This video makes me want to cry.
First of all, the song is a classic, "Across 110th Street" by Bobby Womack.
But the soulful track only makes me miss seeing Baron Davis play for the Clippers even more.
The film is one of the best I've seen.
It has the look and the feel of something straight out of Hollywood, with professional credits and everything.
And at the same time it is a sad reminder of how much fun it was watching Davis play with Blake Griffin and how those days are over, never to be seen again.
There's no telling how long it will take Los Angeles to find another point guard like Davis, a big-game player with an extremely high basketball IQ who can dominate a game on both ends of the floor.
So let's look back and have fun with the little time we had.
The movie starts at 1:14.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Showing posts with label Los Angeles Clippers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles Clippers. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
My Time: Blake Griffin, Maino, T-Pain And Fabolous
Now that the season is over and a little time has passed, highlight reels are starting coming out.
And you'll be hard pressed to find one better than this one featuring Blake Griffin.
The music is a mix of "All of the Above" by Maino and T-Pain and "My Time" by Fabolous and Jeremih.
And it shouldn't be missed!
I didn't write about Blake Griffin much during the season because in August I wrote that he was all-world, and the NBA had never before seen a power forward like him.
What else is there to say after that?
I mean, how many different ways can you say Blake Griffin is awesome?
Someone needs to come up with a list of a bunch of different words you can use to describe Griffin in new and exciting ways.
Not to toot my own horn, but I nail a bunch of these player evaluations and usually do so long before anyone else.
But I always go back to what John Thompson said about Allen Iverson. He said he knew Iverson was good, but he had no idea Iverson was that good!
And that's what almost always happens to me with these guys.
Even though I sometimes go way over the top in praise of them, they usually end up being even better than I thought.
And that is certainly the case with Blake Griffin.
I was extremely high on him, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would turn out to be as sensational as he was last year. He literally took the world by storm and set off a movement which may know no bounds.
He was just that unbelievable.
Not only did he make the Clippers relevant, he helped make the NBA relevant again.
And that is saying a ton.
So enjoy the music and the clips of the all-world power forward who not only did the impossible on the court but off the court as well.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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And you'll be hard pressed to find one better than this one featuring Blake Griffin.
The music is a mix of "All of the Above" by Maino and T-Pain and "My Time" by Fabolous and Jeremih.
And it shouldn't be missed!
I didn't write about Blake Griffin much during the season because in August I wrote that he was all-world, and the NBA had never before seen a power forward like him.
What else is there to say after that?
I mean, how many different ways can you say Blake Griffin is awesome?
Someone needs to come up with a list of a bunch of different words you can use to describe Griffin in new and exciting ways.
Not to toot my own horn, but I nail a bunch of these player evaluations and usually do so long before anyone else.
But I always go back to what John Thompson said about Allen Iverson. He said he knew Iverson was good, but he had no idea Iverson was that good!
And that's what almost always happens to me with these guys.
Even though I sometimes go way over the top in praise of them, they usually end up being even better than I thought.
And that is certainly the case with Blake Griffin.
I was extremely high on him, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would turn out to be as sensational as he was last year. He literally took the world by storm and set off a movement which may know no bounds.
He was just that unbelievable.
Not only did he make the Clippers relevant, he helped make the NBA relevant again.
And that is saying a ton.
So enjoy the music and the clips of the all-world power forward who not only did the impossible on the court but off the court as well.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Saturday, April 23, 2011
NBA Picks: Listen And Learn
Boy, did I get burned on some of my picks this year!
It was excruciating to watch as one team after another that I picked to do well performed below expectations.
At the same time, it was a valuable learning experience, one which I would like to pass along to all interested parties.
The most valuable lesson of all: consider the coach in your team evaluation!
My old method of analyzing a team was to look at the talent on the roster, see how much is there and how well it fits into traditional roles and positions and estimate a win total, with little or no regard for who the coach was.
But it's the coach who decides that Anthony Randolph doesn't deserve any playing time, who thinks Anthony Tolliver should be his first big man off the bench and who doesn't play Jeff Teague and goes with a seven-man rotation on the second night of a back-to-back.
The coach leads the team, evaluates the roster, sets the rotation, designs the plays, orchestrates the defense, hands out minutes, calls the timeouts, sets the strategies, approves the trades, guides the film sessions and everything else.
In short, the coach is everything!
You can have the most talented roster in the world and have them all fit perfectly together, but if the coach doesn't put the right players in the game at the right times, with a game-plan and a philosophy which produces wins, then it isn't worth a wooden nickel.
Whenever I write that certain things will happen, I feel a responsibility to explain things when they don't.
Even though all of the teams won more games than they did the year before, my expectations were much higher; so this is a look at the teams and what happened during the season to cause them to lose more games than what the talent on their rosters said they should have, with win improvement over the prior season in parentheses.
DETROIT PISTONS (+3)
I take full responsibility for this one.
I knew this pick was in trouble from the moment I saw Detroit play its first preseason game against Miami and knew it minutes into the game.
The season-ending injury to Jonas Jerebko didn't help a team so thin up front.
But the bigger problems were a lack of early-season passion from Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince and disastrous coaching by John Kuester.
I had to dedicate two sections to Greg Monroe and his limited playing time by the end of November, and Kuester's rotation only got more puzzling from there, with players moving in and out of the lineup for no apparent reason even when they were playing well.
They gave New Jersey the first game of the season with a fourth-quarter meltdown and blew a 21-point lead to Chicago two games later.
A season which could have and should have started 2-1, maybe 3-0, started 0-3; and that pretty much set the tone for the season.
I could have never known that Hamilton and Prince would lie down and not compete like they did, but the failure evaluate John Kuester was all my fault.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (+2)
Jonny Flynn's injury was the main factor in Minnesota's poor season.
Luke Ridnour doesn't have the athleticism to consistently beat his man off the dribble on offense or keep his man in front of him on defense.
This created a domino effect which hurt Minnesota on both sides of the ball.
A healthy Jonny Flynn, not the one we saw this season, gives Minnesota an advantage on almost every offensive possession because someone would be open on almost every play, either Flynn after he beats his man off the dribble or a teammate after a defender comes over to help after Flynn has gotten by his man.
That would then make the team virtually unstoppable with Flynn's court vision and passing ability and all of the weapons that they have.
It was a vision which never materialized due to Flynn being less than 100 percent.
Minnesota battled crucial injuries all season long, but once the team got relatively healthy, the real culprit came to light: Kurt Rambis.
There isn't nearly enough room in this section to fully detail all of the mistakes Kurt Rambis made this season, so I'll stick to one or two key ones and move on.
Rambis's offense is built to the weaknesses and not the strengths of his players.
Rambis has an offense which requires big men to handle and make decisions with the basketball and doesn't allow the point guard to freelance and improvise very much.
The problem is Darko Milicic, Kevin Love and Michael Beasley aren't very good at making decisions with the basketball; and freelancing and improvising are two of the things Flynn and Ridnour do best.
Rambis's rotation made you wonder what he was thinking, and his refusal to keep a shot-blocker on the floor at all times hurt Minnesota's defense as much as fouls and the turnovers caused by his sophisticated offense.
It wouldn't be fair to say Rambis will never succeed as a coach in the NBA, but he has a very long way to go.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (+3)
Los Angeles is another team which got derailed by injuries.
Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Randy Foye all missed significant time during the season.
Even with all of the injuries, it could still be said that Los Angeles played above expectations. But, in true Hollywood fashion, they did it in a way which wasn't expected.
In all of my writings, not one time did I mention the name DeAndre Jordan.
But his improvement and interior defense were huge factors in the team's turnaround.
I did evaluate Vinny Del Negro, and, appropriately, he was the only coach who didn't let me down, until they traded Baron Davis.
INDIANA PACERS (+5)
Jim O'Brien made me regret that I ever thought he was even a decent coach.
From benching TJ Ford, Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough to playing Danny Granger at power forward, O'Brien made more embarrassing moves than I care to remember.
He was rightfully fired during the season and replaced by Frank Vogel.
Vogel corrected every mistake except the TJ Ford one, but I've covered that so completely that there is no need to detail it any further here.
No injuries, just one poor coaching move after another continues to hurt this team.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (+10)
There is a noticeable theme developing here: injuries and bad coaching.
And Golden State had a little too much of both this season.
There were times this year when Keith Smart had me so irate that I wished Golden State would hire me for an hour, so I could fire him myself!
He played Monta Ellis way too many minutes, had too many Don Nelson, small-ball tendencies; failed to utilize a bench which was good enough to be utilized and was highly unfair to rookies Jeremy Lin and Ekpe Udoh.
It took Smart until the last few games of the season to stop playing Vladimir Radmanovic off the bench at power forward and play Lou Amundson there instead, but he should have realized the need to do that after the game against Utah at the end of January, at the latest.
Non-starters Reggie Williams, Lin, Udoh and Amundson can all play; so Smart's limited confidence in them makes you question his ability to evaluate talent and his commitment to the winning philosophy of using a strong bench to keep the starters fresh.
And Lin and Udoh were treated like unwanted step-children, yanked from games for the slightest of errors while the veterans could make multiple mistakes without consequence.
For Lin, the benching might last weeks and include a trip to the development league.
Smart made almost as many mistakes as Kurt Rambis and most definitely held Golden State back this year.
And he most definitely makes you question whether he can win consistently in the NBA.
You live, and you learn.
And going into next season, you can bet that the coaches will be analyzed as thoroughly and completely as the rosters and the individual matchups on the court.
It is a process I already started going into this year's playoffs.
And if you are wise, you will do the same thing too.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
Tweet
It was excruciating to watch as one team after another that I picked to do well performed below expectations.
At the same time, it was a valuable learning experience, one which I would like to pass along to all interested parties.
The most valuable lesson of all: consider the coach in your team evaluation!
My old method of analyzing a team was to look at the talent on the roster, see how much is there and how well it fits into traditional roles and positions and estimate a win total, with little or no regard for who the coach was.
But it's the coach who decides that Anthony Randolph doesn't deserve any playing time, who thinks Anthony Tolliver should be his first big man off the bench and who doesn't play Jeff Teague and goes with a seven-man rotation on the second night of a back-to-back.
The coach leads the team, evaluates the roster, sets the rotation, designs the plays, orchestrates the defense, hands out minutes, calls the timeouts, sets the strategies, approves the trades, guides the film sessions and everything else.
In short, the coach is everything!
You can have the most talented roster in the world and have them all fit perfectly together, but if the coach doesn't put the right players in the game at the right times, with a game-plan and a philosophy which produces wins, then it isn't worth a wooden nickel.
Whenever I write that certain things will happen, I feel a responsibility to explain things when they don't.
Even though all of the teams won more games than they did the year before, my expectations were much higher; so this is a look at the teams and what happened during the season to cause them to lose more games than what the talent on their rosters said they should have, with win improvement over the prior season in parentheses.
DETROIT PISTONS (+3)
I take full responsibility for this one.
I knew this pick was in trouble from the moment I saw Detroit play its first preseason game against Miami and knew it minutes into the game.
The season-ending injury to Jonas Jerebko didn't help a team so thin up front.
But the bigger problems were a lack of early-season passion from Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince and disastrous coaching by John Kuester.
I had to dedicate two sections to Greg Monroe and his limited playing time by the end of November, and Kuester's rotation only got more puzzling from there, with players moving in and out of the lineup for no apparent reason even when they were playing well.
They gave New Jersey the first game of the season with a fourth-quarter meltdown and blew a 21-point lead to Chicago two games later.
A season which could have and should have started 2-1, maybe 3-0, started 0-3; and that pretty much set the tone for the season.
I could have never known that Hamilton and Prince would lie down and not compete like they did, but the failure evaluate John Kuester was all my fault.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (+2)
Jonny Flynn's injury was the main factor in Minnesota's poor season.
Luke Ridnour doesn't have the athleticism to consistently beat his man off the dribble on offense or keep his man in front of him on defense.
This created a domino effect which hurt Minnesota on both sides of the ball.
A healthy Jonny Flynn, not the one we saw this season, gives Minnesota an advantage on almost every offensive possession because someone would be open on almost every play, either Flynn after he beats his man off the dribble or a teammate after a defender comes over to help after Flynn has gotten by his man.
That would then make the team virtually unstoppable with Flynn's court vision and passing ability and all of the weapons that they have.
It was a vision which never materialized due to Flynn being less than 100 percent.
Minnesota battled crucial injuries all season long, but once the team got relatively healthy, the real culprit came to light: Kurt Rambis.
There isn't nearly enough room in this section to fully detail all of the mistakes Kurt Rambis made this season, so I'll stick to one or two key ones and move on.
Rambis's offense is built to the weaknesses and not the strengths of his players.
Rambis has an offense which requires big men to handle and make decisions with the basketball and doesn't allow the point guard to freelance and improvise very much.
The problem is Darko Milicic, Kevin Love and Michael Beasley aren't very good at making decisions with the basketball; and freelancing and improvising are two of the things Flynn and Ridnour do best.
Rambis's rotation made you wonder what he was thinking, and his refusal to keep a shot-blocker on the floor at all times hurt Minnesota's defense as much as fouls and the turnovers caused by his sophisticated offense.
It wouldn't be fair to say Rambis will never succeed as a coach in the NBA, but he has a very long way to go.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (+3)
Los Angeles is another team which got derailed by injuries.
Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Randy Foye all missed significant time during the season.
Even with all of the injuries, it could still be said that Los Angeles played above expectations. But, in true Hollywood fashion, they did it in a way which wasn't expected.
In all of my writings, not one time did I mention the name DeAndre Jordan.
But his improvement and interior defense were huge factors in the team's turnaround.
I did evaluate Vinny Del Negro, and, appropriately, he was the only coach who didn't let me down, until they traded Baron Davis.
INDIANA PACERS (+5)
Jim O'Brien made me regret that I ever thought he was even a decent coach.
From benching TJ Ford, Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough to playing Danny Granger at power forward, O'Brien made more embarrassing moves than I care to remember.
He was rightfully fired during the season and replaced by Frank Vogel.
Vogel corrected every mistake except the TJ Ford one, but I've covered that so completely that there is no need to detail it any further here.
No injuries, just one poor coaching move after another continues to hurt this team.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (+10)
There is a noticeable theme developing here: injuries and bad coaching.
And Golden State had a little too much of both this season.
There were times this year when Keith Smart had me so irate that I wished Golden State would hire me for an hour, so I could fire him myself!
He played Monta Ellis way too many minutes, had too many Don Nelson, small-ball tendencies; failed to utilize a bench which was good enough to be utilized and was highly unfair to rookies Jeremy Lin and Ekpe Udoh.
It took Smart until the last few games of the season to stop playing Vladimir Radmanovic off the bench at power forward and play Lou Amundson there instead, but he should have realized the need to do that after the game against Utah at the end of January, at the latest.
Non-starters Reggie Williams, Lin, Udoh and Amundson can all play; so Smart's limited confidence in them makes you question his ability to evaluate talent and his commitment to the winning philosophy of using a strong bench to keep the starters fresh.
And Lin and Udoh were treated like unwanted step-children, yanked from games for the slightest of errors while the veterans could make multiple mistakes without consequence.
For Lin, the benching might last weeks and include a trip to the development league.
Smart made almost as many mistakes as Kurt Rambis and most definitely held Golden State back this year.
And he most definitely makes you question whether he can win consistently in the NBA.
You live, and you learn.
And going into next season, you can bet that the coaches will be analyzed as thoroughly and completely as the rosters and the individual matchups on the court.
It is a process I already started going into this year's playoffs.
And if you are wise, you will do the same thing too.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Saturday, February 5, 2011
Dunks, Drive-Ins And Dives
At what point does Boston start worrying about its backup centers Jermaine and Shaquille O'Neal?
Rasheed Wallace played a huge role for this team in the playoffs last year, and these two guys were supposed to replace him.
Instead, we are left with Semih Erden.
The O'Neals are going to have to perform at the highest level, not only with their physical conditioning but with their knowledge and execution of the team concepts, with their teammates to win a championship.
It's looking more and more challenging as each day passes with each of them missing time due to various injuries.
The Milwaukee Bucks might be the most interesting story down the stretch.
They are 1.5 games out of eighth place in the East (5.5 games from sixth place) and are starting to get their players back.
They could have a full roster by the end of March, including Michael Redd and Drew Gooden.
I've been very critical of Al Jefferson, but I have to give him credit for some plays he made last night against Denver.
He made 1 ½ crucial stops as a help defender on Carmelo Anthony in the final 3:30 to help Utah get the victory.
Lack of help defense for years has been one of his biggest weaknesses.
It was a great job by Jefferson of playing tough defense when his team needed it most.
THE BLACK MAMBA
Henry Abbott released some numbers last week which, at least in his mind, finally proved once and for all that Kobe Bryant isn't as clutch as some think he is.
The funny thing is (I'll pretend I don't know why here), for some strange reason the numbers run all the way back to 1996, when Bryant was a rookie who barely played.
As I remember it, Bryant didn't become clutch until 2000, when he hit the game-winner to beat Phoenix in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs and had that heroic Game 4 at Indiana in the Finals.
The raw numbers Abbott provides really don't mean much. In order to know what to make of this, we need to see the split statistics.
We need to know what Bryant shot in every game, every year against every opponent.
For all we know, Kobe Bryant could be shooting 80 percent against the best teams in the NBA and have all of his misses against the worst teams because they are harder to get motivated to play against.
And for all we know, he could be more clutch as his team advances further into the playoffs, peaking in the NBA Finals when he is at his absolute best.
But we don't know any of this because the splits aren't provided.
And we still don't know what Kobe Bryant shoots in game-winning situations in the last 10 seconds, with game-tying information removed from the data.
An article came out this season showing Carmelo Anthony was the best in game-winning or game-tying situations at .455, and Bryant had the most game-winners with 21, but Bryant's percentage wasn't provided.
Abbott wrote about Bryant's game-winners last season and gave some information which showed that Bryant has been awfully impressive recently. So it certainly appears that the numbers are trending in Bryant's direction.
But without the splits, there is just no way to tell one way or the other.
FOSTER KIDS
A funny thing happens when you predict a team to do well.
Because we all want to be right, you sort of adopt that team as your foster team and root for them to win; so they can make you look good.
And let me tell you, rooting for these teams has been such a gut-wrenching roller coaster of emotions that I don't know what to do with myself.
John Kuester fumbled the start of the season by not playing Greg Monroe as much as he should have, and at the start of the season Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince weren't playing with enough passion.
Minnesota had me on the high part of the roller coaster during the preseason. Then Martell Webster had to have back surgery and miss the start of the season.
Jonny Flynn's mid-November return from off-season surgery turned into mid-December.
In between, about every player on the roster had to miss time with injuries.
Darko Milicic sprained his ankle one game on the opening tip.
Anthony Tolliver is a 12th man who takes shot attempts like he's the franchise player. And Kurt Rambis keeps giving him playing time.
As soon as Los Angeles got cooking, Eric Gordon hurt his wrist and hasn't played since.
Jim O'Brien barely played Tyler Hansbrough and benched Paul George for almost two months, and TJ Ford has played a total of 10 minutes in the past nine games.
New coach Frank Vogel has Dahntay Jones higher in his rotation than James Posey, a highly-underrated basketball player with two championship rings, and has AJ Price higher in his rotation than TJ Ford.
Keith Smart just won't stop playing Vladimir Radmanovic at power forward.
Golden State assigned Jeremy Lin to the development league even though in his last action against actual NBA players, Golden State trailed 70-75 when he entered the game; and the score was tied 96-96 when he left it.
And even though Kevin Durant tried to score on him two times when Golden State played Oklahoma City and ended up with nothing but a turnover and a ball deflected out of bounds.
David Lee let the unstoppable Boris Diaw muscle him in the post, along with David West and just about everybody else.
The price we pay to be correct.
Like real foster kids, these teams drive you crazy because they are bad as hell. But you love them anyway because you adopted them, so they are yours.
GLAD TO BE WRONG
About the only time I enjoy being wrong is when a player or team turns out to be better than I thought they would.
And that is the case with the Toronto Raptors.
In my "Eastern Conference Preview" I suggested that their original, expansion roster might be more talented than their current one.
And while praising Jose Calderon in "The NBA's Best Point Guards," I called them a cast of "scrubs, losers, cast-offs and wannabes."
I got this one wrong.
I have an iron-clad rule when it comes to losing teams: at least be entertaining.
And Toronto is fun to watch.
DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems get after it on pretty much a nightly basis, and Andrea Bargnani can light it up at any given moment.
Because of injuries, they are not nearly as bad as their record indicates.
There is a future in Toronto.
Note: Al Jefferson was given a stop for drawing an offensive foul on Carmelo Anthony and ½ of a stop for his blocked shot on Anthony. Raja Bell got the other ½ of a stop for recovering the blocked shot.
For more information on how to figure stops and fractional stops, see my article on advanced defensive statistics.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Rasheed Wallace played a huge role for this team in the playoffs last year, and these two guys were supposed to replace him.
Instead, we are left with Semih Erden.
The O'Neals are going to have to perform at the highest level, not only with their physical conditioning but with their knowledge and execution of the team concepts, with their teammates to win a championship.
It's looking more and more challenging as each day passes with each of them missing time due to various injuries.
The Milwaukee Bucks might be the most interesting story down the stretch.
They are 1.5 games out of eighth place in the East (5.5 games from sixth place) and are starting to get their players back.
They could have a full roster by the end of March, including Michael Redd and Drew Gooden.
I've been very critical of Al Jefferson, but I have to give him credit for some plays he made last night against Denver.
He made 1 ½ crucial stops as a help defender on Carmelo Anthony in the final 3:30 to help Utah get the victory.
Lack of help defense for years has been one of his biggest weaknesses.
It was a great job by Jefferson of playing tough defense when his team needed it most.
THE BLACK MAMBA
Henry Abbott released some numbers last week which, at least in his mind, finally proved once and for all that Kobe Bryant isn't as clutch as some think he is.
The funny thing is (I'll pretend I don't know why here), for some strange reason the numbers run all the way back to 1996, when Bryant was a rookie who barely played.
As I remember it, Bryant didn't become clutch until 2000, when he hit the game-winner to beat Phoenix in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs and had that heroic Game 4 at Indiana in the Finals.
The raw numbers Abbott provides really don't mean much. In order to know what to make of this, we need to see the split statistics.
We need to know what Bryant shot in every game, every year against every opponent.
For all we know, Kobe Bryant could be shooting 80 percent against the best teams in the NBA and have all of his misses against the worst teams because they are harder to get motivated to play against.
And for all we know, he could be more clutch as his team advances further into the playoffs, peaking in the NBA Finals when he is at his absolute best.
But we don't know any of this because the splits aren't provided.
And we still don't know what Kobe Bryant shoots in game-winning situations in the last 10 seconds, with game-tying information removed from the data.
An article came out this season showing Carmelo Anthony was the best in game-winning or game-tying situations at .455, and Bryant had the most game-winners with 21, but Bryant's percentage wasn't provided.
Abbott wrote about Bryant's game-winners last season and gave some information which showed that Bryant has been awfully impressive recently. So it certainly appears that the numbers are trending in Bryant's direction.
But without the splits, there is just no way to tell one way or the other.
FOSTER KIDS
A funny thing happens when you predict a team to do well.
Because we all want to be right, you sort of adopt that team as your foster team and root for them to win; so they can make you look good.
And let me tell you, rooting for these teams has been such a gut-wrenching roller coaster of emotions that I don't know what to do with myself.
John Kuester fumbled the start of the season by not playing Greg Monroe as much as he should have, and at the start of the season Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince weren't playing with enough passion.
Minnesota had me on the high part of the roller coaster during the preseason. Then Martell Webster had to have back surgery and miss the start of the season.
Jonny Flynn's mid-November return from off-season surgery turned into mid-December.
In between, about every player on the roster had to miss time with injuries.
Darko Milicic sprained his ankle one game on the opening tip.
Anthony Tolliver is a 12th man who takes shot attempts like he's the franchise player. And Kurt Rambis keeps giving him playing time.
As soon as Los Angeles got cooking, Eric Gordon hurt his wrist and hasn't played since.
Jim O'Brien barely played Tyler Hansbrough and benched Paul George for almost two months, and TJ Ford has played a total of 10 minutes in the past nine games.
New coach Frank Vogel has Dahntay Jones higher in his rotation than James Posey, a highly-underrated basketball player with two championship rings, and has AJ Price higher in his rotation than TJ Ford.
Keith Smart just won't stop playing Vladimir Radmanovic at power forward.
Golden State assigned Jeremy Lin to the development league even though in his last action against actual NBA players, Golden State trailed 70-75 when he entered the game; and the score was tied 96-96 when he left it.
And even though Kevin Durant tried to score on him two times when Golden State played Oklahoma City and ended up with nothing but a turnover and a ball deflected out of bounds.
David Lee let the unstoppable Boris Diaw muscle him in the post, along with David West and just about everybody else.
The price we pay to be correct.
Like real foster kids, these teams drive you crazy because they are bad as hell. But you love them anyway because you adopted them, so they are yours.
GLAD TO BE WRONG
About the only time I enjoy being wrong is when a player or team turns out to be better than I thought they would.
And that is the case with the Toronto Raptors.
In my "Eastern Conference Preview" I suggested that their original, expansion roster might be more talented than their current one.
And while praising Jose Calderon in "The NBA's Best Point Guards," I called them a cast of "scrubs, losers, cast-offs and wannabes."
I got this one wrong.
I have an iron-clad rule when it comes to losing teams: at least be entertaining.
And Toronto is fun to watch.
DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems get after it on pretty much a nightly basis, and Andrea Bargnani can light it up at any given moment.
Because of injuries, they are not nearly as bad as their record indicates.
There is a future in Toronto.
Note: Al Jefferson was given a stop for drawing an offensive foul on Carmelo Anthony and ½ of a stop for his blocked shot on Anthony. Raja Bell got the other ½ of a stop for recovering the blocked shot.
For more information on how to figure stops and fractional stops, see my article on advanced defensive statistics.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Friday, August 6, 2010
Most Improved Teams
The life of a sports fan is a roller coaster of emotions. You go from delirious highs to gut-wrenching lows over the course of a season, a game or even a few seconds.
We love our sports, and we love our teams and our players.
They may never win a championship or even come close, but we still love them for trying.
When you really think about it, all you can ask from a team is that they do their best and try to get better every year in hopes of winning a championship.
No fan of any team in any sport should have to suffer supporting a team which never improves and remains hopelessly stuck in the land of mediocrity, or even worse, atrocity.
Looking at this off-season in the NBA, it is safe to say that everybody knows teams like the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls got better, and the Milwaukee Bucks have received recognition for their improvement as well, although I may have been the first to give them their due.
At the same time, there are other improved teams which for one reason or another haven't received the same publicity for their key additions and other moves which will make them better next season.
Before we get started, it should be pointed out that teams which decide to play lottery-ball instead of basketball can't be accounted for.
"Lottery-ball" is the term made up here to describe teams which play to win next season's NBA Draft Lottery rather than this season's schedule of games.
It is a phenomenon in the NBA which happens almost every year, especially when there is a can't-miss, franchise player available.
Bill Simmons has written about it, and here is a Dime Magazine summary of a Chris Tomasson piece quoting John Lucas and his description of how Cleveland sabotaged their 2002-03 season to win the right to draft LeBron James, a charge former Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund denies.
This phenomenon goes all the way back to the days before the NBA Draft Lottery, and it is why the league felt it had to input the lottery to begin with, although some people will tell you it was put in place in 1985 so the NBA could put Patrick Ewing on the New York Knicks by fixing the lottery.
Injuries are another thing which can't be accounted for, so this list is put in place assuming the teams (1) will remain relatively healthy and (2) will try their best to win as many games as possible.
(1) Detroit Pistons
One way to spot a team destined to improve is to look at teams who lost a lot of minutes from their best player(s).
This causes them to lose a lot of games, many more than they would have with the player(s) available.
They then end up in the lottery and get a player they never would have gotten with a healthy team.
The best player(s) come back joined by the lottery pick and poof!
Instant improvement.
Last year, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, probably Detroit's best two players, both missed about half of the season.
The Pistons were able to parlay that misery into No. 7 overall pick Greg Monroe.
Hamilton and Prince returning and teaming up with high draft pick Monroe puts Detroit in prime position to improve its win total from last season.
Those injuries also allowed young players like Jonas Jerebko, Will Bynum and Austin Daye to gain valuable experience which will help the team.
Detroit has a deep team with many talented players whose skills go together. They should be much better than they were last year.
(2) Minnesota Timberwolves
The biggest reason Minnesota will be better this year is that they were so far down to begin with. With only 15 wins, there is almost no other way to go but up.
Thankfully, for the team's fans and fans of good basketball, general manager David Kahn and coach Kurt Rambis did much to improve the team after the end of last season.
The talent upgrade alone should double their win total, and they could finish around .500 or better with intangibles like team chemistry breaking their way.
In a trade with the Miami Heat, Minnesota picked up Michael Beasley. We must remind ourselves how great Michael Beasley was in his one season at Kansas State.
Here is some footage from that season.
Without Beasley having issues, there is no way Minnesota gets him as cheaply as they did or even at all. Beasley is an all-world talent who can take Minnesota wherever they want to go.
He just has to get himself together and on the right path and also learn how to pass the basketball (10.9:1 career FGA:A ratio).
Minnesota also added Wesley Johnson, Luke Ridnour, Sebastian Telfair and Martell Webster to go along with Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Kevin Love, Darko Milicic and Wayne Ellington.
That is a very nice group of players.
They still need a rebounder/shot-blocker to become a real threat, but that player can be picked up next season.
For now, fans should be thrilled with the prospects of the current team.
(3) Los Angeles Clippers
No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin missed the entire season last year. The Clippers drafted Al-Farouq Aminu No. 8 in the draft, so the Clippers will be adding two top-eight picks to their team from last season.
Griffin is another all-world talent.
The NBA has never before seen a power forward like him.
Here he is at Oklahoma, like Beasley, just incredible footage.
Another thing to look for is a team with a good backup point guard. Teams with good number-two point guards tend to do well because they allow teams to sustain their offenses for the full 48 minutes.
Like the Timberwolves with Ridnour and Telfair, the Clippers have Randy Foye. This was an excellent and underrated signing which will greatly help Los Angeles.
The Clips also have Chris Kaman and Baron Davis, two of the best players in the league at their positions. They have made significant roster upgrades and actually look like they are trying to win.
Coach Vinny Del Negro did an excellent job in Chicago last year, finishing 6-2 down the stretch to eke into the playoffs and making a great showing in the playoffs.
He did this while battling the adversity of having team executive John Paxson assault him in his office and the team suffering a 10-game losing streak when center Joakim Noah sat out with an injury.
The Clippers could make the playoffs this season.
(4) Indiana Pacers
Danny Granger missed 20 games last season, and TJ Ford missed 35. Indiana played Roy Hibbert only 25 minutes per game.
Neither of these three players played the most minutes (scroll down to "TOTALS" and click "MP") for the Pacers last year.
That honor belongs to Brandon Rush, followed by Troy Murphy and Earl Watson, not exactly the Super Friends.
That alone explains why Indiana won only 32 games. No team is going to win many games with those three players playing the most minutes.
Now that they drafted Paul George, maybe Indiana can start playing its best players again.
They have a deep and talented team and a championship core: Ford, George, Granger, Hibbert. These four players playing the most minutes will no doubt take the Pacers back to the playoffs.
The Pacers need a rebounder/shot-blocker at power forward and maybe a better backup point guard to compete for a championship, but we'll see how the team plays together and make that call later in the year.
(5) Golden State Warriors
Golden State was already covered here with their signing of Jeremy Lin.
We'll have to wait until Ekpe Udoh comes back from wrist surgery to fully evaluate them because along with Andris Biedrins, who missed 49 games last year, he gives them the ability to defend the paint, the most important thing a basketball team must do to win and a weakness of the Warriors since forever.
Look at who played the most minutes for Golden State last year.
Their only shot-blockers were Ronny Turiaf, Biedrins and Anthony Randolph; and they played in 42, 33 and 33 games.
That explains why Golden State allowed the most points in the league and had the second-worst field goal percentage defense.
Of the five players who played the most minutes, Corey Maggette was the tallest at 6-6; and Monta Ellis, at all of 6-3, led those five players with 25 blocks (.4 per game).
Nothing more needs to be said.
The Warriors will have to hold down the fort until Udoh comes back then try to make a run late in the season to make the playoffs.
Even without Udoh they should be drastically improved.
Tweet
We love our sports, and we love our teams and our players.
They may never win a championship or even come close, but we still love them for trying.
When you really think about it, all you can ask from a team is that they do their best and try to get better every year in hopes of winning a championship.
No fan of any team in any sport should have to suffer supporting a team which never improves and remains hopelessly stuck in the land of mediocrity, or even worse, atrocity.
Looking at this off-season in the NBA, it is safe to say that everybody knows teams like the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls got better, and the Milwaukee Bucks have received recognition for their improvement as well, although I may have been the first to give them their due.
At the same time, there are other improved teams which for one reason or another haven't received the same publicity for their key additions and other moves which will make them better next season.
Before we get started, it should be pointed out that teams which decide to play lottery-ball instead of basketball can't be accounted for.
"Lottery-ball" is the term made up here to describe teams which play to win next season's NBA Draft Lottery rather than this season's schedule of games.
It is a phenomenon in the NBA which happens almost every year, especially when there is a can't-miss, franchise player available.
Bill Simmons has written about it, and here is a Dime Magazine summary of a Chris Tomasson piece quoting John Lucas and his description of how Cleveland sabotaged their 2002-03 season to win the right to draft LeBron James, a charge former Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund denies.
This phenomenon goes all the way back to the days before the NBA Draft Lottery, and it is why the league felt it had to input the lottery to begin with, although some people will tell you it was put in place in 1985 so the NBA could put Patrick Ewing on the New York Knicks by fixing the lottery.
Injuries are another thing which can't be accounted for, so this list is put in place assuming the teams (1) will remain relatively healthy and (2) will try their best to win as many games as possible.
(1) Detroit Pistons
One way to spot a team destined to improve is to look at teams who lost a lot of minutes from their best player(s).
This causes them to lose a lot of games, many more than they would have with the player(s) available.
They then end up in the lottery and get a player they never would have gotten with a healthy team.
The best player(s) come back joined by the lottery pick and poof!
Instant improvement.
Last year, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, probably Detroit's best two players, both missed about half of the season.
The Pistons were able to parlay that misery into No. 7 overall pick Greg Monroe.
Hamilton and Prince returning and teaming up with high draft pick Monroe puts Detroit in prime position to improve its win total from last season.
Those injuries also allowed young players like Jonas Jerebko, Will Bynum and Austin Daye to gain valuable experience which will help the team.
Detroit has a deep team with many talented players whose skills go together. They should be much better than they were last year.
(2) Minnesota Timberwolves
The biggest reason Minnesota will be better this year is that they were so far down to begin with. With only 15 wins, there is almost no other way to go but up.
Thankfully, for the team's fans and fans of good basketball, general manager David Kahn and coach Kurt Rambis did much to improve the team after the end of last season.
The talent upgrade alone should double their win total, and they could finish around .500 or better with intangibles like team chemistry breaking their way.
In a trade with the Miami Heat, Minnesota picked up Michael Beasley. We must remind ourselves how great Michael Beasley was in his one season at Kansas State.
Here is some footage from that season.
Without Beasley having issues, there is no way Minnesota gets him as cheaply as they did or even at all. Beasley is an all-world talent who can take Minnesota wherever they want to go.
He just has to get himself together and on the right path and also learn how to pass the basketball (10.9:1 career FGA:A ratio).
Minnesota also added Wesley Johnson, Luke Ridnour, Sebastian Telfair and Martell Webster to go along with Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Kevin Love, Darko Milicic and Wayne Ellington.
That is a very nice group of players.
They still need a rebounder/shot-blocker to become a real threat, but that player can be picked up next season.
For now, fans should be thrilled with the prospects of the current team.
(3) Los Angeles Clippers
No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin missed the entire season last year. The Clippers drafted Al-Farouq Aminu No. 8 in the draft, so the Clippers will be adding two top-eight picks to their team from last season.
Griffin is another all-world talent.
The NBA has never before seen a power forward like him.
Here he is at Oklahoma, like Beasley, just incredible footage.
Another thing to look for is a team with a good backup point guard. Teams with good number-two point guards tend to do well because they allow teams to sustain their offenses for the full 48 minutes.
Like the Timberwolves with Ridnour and Telfair, the Clippers have Randy Foye. This was an excellent and underrated signing which will greatly help Los Angeles.
The Clips also have Chris Kaman and Baron Davis, two of the best players in the league at their positions. They have made significant roster upgrades and actually look like they are trying to win.
Coach Vinny Del Negro did an excellent job in Chicago last year, finishing 6-2 down the stretch to eke into the playoffs and making a great showing in the playoffs.
He did this while battling the adversity of having team executive John Paxson assault him in his office and the team suffering a 10-game losing streak when center Joakim Noah sat out with an injury.
The Clippers could make the playoffs this season.
(4) Indiana Pacers
Danny Granger missed 20 games last season, and TJ Ford missed 35. Indiana played Roy Hibbert only 25 minutes per game.
Neither of these three players played the most minutes (scroll down to "TOTALS" and click "MP") for the Pacers last year.
That honor belongs to Brandon Rush, followed by Troy Murphy and Earl Watson, not exactly the Super Friends.
That alone explains why Indiana won only 32 games. No team is going to win many games with those three players playing the most minutes.
Now that they drafted Paul George, maybe Indiana can start playing its best players again.
They have a deep and talented team and a championship core: Ford, George, Granger, Hibbert. These four players playing the most minutes will no doubt take the Pacers back to the playoffs.
The Pacers need a rebounder/shot-blocker at power forward and maybe a better backup point guard to compete for a championship, but we'll see how the team plays together and make that call later in the year.
(5) Golden State Warriors
Golden State was already covered here with their signing of Jeremy Lin.
We'll have to wait until Ekpe Udoh comes back from wrist surgery to fully evaluate them because along with Andris Biedrins, who missed 49 games last year, he gives them the ability to defend the paint, the most important thing a basketball team must do to win and a weakness of the Warriors since forever.
Look at who played the most minutes for Golden State last year.
Their only shot-blockers were Ronny Turiaf, Biedrins and Anthony Randolph; and they played in 42, 33 and 33 games.
That explains why Golden State allowed the most points in the league and had the second-worst field goal percentage defense.
Of the five players who played the most minutes, Corey Maggette was the tallest at 6-6; and Monta Ellis, at all of 6-3, led those five players with 25 blocks (.4 per game).
Nothing more needs to be said.
The Warriors will have to hold down the fort until Udoh comes back then try to make a run late in the season to make the playoffs.
Even without Udoh they should be drastically improved.
Tweet
Friday, July 30, 2010
Basketball IQ Sneak Preview
There isn't very much news in the NBA these days now that summer league has ended and most of the major free agents have picked their teams.
Tracy McGrady working out for the Chicago Bulls was the most interesting thing which happened this week.
They still are undecided on signing him.
Yawn. While rumors and speculation are great and special entertainment, only things which are concrete--agreements and signings--will be covered here.
So here are some stories being anxiously anticipated, stories which will be covered when something concrete happens, along with other stories which will likely be covered in coming articles.
THE NEXT BIG THREE
This is the biggest story left to be covered. Nothing is more exciting--and frustrating--than waiting to see where Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson and Gilbert Arenas will end up.
The Bulls not signing McGrady only means they aren't serious about winning a championship. Their thinking also hints that as an organization they don't have what it takes to win one.
Let's look at how ludicrous their thinking is: They only want McGrady if he is (1) healthy and (2) willing to come of the bench, this according to Marc Stein.
What?! What kind of team would bring a healthy Tracy McGrady off the bench?
A dumb ass team not ready to win a championship, that's what kind.
It was then reported that they wanted to look at other guards like Eddie House before making a final decision on McGrady. Eddie House.
The Bulls aren't ready.
Keep in mind that McGrady is nowhere near the 2-year mark on his microfracture surgery which took place in February 2009. The general rule with major knee surgeries is that the player will be back playing in one year but won't be fully-recovered until two years later.
Having just turned 31, McGrady has plenty of basketball left in him as long as he is patient with his injury and takes care of his body.
It will be believed that Gilbert Arenas is staying with the Washington Wizards when he is on the court with them on opening night.
Other than that, his new team awaits; and maybe Allen Iverson will end up somewhere as well.
THE SUPER FRIENDS
The Miami Heat didn't have enough of a roster to evaluate their chances of winning a championship, and I couldn't care less that LeBron James announced his decision to go to South Beach on national television, so no story was written about Miami's free agency signings of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Now that the rest of their team is rounding into shape, they can be evaluated along with almost everybody else.
OFF-SEASON WINNERS
This will feature teams which have improved themselves with the draft and free agency and other moves made since the end of last season. Surprise teams will be covered as well, my favorite.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will most definitely be covered here, if for no other reason than to tick this guy off.
Most everything the Timberwolves have done this off-season has been terrific, especially getting rid of gluttonous ball-hog Al Jefferson.
In his three years in Minnesota, Al Jefferson had a field goal attempt-to-assist (FGA:A) ratio of 10.6:1.
That means that Jefferson shot the ball 10.6 times for every 1 assist he made. For his career, his FGA:A ratio is 10.9:1, and last season it was 8.2:1.
For a comparison, let's take a look at Kobe Bryant, surely one of the most notoriously gluttonous ball-hogs of all-time, right?
For his career Kobe Bryant has a 4.1:1 FGA:A ratio.
In 2005-06, when Bryant earned his reputation as a mad gunner, he averaged a career-high 27.2 FGAs per game.
His FGA:A ratio? 6:1, or two less than Al Jefferson's career-low just last season.
Allen Iverson? For his career it is 3.5:1. When Iverson averaged a career-high 27.8 FGAs per game in 2001-02, it was 5:1.
Not fair, you say, to compare guards to a big man like Al Jefferson?
Darko Milicic's career ratio is 6.6:1.
Playing with the same teammates last year in Minnesota and shooting essentially the same field goal percentage themselves, Milicic's FGA:A ratio was 4.3:1, compared to Jefferson's 8.2:1.
Milicic also averaged .1 more combined blocks and steals than Jefferson even though Milicic played about seven fewer minutes per game.
Still think David Kahn is crazy?
Other notoriously gluttonous ball-hogs include Eddy Curry (16.4:1 career), Zach Randolph (8.6:1 career) and Rudy Gay (8.5:1 career).
ADVANCED STATISTICS
In a determined effort to bring the NBA out of the Stone Ages when it comes to player and team analysis, advanced statistics like the one mentioned above with Al Jefferson will be used to help commissioner David Sternrock out of his dark cave.
There will also be an area, yet to be named, dealing with clutch performance. In general, clutch will be defined as the last five minutes of the game, or overtime, with neither team ahead by more than three points.
POWER POLLS
Finally, there will be four Basketball IQ Power Polls throughout the season:
(1) Season-Opening Power Poll
(2) Mid-Season Power Poll
(3) Playoff Push Power Poll
(4) Playoff Power Poll
They will be done (1) about two weeks into the season; (2) after about 41 games; (3) after the trading deadline and (4) before or during the first round of the playoffs.
There will no doubt be lots of fun and entertaining games and stories to cover as the NBA looks to capitalize on its high ratings from the Finals with the competition challenging the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA's new super team in Miami.
In another area of the league, you'll have rookies trying to find their way in the league and make names for themselves.
The Milwaukee Bucks will be eagerly attempting to prove they can bark with the big dogs, and the Los Angeles Clippers will be trying to change history with Vinny Del Negro, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman.
These are just some of the stories which may be covered in the weeks and months ahead as we speed toward another playoff push and look to celebrate and crown another NBA champion.
Note: numbers rounded up starting at 7.
Tweet
Tracy McGrady working out for the Chicago Bulls was the most interesting thing which happened this week.
They still are undecided on signing him.
Yawn. While rumors and speculation are great and special entertainment, only things which are concrete--agreements and signings--will be covered here.
So here are some stories being anxiously anticipated, stories which will be covered when something concrete happens, along with other stories which will likely be covered in coming articles.
THE NEXT BIG THREE
This is the biggest story left to be covered. Nothing is more exciting--and frustrating--than waiting to see where Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson and Gilbert Arenas will end up.
The Bulls not signing McGrady only means they aren't serious about winning a championship. Their thinking also hints that as an organization they don't have what it takes to win one.
Let's look at how ludicrous their thinking is: They only want McGrady if he is (1) healthy and (2) willing to come of the bench, this according to Marc Stein.
What?! What kind of team would bring a healthy Tracy McGrady off the bench?
A dumb ass team not ready to win a championship, that's what kind.
It was then reported that they wanted to look at other guards like Eddie House before making a final decision on McGrady. Eddie House.
The Bulls aren't ready.
Keep in mind that McGrady is nowhere near the 2-year mark on his microfracture surgery which took place in February 2009. The general rule with major knee surgeries is that the player will be back playing in one year but won't be fully-recovered until two years later.
Having just turned 31, McGrady has plenty of basketball left in him as long as he is patient with his injury and takes care of his body.
It will be believed that Gilbert Arenas is staying with the Washington Wizards when he is on the court with them on opening night.
Other than that, his new team awaits; and maybe Allen Iverson will end up somewhere as well.
THE SUPER FRIENDS
The Miami Heat didn't have enough of a roster to evaluate their chances of winning a championship, and I couldn't care less that LeBron James announced his decision to go to South Beach on national television, so no story was written about Miami's free agency signings of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Now that the rest of their team is rounding into shape, they can be evaluated along with almost everybody else.
OFF-SEASON WINNERS
This will feature teams which have improved themselves with the draft and free agency and other moves made since the end of last season. Surprise teams will be covered as well, my favorite.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will most definitely be covered here, if for no other reason than to tick this guy off.
Most everything the Timberwolves have done this off-season has been terrific, especially getting rid of gluttonous ball-hog Al Jefferson.
In his three years in Minnesota, Al Jefferson had a field goal attempt-to-assist (FGA:A) ratio of 10.6:1.
That means that Jefferson shot the ball 10.6 times for every 1 assist he made. For his career, his FGA:A ratio is 10.9:1, and last season it was 8.2:1.
For a comparison, let's take a look at Kobe Bryant, surely one of the most notoriously gluttonous ball-hogs of all-time, right?
For his career Kobe Bryant has a 4.1:1 FGA:A ratio.
In 2005-06, when Bryant earned his reputation as a mad gunner, he averaged a career-high 27.2 FGAs per game.
His FGA:A ratio? 6:1, or two less than Al Jefferson's career-low just last season.
Allen Iverson? For his career it is 3.5:1. When Iverson averaged a career-high 27.8 FGAs per game in 2001-02, it was 5:1.
Not fair, you say, to compare guards to a big man like Al Jefferson?
Darko Milicic's career ratio is 6.6:1.
Playing with the same teammates last year in Minnesota and shooting essentially the same field goal percentage themselves, Milicic's FGA:A ratio was 4.3:1, compared to Jefferson's 8.2:1.
Milicic also averaged .1 more combined blocks and steals than Jefferson even though Milicic played about seven fewer minutes per game.
Still think David Kahn is crazy?
Other notoriously gluttonous ball-hogs include Eddy Curry (16.4:1 career), Zach Randolph (8.6:1 career) and Rudy Gay (8.5:1 career).
ADVANCED STATISTICS
In a determined effort to bring the NBA out of the Stone Ages when it comes to player and team analysis, advanced statistics like the one mentioned above with Al Jefferson will be used to help commissioner David Sternrock out of his dark cave.
There will also be an area, yet to be named, dealing with clutch performance. In general, clutch will be defined as the last five minutes of the game, or overtime, with neither team ahead by more than three points.
POWER POLLS
Finally, there will be four Basketball IQ Power Polls throughout the season:
(1) Season-Opening Power Poll
(2) Mid-Season Power Poll
(3) Playoff Push Power Poll
(4) Playoff Power Poll
They will be done (1) about two weeks into the season; (2) after about 41 games; (3) after the trading deadline and (4) before or during the first round of the playoffs.
There will no doubt be lots of fun and entertaining games and stories to cover as the NBA looks to capitalize on its high ratings from the Finals with the competition challenging the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA's new super team in Miami.
In another area of the league, you'll have rookies trying to find their way in the league and make names for themselves.
The Milwaukee Bucks will be eagerly attempting to prove they can bark with the big dogs, and the Los Angeles Clippers will be trying to change history with Vinny Del Negro, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman.
These are just some of the stories which may be covered in the weeks and months ahead as we speed toward another playoff push and look to celebrate and crown another NBA champion.
Note: numbers rounded up starting at 7.
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Sunday, June 27, 2010
NBA Draft 2010 Winners
It goes without saying that any team which got a member of the Spectacular Seven was a draft day winner.
Let's take a look at some other teams and evaluate what they did in the draft.
Click the link on players' names to see highlights.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
By far, the biggest winner of the 2010 NBA Draft was the Milwaukee Bucks. In the first round they got Larry Sanders from Virginia Commonwealth University (15). Sanders is a 6-11 power forward who should start for Milwuakee.
Looking at the Bucks' roster, it is hard to believe that a team with that many holes actually made the playoffs.
And speaking of holes, it seems that they filled every single one of them in the past week alone.
To compete with Sanders for the starting power forward spot is Keith "Tiny" Gallon out of Oklahoma (47). At 6-9 and 300 pounds, Gallon has size and skills. He can be as good as he wants to be in the NBA.
These two players will bolster Milwaukee's front line and make them much deeper and a force to be reckoned with next season. Gallon is way better than the 47th best player in this draft.
In another draft night heist, Milwuakee also stole Darington Hobson out of New Mexico (37).
Either this is an incredibly deep draft and I just don't see it or a bunch of teams made a huge mistake in not drafting Darington Hobson.
It is incredible that he was still on the board in the second round. At 6-7, he has the same type of skills as Evan Turner only not as much speed.
The Bucks deserve an enormous amount of credit for the draft they pulled off.
All three of these guys are players and should get minutes as rookies. They increase team depth and overall talent and with the addition of Corey Maggette give Milwaukee a chance to compete with anybody.
Michael Redd's recovery becomes crucial. With the additions the team has made, a healthy Redd could take the Bucks deep into the playoffs.
DETROIT PISTONS
Another team which had a great draft night is the Detroit Pistons. Detroit first drafted 6-11 Greg Monroe from Georgetown (7).
I have questions about Monroe's competitive fire, especially on defense, and athleticism; so I want to watch him play more before making a judgment on how good he will be.
That being said, there are some things which he can do now which will help the Pistons. He can rebound, pass and score.
He also averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in two years in DC, which means that he is at least aware of what is going on on the defensive end. He'll help the Pistons in many ways and fits in nicely with the players they already have.
In the second round Detroit selected Terrico White from Ole Miss (36). The 6-5 shooting guard improves Detroit's talent level and should contribute immediately.
White is another player who I can't believe was available in the second round. He has a lot of game. These two players should lead the Pistons back to the playoffs.
White's highlights start at 3:23.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers started things off by selecting 6-9 Al-Farouq Aminu from Wake Forest (8).
They then traded for 6-1 point guard Eric Bledsoe of Kentucky (18) and selected 6-4 shooting guard Willie Warren from Oklahoma (54).
I'm not really a big fan of either player yet, but each of them increases the overall talent level of the Clippers' team.
More needs to be seen more from each player before it can be determined what this talent increase means for the Clips in terms of wins and losses. But good things should follow any time a team can add three talented players like this in one draft.
I also like the Orlando Magic selection of 6-10 center Daniel Orton, Kentucky (29); the Miami Heat selection of 6-10 center Dexter Pittman, Texas (32); and the New York Knicks' drafting of 6-5 guard Andy Rautins, Syracuse (38).
As will soon be seen, this was far from a one- or two-player draft.
Let's take a look at some other teams and evaluate what they did in the draft.
Click the link on players' names to see highlights.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
By far, the biggest winner of the 2010 NBA Draft was the Milwaukee Bucks. In the first round they got Larry Sanders from Virginia Commonwealth University (15). Sanders is a 6-11 power forward who should start for Milwuakee.
Looking at the Bucks' roster, it is hard to believe that a team with that many holes actually made the playoffs.
And speaking of holes, it seems that they filled every single one of them in the past week alone.
To compete with Sanders for the starting power forward spot is Keith "Tiny" Gallon out of Oklahoma (47). At 6-9 and 300 pounds, Gallon has size and skills. He can be as good as he wants to be in the NBA.
These two players will bolster Milwaukee's front line and make them much deeper and a force to be reckoned with next season. Gallon is way better than the 47th best player in this draft.
In another draft night heist, Milwuakee also stole Darington Hobson out of New Mexico (37).
Either this is an incredibly deep draft and I just don't see it or a bunch of teams made a huge mistake in not drafting Darington Hobson.
It is incredible that he was still on the board in the second round. At 6-7, he has the same type of skills as Evan Turner only not as much speed.
The Bucks deserve an enormous amount of credit for the draft they pulled off.
All three of these guys are players and should get minutes as rookies. They increase team depth and overall talent and with the addition of Corey Maggette give Milwaukee a chance to compete with anybody.
Michael Redd's recovery becomes crucial. With the additions the team has made, a healthy Redd could take the Bucks deep into the playoffs.
DETROIT PISTONS
Another team which had a great draft night is the Detroit Pistons. Detroit first drafted 6-11 Greg Monroe from Georgetown (7).
I have questions about Monroe's competitive fire, especially on defense, and athleticism; so I want to watch him play more before making a judgment on how good he will be.
That being said, there are some things which he can do now which will help the Pistons. He can rebound, pass and score.
He also averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in two years in DC, which means that he is at least aware of what is going on on the defensive end. He'll help the Pistons in many ways and fits in nicely with the players they already have.
In the second round Detroit selected Terrico White from Ole Miss (36). The 6-5 shooting guard improves Detroit's talent level and should contribute immediately.
White is another player who I can't believe was available in the second round. He has a lot of game. These two players should lead the Pistons back to the playoffs.
White's highlights start at 3:23.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers started things off by selecting 6-9 Al-Farouq Aminu from Wake Forest (8).
They then traded for 6-1 point guard Eric Bledsoe of Kentucky (18) and selected 6-4 shooting guard Willie Warren from Oklahoma (54).
I'm not really a big fan of either player yet, but each of them increases the overall talent level of the Clippers' team.
More needs to be seen more from each player before it can be determined what this talent increase means for the Clips in terms of wins and losses. But good things should follow any time a team can add three talented players like this in one draft.
I also like the Orlando Magic selection of 6-10 center Daniel Orton, Kentucky (29); the Miami Heat selection of 6-10 center Dexter Pittman, Texas (32); and the New York Knicks' drafting of 6-5 guard Andy Rautins, Syracuse (38).
As will soon be seen, this was far from a one- or two-player draft.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Fantasy GM: Quentin Richardson
First of all, this has absolutely nothing to do with fantasy basketball. I've always imagined that I could be the general manager of a NBA team and lead that team to all sorts of championships.
But that will never happen, so I decided I would fulfill my fantasy by writing articles about various NBA teams and what moves I would make to build those teams into champions.
I also have favorite players around the league, and every now and then I get sick and tired of seeing some of my favorite players play on teams which I know will never compete for a title.
So I'll also try to find nice fits for certain players and try to get them on teams which can at least make a run in the playoffs.
The first player who I would like to find a home for is Quentin Richardson.
Richardson has been one of my favorite players since he played for the Clippers and was catching alley-hoops from Earl Boykins with Darius Miles.
Until this past season with the Heat, Richardson had played in the playoffs only once in his entire career, in 2005 as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
He deserves better. Richardson goes hard and shouldn't have to suffer through a career playing on average teams.
There are several teams out there which could use Richardson's skills.
The best fit for Richardson would be the Oklahoma City Thunder. He would be a significant upgrade over Thabo Sefolosha, who started every game for the Thunder last season
But there were times during the Thunder's first round series with the Lakers when the Lakers weren't even guarding him. He was a non-factor and really didn't contribute much in the series.
Richardson, on the other hand, couldn't be ignored so easily.
He shot a career high .397 from three-point range last season and also has all kinds of post moves which teams, for some reason which is beyond me, never attempt to utilize.
He has played the two and the three, so playing next to Kevin Durant would be no problem even though Richardson has played mostly at small forward.
The Thunder also would not lose anything defensively.
Richardson was not much of a defensive player when he was with the Clippers, but he started to make improvements when he joined the Suns.
I remember the first time I saw Richardson take a charge with the Suns. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Is this Q?
By the time he arrived in New York as a Knick, Richardson was a fully-committed defensive player.
I watched him battle the best in the business during his four years with the Knicks, LeBron, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, you name it.
And while he was torched at times, he never gave an inch; and you have to admire a guy who battles the league's top scorers like this and isn't one of the first options on his own team, leaving him no ability to go back at them.
That is the true definition of a team player, especially when you consider the fact that he has tremendous scoring ability.
I remember when he was with the Clippers, and they played the Knicks at the Garden.
Richardson was being defended by Latrell Sprewell, one of the top defenders in the NBA from the guard position. He took Sprewell to school quite a few times.
He even posted Sprewell up and scored on him and made it look easy. I couldn't believe it.
I think this was the Feb 5, 2002, game which the Clippers won, which might explain why Sprewell, the very next time the Knicks played the Clippers at the Garden, went off for 38 points and went 9-9 on threes.
Richardson had a respectable 19 points in the loss. He had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in the first game.
Another good fit for Richardson would be the New Orleans Hornets.
They have a promising, young shooting guard in Marcus Thornton, plus Chris Paul, David West and Emeka Okafor.
Richardson would give them a nice starting five.
All they would have to do from there is figure out how they want to work their bench. Richardson could also start at the 2 next to Peja Stojakovich. Either way, it comes out to a really good team.
Other teams which could use Richardson: Cleveland, five years younger and contributes in more ways than Anthony Parker but doesn't shoot the three as well and doesn't have as high a basketball IQ; Dallas, would look and play great next to Butler and Nowitzki if Cuban wants to spend the money; San Antonio, teams wouldn't dare leave him open like Dallas did Richard Jefferson in the playoffs; Portland, I would say he's a better player than Nicolas Batum; Indiana, Pacers would be ready to roll with him in the starting lineup next to Danny Granger.
One thing about Richardson which is interesting is how his career stats don't tell the whole story.
He has had only three seasons which he played more than thirty minutes per game. In those seasons, he averaged 15.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game, respectable numbers.
I don't think Richardson should re-sign with the Miami Heat unless Pat Riley makes a serious commitment to winning.
Riley, or "Pat the Rat," as he is affectionately known in New York, needs to get it together. Dwyane Wade is too good of a player not to be on a team which competes for a championship every year.
I had enough of this bull with the last generation of superstars!
Allen Iverson in Philly, Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, Tracy McGrady in Orlando and more.
It is ridiculous!
Jermaine O'Neal has disappeared to the point of insignificance; Beasley looks lost; Chalmers doesn't even know how to shorten his next dribble after he drives past someone; and Arrojo is a good backup starting at point guard.
Riley knows a team must do whatever it takes to win, and if he is not willing to do that, then he needs to let Dwyane Wade go to a team which is willing to do whatever it takes and allow the Heat to fall back into "expansionism," as Shaq might say.
As the old saying goes: If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch. In the NBA, the big dogs do whatever it takes to win championships.
Dwyane Wade is also partially to blame for his own demise in this situation. He played parts of their playoff series against Boston with the same look on his face that LeBron James had in Game 5 against the Celtics.
I understand how Wade feels playing against a stacked deck, but as my brother always says, "It's only one way to play."
And that one way is all-out at all times.
Michael Jordan faced the exact same situation in 1986, but I didn't see him walking around with his head down and a pitiful look on his face.
He went right at them! And even though the result was the same, at least Jordan made the Celtics' Hall-of-Famers of that generation know he was there every minute of every game.
Besides going hard, there were other things Wade could have done to help his team win. The Heat could have easily won Game 3 had Wade simply boxed out Rajon Rondo.
Rondo was flat out killing the Heat with offensive rebound after offensive rebound, killing, game-changing offensive rebounds.
With a few simple box outs, there is literally no telling what would have happened in that series.
Back to Quentin Richardson, there are aspects of his game which he needs to work on, the most important of which is his ball-handling. I never see Richardson dribble the ball more than three or four times before he has to pick it up and get rid of it.
There is no excuse for this. If Anthony Mason could dribble the ball like he did with the Knicks, there is no reason why Richardson shouldn't be a better dribbler.
This would help his entire offensive game because he would be able to generate points by creating his own shot off the dribble instead of having to rely on catching a pass from a teammate while already in scoring position.
He could also crash the offensive boards like he used to with the Clippers and create points that way as well.
When Richardson misses his first couple of shots, usually three-pointers, he tends to stop shooting; but with better handles, he would be able to drive the ball and get himself into better scoring position and get easier shots to get himself going.
With a few dribble-penetration moves and an improved mid-range game, Richardson could become an All-Star.
I'll be the first to admit that offensively, Quentin Richardson can drive you crazy! One night he looks like George Gervin; the next night he looks like George Jefferson.
I often ask myself ... What is it which makes a player like Kobe Bryant great and a player like Quentin Richardson average?
I have yet to find an answer.
When you look at Richardson's skills, there is really no reason why he shouldn't be scoring in the twenties every night; but for some reason which I can't figure out, he's lucky to score fifteen on most nights?
The only thing I could come up with is that he doesn't work hard enough on his game. Maybe he works hard, but he doesn't work hard enough.
I don't know.
What I do know is that too often I see him miss shots which I know he can make, shots he used to make when he was with the Clippers.
That little eight-footer off the glass used to be money. Now, he misses it from five feet.
I don't know what is going on, but what I do know is that Quentin Richardson is a hell of a good basketball player to have on your basketball team, flaws and all; and any team which needs a SF/SG would be wise to sign him.
Hopefully, it will be a team which goes deep into the playoffs.
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But that will never happen, so I decided I would fulfill my fantasy by writing articles about various NBA teams and what moves I would make to build those teams into champions.
I also have favorite players around the league, and every now and then I get sick and tired of seeing some of my favorite players play on teams which I know will never compete for a title.
So I'll also try to find nice fits for certain players and try to get them on teams which can at least make a run in the playoffs.
The first player who I would like to find a home for is Quentin Richardson.
Richardson has been one of my favorite players since he played for the Clippers and was catching alley-hoops from Earl Boykins with Darius Miles.
Until this past season with the Heat, Richardson had played in the playoffs only once in his entire career, in 2005 as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
He deserves better. Richardson goes hard and shouldn't have to suffer through a career playing on average teams.
There are several teams out there which could use Richardson's skills.
The best fit for Richardson would be the Oklahoma City Thunder. He would be a significant upgrade over Thabo Sefolosha, who started every game for the Thunder last season
But there were times during the Thunder's first round series with the Lakers when the Lakers weren't even guarding him. He was a non-factor and really didn't contribute much in the series.
Richardson, on the other hand, couldn't be ignored so easily.
He shot a career high .397 from three-point range last season and also has all kinds of post moves which teams, for some reason which is beyond me, never attempt to utilize.
He has played the two and the three, so playing next to Kevin Durant would be no problem even though Richardson has played mostly at small forward.
The Thunder also would not lose anything defensively.
Richardson was not much of a defensive player when he was with the Clippers, but he started to make improvements when he joined the Suns.
I remember the first time I saw Richardson take a charge with the Suns. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Is this Q?
By the time he arrived in New York as a Knick, Richardson was a fully-committed defensive player.
I watched him battle the best in the business during his four years with the Knicks, LeBron, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, you name it.
And while he was torched at times, he never gave an inch; and you have to admire a guy who battles the league's top scorers like this and isn't one of the first options on his own team, leaving him no ability to go back at them.
That is the true definition of a team player, especially when you consider the fact that he has tremendous scoring ability.
I remember when he was with the Clippers, and they played the Knicks at the Garden.
Richardson was being defended by Latrell Sprewell, one of the top defenders in the NBA from the guard position. He took Sprewell to school quite a few times.
He even posted Sprewell up and scored on him and made it look easy. I couldn't believe it.
I think this was the Feb 5, 2002, game which the Clippers won, which might explain why Sprewell, the very next time the Knicks played the Clippers at the Garden, went off for 38 points and went 9-9 on threes.
Richardson had a respectable 19 points in the loss. He had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in the first game.
Another good fit for Richardson would be the New Orleans Hornets.
They have a promising, young shooting guard in Marcus Thornton, plus Chris Paul, David West and Emeka Okafor.
Richardson would give them a nice starting five.
All they would have to do from there is figure out how they want to work their bench. Richardson could also start at the 2 next to Peja Stojakovich. Either way, it comes out to a really good team.
Other teams which could use Richardson: Cleveland, five years younger and contributes in more ways than Anthony Parker but doesn't shoot the three as well and doesn't have as high a basketball IQ; Dallas, would look and play great next to Butler and Nowitzki if Cuban wants to spend the money; San Antonio, teams wouldn't dare leave him open like Dallas did Richard Jefferson in the playoffs; Portland, I would say he's a better player than Nicolas Batum; Indiana, Pacers would be ready to roll with him in the starting lineup next to Danny Granger.
One thing about Richardson which is interesting is how his career stats don't tell the whole story.
He has had only three seasons which he played more than thirty minutes per game. In those seasons, he averaged 15.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game, respectable numbers.
I don't think Richardson should re-sign with the Miami Heat unless Pat Riley makes a serious commitment to winning.
Riley, or "Pat the Rat," as he is affectionately known in New York, needs to get it together. Dwyane Wade is too good of a player not to be on a team which competes for a championship every year.
I had enough of this bull with the last generation of superstars!
Allen Iverson in Philly, Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, Tracy McGrady in Orlando and more.
It is ridiculous!
Jermaine O'Neal has disappeared to the point of insignificance; Beasley looks lost; Chalmers doesn't even know how to shorten his next dribble after he drives past someone; and Arrojo is a good backup starting at point guard.
Riley knows a team must do whatever it takes to win, and if he is not willing to do that, then he needs to let Dwyane Wade go to a team which is willing to do whatever it takes and allow the Heat to fall back into "expansionism," as Shaq might say.
As the old saying goes: If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch. In the NBA, the big dogs do whatever it takes to win championships.
Dwyane Wade is also partially to blame for his own demise in this situation. He played parts of their playoff series against Boston with the same look on his face that LeBron James had in Game 5 against the Celtics.
I understand how Wade feels playing against a stacked deck, but as my brother always says, "It's only one way to play."
And that one way is all-out at all times.
Michael Jordan faced the exact same situation in 1986, but I didn't see him walking around with his head down and a pitiful look on his face.
He went right at them! And even though the result was the same, at least Jordan made the Celtics' Hall-of-Famers of that generation know he was there every minute of every game.
Besides going hard, there were other things Wade could have done to help his team win. The Heat could have easily won Game 3 had Wade simply boxed out Rajon Rondo.
Rondo was flat out killing the Heat with offensive rebound after offensive rebound, killing, game-changing offensive rebounds.
With a few simple box outs, there is literally no telling what would have happened in that series.
Back to Quentin Richardson, there are aspects of his game which he needs to work on, the most important of which is his ball-handling. I never see Richardson dribble the ball more than three or four times before he has to pick it up and get rid of it.
There is no excuse for this. If Anthony Mason could dribble the ball like he did with the Knicks, there is no reason why Richardson shouldn't be a better dribbler.
This would help his entire offensive game because he would be able to generate points by creating his own shot off the dribble instead of having to rely on catching a pass from a teammate while already in scoring position.
He could also crash the offensive boards like he used to with the Clippers and create points that way as well.
When Richardson misses his first couple of shots, usually three-pointers, he tends to stop shooting; but with better handles, he would be able to drive the ball and get himself into better scoring position and get easier shots to get himself going.
With a few dribble-penetration moves and an improved mid-range game, Richardson could become an All-Star.
I'll be the first to admit that offensively, Quentin Richardson can drive you crazy! One night he looks like George Gervin; the next night he looks like George Jefferson.
I often ask myself ... What is it which makes a player like Kobe Bryant great and a player like Quentin Richardson average?
I have yet to find an answer.
When you look at Richardson's skills, there is really no reason why he shouldn't be scoring in the twenties every night; but for some reason which I can't figure out, he's lucky to score fifteen on most nights?
The only thing I could come up with is that he doesn't work hard enough on his game. Maybe he works hard, but he doesn't work hard enough.
I don't know.
What I do know is that too often I see him miss shots which I know he can make, shots he used to make when he was with the Clippers.
That little eight-footer off the glass used to be money. Now, he misses it from five feet.
I don't know what is going on, but what I do know is that Quentin Richardson is a hell of a good basketball player to have on your basketball team, flaws and all; and any team which needs a SF/SG would be wise to sign him.
Hopefully, it will be a team which goes deep into the playoffs.
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