Step in the Lane

nbaoffseason: BREAKING: Deron Williams is staying a Net

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:30:32 -0400

BREAKING: Deron Williams is staying a Net

The Off Season: A Hypothetical For Brooklyn aka My Letter to Bill Simmons

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 12:00:22 -0400

To Bill Simmons,

While I am really writing this to sort out my thoughts and convince myself Deron Williams staying with the Nets can be good for the NBA and can give the East some credibility offensively, I’m addressing it to you because a) you might actually respond b) it’s a win-win for me. If you validate my thoughts I get to think I’m smart and feel good about myself, and if you don’t it means Billy King is definitely going to do it. Anyway let’s enter the hypothetical world where Dwight Howard gets to undo his twitter-influenced head scratcher and is declared a free agent this summer…

(Quick Note: I’m Assuming the salary cap is around 60 million and the luxury tax kicks in around 70 million)

According to hoopshype.com Brooklyn has a little less than 18 million dollars in salary on the books right now (this with Brook Lopez getting the qualifying offer, about 4 million). First step is obviously bringing in Howard and Williams. Scratch that the first step is to either denounce Gerald Wallace or resign him for less. If I’m reading Larry Coon’s CBA FAQs correctly Wallace’s cap hold amounts to around 15 million¹ so they can’t make any moves (outside of signing Williams) until they figure out what they’re doing with Wallace (this takes the Wallace trade from dumb to downright idiotic). I personally offer Wallace 3 years for around 15 million, tell him the situation – we need a quick decision and while this might be a little lower than what other teams offer this is an opportunity to be on a title contender – and see what he says. If he says yes great, if not you still have plenty of cap space to work with. We’ll assume he comes back.

After Wallace signs and we renounce the rest of our unrestricted free agents we are up to around 23 million in salary. Now for Williams and Howard; Williams can start at 18 million with a 7% increase every year over five years while Howard can get the same contract via a sign and trade or start at 18 million with a 5% increase over the next four years. I’m going to try to convince both to take a little less for the sake of building a stronger team around them. Specifically, I’m offering both a contract starting at 15 million with 5% increases every year. Despite Williams’ sense of pride, he is a really smart guy who I think realizes that the Big Three took less and the fact that Durant, Westbrook, and Kobe not taking less is hurting their team’s ability to build towards the future. He also realizes if he does it CP3 probably does it next year as well so he doesn’t have to worry about Paul making more money than the him (don’t think he doesn’t care about that). So Williams’ takes less and Howard does as well because, let’s be honest, Howard is as impressionable as a five year old and not above a “monkey see, monkey do” mentality (if I wasn’t black that would be racist). We’re up to 53 million.

The word around the web is Kidd is going wherever Williams goes. I’m assuming he is playing for less at this point in his career so we’ll give him a two year deal at 2 million a year, flat. Now we’re at 55 million…actually Brook Lopez’s cap hold bumps him up from 4 million to 8 million. We’ll say he signs an offer sheet worth around 8 to 10 million dollars a year over 4 years. We’ll assume the ceiling and we’ll match it. We’re at 61 million and we have enough room to bring in a player via the midlevel exception. My first call is to Ersan Illyasova. Not 100 percent sure how much he is expecting to get in free agency but I feel it can’t exceed 5 million by so much that he doesn’t consider it. We’ll say we get him.

My last move is to bring in Jodie Meeks and Dominic McGuire for the minimum because Jodie Meeks is a knock down shooter and you can never have enough of those and Dominic McGuire is a very good defender who can defend 1 through 4 that you should be able to get for cheap. That leaves us with a starting lineup of Williams, Brooks, Wallace, Lopez, and Howard and bench of Kidd, Morrow, Illyasova, Meeks, McGuire, Farmar, (gulp) Johan Petro, and Jordan Williams, all while remaining under the luxury tax.

If that’s not enough next year another 12 million comes off the books giving us enough room to bring in another player at the full midlevel exception that can be used on Tyreke Evans (got a feeling the Kings don’t give the qualifying offer), Kevin Martin, Manu Ginobili, Shawn Marion, Paul Millsap, Dajaun Blair, Nikola Pekovic, Zaza Pachulia and a couple dozen other players that could work well off the bench.

The only thing that scares me about all of this is that about half of the moves mentioned are based off Chris Broussard rumors.

(thinking)

[Explicative], you know what never mind.

Endnotes

Up until I checked this out on Coon’s FAQs I always wondered why teams didn’t implore the sign new free agents first and sign your guys after with Bird Right’s strategy.

nbaoffseason: Red Auerbach explains flopping and why he hates...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:37:21 -0400

nbaoffseason:

Red Auerbach explains flopping and why he hates it with the help of Wes Unseld, Paul Silas, Elvin Hayes, Clem Haskins, and Mike Reardon (worst flopper ever).

His plea to end flopping is not directed at the players or even referees. He blames coaches, high school to the pros. “Lets not hurt the game.” And when you compare the flopping in this video to what we see in todays NBA it becomes quite apparent that the league has been long overdue for a course correction.

Step in the Lane Weekly (6-12)

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:57:49 -0400

Written by Michael Badger

First Step

Don’t Call It A Changing of the Guard. I understand why you would want to call it that. In the last month they have beaten the Mavericks, Lakers, and Spurs; the three teams that have represented the West this decade. As Kobe Bryant struggled in the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant shined. And as Greg Popovich reminded us, if they finish this run they will have defeated the winners of the 11 of the last 13 championships on their way to the title. I understand why you want to call it a changing of the guard.

I understand why you want to call it a passing of the torch. Their four best players are 23 and under, they all enjoy being together, and all enjoy playing together on the court. They have the one of the most explosive guards in the game, the most explosive 6^th man in the league, the best shot blocker in basketball, and the best offensive player in the league. And they are all 23 and under. I understand why you would want to call it a passing of torch.

Kevin Durant may very well be the best player in basketball, and that alone may seem like a good enough reason. His offensive game is unparalleled, his ability to finish games at this point unmatched, and over the course of a month, his biggest flaw has faded into existence as he defended Kobe Bryant late in games. And while that many seem like a good enough reason, he still has the potential to improve greatly. I understand why you would you want to call it a changing of the guard.

But please don’t call it a changing of the guard.

Because in a year and half this group might not be together, and two years from now they will most likely be disbanded. Because Perkins makes big money and Ibaka is due for a payday. Because James Harden is a max deal player and Oklahoma City couldn’t support a three max deal player team before the lockout. Don’t call it a changing of the guard because they definitely can’t afford one after.

Don’t call it a passing of the torch because “high pick” and “down screen” are things you do to avoid one on one play in pick up ball. It’s not San Antonio’s European Dribble Drive Motion or Nelson and Hollins’ hybrids. It’s not Phil’s Triangle. It’s not Sloan’s 1-4 High. And it’s not even Larry Brown’s simplistic motion offense or Carlisle and Kidd’s schemes to get Dirk the ball. Don’t call it a passing of torch because it does seem like the limit of Scott Brook’s offensive creativity. Don’t call it a changing of the guard because Scott Brooks is still the coach.

You can call this team many things: young and explosive, exciting to watch, a group of good young guys who really like playing together, and Western Conference Champion.

Just don’t call this a changing of the guard.

In The Lane

LeBron or Durant. The actual Thunder-Heat matchup is really doomed for failure. Both teams play great defense and have a tendency look stagnant on offense. While both teams have been deemed superb fast break teams, neither plays with a particularly outstanding pace (especially Miami), and really only run off of turnovers and blocked shots (along with every collection of players assembled in a full court basketball game). Neither coach has developed a system in which their best players function together and play off each other, and while the Thunder actually commit to try and have an ability to play with each other, neither team really embodies the team concept. All of those factors will most likely combine for some stretches of ugly basketball in the coming weeks.

The more intriguing question going into this series was posed across the social networks after Kevin Durant sunk a Western Conference giant for the last time this season: Kevin Durant or LeBron James? Who do you want on your team? How about for one game? for one series? for one season? for the next three years? for the next ten years?

LeBron James responded quickly to Kevin Durant’s performance, delivering one the greatest playoff performances of all time one day after Durant and Oklahoma City were crowned Western Conference Champions, bringing hesitation to the collection of people who too quickly gifted the reins to Durant. And now we are left entering into game one of the NBA Finals asking the potentially unanswerable question, LeBron or Durant?

LeBron supporters are quick to point to the statistical edge over Durant he holds in most categories, while Durantulites retort with Durant’s late game performances, the same performances that have eluded LeBron over the past 2 years. LeBron’s defensive prowess was the one factor that seemed to always give him the edge over Durant, but given Durant’s late game defensive performances over the past month and LeBron’s slight overrating on that end of the court, it is hard to not call their work on the other end of the court anything but a draw.

Personally, my response takes the same form as the oft skewed response of Larry Bird when discussing LeBron and Kobe. If you want to win you go with Durant. His game does not require him to dominate the ball to be effective which has allowed his teammates to play more integral roles in their team’s success. On the other side LeBron and Wade’s inability to really play with each other and off of each other has been the major problem and remains a major problem for Miami. Durant naturally allowing more team play makes his teams more of threat deeper into the playoffs.

Not as important to winning, but more often praised and scrutinized, is Durant’s ability to finish games compared to LeBron’s inability to do so over the past two years. The fact of the matter is over the course of these playoffs Durant has proven that he is the guy you want to have in the waning moments of any close game. He does not shy away from the big moments, instead goes out of his way to take them on, and is building a track record of succeeding when doing so.

The Finish

Quick Rant Defending LeBron: As much as I give him flack, he is one of four guys in the NBA who can carry a team long stretches of games and seasons. And this playoff run it is becoming obvious that he is being asked to do too much for Miami. With the inconsistency Wade has shown through these playoffs the only other consistent thing Miami has had going for them is the steady play of Chalmers and LeBron trying vigorously to make up the rest. He has done an amazing job making up the difference to this point but I doubt he has enough to carry this team to a championship. And he shouldn’t be blamed for that.

And One

Some lockout footage I’ve recently ran across: Kobe Bryant versus James Harden in the Drew League, and a Kevin Durant Documentary.

The Off Season: Free Agency, Part 1 aka The Deron Williams Story

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:57:00 -0400

On January 14, 2011 the Utah Jazz blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers. They shot 52.2% from the field and 50% from three. The Millsap/Jefferson combo combined for 36 and 12, Andrei Kirilenko and Raja Bell combined for 30 points, and CJ Miles contributed 20 points off the bench. Deron Williams had 26 and 9 on 10 for 16 shooting.

That was the type of success Deron Williams and the Jazz were having that season. Granted, this game was against a Cavs, but the Jazz had still posted a record of 27-13, had winning streaks of five and seven, had yet to lose three straight games, and out of the eight other teams you could consider a contender at the time (Chicago, Miami, Boston, Orlando, San Antonio, LA, Dallas, OKC) they had played six (not Chicago or Boston) and beaten four (Miami, Orlando twice, OKC, and LA). Deron Williams’ success in particular went and still goes wildly unnoticed. He was averaging 22 points per game along 9.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 46.1% from the field and 36.8% from three. If you disqualify players like LeBron, Wade, Kobe, and Pau Gasol, from MVP consideration because they play alongside other superstars, Williams was one of four players who should actually be considered for the MVP at that point in the season (along with Rose, Amar’e, and Durant).

However this would prove the high point of the Utah Jazz and Deron Williams’ season. They would lose their next six games and Williams would begin to battle with injury soon after. The Jazz go back and forth between wins and losses while Williams is out the lineup and his return comes rather quickly. After a win against Denver, a blowout loss to Oklahoma City, and a win against Sacramento they prepare to host the Chicago Bulls.

The Rose-Williams matchup turns out to be interesting one, Rose puts up 29 and 7 while Williams manages 11 and 12, but both struggle mightily from the field (Rose: 11 for 26, Williams: 5 for 13). The last minutes are still mildly entertaining as we see Williams execute the pick and roll with Al Jefferson as he used to with Carlos Boozer, while Derrick does his best imitation with Boozer on the other end. Chicago’s defense prevails and in one of the game’s key moment Rose picks Williams from behind after Utah had just got a key stop. The Bulls win by five.

And the next day we learned, after 23 years, that was Jerry Sloan’s last game as coach of the Utah Jazz. The immediate reaction, besides the utter shock of it all, was centered around a very heated argument between Williams and Sloan at halftime of the previous night’s game. Apparently Williams brushed off a play call from Sloan earlier in the game and the halftime argument that resulted became so intense that players thought they would come to blows.¹

Williams became the scapegoat, the guy who drove Sloan out of Utah, and while obviously he played a role in Sloan’s departure, he did not deserve the blame. This was a case of two very strong willed people who could only share the reins for so long and it was not a reason for us to question Williams’ character, maturity, or leadership.²

After three more games Deron Williams, for reasons I understand but don’t quite agree with, was traded to New Jersey.³

Due to the lockout and the presence of the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets entering the picture, the next part of the story is kind of a blur. In the few games he plays with New Jersey he struggles shooting but his assists numbers jump (13 a game for New Jersey) and he finishes the year averaging just over 20 and 10.⁴

Williams is the first and only big name to head overseas during the lockout, something he said he had been planning as soon as talks of a potential lockout surfaced⁵, which for some reason led Stephen A. Smith to condemn him for projecting an image of unity amongst the players (because an image of unity will garner you resolution and proving you can still find work outside of your employer won’t give you any leverage during a lockout or strike). He scores 50 points in a EuroChallenge game⁶ and starts to put up really solid numbers while playing off the ball for Besiktas.

The lockout ends and Williams finds himself back in New Jersey, and, after a preseason injury, without Brook Lopez. This hurts for many reasons as not only is New Jersey without their big man for the majority of the season, the most important piece in a deal for Dwight Howard is now damaged goods. It results in an ugly season with a cast of some of the worst supporting parts available (Johan Petro, Gerald Green, Sheldon Williams…yep) not to mention one of the worst coaches in basketball (we’re talking Saunderian level bad). Williams, despite playing a new role and shooting more than he is used to, manages 21 and 8.7 but puts up the worst efficiency numbers of his career (4 TOs and 40.7% shooting). He still is only player this year to finish top ten in assists per game and points per game and also held the league high for points in a game (his 57 point performance against Charlotte) and assists in a game (tied with Rondo at 20).⁶

And we are now here, present time, and Deron Williams, the marquee player in the 2012 free agency class (due to a mindboggling move by Dwight Howard. Something to keep in mind), is just over three weeks away from being a free agent. There is only one question that needs to be answered to continue our story: where will he sign?

The Realistic Answers

Brooklyn Nets. He has said that they are his first option and, if they are able to put together a team that can legitimately contend, he would love to bring the Nets to Brooklyn. The problem: if you look at the rest of this free agent class (and I promise we are going to get there) there aren’t really many pieces that you can string together to build a contender. There are guys who can be smaller pieces to the puzzle but no one that can be a capable sidekick to Williams in pursuit of a championship. At this point there only real chance is bringing in Dwight Howard (still possible) or potentially Pau Gasol (very unlikely) via trade. Short of that I don’t see the Nets bringing back Williams. But hey, at least they have a cool new logo.

Los Angeles Lakers. Obviously will have to happen via trade, if Brooklyn at some point realizes that they will be losing Williams can possibly salvage Pau Gasol in a sign and trade scenario. If you were to ask the Nets they would probably prefer Bynum but the Lakers seem intent on keeping him around. Still bringing Gasol (and probably Ramon Sessions) to the Bronx serves as acceptable compensation. The likelihood of this happening is really hard to gauge. While it is not the ideal scenario we saw playing out if Williams wants to get to contender, this may be his only way to do it.

Dallas Mavericks. Remember that mindboggling move by Howard I mentioned earlier. That move, waiving his player option, is what is stopping the Mavs from acquiring Deron Williams this summer. The biggest reason Williams is hesitant to return to his hometown, there is no real foreseeable future for the Mavericks. If Dwight Howard was coming to Dallas alongside Deron Williams, as Mark Cuban planned all along, Williams would not hesitate to pull the trigger. Now without Howard, Cuban must convince Williams that Dallas can contend now, and that he has a plan to keep them contending in the future. If anyone could do it…

Why Isn’t Anyone Trying This

Philadelphia 76ers. Two possible ways this could happen. Convince Elton Brand to use his early termination option and restructure a deal that fits his current talent level. This would then open enough cap room to sign Williams and inject the team that needs offense and a player to finish the game down the stretch with one of the greatest offense creators of all time (6^th all-time in assists per game) who is also a clutch performer. If you convince Lou Williams to come back for slightly less than what he wants for the sake of playing with a contender, and convince Spencer Hawes to do the same, there is a chance you bring back the same team that went to seven in the East Semis plus Deron Williams and stay under the luxury tax. The other option (because honestly, Brand isn’t turning down that money) is largely the same except you would amnesty Brand.

Atlanta Hawks. Again made possible by the amnesty, the Hawks admit to their recent mistake and amnesty Joe Johnson. This takes (prepare yourself) 19 million dollars off the books and takes Atlanta significantly under the cap. They use their new found cap freedom to sign Williams, use the midlevel exception to add one or two more pieces, and potentially move Josh Smith to load their roster with capable role players. Atlanta more than any other playoff team needs to shake things up. This seems like the best way to do it.

My Personal Deron Williams’ Fantasies

Utah Jazz. He will not do it because he feels they are cheap and will not commit financially to winning. They will not do it because they are cheap and will not commit financially to winning. But if front office management was not an issue Williams is still the perfect fit for Utah. You know what Utah was missing this year? A point guard, somebody to distribute the ball to the plethora of bigs and young talent they have on this team. Financially speaking, if they amnestied Harris they would have enough in cap room to make it happen, and they would still be able to bring back CJ Miles (one of Deron Williams’ favorites) via Bird Rights and remain under the luxury tax.

Los Angeles Clippers. First, how it would work: tell Mo Williams he is getting amnestied if he does not use his player option. Whatever he decides is fine because there is no one else to use the amnesty on anyway. Convince Deron Williams, Chris Paul if he returns, and Blake Griffin to take pay cuts. If you are able to convince New Jersey to take Caron Butler and potentially DeAndre Jordan off your hands in a sign and trade the cut they have to take isn’t much different than Miami’s big three. Bring back Mo (if he uses his option), Randy Foye, Chauncey, and Nick Young via bird rights.

Now, why they should try it: it can literally be a one year experiment. If it doesn’t work, Chris Paul bolts next year and you’re left with Williams and Griffin to build around. If it does work, Paul comes back for less and you have a Williams, Paul, and Griffin for the next five years. It is a win-win situation for the Clippers.

Why it won’t happen: Donald Sterling is cheap.

Part Two Coming Soon.

Endnotes

Anyone know what come to blows actually means?
Good perspective on all that transpired from Adrian Wojnarowski
I get it. Williams was headed for the door, New Jersey was desperate to make a move, and they got a great deal. But in hindsight, I whole heartedly believe that team could have made noise in the playoffs that year. Look at how everything turned out. The Grizzlies top the Spurs, the Lakers tear themselves apart, OKC shows that they are not quite ready for primetime, and every team in the East proves they are inept offensively. I still believe that the winner of the Dallas-Portland series wins the championship no matter what. You’re telling me a Utah team with the best point guard in the NBA at the time, one of the better post threats in the league, and one of the best offensive systems of all time can’t make a run at the title?
Last player not named Chris Paul or Deron Williams to average 20 points and 10 assists. Tim Hardaway, 92-93 season 19 years ago.
Highlights something about Williams (to me at least) Wojnarowski points out in his article. He is a really intelligent guy and really does his own thinking as opposed to following the status quo. He has never been of the same ilk as the other young big names in the league right now. He has always lined up more with the Duncan and Kobe than Howard, Melo, LeBron, and Wade.
For those wondering about the actual competition level of the EuroChallenge it’s the third tier of FIBA’s Euroleagues. If you are a soccer fan Euroleague is the Champions’ League, Eurocup is Europa, and Eurochallenge serves as the third tier for basketball. Besiktas was originally in the Eurocup before being eliminated as demoted to the Eurochallenge. All that being said this was the third tier of top rated teams in Europe.

The Dominance of Jordan and the Bulls

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 03:12:41 -0400

To combat ESPN tweeters proclaiming LeBron’s amazing game 6 performance against Boston outdid Jordan’s 63 point night against Boston, which was not Jordan’s best playoff performance, I started to search through Jordan’s playoff game logs to find Jordan’s actual best playoff performance.*

As I went through each years’ games I noticed two facts, with the first being a direct result of the second. Jordan did not have many out of this world games in the playoffs (not considering his many 50 point conquests out of this world because he usually took a lot of shots), and he didn’t because he never really needed too.

The one thing that stood out the most when searching through these games is how easily the Bulls did away with their Eastern Conference opponents through their two three year runs.

In 1991, during their first championship run, they lost two games…total, and only lost one game in their run for the East crown. The Knicks and Cavs gave them problems the next year winning three and two games respectively, but Jordan’s Bulls would obliterate Eastern Conference opponents from this point forward (with one more exception).

They would open the 1992 playoffs by winning their first two series without losing a game. They then lost two games to higher seeded home team only to run off for straight against Patrick Ewing and the Knickerbockers.

After ~~being punished for his gambling~~ his two year baseball-influenced hiatus Jordan and the Bulls came back in ‘96 without missing a beat (ignoring the ‘95 playoffs as we all seem to do anyway). Miami, New York, and Orlando managed to win a grand total of one game against in 1996 playoffs. The next year the Bullets, Hawks, and Heat would up that number managing to win two games. And the next year the number reached an astonishing four wins as the Reggie-Bird Pacers were able to provide the Bulls there only real challenge since ‘92, pushing the Bulls to seven games.

When it was all said and done the Bulls had only lost three or more Eastern Conference Playoff games in a season twice during their two three year playoff runs. No team besides the ‘98 Pacers and the ‘92 Knicks were able to force a game seven and only two other teams were able to win more than one game.

So no, Jordan’s playoff vault is not packed with games where he carried the team on his back (there are some, but it is by no means packed with them). But, lets be honest, how often did he actually need to.

* I found three games that, when encompassing all around numbers and efficiency, are comparable and could be considered better than LeBron’s outburst last night. During the Bad Boy years he had a huge game against the Knicks (47p, 11a, 6r on 12 for 18) and against the Lakers in the Finals he had two games where he did a lot of everything (36p, 12a, 8r on 14 for 24 and the more impressive 33p, 13a, 7r on 15 for 18).

New blog dedicated to the one and only Boston Celtics ! Follow me for some great Pictures and Updates on the team !

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 01:40:12 -0400

yourfavoritecelticsfan:

The Offseason: The Lottery

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:01:39 -0400

The first of five part series leading up to the 2012 Offseason. Written by Michael Badger.

Intro

The fast and furious lock out forced scheduled has created many interesting stories and scenarios during this season. But beyond the shortened training camp, increased progressive fatigue, out of shape players (or just Boris Diaw), more frequent injuries, the dip in quality of play because of these factors (or as we will realize next year the offense is getting really bad and the defense is getting insanely good), back to back playoff games, all of these factors really affecting the older teams (two of which are playing in the Conference Finals), and the Spurs proving that all of these factors are not really factors at all (including Boris Diaw being out of shape¹), we are also getting an offseason that will start immediately after (or possibly during²) the conclusion of the NBA Playoffs.

Literally two days after the last possible day of the Finals (June 26^th) is David Stern’s annual warm reception by the City of New York (technically New Jersey this time around) and the unofficial start of the NBA Offseason. Speaking of David Stern, New York, the NBA Draft, and conspiracy theories (somebody mentioned conspiracy theories, right?)…

The Lottery

The New Orleans Hornets – the team that was owned by the NBA for the past season and a team that was recently sold by the league to new ownership (less than two months ago) – has won the rights to the first pick in the NBA draft.³ In the era of shameless tanking there have been at least two times where the team that held the highest chance at the number one pick was clearly the most deserving of the number one pick. Both times the Charlotte Bobcats have been lotteried out of that pick. The first time is still the most comical to me. They were an expansion team. The team was literally made up of guys (led by Gerald Wallace) that the other 29 teams threw away from the end of their bench. They didn’t deserve to just have the number one pick outright? Really?

This time around almost makes me laugh as hard if only because it was obvious that Charlotte was by far the worst team in the NBA this year⁴ and almost equally as obvious (to me at least) that the commish was not going to let them land The Brow. There were just too many reasons for Charlotte not to get the pick – they are a horrible team, in a horrible market, with no coach, and a horrible front office of guys that David Stern does not like⁵ – and too many other teams that needed the boost to their organization – two of which most likely had the commissioner in their corner.⁶

But moving away from conspiracy theories that develop so often that you have to believe that some of them, if not all of them, are true, there were some other intriguing and, plainly put, hilarious developments from last night’s lottery and the upcoming draft. The Brooklyn Nets’ pick, traded to Portland (top 3 protected) for a Gerald Wallace rental on a team that had no chance of making the playoffs⁷, will go Portland. Meanwhile, the Warriors will retain their top seven protected pick that they traded to the Nets who then moved the pick to Utah for a year and half Deron Williams rental. Even more confusing the Nets, who at one point were looking at two lottery picks in this draft, have nothing because they feel that this draft is not that deep (me and about five other guys in the world agree), while Golden State worked so hard on retaining their pick – tanking their season when they were closing in on the eight seed and on an impressive winning streak; and desperately trying to make another move to get the pick back outright after the season was over⁸ – because they think this draft is very deep (along with the rest of the world).

Also funny, and significantly less confusing, there is a good chance Andre Drummond and Demarcus Cousins end up on the same team, at least for a moment.⁹ I don’t know what will be more entertaining, watching a near fourteen feet of height never get above the rim, placing prop bets on which one will care less on any giving night, placing futures bets which one will get Keith Smart fired, or watching Demarcus Cousins thoroughly outshine Drummond on the block while shooting 43% from the field and essentially killing any thoughts of potential anyone had about Drummond. People really think this is a deep draft?

I was trying to hit 1000 words but I honestly don’t know enough about this draft yet to really talk about it. I could talk about more conspiracy theories but I don’t want Mr. Stern to veto this blog post. I would hate to see this blog fall under the control of the Los Angeles Slumlord.¹⁰

Endnotes

Anyone else see the comedy in the Spurs, the team that has overcome every potential pitfall of the lockout season, taking the one guy who came back from the lockout noticeably out of shape and turning him into an effective player and essential piece to this amazing run.
Yes teams no longer playing can make trades right now and I can see the Lakers pulling a very New York Yankees type move by sending Pau Gasol to Chicago a few hours before game three of the Finals.
I’m pretty sure one of this blog’s writers said David Stern wasn’t letting The Brow go to Charlotte.
And statistically the worst team of all time for that matter.
Okay its only one guy but it’s the same guy he banned from the league for two years. (I’m going to rename this article The Conspiracy Theories)
In retrospect the Nets probably weren’t in David Stern’s corner as much as I originally thought. Their owner supposedly has the potential to be the Russian Mark Cuban and Deron Williams is probably fleeing the ship no matter what. But still Anthony Davis and Jeremy Lin (it could have happened) would have been a good duo to bring to Brooklyn. (And I’m sure all the pun happy journalists would have jumped all over Brook-Linsanity).
Even if Wallace does decide to stay for another year do they really think an aging Gerald Wallace with one year left on his deal is the great building block that will attract free agents and convince Deron Williams to stay.
This all for a pick they traded for Marcus Williams. Marcus Williams who played 54 total minutes as a Golden State Warrior. That is one more minute than Rajon Rondo played last night. We Still Believe…kind of.
I think they try to move Cousins if they draft Drummond but I honestly don’t think the offered return will be enough to pull the trigger.
If you didn’t hear they are bringing Vinny Del Negro back. In other words Chris Paul is out the door in about 13 months and Blake Griffin, if he is willing to take the financial risk, is following suit a year later.

Step in the Lane Weekly (5-27)

Sun, 27 May 2012 20:49:13 -0400

First Step

Game Seven. Last night Boston prevailed in a game seven that was almost as ugly as their game seven loss in Los Angeles two years ago. The latter at least succeeded in giving us an unfiltered and thoroughly entertaining Metta World Peace (as Ron Artest¹).

This time around the finish was significantly less fulfilling. After Andre Iguodala and the 76ers’ team defense thoroughly hampered Paul Pierce’s performance² and led to a disqualifying charge with more than four minutes left and Philly only down three most people felt we were in for a dynamic finish. Instead Rajon Rondo made foot on the line two pointer and five feet behind the line prayer. Rajon Rondo – the guy who is has been maligned for his poor shooting since he came to the league, the guy who shoots 24.1% from three for his career, shot 23.8% from three this year, and is 5 for 20 in the playoffs from three – sunk the Philadelphia 76ers with his long range shooting last night.

It left an empty feeling in my stomach that I have felt far too often during this playoff run. It was the same feeling I felt when the Grizzlies found themselves down 3-1 despite thoroughly outplaying the Clippers for three games and three quarters. It was the same feeling I felt when the team oriented Pacers dropped three straight to a two man show that took turns isolating and running of high screens.

From a logical basketball standpoint that was not how it was supposed to happen. The better team should prevail. The team that played together and did not rely solely on individual success should prevail. And the team that played the close to perfect defense, and gave up the shot every coach in the world would have consented, should prevail.

Instead individual success seemed to trump team success for at least one more season.³ The tides seem to be turning though, and at some point in the near future I think basketball will make sense again.

In the Lane

All-Defensive Team.Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant play legitimate defense about 55% of the time throughout the course of the regular seaon. In Kobe Bryant’s case even when he does exert himself on defense he is past the point of being outstanding or even really good at that end of the court. I do not blame them for their lack of effort on that defensive end. They both have bad knees and need to conserve their bodies to be effective on the offensive end of the court, to be effective late in games, and to be effective in the post season. I do have a problem with rewarding their efforts (or lack thereof) with first and second team all defense honors.

More frustrating than those kept on the list are those left off the list. Andre Iguodala was the best defensive small forward in basketball this year⁴, and Kyle Lowry and Russell Westbrook are hands down the best defensive players at the point guard position. None of these players even sniffed the second team list.

The most comical and heavily noted blunder was the Defensive Player of the Year being relegated to the second team. Since the introduction of the DPOY award it is only the second time this has happened, and just like the first time it actually makes some sense.⁵ If Dwight Howard does not impose all the drama on the Orlando Magic organization this year he probably wins his fourth consecutive DPOY award. The coaches are known for being at odds with media on about every feasible topic so this can probably be seen as their backhanded rebuttal to Howard not getting the award he deserved.

Spurs-Thunder. Youth meets experience⁶, depth meets stardom⁷, and the team that laid out the blueprint for small market success meets the most recently imitated that success⁸. Then of course there is the epitome of great coaching meeting the epitome of overrated whatever you call what Scott Brooks and Mike Brown do. Also, there is one of the most fluent and effective offenses in the NBA meeting a very stagnant and ineffective in slow tempo and against good defense offense.

If you do not read the endnotes and do not understand sarcasm I believe the Spurs will quite handedly win this series. All of Oklahoma City’s flaws can be magnified against the Spurs and all of the Spurs supposed shortcomings can be proved to not exist. At the end of the day, these are too very good defenses that will more or less wash each other out and one offense being significantly better than the other. Spurs win in five or six.

Heat-Celtics. Disclaimer: This series means absolutely nothing. The winner of this series has less than a 20% chance of beating the winner of the Spurs-Thunder series (the Spurs) in the NBA Finals.

That being said this series goes one of two ways. 1)The Celtics continue to shock the world by being extremely resilient and refusing to let their last run die despite having their worst team since the big three were assembled. 2)The Heat handle the Celtics in five or six games looking as dominant as they did when they matched up last year.

The second is significantly more likely. The matchup just favors the Heat in almost every way imaginable. Miami is weak inside but Boston’s bigs seem content to just shoot jump shots and not attack the paint. Miami is missing Bosh and needs a big contribution from someone outside of LeBron and Wade, but with Avery Bradley down and the unnoticed consistency Mario Chalmers being defended by a hobbled Ray Allen I am pretty confident they will get that third contributor.

I am one of the few people that think Philadelphia would have provided a tougher matchup for Miami, but the fact of the matter is once Derrick Rose went down on the first Saturday of these playoffs the East became Miami’s to lose. Over a month later very little has changed.

The Finish

For our regular readers (again all two of you) who have not noticed, I have a particular affinity for the 76ers, Doug Collins, and Andre Iguodala. I want to congratulate them on a very good run and hope they keep the majority of their core together and continue to play basketball the right way. Obviously, they need to figure a lot of things out offensively, but they have a young nucleus that is committed to their coach, committed to the team concept, and committed to defense. That is a good place to build from.

And One

Nothing particular from this week but check out a couple of great videos I recently ran across. An old Michael Jordan interview by Pat Riley done right before the Bulls finished their series with Detroit in the 91 Playoffs. NBA - Where Timeless Happens.

Endnotes

Still my pick for Finals MVP. Took out the opposing team’s best scorer for most the series and bailed out Kobe in game seven.
40.2% percent from the field over the entire series.
Except for, you know, the Spurs are still in the playoffs and should be the favorites to win.
LeBron was good this year but Iguodala was more effective and more consistently guarded the opposing team’s best wing threat.
The other was Dikembe Mutumbo winning DPOY with David Robinson getting the first team nod. Both put up crazy numbers but Robinson blocked almost as many shots with close to two steals a game
Even though the San Antonio Spurs are pretty young team outside of Duncan, Ginobili, and Jackson.
Even though the Spurs have three future Hall of Famers.
Even though Oklahoma City will have to split up their core by the end of the next year because they didn’t realize they were on a budget or predict the strict luxury tax rules that are coming (even though Dallas, Miami, San Antonio, Boston, and the Lakers all seemed prepared or are preparing for them). All they had to do was ask Durant and Westbrook to take pay cuts (or in other words, be like LeBron, Wade, and Nowitzki and not like Melo, Mr. 65 Million Over The Next Three Years, and Kobe) to keep this group of guys they love playing with together.

Bynum & Gasol vs. The Kobe System

Tue, 22 May 2012 02:16:00 -0400

written by Daniel Badger

Ladies & gentleman the Los Angeles Lakers have just lost in the 2nd Round of the playoffs for the 2nd straight year.

And all I’m hearing is trade Gasol, trade Bynum, trade both, and fire Mike Brown. I think we all agree that Mike Brown should get the boot but I have a problem with the trading of Gasol and/or Bynum.

This season it’s been more obvious than ever that the Lakers have the best PF-C duo in the league. Pau Gasol is still the most skilled PF on the block and the best passing PF in the league. Bynum is BY FAR the best offensive center in basketball, and great on the defensive end as well. In a league where good big guys are few and far between, the Lakers have 2 great ones.

Despite having this dominant force, Mike Brown and Kobe Bryant, decided to run the offense through Kobe Bryant this year. It started off well, Kobe was rejuvenated and looked liked the best scorer in the league. But after about a month, Kobe wasn’t tossin’ up 40 point games like old times anymore but was still shooting the ball at a very high rate. He led the league in FG attempts this year and earned praise from a lot for his supposed rebirth as a great scorer. Kobe was the only player of the top 5 scorers this season to shoot under 45% (he shot 43%). My question is why run through the offense through an aging, relatively inconsistent SG, when you have probably the two best, most efficient bigs in the NBA?

So who’s fault is this, it’s sufficient to say Mike Brown. He’s the coach. He calls the plays. He makes the offense. He decides who the main option is. But I’d like to give some blame to Kobe Bryant. We all knew from day one this was Kobe’s team, not Mike Brown’s team, and that Mike Brown was willing to do whatever Kobe desired to avoid confrontation and losing his job. Kobe took advantage, and hoisted up more shots per game than anyone in the league and more than he has since the 2005-2006 season.

Kobe is the guy everyone claims is a great winner and the guy understands what it takes to be a champion as much as anybody in the league today, but does he really understand? It’s not like this was difficult to see. At the end of most these Laker-Thunder games Charles’ Barkely complained about how the Lakers did not Bynum and Gasol anywhere close to enough touches and how the rest of the Lakers became spectators as Kobe shot tough jumper after tough jumper until the Thunder were right back in the game.

Kobe could have gotten Bynum and Gasol more touches, all he had to do was suggest it and/or make a valiant effort to get them the ball throughout games. But he mostly fired up tough fall away jumpers with hands in his face. Some nights he hit them. Most nights he didn’t. He could’ve offered his trust to Bynum and Gasol and allowed the offense to be run through the great duo this season. Gasol would’ve probably had more confidence, him being so important night in and night out and Bynum would’ve probably gave a better effort on defense every night because his teammates got him the ball on offense. Kobe would’ve had more energy to stop the opposing teams best guard or swing man, and he’d have more energy to be the great closer he is down the stretch. And on top of all that, it’s much tougher to stop two 7-footers that play well off each other, and have great individual post-games then to stop a SG who mostly isolates.

Kobe’s been in the league for 16 seasons, he’s been through a lot of drama and has had a lot of learning experiences. He should understand that winning takes sacrifice and team play, not individual domination. I hate Kobe but respect him as one of the greatest to play this game. I thought he would have figured it out by now. He lost a little respect from me this year.

But now a trade will be made, thus the separation of what could’ve been the best and most dominant “Big 3” in basketball. I could care less though, I enjoy seeing the Lakers struggle.

Step in the Lane Weekly (5-20)

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:45:00 -0400

Written by Daniel (D) and Michael (M) Badger

First Step

(M) Media Myths. When I was putting together the format for our end of the season review/playoff preview I initially included a section called Media Myths in which my brother and I would debunk claims by the media that held little to no truth value. The section got scrapped to save us time and to save the time of our readers but I decided to bring a version of it¹ back, mentioning some comical and equally frustrating media fallacies from the past week, to open up today’s blog:

Steve Kerr spent almost the entire second quarter of game two of the Miami-Indiana series destroying Indiana for their inability to find offense and praising Miami for their excellent defense. While Indiana was struggling during the stretch, Miami was just as horrific on offense (from 8:14 to 4:49 neither team scored) and because of this immediately after Kerr finished praising Miami’s and bashing Indiana, Indiana went on a 9-0 run to tie the game and eventually went on to win the game.
Before game three Andre Iguodala appeared on Pardon the Interruption’s Five Good Minutes segment. It was very subtle, but they spent over half of the interview asking Iguodala about two questionable calls that went in his favor (Garnett’s moving screen and the foul on Asik in the clincher against Chicago) barely touching on the success he has had defensively against Pierce.
Nothing specific but I am pretty sure not a single soul at ESPN or Turner had actually watched a Philadelphia 76er game before the playoffs started. The things coming out of the analysts and commentators’ mouths about what they are doing well, what they are struggling with, and what they should do to improve sound like absolute nonsense if you actually know something about the team.²
Paul Pierce was praised for the second time these playoffs (this time by Shaq) for inefficiently scoring a lot of points. While game three against Atlanta was somewhat praiseworthy he had a midlevel performance in game three against Philly and was survived by a plethora of semi deserved trips to the line (more on that later).³
We had to suffer through Doris Burke during the playoffs…again.

(D) Team Basketball Is Beautiful. This week we’ve seen Indiana and San Antonio triumph over superstar centered teams like Miami and Los Angeles. It’s been nice to see Indiana lock down on D, turn it into offense, and take a 2-1 lead in their series, while the Spurs, who have yet to lose in the playoffs, diminish any chance of the Clippers even making this a series. I can’t see anyone stopping the Spurs, they are great in the half-court, they are great in the break, they are experienced, they have a great point guard, they have a post threat, and they have the best coach in the league.⁴

In The Lane

(M) Heat-Pacers. I mentioned this in a previous blog but I was really frustrated with everyone writing Indiana off in this series before it started. Chris Bosh’s absence is meaningful and should definitely be take into account (I still had Miami winning the series if Bosh is there), but even with Bosh healthy, I could not understand how people felt this Pacers team was incapable of even making this series competitive. Miami has some serious flaws, the most evident and most detrimental of which is their inability to be efficient offensively against elite defenses.⁵Dwyane Wade is the biggest individual culprit and it was evidenced in game three.⁶

On the other end Indiana has been playing excellently for over a month now. Many people are ignoring the fact that this was the third best team in the East outside of Miami and Chicago this year. They are one of the top defenses in the league and, along with Philadelphia, are playing the best defense in the playoffs right now. The big question for them was their offense and while it has not been mind blowing it has been good enough to make them a real threat for the Eastern Conference crown.

Deciding the West. Short answer: San Antonio is winning the NBA championship. Long answer: Shaq dropped a gem last night during following the Thunder’s win in LA (somebody go tell Simmons⁷). He claimed the only team that can beat San Antonio is the team that has two players that can outplay Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and plays a system that can rival San Antonio’s and concluded to say this team does not exist. The system part is the most crucial. The rest of the teams left in the playoffs (and most of the teams in the NBA at this point) are lacking the structure offensively that can produce an offense as fluent as San Antonio’s. The teams that do, Indiana and previously Utah and Memphis, lack the ability to compete. (though I think if Memphis could have figured it out and not ran into Chris Paul they would have had a chance).

This series against the Lakers has made it obvious that Oklahoma City still has not figured out how to be effective offensively in the half court.⁸ They rely too heavily on jump shots and the individual abilities of Westbrook, Harden, and Durant to create shots for themselves and for others. That is why they are two Laker collapses away from being down three to one in this series. I cannot see San Antonio, who has won their last 17 games (all but three by double digits⁹), losing to a team with offensive short comings Oklahoma City possesses in the half court.

Oh if you have not noticed I do not think the Clippers have a chance in their series.

The Clutch Factor. After all the that has happened in the NBA this week and all the talks surrounding what has happened I attempted to come up with my own definition of what it means to be clutch in basketball. I came up with a combination of few characteristics of a clutch player:

Is not overwhelmed by the pressure of crunch time and game deciding moments.
Does not hesitate to pursue the challenge of performing in crunch time and during game deciding moments.
Has success performing in crunch time and during game deciding moments.
Does not let failure, or fear of failure, deter him from pursuing the challenge again.

Over the past week we have seen Kevin Durant come close to mastering every aspect of this definition, while simultaneously watching Kobe Bryant potentially begin to fall from the merits because of his inability to fulfill the third characteristic. We have also seen LeBron James fall short of almost all of these standards. It is hard to watch LeBron handle the end of the game and not think, “this guy is scared to miss at the end of the game.” There have been too many occasions where we have seen him dominate that final stretch of a game only to disappear for the last two minutes to think otherwise. I cannot look at the criteria above, think about LeBron’s late game performance over the past two years and not notice that he does not fit the criteria.

(D) East vs. West. I’ve really enjoyed watching the 2nd round of the playoffs. Indiana is beating the Heat into implosion. We have an old school defensive brawl between Boston and Philly, where no lead is safe and you never know who is going to get hot (if anyone). With the exception of game one, the Lakers and Thunder have delivered great, down to the wire games. The Spurs have handled business in LA, and it has been a pleasure to watch their team play and watch Kawai Leonard become a new favorite player of mine.

However, how much bigger and better the West is compared to the East has really stood out to me. The West have the deepest team in the league (Pacers are next, but they are not on the Spurs level). They have KD and Chris Paul (arguably the two best players in the game), Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Tony Parker, Ginobili, Kobe, and Bynum of the 4 teams left. They have so much more star power than the East and that is part of the reason I believe whoever wins it all (cough, cough Spurs) will come out the Western Conference.¹⁰

The Finish

(M) I am anticipating Kings-Lakers game six level officiating in favor Miami and Boston over the next few days. I am pretty sure nobody with a stake in the NBA wants a Philadelphia-Indiana Eastern Conference Finals, and with both LA teams seemingly on their way out I doubt David Stern will go for two Conference Finals where his biggest market is a tossup between the beloved Philadelphia fans and Kevin Durant’s groupies. I am half joking but Miami already receives way too much favor with the referees as it is and I would not be surprised (though I will be insanely frustrated) if the calls are skewed in Miami’s favor to an indefensible extent. Here is to hoping I can get my no star defensive struggle.¹¹

(D) While previewing today’s Miami-Indiana matchup last night, the Inside the NBA crew got into a slightly intense discussion about the Heat. Charles thinks that LeBron and Wade need more help beyond Chris Bosh. He believes that what they have is not enough and their lack of depth and size prevents them from winning a title. All of this is true, BUT then he also went on about LeBron having to do everything and stated that he gets too much flack for his team losing and it is not his (and Wade’s) fault. Kenny and Shaq came back with the same argument I have: when LeBron, Wade, & Bosh got together they said they could win titles. They thought that collection of players could win regardless of supporting cast. They dug their own grave. When this team was put together they, along with most people, arrogantly believed that they were better than they were. I personally really liked what Shaq said after Chuck ranted about LeBron having to do everything for the Heat, “Mike did it, you [Charles] did it, Hakeem did it…” He’s absolutely right! Great players, winners, put their team on their back and win even when things get tough and the odds are against them. Magic and Bird did it, Isaiah did it, Hakeem did it, Duncan did it, Shaq did it, and of course Michael Jordan did. Wade and LeBron put themselves in a category they don’t belong by thinking they were great enough to carry a team to a championship. They’re not in the category of players I just listed, and it’ll take a lot for anyone, not just them, to join such an elite group.¹²

And One

(M)Larry Bird won the Executive of the Year award this week making him the only person to win the MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. Here isLarry Bird as player and exec (if anybody has highlight video of the 97-98 pacers shoot me a link)

(D) Wanted to give a shout out to Russell Westbrook. He has really made a big improvement handling games down the stretch and realizing how great of a clutch scorer KD is. Also, he really saved the game for the Thunder last night and destroyed the Lakers when the offense got stagnant.¹³

Endnotes (5-20)

The original would have included explanation of why there in no reason the Heat should have been considered the best team in basketball this year, why LeBron is an overrated defender, why superstars do not guarantee championships, unwarranted slights at Doris Burke and Jemele Hill, and warranted attacks of Colin Cowherd, Chris Broussard, Jon Barry, Magic Johnson (the analyst, not the player) and Michael Wilbon (the NBA guy, not the PTI guy).
The worst is the subconscious doubt that they can shoot threes. I swear whenever Andre Iguodala makes a three the broadcast team sounds so shocked that I feel they are trying to subliminally plant in the viewer’s mind that he is not typically a good three point shooter. The truth is, Iggy shot 39.4% from three (26^th in the league) and Philly as a team shot 36.2% (8^th in the league).
My main frustration with this is that it discredits Iguodala’s efforts on that end of the court. The fact of that matter is, Iguoudala has held Pierce to 38% shooting and has really taken him out of the series for the most part.
There’s such a gap between Pop and the other Western Conference coaches. Brooks, Brown, and Vinny have been horrible at times.
They were horrible against Philly and Chicago in the playoffs last and struggled with Dallas’ defense for most of the finals as well.
It was obvious Wade was not himself during game three but Wade typically struggles when he plays against elite defenses and I believe that was part of what we saw on Thursday.
BS Reference (obviously). Simmons’ has been accusing Shaq of bringing the TNT studio team down for most of the season.
It honestly looks like Mike Brown and Scott Brooks are having a “who was most undeserving of a Coach of the Year Award” contest. The epitome of offensive ineptitude.
In two of those games Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan didn’t play.
I‘d really love to see the Cs get a ring because it is their last year, but even if they do get out the East, them beating SA or OKC is hard to imagine.
Considering how ugly these games have been the East doesn’t really deserve to have it any other way.
Throw Kareem and Bill Russell in there too. Maybe Kobe but he is iffy.
Scratch that, their offense is always stagnant. Scott Brooks needs to be fired. Durant is such a great scorer but Scott Brooks has no idea how to get him or anybody on that team easy baskets. He literally lets Durant, Westbrook, and Harden take turns running pick & rolls and isolations every play down the court, and the defense knows it is coming.

Step in the Lane Weekly (5-6)

Sun, 06 May 2012 13:31:00 -0400

Written by Michael Badger

First Step

Chances. One week into these playoffs I believe five teams have a legitimate chance of winning the championship. In order: San Antonio, Memphis, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami, Oklahoma City. Indiana and a somewhat dysfunctional¹ Boston team are really the only things that stand in Miami’s way to get out the East (actually there is something else but I will get there in a little bit). However, as I wrote earlier this week, I still think the team that gets out the West is more than likely going to take Miami out.² I feel whoever wins the Spurs-Grizzlies series (barring a Chris Paul miracle) is most likely winning the West and I feel the Lakers will take out the Thunder in games that are played at pace more suitable for Los Angeles. All that being said, San Antonio is clearly the best team in the NBA at the moment. They are destroying a Utah team that a lot of people thought would be a formidable opponent. It is hard to see any team beating them at this point.

In The Lane

Second One: Four Games in Five Days. After reading the first chapter of Bill Simmons’ Book of Basketball I came to full realization of terrifying thought I had been harboring over the past few months: I have not attended very many NBA basketball games. Earlier in the year the thought led me to my first trip to Staples Center where I was tricked into watching a Paul-less Clippers host a Johan Petro led New Jersey Nets team.³ More recently it has led me to embark on a five day period where I will watch two NBA playoff games at Staples Center and two Dodgers-Giants games at Magic Johnson’s Jackie Robinson Memorial Field.⁴ I will expound on the details of the endeavor during a Game 4 write up but for now some thoughts from Game 3:

Memphis has outplayed the Clippers as a whole for all but one quarter of this series. Yet, through a miraculous fourth quarter in Game 1 and Chris Paul’s heroics in Game 3, the Clippers find themselves up two games to one.
Memphis has played Chris Paul about as well as any team can and he has still managed to torch them twice this series. I honestly believe no team in the playoffs (except for Philly potentially) can play Paul as well as Memphis is playing him and if he is somehow able to get the Clippers to the next round we could be in for something amazing in the rounds to come.
One of the funniest moments of the game was seeing Chris Paul literally wave off Vinny Del Negro as Vinny was trying to call a play.
Chris Paul manages the last minute of the every quarter perfectly literally every single time.
I think I am done raving about Chris Paul
This guy is amazing though (OK, really, I’m done.)⁵
After getting to see it in person I am convinced Memphis runs one of the most seamless, effective, and efficient offenses I have seen in the last five seasons.⁶ They flow from fast break, to secondary break, to half-court offense more fluidly than any other team I have ever seen. As a team they are almost always on the same page and rarely have stagnant possession offensive possession.
I am trying really hard not to dislike Blake Griffin. I understand he is young and his postgame is a work in progress but if he stares down one more referee after little to no contact, flops when someone barely touches him as if he is not the strongest guy on the court, or shows up a defender and stares into the crowd after a dunk that was set up solely by Chris Paul I am probably going to break a television (or throw myself from the nosebleeds if it happens in Game 4).
Clippers’ fans were not able to elude my hatred for all Los Angeles sports fans. Really? You are telling Chris Paul he should push the ball up the court here? You know how to manage a game better than CP3? Yeah, you’re right the refs are really screwing you. I am sure the league wants San Antonio-Memphis in the second round. Has Blake Griffin brainwashed you all to believe that every time he is not able to dunk a foul should be called? But I digress.⁷
Underrated Rudy Gay!

All that being said I still see Memphis taking back home court in a convincing game four win and potentially winning the series in six. The Clippers are two Underrated Rudy Gay game winners away from being down three games to none in this series and considering Underrated Rudy Gay has actually been a pretty clutch shooter over his career, I would not expect the Clippers luck to last much longer.

Second Two: What’s Next for Dallas? Yes, the playoffs are just getting started and talking about this offseason maybe somewhat premature. However, nothing really significant or unexpected happened after the weekend games, we are less than two months away from July 1^st, and Dallas, who was eliminated last night, is really the key player in this NBA summer.

I mentioned, and applauded, Dallas’ decision to start blowing up there team immediately after winning a championship in a footnote in last week’s season review. Mark Cuban and Dallas’ front office are one of the few in this league I respect and I feel they were correct in letting what can soon be a grossly overpaid Tyson Chandler and an already undersized JJ Barea leave, realizing their chances of repeating were slim with or without them.⁸ Their first move will obviously be attempting to acquire Deron Williams but their potential additions range far beyond that. Once they use their amnesty on Brendan Haywood they will have more than 26 million dollars in cap space to use on free agents this summer. While the actual free agent market is slim this year there are two players I feel will be more available than most are anticipating this summer and during the 2012-2013 season and Dallas will have the financial assets and cap and tax flexibility to acquire one of them. Let’s just say the beard or one of the greatest backcourts of all time may be coming to Dallas.⁹

Second Three: Philadelphia. Miami shot 43.6 percent from the field in the first round of the playoffs last year. LeBron James shot a respectable 46.9 percent but the number was much lower than his regular season efficiency and paled in comparison to his shooting during his previous two playoff runs. Dwyane Wade on the other hand struggled mightily in the series shooting it at only a 43.8 percent clip. Philadelphia and Miami are by far the two best defensive teams in the playoffs at this time and Philadelphia has already proved that they can slow down Miami in the playoffs. While Miami is still the odds on favorite to win the East if Philly can continue on to beat Chicago and upset Atlanta or Boston in round two, I would be intrigued to watch a Miami-Philadelphia Eastern Conference final. Both teams play outstanding defense and struggle offensively when they play great opposing defense. While Miami has a better chance of putting up just enough scoring to get the series win, games played by two top notch defense with suspect offenses are very much up for grabs.

The Finish

With two game fours already in the books and one team already heading home for the summer, it appears only three series have the potential to be competitive and go six or seven games. Jeremy Lin has ruled himself out of game 4 so the Miami Heat can breathe easy and not fear the threat of falling to Linsanity. The Mother Ship subjected me to Doris Burke on Friday, but with both games on ABC today I assume I will be saved from enduring it again (ABC wouldn’t allow her on network television, right?). Let us hope Friday was the last time we will hear from her this year. Let us hope.

And One

Indiana Pacers’ trainers having some fun at Mr. 65 Million Over The Next Three Year’s expense.

Endnotes

1. Not dysfunctional in the screwed up, no chemistry way. More so dysfunctional in the sometimes they just don’t function properly sort of way.

2. Except Oklahoma City every other contender in the West is significantly better offensively than Miami. When push comes to shove they are just going to be able to score more points despite how good Miami’s defense is.

3. When I first bought the tickets the chances of Howard ending up in New Jersey were still relatively high. I thought I might be getting a Paul and Griffin versus Williams and Howard and at worst a Paul-Williams battle. Instead I got Johan Petro and probably the worst coaching match up you can get in game that involves a playoff team. They did Inside the NBA that night for the Lakers game outside Staples Center (MLK day, I’m wearing the California Republic hat) so I was able to salvage the night by taking a picture with Craig Sager and touching Charles Barkley.

4. It’s going to happen.

5. But really this guy is incredible.

6. San Antonio, Don Nelson’s (and Keith Smart’s) Warriors, and Utah would be the other teams I would put in this category. The Spurs, Warriors, and Grizzlies actually run very similar pick and roll and high post action based systems. The only differences is the personnel and who they want to play through.

7. Also they were like freaking drones. They only made noise when they were told too or when Blake Griffin got free for his four dunks. It was the freakin’ playoffs and the game was close throughout, but the playoff atmosphere only lasted in spurts throughout the game. Also they stole our We Believe. What did I say about digressing?

8. In hindsight there are a couple things I would have done different if I were Dallas. 1) I would have tanked the season completely and not even tried to make the playoffs and 2) I wouldn’t have traded away the nine million dollar trade exception. If they do those things they are looking at Deron Williams a legitimate first rounder who can probably play right away at least ten million dollars more in cap space and a nine million dollar trade exception and midlevel exception that can all combined can be used to pick up five midlevel players or one nine or ten million dollar guy and four midlevel guys (not including the rookie). That’s a chance to build a pretty good supporting cast around Williams and Dirk.

9. The Chris Paul thing is more of a fantasy I have about having Chris Paul and Deron Williams start in the same backcourt (this is one of two ways it could happen this summer). The James Harden thing is actually more realistic than people think. If they follow suit as they did with Westbrook and Durant, Harden and Ibaka should be getting they’re extensions either this summer or at some point early in the next season. I’m pretty sure there are teams willing to give Harden the max and Harden’s agent knows that and also knows many think Harden is a more valuable asset than Westbrook (who is getting a max deal). If Oklahoma City gives Harden a max deal and signs Ibaka for around seven million a year over four years (that’s lowballing it) they will have over 70 million in cap space already guaranteed for 2014-2015 for just six players putting them over the luxury tax cap a year after the stricter rules come into place. I doubt OKC will be willing to spend like LA or Dallas (who themselves are trying to cut costs) so something is going have to give and I see Harden or Westbrook being traded for a plethora of cheaper role players.

Four AM Thoughts: Reflecting on the 2012 Playoffs' first weekend

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:02:55 -0400

Written by Michael Badger

Procrastination and my horrible sleep schedule routinely leaves me in unmanageable, inexplicable, and borderline suicidal situations. Most recently I find myself sitting at my laptop at 4:30 in the morning wondering if it is actually worth it to go to sleep or if I should just push through to 8:00 am when I have to take the first of the day’s three finals. I have just finished watching the Inside the NBA replay online and figured I have enough on my mind to write about this past weekend before I make the decision to sleep or not. So without further or do here are some random thoughts concerning the game one’s of the NBA’s first round playoff series:

A New Bynum Theory. So the historic night from the Laker big man led me to ask the following question. Was Andrew Bynum pulling a Chris Paul on the defense end this season? If you have watched Bynum play with any consistency or even just constantly checked LA’s box scores you know that Bynum occasionally takes games off, especially on the defensive end and on the boards. After his performance today I began to wonder if this inconsistency was more than it appeared. Maybe Bynum took possessions, stretches, and even entire games off on defense in order to preserve his never been all that durable legs for his offense and more importantly for the playoffs. It is more likely that this is not the case and Bynum’s nights off are far less excusable. Kobe chalked it up to him still learning exactly how to exert himself defensively and George Karl claimed he was taking his time in the paint¹, but I think there is a slight chance Bynum may be taking a page out of the book of the point guard from the other locker room.

Stars Aligning In Miami. In one day I went from believing Miami was more than likely out in round one to wondering who can actually stop them from getting to the Finals. Two ACL injuries and evidence that Tyson Chandler probably will not be himself for game two either have made Miami’s road to the Finals a much easier one to travel. New York still has a fighter’s chance, and I am not taking Indiana as lightly as the Mother Ship is², but really the East is Miami’s to lose at this point. That being said I still see whoever comes out the West as the favorites in the Finals against Miami. I just think Miami is now the clear favorites to take the East crown.

The Hawks Playing For a Trophy? The Hawks have never played in the Conference Finals. Since the emergence of conferences in 1970 the Hawks have never even taken the position of runner up in the East. However, almost as quickly as Miami became the hands down favorites to win the East, Atlanta’s chances to play those Heat in the East Finals increased as well. Atlanta looked excellent on defense (and the Celtics looked really old on offense) for the majority of the game one that ended in a Rajon Rondo ejection that may lead to a Rajon Rondo suspension (more on that later). If Rondo is out for game two Boston’s chance of stealing a game on the road the first time around look slim. That along with Ray Allen remaining questionable for a return and Kevin Garnett looking like the old washed up Garnett from the last two playoff runs and not the rejuvenated Kevin Garnett from the second half of the season gives Atlanta a good chance of winning this series. After that you are talking about a matchup with a Rose-less Bulls team and a Philadelphia team that simply has no idea how to score the basketball. I feel Atlanta has to be the favorite in both series.³

Rajon Rondo Is An Asshole. I knew it was true, but it was funny to actually see it while he was being interviewed by Tracy Wolfson.⁴ You can see he actually does trip and Marc Davis does stop rather abruptly. However, the extra emphasis on the chest bump is probably going to cost Rondo a game.⁵

The 2012 Champion Grizzlies. Three other times a team has blown an 18+ point lead in the fourth quarter during the playoffs. All three teams went to the championship and two of the teams won it all. Before I even read that stat (via Royce Webb’s twitter) I said to myself, “This is the Grizzlies’ Brandon Roy collapse⁶,” and assumed they were destined for the championship. Hearing Lionel Hollins talk after the game confirmed that he is one of the few good coaches who actually talks to his team about basketball and tries to understand what went wrong from a basketball perspective.⁷ I have confidence the Grizzlies will bounce back and have a feeling they might even run off four straight.

Predictions Are Pointless. About half of what I thought going in to the playoffs was thrown out the window over the last two days. I expect that to be happening routinely over the next two and half months. This should be a fun ride. Peace.⁸

Endnotes

1. Quick George Karl rant. First this very Phil Jackson like move used to get more defensive three second calls was done brilliantly. Second this guy should probably get more recognition for what he has done as coach over his career. He doesn’t have a championship, but neither does Jerry Sloan, and if you look at the variety of styles he has had success with (Up and down Warriors and Nuggets teams. Slow it down and grind it out Bucks and Nuggets teams) you really have to respect what he has done as head coach. Also, we have spent the better part of decade questioning whether a team can play up tempo and still play defense. George Karl’s Sonic teams in the 90s would be top five in the league in pace and defense. It translated into success that could only be stopped by Michael Jordan. Okay, I think I’m done.

2. Towards the end of year ESPN’s NBA crew said Miami was better off at the two because they would run through the first two rounds in eight or nine games. They said it in passing as if everyone assumes Indiana can’t do more than take a game in the series. Miami won the season series 2-1 with both teams grabbing convincing wins and Miami winning an overtime game that could have gone either way. They didn’t even consider the possibility Indiana wins two games.

3. Though I can definitely see Philly or Chicago still beating Atlanta with Hawks pulling their typical win (or be competitive in) a series nobody thought we would win and follow by pulling their more typical lose a series we are not supposed lose.

4. They cut out the first one but he twice in the interview asks her to clarify what she is asking in a very “why the hell is the dumb chick talking to me” sort of way.

5. I LOVE THIS GAME!

6. Second time we have linked to this video in two days. #NeverForgetYou #NoHomo

7. As opposed to the plethora of coaches who spend timeouts giving motivational speeches about trust, hustle, and brotherhood when there are obvious strategical game plan changes that need to be made.

8. In case you were wondering it was 6:30 by the time I finished so I just took a quick nap. I can’t wait to get my degree and be done with this.

Step in the Lane Weekly (Season Review/Playoff Preview)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:01:00 -0400

The first edition of our triannual review and preview blog analyzes this season in the NBA, hands out awards, and predicts the 2012 Playoffs. Written by Michael (M) and Daniel (D) Badger.

Team Taglines

Sum up each team’s season in one line.

Atlanta Hawks
(M)-2012: The year we realized it wasn’t a highlight factory
(D)-Shaking My Head.

Boston Celtics
(M)-Stiemsma’s thoughts.
(D)-Only one Eastern Conference team has won the finals in the last five years…Celtic Pride.

Charlotte Bobcats
(M)-This is everybody’s house.
(D)-C.O.N.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N.

Chicago Bulls
(M)-Who needs Derrick Rose? We’ve got spray paint hairlines.
(D)-#SmelltheRoses

Cleveland Cavaliers
(M)-Number one picks can make the stupidest front office look competent.
(D)-Cleveland, Basketball karma has blessed you with Kyrie Irving – a combination of Tony Parker and Chris Paul – the future is bright.

Dallas Mavericks
(M)-The championship tankers.¹
(D)-OKC got their hands full.

Denver Nuggets
(M)-Don’t blink.
(D)-THE MANIMAL.

Detroit Pistons
(M)-Who knew one backcourt could be capable of this, this, and this.
(D)-The Pistons are broker than Chuck Hayes’ Jumper, but if you don’t know Greg Monroe you should look him up, dude can play.

Golden State Warriors
(M)-One day logic will prevail…one day.
(D)-Man, it was a frustrating year; I’d rather not discuss my team.

Houston Rockets
(M)-At some point Rick and Kevin realized all they did was switch doppelgangers.²
(D)-Mediocrity (sigh)

Indiana Pacers
(M)-66 games later and I still don’t know how they score.
(D)-After years of being average the Pacers are contenders. Don’t believe me? just watch.

Los Angeles Clippers
(M)-Number one candidate to bring the player coach back.
(D)-Blake Griffin, Reggie Evans, and Randy Foye on the same team; what’s not to like about the Clips?

Los Angeles Lakers
(M)-They’re only my second least favorite team now. (holding down vomit)
(D)-Bet Derek Fisher ends up hitting a game winner in game 6 in L.A.?³

Memphis Grizzlies
(M)-Think they’re scary now. They should have Kevin Love and James Harden.
(D)-David Stern with a confused look on his face: “Ladies and Gentlemen your 2012 NBA champion Memphis Grizzlies”. It doesn’t really roll off the tongue.

Miami Heat
(M)-You made me root for the Lakers.
(D)-No Comment.

Milwaukee Bucks
(M)-I introduce the 2012-2013 Heat killers. (you heard it here first)
(D)-Going out on a limb and saying the Bucks are top 5 in the East next year.#FearTheDear

Minnesota Timberwolves
(M)-I’ve been saying they would make the playoffs for five years. I might be right soon.
(D)-Over/Under a healthy Wolves team wins 50 games? I’m going over. RICKYYYYYYYYYYYYY RUUUUUBIO!!!!!

New Jersey Nets
(M)-Why wouldn’t Deron Williams come back?
(D)-No Sleep till Brooklyn.

New Orleans Hornets
(M)-That’s mean. Those are good people in New Orleans (wait for it…)
(D)-Lets sound it out: “Con-Trac-Shun”.

New York Knicks
(M)-Like its 1999.
(D)-The Knicks are back. No, never mind. Ohh, Linsanity!!!The Knicks aren’t making the playoffs. The Knicks are a contender!!!(Sigh)⁴

Oklahoma City Thunder
(M)-“Russell won’t screw it up this year…he won’t.”
(D)- #WhyNot

Orlando Magic
(M)-Beware the Ewing Theory⁵
(D)-My Warriors should hire Van Gundy.

Philadelphia 76ers
(M)-If they could only hit the rim in the last two minutes.⁶
(D)- The Defense is top notch, the offense is far behind.

Phoenix Suns
(M)-Chances they overpay to bring Dragic back?
(D)-The Suns have to ask themselves one question this offseason, who replaces Nash? Scratch that, what PG gets overpaid to get near Nash numbers while winning only 20 games?

Portland Trail Blazers
(M)-Blow up.
(D)- It’s hard to move on…

Sacramento Kings
(M)-Maloof Brothers: “Look at all the bright lights in LA. How could we not make money.”
(D)-DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Tyreke Evans…the best young team with no potential of winning whatsoever.

San Antonio Spurs
(M)-Remember when we said they were too old three years ago.
(D)-50+wins since 1997, 4titles, 2MVPs, 1coach of the year; This is what happens when the Greatest Power Forward of all time plays for the greatest coach in league history. Even if they don’t win it all, their legacy is amazing.

Toronto Raptors
(M)-Bringing the NBA to Canada was a great idea!!!
(D)-Contraction

Utah Jazz
(M)-You’re right Deron Williams doesn’t fit here.⁷
(D)-Jefferson, Millsap, Favors, and Kanter; imagine if they had just worked things out with D-Will.

Washington Wizards
(M)-They won the season series with the Bobcats…
(D)-They fired Flip, they traded McGee, Wall is Healthy, and they still have their lottery pick. If you ask me that’s a successful year for the ~~Generals~~ Wizards.

Awards

Our picks or the NBA’s end of the year awards

Most Valuable Player

(M)Lebron James. Since 2004, LeBron is actually the only player I feel deserves every MVP award he has won.⁸ That being said, while LeBron deserves the MVP award yet again this year, the field did little to challenge him this time around. I struggle with giving the award to players who have teammates who are also MVP candidates (Wade was top ten for a lot of the year), there really is no other person to give the award to (especially since Kevin Durant also plays with a top ten candidate).

(D)Lebron…⁹

Defensive Player

(M)Andre Iguodala. Tyson Chandler is going to win this year and I have no issue with that. This pick is more of protest to the fact that this award seems to solely go to the best shot blocker in the league and gives no chance for perimeter defenders to win the award. Since its inception the DPOY has been won by a guard or small forward six times.¹⁰ Obviously, this is mostly because we do not really have a simple way to quantify successful perimeter defense.¹¹ All that being said, Andre Iguodala is the best defender on one of the better defensive teams in the league (even though they lack any other real defenders). He defends the opposing team’s best perimeter player night in and night out (for the whole game¹²) and is very successful doing so.¹³

(D)Dwight Howard. Nobody anchors a defense like Dwight. The Magic are a top defensive team with him and one of the worst defensive teams without him. His ability to essentially be one team’s entire defense more than merits him another Defensive Player of the Year honor.

Most Improved Player

(M)Ersan Ilyasova. No candidate jumped out at me for this award this year. I was between Nikola Petrovic, Ersan Ilyasova, and Ryan Anderson and almost went with Anderson because his name is easier to spell. However most of the candidates this year (the ones mentioned above and Jeremy Lin) all seemed to improve simply because they were getting more playing time. Ilysova separates himself from that description as he played mostly the same minutes he played last year and still managed to improve his shooting (from 43 to 49 percent), scoring (9.5 to 13), and rebounding (6.1 to 8.8).

(D)Ersan Ilyasova. Made a great jump statistically and just became a better NBA player this year. I’m curious to see if the Bucks can bring him back this offseason.

Sixth Man

(M)James Harden. Starter on almost all other teams in the league and essentially a starter in Oklahoma city as well. On a somewhat related note I think we may need to add a caveat to the award. Candidates should not only come off the bench but play less than thirty minutes a game.

(D)James Harden. Harden was a good bench player last year, a good defender and okay 3pt shooter occasionally showing signs of play making ability. This season James Harden is not only the best 6th man in the league, but a top 5 SG, amazingly efficient and arguably the 2nd best player on the one of the best teams in the league. He’s plays both ends of the floor well, and is just one of those guys that people like to play with. Thunder need to lock him up as soon as they can, but it isn’t going to be cheap.

Coach of the Year

Gregg Popovich. Can you believe we live in a world where Scott Brooks has the same amount of Coach of the year awards as Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, and one more than Jerry Sloan? There are a few other solid candidates this year (Vogel, Hollins, Corbin) but Popovich gets the nod from me just to restore a little faith in humanity.

(D)Gregg Popovich. I partially want him to receive this award because he should have won it 3 or 4 times in the last 13 seasons instead of just once. But he actually deserves it, he has got the best out of every single player on the Spurs roster. Guys like Danny Green, Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter, Kawai Leonard, and Dejuan Blair are all reaching their potential, making the Spurs one of the best teams in the league.

Five at Five

Top five players at each position

Point Guard

(M) 1. Chris Paul. Watching him handle the end of quarters, and more specifically, the end of games is truly awe-inspiring. He has been hands down the best point guard in the league this year and he’s been on cruise control for most the season.

(D) 1. Chris Paul. His impact is truly amazing, people don’t realize how valuable he is to the Clippers. Had he not gotten hurt, we’re talking top 3 PG ever, maybe.

(M) 2. Deron Williams. His regular season numbers have never fully reflected his actual ability.¹⁴ This was a down year for Williams where he was asked to take significantly more shots than he was comfortable with and play with a supporting cast quite inferior to what he was used to. Despite the below par season, he is still the best combination of scoring ability, distributing prowess, and defensive skills the NBA has at the point guard position.¹⁵

(D) 2. Rajon Rondo. I’m biased but Rondo steps up for big games like no other. He creates majority of the offense for the Cs, and will be took the Assist crown away from Steve Nash this year.

(M) 3. Rajon Rondo¹⁶. There are obvious flaws in his game. Despite these, Rondo has emerged as the best players for the Boston Celtics this season. He has been the best distributor in basketball this year, the show runner on what has been the one of the best teams since the break, and continues to put together performances for the records books.

(D) 3. Steve Nash. Can’t guard another starting PG in this league but still takes his team to the next level year after year. Only Chris Paul and D-Will could do what Nash does with the pieces (or lack thereof) he has.

(M) 4. Tony Parker. He has been the best player on one of two best teams in basketball this season. His scoring is back at the level it was the year he won the Finals MVP and he is distributing the ball at rate that he never has before. It will be a team effort but if the Spurs make another run this year Tony Parker will be spearheading it.

(D) 4. Deron Williams. Bad year on a bad team for D-Will. He still managed over 20 points and 8 assist with a horrendous supporting cast. 57 point outing and a 20 assist game are both league highs.

(M) 5. Steve Nash. He is tenth in the league in field goal percentage at 53 percent. There is not a single other non big man on that list. He is also second in the league in assists and came within a couple of games of taking one of the worst supporting casts in basketball to the NBA playoffs. Oh and he is 38 years old.

(D) 5. Tony Parker¹⁷. Tony Parker may be fifth but that’s only because he plays on a great team for a great coach. Tony has a legendary coach who puts in a position to be extremely successful, that’s something the other 4 guys on this list don’t have.¹⁸

Shooting Guard

(M) 1. Kobe Bryant. He is not having a good year and at times does more to hurt his team than help. However he is still has the best offensive arsenal at the position and his numbers (efficiency stats not included) are closer to vintage Kobe than they have been in a couple of years. If he can learn to play within himself Kobe can still be very effective in the waning years of his career.

(D) 1. Kobe Bryant. I almost put Monta and Wade ahead of him. Kobe has hurt the Lakers often this year. The fact of the matter is that the Lakers don’t need him shooting as much as he does. Kobe had a nice start to this year, but he hasn’t maintained efficiency at all. Kobe is a great player, but after 17 seasons, all he’s been through, he ignores the fact that winning takes sacrifice.

(M) 2. Dwyane Wade. He is the only guard besides Nash in the top twenty in field goal percentage (49.7). I applaud Wade and LeBron for abandoning the three ball that they have never shot well and taking smarter shots. He still grotesquely struggles against the NBA’s elite defenses, but Wade is by far one of the best combinations of ability to create and finish shots at the rim in the NBA.

(D) 2. Dwyane Wade. A down year for D-Wade, but his defense remained at a high level, and he closed a couple games for Miami.

(M) 3. Monta Ellis. His numbers took a hit this year as he sacrificed a lot of his game to help the Warriors improve as a whole. I find it funny that he is admonished as a volume shooter when year in and year out Bryant takes significantly more shots and shoots around the same percentage. Ellis also averages more assists and has a higher assist percentage than both Kobe and Wade. Not to mention he is probably the best below the rim finisher in basketball. His defense does falter at times, which is why Kobe and Wade are ranked higher, but Monta is still one of the league’s most dynamic offensive players.

(D) 3. Monta Ellis.Monta carried my Warriors until the All-Star break, laboring night in and night out while key guys dealt with injuries; Mark Jackson coached basketball for the 1st time in his life and defenses focused solely on stopping him. We were 2 games out of the playoffs the day the trade was made and that’s was because of Monta’s play on a high level.¹⁹

(M) 4. Russell Westbrook. Check out the season averages of Westbrook, Kobe, Wade, and Ellis:

· Westbrook-23.6 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.6 RPG, 29.8 AST%

· Bryant-27.9 PPG, 4.6 APG, 5.4 RPG, 23.7 AST %

· Wade-22.1 PPG, 4.6 APG, 4.8 RPG, 27.3 AST%

· Ellis-20.1 APG, 6 APG, 3.4 RPG, 28.6 AST%

Russell Westbrook is a shooting guard ladies and gentlemen. Not only is he a shooting guard, statistically speaking, he was arguably the best shooting guard in the league this season. He only comes in at four on this list because Kobe, Wade, and Ellis have much more vast offensive repertoires, and outside of Kobe, don’t potentially damage their team more than they help it. He still is having the best year of his career and, if he can cut down on the turnovers, can jump to top of the class soon.

(D) 4. James Harden. Amazing player and I really want to put him higher because he is capable of being the best 2 guard in the league, but not quite yet. It’s great he accepts, and excels as a 6th man, but this dude could be a star on almost every team in the league.

(M) 5. James Harden. His efficiency stats (49 percent, 1.66 points per shot²⁰) lead me to believe he would be the best shooting guard in the league if he was given more touches. He has been the best player off the bench this season and his offensive arsenal is truly unrivaled and mature beyond his experience. He also is the glue that holds the Thunder together offensively for stretches throughout most games.

(D) 5. Russell Westbrook. See I made up for not putting Russell a top 5 PG. Russell is the same type player as a D Wade or Allen Iverson. They need the ball in their hands to be most effective but its better if they have a point guard alongside them to limit TOs and allow them to focus on scoring, because scoring is what they do best.

Small Forwards

(M) 1. Kevin Durant. He has led the league in scoring for the past three seasons, the first person to accomplish this feat since Michael Jordan. Even more impressive he has improved his shooting to 49.6 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three. He has established himself as the best offensive player in basketball and has also improved his rebounding and defense. The scary thing is he is only 23 and still has room to improve his game.

(D) 1. Kevin Durant. KD is having a great year this year, great player on a talented team.

(M) 2. LeBron James. It seems odd that the MVP is not the best player in the league at his position. However, the fact is, while LeBron has put together the better overall season, Durant is the more skilled player of the two. Durant is clearly the better offensive player, and even though LeBron is the better defender of the two, his advantage on the defensive end does not overcome Durant’s advantage on the offensive side of the ball. LeBron has still strung together some incredible statistical seasons over the past years. The question is whether this can translate to ultimate playoff success.

(D) 2. Lebron…

(M) 3. Andre Iguodala. Gets the nod mostly because of his defensive prowess. Also, while he does not shoot it as much as the others, he is shooting it at higher clip than any other small forward not named LeBron on Durant.

(D) 3. Carmelo Anthony. He gets the 3rd spot despite the fact that he got a coached fired, and doesn’t play defense.

(M) 4. Carmelo Anthony. His recent explosion in a system that caters to his game resurrected what had been a horrible season. When he is on his game he is one of the most dangerous offensive players in basketball.

(D) 4. Paul Pierce. Started slow but is scoring, playmaking, and rebounding well for the Cs.

(M) 5. Luol Deng. This was choice between Deng, Pierce, and Underrated Rudy Gay. Like Iggy, I gave Deng the nod for his defensive contribution, despite a rather dismal shooting percentage this season.

(D) 5. Andre Iguodala. Great playmaker and the maybe the best defensive small forward in the league.

Power Forward

(M) 1. Kevin Love. He was an MVP candidate for most of this season. He is a freak rebounder, and while his shooting from the field continuously leaves me dumbfounded, he has a versatile enough offensive game to earn him the top spot.

(D) 1. Kevin Love. MVP candidate before the injury, and an amazing rebounder. Just wish Adelman would put him on the block more instead of so many pick and pops and jump shots.²¹

(M) 2. Pau Gasol. In a down year for him he is still managing to average a double-double while shooting above 50 percent. At this point he is really the only guy at the position who has an elite post-game, plays above average defense, and rebounds at a high rate. Not to mention he has the ability to facilitate. I’ll let my brother remind you of his shortcomings.

(D) 2. Blake Griffin. 20 &10 shooting a high percentage. But his offensive game still needs polishing to ease the pressure of Chris Paul and his defensive is subpar.

(M) 3. Blake Griffin. He is lacking many of tools necessary to be an elite big man in this league. That being said he is a freak athlete and his statistical output makes it hard to leave him off the list. He has a long way to go but has the talent to be something special.

(D) 3. David Lee. Maybe biased, but he played great this year, consistent double double, and scored the basketball extremely well this year.

(M) 4. David Lee. David Lee quietly put together a season that looks almost identical to Blake Griffin’s year. Considering David Lee played with a cast of misfits for much of this season while Blake Griffin played with Chris Paul you have to wonder who actually had the better year.

(D) 4. Pau Gasol. A great teammate, easy to play with, nice passer, nice with his back to the basket. He’s still soft but hey.

(M) 5. Lamarcus Aldridge. He probably has the best post game at the position besides Gasol. If he grabbed a few more rebounds a game and showed signs of prowess, or even life, defensively he could move into the upper echelon of power forwards.

(D) 5. Paul Millsap. Great numbers considering that he plays with Al Jeff. He’s all over the place on the court and always plays hard, a combination of Charles Barkley and Anthony Mason.

Center

(M) 1. Andrew Bynum. Howard may be the better defender but Bynum is leaps and bounds above Howard as a complete offensive player. He also holds his own defensively, and most importantly, can be trusted down the stretch of ball games.

(D) 1. Andrew Bynum. A number one option in a number two role, don’t know how long this’ll last.

(M) 2. Dwight Howard. Despite the slight drop in numbers he is by far the best interior defender in the game right now. He is an excellent rebounder, but his postgame leaves so much to be desired that it is often frustrating to watch. Not to mention, the little offense he does have all but disappears towards the end of games.

(D) 2. Dwight Howard.Best defensive anchor in the league, but despite being probably the strongest, most athletic player in the league his game with his back to the basket is tough to watch.

(M) 3. Al Jefferson. He may have the best postgame in basketball and definitely has the best back to the basket game at the center position. He has maintained his rebounding despite playing with a plethora of capable big men and also holds his own defensively. I’m happy to finally see a polished Al Jefferson in the playoffs.

(D) 3. Al Jefferson- A big reason the Jazz are where they are. Statistically he is playing extremely well, 19 points a game, 9 boards and almost 2 blocks a game. Ohh, I wanted to mention that Jefferson is the closer for the Jazz; he’s more than reliable down the stretch.

(M) 4. Marc Gasol. The best passing center in the league, Marc is also a capable offensive and defensive player. He fits the mold of exactly what that Grizzlies team needs from the center position and is a key cog in one of the scariest teams in the playoffs this year.

(D) 4. Marc Gasol.Good on defense, good on offense, good on the boards; most diverse center in the league.

(M) 5. Greg Monroe. I’ll show some love to the Piston big man even though Garnett could very easily hold this final position. Monroe has taken advantage of more touches this year and has shown he is a very capable offensive big man. It’s too bad he is stuck in Dumar’s fantasy world.²²

(D) 5. Kevin Garnett. Played center for the Celtics for most of the year, and remained the defensive anchor despite being worn and undersized.

Playoff Predictions

Round 1

Spurs vs. Jazz

(M) Spurs in 7. Utah’s three power forward lineup will cause San Antonio problems. All home game wins.

(D) Spurs in 6, Jazz got a lot of size and talent down low; they will win 2 in Utah.

Grizzlies vs. Clippers

(M) Grizzlies in 6. Chris Paul has the ability to swing the series but Memphis has the better team.

(D) Grizzlies in 7. It’s hard to go against Chris Paul, but the Grizzlies are a far better team than the Clippers.

Lakers vs. Nuggets

(M) Lakers in 5. The Nuggets push the pace in the first game in Denver and take game 3.

(D) Lakers in 5. Too much size.²³

Thunder vs. Mavericks

(M) Thunder in 5. Thunder keep the games high paced and Dallas can’t keep up.

(D) Thunder in 6. Dallas wins 2 because they manage close games better down the stretch.

Bulls vs. 76ers

(M) Bulls in 7. Philly plays Rose well and manage to just score enough for three wins.

(D) Bulls in 6. Philly is going defend an injured Rose very well, and make it a fairly close series.

Celtics vs. Hawks

(M) Celtics in 7. Atlanta takes advantage of home court until game seven.

(D) Celtics in 5.

Pacers Vs. Magic

(M) Pacers in 5. Orlando can get hot but if not Indiana should win handedly.

(D) Pacers in 5.

Heat vs. Knicks

(M) Knicks in 6. Melo drops 50 when they steal one in Miami. Madison Square elimination game proves too much for LeBron.

(D) It’s 1:45 on the morning of the first day playoffs and I’ve been thinking about this series since the matchups finalized yesterday. It’s tough but I’m going with the Knickerbockers in 6, in the words of Russell, #WhyNot.

Conference Semis

Spurs vs. Grizzlies

(M) Spurs in 7. Great series with San Antonio grabbing revenge.

(D) Spurs in 7.

Thunder vs. Lakers

(M) Lakers in 7. If the Lakers keep it together they can handle the Thunder in slower paced games.

(D) Thunder in 7. Should be a great series, might not be.

Bulls vs. Celtics

(M) Celtics in 6. The Bulls struggle to find offense against Boston D.

(D) Bulls in 7. I want to pick the Celtics.

Pacers vs. Knicks

(M) Knicks in 7. Great grind it out series. Reminiscent of 90s version.

(D) Hopefully a rivalry reborn, this will be a great series, tough decision but I’m going with the Knicks again. What am I thinking?

Conference Finals

(M) Spurs vs. Lakers

Spurs in 6. San Antonio’s depth gives them the edge.

(D) Spurs vs. Thunder

Spurs in 7.

(M) Celtics vs. Knicks

Knicks in 7. Another classic series.

(D) Bulls vs. Knicks

Bulls in 6. I really wanted to pick the Celtics.

Finals

(M) Knicks vs. Spurs.

Spurs in 5. 1999 all over again. Spurs add another ring to collection.

(D) Spurs Vs. Bulls

Spurs in 5. I reallyyyy wanted to pick the Celtics.

Endnotes

1. I actually applaud Mark Cuban for having the courage and wherewithal to not make certain moves in order to bring in Deron Williams (and at the time Dwight Howard) next year. He made the right move in my book. I would of tried to miss the playoffs and would have held on to the trade exception though.

2. Honestly. Both teams have multiple capable point guards, too many big men to count, and no depth at the two and three except a solid scorer who doesn’t do much else (Beasley, Martin).

3. Earlier in the game Kobe and Bynum have a shouting match; Mike Brown is dumbfounded (as usual). And ESPN blows up a story about how important of a leader and glue guy Fisher was for the Lakers.

4. There have been 3 different Knicks teams this year; The Weak and Confused Knicks (Coach D’antoni, Melo and Amare), The Run’N Gun Knicks (Coach D’antoni and Linsanity), and The Contender Knicks (Mike Woodson and Melo).

5. BS Reference

6. I want to see if I could find an actual stat but every time I watch Philly play they manage to air ball at least once in the last two minutes if the game is close. They’ll get great shots that they hit all the time and literally not hit the rim.

7. Considering how things ended up last year, I believe if Deron Williams stays in Utah he potentially wins the MVP, the Jazz win the championship, and they are looking to repeat this year.

8. My MVPs since 2005: Shaq, Kobe, Kobe, CP3, LeBron, LeBron, Rose

9. I feel I could make the case for Chris Paul but I’m trying not to bash Lebron and piss people off. I’ll just let the playoffs show not only whose more valuable but who steps up when their team needs him.

10. Sindey Moncrief, Alvin Robertson, Michael Cooper, Michael Jordan, and Metta World Peace (as Ron Artest).

11. A lot easier to say someone led the league in blocks than to pay for, look up, and understand Hollinger’s defensive ratings.

12. As opposed to other stars that consider themselves elite defenders but only take the responsibility of guarding the opposing teams best player in the late stages.

13. By those hard to understand Hollinger ratings.

14. Evidenced by his playoff numbers being significantly better.

15. Paul, Nash, and Rondo are the only guys who distribute the ball at the same level and out of that group only Paul can score it at the same clip and Williams is the better on ball defender of the two.

16. Derrick Rose has this spot without the injury taking him out for a lot of this year.

17. Tony maybe fifth on my PG list this season, but he’s still All-NBA 1st team and a top 5 MVP candidate to me, kind of contradictory.

18. No Russell, No Rose. Rose because of injuries, and Russell because, well you’ll see in a minute.

19. The rest of the team was just starting to catch-up, and that would’ve not only got us in playoff contention, but Monta would’ve looked better too.

20. I can’t express how ridiculously high this number is. Jordan usually got around 1.4 points per shot each year. LeBron, probably the most efficient scorer over the last five years gets about 1.4 points per shot as well. 1.66 is insane. Harden is essentially getting more the three points for every two shots he takes.

21. K. Love can definitely shoot the 3 ball, but he NEEDS to be on the block more, it’ll help him in the playoffs next year, and going forward in his career.

22. In this world Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace play like it’s still 2005. Rodney Stuckey is a franchise player and you can play three guards under 6’3” and two forwards under 6’10” at the same time.

23.It wouldn’t surprise me if the Lakers had another breakdown like last year and lost this series, but I think they’ll get out the 1st round before that happens.

The NBA Playoffs Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:39:58 -0400

The NBA Playoffs
Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?

Ben Wallace is playing his last game in the NBA today. Career...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:19:20 -0400

Ben Wallace is playing his last game in the NBA today. Career mix from one of the greatest defensive players in league history.

The two things I’ve come to respect most about Nash after...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:49:00 -0400

The two things I’ve come to respect most about Nash after all these years is 1. He, like Chris Paul, understands that its important to get teammates involved for most of the game but takeover and make sure your team wins down the stretch. He knows when it’s a big game and he shows up with that “I don’t care what I have to do, I’m winning this game” mentality. 2. He always gives full effort, and pushes his teammates to a high level even if they have no shot at the championship or even the playoffs. With a lot of superstars complaining to management about their teams and coaches, it’s great to see a guy press through with the pieces management provided, and not demand a trade and throw his teammates under the bus. Guys like him, Ray Allen, And KG deserve to win at the tail end of their career because they were loyal and gave their all to teams that sometimes had no chance of winning anything. For most of their careers they labored and carried teams and made these teams far better than they should’ve been. Just wanted to give a shout out to Steve Nash. Go play for a contender next year. You deserve a ring.

The NBA Where Amazing Happens

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:18:51 -0400

The NBA

Where Amazing Happens

Brandon Roy: Round 1 Game 4 Movie Remember Roy

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:15:16 -0400

Brandon Roy: Round 1 Game 4 Movie

Remember Roy

Determining Who Will Win it All...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:59:00 -0400

About 4 years ago I boldly claimed that the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns would never win an NBA Championship. I had this idea that teams built primarily around offense and put little to no focus on defense, other than adding a few defensive players to the mix, could never win a title.¹My theory was disproved last year by Dallas when this happened.

Which leads me to my new way of thinking. Brace yourselves. Defense is supposed to win championships right? Look at the champions from the last decade. The Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, and Heat were all great defensive teams. The 3-peat Lakers had Shaq in his prime who could hold teams to half of their points in the paint average when he felt like it. (The exception being the back to back Lakers, who instead of being a defensive centered team, had two 7 footers to protect the paint). And that’s why I figured teams like Dallas and Phoenix would never win the title. That was until last year, when Dallas won the title playing 2-3 zone at some point in every series and in almost every game.² It is true Miami, Chicago, and Boston lock up and can hold teams to around 80 points night in and night out. But after last year’s season and playoffs I came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter much if Miami, Boston, and Chicago held teams to low scores because they’d be playing against the best/hottest West Coast team in the finals. This team would still score 90+ on a bad day and whoever the dominant defensive east coast team they’re up against couldn’t score 90+ consistently in the playoffs. So even though games may be relatively close, the Western Conference team would still come out on top in a 7 game series. Which is why my finals pick will be whoever I choose to come out the west. My theory should be proven this year as long something weird doesn’t happen.(Lebron and Wade both getting hot in the finals, the Knicks pulling it together and lighting up all the poor scoring East Coast teams, Boston presses through for one more or…)

The Indiana Pacers. With the surplus of pieces they have and the way they’re blending together it’s made me consider them as a serious contender in the East. Hear me out on this, the Pacers have 9-10 guys that can score 12+ points any given night, which is much more reliable than banking on 1 or 2 guys to deliver 30+ point performances.³ They have size starting 7’3 Roy Hibbert, 6’8 Danny Granger, and 6’11 Paul George at shooting guard.⁴ Most West Coast teams have size and most East Coast teams can’t match up with. That’s not the case with Indiana They’re all healthy going into the playoffs, while Miami has to deal with Wade’s finger and Chicago has to reincorporate Rose after he’s missed over half the season. They’re an elite defensive team, and they are very scrappy. They’re the only team in the league that can use a full court pressure defense and definitely force a couple turnovers every night. Like I said before, they’re huge and that helps there half court defense. George and Granger can maintain most swing guards and small forwards in the league and they bring Dahntay Jones off the bench. Their offense has so many pieces that even if Granger or Hibbert have a bad day, they’ve got a handful of x-factors like Barbosa, Psycho T, and George Hill. They can score in the half court and are great on the break where Barbosa and George shine.

The only thing questionable about Indiana is how will they handle crunch time situations? Danny Granger isn’t as reliable as he was 3 years ago, and Paul George isn’t “that guy” yet.⁵ Granger has made clutch baskets before, George Hill is another guy that you don’t mind taking a big shot, David West used to be one of the more reliable guys in the post in this league (and is still pretty good now), and Paul George isn’t afraid to take a shot with the game on the line. It’s obviously more convenient to have a Chris Paul, Kobe, Dirk, or KD that you can rely on down the stretch to create and make plays with the game on the line.⁶Can they consistently win close games down the stretch running a play with options to hit Hill or Granger as opposed to a Kevin Durant top of the key isolation, a Chris Paul pick and roll, a Dirk pick then post iso, or a Kobe iso on the wing?

I hope it works. It’s the glaring hole in a team that wins by committee opposed to one with one or two superstars. If they are successful, it gives hope to small market teams that are unable to reel in a superstar type because it’s easier to put together a team of 10 pieces that fit well together. It’s also just good for the league. So much focus is put on the hyped up superstars(which aren’t as good as the superstars 15-20 years ago)⁷ and people forget that basketball is a team game, and teams, not individuals, win championships.

¹Guys Phoenix and Dallas added to avoid the fact they were bad defensive teams; Marion, Raja Bell, Deshawn Stevenson, Marion again, Tyson Chandler, etc.)

²Wade and Lebron for Miami, Rose for Chicago, Melo and Amare for the Knickerbockers

³I was incredibly frustrated throughout the playoffs watching Dallas (though, watching the Lakers collapse was entertaining). Dirk was shooting free throws every two seconds, ESPN was making Bird comparisons, Brian Cardinal was in the NBA and on top of all that they were making this grand playoff push consistently playing zone. The Portland series was the most painful to watch, I knew for a fact that a healthy Brandon Roy would have destroyed the Mavs (and everything would make sense……to me) but he limped around out and only delivered one AMAZING game. When Miami and Dallas advanced to the finals I almost didn’t watch (It was like 2009 all over again)

⁴Paul George was 6’8 last season and reports came during the off-season that he grew 3 inches, kind of hard to believe. He’s probably a legitimate 6’10 at least.

⁵George is usually very fun to watch and occasionally shows signs of stardom, I’m hoping his numbers and production start to reflect what he’s capable of.

⁶I’ve never liked seeing teams iso a guy down the stretch in crucial moments unless I got Jordan then I’m at the very least trying to set my go to guy up for a final shot with a play, instead of him at the top with the other 4 guys just standing around waiting for him to make something happen.

⁷Dream Team I>Dream Team II> Redeem Team