It's hard to believe but the decade is coming to a close in a few days. It's been a good 10 years for the NBA with a couple of dynasties, with Shaq and Kobe's Lakers and the always consistent Tim Duncan led Spurs each winning 3 championships. There were some really good teams this decade, but I think the best individual team was the 2001 Lakers who though they didn't have the best regular season record, they pulled it all together and just ran through the playoffs at 15-1. These were the high times for this bunch of Lakers, because even though they would go onto complete their threepeat next year, the seeds of destruction between Shaq and Kobe were being planted. It is scary to think how many titles they might of won if those two had stayed together I'm saying at least 2 but honestly it could have been more as they were that dominant.
Arising from the ashes of the Laker turmoil, the team that benefited most from this breakup were the Spurs. The Spurs were the most consistent team throughout the decade, and as a mid market team they did it through savvy draft moves (ie Tony Parker with the 30th pick) and never straying from their defensive calling card. The major knock against the Spurs is that were just too boring to watch, and maybe for a casual fan who wants to see up and down streetball than that's true, but from a sheer basketball perspective they were amazing to watch. The team molded into the same persona of their superstar Tim Duncan, and it was this fundamental and methodical approach that led to their incredible run of 50+ win seasons and championships. Though age and injuries are starting to catch up with them a bit, and their title winning days might be behind them, you can never count out the Spurs, because as Rudy Tomjanivich said, you "can never underestimate the heart of a champion," and in the 2000s, Tim Duncan was the penultimate champion.
For me, due to their relevance for all 10 years, the Spurs were an easy choice for the team of the decade, and Greg Popovich for coach of the decade, but it was much more difficult to pick just one player of the decade. While there were many great performers, ultimately I think it comes down to either Kobe or Shaq. Each has 4 championships in the last 10 years, and have primed themselves to make a run at their fifth this year. For the first few years, they were the most powerful duo in the NBA, and then with persistent media coverage they were portrayed as mortal enemies, a fact that has only cooled in the last two years. I think that for the first half of the decade Shaq was the most dominant player in the league, and he was literally unguardable. He routinely averaged over 30 points and 12 rebounds and no one could stop him without putting him on the line. With that being said though, he has slowed considerably since winning the title with Miami in 2006. Though he had a rejuvenated year last year, which only further convinces me that the Phoenix Suns training staff has somehow found Ponce de Leons fountain of youth (I mean how else do you explain keeping Steve Nash, Grant Hill, and Shaq playing at extremely high levels into their mid and late 30s?) he often has looked slow this year and does not garner the double teams and advanced schemeing to stop him that he did a few years ago. Kobe on the other hand, has been playing at a consistently high level the entire decade,and has been arguably the best player in the NBA for years now. He has been to five Finals, winning 4, and won somehow only his first MVP award in 2008. There is a lot of speculation about what happened to break up the early Lakers, with Kobe taking a lot of the heat. I am not going to speculate whose fault it was but I think that both men believed they were alpha dogs and Kobe was tired of sharing the spotlight, leading him to pose an ultimatum to Mitch Kupchick that ended up forcing Shaq out of town. In the few years following, Kobe faced some intense criticism for being a selfish and spiteful teammate, but honestly a lot of those teams were just so bad that he had to try and score 50 points every night to give them the best chance to win. And that might not have been great team basketball that helped the Spurs win, but it did provide some of the most memorable performances of the decade, including the second greatest scoring performance in the history of the league. Because say what you want about how he goes about doing it, but just like with Jordan, no one can deny that Kobe wants to win at any cost. That's why I think there was a marked change in his play when the Lakers had Pau Gasol gift wrapped into their lap. Now he had a reliable superstar to help complement him. He still has the talent to score and affect the game like few ever have, but he is learning now to pick his spots. I used to hate Kobe for his attitude and arrogance, but ironically, over the last few years it is those qualities that I have come to admire. It gets overused I think, but he really is a cold blooded killer out there on the court. He is fiercely competitive, will do absolutely anything to win, and does not care what anyone thinks of him for it. I agree that some of his facial expressions and actions might be contrived, but I am alright with that becuase he did have to rebuild his image from scratch, and because the underlying messages are genuine. There's no doubt in my mind that if I had to pick one player to win a game for me this decade, it would unquestionably be Kobe, my player of the 2000s.
After suffering from a lack of likable talent during the end of the 1990s, the NBA began to regain it's popularity slowly this decade, and now is back to a level not seen in many years. A lot of that has to do with a new influx of not only talented, but extremely marketable superstars. After MJ retired, the NBA struggled to have a positive face of the league, but now there are numerous options. Kobe maybe the most polarizing figure in the NBA, and as seen by his welcome in China during the Olympics, the most popular and recognized global player. His image is finally coming back after the tarnishing it took following his Colorado incidents. But Kobe is not alone, as many of his Redeem Team teammates are also helping to bring the league back to prominence. LeBron, Dwight Howard, and D-Wade, (just to name a few) are all fantastic players, but more importantly they are not selfish superstars. They play the game the right way both on and off the court. They have brought the talent level in the NBA back to a high point, but they have also helped rid the negative "thug" image that haunted the league and turned off many viewers. These are stars who are in the news for their humanitarian efforts in their communities not for any criminal indiscretions. For a three year period between 2003-2005, an unprecendented amount of current stars were drafted into the league, and they have helped to save basketball in this decade and have it poised for an even greater explosion into the next one.
I have covered who I thought were the best teams, coach and player of the decade, and here are my choices for first, second and third team All 2000s teams.
First Team:
Steve Nash- 2 time MVP, and heart of soul of 7 seconds or less offense
Kobe Bryant- Player of the decade, enough said
LeBron James- Won his first MVP awards last season, and almost singlehandedly made basketball relevant in Cleveland again.
Tim Duncan- 3 time NBA champion, leader of the best team of the decade
Shaquille O'Neal- 4 time NBA champion, 3 time Finals MVP
Second Team
Jason Kidd- Best pure pg since Magic. Led Nets to finals appearance.
Dwanye Wade- 2006 Champion & Finals MVP. 2009 scoring champion
Paul Pierce- Gets the 2nd team nod because of 2008 playoff performance
Kevin Garnett- Conistent All Star and All defensive team. Capped career 2008 title
Dirk Nowitzski- Best foreign player, still one of NBAs elite
Third Team
Allen Iverson- Best pound for pound scorer I've ever seen
Ray Allen- Best shooter of the decade
Carmelo Anthony- Consistent All NBA performer. Led Nuggets to 6 straight playoffs
Amare Stoudamire- Athletic specimen with best years ahead of him despite past injuries
Dwight Howard- Most dominant center in game, and hasn't even scratched surface of potential
And now a prognostication of the first team of the 2010s...
John Wall- NBA ready now, will be a franchise player.
Kevin Durant- Love his game, he and the Thunder will be relevant for years
LeBron James- Just turning 25 and already one of all time greats. Scary to imagine how he will finish
LaMarcus Aldridge/ Michael Beasley- Bit of a cop out picking two. Each with imense talent, but both too raw to tell just yet
Dwight Howard- Assuming he continues post game development to help counter physical attributes.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas Day Games Recap
Christmas Day Games Recap
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good set of NBA games. There were five NBA games today, with two of the matchups featuring teams with the top 4 records in the league. Here are some thoughts on each of the games.
1) Heat vs. Knicks
Dwayne Wade played the role of the Grinch in scoring 30 points and leading the Heat to a win over the New York Knicks in their return to Christmas basketball after an eight year drought. This game was about what I expected, but I will address a few things I noticed. First and foremost, Dwayne Wade is one of the ultimate closers in the league, scoring 10 points in the last few minutes of the game to put away the Knicks. He was able to score both on jumpers and drives as no one on the Knicks was quick enough to stay with him. Wade played a complete game, leading his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. Wade was also helped by his new “Robin,” Michael Beasley who added 19 points, 13 coming in the second half despite having a poor shooting night.
But the Heat didn’t win this game as much as the Knicks shot their way out of it. They shot 18% from 3, (5-28), and that helped limit the Knicks to only 87 points. Also as I stressed in my Knicks blog, the problems stem from the point guard position. This game was no different, as Duhon and Hughes had a combination of 5 turnovers and only 4 assists. As always, David Lee came to play putting up 19 and 16. The real thing I took from this game though was that Danilo Gallinari is continuing to develop. He played 43 minutes today, and was the team’s leading scorer with 26 points, even though he shot just 3-11 from the three point line. In the bit that I saw, he was attacking the basket and even posting up the smaller Quentin Richardson. He is such a deadly shooter that defenders have to respect that, and this only serves to his advantage in creating extra opportunities to ball fake and get by guys. He also had 8 rebounds today, and was the only player on the team to have more assists than turnovers.
Bottom line is that the Heat, and specifically Dwayne Wade were too good for the Knicks to beat shooting as poorly as they did. The Knicks struggled through the second and third quarters, and by the point they made their run, Wade was primed to take over, delivering in typical Wade fashion. Not a great game either way, but it was worth watching, especially considering that anytime Wade steps on the floor you could be watching something special.
2) Celtics vs. Magic
In a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semis last year, the Paul Pierce less Celtics went into Amway Arena and physically beat up on the Magic. This was a defensive battle from the beginning, and there were a lot of stretches of just bad offense, for both teams (Celtics had a season high 20 turnovers). The Magic tied their franchise low of only scoring 27 points in the first half, and the Celts used a big run to take a double digit lead into the break, including holding Rashard Lewis scoreless.
Vince Carter was the game’s leading scorer with 27, but as usual the Celtics used a balanced attack to lead them to the win. As I mentioned in my Twelve Days of Christmas blog, Rondo has the potential to have a triple double each game, and he was close again today with another stellar game of 17 points, 13 boards, and 8 assists. The Celts also benefited from a big game from the Allens, with Ray putting in 18, including a big mid range jumper over Redick to essentially seal it. Tony Allen had 16 points in filling in for the injured Paul Pierce. Pay attention to how he plays in the next two weeks, because this Pierce injury might come back to be a blessing in disguise for the Celtics. During these next two weeks, Tony Allen will get major minutes, and if he plays well it will do wonders for his confidence, and maybe allow him to play a similar role as James Posey did on the championship team. Allen can be a valuable asset, especially on the defensive end, providing another option to spell Pierce and Ray in guarding the likes of LeBron James or Vince Carter. Also, I would not be surprised if the Celtics were cautious of bringing Pierce back, as knee drains tend to be recurrent.
Another nod has to be given to Kendrick Perkins, who did another wonderful job on Dwight Howard, limiting him to only 5 points on 1 of 7 shooting. The combination of Perk, Rasheed Wallace, and occasionally Garnett were especially physical with Howard, and it paid off. Howard did have another 20 rebound game, but that is a trade the Celts will take any day. The Celtics were also an astounding +19 when Kendrick Perkins was out there. Now I don’t agree with Doc Rivers that he should quite yet be going to an All Star game but he did play his tail off tonight.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Celtics could care less as they win their 14th game in the last 15 tries. They have the best record in the East at 23-5, but they are facing a tough stretch of 6 of the next 7 on the road, although they are a very good road team, and the reactivation of Big Baby Davis will only further add to their depth.
3)Cavs vs. Lakers
It’s no secret that this was the game I was most anticipating, and from a Cavalier’s perspective it was a great win. The Lakers came into this game with the best record in the league, and jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but after that it was ALL Cavaliers the rest of the way. Shaq came out with an energy that I hadn’t seen from him in a while, and though he didn’t have the lift I’d like to see on some of his jump hooks, he was active around the rim and had five dunks. Also, and more importantly, he played well on defense. He was quicker on the show of the pick and roll and in the rotations off helpside. I wrote just yesterday that I thought that Shaq had to go, and that this was a failed experiment, but no I am questioning myself. The Lakers are going to come out of the West, that is almost a foregone conclusion in everyone’s mind, and Shaq will be needed to beat them. Now I know that the Cavs have a long way to go to get out of the East even, but I think that if Shaq shows consistent effort, which I believe he will in the playoffs, than he can be a benefit. He is still a major force in the middle, and on more than one occasion, Kobe was deterred from the lane simply by Shaq standing there with his hands up. Also on the offensive end, he can be effective, especially in the beginning of quarters at drawing early fouls, which have a two pronged effect. Now I know Shaq is only shooting 48% from the free throw line this year, but I think there are positive results from him getting fouled. Not only does it get opposing bigs in foul trouble (got two quick ones against Howard in their lone matchup with the Magic this year), but it also sets up the Cavs to be in the penalty early in quarters which then benefits LeBron and Mo Williams who is attacking the basket more this year.
Talking about Mo, I consistently am impressed by him. He is a fearless competitor and is a knock down shooter, particularly from the corners and in big moments. In the ultimate compliment, LeBron has complete and total faith in Mo, and that has only increased his confidence. Because if the best player in the world thinks you can play, than you can, no questions asked. Mo played particularly well tonight scoring 28 points while also handing out 7 assists and pulling in 6 rebounds. Mo also showed another aspect of his game tonight when he posted up and scored on Derek Fisher on multiple occasions. Another thing I love about Mo is that he is never rattled. At the end of the game Fisher completely and unnecessarily body checked him, and Mo just shrugged it off and went about carving him up.
Looking purely at his stat line (35, 9, 8) it would seem like Kobe had a stellar game, but that isn’t the case. Sure he got his points, but it took him 32 shots to get, and that is not efficient basketball, and turning Kobe into a "volume" scorer like that is the most effective way to beat the Lakers. He faced a combination of defenders in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, each who had a couple of blocks on Bryant, and Moon’s length seemed to particularly bother Bryant. After stops on 19 different professional teams, Moon made the league as a “defensive stopper,” and for the Cavs to advance that is a role he has to reassume. Also he hit a couple of shots tonight, and that is what he will have to do as he will be the one left open when team’s double.
I have to give Mike Brown credit for his rotations tonight too. After another of his early mental miscues, JJ Hickson got pulled in favor of pairing Shaq and Z. Their length bothered Gasol and Bynum inside and limited Kobe’s driving abilities. It was this line up and then the addition of the game’s unsung hero Andy Varejao that helped the Cavs build their big lead. Realizing this, Brown used the super big lineup to start the second half after the Lakers cut the lead to single digits to close the half with Hickson on the floor.
It’s not often that I could ramble on about a great Cavs win without yet mentioning LeBron, but that is exactly what happened. He had a solid, but not great game by his other worldly standards, but it wasn’t necessary for him to be spectacular. The combination of defensive intensity and bench production was the difference in this game, with the Cavs winning both decisively, and leading the classy L.A. crowd to throw debris and boo their Lakers off the court.
4) Suns vs. Clippers
Ok, in the essence of full disclosure, I did not actually watch this game, but come on I really didn’t want to ruin a great day of basketball watching by spending two hours observing the Clippers. But here are the highlights…
Not surprising, the Suns beat the Clippers by 31 in their biggest win of the season. Seven Suns were in double figures, with Amare leading the way with 27. Even our BC boy Jared Dudley got into the action, hitting 4 threes and scoring 18 points. It was a tough shooting night for my favorite Clipper Eric Gordon, hitting just 4 of 15. If he’s not on, than the current Clippers roster doesn’t have enough playmakers to compensate. Nothing else really noteworthy from this game, and I don’t think I am even going to give the Clippers a second thought until Blake Griffin steps on the floor.
5) Blazers vs. Nuggets
The final game on the Christmas docket was one of two Western powers and showcased two of the game’s premier talents. This one opened up with a flurry, with both Melo and Brandon Roy coming out on fire in the first quarter. But while Melo had some help on the offensive end, other than LaMarcus Aldridge, no one on the Blazers seemed to want to help Roy score, and they trailed after the first. The deficit was due in large part to the uncharacteristically bad defensive rebounding by the Blazers. Normally the second best defensive rebounding team in the league, they game up 6 offensive boards in the first quarter alone which the Nuggets converted into 11 second chance points, including a tip in at the buzzer by Anthony.
After another rough start in the second quarter for some of the bench players, namely Jerryd Bayless, who found out the hard way why Chris Anderson is nicknamed the Bird Man, the Blazers pulled it together and used the energy of their crowd to win the quarter. Some quick thoughts on Bayless; I saw him play a few times in his one year at Arizona, and I think that he would have benefited from staying at least one more, but with the turmoil surrounding the Arizona head coaching position and the uncertainty of Lute Olsen’s health he decided to jump. Though he has talent, he has been kind of stuck in position no man’s land because he is not a true point guard, but for his future on the Blazers he doesn’t want to be playing the same position as Roy. This uncertainty has led to minute fluxuations for him his first two years, but due to some injuries he is finally starting to show what he can do. In starting for Brandon Roy in their last game against the Spurs, he scored a career high with 31 points in over 40 minutes. Now that Roy has returned his minutes will go down, but I think Nate MacMillan does believe in him, and stuck with him for long stretches at the point last night even though he was shooting the ball poorly.
One more quick observation from the second quarter is that say what you will about J.R. Smith, but he is exciting to watch. That being said, if I were a Nuggets fan he would drive me absolutely crazy. He reminds me a lot of a rec player, who even if they have missed their last 20 shots, the next one is still going to get put up no matter the situation. He’s a true “microwave” player, and can heat up in a hurry as evidenced by his 41 point outburst in just 30 minutes last game, including 10 3s. And it is just the fact that he can do that on any given night that makes him special to the Nuggets. Yes, that was a rare occurrence, but opposing teams have to know where is at all times, because it may only take one blown assignment and open look for Smith to get going and push a game out of reach. He’s an ultimate streak shooter, and is at times suspect on the defensive end, but I think he gives the Nuggets a valuable asset with instant offense coming off the bench.
The real star of the show though is a player that I think doesn’t get as much recognition as he deserves. Now I don’t know if it’s because he plays in Portland or because his game isn’t flashy, but as you saw last night if you watched this one, Brandon Roy is a superstar. I may be wrong, but I cannot think of another NBA star that has had this positive of an effect in the league after staying all four years in college since Tim Duncan. Roy doesn’t do anything spectacularly, but his fundamentals are off the charts, and he is very, very good at many aspects of the game, especially the mid range. He is the unquestioned leader on a very young and talented Blazers team, and last night he just willed his team to win. Scoring a game high 41 points, Roy handed the Nuggets their first loss after leading in the fourth quarter this year. He proved again last night why he deserves to be in the conversation of All-NBA performers, and I think he will be a perfect replacement on Team USA when Kobe bows out in a few years.
I know what to expect from the Nuggets, so this game I paid more attention to the Blazers. The Nuggets will be fine once they get Chauncey back fully healthy (he sat out the last two games, and the second half of this one with a groin injury), and Melo continues his scoring barrage- another 30 point outburst last night. (For more on Melo, check out the player profile post on him to the right). But the Blazers are a team that impressed me last night. They have been dealt some horrible luck the first part of the season, losing both of their centers to season ending injuries, forcing them to throw the corpse of Juwan Howard out there, and somehow getting him to record two double doubles in the last three games. At 20-12, they are a game behind Denver in the Northwestern Division and in fifth place in the conference. This record is even more impressive considering the injuries they have faced, even their coach blew out his Achilles, and that they have already played 17 games on the road with a decent 8-9 record. That means they have a bunch of games coming up in the Rose Garden which is a very tough place for any opponent to play. If you don’t believe me, just ask Kobe Bryant and his Lakers who haven’t won up there since February 2005. With Brandon Roy leading the way, and LaMarcus Aldridge continuing to develop the Blazers will make the playoffs again, but unfortunately without their bigs healthy they won’t be able to contend. That’s all I’ve got for you today, but come back tomorrow for the All-2000s teams to honor the end of the decade.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good set of NBA games. There were five NBA games today, with two of the matchups featuring teams with the top 4 records in the league. Here are some thoughts on each of the games.
1) Heat vs. Knicks
Dwayne Wade played the role of the Grinch in scoring 30 points and leading the Heat to a win over the New York Knicks in their return to Christmas basketball after an eight year drought. This game was about what I expected, but I will address a few things I noticed. First and foremost, Dwayne Wade is one of the ultimate closers in the league, scoring 10 points in the last few minutes of the game to put away the Knicks. He was able to score both on jumpers and drives as no one on the Knicks was quick enough to stay with him. Wade played a complete game, leading his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. Wade was also helped by his new “Robin,” Michael Beasley who added 19 points, 13 coming in the second half despite having a poor shooting night.
But the Heat didn’t win this game as much as the Knicks shot their way out of it. They shot 18% from 3, (5-28), and that helped limit the Knicks to only 87 points. Also as I stressed in my Knicks blog, the problems stem from the point guard position. This game was no different, as Duhon and Hughes had a combination of 5 turnovers and only 4 assists. As always, David Lee came to play putting up 19 and 16. The real thing I took from this game though was that Danilo Gallinari is continuing to develop. He played 43 minutes today, and was the team’s leading scorer with 26 points, even though he shot just 3-11 from the three point line. In the bit that I saw, he was attacking the basket and even posting up the smaller Quentin Richardson. He is such a deadly shooter that defenders have to respect that, and this only serves to his advantage in creating extra opportunities to ball fake and get by guys. He also had 8 rebounds today, and was the only player on the team to have more assists than turnovers.
Bottom line is that the Heat, and specifically Dwayne Wade were too good for the Knicks to beat shooting as poorly as they did. The Knicks struggled through the second and third quarters, and by the point they made their run, Wade was primed to take over, delivering in typical Wade fashion. Not a great game either way, but it was worth watching, especially considering that anytime Wade steps on the floor you could be watching something special.
2) Celtics vs. Magic
In a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semis last year, the Paul Pierce less Celtics went into Amway Arena and physically beat up on the Magic. This was a defensive battle from the beginning, and there were a lot of stretches of just bad offense, for both teams (Celtics had a season high 20 turnovers). The Magic tied their franchise low of only scoring 27 points in the first half, and the Celts used a big run to take a double digit lead into the break, including holding Rashard Lewis scoreless.
Vince Carter was the game’s leading scorer with 27, but as usual the Celtics used a balanced attack to lead them to the win. As I mentioned in my Twelve Days of Christmas blog, Rondo has the potential to have a triple double each game, and he was close again today with another stellar game of 17 points, 13 boards, and 8 assists. The Celts also benefited from a big game from the Allens, with Ray putting in 18, including a big mid range jumper over Redick to essentially seal it. Tony Allen had 16 points in filling in for the injured Paul Pierce. Pay attention to how he plays in the next two weeks, because this Pierce injury might come back to be a blessing in disguise for the Celtics. During these next two weeks, Tony Allen will get major minutes, and if he plays well it will do wonders for his confidence, and maybe allow him to play a similar role as James Posey did on the championship team. Allen can be a valuable asset, especially on the defensive end, providing another option to spell Pierce and Ray in guarding the likes of LeBron James or Vince Carter. Also, I would not be surprised if the Celtics were cautious of bringing Pierce back, as knee drains tend to be recurrent.
Another nod has to be given to Kendrick Perkins, who did another wonderful job on Dwight Howard, limiting him to only 5 points on 1 of 7 shooting. The combination of Perk, Rasheed Wallace, and occasionally Garnett were especially physical with Howard, and it paid off. Howard did have another 20 rebound game, but that is a trade the Celts will take any day. The Celtics were also an astounding +19 when Kendrick Perkins was out there. Now I don’t agree with Doc Rivers that he should quite yet be going to an All Star game but he did play his tail off tonight.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Celtics could care less as they win their 14th game in the last 15 tries. They have the best record in the East at 23-5, but they are facing a tough stretch of 6 of the next 7 on the road, although they are a very good road team, and the reactivation of Big Baby Davis will only further add to their depth.
3)Cavs vs. Lakers
It’s no secret that this was the game I was most anticipating, and from a Cavalier’s perspective it was a great win. The Lakers came into this game with the best record in the league, and jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but after that it was ALL Cavaliers the rest of the way. Shaq came out with an energy that I hadn’t seen from him in a while, and though he didn’t have the lift I’d like to see on some of his jump hooks, he was active around the rim and had five dunks. Also, and more importantly, he played well on defense. He was quicker on the show of the pick and roll and in the rotations off helpside. I wrote just yesterday that I thought that Shaq had to go, and that this was a failed experiment, but no I am questioning myself. The Lakers are going to come out of the West, that is almost a foregone conclusion in everyone’s mind, and Shaq will be needed to beat them. Now I know that the Cavs have a long way to go to get out of the East even, but I think that if Shaq shows consistent effort, which I believe he will in the playoffs, than he can be a benefit. He is still a major force in the middle, and on more than one occasion, Kobe was deterred from the lane simply by Shaq standing there with his hands up. Also on the offensive end, he can be effective, especially in the beginning of quarters at drawing early fouls, which have a two pronged effect. Now I know Shaq is only shooting 48% from the free throw line this year, but I think there are positive results from him getting fouled. Not only does it get opposing bigs in foul trouble (got two quick ones against Howard in their lone matchup with the Magic this year), but it also sets up the Cavs to be in the penalty early in quarters which then benefits LeBron and Mo Williams who is attacking the basket more this year.
Talking about Mo, I consistently am impressed by him. He is a fearless competitor and is a knock down shooter, particularly from the corners and in big moments. In the ultimate compliment, LeBron has complete and total faith in Mo, and that has only increased his confidence. Because if the best player in the world thinks you can play, than you can, no questions asked. Mo played particularly well tonight scoring 28 points while also handing out 7 assists and pulling in 6 rebounds. Mo also showed another aspect of his game tonight when he posted up and scored on Derek Fisher on multiple occasions. Another thing I love about Mo is that he is never rattled. At the end of the game Fisher completely and unnecessarily body checked him, and Mo just shrugged it off and went about carving him up.
Looking purely at his stat line (35, 9, 8) it would seem like Kobe had a stellar game, but that isn’t the case. Sure he got his points, but it took him 32 shots to get, and that is not efficient basketball, and turning Kobe into a "volume" scorer like that is the most effective way to beat the Lakers. He faced a combination of defenders in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, each who had a couple of blocks on Bryant, and Moon’s length seemed to particularly bother Bryant. After stops on 19 different professional teams, Moon made the league as a “defensive stopper,” and for the Cavs to advance that is a role he has to reassume. Also he hit a couple of shots tonight, and that is what he will have to do as he will be the one left open when team’s double.
I have to give Mike Brown credit for his rotations tonight too. After another of his early mental miscues, JJ Hickson got pulled in favor of pairing Shaq and Z. Their length bothered Gasol and Bynum inside and limited Kobe’s driving abilities. It was this line up and then the addition of the game’s unsung hero Andy Varejao that helped the Cavs build their big lead. Realizing this, Brown used the super big lineup to start the second half after the Lakers cut the lead to single digits to close the half with Hickson on the floor.
It’s not often that I could ramble on about a great Cavs win without yet mentioning LeBron, but that is exactly what happened. He had a solid, but not great game by his other worldly standards, but it wasn’t necessary for him to be spectacular. The combination of defensive intensity and bench production was the difference in this game, with the Cavs winning both decisively, and leading the classy L.A. crowd to throw debris and boo their Lakers off the court.
4) Suns vs. Clippers
Ok, in the essence of full disclosure, I did not actually watch this game, but come on I really didn’t want to ruin a great day of basketball watching by spending two hours observing the Clippers. But here are the highlights…
Not surprising, the Suns beat the Clippers by 31 in their biggest win of the season. Seven Suns were in double figures, with Amare leading the way with 27. Even our BC boy Jared Dudley got into the action, hitting 4 threes and scoring 18 points. It was a tough shooting night for my favorite Clipper Eric Gordon, hitting just 4 of 15. If he’s not on, than the current Clippers roster doesn’t have enough playmakers to compensate. Nothing else really noteworthy from this game, and I don’t think I am even going to give the Clippers a second thought until Blake Griffin steps on the floor.
5) Blazers vs. Nuggets
The final game on the Christmas docket was one of two Western powers and showcased two of the game’s premier talents. This one opened up with a flurry, with both Melo and Brandon Roy coming out on fire in the first quarter. But while Melo had some help on the offensive end, other than LaMarcus Aldridge, no one on the Blazers seemed to want to help Roy score, and they trailed after the first. The deficit was due in large part to the uncharacteristically bad defensive rebounding by the Blazers. Normally the second best defensive rebounding team in the league, they game up 6 offensive boards in the first quarter alone which the Nuggets converted into 11 second chance points, including a tip in at the buzzer by Anthony.
After another rough start in the second quarter for some of the bench players, namely Jerryd Bayless, who found out the hard way why Chris Anderson is nicknamed the Bird Man, the Blazers pulled it together and used the energy of their crowd to win the quarter. Some quick thoughts on Bayless; I saw him play a few times in his one year at Arizona, and I think that he would have benefited from staying at least one more, but with the turmoil surrounding the Arizona head coaching position and the uncertainty of Lute Olsen’s health he decided to jump. Though he has talent, he has been kind of stuck in position no man’s land because he is not a true point guard, but for his future on the Blazers he doesn’t want to be playing the same position as Roy. This uncertainty has led to minute fluxuations for him his first two years, but due to some injuries he is finally starting to show what he can do. In starting for Brandon Roy in their last game against the Spurs, he scored a career high with 31 points in over 40 minutes. Now that Roy has returned his minutes will go down, but I think Nate MacMillan does believe in him, and stuck with him for long stretches at the point last night even though he was shooting the ball poorly.
One more quick observation from the second quarter is that say what you will about J.R. Smith, but he is exciting to watch. That being said, if I were a Nuggets fan he would drive me absolutely crazy. He reminds me a lot of a rec player, who even if they have missed their last 20 shots, the next one is still going to get put up no matter the situation. He’s a true “microwave” player, and can heat up in a hurry as evidenced by his 41 point outburst in just 30 minutes last game, including 10 3s. And it is just the fact that he can do that on any given night that makes him special to the Nuggets. Yes, that was a rare occurrence, but opposing teams have to know where is at all times, because it may only take one blown assignment and open look for Smith to get going and push a game out of reach. He’s an ultimate streak shooter, and is at times suspect on the defensive end, but I think he gives the Nuggets a valuable asset with instant offense coming off the bench.
The real star of the show though is a player that I think doesn’t get as much recognition as he deserves. Now I don’t know if it’s because he plays in Portland or because his game isn’t flashy, but as you saw last night if you watched this one, Brandon Roy is a superstar. I may be wrong, but I cannot think of another NBA star that has had this positive of an effect in the league after staying all four years in college since Tim Duncan. Roy doesn’t do anything spectacularly, but his fundamentals are off the charts, and he is very, very good at many aspects of the game, especially the mid range. He is the unquestioned leader on a very young and talented Blazers team, and last night he just willed his team to win. Scoring a game high 41 points, Roy handed the Nuggets their first loss after leading in the fourth quarter this year. He proved again last night why he deserves to be in the conversation of All-NBA performers, and I think he will be a perfect replacement on Team USA when Kobe bows out in a few years.
I know what to expect from the Nuggets, so this game I paid more attention to the Blazers. The Nuggets will be fine once they get Chauncey back fully healthy (he sat out the last two games, and the second half of this one with a groin injury), and Melo continues his scoring barrage- another 30 point outburst last night. (For more on Melo, check out the player profile post on him to the right). But the Blazers are a team that impressed me last night. They have been dealt some horrible luck the first part of the season, losing both of their centers to season ending injuries, forcing them to throw the corpse of Juwan Howard out there, and somehow getting him to record two double doubles in the last three games. At 20-12, they are a game behind Denver in the Northwestern Division and in fifth place in the conference. This record is even more impressive considering the injuries they have faced, even their coach blew out his Achilles, and that they have already played 17 games on the road with a decent 8-9 record. That means they have a bunch of games coming up in the Rose Garden which is a very tough place for any opponent to play. If you don’t believe me, just ask Kobe Bryant and his Lakers who haven’t won up there since February 2005. With Brandon Roy leading the way, and LaMarcus Aldridge continuing to develop the Blazers will make the playoffs again, but unfortunately without their bigs healthy they won’t be able to contend. That’s all I’ve got for you today, but come back tomorrow for the All-2000s teams to honor the end of the decade.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Player Profile- Carmelo Anthony
Another feature of the blog I want to do is have different player profiles, looking at their past, and focusing more on their current years. I am currently watching the Nuggets play, and flat out just love his game, so the first player highlighted will be Carmelo Anthony
Coming out of Oak Hill Academy as one of the most highly recruited players in the country, Carmelo Anthony signed to play under Jim Boheim at Syracuse. The ultimate one-and-done player, Melo made the most of his lone collegiate year, leading the Orange to the national championship over Kansas. And then in one of the biggest draft day blunders in recent memory, Joe Dumars drafted unknown Darko Milicic over Anthony, and Melo fell into the Nuggets lap at number 3.
Most of his exploits during his rookie season were overshadowed by his draft peer LeBron James, but quietly, Anthony led a major turnaround in Denver. He led the Nuggets to 26 more wins than the previous year, and became the first rookie to lead a playoff team in scoring since David Robinson 14 years earlier. He finished second in ROY of the voting to James, but it was clear that he would be a force in the league for years to come.
Over the next few years, Melo continued to grow, and developed into an All-NBA player. He led the Nuggets to the playoffs each year, but never past the first round until last year, when he led the Nuggets past the Hornets to win his first playoff series. They ended up losing to the eventual NBA champion Lakers in the Conference finals, but after bringing all core players back, including mid season addition Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets were expected to be and are finding themselves at the top of the West again this season.
Through the first third of the season, Melo has had his best year as a pro, leading the league in scoring at 30.4 points per game. He is an absolute scoring machine, and I believe he is the purest scorer in the league. He can score in a variety of ways, and he makes it all look incredibly easy. He is powerful enough to score in the lane and from the post, and a good enough shooter to consistently hit from mid range and the 3. As any great scorer, he also gets to the line a lot; around 10 times per game, hitting just over 87% from the stripe. It’s tough enough to stop him from scoring with a defender, but it is truly unfair to basically give him 9 free points a game. He is also knocking down his free throws at a over 95% in clutch situations, which 82games.com defines as in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with neither team having a lead greater than 5 points. Combining this with Billups free throw ability and it makes it very difficult for teams to beat the Nuggets when they have a lead late in the game.
One of the main criticisms of Anthony early in his career was that he was only a one way player. But beginning in last season, and continuing into this year he has begun to take pride in his defense. I think a lot of that has to do with playing on the Redeem Team, and just as LeBron bought into it, Melo was able to see first hand that to be truly great he has to bring it on both ends. This philosophy has been contagious on the Nuggets team, and while they are still the second highest scoring team in the NBA, they have also developed a bit of an identity on the defensive end, a fact they need if they want any chance at dethroning the Lakers.
Now in his seventh year, Melo often has been overshadowed by LeBron or D-Wade in the past, but now he has to be talked about in the same breath as them. He has developed into a professional both on the floor and off, eliminating the off the court issues he had as a younger player, and developing into the true leader of a very good Nuggets team. I think he will win the scoring title this year, and I don’t think it will be his only one or even his only honor garnered this year. After many years on the Third All-NBA team, I think he jumps up to the second team, and if he continues to develop his entire game beyond just scoring, than there is no reason he won’t be a first teamer in the future.
Coming out of Oak Hill Academy as one of the most highly recruited players in the country, Carmelo Anthony signed to play under Jim Boheim at Syracuse. The ultimate one-and-done player, Melo made the most of his lone collegiate year, leading the Orange to the national championship over Kansas. And then in one of the biggest draft day blunders in recent memory, Joe Dumars drafted unknown Darko Milicic over Anthony, and Melo fell into the Nuggets lap at number 3.
Most of his exploits during his rookie season were overshadowed by his draft peer LeBron James, but quietly, Anthony led a major turnaround in Denver. He led the Nuggets to 26 more wins than the previous year, and became the first rookie to lead a playoff team in scoring since David Robinson 14 years earlier. He finished second in ROY of the voting to James, but it was clear that he would be a force in the league for years to come.
Over the next few years, Melo continued to grow, and developed into an All-NBA player. He led the Nuggets to the playoffs each year, but never past the first round until last year, when he led the Nuggets past the Hornets to win his first playoff series. They ended up losing to the eventual NBA champion Lakers in the Conference finals, but after bringing all core players back, including mid season addition Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets were expected to be and are finding themselves at the top of the West again this season.
Through the first third of the season, Melo has had his best year as a pro, leading the league in scoring at 30.4 points per game. He is an absolute scoring machine, and I believe he is the purest scorer in the league. He can score in a variety of ways, and he makes it all look incredibly easy. He is powerful enough to score in the lane and from the post, and a good enough shooter to consistently hit from mid range and the 3. As any great scorer, he also gets to the line a lot; around 10 times per game, hitting just over 87% from the stripe. It’s tough enough to stop him from scoring with a defender, but it is truly unfair to basically give him 9 free points a game. He is also knocking down his free throws at a over 95% in clutch situations, which 82games.com defines as in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with neither team having a lead greater than 5 points. Combining this with Billups free throw ability and it makes it very difficult for teams to beat the Nuggets when they have a lead late in the game.
One of the main criticisms of Anthony early in his career was that he was only a one way player. But beginning in last season, and continuing into this year he has begun to take pride in his defense. I think a lot of that has to do with playing on the Redeem Team, and just as LeBron bought into it, Melo was able to see first hand that to be truly great he has to bring it on both ends. This philosophy has been contagious on the Nuggets team, and while they are still the second highest scoring team in the NBA, they have also developed a bit of an identity on the defensive end, a fact they need if they want any chance at dethroning the Lakers.
Now in his seventh year, Melo often has been overshadowed by LeBron or D-Wade in the past, but now he has to be talked about in the same breath as them. He has developed into a professional both on the floor and off, eliminating the off the court issues he had as a younger player, and developing into the true leader of a very good Nuggets team. I think he will win the scoring title this year, and I don’t think it will be his only one or even his only honor garnered this year. After many years on the Third All-NBA team, I think he jumps up to the second team, and if he continues to develop his entire game beyond just scoring, than there is no reason he won’t be a first teamer in the future.
Team of the Week- New York Knicks
One of the sections I want to have on the blog is sponsoring a team of the week, and then providing some more in-depth insights and statistics about them. In honor of my friend Greg, the inaugural team of the week will be the New York Knicks.
I admit I had to do a little more research on the Knicks because I, and everyone else outside the New York area have only seen them play once nationally this year (before their Christmas day showdown with DWade), or in the last three for that matter. And that game was only on ESPN due to the number 23 on the Cavs. That being said, their recent run does deserve some investigation and comments.
Note: Again this was written before Christmas Day despite the post time. I will address their game against the Heat in a later post.
1) They are 8-3 in their last 11, mainly they have finally realized they need to start playing some semblance of defense. As you mentioned, they have held their last 8 opponents to under 100 points. Impressive, but in looking closer, these were not any of the top NBA scoring teams, actually quite the opposite: five of the games were against the three teams ranked last in the league in scoring (New Jersey, and then Chicago and Charlotte twice each). The highest scoring team they faced in that stretch was the 18th ranked Hornets. They get another poor scoring team in the 23rd ranked Heat tomorrow. Still, they are playing at least some defense against teams they should be shutting down, and so despite it being against horrible offenses, it is a start.
2) It's no secret that Mike D'Antoni's system is based on shooting lots of 3's and getting their opponents to fall into the same pattern. As Chris Sheridan discussed, this is a proven system that helped Phoenix average over fifty wins for the better part of four years. If they are hitting their threes (which they are shooting at just under 35% as a team, which isn’t horrible considering the incredible volume of shots they take) they can play with anyone. Especially in the NBA, with the short shot clock, the 3 is the great equalizer. Interestingly, it also in the Knicks best interest to have their opponents get 3 happy, as they are third in the league in defending the 3, holding opponents to just under 32%...must be all that practice they get in intra squad scrimmages.
3) What gets the Knicks in trouble is when their jump shots are not going down, especially because they take so many of them. (66% of their team shots are jumpers.) Much like the Suns of the past, they can easily blow a huge lead or fall into a huge hole quickly with a bad shooting stretch. They don't have a superstar or a true go to player that can slow a game down and get them easy buckets in other ways consistently. Harrington is the closest thing they have to a multi-dimensional player, but he would much rather just stand out with the rest of his teammates and shoot from distance.
4) As much as I love David Lee, and he is having a hell of a season (18 and 10 a night), and should make the All-Star team, they desperately lack a strong inside presence that they can feed during the cold shooting nights. A player like Chris Bosh, who they might sign in 2010 would really help them, because he demands attention on the low block, and that would only help to free up more shooters. Bosh is definitely leaving Toronto, and he has experience playing under D'Antoni in the Olympics, so I could see this happening, especially if LBJ and Wade stay put.
5) Another thing they need to do is start protecting their home floor. To be a great team you should win over 80% of your home games. To be a good team, you should win over 65%. Right now, the Knicks do not fit into either of those categories. They are actually 7-8 at the Garden this year. But again in looking at what they have done lately, they have won their last six there, and will look to pull to .500 tomorrow, so again for now they seem to be improving.
6) The insertion of Jared Jeffries to over 30 minutes a game has helped by adding a consistent defensive minded player into the rotation. The main issue though remains at point guard. The system thrives with a multi skilled point guard like Nash, but not as much with Duhon and Hughes. I mean the combination of them are still averaging less assists than Nash this season. I think watching them nightly after coaching Nash, and passing on the attempt to coach Derek Rose, the penultimate point guard for his system, must haunt D’Antoni, but he’s making the best of a bad situation. Look no one saw Jennings being as good as he is, but I still think New York blew it by picking Jordan Hill. He wasn't going to get many minutes playing behind their best player, and he doesn’t have the outside game to be a 4, so they might as well have gambled on the bevy of pgs left, be it Jennings, or Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor, Jru Holiday, even Jeff Teague or Darren Collison (ok the last two are a bit of a stretch, but you get the point...which ironically the Knicks failed to do leading to that last rant)....but at least they can fix their mistake with their 2010 first round pick...oh wait they traded that unprotected too.
7) Ok, I feel obliged to dive into Danilo Gallinari. No one can deny that he can shoot the ball, and I'd say he is already one of the top 10 pure shooters in the league. But he is also way too one dimensional, with 83% of his shots being jumpshots. He is also getting shredded on defense on a nightly basis, with players he is guarding averaging about 24 points a night against him. He also doesn’t really contribute in any other ways offensively besides shooting the ball. At 6'10 he needs to be averaging more than 4.8 rebounds a game, and in keeping with the abysmal assist totals on this team, he needs to improve on his 1.4 a game rate. That being said, this is truly his first year in the league, and he is already elite at one skill which will keep him in the NBA for years (i.e. Brent Barry, Jason Kapono, Kyle Korver etc.), but if the Knicks want to improve back to the level of the John Starks, Spreewell, LJ days, Gallinari needs to widen his game greatly.
8) Overall, I think this Knicks team will be an interesting one to watch the rest of the way. At the beginning of the year there was so much talk about the Summer of LeBron, and what moves the front office was going to make, that the team was not focused nor thought they could win. But a real turning point was in the narrow loss to Boston a few weeks back. After that, there has been a change around this team, and the development of the belief that they can actually win, and more importantly, that they should win. Look, they are by no means going to contend or even win a playoff series this year, but I think that the future in New York could be brighter than they thought. If Gallinari continues to develop, they keep David Lee, and then maybe deal for a point guard there is no reason why they shouldn't make the playoffs in the East this year. And then with Donnie Walsh ready to pounce on a big free agent or two this summer, the Knicks could finally be on the path to right the ship that Isaiah Thomas so badly crashed and burned.
I admit I had to do a little more research on the Knicks because I, and everyone else outside the New York area have only seen them play once nationally this year (before their Christmas day showdown with DWade), or in the last three for that matter. And that game was only on ESPN due to the number 23 on the Cavs. That being said, their recent run does deserve some investigation and comments.
Note: Again this was written before Christmas Day despite the post time. I will address their game against the Heat in a later post.
1) They are 8-3 in their last 11, mainly they have finally realized they need to start playing some semblance of defense. As you mentioned, they have held their last 8 opponents to under 100 points. Impressive, but in looking closer, these were not any of the top NBA scoring teams, actually quite the opposite: five of the games were against the three teams ranked last in the league in scoring (New Jersey, and then Chicago and Charlotte twice each). The highest scoring team they faced in that stretch was the 18th ranked Hornets. They get another poor scoring team in the 23rd ranked Heat tomorrow. Still, they are playing at least some defense against teams they should be shutting down, and so despite it being against horrible offenses, it is a start.
2) It's no secret that Mike D'Antoni's system is based on shooting lots of 3's and getting their opponents to fall into the same pattern. As Chris Sheridan discussed, this is a proven system that helped Phoenix average over fifty wins for the better part of four years. If they are hitting their threes (which they are shooting at just under 35% as a team, which isn’t horrible considering the incredible volume of shots they take) they can play with anyone. Especially in the NBA, with the short shot clock, the 3 is the great equalizer. Interestingly, it also in the Knicks best interest to have their opponents get 3 happy, as they are third in the league in defending the 3, holding opponents to just under 32%...must be all that practice they get in intra squad scrimmages.
3) What gets the Knicks in trouble is when their jump shots are not going down, especially because they take so many of them. (66% of their team shots are jumpers.) Much like the Suns of the past, they can easily blow a huge lead or fall into a huge hole quickly with a bad shooting stretch. They don't have a superstar or a true go to player that can slow a game down and get them easy buckets in other ways consistently. Harrington is the closest thing they have to a multi-dimensional player, but he would much rather just stand out with the rest of his teammates and shoot from distance.
4) As much as I love David Lee, and he is having a hell of a season (18 and 10 a night), and should make the All-Star team, they desperately lack a strong inside presence that they can feed during the cold shooting nights. A player like Chris Bosh, who they might sign in 2010 would really help them, because he demands attention on the low block, and that would only help to free up more shooters. Bosh is definitely leaving Toronto, and he has experience playing under D'Antoni in the Olympics, so I could see this happening, especially if LBJ and Wade stay put.
5) Another thing they need to do is start protecting their home floor. To be a great team you should win over 80% of your home games. To be a good team, you should win over 65%. Right now, the Knicks do not fit into either of those categories. They are actually 7-8 at the Garden this year. But again in looking at what they have done lately, they have won their last six there, and will look to pull to .500 tomorrow, so again for now they seem to be improving.
6) The insertion of Jared Jeffries to over 30 minutes a game has helped by adding a consistent defensive minded player into the rotation. The main issue though remains at point guard. The system thrives with a multi skilled point guard like Nash, but not as much with Duhon and Hughes. I mean the combination of them are still averaging less assists than Nash this season. I think watching them nightly after coaching Nash, and passing on the attempt to coach Derek Rose, the penultimate point guard for his system, must haunt D’Antoni, but he’s making the best of a bad situation. Look no one saw Jennings being as good as he is, but I still think New York blew it by picking Jordan Hill. He wasn't going to get many minutes playing behind their best player, and he doesn’t have the outside game to be a 4, so they might as well have gambled on the bevy of pgs left, be it Jennings, or Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor, Jru Holiday, even Jeff Teague or Darren Collison (ok the last two are a bit of a stretch, but you get the point...which ironically the Knicks failed to do leading to that last rant)....but at least they can fix their mistake with their 2010 first round pick...oh wait they traded that unprotected too.
7) Ok, I feel obliged to dive into Danilo Gallinari. No one can deny that he can shoot the ball, and I'd say he is already one of the top 10 pure shooters in the league. But he is also way too one dimensional, with 83% of his shots being jumpshots. He is also getting shredded on defense on a nightly basis, with players he is guarding averaging about 24 points a night against him. He also doesn’t really contribute in any other ways offensively besides shooting the ball. At 6'10 he needs to be averaging more than 4.8 rebounds a game, and in keeping with the abysmal assist totals on this team, he needs to improve on his 1.4 a game rate. That being said, this is truly his first year in the league, and he is already elite at one skill which will keep him in the NBA for years (i.e. Brent Barry, Jason Kapono, Kyle Korver etc.), but if the Knicks want to improve back to the level of the John Starks, Spreewell, LJ days, Gallinari needs to widen his game greatly.
8) Overall, I think this Knicks team will be an interesting one to watch the rest of the way. At the beginning of the year there was so much talk about the Summer of LeBron, and what moves the front office was going to make, that the team was not focused nor thought they could win. But a real turning point was in the narrow loss to Boston a few weeks back. After that, there has been a change around this team, and the development of the belief that they can actually win, and more importantly, that they should win. Look, they are by no means going to contend or even win a playoff series this year, but I think that the future in New York could be brighter than they thought. If Gallinari continues to develop, they keep David Lee, and then maybe deal for a point guard there is no reason why they shouldn't make the playoffs in the East this year. And then with Donnie Walsh ready to pounce on a big free agent or two this summer, the Knicks could finally be on the path to right the ship that Isaiah Thomas so badly crashed and burned.
12 Days of NBA Knowledge
It’s no secret to those who know me that I’m a basketball junkie, always trying to watch or read about as much as I can, usually forming half decent opinions on them. And as a second semester senior, I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands, so I figured why not put those thoughts to paper. For my first entry, I will stick to the theme of the twelve days of Christmas, and offer up 12 thoughts and observations on the NBA that I have noticed up to this point…enjoy.
Note: Though I am posting this on Christmas night, I actually wrote it before, and after watching the Christmas day games, will have a few addendums to address.
1) I agree with Bill Simmons that the talent level in the league right now is as high as it has been since MJ, Magic, and Bird. Almost every team has a legit player or two, and while there remains a few elite teams the lower levels teams are becoming more and more competitive. This has been why there have been more "upsets" than usual these first two months, and I think that benefits the league, and the viewership options…because last year I definitely would not have wasted my time trying to find and watch Cleveland vs. Memphis.
2) After seeing both, Brandon Jennings can NOT hold a candle to Tyreke Evans, and Evans will win the ROY by a landslide. Seriously, it’s not even close. Evans is a physical specimen, who like Derek Rose last year, is blowing by defenders that are playing five feet off of him. Give him two years to develop a consistent outside jumper and he will be a perennial All-Star. Although I have to say that his jumper is a bit better than I remembered it being at Memphis. He and his Kings are one of the pleasant surprises this year at 13-15, and they just pushed the Cavs to the brink in their last game. They won’t make the playoffs or anything in the West, but no longer are they simply a door mat. And once Kevin Martin returns from injury, that backcourt of he and Evans will be something to be reckoned with.
3) Looking to the future, mainly next year’s draft, John Wall is THAT good, that the Nets will continue to be THAT bad. He’s a franchise player right now, and I have no doubt that he will be a star in the league. So to have a shot at turning it around in the future with Wall, it’s in the Net’s best interest to be as Kanye would say, bad, real bad...Michael Jackson. Also I wouldn’t be surprised to see some other teams start to throw it in a little bit to enhance their shot at Wall.
4) On the theme of good pg's, Rondo is one of the top 3 in the league when he shows up (still too inconsistent though, but getting much better). He is the closest thing to a possible triple double every night at the point guard position since Jason Kidd in his prime. And while the Big Three get a lot of warranted attention, I think Rondo is the MVP of the Celtics. It is noticeable how they are a worse team when he plays bad, and come June, without a solid Rondo, that team won’t win a championship.
5) In talking about consistency, Michael Beasley has finally stated to show some. He is finally playing defense, and showing the offensive talent that got him drafted number 2. He took it very personally when Charles Barkley called Wade’s supporting cast a bunch of “Tito Jacksons,” and since has been averaging almost 20 and 8. His upside is off the charts, and I have no doubt that he goes to at least five All- Star games in his career.
6) Kobe is just on a different level right now. He can sense his legacy growing, and he is in full assassin mode. Since his finger injury, which I can’t even imagine trying to shoot a basketball without my right index finger, he is averaging 36 a game. He is doing things with 9 fingers that no one else in the league not named LeBron could do with 12.
7) Another superstar who is killing it right now is Dirk Nowitski. Despite the small set back of having another man's teeth lodged into his elbow, he had been a top 5 player in the NBA, and almost single handedly led the Mavs to a 20-9 record, and atops the Southwest Division. That being said, they can’t win a title with the current team, but it won’t be because of Dirk. But never put anything past Mark Cuban to make a big deal to bring this team closer to contention.
8) People are surprised by the Thunder this year, but not me. I said at the beginning of the season they would have a solid year because the nucleus of Durant, Westbrook, Green, and Harden are very good, and Scott Brooks can flat out coach. They might sneak in with the 8 seed but I think they just barely miss the playoffs this year. But they are a legit big man (which Sam Presti will go get) and two more years away from competing seriously in the West. Also Durant can flat out score, and he will win the scoring title by 2013, mark it down.
9) Looking out East, there are actually 4 contenders vying for the top spot. Some people are hesitant to accept it, but the Hawks are scary. Believe me, no one, not even the Celts want to see them in the playoffs. They are the most athletic team in the league, and they have a crazy home court advantage down in Atlanta. They recently had a tough loss to the Knicks, but they bounced back with two thirty point trouncings of the Bulls and Jazz. At 20-8 they have the fourth best record in the East, but I think they will continue to stay on the heels of the Magic in that division for a while.
10) This is tough for me to admit, but just like in Phoenix, the Shaq experiment in Cleveland has been not been a great success. I wanted to believe it would work, but the numbers and watching them don’t lie. As of a few games ago, when it was LeBron and Shaq together, the Cavs were +5 in points. When LeBron was paired with Z, the were +220 in about 40 fewer minutes. He's too slow and big to defend the pick and roll effectively, and this has actually already lost them two games (Toronto and Memphis). For the Cavs to win the title, Danny Ferry has to suck up his pride, admit he was wrong, and deal Shaq and his 20 million dollar expiring contract for Jamison of a player like that, otherwise it will be a another disappointment.
11) Despite pretty good young talent (Rose, Thomas, Noah), the Bulls are terrible. I mean how do you blow a 33 point lead at home with 18 minutes left to the Kings? They have quit on their coach, and VDN (Vinny Del Negro) has replaced H1N1 as the most feared and dreaded disease to catch this winter in Chicago. He needs to be fired, and just start over. 10-17 was definitely not where they wanted to be this stage in the season, but the benefit is they are in the East, and with a small 4 or 5 game winning streak, they can get right back in the playoff hunt.
12) From what I have seen so far, when healthy, the Lakers and Celtics are the two best teams in the league, but the Lakers are just too deep and big, plus there’s no way Kobe loses to them twice with the chance to cement himself as one of the games all time greats. That's why it will Lakers over Celts in 6...(or did I just secretly pull a REVERSE JINXXXXXX)
Note: Though I am posting this on Christmas night, I actually wrote it before, and after watching the Christmas day games, will have a few addendums to address.
1) I agree with Bill Simmons that the talent level in the league right now is as high as it has been since MJ, Magic, and Bird. Almost every team has a legit player or two, and while there remains a few elite teams the lower levels teams are becoming more and more competitive. This has been why there have been more "upsets" than usual these first two months, and I think that benefits the league, and the viewership options…because last year I definitely would not have wasted my time trying to find and watch Cleveland vs. Memphis.
2) After seeing both, Brandon Jennings can NOT hold a candle to Tyreke Evans, and Evans will win the ROY by a landslide. Seriously, it’s not even close. Evans is a physical specimen, who like Derek Rose last year, is blowing by defenders that are playing five feet off of him. Give him two years to develop a consistent outside jumper and he will be a perennial All-Star. Although I have to say that his jumper is a bit better than I remembered it being at Memphis. He and his Kings are one of the pleasant surprises this year at 13-15, and they just pushed the Cavs to the brink in their last game. They won’t make the playoffs or anything in the West, but no longer are they simply a door mat. And once Kevin Martin returns from injury, that backcourt of he and Evans will be something to be reckoned with.
3) Looking to the future, mainly next year’s draft, John Wall is THAT good, that the Nets will continue to be THAT bad. He’s a franchise player right now, and I have no doubt that he will be a star in the league. So to have a shot at turning it around in the future with Wall, it’s in the Net’s best interest to be as Kanye would say, bad, real bad...Michael Jackson. Also I wouldn’t be surprised to see some other teams start to throw it in a little bit to enhance their shot at Wall.
4) On the theme of good pg's, Rondo is one of the top 3 in the league when he shows up (still too inconsistent though, but getting much better). He is the closest thing to a possible triple double every night at the point guard position since Jason Kidd in his prime. And while the Big Three get a lot of warranted attention, I think Rondo is the MVP of the Celtics. It is noticeable how they are a worse team when he plays bad, and come June, without a solid Rondo, that team won’t win a championship.
5) In talking about consistency, Michael Beasley has finally stated to show some. He is finally playing defense, and showing the offensive talent that got him drafted number 2. He took it very personally when Charles Barkley called Wade’s supporting cast a bunch of “Tito Jacksons,” and since has been averaging almost 20 and 8. His upside is off the charts, and I have no doubt that he goes to at least five All- Star games in his career.
6) Kobe is just on a different level right now. He can sense his legacy growing, and he is in full assassin mode. Since his finger injury, which I can’t even imagine trying to shoot a basketball without my right index finger, he is averaging 36 a game. He is doing things with 9 fingers that no one else in the league not named LeBron could do with 12.
7) Another superstar who is killing it right now is Dirk Nowitski. Despite the small set back of having another man's teeth lodged into his elbow, he had been a top 5 player in the NBA, and almost single handedly led the Mavs to a 20-9 record, and atops the Southwest Division. That being said, they can’t win a title with the current team, but it won’t be because of Dirk. But never put anything past Mark Cuban to make a big deal to bring this team closer to contention.
8) People are surprised by the Thunder this year, but not me. I said at the beginning of the season they would have a solid year because the nucleus of Durant, Westbrook, Green, and Harden are very good, and Scott Brooks can flat out coach. They might sneak in with the 8 seed but I think they just barely miss the playoffs this year. But they are a legit big man (which Sam Presti will go get) and two more years away from competing seriously in the West. Also Durant can flat out score, and he will win the scoring title by 2013, mark it down.
9) Looking out East, there are actually 4 contenders vying for the top spot. Some people are hesitant to accept it, but the Hawks are scary. Believe me, no one, not even the Celts want to see them in the playoffs. They are the most athletic team in the league, and they have a crazy home court advantage down in Atlanta. They recently had a tough loss to the Knicks, but they bounced back with two thirty point trouncings of the Bulls and Jazz. At 20-8 they have the fourth best record in the East, but I think they will continue to stay on the heels of the Magic in that division for a while.
10) This is tough for me to admit, but just like in Phoenix, the Shaq experiment in Cleveland has been not been a great success. I wanted to believe it would work, but the numbers and watching them don’t lie. As of a few games ago, when it was LeBron and Shaq together, the Cavs were +5 in points. When LeBron was paired with Z, the were +220 in about 40 fewer minutes. He's too slow and big to defend the pick and roll effectively, and this has actually already lost them two games (Toronto and Memphis). For the Cavs to win the title, Danny Ferry has to suck up his pride, admit he was wrong, and deal Shaq and his 20 million dollar expiring contract for Jamison of a player like that, otherwise it will be a another disappointment.
11) Despite pretty good young talent (Rose, Thomas, Noah), the Bulls are terrible. I mean how do you blow a 33 point lead at home with 18 minutes left to the Kings? They have quit on their coach, and VDN (Vinny Del Negro) has replaced H1N1 as the most feared and dreaded disease to catch this winter in Chicago. He needs to be fired, and just start over. 10-17 was definitely not where they wanted to be this stage in the season, but the benefit is they are in the East, and with a small 4 or 5 game winning streak, they can get right back in the playoff hunt.
12) From what I have seen so far, when healthy, the Lakers and Celtics are the two best teams in the league, but the Lakers are just too deep and big, plus there’s no way Kobe loses to them twice with the chance to cement himself as one of the games all time greats. That's why it will Lakers over Celts in 6...(or did I just secretly pull a REVERSE JINXXXXXX)
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