorrow, because right now, I’m not fortunate enough to be sitting out like these guys and just watching.”Are you going to try to play tomorrow regardless?
“Yes, definitely. I’m not with all of the quitting and sitting out just because I’ve got little bumps and bruises. I’m hurt pretty bad right now, and of course, I want to sit out, but I’m not fortunate enough. I need to play and show the scouts what I can do, so I’m going to try to play tomorrow.”
Green's issue is he does not have the luxury Lawson does let it ride on his first game performance and head into the individual workouts on a high note. Green needs to impress people now which is going to be extremely difficult nursing three injuries. It really is a tough set of breaks for a player who already faced a steep uphill climb from not even on the draft board to the first round. I am not sure to what extent he can improves his stock with all the injuries but he gets all the credit for sticking with it despite the pain he is in.
And do you remember when Green told Lawson to "stop being a girl" and get back on the court after the ankle injury? He basically did the same thing with that last quote. Obviously this is a different situation and each have their valid reasons for playing or not playing but it is an interesting parallel in terms of toughness shown by Green versus what Lawson has shown.
UPDATE: Draft Express with some interesting speculation on Lawson:
Joining the injured list is Ty Lawson, fresh off a breakout performance last night—with a supposed “hip pointer.” Some NBA people we spoke with wondered whether hip pointer is actually code for “first round promise,” considering how well he played in the first day and how few point guards there are in this draft once you get past D.J. Augustin. Let’s see if he comes out and plays in the final day.
This was bantered about on the message boards when Lawson was sitting and the injury was not known. Givony also had this to say about Ellington:
Wayne Ellington bounced back in a big way after his disastrous performance yesterday, starting off extremely hot on his way to a 7-13, 17 point outing in 20 minutes. His shot simply fell for him at a much better clip, as he did a great job moving off screens and being aggressive using fakes and utilizing his strong one-dribble pull-up. On the negative side, he again did not look very good putting the ball on the floor and making his way to the rim, not standing out that much in terms of his size, quickness, toughness at the rim or ball-handling skills. He still needs to have a strong showing in the last day of the camp if he’s truly serious about making a run at the late first round.
No mention of Green in the article.
UPDATE #2: ESPN's Chad Ford onLawson and Ellington:
UNC's Wayne Ellington responded to a terrible first game with a solid 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. One GM said Ellington looks more like a NBA player than anyone in the camp.
"Whether you are or aren't making your shots here, we are looking for basketball IQ, athleticism and making the right plays," he said. "If you take the right shots here, we know. Making them is great, but it isn't mandatory. Ellington knows how to play. He tried too hard on the first day. He showed he has a chance today."
This is the first positive assessment I have seen for Ellington. The question is whether he can build on it or not.
One day after Ty Lawson's strong performance he sat out Game 2 because of a hip pointer. NBA GMs were a little skeptical after watching him warm up. More than one player, over the past few years, has decided to sit out the rest of the camp after having a good game.
Jamal Crawford did it a few years ago. Ditto for Jason Maxiell. Was Lawson up to the same shenanigans? No one was talking for sure, but a couple of NBA sources said that his performance on Wednesday was enough to push him into the draft for good.
No surprise here in terms of the Wednesday game pushing him into the draft or the fact the NBA GMs are a bit skeptical on the sitting out business.