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At least they're not the Kings?
Uh-huh. Melo's first game against Denver, in MSG, no less, and the guy who replaced him goes 11/19 and outplays him...very low-profile set-up, to be sure. Plus, people are burned out on the Kobe thing and the comment numbers are way down... if Abbott gets Melo in his sites, he pulls in a bunch of poeple from ESPNNY.
Sure. And in this game, Anthony tied the game with a heroballshot that you yourself commented on and then bricked shots/looked awful in OT trying to shoot against double-teams and the Knicks lost--exactly what Abbott is supposedly trying to get teams to stop doing.
McGee's overbearing mom worries me. If she is always in his ear telling him he's the future of the NBA and a superstar already, it is going to be hard to get him to understand that he needs to systematically reprioritize his game. He has the tools to be a productive player, but does many, many, many of the wrong things. Even Tyson Chandler went through some humbling experiences before becoming the intelligent, motivating defensive rock that many hope McGee will become. Will he be willing to submit himself to that effort and lack of grace to win games if he already believes he's a star?
Blatche, yeah, everything bad I have said about Beasley goes double for him. I don't even think he's suited for a bench scorer role.
I agree that Young is salvagable. I think he's simply overexposed now. He'd be a very good 7th man to stretch the floor off the bench in the way that Korver does. Stretching him to do more is going to make him do things that he does not do efficiently.
---
One part of the Melo fallout that interests me is the impact on STAT. I have seen the graphs that show how much he's shooting outside this year- do you guys think it's by design, something that will be fixed, Melo's responsibility... what's up?
Sterling.
STAT is shooting jumpers because 1.) Chandler is in the paint 2.) Even if Chandler weren't in the paint, he just isn't quick enough in his current +20 pounds of muscle state to outquick 4s like he did 5s last year (worst case scenario, this is also knee-deterioration related) (the other side of this is the fact that literally every player he has attempted to guard this year has blown by him at least once a game) 3.) Melo is incapable of/refuses to run the PnR with him despite being rather adept at it with Chandler.
I am admittedly not all that informed on this one, but isn't a chunk of this the lack of pick-and-roll opportunities for him? The Knicks don't really have anyone to initiate it with him.
Edit: Or what NJ said, minus a bunch of details.
Seriously. The biggest worries right now are 1) Deng's wrist (non shooting hand but seems pretty bad, the sort of thing you either have surgery on and miss 2 months or you try and play with but maybe isn't right all year) and 2) Rose's toe -- which seemed fine last night.
Such is the hope. I forgot to add that as far as the other potential PnR partners, I have better handle than Toney Douglas, Shump Shump gets out of whack when dribbling in tight spaces such as on the PnR despite how good he is at dishing on the interior after penetration, and Mike Bibby is dead.
Wow, did not realize this one. This is actually pretty shocking.
Does anyone know why OKC refuses to play Ibaka starter's minutes? Is it part of a plan to depress his value so they can keep the team together or something?
they have more than a few salvageable parts. mcgee and wall are elite athletes with inconsistent basketball skills, but wall is only 21, mcgee is only 24, and there's plenty of time for either of them to reach their athletic potential.
singleton has a ton of potential on defense, and booker is a solid rebounder.
crawford and young are gunners, but neither offers much of anything else. i think either of them could succeed in a jason terry type of roll, where they come off the bench with a bunch of defensive minded role players and just light up the scoreboard.
seraphin, mack, and vesely have potential but they haven't really had the opportunity to flash it in games just yet.
if we're just looking at the surface of this team, though, i think the most eye-popping thing about it, is that, of the 6 players on the team who have taken 100 shots, 5 of them are shooting at 40% or below. wall, young, blatche, crawford, lewis, they're all just woefully inefficient.
they're not without hope, but the combination of players they have on hand is just awful.
It's been fun to watch. Adding Rip and a vastly improved Ronnie Brewer (and subtracting Bogans) has done wonders for the offense. Rip is really a master at drawing attention and making the right pass. Brewer is knocking down his open jumpers and doing his usual great work along the baseline. I'm doubtful he can keep up his hot start from outside, but so far so good.
Rose has evolved into a hybrid of Wade and Deron Williams. Whatever the game calls for he gives you. If the Bulls need to slow it down he slows it down, speed it up he speeds it up. If they need him to score he scores if Boozer is hot he gets it to Boozer in his sweet spots. If Korver is open he nails him.
I'm a huge Rose homer but the evolution of his game from skittish and uber-talented to supreme commander and uber talented has been nothing short of amazing.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
This is true. I am of the believe that if Chicago wants to beat Miami, they need HCA. Thus, Deng's injury, if it prevents that, is a worry.
But yea, bring on the playoffs. I've seen enough wins and injuries.
Indeed. When your team is on that level, you just want to avoid injury until the money games.
At the level above that--Sixersville--you just laugh at injuries and see them as yet another way to toy with the emotions of the opponents.
Am I the only one here who buys into the theory that the Heat are more dangerous without Wade?
An interesting question. I have not looked at any data, so I am just opining here, but I tend to think that while they may might be better in stretches, as they have been, over time, not having him would catch up with them, and they sure as hell will need him to beat Chicago.
Against bad and mediocre D, they can look better in stretches because of better ball movement, matchup edges, etc. Against tougher D or in bad matchups, you need those rare guys who can consistently create something out of nothing.
the difference in the caliber of offense between this heat team and the cavs team that lebron dragged to the finals is gargantuan.
here's the thing, i don't think there's any way that dwayne wade can come back and improve on the heat's current offensive performance. so, from that standpoint, i think there is an argument they are more dangerous.
Let the tanking continue! Who takes this mess of a job?
I hear Phil Jackson is available!
Anybody willing to take this job without all three of the following happening has decision-making problems, and thus shouldn't be hired:
1. A win in the lottery in hand
2. Blatche off the team
3. Lewis amnestied, and a majority of his cap space available to be spent
Trying to parse out what he meant by this - "please go away, you are a pain to have guarding me?"
From Paul Flannery's article on the C's D last night.
I don't know if Bradley is ever going to develop a shot good enough to be the new Bruce Bowen, but watching him D point guards up is electrifying.
also, i believe the new series of "the association" debuts at 6PM tomorrow on NBATV, focusing on the denver nuggets.
This topic is burning up the Bulls Internets and the beat guys are starting to question Thibs on it as well. The Bulls were up 17 with about six minutes left last night. Noah, playing on a bit of a tweaked ankle, an ankle that kept him out the previous game, was inserted back into the game. Asked about it, Noah laughed and said, "You never know with Thibs".
I don't think the players are worried about, they have bought what Thib's is selling, and why not? The Bulls are simply running roughshod over everyone. Since last December they have played (I could be wrong on the specifics I read this last night on the forums) the Heat, Thunder, Mavs, Lakers and Magic 13 times -- they have won all 13 of those games.
That's pretty amazing.
I am a bit concerned they should hold Rose out longer, but whatever. If Rose says he's good to go he's good to go. I think it's something to keep an eye on, but the injuries they have had so far are just due to bad luck. Deng banged his wrist on the rim, Rose got his toe stepped on, Rip is old and groin strains hit older guys (yep, I went there) and Gibby and Noah turned ankles, the most common basketball injury.
but how many times have they played the sixers?
Just a heads up that basketball-reference.com launched scans of every NBA box score ever. Many of them are just things like FGM, FTM-FTA, Pts, but it's still every game in NBA history. At some point in the future we may get them digitized.
Uhh, OK, but all that matters to the Bulls at this point is beating Miami four times. That is a compliment. And last year they didn't come close.
Heh.
They most certainly did come close. Trailing 2-1 in game four, they missed a shot on the final possession of regulation that would've tied the series, then had a late lead in game five erased by a miraculous series of heaves by shitty 3-point shooters.
The Boston series followed almost that exact script, by the way. The notion that the Vinegar Trio somehow breezed through the Eastern Conference last year really needs to be put to bed.
Closer than 4-1 might indicate at face value, perhaps, but Miami was clearly the better team in a short series--they contained Rose pretty well, and if you can do that, the Bulls have a lot of trouble scoring. Boston couldn't score enough either, particularly in crunch time. Miami closed them out with a 16-0 run in Game 5, IIRC.
The Bulls may have done a wise thing in adding Hamilton in terms of that matchup. Wade has often had difficulty chasing guys around screens and Allen has given him trouble. I assume Thibodeau was aware of this and that was one reason Chicago wanted Hamilton.
Chicago blew Miami out the one time they beat them, 103-82, a game I remember well. Miami won by 10, 11, 3 and 8 in OT.
Between DRose playing on his injured toe and Deng not ruling out playing Sunday, does it seem to anyone else like the Bulls are playing with a bit of fire with injuries? I appreciate the grit they're showing, but given the pounding of this season and the relative sureness of the Bulls' playoff position, wouldn't it be smarter to err on the side of making sure guys aren't risking aggravating something, even if it means losing them for a few games extra?
I also mentioned this at the bottom of the last page. Yes, they most definitely are, but that's the mindset that Thibs has with the team and it's definitely made a difference in their performance both individually and as a team. I can't blame this Deng injury on that mentality (or Rose's initial hurting of his toe), but it is most definitely a risk that we'll have to see how it turns out come playoff time.
You may know this, but that particular run was against Boston, not Chicago, and the point was more that Boston didn't score at all for about four minutes with the game and the era on the line.
As to the "heroshot" thing, a couple of points:
1. The last three champs have all benefited from some unusual/lucky shooting performances in post-season from 3. If the Bulls win it this year, I would be willing to bet Rose makes some heroshots at big moments and someone like Korver or Watson gets hot in the post-season.
2. Guys who make heroball shots make them in part because of who they are and their skillsets. That doesn't make them high percentage shots, but it isn't just luck, either. One reason James is James and Wade is Wade is because they can make amazing shots sometimes. Same with a few other players.
Seems like a good deal. I think he's worth about 10 right now, and he has a chance to get even better. If he remains what he is, they're still going to be a competitive team over the life of that deal with a core of him, Nene, Lawson, and the solid supporting cast they have built.
Broussard is reporting 4 years, $60 million, but Love has the opportunity (read: he will) to opt out after three years.
They did a good job if they can keep improving. If not, they lose him a year early and get nothing for him.
On this point, I agree with Berg. If they don't keep improving in three years, then it's time for him to go anyway. That'd be five (or six?) years he's there. If they can't build a playoff team around him in that time, he's not a franchise guy, and they'll need to start over.
If the Rubio/Love era doesn't produce a couple of 45 win seasons by then, Taylor will hit the reset button on Kahn anyway.
If he's a max player, then he'll have won more. At some point, Love's going to have to be more than a "good stats on bad team guy" to really be considered a max player. The true max players improve their teams records. Even Bosh at least got his team into the playoffs.
I'm pro player, but all year everyone complains about how GMs overpay players and are dumb. Here, a GM used his leverage well and paid market rate for a guy, and now we're killing him for that. I guess I just don't see where anyone ever wins here.
IMO, you don't hold the line on the centerpiece players. Obviously, our disagreement is rooted in our differing evaluations of Love, so it's probably not worth belaboring the point. The Wolves are still paying him the max amount of money they can, but just for one fewer year (actually, 2, since he'll opt out either way and he'll either get more money in year 4 or just leave). So either he's worth the money or he's not, and the Wolves are trying to straddle the middle and risking alienating him.
*Scal was the first big off the bench for the 2nd straight game (I'm not sure why he came in before Asik, but it happened), and he doesn't ever deserve seeing the floor, period. A 5th competent big is a luxury, for sure, but it was one the Bulls pissed away for no reason besides Jerry being cheap as ####.
I think he'd have to stay on the 7.5% pa raise structure under either deal. It would just be a question of guaranteed years.
Well, progress.
Also, David Thorpe, whom Abbott quotes there, is wrong. The Lakers are losing because of a serious lack of talent on the perimeter, because Gasol is getting older and is being somewhat misused, because they still have Triangle players and no Triangle, and because they gave away Lamar Odom for nothing. Abbott jumped on it because, as LAAFP once said, there are simply a lot of guys out there who have a deep need to tell themselves that when the Lakers lose, it's because Kobe is a selfish a-hole, and these guys ignore the rest of the context when they "analyze" the Lakers. Working backward from a conclusion is seldom a good way to approach understanding a problem.
It's pretty clear that Gasol misses Odom and the Triangle--they were a nice pairing on the floor, and even by good-team standards, almost always had good +/- numbers. Odom's size, passing and face-up game made him and Gasol, both good Triangle big men to begin with, a good match.
I don't know what part of Thorpe's article (insider) Abbott quoted (and I'm not giving him the pageclicks to find out). But I think that, along with the title of the article, misstate Thorpe's piece. I don't think Thorpe is trying to say why the Lakers are losing, but to see if Gasol has a point when he complains about his use in the offense.
I don't know if you meant this comment to be about Thorpe or Abbott - "Working backward from a conclusion is seldom a good way to approach understanding a problem." - but IMO, it doesn't apply to Thorpe's piece. Examples of what I mean:
In explaining why Gasol is getting fewer touches down low, Thorpe ignores the fact that one reason is that Gasol spends more time in the high post now...because Odom is gone. Bynum's touches are up, as Thorpe notes. The basic problem the Lakers have is that they don't have 3-pt shooters or playmakers. The Triangle covered that up to a large degree; this system doesn't, and it affects the team's ability to get good shots. Thorpe assumes, like Abbott and Berri do, that the Lakers can just dump the ball inside any time they want and get great shots, but they don't, because Kobe is Kobe. He's wrong. Pau doesn't seal that well (Thorpe acknowledges this, but breezes by it); Bynum has all kinds of trouble with anyone his size (like Hibbert) and is a lousy passer; teams can pack the paint against the Lakers and shade/double Kobe, and Kobe is only a B- passer and not a PG. So...he winds up doing what he does best: shooting the damn ball, as he likes to say. The Lakers offense will continue to struggle until/unless they replace Derek Fisher and Steve Blake and get better backups than Jason Kapono and Metta World Peace, no matter what Kobe does. We have already seen games and parts of games this year in which Kobe didn't shoot much and the team struggled horribly. The shot distribution in the first half of the Orlando game was 10/8/7 for Pau, Kobe, Bynum--and the Lakers scored 31 points. OK, there is only one D12, but that has happened all year. But of course, Thorpe didn't watch THAT tape, and Abbott has yet to mention that game at all.
Pau's USG is down from 21.8 to 20.0--not a huge difference. Thorpe apparently wants it up around 25 or 26, but I realy doubt that Pau's EFG could hold at that USG level. It has dropped this year, even with a lower USG.
For once, I wish these guys would just come out and say it: "I think if Kobe cut his USG from 39 to 32, the Lakers would be 13-5, and here's why I think so."
And if you think Thorpe isn't looking to put this on Kobe:
So you're saying this year's 16.5 PER and 15.6 PER, respectively, mean more than the 7.6 and 12.0 career numbers (and JLIII's is inflated due to such few chances so far), in a manner of speaking (and to use just one metric, one that happens to ignore the negative value both have defensively)? Just because they had a couple of good games doesn't change the fact that both are complete and total scrubs, with virtually no upside or quantifiable value, or should I say no expected future value*. Scal is making almost a mil, if he were dumped they could have easily fit in Thomas' deal without going over the tax line (plus the ####### moron fans wouldn't be able to chant for him every game, which is just flat out embarrassing). I have zero confidence that either of them can duplicate what they've already done in games this year in the next game or any future game, and especially against real competition. The fact that both have had to play non-garbage minutes should not have been a complete surprise considering the schedule, and it's only thanks to a miracle that the Bulls haven't regretted it yet. Perhaps having real backups even allows Thibs to ease on the breaks a little on everyone else's minutes (though that's probably just me wishcasting, as Thibs doesn't know what that means, god bless him).
I may not even get upset at them not signing Taj (he won't be worth whatever he gets), even if they're only doing it to be cheap it might be the right decision. But Jerry's failed his first chance (actually, he's failed many before out of being cheap, even admitting he was probably right on most of those counts) with this team on the Scal/Thomas decision (and the subsequent decision not to fortify any further simply because of money).
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, this is a relatively minor problem. But considering the hundreds of millions of dollars he's pocketed over the years (or wasted on guys like Adam Dunn), I'm incredibly touchy whenever I'm reminded of this subject.
*If either one steps on the court for a playoff game, I'm going to lose my ####### mind.
Thibs isn't going to keep him from playing if he wants to...
Are you're overly sensitive to that type of criticism. I don't recall Thorpe having any sort of history of criticizing Kobe, so I don't see him coming into that piece with any sort of anti-Kobe bias. I totally read that last quote you use differently (as in, "The easy way is calling Kobe out, but there's more to it than that; similar to how early in the piece he also says it's easy to call out the new coach). He does overstate the one game piece, but the shot chart data is in there too. And I see no conclusion where he puts it all on Kobe, or that he even says the losing is because Gasol is getting fewer low post chances (regardless of the reason).
Thorpe has said on numerous other occasions that it's a coaching league, so if I'm going to read anything into that article that's not explicitly stated it's a criticism of Mike Brown.
Seriously...he's comparing a guy with five championship rings and who is sixth on the NBA's all time leading scorer list (at the age of 33) with a drunk driver? I mean that is the most amateur, vendetta-driven drivel I've read in a long time.
Are you forgetting that Michael Jordan made all of his shots?
Most MJ grief went away once he started winning titles. He still had a couple of detractors (the "MJ Rules" stuff would come up here and there) but he was pretty much immune to criticism once they started winning. And rightfully so for the most part. The primary difference, I think, is that MJ just wasn't polarizing like Kobe is. Just about everyone loved him, or at least, had tremendous respect for his game. Even people like me- who absolutely hated him while he was playing- didn't try to pretend he was less of a player than he was. (And we all wore his shoes, if we could get them.) Kobe sentiment doesn't work like that.
MJ was a better player than Kobe, but Kobe is pretty obviously a better media topic. They just can't get enough.
Ask yourself a question: why did Abbott link and focus on it? So he could go after Mike Brown?
And, yeah, I am sick of it--or "overly sensitive" if you like. Looking at the Lakers right now and zooming in on Kobe's shot selection, without looking at anything else in any detail is, in and of itself, bias by omission, whatever Thorpe's history may be.
Are you forgetting that Michael Jordan made all of his shots?
I know this was a joke, but MJ did have a career FG% slightly above .500 prior to those last two years in Washington.
I'd shoot over 50% too if you called a foul after every miss.;)
It would be OK if Abbott would just admit he hates Kobe, or if Abbott just wrote for a Blazers blog (he is from POR and is a huge Blazers fan).
>>>I know this was a joke, but MJ did have a career FG% slightly above .500 prior to those last two years in Washington.
Really? Never heard a KobeHater point that out before. ;-
Good example of why the whole thing goes on and on. My posts are as well, of course--but it has always been a two-way thing. Abbott proves that.
>high five<
In "The Jordan Rules", one player (I forget who) talked about how MJ would slap his thigh with his left hand as he went up with his right. The refs would hear the slap and automatically give MJ a whistle.
_______
Mike Brown on PTI today was asked about Bryant's shooting, and he referred to the Pacers game, saying that when the Pacers started doubling Bryant ("six or seven times" was the count) he made the correct pass each time. Brown essentially said that the bigs weren't aggressive enough running to the basket.
Everyone's initial impression of Bryant was made during those early days when he insisted on taking that last airball against Utah or waving off Mailman's pick in the ASG at 19. Even now, he might take some seemingly ridiculous shot once or thrice a game, and everyone will point to that as proof he's a selfish drunk driver of a player. I don't know what it is about Bryant that makes people forget he's been a stone-cold scoring machine who for nearly a decade and a half routinely figures among the annual leaders in assist percentage by non-PGs (Bryant is 3rd among non-PGs so far this season).
Bryant's massive USG% this season speaks to a very simple fact: That offense doesn't move when he's not driving it. This goes back — again — to the idea of having a great shooting guard be the main facilitator for the offense, then blaming that shooting guard for, well, shooting. In essence, Bryant is being blamed, again and again, for not being Magic Johnson.
Not disputing Jordan got his share of calls, but this is just heresy. Also, defenders were allowed to hand check on the perimeter for most of Jordan's prime.
_________
Typical ugly game between Pacers and Bulls. I really hate the Pacers, they give Chicago trouble, for some reason the refs always hold the whistle in these games, which is a big advantage for the Pacers.
Pacers up 1 with about 11 left. Bulls blew a 10 point halftime lead in the 3rd. Outside of Rose and Brewer, nobody is playing that well.
Heh. Yeah we do, buddy. People in all walks of life have trouble separating the visceral, the aesthetic, and the analytical.
Matt, how many times on this thread have the Lakers fans said Jordan was better than Kobe--including Donde about five posts ago?
Dunno, don't care, was simply talking about Mike wrt to history, era, and such without specific relevance to Kobe v. Mike.
Heresy, indeed.
Well-played. My point being--we all have our "overly sensitive" spots.
I am hoping the Lakers call up Elijah Millsap from the DLeague to back up the Mamba pretty soon. He can't be worse than Kapono or Goudelock and you gotta like the gene pool.
Which time?
this is just heresy
No, this is heresy. Do you know why they called him "Air" Jordan? Because that's who kept fouling him.
I see my team coming up big tonight!
I'd love to see it. It'd be bittersweet to see him help the Lakers, but another Millsap blowing away expectations would be fantastic.
Ha! I like the cut of your jib sir.
Why Miles hasn't been in is beyond me. Corbin's made some weird decisions today keeping Hayward and Watson in for far too long.
I want to like Hayward--liked Butler, seems like a nice kid--but I just don't think he's going to put it all together. Paul George was probably the pick there.
I may be pessimistic but I think it's 50-50 at best that they slip into the playoffs. Hopefully we get the GS pick this year (top 7 protected). As of right now, Hollinger's projections have it as a coin flip whether or not it would wind up top 7.
I'm pretty sure that would have been called a foul.
I loved what I saw from Hayward at the end of last season, but he's back to playing like he has no idea what to do. I get a lot of nervous vibes from him this year -- he's passed up plenty of open shots, and rarely looks comfortable when he does shoot. He has enough athleticism and talent to start in the NBA, but not enough that he can be at all deficient in basketball IQ or confidence. At least Hayward will get the chance to prove us wrong since he will continue to get plenty of minutes with this roster.
I've really liked what I've seen from Burks the little he's played. He looks like he can be a good scorer that can create his own shot and has enough athleticism to be a good defender. I'm not sure about his outside shot or passing, but that just makes Hayward's awful play even more disappointing since they could compliment each other so well if they pan out.
I think that's about right for their playoff chances. I'm fine with that since I expected them to be awful, so even a shot at the playoffs is a nice bonus (especially since they're not bad enough to have a shot at the #1). The only negative to that would be losing their 1st round pick to the Wolves, especially if the Warriors get a top 7 pick. The Jazz have had a lot of home games already and some luck facing weakened teams. Any of the Jazz, Wolves, Rockets, or Grizzlies taking the 8th seed wouldn't surprise me.
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