2012 NBA Mock Draft: High-Flying Stars in Late First Round

You probably already know who the top prospects in this year's NBA draft are, so I won't bore you by highlighting them extensively.

Instead, let's talk about several prospects at the end of the first round who have NBA Jam potential.

That's right, the high-flyers, mid-air contortionists, power dunkers and highlight reels in the making. The guys who finish their dunks accompanied by "oooohs" and "aaaaaahs" from the crowd.

I've found three guys toward the end of this draft that should live above the rim. Enjoy the highlights.

1. New Orleans Hornets: Anthony Davis, PF (Kentucky)

Not only do they get a franchise player of the future, he might be enough to keep Eric Gordon in town. The Hornets can draft one stud and potentially retain another. Suddenly, things are looking up in New Orleans.

2. Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF (Kentucky) 

Charlotte has options here, but I think they'll go for the guy with the most upside. Even if he never becomes an elite scoring option, MKG is a complete player who will help the team in just about every area.

3. Washington Wizards: Thomas Robinson, PF (Kansas)    

This could also be Bradley Beal, but I think the fact that Robinson can step in right away and contribute next year alongside John Wall will make him the pick. Don't be surprised if Robinson is Rookie of the Year next season.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Bradley Beal, SG (Florida)  

Beal is the perfect complement to Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, and the pair will be a dominant duo for the next decade.

5. Sacramento Kings: Perry Jones III, PF (Baylor)

If there was a point guard worth taking this high here, that would be the pick. But since there isn't, adding a power forward to pair with DeMarcus Cousins should be the direction this team heads in. He may be risky, but no other player at this point has the potential upside at the position of Jones.

6. Portland Trail Blazers (via New Jersey):  Andre Drummond, C (Connecticut)  

With Hasheem Thabeet looking like a bust, the Trail Blazers should roll the dice on the immensely athletic but often underachieving Drummond. If he ever ratchets up his intensity, he could be a true force inside for Portland.

7. Golden State Warriors (from Utah): Harrison Barnes, SF (North Carolina)

This pick is as obvious as any in the draft. Needing a scoring option on the wing, the Warriors will snatch up Barnes, easily the most consistent scoring option at small forward in this draft.

8. Toronto Raptors: Jeremy Lamb, SG (Connecticut) 

The Raptors could go any number of directions, but adding a silky-smooth jump shooter like Lamb makes a lot of sense. He moves without the ball like Richard Hamilton and is almost as good a catch-and-shoot option as Barnes.

9. Detroit Pistons: Jared Sullinger, PF (Ohio State)

He isn't the sexiest option available, but he'll rebound, play solid defense and provide points in the paint. His offensive game will be limited at the next level, but he'll find a way to give a team 12 to 15 points a night.

10. New Orleans Hornets (via Minnesota): Damian Lillard, PG (Weber State)   

Unless the team is satisfied with the play of Jarrett Jack moving forward, adding a point guard should be a priority. With Lillard, Jack and Eric Gordon rotating in the backcourt, the Hornets will have three players capable of handling the ball and scoring the rock.

11. Portland Trail Blazers: Kendall Marshall, PG (North Carolina)

Raymond Felton has not produced in Portland and this team needs a solid point guard moving forward. Marshall won't score many points in the NBA, but he'll collect assists.

12. Milwaukee Bucks: Tyler Zeller, C (North Carolina) 

And with this pick, Andrew Bogut has been replaced.

13. Phoenix Suns:  Dion Waiters, SG (Syracuse)   

His upside is that of a poor man's Dwyane Wade. Not a bad upside.

14. Houston Rockets: John Henson, PF (North Carolina)  

He'll need to continue evolving his offensive game to be a complete player, but he'll certainly rebound and block his fair share of shots in the NBA.

15. Philadelphia 76ers: Austin Rivers, SG (Duke) 

This pick may not make sense if Lou Williams stays in Philly, but he's a restricted free agent and could be gone. With the Sixers desperately needing an elite scoring option, adding Rivers—who should be able to score in the NBA in the vein of a Monta Ellis—is an attractive possibility.

16. Houston Rockets (via New York):  Meyers Leonard, C (Illinois)

He's a project, but when your primary option at center is Sammy Dalembert, you should be willing to take a chance on a a project.

17. Dallas Mavericks:  Terrence Jones, PF (Kentucky)    

Dallas should take the best available player with this pick. While I don't know who they will deem that player to be, on my board it would be Jones.

18.  Minnesota Timberwolves (via Utah):  Terrence Ross, SG (Washington)  

If Ross falls to them at 18, the Wolves should run to the podium. He would instantly fix this team's need for a solid 2-guard.

19. Orlando Magic:   Quincy Miller, SF (Baylor)  

He's a project, but if he develops, he could be one of the steals of this draft. He's got game.

20. Denver Nuggets: Arnett Moultrie, PF (Mississippi State)

He may go in the top 10 when all is said and done. He should be a double-double machine at the next level.

21. Boston Celtics: Moe Harkless, PF (St. John's)  

Harkless averaged 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds as a freshman, and he may end up going higher than this. He could be a sneaky steal if he does drop to the Celtics, and he flashes surprising athleticism for a man his size.

I could see him having an impact at the 3 or 4 next season, and he should make an instant impact in Boston next year.

22. Boston Celtics (via Los Angeles Clippers): Jeffery Taylor, SG (Vanderbilt)  

A long player on the wing that plays plus defense and shoots a high percentage from the perimeter? Sounds like a Boston player to me.

23. Atlanta Hawks: Tony Wroten, Jr., PG (Washington)

He's more a combo guard than a pure point, but his size, defensive abilities and athleticism make him a very appealing prospect.

24. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Los Angeles Lakers): Fab Melo, C (Syracuse)

For a player who earned Big East Defender of the Year and is a solid shot-blocker, Melo sure doesn't rebound well. He also has a rather unpolished offensive game, making him the definition of the term "project."

25.  Memphis Grizzlies:  Royce White, SF (Iowa State) 

White is a strong kid who has great burst and explodes off the floor with the ability to finish powerfully at the hoop.

He averaged 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds last season and was potent in the NCAA tournament, turning heads in the NBA. And with his ability to finish strong at the rack, he'll put a few opponents on posters in his career.

He's also had character concerns in the past, a well-documented anxiety disorder and a fear of flying, so he has his concerns. But at this point in the draft, he's worth the risk.

26.  Indiana Pacers: Marquis Teague, PG (Kentucky)

Teague has a long way to go before he's a pure point guard, but he's better than people think after being overshadowed on Kentucky's talented roster.

27. Miami Heat: Draymond Green, PF (Michigan State)

His ability to rebound and be a plus passer at the power forward position makes him an intriguing option in Miami.

28. Oklahoma City Thunder:  Andrew Nicholson, PF (St. Bonaventure)  

He's NBA-ready and is a solid scoring and rebounding option. A nice find for OKC here.

29. Chicago Bulls: Will Barton, SG (Memphis)

Last year's Conference USA Player of the Year averaged 18.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season. He's versatile, extremely athletic and a solid defender, and yet he's not a first-round prospect in a lot of mock drafts I've read.

I don't get it. If I were a general manager in the later portion of the draft, he'd be on my radar.

Frankly, I think he's a perfect fit in Chicago. Don't be surprised to see Barton finish a few Derrick Rose lobs next season.

30. Golden State Warriors (via San Antonio): Doron Lamb, SG (Kentucky)

Lamb has limited upside, but he's one of the better shooters in this draft. He's worth a look at this point in the draft.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are more transparent than the NBA draft lottery.

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NHL Playoffs 2012: Do The Devils Want The Rangers Or Capitals In Round 3?

The New Jersey Devils are guaranteed this much while they continue to wait for their adversary in the Eastern Conference final: the series will start on Monday, the other team will be wearing red, white and blue and they will present a comparable concoction of reliable goaltending, defensive-minded coaching and one or two elite scorers.

If the top-seeded New York Rangers prevail on Saturday, the discussions will immediately turn to Martin Brodeur versus Henrik Lundqvist and Ilya Kovalchuk versus Marian Gaborik, just to name two storylines.

If the Washington Capitals complete the upset, it will be Brodeur versus Braden Holtby, Kovalchuk versus Alex Ovechkin and so on.

If the Rangers end up on deck, they will be confronting a sixth-seeded Devils team immediately after surviving a scare from the seventh-seeded Capitals and a nearly identical toil with the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators beforehand.

With four more nights of recharging and preparation, New Jersey could have a written invitation to be the ostensible underdog that finally lassos John Tortorella’s pupils. Although, they will have to do that by taking at least one game away from Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers will be 5-3 this spring, including two Game 7 victories, if they triumph on Saturday.

On the other hand, if the Caps prevail in their second straight Game 7, the next round will begin at the Prudential Center, where the Devils are 4-1 in the playoffs for a league-best .800 winning percentage on home ice.

In addition, the unripe Holtby will be asked to pull the hat trick and win yet another arm-wrestling bout with a seasoned, elite counterpart. And that will be after a negligible recovery period in the wake of besting Lundqvist and Boston’s Tim Thomas, each in the maximum seven games.

Do note that Brodeur has 193 career Stanley Cup playoff games under his belt, whereas Holtby, Lundqvist and Thomas will have all combined for 115 after Saturday’s New York-Washington decider.

At the same time, the 40-year-old Devils’ goaltender has not had much postseason fulfillment in the last nine years, and he may be looking at his best chance for a savory sendoff. His odds in the intangibles department may be better against an out-of-the-blue rookie than a seven-year franchise cornerstone looking to hit the final frontier.

Washington may also have a tougher time averting and/or responding to two-goal deficits if they cross paths with the Devils. Not counting empty-netters, three of New Jersey’s first eight playoff wins have been decided by more than one goal, including two out of four against the potent Philadelphia Flyers.

The Rangers have won two of their first 13 games in the same fashion, one of which was a 3-1 Game 1 triumph over Washington, the only multi-goal differential on the Capitals’ transcript.

Meanwhile, Washington has seen six of its 13 postseason games go to overtime, posting a 2-4 record in that scenario. They split four bonus stanzas in the first round against Boston, but have blinked against the Blueshirts on two tries.

The Rangers are 2-2 in sudden death, with both losses coming in the quarterfinals and both wins in the semis. The Devils are 3-1 with two wins in back-to-back elimination games against Florida and a split in the Philadelphia series.

If their first six tangles with one another are any indication, the Rangers will need to tap into their depth a little more if they move on, whereas some of Washington’s top guns could stand to shore up at even strength.

Each team has seen a pair of its most leaned-on scorers penetrate the opposition’s laser-beamed defense for three goals apiece, those being Gaborik and Brad Richards for New York and Ovechkin and Jason Chimera for Washington.

Gaborik and Richards have played on the same line and accounted for nearly half of the Rangers’ 13 goals against Holtby.

Chimera and Oveckin play on separate offensive units at even strength, though two of Ovechkin’s goals on Lundqvist have come on the power play. Ditto four of Washington’s 12 goals on the series, none of which have come from the likes of Alexander Semin or Troy Brouwer.

The Rangers, have also tallied four power-play strikes in the conference semifinals, which only amplifies the mirror-image look of the Devils’ prospective third-round foes.

In turn, the proper course of action in deciding the more ideal opponent may be inaction. Instead, New Jersey should appreciate and be ready to capitalize on the critical difference in rest, recovery and page-turning time.

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