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Ousmane Dieng O/U 11.5 DRAFT POSITION
One of the players climbing draft ladders is Ousmane Dieng of the NBL.
At 19-years-old and 6-foot-10, Dieng has impressed scouts with his ball-handling skills and passing ability. Dieng caught his rhythm in the second-half of the season hitting 35% from three-point range, which could be dangerous at 6-foot-10.
Dieng has met with plenty of teams inside the lottery and his odds to go top 10 went from +1200 at opening to 300 just a day ago now to -125 on PointsBet, per NBC’s Edge Finder.
I am willing to buy into Dieng as a lottery pick. He is also a product of INSEP Academy, which hosted Tony Parker and Boris Diaw.
Dieng averaged 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in France’s third division and 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds on 20.3 minutes per game. That may not seem like much, but he proved down the stretch he is more than capable of handling a larger workload with games of 18, 20 and 22 points in three of his final five games.
His 7-foot wingspan and being 19-years-old will just be the cherry on top for lottery teams. I played Dieng Under 11.5 at -135 odds and would play 0.5 on the top 10 for +100 or better.
Pick: Ousmane Dieng Under 11.5 (1u)
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E.J. Liddell O/U 20.5 DRAFT POSITION
In the last two seasons at Ohio State, we have watched E.J. Liddell go from a pretty good college basketball player to premier one in the Big Ten conference.
However, not all college players translate to the NBA well and at 6-foot-7 and 240-pounds, Liddell will be a tweener in the league. He averaged 2.6 blocks per game in his final season as a Buckeye and we know that type of defensive effort and numbers will not translate to the NBA.
He will be an underdog and undersized player that will rely on creating shots and hitting threes above 33%, which may not be a guarantee.
While Liddell averaged 19.3 points per game and 7.9 rebounds, he was the primary and one of the only offensive options on that Ohio State team. Since his odds came out, they have not moved from 20.5 but shifted from -160 to -180 today and has been on the move for quite some time, so let’s get Liddell’s Over now.
Most mock drafts have Liddell slotted from 18 to 26 so far, so I like the chances he falls 21st or later.
I grabbed Liddell Over 20.5 (-180) and would play him to 21.5 before going to 22.5 for 0.5u.
Pick: E.J. Liddell Over 20.5 (1u)
MarJon Beauchamp O/U 25.5 DRAFT POSITION
One of the G-Leaguers in this NBA Draft is MarJon Beauchamp and his future appears to be moving towards as second-round pick.
While Beauchamp averaged 15.1 points per game and 7.3 rebounds as a guard/forward, he struggled with a 24.2% hit rate from three-point range and 65% from the free-throw line.
If you are a team with one first-round pick, Beauchamp’s scoring ability might not be what teams are after if they are looking to fill a void or collect a need. His odds opened at 26.5 and moved back to 24.5 and 25.5, but appear headed back towards the 26.5 and 27.5 range.
Beauchamp averaged 36.6 minutes per game with 11.1 field goal attempts (57.1% from the field). He had his looks and made at least one triple and one free-throw per game, but I am not sure that is enough for a first-round flier.
Most mocks have him end of the first round and a good bit moving towards the second half lately. I am willing to buy into that.
I played Beauchamp Over 25.5 (-135) and would play him out to 26.5 for 1 unit.
Pick: Marion Beauchamp Over 25.5 (1u)
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