Empty the Bench

By Brian Spencer

Chris Douglas-Roberts, GF, New Jersey Nets

With the Nets currently on pace to finish with a record of 4-78, there’s little to cheer about in Jersey this season (shocker!). Most of the players on this roster know they’re expiring-contract stopgaps who won’t be asked to return next season, but cocky second-year swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts is making his case as a long-term fixture in the Nets’ brighter future.

At times CDR reminds me of a poor man’s Paul Pierce: a rangy 6-7 guard brimming with confidence who’s as comfortable putting the ball on the floor as he is launching it from outside, and who plays good-not-great defense but has the skills to get better (like Pierce did early in his career). The Nets’ second-round pick in ‘08 was upset about falling out of the first round on draft day and vowed to make those who passed on him regret it, and right now it’s hard to argue with his contempt; he’s outplaying many of the guys taken ahead of him and, though hindsight is always 20/20, arguably should have been a lottery pick.

Now, most players in the NBA are capable of putting up nice boxscores when given the burn, and obviously CDR’s contributions haven’t yet translated to wins. Numbers can be deceiving. Still, I like what I’ve seen in the few Nets games I’ve masochistically sat through: he’s not afraid to make mistakes, has a nice stroke on his jumper, and has the look of a guy who can take and make big shots down the road when the Nets actually have them to be taken. Through 17 games, CDR is averaging 16.9 points (up from 4.9 in his rookie season) on 46% shooting, 4.7 boards, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36:30 a night.

Carl Landry, FC, Houston Rockets

The Rockets desperately needed somebody, anybody, to step up and fill the considerable frontcourt void left by the absence of Yao Ming (injury) and the retirement of Dikembe Mutombo. They brought 29-year-old David Andersen over from Europe (he’s the team’s tallest player at 6-11), and… that’s it, at least for now. With the lack of size in the middle seemingly compounded by the loss of Ron Artest to LA, most predicted doom and gloom in Houston this year, but so far GM Daryl Morey’s pack of hard-working tweeners is defying expectations and positioning themselves to at least be in the playoffs conversation.

It’s been a team effort, but credit 6-9 forward Carl Landry as one of the most significant pieces of this overachieving puzzle in Houston.

Now in his third season after being taken at the top of the second round in the 2007 NBA Draft, Landry is proving size doesn’t always matter and has hustled, banged, and scored his way into early Sixth Man of the Year contention. After scoring 20+ points in five of his last eight games, Landry has nudged his points per to 16.3 (7 more than last year, despite averaging just 4 more minutes), and is doing so on just under 57% shooting. That makes him the team’s third-leading scorer behind Trevor Ariza and Aaron Brooks (and by the way, of the team’s top-five scorers only Brooks was a first-round pick, and he was taken 26th overall at that).

Let’s also not forget that Landry is tough as shit: he solidered through Game 3 of his team’s first-round matchup with the Jazz in ‘08 despite losing a tooth (later draining the game-winner), and last season returned to the court just a few weeks after being in a car accident and getting shot in the leg by one of the dudes who hit his car.

Diamonds in the rough in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Memphis after the break…

Anthony Morrow, GF, Golden State Warriors

Since we all know by now that Warriors head nut Don Nelson often sets his rotation by pulling names out of a hat (and often entirely leaves Anthony Randolph’s name out of said hat as a hilarious practical joke), kudos to 6-5 swingman Anthony Morrow, a second-year undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, for carving out consistent minutes on a team most defined by inconsistency.

You might expect Morrow to be a chip off the Warriors’ block of inefficient chuckers, but this kid is shooting a semi-remarkable 53% from the field and an amazing 51% on 4.6 three-point attempts a night. That’s good for second best in the NBA, behind only Chris Paul (and tied with Sacramento Kings rookie Omri Casspi). Morrow’s scoring acumen becomes more and more proven by the game: so far, he’s put up at least 20 points in 33% of his games, which adds up to 14.6 points per along with 4.1 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.3 threes.

Not totally unexpected given his splits last April (16.9 points per, including a season-ending 33-point performance at Phoenix), but a welcome surprise all the same given the unsettled situation in GS. We’re always concerned here at ETB Headquarters about the negative impact Nelson might have on the development of this young, uber-talented core, but the early signs on Morrow, at least, point to him having thick enough skin to tough it out until Nelson’s retirement or dismissal, whichever comes first.

Ersan Ilyasova, F, Milwaukee Bucks

Enough is enough, Hakim Warrick. I’m done drafting you in fantasy hoops, I’m done singing your praises, I won’t predict anymore late-season upticks in production. You are, as they say, dead to me. It’s always something holding you back: poor defense, rotation issues, “the man”. This year, that something is a 22-year-old Turk named Ersan who stole your spot in the starting lineup just a few games into the season.

Actually, stole isn’t the right word: the young man has earned it.

A second-round pick back in ‘05, 6-10 forward Ersan Ilyasova spent his first year in the States playing for the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers, then made his somewhat premature NBA debut with the Bucks during the 2006-07 season, playing in 66 games and posting modest pers of 6.1 points and 2.9 boards in just under 15 minutes a night. After a few seasons abroad as a member of FC Barcelona, Ilyasova returned this year and has been something of a jack-of-all-trades for Scott Skiles’ improved Bucks.

Ersan Ilyasova Photo Credit: Icon SMI

He shoots threes (1.2 makes per), hits the glass (currently amongst the East’s top-20 forwards in boards with 7.3), plays solid defense, and generally does the little things it takes to win without trying to do too much–always important if you want to get regular minutes on a Skiles-coached team. (Are you listening, Hakim?). In 11 games as a starter, Ilyasova has averaged 12.4 points (46% FG), 8 boards (2.5 offensive), 1.2 assists, 1.1 triples, and 1 steal.

Brandon Jennings is the main reason why more than 43 people are tuning into Bucks’ games this year for the first time in a long time, but glue contributions from guys like Ilyasova, Carlos Delfino, and Luke Ridnour are a big part of the team’s early-season renaissance.

Marc Gasol, C, Memphis Grizzlies

He’s been slumping a bit of late, but I’ve already made my case for Pau’s widdle brother as one of this year’s most surprising fantasy hoops breakouts and I’m sticking to it. So if you don’t mind, I’ll defer to my earlier, fantasy-slanted analysis here (with updated stats!). Ladies and gentlemen, meet Marc Gasol:

Gasol has been nothing short of spectacular through the first month of the season. All of his statistical measurables are up—way up—compared to his rookie season of a year ago, and there’s no reason to think there’s any end in sight to his upper-tier production.

Through his first 20 games, the 7-1 Gasol has posted impressive per-game averages of 14.6 points (on 61% FG, third best in the NBA), 9.7 boards, 1.6 blocks, 1.2 steals, 2.2 assists, and a respectable 73% from the free-throw line. That’s made him the fifth most-valuable center in fantasy hoops, and he’s helped his Grizzlies to a… well, the Grizzlies are still pretty middling at 8 – 12, but Gasol is clearly doing what he can to make this team competitive again.

There’s little of consequence behind Gasol on the Grizzlies’ big-man depth chart, so expect the seven-footer to maintain his 35+ minutes per-game average as the season wears on. That should give him ample opportunity to finish it out with double-double averages in points and rebounds; I’d love to see him keep those steals up over 1 per, and to take the next step towards fantasy dominance by upping his blocks to 2 per. Either way, we’re looking at one of the biggest bargains of the year.

I’ll add that maybe, just maybe, that long-maligned deal that sent Pau to the Lakers for a handful of castoffs, two first-round picks, and the draft rights to Marc won’t turn out to be a total wash for Memphis after all. (Settle down, I said maybe.)