Yawn...Kind of like masturbating without, well, without the grand finale.
Vince Carter stayed put. Raef Lafrentz’s expiring was held onto. Wally World is currently on his hands and knees thanking every known deity. Amare and Bosh are still in Phoenix and Toronto. Even a slightly better than marginal difference maker like Richard Jefferson didn’t move. The Wizards are exactly the same.
I had a whole post about Tyson Chandler that you can check here, but that had to be scrapped because, well, that trade was scrapped.
Alston to the Magic still doesn’t make them a legit contender (not anything close to what Nelson did), but it gets them out of the first round now. Watch out for that Rocket defense to suddenly start imposing its will on teams. Kyle Lowry is a pitbull defender and lightning quick. Shane Battier’s rounding back into shape. And now that T-Mac is out for the season, Artest will move back into the starters roll. That defense could be 22-win-streak good. Potentially anyway.
Thabo Sefolosha to the Thunder was a great pickup. If Chandler was on their team, despite my post about him not being that good, would have made OKC by far and away the undisputed winners of this year’s deadline. As it is, they still might be. Sefolosha gives them a wing who can defend. He’s 24, so there’s a possibility that shooting stroke develops with more consistent playing time.
The Kings cut a lot of salary for next year. Good for the Maloofs. Bad for their fans. Nocioni won’t help them much, especially considering he plays positions that are currently filled on the roster with actually good or developing talent.
Watch out for the Suns. Grant Hill is jumping and playing like it’s 99. Nash is back to the MVP-in-the-SSOL-system point guard everyone loved for the past half decade. Amare is dropping 40 point games. Shaq is running. I mean, who gives a crap about defense? If they can drop 120 points every night, I’d love to see what team can defend all of those offensive weapons. Hell, J-Rich, the number one option on last year’s Cats is the fourth option on this team. He’s a career 18 ppg scorer. And that bench has suddenly become an honest to goodness asset. Sure, I’m not going to overreact just cuz the team straight murdered the Clippers on back-to-backs, but I will say that this is the most talented team that Phoenix has had in the entire Nash era. I mean, Barbosa is literally the sixth option on this team.
Hell, Goran Dragic loves him some D’Antoni ball. In his last three games, he’s shooting 72 percent (13-18) while averaging 11 points and 3 assists in only 21 minutes of game time. The turnovers are high, but comparing that to what he was two months ago?
The Suns are scary now. The Lakers should be scared. They’ve got the offensive firepower, the size, and the star power to match up with the purple and gold. And they’ve also got a whole team worth of experience.
In the second half, look for the Jazz, Suns and Rockets to rise, while the Mavs (just not as good), San Antonio (injured Manu) and Hornets (no depth) fall.
Showing posts with label Steve Nash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Nash. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Big Mastermind
I’m sure you’ve heard that the Phoenix Suns are in dire straights.The Suns have fallen to ninth in the playoff race. They’ve gone 5-5 in their last 10 including two in a row before the all-star break. They lost to a group of mediocre teams: Charlotte, New York, Golden State, Chicago, Minny, and even Philly should be thrown in there. Those are teams that a squad who fancies itself championship material just can’t be losing to on a consistent basis.
Coach Terry Porter was just given the axe after a mere 50 games this season.
Owner Robert Sarver wants to cut costs at any expense, despite swallowing the remaining $4 million on Porter’s contract, including trading away his most valuable asset in Amare Stoudemire.
Steve Kerr, who ruined the team by demanding a defensive-minded approach on a roster with nothing but offensive-minded players and then trading his best defensive players away (Marion, Bell, Diaw) for offense-only type players (Shaq, Jason Richardson), has put everyone and their mother on the trading block…well, all except for the one player who can’t physically play any defense at all (Nash).
At the center of the storm, is a man who is trying to weasel his way into another situation that will add rings to his fingers. It’s surprising that more people haven’t seen this obvious ploy, especially considering he’s the biggest man in the NBA.
Shaq is trying to become a Laker again. All year the signs have been there. He’s been downplaying the feud between him and Phil and him and Kobe since September. His exact words were "marketing ploy." When the all-star game shaped up to feature him, Phil and Kobe once again, he started rehashing about how the three of them created the drama, created the interest, but that there were no hard feelings. He’s been repeatedly saying how he and Kobe were the best duo the league had ever seen. Talking about how much he respects Phil. Two weeks ago, he out of the blue declared Kobe as the best player in the NBA, making it a point to rate #24 over Lebron.
During the all-star game introductions, he donned a mask and danced with the JabbaWockees instantly becoming one of the most talked about highlights of the weekend. Having created enough of a buzz with the media about the “dynamic duo” in the weeks leading up to the game, despite only playing 11 minutes during the game, he was named co-MVP with Bryant. He even laughed, heartily I might add, at Kobe’s joke about “Steel Magnolias.”
This after a summer in which he mocked Kobe in a freestyle with the chorus, “Kobe, tell me how my ass taste.”
See, Shaq, despite the jovial appearance and goofy personality, is truly a mastermind. His whole performance, this whole “I love Kobe and Phil” rhetoric is all part of his greater plan.
He’s trying to remind L.A. how fun and cool and Hollywood he is. He’s trying to get himself out of the sinking boat that is the Phoenix Suns and put himself into a position that maximizes his showmanship as well as gives him the best chance to get ring number 5 and possibly even 6 over the life of the rest of his contract. And what a way to exit.
Come back to Los Angeles. Reunite with Kobe. Repair old wounds. Swoop in and ride Kobe’s superior talent and hard work, but receive all the credit and fame, knowing that the naysayers will discount Kobe (who hasn't won without Shaq) and give all the credit to him. If they win rings, it'll just be like old times. Exactly like old times in fact.
See, in order to be considered the best, he has to get more rings. Nobody’s touching Russell’s 11. Besides, Russell played during a different era. An era where one team dominated and it just so happened that Russell was on that team. I’m not discounting his greatness at all, but to hold any NBA player up to that standard is unrealistic.
Therefore, the modern day bar is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s six. And Shaq knows this.
He also knows that the Lakers have plenty of bigs. Andrew Bynum will be coming back, perhaps this season, so taking back-to-backs off won’t hurt the team at all. He knows that Pau Gasol is the perfect complimentary player for his skills, unlike Amare.
He also knows that a big segment of Los Angeles still loves him and that an equally big segment of L.A. (perhaps the same segment) loves the idea of trading Lamar Odom.
Hopefully, Mitch plays this one as smartly and patiently as he's played it the last couple of years.
Seeing as how the Suns are now going to revert back to team basketball under Alvin Gentry and fastbreak a lot more, Shaq’s all-star numbers are going to take a severe hit.
His welcome in Phoenix has outworn itself quicker than any of his last few stops.
So he wants to revisit his best and most memorable stop.
From the inside looking out, it sure seems like Shaq needs L.A. Badly.
Too bad for him, the feelings aren’t mutual.
Somewhere, there’s a message about not burning bridges, something about karma…
Friday, February 6, 2009
Trade Talk (Amare for Bosh)
Amare should have gone a long time ago. But if he’s got to go now, then why not make the following deal?
Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker for Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa
From Phoenix’s standpoint, it seems like they are giving up more talent, but think about it. If you put the selfless Bosh, who does all those little things to help teams win (think his quiet dominance in the Olympics) on this team, they have to immediately shoot to the top of everyone’s Western Conference favorites, not just this year, but certainly next as well. Bosh had no problem doing whatever was needed of him on the Olympic squad (a good example of why Amare should have played over the summer), whether that was blocking shots, rebounding, taking charges, whatever. He’s also got the ability to drop 40 on any given night. Sounds exactly like what everyone hoped Amare could be. What's even better, Bosh's game meshes much more fluidly with Shaq's.
Bosh will be a free agent in 2010, but Phoenix’s window is now, that’s what Kerr said when he traded for Shaq, so they have to go after the title this year and next. Besides, Bosh might even sign an extension since he’s a Texas native, and Phoenix has Texas-weather and culture in abundance. Also, in the here and now, Parker is an upgrade on defense and doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to be effective, but can still have big Barbosa-like nights on occasion. Besides, his salary (nearly $5 million) comes off the book next season which would be in line with the Suns desire to shed payroll.
From Toronto’s standpoint, throwing Barbosa into the mix gives them two assets in exchange for Bosh. Basically, they’ll be giving up the better overall player right now for one who has the potential to be better, but has not yet lived up to it along with a dynamic wing player who can play some backup point guard. Calangelo’s been trying to move Parker anyway, so this allows him to retrieve one of his own draft choices (who he loved back in Phoenix I might add). Calderon is the perfect Amare compliment on the pick and roll (well, besides Nash), who does everything Nash does—pass well, lobs well, shoots well, etc. just not quite up to Nash’s level.
With Amare going back to the pick and roll every other play, he would be the unquestioned focal point of the team and would bring 28 and 9 every night as the featured star—something Bosh was unable to do consistently. His crushing inside presence should allow Jermaine O’Neal to patrol the paint on defense, and sit outside and shoot jumpers (he’s better at this at this stage in his career) while Amare goes to work inside on O. Think about this, if Amare goes to the East and averages 30 a game, you don’t think the Raptors would have a chance to make the playoffs? Bosh can’t do that. He can do a lot of other things, but he can’t do that. An Amare led Raptors could finish 20-9 the rest of the way, which would, according to John Hollinger be enough for them to get into the playoffs. If the Raptors start to roll and everyone is suddenly talking about Amare as an MVP candidate rather than a bad choice to start the all-star game, Sun Tzu will have the motivation he needs to bring his “gorilla game” each and every night. He might even, gasp, break into double digit rebounding for once in his career.
Calangelo has ties to Phoenix, obviously, and if neither side feels like they are getting screwed over, then this could be a case of trading stars in need of a change of scenery and could work out well for both teams both in the short term and long term.
Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker for Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa
From Phoenix’s standpoint, it seems like they are giving up more talent, but think about it. If you put the selfless Bosh, who does all those little things to help teams win (think his quiet dominance in the Olympics) on this team, they have to immediately shoot to the top of everyone’s Western Conference favorites, not just this year, but certainly next as well. Bosh had no problem doing whatever was needed of him on the Olympic squad (a good example of why Amare should have played over the summer), whether that was blocking shots, rebounding, taking charges, whatever. He’s also got the ability to drop 40 on any given night. Sounds exactly like what everyone hoped Amare could be. What's even better, Bosh's game meshes much more fluidly with Shaq's.
Bosh will be a free agent in 2010, but Phoenix’s window is now, that’s what Kerr said when he traded for Shaq, so they have to go after the title this year and next. Besides, Bosh might even sign an extension since he’s a Texas native, and Phoenix has Texas-weather and culture in abundance. Also, in the here and now, Parker is an upgrade on defense and doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to be effective, but can still have big Barbosa-like nights on occasion. Besides, his salary (nearly $5 million) comes off the book next season which would be in line with the Suns desire to shed payroll.
From Toronto’s standpoint, throwing Barbosa into the mix gives them two assets in exchange for Bosh. Basically, they’ll be giving up the better overall player right now for one who has the potential to be better, but has not yet lived up to it along with a dynamic wing player who can play some backup point guard. Calangelo’s been trying to move Parker anyway, so this allows him to retrieve one of his own draft choices (who he loved back in Phoenix I might add). Calderon is the perfect Amare compliment on the pick and roll (well, besides Nash), who does everything Nash does—pass well, lobs well, shoots well, etc. just not quite up to Nash’s level.
With Amare going back to the pick and roll every other play, he would be the unquestioned focal point of the team and would bring 28 and 9 every night as the featured star—something Bosh was unable to do consistently. His crushing inside presence should allow Jermaine O’Neal to patrol the paint on defense, and sit outside and shoot jumpers (he’s better at this at this stage in his career) while Amare goes to work inside on O. Think about this, if Amare goes to the East and averages 30 a game, you don’t think the Raptors would have a chance to make the playoffs? Bosh can’t do that. He can do a lot of other things, but he can’t do that. An Amare led Raptors could finish 20-9 the rest of the way, which would, according to John Hollinger be enough for them to get into the playoffs. If the Raptors start to roll and everyone is suddenly talking about Amare as an MVP candidate rather than a bad choice to start the all-star game, Sun Tzu will have the motivation he needs to bring his “gorilla game” each and every night. He might even, gasp, break into double digit rebounding for once in his career.
Calangelo has ties to Phoenix, obviously, and if neither side feels like they are getting screwed over, then this could be a case of trading stars in need of a change of scenery and could work out well for both teams both in the short term and long term.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thinking BOLD
With extremely deep teams like the Blazers, Lakers, Jazz, and Houston, this season, the second unit, or bench squad, has become nearly as important as the starters.
Teams like the Nuggets, Spurs, Cavs, and Magic have developed benches this year and remain at the top of their divisions due to that added depth. While injury-plagued teams like Houston and the Jazz have hung in the playoff race mainly due to their depth.
On the flipside, good to very good teams like the triple H trio of the Heat, Hawks, and Hornets haven’t been able to take that next step due to their thin benches.
In light of all this, it’s definitely time for some gut checks from certain NBA stars who say they want to win, who say they want to do whatever it takes… Well, it’s time for some NBA teams, namely, NBA coaches, to be BOLD.
There were a few teams that started this bold thinking. Ironically, the team who has a rep for being boring, has taken some of the boldest steps over the past few seasons…and you know what? They’ve won the whole damn thing four times. From mining the wealth of European stars to sitting stars for the entire fourth quarter in potentially winnable games, the Spurs have been that BOLD team.
They also did a little move that has helped make them one of the greatest franchises in league history. That would be bringing Manu Ginobili, a superstar talent, off the bench.
This season, other teams have followed suit.
Exhibit A: the Los Angeles Lakers, who, admittedly, copied the Ginobili experiment and asked Lamar Odom, who had pretty much started every single game of his career, to lead the bench mob.
The result? The Lakers have the best bench in the entire league. Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic along with Odom change the entire pace of the game and play frenetic, fast-paced ball, that aggressively traps and oftentimes fullcourt presses and makes life miserable for the opposition who has to try and adapt to two different styles and basically gets a group of starters playing off the bench.
As a side result to that, the Lakers 7-foot future, Andrew Bynum, is starting to blossom playing alongside all the veterans. Pau Gasol has meshed perfectly with the 21-year-old and Kobe Bryant and Fisher are looking to get him the ball.
Oh yeah, the Lakers sport the best record in the West (35-8). Pretty nifty outcome for thinking bold, wouldn’t you agree?
Exhibit B: the Utah Jazz, who, despite all the injuries to key players have remained in the playoff hunt. They started the season bringing Andrei Kirilenko off the bench, and before Boozer and then Milsap went down with injuries, that little trick was working like a $5,000, well, nicely.
Hopefully, you can see where this post is headed.
Aside from exhibits A & B, there is also the recent Jermaine O’Neal experiment. The Raptors have been fortunate enough to have Andrea Bargnani absolutely balling (20 points and 7 boards on 50 percent shooting in January) and have the luxury, much like the Lakers and pre-injured Jazz, of bringing a known star talent off the bench. While O’Neal’s star has faded considerably, so far, the bold move is paying off. The team has since rattled off a couple in a row (yeah, the Kings and Bulls, but still).
As for some of the other teams in the league, they have not been thinking boldly, and have clung to the tried and tested and the old school ways of coaching.
Maybe it’s Terry Porter and Michael Curry’s coaching styles that are preventing them from seeing the larger picture. Maybe it’s the fact that they are first year coaches (well, fairly new to coaching in Porter’s case) with big shoes to fill. Maybe it’s the high profile star power that they are dealing with. Or perhaps it's a combination of all of these things
Whatever it is, the obvious solution is staring them in the face and they are refusing to go with it.
I’ve been talking about bringing Nash off the bench for quite some time now. Check here for that blog.
Recapping, it gives the Suns two strong units. Nash, if playing his style of basketball (run and gun) can turn anyone into a viable contributor. But force him to slow down and play with Shaq? Then we have his highest turnover percentage of his career (worse than his rookie campaign) and his lowest FG percentage in four years.
Starting J Rich, Amare, Shaq, Grant Hill and Barbosa or even Dee Brown, would allow J-Rich to have a more useful impact in the offense. Shaq has won four titles in his career, and they’ve all been playing with a great wing player. Now, this Shaq isn’t close to 3peat Shaq, nor is he quite Heat Shaq, and, J-Rich ain’t even a poor-man’s Kobe, but neither is he a catch and shoot, fourth option. With Shaq and J-Rich, the duo-dynamic is there.
With this lineup, Grant Hill can run point forward and be in charge of the main ball handling duties. Besides, in a half court offense that focuses around Shaq, all a team simply needs is a point guard who can dump the ball into the post and shoot the long ball (think Scott Skiles, think old Jason Williams, think Ron Harper, think Brian Shaw). Leandro Barbosa might not be as smart a player as any of them, but he’s definitely at least as talented.
With the starters set, Shaq accumulating fouls on the defense early, battering the bigs, abusing the post, with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter, that’s when the Suns will unleash the hounds. A second unit of Nash, Barbosa, Barnes, Amundson and Amare would be devastatingly fast and explosive.
Bringing a two-time MVP off the bench, now that’s thinking BOLDLY.
Which brings me to another former MVP who should be coming off the bench. How many conference finals have the Detroit Pistons been to the past six years?
Six.
They accomplished this feat based not on any superstar talent (though, Mr. Billups is proving that he’s definitely a working man’s superstar—think a point guard’s version of Brandon Roy). Instead, they built a strong team unit, that knew how to play well together—very well, excellent in fact.
Ben Wallace/Antonio McDyess, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Chauncey Billups.
Sure, over the years, they’ve replaced core guys here and there. The first being Wallace. The team quickly filled his hole with McDyess and Jason Maxiell. Despite the change, they didn’t really miss a beat.
This season, wisely predicting the emergence of Rodney Stuckey after easing him into the system last year, they sent Chauncey packing to “renew” the point guard position like they did with the center/power forward spot two years before.
But instead of continuing this natural cycle, they’ve tried to force a square peg into a round hole.
AI’s the Detroit’s Yoko Ono.
No disrespect to the Answer, but the question is where should he play, and the solution is on the second unit.
A superstar coming off the bench? Yes, think Ginobili.
But Ginobili is no Allen Iverson…right from both sides of that argument.
So, instead, let’s look at this in a different light. Do you remember way back in 2001, back when Iverson was the face of the Sixers franchise? Do you remember who the other faces he was playing with were?
Nope, neither does anyone else. The point is, he won his MVP that year and took that team to the finals with a group of nobodies (sorry Mutumbo).
If AI is options 1,2 and 3 on a second unit featuring Amir Johnson, Aaron Afflalo and Jason Maxiell, irregardless of the noticeable regression in his game this season, he will kill second units like it’s 2001. He’s still AI. He’s still a top 10 shooting guard.
On this Detroit team, his rightful place is to lead a second unit squad. His place is to kill second units.
He’s not here to change the flow of that tight as hip hugger jeans’ camaraderie and team-first approach. Let’s face it, try as he might, AI isn’t a team-oriented guy. He’s a great, great teammate, but not a team player. There’s no team in AI.
Bringing Iverson off the bench would not only keep that first unit flowing like they have for the past six years, but it would also allow the youngins to develop into the system. Look how beautifully Stuckey has progressed in this model.
AI is most likely only a one year rental. Why has Curry allowed him to muck up the system? Let's be real. Iverson's got zero rings. He got close, but he’s never won anything. The Pistons system got them a ring and another finals appearance.
In Phoenix, the newbie, Shaq, is the one with the rings. Despite it previously being Nash’s team, going with the ring bearer isn’t a bad idea.
But in both cases, BOLD thinking needs to be adopted. Bringing both of the former MVP guards off the bench will boost both squads into the elite class, giving them both elite starting units and elite benches.
Teams like the Nuggets, Spurs, Cavs, and Magic have developed benches this year and remain at the top of their divisions due to that added depth. While injury-plagued teams like Houston and the Jazz have hung in the playoff race mainly due to their depth.
On the flipside, good to very good teams like the triple H trio of the Heat, Hawks, and Hornets haven’t been able to take that next step due to their thin benches.
In light of all this, it’s definitely time for some gut checks from certain NBA stars who say they want to win, who say they want to do whatever it takes… Well, it’s time for some NBA teams, namely, NBA coaches, to be BOLD.
There were a few teams that started this bold thinking. Ironically, the team who has a rep for being boring, has taken some of the boldest steps over the past few seasons…and you know what? They’ve won the whole damn thing four times. From mining the wealth of European stars to sitting stars for the entire fourth quarter in potentially winnable games, the Spurs have been that BOLD team.
They also did a little move that has helped make them one of the greatest franchises in league history. That would be bringing Manu Ginobili, a superstar talent, off the bench.
This season, other teams have followed suit.
Exhibit A: the Los Angeles Lakers, who, admittedly, copied the Ginobili experiment and asked Lamar Odom, who had pretty much started every single game of his career, to lead the bench mob.
The result? The Lakers have the best bench in the entire league. Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic along with Odom change the entire pace of the game and play frenetic, fast-paced ball, that aggressively traps and oftentimes fullcourt presses and makes life miserable for the opposition who has to try and adapt to two different styles and basically gets a group of starters playing off the bench.
As a side result to that, the Lakers 7-foot future, Andrew Bynum, is starting to blossom playing alongside all the veterans. Pau Gasol has meshed perfectly with the 21-year-old and Kobe Bryant and Fisher are looking to get him the ball.
Oh yeah, the Lakers sport the best record in the West (35-8). Pretty nifty outcome for thinking bold, wouldn’t you agree?
Exhibit B: the Utah Jazz, who, despite all the injuries to key players have remained in the playoff hunt. They started the season bringing Andrei Kirilenko off the bench, and before Boozer and then Milsap went down with injuries, that little trick was working like a $5,000, well, nicely.
Hopefully, you can see where this post is headed.
Aside from exhibits A & B, there is also the recent Jermaine O’Neal experiment. The Raptors have been fortunate enough to have Andrea Bargnani absolutely balling (20 points and 7 boards on 50 percent shooting in January) and have the luxury, much like the Lakers and pre-injured Jazz, of bringing a known star talent off the bench. While O’Neal’s star has faded considerably, so far, the bold move is paying off. The team has since rattled off a couple in a row (yeah, the Kings and Bulls, but still).
As for some of the other teams in the league, they have not been thinking boldly, and have clung to the tried and tested and the old school ways of coaching.
Maybe it’s Terry Porter and Michael Curry’s coaching styles that are preventing them from seeing the larger picture. Maybe it’s the fact that they are first year coaches (well, fairly new to coaching in Porter’s case) with big shoes to fill. Maybe it’s the high profile star power that they are dealing with. Or perhaps it's a combination of all of these things
Whatever it is, the obvious solution is staring them in the face and they are refusing to go with it.
I’ve been talking about bringing Nash off the bench for quite some time now. Check here for that blog.
Recapping, it gives the Suns two strong units. Nash, if playing his style of basketball (run and gun) can turn anyone into a viable contributor. But force him to slow down and play with Shaq? Then we have his highest turnover percentage of his career (worse than his rookie campaign) and his lowest FG percentage in four years.
Starting J Rich, Amare, Shaq, Grant Hill and Barbosa or even Dee Brown, would allow J-Rich to have a more useful impact in the offense. Shaq has won four titles in his career, and they’ve all been playing with a great wing player. Now, this Shaq isn’t close to 3peat Shaq, nor is he quite Heat Shaq, and, J-Rich ain’t even a poor-man’s Kobe, but neither is he a catch and shoot, fourth option. With Shaq and J-Rich, the duo-dynamic is there.
With this lineup, Grant Hill can run point forward and be in charge of the main ball handling duties. Besides, in a half court offense that focuses around Shaq, all a team simply needs is a point guard who can dump the ball into the post and shoot the long ball (think Scott Skiles, think old Jason Williams, think Ron Harper, think Brian Shaw). Leandro Barbosa might not be as smart a player as any of them, but he’s definitely at least as talented.
With the starters set, Shaq accumulating fouls on the defense early, battering the bigs, abusing the post, with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter, that’s when the Suns will unleash the hounds. A second unit of Nash, Barbosa, Barnes, Amundson and Amare would be devastatingly fast and explosive.
Bringing a two-time MVP off the bench, now that’s thinking BOLDLY.
Which brings me to another former MVP who should be coming off the bench. How many conference finals have the Detroit Pistons been to the past six years?
Six.
They accomplished this feat based not on any superstar talent (though, Mr. Billups is proving that he’s definitely a working man’s superstar—think a point guard’s version of Brandon Roy). Instead, they built a strong team unit, that knew how to play well together—very well, excellent in fact.
Ben Wallace/Antonio McDyess, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Chauncey Billups.
Sure, over the years, they’ve replaced core guys here and there. The first being Wallace. The team quickly filled his hole with McDyess and Jason Maxiell. Despite the change, they didn’t really miss a beat.
This season, wisely predicting the emergence of Rodney Stuckey after easing him into the system last year, they sent Chauncey packing to “renew” the point guard position like they did with the center/power forward spot two years before.
But instead of continuing this natural cycle, they’ve tried to force a square peg into a round hole.
AI’s the Detroit’s Yoko Ono.
No disrespect to the Answer, but the question is where should he play, and the solution is on the second unit.
A superstar coming off the bench? Yes, think Ginobili.
But Ginobili is no Allen Iverson…right from both sides of that argument.
So, instead, let’s look at this in a different light. Do you remember way back in 2001, back when Iverson was the face of the Sixers franchise? Do you remember who the other faces he was playing with were?
Nope, neither does anyone else. The point is, he won his MVP that year and took that team to the finals with a group of nobodies (sorry Mutumbo).
If AI is options 1,2 and 3 on a second unit featuring Amir Johnson, Aaron Afflalo and Jason Maxiell, irregardless of the noticeable regression in his game this season, he will kill second units like it’s 2001. He’s still AI. He’s still a top 10 shooting guard.
On this Detroit team, his rightful place is to lead a second unit squad. His place is to kill second units.
He’s not here to change the flow of that tight as hip hugger jeans’ camaraderie and team-first approach. Let’s face it, try as he might, AI isn’t a team-oriented guy. He’s a great, great teammate, but not a team player. There’s no team in AI.
Bringing Iverson off the bench would not only keep that first unit flowing like they have for the past six years, but it would also allow the youngins to develop into the system. Look how beautifully Stuckey has progressed in this model.
AI is most likely only a one year rental. Why has Curry allowed him to muck up the system? Let's be real. Iverson's got zero rings. He got close, but he’s never won anything. The Pistons system got them a ring and another finals appearance.
In Phoenix, the newbie, Shaq, is the one with the rings. Despite it previously being Nash’s team, going with the ring bearer isn’t a bad idea.
But in both cases, BOLD thinking needs to be adopted. Bringing both of the former MVP guards off the bench will boost both squads into the elite class, giving them both elite starting units and elite benches.
Remember, not everyone can be Boston and mesh superstar talent together.
The Lakers have been bold this year, and they have a huge depth advantage as well as the best bench in the league and are poised to represent the West in the Finals once again.
The Spurs have been bold for years and have four rings to show for it.
And, there’s no BOLDER statement than winning a ring…
Friday, November 28, 2008
What can Happen in 2 Games
*In the two games where Eric Gordon has started, where he’s been given more than 5 minute increments of time to play, he’s averaged a cool 24.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3 rpg, 4 spg, and a sparkling 47 percent from beyond the arc including a beauty of a 3 pointer that tied the game against the Nuggets in the final half minute. That’s against two good teams. The Hornets, though not playing that well, are still considered elite, and the Nugs have moved up on everyone’s power charts. Both of them were Clippers losses, but the Clips had a real shot of winning the Nugs game, but came up short on a Marcus Camby 3-point heave with 3 seconds on the clock. You read that right. Anyways, Mike Dunleavy should relieve himself of coaching duties and let Kim Hughes, who filled in admirably on Wednesday night, coach the rest of the season. The team just looked more fluid with him calling the plays. He even let DeAndre Jordan get PT (well, he had to thanks to Kaman’s injury, but it was nice to see Jordan get time).
*In two games as a starter, Paul Millsap of the Jazz has averaged 22.5 ppg, 13 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 bpg, 1 spg, on 65 percent shooting. Sure, one of the games was against Chicago, who lack any sort of interior presence, and the other game was against the super young Memphis Grizzlies, but that sort of production doesn't just materialize out of nowhere. Millsap is the real deal, and a big reason why watching Carlos Boozer walk, or trading him before the deadline, is not going to be that difficult for the Jazz this off-season. He’s a better defensive player, and has improved in all aspects of his game. His inside moves, mid-range jumper, passing out of double teams, and defensive recognition have all improved, and he’s shooting a career best 55.9 percent from the field and 74.5 percent from the line.
*Kevin Durant’s so far 2 game experiment at the SF position for the woeful Thunder has produced mixed results. Against Phoenix he got to the line 8 times and converted all 8, leading to a 30-point performance. He only had 4 boards however. Against Cleveland a night later, he managed only 13 points and 1 rebound and shot 6-16 in a game that Lebron only played 17 minutes. In the end, I think this move will benefit his overall game, though, he'll need to add muscle for sure. The interesting aspect of this is what this does to Jeff Green, who has been playing much improved from last season. Green, no matter how well he's been playing, is still a questionable draft pick in my mind especially considering guys like Rodney Stuckey, Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, Julian Wright, Brandan Wright and even Joakim Noah were still available.
*Better without Shaq? In the two games the Diesel has sat out this season, Amare Stoudemire has only compiled 24 ppg, 7 rpg, 2.5 apg, on 65 percent shooting. Steve Nash almost had a triple double against Oklahoma City the other night, 20 ppg, 15 apg, and 8 rpg, but also had 7 turnovers and the Suns barely beat the worst team in the league. Against Chicago, Nash played only 24 minutes and had 6 points and 5 assists. While I’m still convinced the Suns should have never traded for Shaq, especially giving away Marion, I won’t go so far to say that Shaq has been the main problem with the Suns this year. Look no further than the manchild. He’s got game like a man, but a brain like a child’s. I thought the key to the season would be Amare’s maturity and ability to play defense and rebound. If he did those things, the offense would come naturally and he’d be a legitimate MVP candidate. So far, Amare is under 8 rebounds per game and averaging over half a block per game less. Plus, he’s whining about wanting to be the man and seriously considering his options in 2010 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=smith_stephen&page=Stoudemire-081128). The curse of 2010 has reached all corners of the NBA. Even Darko Milicic is talking about going back to Europe in tw years (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/nov/27/milicic-admits-hes-homesick/?partner=RSS).
The NBA, where forgetting 2008 and focusing on 2010 happens.
Thanks a bundle New York.
Keep it Slanted West…
Friday, November 21, 2008
Free Nash
Okay Suns fans, you aren’t going to like to hear this. But it’s the reality of the situation. And it’s not just for the sake of the Phoenix Suns, but really, for the betterment of the entire NBA. A league lost one of its brightest stars the second Shaq found his way onto the Suns.
It’s time to trade Steve Nash.
Last night’s trouncing by the Los Angeles Lakers, who, despite seeing Kobe jack up 23 shots and get only 24 points for his trouble, still got spanked by double digits. That beating really solidified this notion. ESPN’s Henry Abbott of TrueHoop blog has a great breakdown of what the new Suns offense looks like under Terry Porter from last night’s Suns/Lakers showdown.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-82/13-Seconds-or-More.html?post=true
Back at the end of April, when the Suns had been ousted in the first round, I wrote a three part series about the team on my Lakers blog. Here are a few excerpts from the first part:
*Getting Shaq changed everything. He and Amare have now become the focal points. Everyone else, including Nash, is expendable.
*Nash, is no longer Nash. After that brilliant game one, and as Mike D’Antoni continued to refocus his offense, Nash went from near MVP to all-star play to bench player to completely irrelevant. In fact, he had three turnovers in the last couple of minutes, the last one, completely sealing Phoenix’s fate.
Let’s go over this again. Steve Nash’s production has, indeed, gone down across the board. Dumping the ball into the big fella has made him completely irrelevant. Goran Dragic could do that (more on this in a sec). Nash has no freedom to penetrate with two huge behemoths clogging the lane, and his defensive shortcomings make the Suns renewed focus on that end an even steeper hill to climb. Think Mount Everest as opposed to Mount Whitney.
Because the offense is focused in on Shaq and Amare, Nash has no real place on the team.
The second part of last year’s Suns series focused on looking for ideal trading partners for Steve Nash. Here is that blog in its entirety.
http://www.nflfootballonline.com/dodgerblue15/weblog/1802/suns-part-2-trade-nash.html
Now, all of those trades have become impossible seeing as how Allen Iverson has been moved to the Pistons and Baron Davis signed with the Clippers.
What about trading Nash for Anthony Morrow, Al Harrington and C.J. Watson/Brandan Wright? That would have worked out beautifully for both teams. Too bad Harrington is headed to New York. So, reunite Nash with Mike D. Or ship him off to Philly. How about Charlotte for rookie D.J. Augustin and Marion-lite, Gerald Wallace…maybe?
Marion. Sigh. I hated the Marion trade. People say that Nash was the engine to the Seven Seconds or less offensive Ferrari, but Marion was the suspension, the wheels, the turbo. He was the welding that held the car together. Once they traded him, it was like sticking that Ferrari engine into a Big Rig and trying to make it work.
So, Steve Kerr trade Nash right now, while his value still seems high due to the past five seasons of work he has put in. Two more months of 13 and 7 for a player pushing 35 will not bring back much, especially if the Suns struggle. So trade the Canuck immediately. Kerr, you need to look for a point guard who can defend, and, if at all possible, has the ability to shoot 3 as well.
Of course, if Suns fans really, truly can’t see themselves without the man who has become the face of the franchise, there is another possibility that Terry Porter should strongly consider. Bring Nashty off the bench.
Start Leandro Barbosa when he comes back. Hell, start Goran Dragic. All that first unit needs is someone to dump the ball into the bigs. Have Nash come off the bench with Matt Barnes, Boris Diaw and Robin Lopez. Look at how effectively bringing a proven starter, a proven star off the bench has worked for the Lakers (Odom), Jazz (Kirilenko) and Spurs (Manu, the last few seasons). Basically whenever Shaq is in the game, sit Nash. It would give the Suns a different look and also maximize the talents of all the players they have on their roster. Nash could come in and create, create, create, push, push, push and be his SSOL self. Remember how good the team was when they had Diaw at center? Remember how good Diaw was playing off of Nash? That's what this year's Suns second unit could be. Nash could create for offensively challenged Robin Lopez, and Warriors fans know how much Barnes relishes playing in a more chaotic atmosphere. Get past the idea of starter/sub and focus on how to best utilize a mish-mashed roster that, as it is constructed right now, doesn’t quite work. Besides, in today's NBA the best teams have the most quality in their second unit (Boston, LA, Jazz, Detroit, etc.).
Otherwise, admit the error in judgment, and trade the two-time MVP. Let the butterfly out. Everyone wants to see that Ferrari flying.
Free Nash.
It’s time to trade Steve Nash.
Last night’s trouncing by the Los Angeles Lakers, who, despite seeing Kobe jack up 23 shots and get only 24 points for his trouble, still got spanked by double digits. That beating really solidified this notion. ESPN’s Henry Abbott of TrueHoop blog has a great breakdown of what the new Suns offense looks like under Terry Porter from last night’s Suns/Lakers showdown.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-82/13-Seconds-or-More.html?post=true
Back at the end of April, when the Suns had been ousted in the first round, I wrote a three part series about the team on my Lakers blog. Here are a few excerpts from the first part:
*Getting Shaq changed everything. He and Amare have now become the focal points. Everyone else, including Nash, is expendable.
*Nash, is no longer Nash. After that brilliant game one, and as Mike D’Antoni continued to refocus his offense, Nash went from near MVP to all-star play to bench player to completely irrelevant. In fact, he had three turnovers in the last couple of minutes, the last one, completely sealing Phoenix’s fate.
Let’s go over this again. Steve Nash’s production has, indeed, gone down across the board. Dumping the ball into the big fella has made him completely irrelevant. Goran Dragic could do that (more on this in a sec). Nash has no freedom to penetrate with two huge behemoths clogging the lane, and his defensive shortcomings make the Suns renewed focus on that end an even steeper hill to climb. Think Mount Everest as opposed to Mount Whitney.
Because the offense is focused in on Shaq and Amare, Nash has no real place on the team.
The second part of last year’s Suns series focused on looking for ideal trading partners for Steve Nash. Here is that blog in its entirety.
http://www.nflfootballonline.com/dodgerblue15/weblog/1802/suns-part-2-trade-nash.html
Now, all of those trades have become impossible seeing as how Allen Iverson has been moved to the Pistons and Baron Davis signed with the Clippers.
What about trading Nash for Anthony Morrow, Al Harrington and C.J. Watson/Brandan Wright? That would have worked out beautifully for both teams. Too bad Harrington is headed to New York. So, reunite Nash with Mike D. Or ship him off to Philly. How about Charlotte for rookie D.J. Augustin and Marion-lite, Gerald Wallace…maybe?
Marion. Sigh. I hated the Marion trade. People say that Nash was the engine to the Seven Seconds or less offensive Ferrari, but Marion was the suspension, the wheels, the turbo. He was the welding that held the car together. Once they traded him, it was like sticking that Ferrari engine into a Big Rig and trying to make it work.
So, Steve Kerr trade Nash right now, while his value still seems high due to the past five seasons of work he has put in. Two more months of 13 and 7 for a player pushing 35 will not bring back much, especially if the Suns struggle. So trade the Canuck immediately. Kerr, you need to look for a point guard who can defend, and, if at all possible, has the ability to shoot 3 as well.
Of course, if Suns fans really, truly can’t see themselves without the man who has become the face of the franchise, there is another possibility that Terry Porter should strongly consider. Bring Nashty off the bench.
Start Leandro Barbosa when he comes back. Hell, start Goran Dragic. All that first unit needs is someone to dump the ball into the bigs. Have Nash come off the bench with Matt Barnes, Boris Diaw and Robin Lopez. Look at how effectively bringing a proven starter, a proven star off the bench has worked for the Lakers (Odom), Jazz (Kirilenko) and Spurs (Manu, the last few seasons). Basically whenever Shaq is in the game, sit Nash. It would give the Suns a different look and also maximize the talents of all the players they have on their roster. Nash could come in and create, create, create, push, push, push and be his SSOL self. Remember how good the team was when they had Diaw at center? Remember how good Diaw was playing off of Nash? That's what this year's Suns second unit could be. Nash could create for offensively challenged Robin Lopez, and Warriors fans know how much Barnes relishes playing in a more chaotic atmosphere. Get past the idea of starter/sub and focus on how to best utilize a mish-mashed roster that, as it is constructed right now, doesn’t quite work. Besides, in today's NBA the best teams have the most quality in their second unit (Boston, LA, Jazz, Detroit, etc.).
Otherwise, admit the error in judgment, and trade the two-time MVP. Let the butterfly out. Everyone wants to see that Ferrari flying.
Free Nash.
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