2008 NBA Draft Preview: Robin Lopez

Is Brook Lopez's Brother Ready for the NBA as Well?

Robin Lopez needs to become a better foul shooter if he expects to see any kind of significant minutes in the NBA. You can't just be a big man and clog up the offense by not being able to make foul shot when you are out there. Every single time Lopez gets the ball a sort of
2008 NBA Draft Preview: Robin Lopez
 unintentional, intentional fouling will take place. I really do believe Robin could have another year or two to improve on every facet of his game. The fact that Trent Johnson, his head coach, decided to bolt to LSU probably did not help matters. As noted by ESPN Robin Lopez only averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Sure, he's only a sophomore, but these numbers hardly jump off the page at you.

Robin Lopez does average over two blocks a game so we have to give credit where credit is due. I hope I'm wrong about the kid and he makes me eat my words. I hope he does live up to the potential that he has and become a dominant player. However though, as with a lot of people in any draft he is a major project. The Toronto Raptors and some others have expressed interest in drafting Robin Lopez as noted by the National Post. The Raptors may be a good fit for Robin Lopez as many of the Raptors bigger guys have a more perimeter oriented focus. Lopez could be that guy who gets the tough rebounds and make penetrators think twice about coming down the lane. People like Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford and Jason Kapano have been great ambassadors for the game of basketball and they could certainly show Robin Lopez around in what might be a different situation then he is use to, now coming to Toronto.

Robin Lopez isn't projected to go very high in the draft and that is probably a good thing because the guy could be a real boom or a real bust. The option of making a long term investment in Robin Lopez is probably not a wise one. Look for him to go in the middle towards the end of the first round to a team like the Raptors. I think Sam Mitchell would be a good motivator for this kid.

Sources:

ESPN.com Staff. "Robin Lopez Draft Profile." ESPN.com

Related information
  • I apologize if anything said about Robin Lopez in this article was too harsh.
  • This article was not written with an anti-West Coast bias.
 
Comments 1 - 5 of 5  
Comments
Type in Your Comments Below

Very well written update, thanks!

Posted on 06/10/2008 at 2:06:27 AM

Lopez hit 65% from the line last year, you make it sound like he's Ben Wallace. His offensive game also improved dramatically as the season progressed. In his final 15 games he scored 12.2 points per game in just 26 minutes per, with 11 double digit games and 54.3% shooting. He was usually the 3rd or 4th option on offense. Also, he's clearly NOT going to be boom or bust, since he's going mid to late 1st round and is being drafted to play defense, which he clearly can already do at the NBA level.

Posted on 06/09/2008 at 1:06:45 PM

"People like Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford and Jason Kapano have been great ambassadors for the game of basketball " are you kidding me? TJ Ford is a great ambassador? he whines and complains and is uber selfish.

Posted on 06/08/2008 at 3:06:24 PM

Another good analysis, Tyler...

Posted on 06/08/2008 at 4:06:06 AM

I appreciate the updates of the NBA draft.

Posted on 06/08/2008 at 12:06:54 AM

Comments 1 - 5 of 5