[XYRYXParticipant]

I caught some of the summer league coverage and came across Dawson who was drafted at #56 by the Pelicans this year but was traded to the Clippers and now plays for the Clippers in the Orlando Summer League. 

He played 4 years for MSU and is a ‘typical’ tweener at only 6’7" but with a really impressive body. He was considered one of the losers from the draft combine due to his poor agility drill time and his mediocre vertical measurements if you take into consideration that he is considered one of the more athletic players coming out of college. 

He left Michigan State as the all time leader in blocks (142 total), 6th in steals and 5th in rebounds. Over all 4 years (130 games – 121 starts) he had the following averages: 

G MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS

130 26.6 4.4 7.8 .559 4.4 7.7 .564 0.0 0.1 .000 1.4 2.4 .558 6.9 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.7 1.6 10.1

In 2014/2015 he had his best year with 30.1 mpg; 11.9 ppg; 9.1 rpg; 1.7apg; 1.2 SPG and 1.7 BPG

Overall he is a really good rebounder and in the summer league over 4 games he is only 2nd to Aaron Gordon in rpg wirh 10.3 at only 25.5 mpg which is quite impressive to me and his defense is pretty good too as he earned Big Ten All Defensive Team honors last season. Everyone who wants to track his stats going forward in the summer legue here is the link: http://www.nba.com/summerleague/2015/players/sl_branden_dawson/

His flaws are quite clear as he is a really bad free throw shooter around 50% and can’t really create his on shots and kind of avoids going to the line a bit due to his poor shooting from there.

In todays NBA he might really have some value and one of just three players in MSU history with 1,000 career points and 100 career blocks, joining Draymond Green and Adreian Payne which is very good company. He is also the only player in history 6’6" or shorter who led the Big Ten in total rebounds since 1991. 

 

I just thought his actions in the summer league so far are worth to be mentioned because I didn’t really know anything about him and came away impressed to see him play tough defense, crashing the boards, good hustle and even doin windmill jams on the breakaway. I said it before but man this guy is build like a tank and I kind of root for guys like him who can do a little bit of all. One knack against him was/is that he is not always lockin in but what I’ve seen from him so far this doesn’t seem to be a problem at all. 

Here are his highlights against Aaron Gordon and the Magic where he put up 14/14. youtu.be/azdhNkAD-pU

I think if we think about what the Clippers have to offer as backups at the 3/4 position he really has a chance to not only make the roster but also to snag smome minutes going forward. 

 

Anyone who is also following him a bit or has seen some more of him playing college ball? 

What are your thoughts about his NBA outlook? 

 

 

 

[trelos6Participant]

He is a prototypical Izzo guy.  No fuss, does the hard work.  I think he will be a great 9 or 10th man, and provide a solid locker room presence.   

[trelos6Participant]

He is a prototypical Izzo guy.  No fuss, does the hard work.  I think he will be a great 9 or 10th man, and provide a solid locker room presence.   

[capecodderParticipant]

 Upside= former teammate Draymond Green

[capecodderParticipant]

 Upside= former teammate Draymond Green

[JoeWolf1]

 Always reminded me of Quincy Acy. Small for his position, but a guy who’s natural abity and playing style will allow him to stick in the league as a reserve. 

[JoeWolf1]

 Always reminded me of Quincy Acy. Small for his position, but a guy who’s natural abity and playing style will allow him to stick in the league as a reserve. 

[XYRYXParticipant]

I like this one from you. 

How about him playing some SF in the league or to be more precise to defend NBA SFs? I think his shot or lack thereof will really prevent him from playing on the wings on offense consitently and his main strength is his near the basket to get rebounds and contest shots. 

I went to some more advanced stats from him in college and watched some more videos since I’ve been kind of impressed how fluidly and in control he moves on the court. He seems like the kind of player you can just let run with the other guys and he will get a cut, putback, pick and roll here and there and will earn his minutes through defense and rebounding. 

Do you think he can guard long NBA SFs like Gay or big shooting guards like Joe Johnson or should he be placed exclusively near the basket on the bigger guys? His foot speed and lateral quickness seems to be fine to me and man this guy is a beast with all his upper but also lower body muscles. Looks a bit like the forward version of Partic Young who is really more of a center and has similar strenghts but also weaknesses. 

Sidenote: Good to see you posting on here again Joe, haven’t seen you for some time and always like your opinions!

[XYRYXParticipant]

I like this one from you. 

How about him playing some SF in the league or to be more precise to defend NBA SFs? I think his shot or lack thereof will really prevent him from playing on the wings on offense consitently and his main strength is his near the basket to get rebounds and contest shots. 

I went to some more advanced stats from him in college and watched some more videos since I’ve been kind of impressed how fluidly and in control he moves on the court. He seems like the kind of player you can just let run with the other guys and he will get a cut, putback, pick and roll here and there and will earn his minutes through defense and rebounding. 

Do you think he can guard long NBA SFs like Gay or big shooting guards like Joe Johnson or should he be placed exclusively near the basket on the bigger guys? His foot speed and lateral quickness seems to be fine to me and man this guy is a beast with all his upper but also lower body muscles. Looks a bit like the forward version of Partic Young who is really more of a center and has similar strenghts but also weaknesses. 

Sidenote: Good to see you posting on here again Joe, haven’t seen you for some time and always like your opinions!

[Sewok15Participant]

He should make the team for sure. The Clippers have a bunch of guys who want to score but not many who do the dirty work. He can probably play some 4 because of his effort and athleticism. I was thinking they would be going small (with Blake at the 5 and Paul at the 4) a lot more before Jordan came crawling back. Dawson should fit in this roster somewhere as an energy and defense guy. Their uptempo offensive style is probably the one he is best suited for outrunning bigger defenders up the floor.

[Sewok15Participant]

He should make the team for sure. The Clippers have a bunch of guys who want to score but not many who do the dirty work. He can probably play some 4 because of his effort and athleticism. I was thinking they would be going small (with Blake at the 5 and Paul at the 4) a lot more before Jordan came crawling back. Dawson should fit in this roster somewhere as an energy and defense guy. Their uptempo offensive style is probably the one he is best suited for outrunning bigger defenders up the floor.

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