Archive for December 2012

GIF: JR Smith Hits a game winner for the New York Knicks

No Comments »




The Knicks pulled out a victory vs. the Bobcats tonight at Charlotte after J.R. Smith hit a buzzer beater to give the Knicks a 100-98 W. The Knicks improve to 13-4 and face Miami tomorrow in Miami. New York broke the record for most three point attempts in a game with 42 (previous record was 40). 


Shoutouts to theknickswall.com for the GIF.

The MVP Race: Lots of Focus on Wins

No Comments »

MVP RACE: Week 1 of December

365 Memphians, Day 20: Zach Randolph
Zach Randolph jumps into the race as the Grizzlies eat their opponents



The MVP Race has been a tight one this year, as there are so many candidates at this point of the season. After a month of early season battling, early candidates have dropped off, new ones have emerged, and some have disappeared completely. Here's how I think the Top 5 look according:

1. Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder: 
                    The Thunder beat the Nets last night in what was a strong, strong game from the league's youngest star, Kevin Durant. He put up 32 points vs. Brooklyn and looked like the best player on the court the whole time. He uplifted his team when need be, and put Brooklyn away late in the game. Kevin Durant is averaging 26.4 ppg and is currently 3rd on the scoring leader board. In terms of offensive efficiency, he leads the league at 30.4 edging out Lebron James. Durant has lead the Thunder to a 15-4 record, and they are 9-1 in their last ten games. Right now, they're playing at an extremely high level, and it's because of this man. 

2. Carmelo Anthony, SF New York Knicks
         Let's be honest, the Knicks haven't been playing NEARLY as well as they were at the beginning of the season. They're 6-4 in their last 10 games. They're 4-4 on the road. However, the New York Knicks are 7-0 at home and Carmelo Anthony is averaging 26.6 points a game. This is a significant statistic because as the Knicks have been blowing out teams, Carmelo has been sitting in the fourth quarter. If he's averaging these numbers (good enough for 2nd in scoring), then imagine the numbers he could be putting up if the Knicks were playing him more? That being said, the Knicks haven't been as magical as earlier without Jason Kidd and I believe that 'Melo has been a huge reason they've stayed competitive. As Kidd comes back to manage the game, look for 'Melo to go back to putting up big numbers while the Knicks keep winning.

3. Zach Randolph, PF, Memphis Grizzlies
        OK, I said that the Grizzlies don't have individuals on this team last week. This has completely changed after watching Zach Randolph put up a RIDICULOUS 38 points and 22 rebounds vs. the Phoenix suns last night. It is so incredible for someone who gets as much lift (not much) off the floor as he does. Zach Randolph is the rebound master, though Anderson Varejao is actually averaging more than him. However, Varejao's team is bad, and Randolph's team is scary good. That's because, they're the best team in the league at 13-3. They're 8-2 in their last 10 games and Zach Randolph is a huge part of this. No one else on this team claims as much attention as ZBO. No one else on this team rebounds like this man, and no one else on this team scores like this man. It is a huge maturation process that has happened in Zach Randolph's life, because he could be putting up these numbers while forcing it. Instead, he is doing this while keeping his team competitive. I hope that Randolph stays on this list all year long.

4. Lebron James, SF, Miami Heat
       Lebron, a player who confuses me at times. Lebron helped the Heat overcome the short-handed Spurs a couple games ago in what seemed to be a likely embarrassing loss. The Spurs didn't bring Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, or Tim Duncan to the party in Miami and it was still a close game till the end. The bench of the Spurs almost beat the Heat but Lebron pulled away, by being Lebron. Still, that doesn't excuse the loss to Washington last night. I'm throwing stats out the window on Lebron, because all you need is to watch the man play to see that he is the best player in the world. Unfortunately, he doesn't show it sometimes at night, because his team doesn't need it. Yet, the Heat are playing very well defensively, their 7-3 the last 10 games, and when they need it, they have Lebron win games for them. It didn't work last night vs. Washington, but I think we can all say that was a fluke.

5. Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers 
        Chris Paul is 3rd in Win Shares with 3.2. This means how many win's are directly related to him as a player. Basically, the better you play, and the more your team wins, the higher the number. When your team is 11-6 like the L.A. Clippers, and you're 3rd in Win Shares, that's a pretty big deal. It's a big deal because that means take Chris Paul out of the clippers and they'll be 8-9. That means that Chris Paul takes the Clippers from a sub-.500 team to a 4th seed in the West (As of Now). That number puts Chris Paul on this list. And it's something you can see without stats: if you watch a Clippers you'll see that whenever the Clippers have a bad possession, whether offensive or defensive, Chris Paul will make a play to turn the game around. Whether it's hitting shots, getting steals, or assisting, Chris Paul is the one who does it for the Clippers. He's still the best player in Los Angeles. With the way the Lakers are playing, it looks like it may be like that the whole season. Sorry, Kobe.

Almost made the list: Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Jrue Holiday, Tyson Chandler, Rajon Rondo, James Harden, Anderson Varejao

Notes: Rondo left the list after the incident with Kris Humphries, Zach Randolphs on a tear and made the list. After watching the Heat game, I couldn't put Parker on the list because of the way they looked without him. Coach of the Year should be for Popovich as of now, by the way. Check out Anderson Varejao's stats on Basketball Reference; the numbers are absolutely ridiculous. 

Thanks for the read.


The Problem With No "D" Antoni and The Lakers

No Comments »

Coach suspicious
Can D'antoni really fix the Lakers?
Put Your big Boy pants on. Just adjust. You can't whine about it.  You can't complain about it
That was Kobe Bryant talking about Pau Gasol after the Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic last night. Once again, Pau Gasol, the all star with one of the best big-man skillsets in the league, was benched in the last moments of the fourth quarter. The Lakers new head coach, Mike D'antoni, has given the nod to to Antawn Jamison over Pau Gasol. This is mostly due to Jamison's ability to stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting. The Mike D'antoni offense is geared to create floor spacing and fast-paced open shots. Pau Gasol is a methodical player, who makes his moves in the post after a well ran 24-second shot clock. This is not Mike D'antoni's offense. This is not Pau Gasol's game. If the Lakers keep losing, and Gasol keeps whining, the problems won't be over in Tinsel Town.
       Mike D'antoni's offense is a thing of beauty. It makes the lesser capable players on your team so much more capable. He can turn bums into servicable players. See: Chris Duhon, Tim Thomas, Al Harrington, New York Knicks 2008-2010. What he makes up for in his offensive mind he lacks in his player development and defense. Players like Jordan Hill and Pau Gasol do not fit D'antoni's model of a power forward. Therefore, though he may sparingly play them, he'd much rather give shots to stretch-fours rather than orthodox, POWER forwards.
      So here's my take, and this is something you can see without Stats, without crunching the numbers and analyzing every aspect and every quote from the Lakers. You can see this when you watch a couple of Laker games. Why? Because it's so damn obvious. When the offense is on, it is ON. The Lakers hit a ridiculous amount of threes vs. the Nuggets...so much so that Dwight even made one. (Video) However, on nights like Sunday, when the Lakers played awful defense, and couldn't hit as many shots, the Lakers looked bad.
    The Lakers allowed more than 20 points in the last four minutes of the fourth quarter last night. That is awful. That is down right pathetic. When you have a team that includes Dwight Howard, a defensive player of the year, Metta World Peace(another DPOY), Kobe Bryant (NBA All-Defense), along with Antawn Jamison and a not so shabby defensive bench, it is a complete anomaly to let up so many points in the fourth quarter. This is not about the players on the court, but the coach on the bench. We've seen it in Phoenix, we've seen it in New York. Especially in New York, but that is mostly due to lack of talent. D'antoni's teams are not defensive anchors. They are usually middle of the pack defensive teams (see: Phoenix Suns, 2005-2008) that when sparingly play defense. The Lakers last night weren't incapable of defense because they did not have the effort, the talent. They played such horrible defense because they didn't have the effort or motivation. Where does motivation come from? Well, you would hope it'd come from your coach. Unfortunately, Mike D'antoni doesn't seem to emphasis defense. Instead, he emphasises offensive sets, finishing plays, and making shots. J.R. Smith was once quoted as saying that Mike D'antoni went over defensive sets for maybe 5 minutes of practice. This is all fine, and very ingenious coaching, as long as you make more shots than your opponents. After all, that is the name of the game. But when you're getting beat to the hole, when you're franchise center can't keep guards out of the paint, when you're franchise player can't keep guards in front of him, when you can't make the effort to close out on an opponents shot, then that is a lack of effort. And a lack of effort will go back to the coach, especially if these players have once before shown the ability to do all these things. Add that to a disengaged Pau Gasol, and a pissed off Kobe Bryant, things don't look too good for Mike D'antoni.
            Here's the bright side of things: The season is young. D'antoni has only coached a handful of games. I believe that Kobe will be able to turn things around for this team, and I believe that Howard won't let this team be so awful defensively. What I don't see happening is Pau Gasol ever returning to the star he was as the Lakers repeated as champions. In fact, as long as Mike D'antoni is coaching, Pau Gasol will be relegated to a role-player status. We'll see how well this goes, but if the Lakers continue to disappoint, I wouldn't be surprise if a trade-deadline blockbuster deal is done which ships Gasol out of Laker town. It could be the best move for both sides. We'll see. The season, after all, is young.

Dwightmare vs. Orlando

No Comments »

Dwightmare vs. His Old Team

Dwight Howard
Magic Fan's shouldn't place all of the blame on Howard.

LOS ANGELES-- Today marks the full circle swing of the Dwightmare. Since the summer of 2010, fans began to chirp about the possibility of Dwight Howard leaving Orlando. Many saw the possibility of Dwight in a Brooklyn uniform, waiting just until the Nets moved to Brooklyn to make his move. Others saw him in a Laker uniform, and some even in a Rocket's uniform. Ultimately, the Magic made the move to send Dwight to the Lakers, and the rest is history. Yet, tonight should be a reminder to all Magic fans that you can't put all the blame on Dwight. An underlying cause of this whole fiasco, was the Magic's inability to cater to their superstars need. When you have a superstar, a dominant center, a consensus #1 overall pick, and you are a small market team, all the leverage goes out the window. You hire who Dwight wants as a coach, you get the stars he wants, and you do whatever it takes to keep him home. Especially when you are a team that had already lost the most dominant force in the game, Shaquille O'Neal. 
   The Magic first made their major blunder when they lost to the Lakers in 2009. Dwight Howard had carried the team through the East, past a injured Boston Celtics team fresh off a championship, and past the super heroics of Lebron James's Cleveland Cavaliers. They were swept by the Lakers but they had built something that year. They built a team that consisted of veterans, and players in their prime. Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Marcin Gortat, Rafer Alston, plenty of players that made up this team that were capable of being Championship contenders all over again the next year. Yet, they didn't keep the team intact. Hedo Turkoglu, a player who had hit consistently big moment shots, left for the Raptors. Then, Magic traded for Vince Carter as they sent off Rafer Alston and a number of other role players. Carter, to say the least, did not excel with the Magic as he was coming off his prime and beginning to slow down. At this point, the Magic were locked with contracts, and were only capable of second-round playoff runs leading up till Dwight's eventual departure.
      The second mistake that the Magic had made, was to keep Stan Van Gundy the coach of the Orlando Magic. It was a highly documented belief that Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy didn't get along. Dwight complained a lot about not getting enough touches. He complained he wasn't being allowed to help out the team enough at the offensive end. Stan was a coach that liked to clog the middle with Dwight, and let him kick it out to the 3-pt shooters. The problem with this strategy is it doesn't involve your big man right away. It waits for you to spread out the court before your big man can get involved. This is a problem, because on nights when the magic didn't hit threes, Dwight struggled inside. In fact, a majority of the time Dwight had his biggest issues because he wasn't involved with the offense early. In LA, you can see that Howard gets involved right away, whether it is pick-and-rolls or Big-to-big lobs. This is how you are suppose to involve your big man. Stan Van Gundy never did this, he never tried to do this. His biggest mistake was telling the media Dwight wanted him fired. The little normalcy that the Orlando Magic had in the organization in the darkest hours of the Dwightmare was broken at the very moment, leaving all but the door wide open for Dwight Howard to leave. But, by then, it was already too late.
        The last and final mistake the Magic's front office made with Dwight Howard was waiting too long to trade him. There were packages available, or at least reportedly available that had given the Magic more talent then they received from the Laker's trade. In fact, Brooklyn reportedly offered Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks, two first round picks, and a second round pick at one point for Dwight Howard. This would have given the Magic two young promising talents in Brook Lopez and Brooks, along with more young talent through the draft. Yet, the Magic didn't bite. They were either looking for a better deal, which wasn't going to happen, or a they believed they could convince Dwight. Neither was true. Another better deal was Houston's offer of their three first round picks, and they would have taken on the contracts of Big Baby Davis, Chris Duhon and Jason Richardson. That alone would have given the Magic enough cap flexibility and young talent to move forward with rebuilding. However, that didn't happen either. You know the rest of the story, because Dwight Howard is now a Laker. And the Magic still have the bad contract of Glen Davis, and a sub-par start to the season.  
          Thus, when you think of the Magic fan's reaction to seeing Dwight tonight vs. their team, at 9:30 PM EST, you have to think about the complete incompetence the front office of the Magic had dealing with the situation. At the end of the day, the Magic Organization screwed up big time. But it's not unlike this organization. The same organization that had Shaq, Tracy Mcgrady, Steve Francis, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway. Names that should have, could have, would have won titles, if the Magic's front office could've done something right. But, it's never that easy in the NBA, nor is it ever that easy in real life. The luck of the draw is sometimes the only factor when it comes to these things. The Magic have yet to draw an ace.

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »