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Rose is likely out again tonight for Chicago (home against Pho). They said he had a reaction to some pain medication and didn't take any yesterday. With the next 2 days off, it's a smart move to let him rest. They have a better chance tonight against Phoenix (and with Watson back) than they did yesterday in Memphis.
and the link. it's worth reading.
Surprised how little support Chicago got in the East. I think Miami will win, but I'd say it's closer to 60/40. Maybe that's what the 97% of GMs who picked them think, too.
Also, not a single MVP vote for anyone other than Durant or Lebron? I could definitely imagine situations that would lead Paul or Howard to win it, at least. What if both of those guys sprain ankles and miss 20 games?
Apparently they misspelled "Paul Millsap" as "Kevin Durant."
Someone voted for Afflalo as best defender in the NBA.
Sure. Also, I thought that stuff about the 20 Olympic guys was a waste of time. Pretty clear to me that USA Basketball should simply send the 76ers, setting up a Gold Medal game between most of the 76ers and a Vucevic-led Swiss National Team. The ancillary benefit is that it redeems Doug Collins for '72 in Munich.
He was born in Switzerland. Either way, the country in question is looking at Silver in London.
LAKERS ORTG 2011 6TH 111 PTS/100 POSS
LAKERS ORTG 2012 18TH 102 PTS/100 POSS
** Has nothing to do with his Negrodamus.
I second #2514.
Karl MalonePaul Millsap has 8 of the first 9 Jazz points and is destroying Griffin.Only 135 minutes, but Corey Brewer has been playing out of his mind thus far for Denver.
Rip has sat out what, 10 days in a row. I just think he was feeling 100% so they let him give it a go. Watson said after the game he felt some pain in his elbow. That's fine, they have a nice 3 day break (finally).
It was quite smart to hold out Rose. He'll have almost a week straight of rest and if he just has a typical sprain and not turf toe, he should be close to 100% by Friday, at least from my armchair diagnosis and research.
Rose said the pain was "a 6 or a 7", which seems pretty high coming from him. Hopefully he's fine by Friday. Chicago can't have this injury lingering. If you have to shut him down a month to make sure he's 100% for the playoffs, you do it, even if it means possibly losing HCA.
Sucks, but it is what it is. Hopefully this is all moot.
Boozer played out of his mind tonight, nice to see. Noah balled out as well. Rip was drawing attention and making his usual smart passes (7 assists for Rip). It was only the Suns, but good to see nonetheless. Rip is a difference maker from what I have seen so far. Brewer just doesn't have the vision and smarts Rip does on the perimter. Brewer has his own positives, but they aren't as valuable to Chicago, a team starved for offensive playmaking outside of Rose.
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I encourage Jrue and Iggy to keep eating guacamole, eventually they will also like Avocados.
Isn't that a really dumb argument? How do Griffin's short arms prevent him from being a great help defender?
At the time, I thought teams were crazy for not signing Millsap for a large offer when he was a FA. It just seemed obvious that he was being held back by Boozer. Just looked it up and in 2009 the best offer he got was POR's 4/$32 which Utah matched. That's easily one of the best non-Rookie scale contracts in the league.
He's gotten quite a bit of PT tonight, and looks really fast. He's been able to drive right past the Jazz defender about 3-4 times in the 2nd half and get to the basket. His shot looks awful though, and hard to see a guy his size with any future unless he learns to shoot.
I didn't watch it, but I did see that the Spurs were up 16 at halftime. It's almost unbelievable that they lost by 22. Outscored by 36 in the 2nd half. Just ridiculous. The Spurs are now 9-0 at home, and 0-5 on the road. And to rehash steagles posts earlier, home court has been a big deal this year, but especially in the West. Only the Thunder have a winning road record out West (6-1), the Nuggets are next best at 3-3. It's not as pronounced in the East, but only 6 teams there have winning records on the road.
Rip has sat out what, 10 days in a row. I just think he was feeling 100% so they let him give it a go. Watson said after the game he felt some pain in his elbow. That's fine, they have a nice 3 day break (finally).
Well, he lied the last time he said he was healthy, so why trust him? They have today completely off, practice tomorrow, and play in the Cleve Friday. I was hoping they'd let him practice and then judge how he was doing. They didn't need him against the Suns, that's all.
I'd like to ##### for a brief minute again about Funk and King. So when JLIII comes in the game, they start talking about how Nash's eyes lit up because, and I quote "he feels like he has a size advantage." Feels like? Don't you even have a catch phrase for this situation Stacey? You know, "Mouse in the house." Guess what guys, Nash is way ####### better than JLIII and he does, in fact, have a huge matchup advantage on him, and not just because he's taller than him.
Link
Yeah, I have noticed that, along with the ugly games, and the already-noted issues of teams being unable to win on the road and the low scores.
I am no doubt influenced on this by the Lakers, who are a very ugly team to watch (Brown and Bryant have both said as much) but it seems the lockout has added a lot of warts to the season in general, as we expected.
But with this schedule being a one-off, teams are just going to muddle through this season. And the fans get to enjoy it all.
robin from the future, will the Sixers finally beat a decent team when they play the Nuggets tonight?
(Except against an all-time great team like Philly.)
Yeah, so far they have faced the Hornets without Gordon, Grizzlies without Randolph (though since he will be out so long this isn't really lucky), Bucks without Bogut, Warriors without Curry, and then last night without Paul. Of course that they were able to take advantage is still a good sign, and more than I expected coming into the season and after the first couple games. Their latest loss to the Lakers and recent victory in Denver are the biggest reasons for optimism about this season, IMO, not how they've handled the above teams or crap teams like the Nets and Cavs.
Even with Paul, I think the Clippers would have been blown out last night anyway. It was the middle of a back to back to back set, and they played like a team that was already tired and dreading another game the next night.
-Home teams went 15-24 SU and 12-21-1 ATS in the third game of a B2B2B.
-Road teams went 16-19 SU and 24-8 ATS in the third game of a B2B2B.
Note, these numbers don't consider whether the first two games of the B2B2B set were home or away.
Small sample size, but my impressions:
-Yes, teams underperform in the third game.
-But we overestimate this underperformance for road teams. I.e., while there is a performance decline, it may not be much more significant, if at all, for road teams than home teams.
source for data
EDIT: In happier news, I watched the last 2 minutes of the 4th Q and all of OT for the DEN-PHI game. Tough FT miss by AI2 at the end of regulation and Andre Miller played out of his mind.
just like the knicks and blazers losses, the sixers got down double-digits early in the 4th quarter. they closed that deficit tonight almost immediately with an 11-0 run, but i really hope this is more coincidence than trend.
the three biggest factors in the loss:
andre miller put up 28, 8 and 10 assists. if he's the guy that beats you (shooting 3/4 from beyond the arc, no less), i think you can live with it, but that doesn't really make it any easier to take.
andre iguodala got to the FT line down 1, with 4 seconds left in the 4th quarter and he bricked the first FT. having seen this for 8 years, it really is death and taxes at this point that sometime in the 4th quarter of a close game, he'll get to the line, and he'll break the team's back with a miss.
jrue holiday handed the ball to a denver player with about 3 seconds left in overtime. he drove into the lane, lost his dribble, got into the air, and then just handed the ball to the nugget that was standing right behind him. that's a terrible way to end the game, but unlike the iguodala thing, it was more of a freak occurrence than an established deficiency.
also, it is an absolute necessity that evan turner extend the range on his jump shot out to the point where he can confidently spot up for a corner 3. he spends so much time in that off corner, and there's just absolutely no threat of him taking, let alone making, that shot.
also, that was eurogoon's first NBA start. he had 2 blocks in the 1st quarter, but he picked up his 4th foul 45 seconds into the 3rd, and he didn't get back on the court after that. i think this was a situation where collins wanted thad young in to match up against gallinari (who started the 2nd half at PF, and scored only 3 points in 33 minutes), but otherwise, i think this was a situation where the team would have been better off leaving the rookie in with 4 fouls, instead of putting him on the bench and completely taking him out of the game.
20-22 (20-26 if you count the playoffs)
Funnily enough, as Igoudala walked to that line my first thought was "Pretty sure I remember steagles complaining about this guy always bricking late game FTs"
for everything he does to help the team win, if he just shot 84% from the FT line for his career instead of 74%, he'd be loved by the fans**, instead of getting this:
**although, considering how long he's been on the trade block, it's probably equally likely that he'd be a clipper or a warrior.
Under. And under the McAdoo/Haywood Line, their effective ceiling. Amare/Anthony/Chandler = McAdoo/Haywood/Human Eraser Webster
You aren't winning anything with Melo as your lead guy and D'Antoni taking the hit for that loser's shortcomings is nauseating. Thank God I only shelled out for one game.
Plan B: The Rangers. Dolan -- a living, breathing advertisement for confiscatory estate taxes -- hasn't said a word about them in a decade but of course he had to run his ####### mouth yesterday about them being "close to" the Stanley Cup, and now there's tabloid controversy.
####### jagoff.
I'm still not sure I believe this. This is a really poorly put together team, and then even moreso when you consider the coach and his system.
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HA!
That's not how it works. When a star beats you, that's the attitude to take. When a backup PG* does that, it's not a live with it situation. You could also mention Hawes missed another game. Regardless, we're still waiting for the Sixers to beat a good team**.
Next 2 games are good chances - Hawks (who are playing surprisingly well without Horford) and at Miami (b2b after travel, so almost a schedule loss before the game even happens).
*Yes, he very well could be a starter somewhere. And it is kinda how Denver is constructed.
**Pacers do look better now thanks to their schedule, but they Jazzed that game (no Granger or Hill). Then again, last night was ugly and they've also lost to Detroit.
Less trolly, after that Sixers loss there are now just 3 teams unbeaten at home - Chicago, Indiana and SA (they got their first road win last night). And the Nuggets are now the 2nd West team with a winning record. If it wasn't for the Bulls, Staples Center would be undefeated as the home arena (Lakers are 9-1 there and Clips are 7-1, combined they're 2-7 on the road though);
To stick up for Eddy a little - and this is a stretch for me because I've never liked him - he does have a heart condition in the literal sense. That could easily be a factor.
You can't really support a blanket statement like that. What you can "live with" depends on how you are getting beat.
Andre Miller is a 20% career shooter from 3. A defense that results in Miller shooting 3s, even wide-open 3s, is a good defense. If he happens to hit at an absurd rate for a particular night, that's not really a long-term concern. If the Sixers are frequently being beaten by average scoring guards putting up big numbers, or by great 3 shooting nights, that would be something to worry about. But when a bricklayer- which is what Miller is from 3- happens to get a few to fall on a particular night, that's exactly the kind of thing that you can live with.
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To stick up for Eddy a little - and this is a stretch for me because I've never liked him - he does have a heart condition in the literal sense. That could easily be a factor.
No, right. But he's also about as lazy as NBA players come, and was fat enough that he could lose 100lbs and still be fat. And both of those pre-date him knowing about the heart thing.
Agreed. That's why I never liked him and was glad to see him go.
Also, losing with Dre going for 28 is a letdown, but losing with Dre + Gallo scoring 31 is not surprising. I have watched a ton of Denver (except when they play freaking Portland and they black me out! not over that yet), and they are extremely fun to watch. The only times I have seen them look downright bad were in a stretch against LAL and MIL last game, and both teams can give them problems with physical interior defense.
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Wolves got down by 16 in the first half against Detroit last night. They were settling for long 2s and 3s, but they were wide open, so shooting 8-38 to open the game is pretty f'ing disappointing. The only bright spot up to 5 min in the 2nd was Wes Johnson getting to the rim and making layups 3x. He finished the game quite well. The announcers made a big deal about Adelman telling him to get more aggressive and stop settling for 3s, at least until he gets more consistent with the shot. If he plays like he did last night (I think he was 5-7, 11 pts, 3 reb in about 20 min), it is a huge improvement and something they really need. On the other hand, he royally botched a foul-to-give situation a the end of the first, which cost them 2 points.
Eventually, they started getting to the rim more, Ricky started finding some holes for cutters or when he drew guys away. More than anything, the defense helped turn the game around by forcing lots of turnovers and bad shots that led to run outs. They got it close in the third, sustained a little run, then put Detroit away with very good execution on both ends in the fourth.
Love and RIcky, clearly the top 2 guys on the team now, had really rough shooting nights. Love finished with 20-17, but it was an ugly 20-17. Ricky had a 9-8-7-6 with very poor shooting, including at least 2 baskets that looked like they were in before inexplicably rolling out.
Other notes: Toliver has become a good defender at the 5 and a near lockdown defender at the 3. Prince was red hot from the field, and Leon didn't let him see a shot in the 4th, which was a huge part of the comeback. He is also a smart offensive player, and basically only shoots layups and threes. He might be the third best player.
Darko cant finish. It is clearly starting to bother Adelman because he has 2-3 point blank shots that just roll out in every game. It is beyond bad luck at this point. Pek got his 2nd half minutes last night and did a better job just by planting himself at the front of the rim and using the multi-PG lineup to find him there. He had a little trouble with Monroe, but most will. He has almost inhumanly short arms (it looks like he gave Ricky a forearm donation) that make him below average at rebounding and one on one D, and cause incessant turnovers. Still, he brings some things that they need (girth, mostly), so I will live with the shortcomings for now.
Barea was back and provided a scoring spark. Ridnour, under appreciated as always, had a so-so game that still helped offensively. Randolph is kind of a dunce at times, though he still has that scintillating offensive potential that flashes more and more often. I think he's at least a rotation guy now, even with the huge lapses. I complained about Ellington taking too many dumb shots that it looked like he had never practiced a couple weeks ago, but it seems like he is getting more comfortable and confident, shooting more disciplined shots and really helping when they need someone to create a shot.
-Of the 4 youngest teams (wolves youngest), the pyth wins are 2, 3, 3, 8 (others are WAS, SAC, CHA)
-Up to 8th in defensive efficiency, which makes it much more fun to watch
-5th in attendance! Lots of home game already, but at least I'm not alone in enthusiasm
Yeah, pass me the hose, but to be fair, I am thinking more like 30-36, and hoping to piss off everyone who was so excited about that unprotected pick.
2. When valuing players do you guys think of it as 50/50 between offense and defense or do you weigh offense more heavily since there seems to be a better grasp on quantifying that. I ask because if we are valuing offense/defense at 50/50 then…given the atrocity that is Amar’e Stoudemire’s defense isn’t he an average player at best and a well below average player when playing at his current level? Yes, this is the beginning of my Jorts really should be starting campaign.
3. Things are going to get really awkward when Gallo (who obviously was saving his energy last night) leads the Nuggets to a no doubt about it win over the Knicks on Saturday.
4. Supposedly once Baron Davis is cleared to practice full contact he will get one day of 5 on 5 and then be activated.
also, one of things that's been constant in each of these losses has been the team's poor shooting from the field. the sixers are one of the best teams in the league in eFG%, but when their shots aren't going down, they don't get to the FT line, and they don't really crash the boards, so the offense can really go dry for stretches (like the 15-2 run the nuggets went on to close the first half, or the 20-5 run the knicks went on through the 3rd/4th quarters). the sixers have a good enough defense to weather those kinds of offensive droughts, but it just hasn't been good enough to actually pull wins from these games.
I think Lawson and Gallo both have that ability. Lawson is just so fast and strong and Gallo can beat most 3s and just about every 4 off the dribble. Lawson can get out of control at times and Gallo sometimes disappears, but by the end of the season, I would think between the two of them something should be figured out.
Love and RIcky, clearly the top 2 guys on the team now, had really rough shooting nights. Love finished with 20-17, but it was an ugly 20-17. Ricky had a 9-8-7-6 with very poor shooting, including at least 2 baskets that looked like they were in before inexplicably rolling out.
Are teams playing Rubio differently or is he just coming back to earth?
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Anthony Davis's defensive potential - I haven't seen him play yet, but I'm intrigued after reading this. Even if that guy might be overly enamored with reach and wing span (which he doesn't really discuss in that piece).
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Andre Miller is a 20% career shooter from 3. A defense that results in Miller shooting 3s, even wide-open 3s, is a good defense. If he happens to hit at an absurd rate for a particular night, that's not really a long-term concern. If the Sixers are frequently being beaten by average scoring guards putting up big numbers, or by great 3 shooting nights, that would be something to worry about. But when a bricklayer- which is what Miller is from 3- happens to get a few to fall on a particular night, that's exactly the kind of thing that you can live with.
I think you're reading too much into a throw away comment. And I don't think any NBA guard shooting 3/4 on 3s on a given is an absurd number (####, Corey Brewer is leading the league so far this year at almost 65% and he's a career 33% shooter from there). Underneath my sarcasm and complaining about those posts, there's an underlying point about looking for reasons why the Sixers are losing and not writing it off as a fluke-type event* (be it Miller's great game, or a team's home opener, or the schedule or whatever). Whether or not posts like 2405 are only mostly joking or only partially joking, it leads to running jokes like post 2531 are we're not talking about whether or not we think the Sixers are actual contenders and why they are or aren't (they're not, IMO) and it's actually overshadowing the actual positives to take from that team this year (like Turner's unbusting or Hawes's and Holiday's improvements) and how they could improve to become actual contenders next year (like getting/use cap space and firing Doug Collins for Phil Jackson). EDIT: post 2554 went up while I was writing this; I like it.
*For example, the reason the Bulls got their ass kicked against Memphis on Monday was not because Rose didn't play but it was because they played horrible, horrible defense - especially the bigs (and that's a possible season ending problem if Noah doesn't get his #### together).
I lean more towards offense because it's easier, as you said. There's also a difference in one-on-one defense and team. A guy doesn't have to be a great defender to fit into a good defensive scheme with talented defenders around him. The Bulls can do this, as can OKC and Dallas last year. If a guy isn't even putting in the effort, then there's really no use.
I can understand; the Bulls aren't as good of a shooting team as the Sixers and also don't get to the FT line much (Rose hasn't gotten there as much as he did in the 2nd half of last year, a result of his less aggressive style so far this year), and they go through those offensive stretches almost every game (save the Suns game Tuesday and the one against the Clippers); however, their defense has been good enough to help them pull out wins in those games. This is a function of the Sixers not having that one guy, like the luxury the Bulls have with Rose, and it's likely what will be the Sixers downfall in the playoffs.
again, i know this is the internet and all, but if there's a continuum with optimism at one end, pessimism at the other, and realism in the middle, i lean more to the optimistic end than even the realistic middle.
that's not the only thing going on here (there's also the fact that i'm a huge wrestling fan), but just know, i fully understand that this was a game they let away. denver was on the second night of a back-to-back, and this should have been a game where they had their way in the 2nd half.
but, we are 20 months out from the sixers finishing 27-54. i'm not gonna jump on 1 loss that takes them from 10-3 to 10-4, when i really am just ecstatic at how well this team has played to start the year (even if they've only yet beaten up on the east's red-headed stepchildren).
And thank goodness. A while back on this thread I gave a tepid defense of Wes, and then did some research, and I was just about to concede there was no hope. Even with the good game his FTA rate is beyond terrible, and I still may have to concede even my tepid defense was too much, but for now I can maintain Wes could someday be a useful part.
He is a rookie and expected to be up and down (IMO). One of the reasons I love guards like Rubio is that it is hard to stop a great passing PG, because by defiition they get the whole team involved. His shooting (or lack there of) is the obvious possible Achilles heel.
#2- I weigh offense a little more. One is that it is easier to cover up a bad offensive player by having someone else handle the ball and opt to put the guy in a position where he can help or hurt less. I suppose there are diminishing returns to good offensive player more than defense (umm, Knicks?) so you have to consider the situation. There is also some replacement level consideration- a defender just standing there is doing more than an offensive player just standing there. Amare's crappy defense is still better than, say, Marcus Camby's crappy offense, and they're both elite at the other end. It probably evens out more than the popular opinion, but I still think offense matters a little more.
DEN- I agree that either one could get to that level. It just seems more prudent to evaluate them based on what they have already done and consider the possibility for more growth rather than to assume it. I am hoping that one of them does get there.
Ricky- teams are paying more attention to him now, but I think teams generally have a way they play PNRs during the regular season, and it won't change drastically from game to game, especially with so few practices. He doesn't shoot many long twos, but he has had to shoot a few lately late in the clock because he has the ball more. I don't think much has really changed, he just had a few shots that didn't fall. Still, nobody can stay in front of him; it is just a matter of whether his shots fall. He is probably going ot finish the year at about 40% from the field, the bigger question is whether he keeps up a solid 3pt% and gets to the line. He can be extremely valuable with his passing and his (shockingly, unbelievably) great defense.
Edit- to elaborate, he is getting about 2.5 SPG while rarely letting anyone get by him, he took something like his 9th charge last night, and he is hard to shoot over. Like, really hard, because his feet have been fast enough to stay in front of guys and he has alien arms.
No offense, but, again, many people who follow things closely pretty much expected this from the Wolves. SCHOENE missed a lot last year, but they adjusted it some, and they had the Wolves near .500. So did Hollinger. Those guys aren't the final word of course, but on a team like the Wolves that has sucked for a zillion years, the formula guys are often going to be ahead of the MSM.
I hope the pick is as low as possible for selfish reasons, of course. After the deal was made, I told a guy IRL that I thought the MINNY pick would come in 8-11 in the lottery.
I've watched a couple games. He is really, really good -- great body control, agile, athletic. He could stand to get stronger, but that's true of basically every college freshman. He's also got a very good basketball IQ (especially considering his age) and seems to be very calm and collected and a "good teammate" -- harder to really judge those last few, but let's just say that the difference between him and DMC is night and day.
I think he'll grow into offense, too -- he's quite skilled when he gets the ball.
Reminds me of Marcus Camby, but I think he can be a better offensive player (in time) than Camby ever was.
EDIT: Heh, just noticed that berg also name-checked Camby a couple posts ago.
I haven't seen him a ton, but at least in the Bulls game he was moving on his jump shot, usually to the side. So even if he's spotting up, he's not going straight up and down - or forward; it's like a fade away, but to a side. I don't know if that's the only problem, if it's simply a mechanic fix that needs to be made, but it's understandable when that type of shot doesn't go in. In the Bulls game, they went in.
He was a short point guard until just a few years ago.
Rubio won a defensive player of the year award in the second strongest league in the world when he was still a teenager, nobody should be shocked that he is good defender. It was reasonable to have doubts that it would transfer to the NBA, but it shouldn't be terribly surprising that it did. He's long, quick and smart, which are some pretty great defensive tools to have.
Not contributing on defense is much worse than not contributing offense. On offense you largely choose who takes the shots and makes the plays; this gives more value to elite scorers but makes low usage, low mistake players less of a liability as well. On defense, especially as big man you can never afford to take a play off as the other team will recognize it and attack the weakness. Big men are especially important because they are needed to prevent the other team from scoring easy points in the paint both by opposing bigs and penetrating perimeter players. A big like Amare who can't defend really hurts much more than a low usage offensive player (high usage chuckers on the other hand, can do plenty to destroy an offense). Also Camby is struggling this year, but over his career he has been a good passer and offensive rebounder, which along with his fairly low turnover rate and usage, made him more of net positive on offense than some people might realize given his poor scoring ability.
Yes, it appears it was a mistake he played those games. I'm betting he sits tonight (at CLE) and tomorrow (CHA). With Watson and Hamilton back, both are still winnable games for the Bulls. The Bulls then play again against NJ on Monday (he could sit that one too) and Indiana and Milwaukee come to Chicago on Wednesday and Friday (it'd be nice to have him for the division games). He really needs to be back though after that, because on 1/29 they play in Miami to start their 9 game road trip (other possibly challenging stops on that trip include a back to back in PHI and NY; it ends in Boston on 2/12).
EDIT: Quicken Loans Arena? Come on. I have that same reaction every time I see it.
I think the Lakers would be a lot worse off. And taking on significant salary (Gooden's length of contract) and one of the biggest headaches in the league. There's just no upside for them unless they really feel that Bynum can play all season and McBob, Gooden, and the rest of that motley crew is good enough.
And, I can't say I like it for the Bucks, either. Just on fit. Pau is the best player in the deal.
Here's what I wrote RR last night on the Lakers' immediate future:
The Lakers are that ugly zone where they're an expensive playoff team with large contract commitments, but they're not actual title contenders. They can't net more talent, and key players are old. To get another good player, they'd have to trade either Gasol and/or Bynum, and given the dollar totals, the only useful guys they can trade for they can't get.
End of an era, gents.
(And a coke to Jimmy.)
They can get more talent (and they don't need much more- at least not this year.) They can get a player with their trade exception if they are willing to spend the money. Whether or not they will is another question- and whether or not they can get the precise piece they need is another- but they have the ability to get better.
EDITed to provide minimal coherence
My opinion is that is adds up to 50/50 but shifts depending on the situation. For star players offense is more important (because you can run your offense through them often), but for role players defense is more important (because see they ball less on offense but always need to be ready to defend). For big men defense is more important (they have the valuable role of protecting basket against all opposing players who enter the paint and can't rely as much on help defenders themselves) but for guards scoring is more important. After that roster construction plays major role as well, if you already have a lot of scoring, defense is better but if you already have a lot of defense, offense better; overall there are diminishing returns on each.
As for the Lakers I wouldn't count them out yet, they are 10-6 despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the league and Gasol having the worst season of his career so far. If Gasol's production is only a small sample size slump, they are still a very dangerous team, especially if they use their exception. I've been a Clippers fan forever and don't like the Lakers at all, especially Kobe and his 38.9% usage, so I want the Lakers to be dead as much as anyone, but they aren't there yet.
You obviously give up Anthony for D-Will in a millisecond. D-Will and Amare at least kinda get you back to where you were before The Trade that Dare Not Speak Its Name.
This would essentially require Dolan to admit he made a mistake, which I can't see happening.
the biggest downside of this, for both teams, would be that they'd be stuck with all of the contracts. as is, gooden is a prime candidate to be amnestied, but if he's traded, that option goes away.
and likewise, for the lakers, if they amnestied gasol, that'd be 20 million off their cap in an hour.
if this trade were to go through, the lakers would be stuck with fisher, blake, artest, gooden, jackson, and walton. that's a lot of bad contract to have concentrated on a single team.**
both 'melo and williams are having pretty wretched years (in terms of efficiency). if i were the nets, i'd think that having melo--contract and all--would be preferable to not having melo and not having deron williams, and not having dwight howard.
with brook lopez gone for the year, taking any potential dwight howard trade off the table, at least in the near term, i think this would be a solid move for the nets.
it wouldn't be the homerun that landing williams and howard would be, but putting melo next to lopez, humphries, brooks, morrow, and farmar wouldn't be the worst way to enter a new city and a new arena.
plus, i think they'd still have some cap room.**
**i don't know if it's just me, but storytellers has been offline for a few days, so i'm kind of flying blind w/r/t contract info.
If your goal is to put butts in seats, I'd consider it, but if it's to win basketball games, acquiring Carmelo Anthony is generally a pretty bad idea.
That's fair, but if you're the Nets, if you whiff on Dwight and are going to lose Deron to free agency, I think you might have to do something desperate, because tanking the first couple years in Brooklyn to rebuild the team isn't really the best way to announce your presence in Brooklyn with authority...
Anthony is overrated, but he's still pretty good, even if he's not an elite superstar player. He certainly has a much better contract than Amare. Even stats that hate volume scorers like WP rate him above average this year. If you look at the On/Off number on 82games, the Knicks are much, much worse when Anthony is off the floor, he's not their problem, its a combination of Amare being terrible this year and giving big minutes to guys like Bibby, Walker, Shumpert and Douglas.
and in his first year in denver, the nuggets improved by 23 games in the w/l column.
and in each of his 7 full years in denver, he led the team the playoffs.
and in each of his last 3 years in denver, his nuggets won 50+ games.
he's not a bad player; he's a good player, having a bad year.
EDIT: are kicking themseves?They also had almost a completely revamped roster, including Andre Miller and Marcus Camby in their primes.Thanks partly to him, to the superior Billups, and to some other pretty good talent.He's an unspectacular player who does a couple things very well and is paid like one of the game's greats.
and probably the most encouraging part of this win is that this was the first win where their offense wasn't firing on all cylinders.
hopefully the team comes out to play from the opening tip tomorrow, because i'd really like to avoid having to claw back a 20 point deficit against miami.
the issue i was addressing was your argument that a team can't win with him.
i'd agree that his performance as a freshman at syracuse really has no tangible impact on his performance with the knicks, but for a player that is as much of a negative as you seem to think he is, he really seems to find himself on as the best player on a lot of teams that win a lot of games.
He seems to be a good passer and is the rare player who can generate offense by himself when his team needs it, and probably makes his teammates better on the offensive end. Besides those aspects, I think he's an average player, much less a superstar, and a terrible way to spend $20M a year.
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