Friday, November 30, 2012

The NBA: Where You Get Fined for Resting Players

      David Stern, like most professional sports commissioners has always been the center of controversy in the NBA. Whether it's accusations of rigging the NBA Draft Lottery, NBA Refs rigging games or vetoing trades for "basketball reasons" the man just can't escape it. Now he's at again and for once I think he's outdone himself. On Thursday night the Spurs were playing their 4th game in 5 nights and Gregg Popovich decided to give 4 of his stars(Parker,Ginobli,Green and Duncan) a night off as they have a big divisional game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Well this game just happened to be a marquee nationally televised game vs the defending champion Miami Heat. Surprisingly enough the game ended up being pretty exciting as the Heat only won by 5 points.
     The reaction to this lineup change was very surprising to me as people were acting as if Pop just started doing this or if teams have never done it before. Last year while riding a 11 game win streak Pop did the exact same thing and I didn't hear one peep from anyone about it. The only reason anyone is talking about or why I'm even writing about it is because it was a National TV game against the Heat. Yesterday the NBA released a statement saying that the Spurs have been fined $250,000. David Stern said that what Pop did was "a disservice to the fans". You know what's a "disservice to the fans" Stern, the lockout that made me miss precious games of basketball. I'm pretty sure the fans that went to last nights game were not disappointed one bit with the game they saw. I understand the fact that the NBA is a business and that TNT pays a lot of money to televise big games but you also have to understand that Gregg Popovich is a Head Coach not a GM or an Owner. His #1 job is to put his team in the best position to win a championship not a meaningless game in November.
    I'm very intrigued to see how Stern or Silver when he takes over handles this in the future. Is he going to fine teams in April who have already locked playoff spots for resting players on Nationally Televised games? Is he going to try and crack down on tanking which is essentially the same thing? Just last year the Golden State Warriors blatantly tanked in front of our very eyes. Tanking is something that happens in every sport and something that can't be definitively proven.
    Gregg Popovich is the epitome of a "rebel" in the NBA. He comes off like a jerk and he really doesn't care what you think. He's gonna do things his way and judging by his 4 championship rings his way works pretty well.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Streak Worthy of Praise,Rajon Rondo is Making History


    Taken 21st in the 2006 NBA Draft Rajon Rondo has more than exceeded expectations, he's shattered them. Blessed with great court vision and an insatiable need to make others better Rajon Rondo has inserted himself in a conversation where he's being talked about alongside Magic Johnson and John Stockton. For the past 37 games Rondo has had 10+ assists in each of them which has tied him with John Stockton for 2nd on the all time record list with Magic Johnson's record of 46 in sight.
  
Over his career Rondo has been known to unpredictable, moody and known to take some games off but this streak has shown us that he's capable of playing at high level consistently. Right now Rondo is averaging 13.7 assists per game which is 4 more than Chris Paul who sits in 2nd place.
  While some people(me) have criticized Rondo for going assists instead of being aggressive or "stat padding" you can't help but marvel at what he's doing right now. To be able to garner such gaudy assist numbers in 37 straight games is incredible. Right now instead of analyzing and dissecting this streak we should just appreciate it because you never know when it might end.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

What's wrong with the Celtics Defense?

   Ever since Kevin Garnett stepped on the Parquet Floor the Boston Celtics have been know for their suffocating defense. They were a juggernaut that forced teams into unfamiliar situations. They hounded players on the perimeter and made them fear venturing into the paint with guys like Kendrick Perkins controlling the middle. Now they're a small team that is struggling guarding Pick & Rolls,Protecting the rim and 3 point shots which are all necessities to being a great defensive team. Right now the Celtics are 19th in Points Allowed per game(99.3), 27th in Opponents FG%(.463), and 23rd in Opponent 3pt FG%(.368) which are all team lows since the "Big Three" Era began in 2007-08.
   Right now it just seems as if the Celtics dont have the personnel to be a great defensive team. They don't have the size necessary to challenge opponents at the rim or near the basket. According to HoopData.com the Cetlics 5th worst defensive team at the rim with opponents shooting 67.7% and they're the 3rd worst defensive team at 3-9 feet with opponents shooting 45.9%. I think we all knew going in that this team was going to have trouble defending the rim since they primarily play very small lineups with Kevin Garnett being really the only legit 7 footer in the rotation. Now there is still some reason to have hope with defensive ace Avery Bradley scheduled to make his return sometime in mid December. Last year according to 82games.com 4 of the top 5 lineups which featured Avery Bradley gave up less than a point per possesion. Avery's defensive is so important to this teams success. His ability to pressure the ball in the backcourt and take precious seconds off of the shot clock is so invaluable to this team.
   Maybe this season's defensive struggles can attributed to the lack of chemistry between new guys or that it still is missing one of it's premier defenders, whatever it is it needs to be fixed. If this team is going to compete for a championship the defense needs to return to it's former glory.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Rapid Reaction Celtics beat Jazz 98-93

The Celtics have improved to 5-3 after a win against the Utah Jazz. In what proved to be a very hard fought physical game the Celtics came out on top despite an ankle injury to star Point Guard Rajon Rondo. The bench was huge scoring 47 points. Jeff Green and Leandro Barbosa each scored 16 points off. So far this season Leandro Barbosa has proved to be a great signing by Danny Ainge as in multiple games he's provided a great spark off the bench and he's been able to really give Rondo some much needed rest.
  Player(s) of the Game:In most cases I will only do one player of the game but tonight since both Jeff Green and Barbosa played so well they both earned it tonight. After begging Jeff to be more aggressive he has finally heard my pleas. Early in the 4th Green drove to the basket and was able to dunk right over Al Jefferson, he also showed off some very nice post moves which is where I really want to see him operate more. Leandro came in and was an instant spark plug his scoring was especially needed when Rondo left the game in the 3rd with an ankle injury.
  Game Deciding Factor(s):For the first time all season I finally feel comfortable with the Celtics bench. They were able to come in and really give the Celtics some very solid minutes.
  Unsung Hero of the Game:Chris Wilcox. Ever since Doc has put Wilcox back in the rotation he's made this bench so much better. His ability to run the floor and finish at the rim has been so pivotal to this teams success as of late.I expect him to be in the contention for "Tommy Awards" every night.

Play of the Game:Jeff Green Posterizes Al Jefferson
Well there are still some things the Celtics need to work on (defensive rebounding) but right now I am very pleased with their play so far. Next game is tomorrow night against the Brooklyn Nets

Monday, November 12, 2012

So much for the Zen Master,Mike D'antoni Hired as new Lakers Head Coach



The "Weekend With Bernie" era is officially over! Well not really, Interim Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff is still scheduled to coach a few more games as New Head Coach Mike D'antoni recovers from knee replacement surgery. The deal is reportedly worth 4 years with $12 Million guaranteed. The Lakers surprised everyone(even me) by hiring D'antoni over Phil Jackson. D'antoni was the architect of the "7 seconds or less" Phoenix Suns offense which was one of the greatest offenses of all time.
   The general consensus of opinions on the D'antoni hire were mostly negative and surprised. Many felt that when you have the opportunity to bring one of the greatest coaches of all time on your team you do it. It was especially surprising considering Magic Johnson's "win no matter how much it costs" attitude. Maybe the Buss family felt that Phil Jackson's travel and front office decision demands were too much, maybe it was money related(Phil was asking for around $10-15 million per year) or maybe Jim Buss just plain doesn't like Phil.For some reason the Lakers felt that D'antoni's Pick & Roll based offense was better suited for this team rather than the Triangle which is very similar to the Princeton.
     Many people are under the assumption that D'antoni is an awful defensive coach. While he certainly isn't a elite defensive coach I think most people get lost in the traditional Points Allowed per game stat.For example in 2006-07 the Phoenix Suns were in the bottom 10 in terms of points allowed per game(102.9) but their Defensive Efficiency was only 89.4 which was good for 16th in the league. All I'm trying to say is that points per game & points allowed per game are very decieving when talking about a team that had as many posessions as the D'antoni Suns(3rd in Pace).What people also forget to mention is during his Phoenix days the anchor of his defense was Amare Stoudemire and now he has the greatest defensive player of his generation(Dwight Howard) under his command.
     Now lets get to how D'antoni fits with the Lakers. At first glance you see the potential for a deadly offense led by an even deadlier Nash-Howard P&R combination. But the elite offensive Phoenix teams had deadly 3pt  shooters something that this Lakers team doesn't. Guys like Boris Diaw,Raja Bell and Shawn Marion all commanded respect from the 3pt line. D'antoni will have to find a way to find a rotation that spreads the floor while also putting out he best lineup on the floor. Guys like Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison will play even bigger roles now than they did under Mike Brown. Now the success of this offense depends on a 38 year old who right now has a semi fracture in his leg.That's pretty dicey if you ask me.For the time being Chris duhon will be running the offense(Pretty funny right?).Even though there are plenty of questions surrounding this team it also has an enormous ceiling.Hopefully(for Laker fans) D'antoni can prove that he's better for the job then the "Zen Master".

Sunday, November 11, 2012

NBA Stats Leaders Update

  We're about two weeks into the regular season and so I thought I'd give you the top 5 leaders in some statistical Categories. I will continue to do this every week or so. All stats are from ESPN.com & NBA.com .
                   
                           Individual Stats

Points: 1.Carmelo Anthony 27.3 PPG
             2.Kobe Bryant 27.2 PPG
             3.James Harden 26.5 PPG
             4.Kyrie Irving 23.3 PPG
             5.Lebron James 22.2 PPG

Rebounds: 1.Zach Randolph 15 RPG
                   2.Anderson Varejo 14 RPG
                   3.Omer Asik 12.8 RPG
                   4. Kevin Durant 11 RPG
                   5.Al Jefferson 10.7 RPG

Assists: 1.Rajon Rondo 13.3 APG
              2.Chris Paul 10.7 APG
              3.Jrue Holiday 9.5
              4.Grevis Vasquez 8.8 APG
              5.Brandon Jennings 8.6 APG

Blocks: 1.Marcin Gortat 3.86 BLKPG
              2.Serge Ibaka 2.67 BLKPG
              3.Anthony Davis 2.67 BLKPG
              4.Larry Sanders 2.6 BLKPG
              5.Roy Hibbert 2.57 BLKPG

Steals Per Game: 1.Brandon Jennings 3.4 STPG
                              2.Kyle Lowry 3 STPG
                              3.Kemba Walker 2.8 STPG
                              4.Nicolas Batum 2.67 STPG
                              5. Jeremy Lin 2.67 STPG
                           
                                                               

PER(Player Efficiency Rating): 1. Lebron James 26.43 PER
                                                     2. Tim Duncan 25.55 PER
                                                     3. Anthony Davis 24.65 PER
                                                     4.Carmelo Anthony 24.34 PER
                                                     5.Kyle Lowry 23.20 PER
                                            (Note: For this stat I only included players who average 25+Minutes)
                                                         
                                                                   Team Stats
Points Per Game: 1.Miami Heat 107.5 PPG
                              2.Dallas Mavericks 104.71 PPG
                              3.New York Knicks 104.5 PPG
                              4.Los Angeles Clippers 104.33 PPG
                              5.Memphis Grizzlies 100 PPG

Points Allowed Per Game: 1.New York Knicks 87.5 PPG
                                            2. Philadelphia 76ers 88.33 PPG
                                            3.New Orleans Hornets 88.6 PPG
                                            4.Chicago Bulls 88.67 PPG
                                            5.Minnesota Timberwolves 89.50

Field Goal %: 1.Miami Heat 0.515%
                         2.Los Angeles Clippers 0.502%
                         3.San Antonio Spurs 0.488%
                         4.Dallas Mavericks 0.477%
                         5.Oklahoma City Thunder 0.475




Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Return of the Zen Master?

On Friday afternoon the Los Angeles Lakers fired their head coach Mike Brown after a slow 1-4 start. Most people were shocked to see such a knee jerk reaction from the Lakers but Kupchak and the Buss family felt that the Princeton Offense wasn't working and they needed a change. Almost immediately talks of the Legendary Coach Phil Jackson coming out of retirement began. Lakers fans even went as far to begin chanting "We want Phil!" while Kobe shot free throws against the Golden State Warriors.
    While Phil Jackson is one of the greatest coaches of all time and the All Time Leader in Championships won(11) you have to wonder if The Famed Triangle Offense best suits this team. The Lakers have 3 guys who have previously operated under Phil(Kobe,Metta and Pau) but guys like Dwight and Nash will have to learn this offense after they just spent a whole offseason learning the Princeton. Nash will most likely be affected the most by this offense as it's an offense designed to take the ball away from the point guard. Phil Jackson has never had a point guard who can run the offense quite like Steve Nash, so he's going to have to intergrate some Pick & Roll sets to accustom Nash's style of play. I have no doubt that a coach of Phil Jackson's caliber can do it but it remains to be seen how Nash will play when he returns from injury.
     Ultimately this decision lies within the hands of Phil Jackson and only he knows whats best for him. Health wise he's better than ever and that should not affect his decision. While we still don't know if he can handle the 24/7 grind of a typical NBA Season he's gone through enough seasons to know whether he can handle it. The NBA and it's fans miss seeing Phil calmly sitting at the bench,his great soundbites and seeing his glory as he reached the top of the NBA world 11 times. As a coach Phil was unlike any other he was able to command the respect of his players with such ease that he didn't need to berate his players on the sidelines. His peaceful demeanor earned him the nickname "The Zen Master". The Lakers are in a state of panic right now and they need The Zen Master.