NBA Draft 2011: Nolan Smith Has a Stutter on His Three

I am a fan of Nolan Smith.

I think that he is one of the guys that makes this draft deceptively deep. Nolan Smith drafted in the 20's makes sense, but a team that is seeking to fill a need could take Nolan smith right after the lottery ends.

Teams in this draft will continue to have quality players to evaluate and select from in the second round—that is not common. The draft is full of role players and potential starters for almost every team in the NBA, unless you are looking for a center. 

Unfortunately, Nolan Smith is in a draft that appears to be very deep in potential point guards and that is the only reason that he will be selected so late. 

Watching Nolan Smith in the combine (and I curse ESPN U for the cut-aways for interviews), there is one there is one thing that makes me nervous about him: He has a slight stutter on his catch and shoot on the NBA three-pointer.

It is in his right-foot and makes me think he is a nervous catch and shoot player and is a reason to be concerned about his ability to play off the ball.

The stutter is unattractive, because if he is thinking the shot through too much, he will be too easy to run off the line or succumb to a defensive close-out. If your team is still on the board and Charles Jenkins is still available, take Charles Jenkins. 

Nolan Smith is still a good pick and a talented player, but the stutter in the right foot was a turn off when there are likely to be a preferable point guard available.

I still see Nolan Smith as a one of the Top Five point guards in this draft. The team that drafts him should draft him as a strictly point guard and plan to use his steady hand running the offense and keeping the defenses honest with off the dribble jabs to the mid-range area.