The All Seeing Eye

Before the Olympics basketball tournament gets underway, The Sixth Men open their notebook and present to their crowd some of the players that will compete for a medal in the Carioca Arena of Rio de Janeiro. The All Seeing Eye of The Sixth Men is in Brazil and follows some players that they might be worth taking an eye on.




Nicolas Laprovíttola (1.90 - PG - Argentina)

I have to be honest here; I was always intrigued by tall point guards from the very first moment I saw Magic Johnson from a highlight reel on TV. Ever since, if I would build a team, I would start with a tall point guard that can create miss-matches and see over defense.

The argentinian point guard despite has been a good passer that can hit his teammates consistenly, he is widely regarded as a turnover prone player that loses his concentration at some points of the game. Laprovíttola is a bit methodical setting up his shot off the dribble and does not elevate much off the ground but has a generally quick release, even his mechanics seem broken. He is not a high leaper and lacks the strength to absorb contact but can finish with the floater against length within close range. Also, he is lacking the lateral mobility to stay in front and the strength to contain dribble penetration through contact.

Expect him to come off the bench in order to cover the absense of aquality playmaker in the second unit as the starting playmaker will obviously be Manu Ginobili.

Raul Neto (1.85 - PG - Brazil)

Raul Neto might be a familiar name for the most of the NBA fans as he started 53 games for the Utah Jazz this season averaging almost 6 points and 2 assists per game. He also played in the Rising Stars Challenge.

Neto is extremely quick in the open floor and has a very quick first step. This, along with his aggressive style of play, allows him to create his own shot exceedingly well. However, his jumper is fairly streaky at this point as well, which really limits his offensive efficiency. He has a decent stroke but he does not look that much comfortable pulling up off the dribble.

As a point guard, Neto has some clear strengths and weaknesses on his game. On one hand he is a confident and creative passer who can get to spots with the ball, find the open man unselfishly in drive&kick situations and show some creativity with his passes a la Ricky Rubio. On the other hand, he struggles with consistency in his decision making. He looks very careless with the ball at times, over-dribbling and trying to make highlight plays that end up in turnovers.

Defensively, Raul's fundamentals are considered average, but he shows excellent anticipation skills. He gets into passing lanes well and comes up with plenty of rebounds for a man of his size. He has quick feet and good hands, he has been very effective as he is very aggressive on this end of the floor too, putting heavy pressure on the ball and getting right up in his opponents without sense of fear. Although, his aggressiveness and lack of size, length and experience can get exposed on occasion by some extremely high quality guards.

Cristiano Felicio (2.08 - PF/C - Brazil)

Cristiano Felicio is another prospect of The Sixth Μen shortlist that made it to the NBA and teammate of Nicolas Laprovitola in Flamengo when they won the Intercontinental Cup. Cristiano Felicio found a role in the Chicago Bulls injury plagued season as he played 31 games and named as starter in 4 of them.

Although he is rather undersized for a center, he uses his strength and frame to make up for his lack of height and length. Felicio is extremely efficient on the offensive end, playing within himself, and finding most of his touches on hitting the offensive glass, scoring from dump offs, and making some hard rolls to the rim. He is a very reliable piece on offense, that does not demand the ball often in his hands, in order to have an impact on the game.

On the defensive end, he has shown some flashes as a good shot blocking threat, but he can often seen struggle in on ball situations as he lacks the lateral quickness to keep up with more athletic players.

Anthony Perez-Cortesia (SF - 2.05 - Venezuela)


I liked the Venezuelan team a year ago in the Pan-American Championship. They showed great passion and heart, for a team that their lone NBAer and star player (Greivis Vasquez) was out with injury. It is the only national team, in this tournament, that has no man from their roster playing in the NBA. Vazquez wont be in Rio because he is still recovering from an ankle injury and their only player that was playing in US soil is this player, Anthony Perez-Cortesia who was playing for Missisipi University.

After completing his studies, he went undrafted in this year's draft. He is a solid 2.05 small forward with preety nice athleticism and a solid handle. Cortesia has good looking shooting mechanics and has range well past the 3-point line. Also, he can create his own shot with a solid first step and solid footwork. He is very effective in transition, showing outstanding fluidity and dexterity for a player of his size.

Defensively, his toughness, fundamentals and intensity level are not where they need to be at the moment. Also, he is not strong enough to finish effectively around the basket and refuses to use his size and athleticism in post-up situations.

Micheal Gbinije (SF/SG - 2.01 - Nigeria)

Last player of this list is Michael Gbinije, the Detroit Pistons draftee at number 49. In this year's mock draft, I have described Gbinije as someone who "brings versatility but there are shortcomings physical tools, defensive habits and his shooting mechanics".

The Nigerian-American player has always been very physical and able to get into the body of his opponents on the defensive end. He is fairly explosive at times but tends to be far more fluid than quick in general. Despite, he is not the quickest guy on the floor, he likes to take the ball to the basket in transition, exploit missmatches with his solid first step that allows him to attack closeouts and be able to turn when his defender gets far too aggressive. Gbinije can also serve as secondary ball handler. He is not the most dynamic one, but he knows how to change speeds and make the simple play in pick and roll situation.

Gbinije is a bit of a streaky shooter, especially from the NBA line, as he has a wide base and the ball does not always come out smoothly at the top of his jump, making his jumper preety incosistent. Defensively, he is occasionally passive while his underdeveloped frame works against him as well. He gets posted up at times by stronger forwards and he does not show toughness fighting back. Last but not least, his tools are not considered spectacular for a wing player at the next level, as he has a short wingspan for his height.