Kentucky Sports Radio

(I created this backdrop last summer in my spare time, feel free to use it if you so choose).

The NBA Draft is nearly upon us and Kentucky is about to embark upon another historical night in which six players will hear their names called to join a professional squad.  One of the players who is departing for greener pastures is none other than Doron Lamb.  The sharpshooter from from Queens, New York played an instrumental role in winning the Wildcats their eighth national title as he was the main perimeter threat and backed up the point when called upon.  It’s anyone’s guess where Doron could end up playing basketball as he’s projected to go anywhere from late first round to early second round.  I wouldn’t even be surprised if he gets drafted sooner than that because he has a very particular set of skills, skills that he has acquired over his career.  Skills that make him a nightmare to opposing teams (sorry, low-hanging fruit), and that skill would be dead-eye shooting from the perimeter.

Doron finished his career in the 1,000-point club at Kentucky (1,018 to be exact) and did so in only two short seasons.  His main strength was his perimeter shooting as he finished his career shooting a spectacular 47.5% (144-303) from three point land.  Lamb had other strengths as well like effective ball handling ability (1.6 assists to 1.1 turnovers per game) and his surprisingly good defensive rebounding ability for a player his size (1.9 per game). Offensively you know what you’re getting, a deadly efficient scorer who has near unlimited range.  Defensively, however, Doron needs some work.  He finished the 2012 campaign with a team worst Defensive Rating of  100.4 points allowed per 100 possessions.  This was mainly because he was average in most defensive categories like steals (0.5 per game) and blocks (0.1 per game).  It is worth note that his position and teammates didn’t call for him to block many shots.  Even with this in mind he was still an average defender.  Now it becomes clear who he would fit in well with, a team who needs scorers and can afford to sacrifice a bit a defense to do so.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas finished last season with an Offensive Rating of 103.3 and a Defensive Rating of 102.3, which were good for 22nd and 8th in the league respectively.  Their defense was so strong due to their Effective Field Goal defense and their ability to rebound defensively.  Doron wouldn’t add much except for some defensive rebounding from the guard position, but that’s not his specialty.  Offensively, Lamb would shine in Dallas, as the Mavs shot a very pedestrian 33.9% from the perimeter last season.  Also, with Jason Terry potentially leaving the Mavericks due to it being the final year of his contract, Lamb could step in immediately and be an effective replacement.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets finished the 2012 campaign with an Offensive Rating of 109.2 and a Defensive Rating of 106.2, which were good for 3rd and 20th in the league.  While Denver doesn’t exactly fit the good defense/bad offense mold, they are in desperate need of a perimeter shooter as they finished the season ranked 24th in the NBA (33.2%).  While the Nuggets already have a similar sized guard in Aaron Afflalo who shoots near 40% from the perimeter,  having Doron Lamb at their disposal would surely make the Nuggets one of the most improved outside shooting teams in the NBA.

Memphis Grizzlies

Last season Memphis finished the regular season with an Offensive Rating of 104.0 and a stingy Defensive Rating of 101.8, which were good for 19th and 7th in the league respectively.   While Grizzlies had an elite defense, they couldn’t score very efficiently on the opposite end of the floor as they shot a poor 32.6% from downtown.  In addition to this, Memphis had a slight turnover problem, ranking 15th in the NBA (turnovers on 13.6% of possessions).  The addition of Lamb with his scintillating shooting and good ball handling would be just the boost they need to go from mid-level playoff team to a team who is a legitimate threat to make a deep run in the playoffs.

To conclude, any team who were to draft Lamb would be getting an exceptional deal as it’s not every day that a shooter of this caliber comes along.  But, I think it’s clear at this point who could use him the most to start his career, the Memphis Grizzlies.  They are a very strong basketball team who has a very particular set  of weaknesses, weaknesses that when corrected can make them a legitimate contender, and Doron Lamb is the answer to those shortcomings.