- The Story of Matt Lombardi - First preseason game

…And with the first pick in the 2006 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls choose Matt Lombardi…

Using their draft pick received in the trade with New York involving Eddy Curry, Chicago chose the defensive beast, Matt Lombardi.



Hailing from Australia, yet of Italian origin, Matthew Lombardi went relatively unsung during his first three years of college at Georgetown. He played off the bench for the majority of his first three years, before finally breaking out in his fourth and final year of college into becoming one of the premier defenders ever seen at his level. He could defend all positions effectively, having trouble only with the speed of smaller players, yet never the height of taller players.

Lacking strength in his upper body, many have doubted Lombardi’s ability to defend strong, powerful players in the NBA such as LeBron James. However, his defensive ability is what will make him big, with NBA scouts already seeing his defence comparable to that of Bruce Bowen, a lockdown defender with the ability to guard all players ranging from the quick and agile Richard Hamilton, to the seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki. Some scouts have gone as far to say his defence rivals that of the great Michael Jordan. Lombardi has an uncanny ability to block shots and steal the ball, allowing him to set up plays quickly in transition.

Measuring in at 6’9”, Lombardi has excellent hands, with the ability to see the court and plays before they develop both in offence and defence. Offensively, Lombardi lacks range in his jump shot and does not finish very well around the ring. He is a player who will look for a pass before taking the shot himself, mainly because his jumper is streaky at best. His free throw shooting has never been great, only around 64% over his four-year college career.

Over his lifetime, Matt has struggled with athletic problems mainly concerning his legs. When he was in third grade, he suffered from a bout of arthritis, which soon cleared up however presented problems in his legs for years to come. During his teen years, Lombardi once again had trouble with his legs, this time from shin-splints, a disease than would soon go away but at the time cause him to miss games, training and work-out sessions. Missing all this time forced Matt into slowing his athletic growth considerably, as jumping and running could cause too much pain and damage to his legs.
As the years past, he grew out of his problems and was able to concentrate on training and working out to further establish his foothold in the door that would be his NBA career.

Last edited by Laxation on Wed Apr 26, 2006 7:50 pm, edited 12 times in total.

…And with the first pick in the 2006 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls choose Matt Lombardi…


Pre-Draft Scouting

Strengths: Great reflexes on defence ... Excellent at blocking layups and dunks ... Powerful dunker ... Sees the court well on offence and defence ... Good passer ... Can jump through the roof ... Very good at seeing plays develop on defence, resulting in lots of steals ... Quick lateral movement ... Can stay in front of his opposition ... Hard worker at training ... Developed some leadership qualities in college

Weaknesses: Legs are a major issue ... Many muscle and bone problems as a child ... Shooting stroke and shooting range ... Blocking shots ... Offensive game needs work ... Not a great finisher around the rim...Lacks strength ... Sluggish in the open court ... Sometimes passes instead of taking open shots, too unselfish at times ... Gets in foul trouble often ... Can be turnover prone ... Not much muscle ... Sometimes goes for the steal instead of staying in front of opponent

College Stats

Last edited by Laxation on Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:34 am, edited 4 times in total.

damn lax... that good are you eh?

It isnt me

good concept man

Who is this guy?

Hes Matt Lombardi...

He is a 'fictional' character

Ahh I see! Good work!

Updated the second post.

I'd love to hear any suggestions anyone has on things to write about, being a new style of dynasty I've got nothing to use as a comparrisson.

good concept man

Ahh I see! Good work!

Cheers

This sort of reminds me vaguely of my Live 2005 dynasty... the style at least, concept was entirely different. I'll get a link.

http://www.nbaliveforums.com/ftopic21302.php

If you can somehow find anything useful in there just take it.

interesting to see what you'll do....I'll be watching

Where can I get my Matt Lombardi jersey? Good concept, wonder how this will grow. Keep it up.

Cool concept, I'm interested to see how you'll handle the single player coverage as well. Good luck.

word, not you? too bad, but still nice.

Cool stuff Lax.

THis is prety nice, I like the read.

This sort of reminds me vaguely of my Live 2005 dynasty... the style at least, concept was entirely different. I'll get a link.

http://www.nbaliveforums.com/ftopic21302.php

If you can somehow find anything useful in there just take it.

Ill have a good read when I find the time - maybe some of it will be useful, thanks

interesting to see what you'll do....I'll be watching

Cool concept, I'm interested to see how you'll handle the single player coverage as well. Good luck.

Cool stuff Lax.

THis is prety nice, I like the read.

Thanks guys - I hope you enjoy reading it

Where can I get my Matt Lombardi jersey? Good concept, wonder how this will grow. Keep it up.

word, not you? too bad, but still nice.

Yeh if only it was me

You gave him number 8 aye?

Yeh I like number 8 because Ive used it for basketball for nearly 10 years... I'm attached to it.

In many ways this character is based around me

Lookin' good so far Lax. Im liking it. Will definitely be following .

I like the start of that. Keep it up.

Nice idea dude, ive always wanted to follow a player but never really got it going.

I look forward to updates

…And with the first pick in the 2006 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls choose Matt Lombardi…


Post Draft Interview

Where did 4th year jump come from?
I had been a gym rat pretty much the entire three years previous to it, and I guess coach finally noticed and gave me some more minutes. I always felt I was deserving of more minutes in the seasons leading up to it, but we have had some great players at Georgetown, and I cant take anything away from them.

You played dozens of brilliant games in the NCAA. Which game do consider to be the best in your life so far?
Without a doubt, it would be my first triple double. I cant remember who it was against, but it was at home with all the school watching. 17 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists, with around 2 blocks and steals. Everything went my way that day, it was just an amazing feeling.

How was the draft?
It was the best day of my life. The anticipation of possibly going in the top 5, and then being picked first overall, I just couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was definitely one of the greatest feelings of my life, especially knowing that I was going to a true title contender instead of a lottery team.

What aspects of your game do you need to work on?
Mainly my shooting and offensive game, but everything needs improving. Its too hard to just pick out one single component of my game and say ‘right, I need to improve this more than anything else,’ because everything can be done better.

What do you know about your new teammates?
They really do seem like a great bunch of blokes to hang around with. There are no huge egos, something that is really important to a winning team. The team has stuck together like a unit for some time now, and we should be able to do it again.

What advice have they given you?
Just keep going as I have been doing. Don’t stop training, keep trying to improve every aspect of my game. If you’re going 100%, why not aim for 110%. Stuff like that.

Are you happy to have Mike Sweetney as a teammate again?
He was someone I really looked up to in college, and he helped mentor me through my freshman year. Its going to be a real bonus to have him on the team and to be able to learn from him once more.

Do you feel the need to put on much more weight to bang with the big boys?
Definitely. Coming into the draft, my lack of muscle was something that could have potentially lowered my stock, and to keep up with the stronger men in the NBA I will definitely need to put some more muscle on. That said, I need to ensure I don’t try to put too much on or I will lose my speed, another important aspect of my game.

Could Chicago have three All Stars in two or three years?
Maybe so, maybe not. It isn’t what Chicago is about though. We are about gelling as a team and aiming for the (championship) ring, not all-star appearance. That’s not to say that making it to the team wouldn’t be great.

With all the hype about your legs, and how they will stand up to a grueling NBA season, how do you think you will cope?
My legs should be able to hold up so long as I take the time to properly warm up, and warm down for games. Stretching is a major issue, and the Bulls trainer will be able to assist me there. It shouldnt be an issue.

Nice interview. One suggestion that comes to mind is to maintain a diary for Matt Lombardi, in addition to other articles, interviews etc to share his thoughts on everything from training camp to practice sessions, from his first game to a possible All-Star Weekend experience etc.

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea, i'll try to incorporate random diary entries/interviews every now and then.
A diary is a little 8yr-old-girlyish so I might stick to the interviews