You’ve got to respect Blake Griffin, James Harden, and Jordan Hill for participating while fellow lottery picks Ricky Rubio, Hasheem Thabeet, and Brandon Jennings did not. It’s disappointing that we don’t get a chance to see how this year’s best all stack up against each other, but we can analyze what we have.

People make a big deal about the fact that Griffin measured at 6’10” in shoes, but the things that will make Blake a nightmare at the next level are his speed and agility. His 10.95 in the lane agility test and 3.28 in the ? court sprint were right there with the likes of Jonny Flynn, a player considered to be one of the most athletic point guards in college basketball this past year. He also recorded 22 reps on the bench press, good for 2nd best at the combine. Not like it matters; Griffin could have put up Austin Daye – numbers and would still go #1.

No projected lottery player was more surprising at the combine than James Harden. Many scouting reports on Harden say that he’s not athletic, but his results say otherwise. First, he recorded a 37” vertical and reached the same maximum height (11’8.5”) as Blake Griffin. Second, he ran a 3.13 sprint, which was only one hundredth behind speedster Ty Lawson, and repped 17 on the bench press. It’s been reported that the Thunder are considering him at #3. With no more reservations about his athleticism, is this enough for Harden to leapfrog Rubio?

Hill was up and down at the combine. On one hand, his standing reach (9’0”), body fat (6%), and maximum height (11’11”) were impressive. His 3.3 sprint was actually faster than several wing players as well. On the other, he recorded the worst agility score at the combine and only repped 11 on the bench. With the way the game has evolved, most NBA PFs are stronger and more agile than Hill, so he has some work to do physically