Rank #8: Anthony Randolph
'12-'13 Season Summary
After the worst season of his career, Anthony Randolph partly believed he'd never see substantial playing time in the NBA ever again. Averaging 3.7 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game in just 39 contests, the 6'11 power forward was lost in a Denver Nugget's roster with extreme depth at all positions.
Plain and simple, Randolph was a no-show all year. He scored a season high of 18 points against the Portland Trailblazers during the last week of the regular season and managed to hit double digit points only three other times during the whole year. He has always been known as a freak athlete and a player with a high ceiling but there were far too many boneheaded plays and lapses on defense to make him a viable option. This placed him into a cycle of inefficiency and spotty playtime for the entirety of the season.
'13-14 Season Outlook
Much like Evan Fournier, Randolph has now been given the best possible coach for his situation. A coach (Brian Shaw) that will allow all players to develop and maximize their potentials while also making mistakes along the way. Randolph was actually not originally on the 10-in-10 list until very recently.
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| Randolph has the potential to put up big numbers. |
During the preseason, he has found substantial playtime as one of the bigger surprises of training camp. What's even more surprising is that Coach Shaw has been giving Randolph a lot of minutes as the team's small forward.
How will his offensive game translate? Signs point to a positive outcome. Coach Shaw claimed that Randolph has actually been "our most consistent outside shooter throughout camp." Although this may be hard to believe, it honestly can't be much worse than his inside post game last season. He was constantly out-muscled down low and could never hold his own on the low block. Maybe it is likely that his outside shot is a much more lethal weapon. Although he has shot 1/10 on 3-point attempts so far this preseason (yikes).
Any defense? This could be the biggest problem for Randolph. He was never a solid on-ball defender on the post and played the role of off-ball rim defender, much like a poor man's JaVale McGee. He's too weak to play down low, but also could be a step slow guarding faster small forwards in the league like Chandler Parsons or Gordon Hayward (watch video below). But his length at 6'11 is intriguing.
If he is able to develop a consistent outside jumper and defend his position well enough to stay on the floor, this could be a big year for Anthony Randolph. He's always had the talent to be a solid NBA player but has never put it all together. From goal tending shots when they're a few inches above the rim to trash talking Yao Ming and getting absolutely smashed (I'll give you all my love if you get this reference), Randolph has yet to minimize his mistakes to maximize his playtime.
Prediction
Anthony Randolph is Anthony Randolph. Although it is an interesting idea to play him at the 3 and make the lineup huge, the Denver Nuggets will eventually have to take minutes away from him because of his mistakes and questionable shot selection. Unless your name is Dirk or Kevin Durant, it's never a good idea to be over 6'10 and not have a polished inside game. But Randolph has proven to be too much of a defensive liability and prone to offensive mistakes. He'll start off hot but fade back to old habits and lose minutes by each game.
Rankings:
#8: Anthony Randolph
#6: October 25th
#5: October 26th
#4: October 27th
#3: October 28th
#2: October 29th
#1: October 30th
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