khandor’s sports blog

Approximately 13 months ago, the following question was asked in this space, in a poll:

Where will Andrea Bargnani rank in the Eastern Conference next season, as a Center? … You Make The Call

pertaining to the 2009-2010 season.

As the Raptors complete their seemingly annual summer make-over, under the watch of Bryan Colangelo/GM, in preparation for the 2010-2011 campaign, it is interesting to see how the landscape is shaping up in the Eastern Conference, when evaluating the individual players who might be expected to start at the Center position for their respective teams:

PART 1 - Based On Basketball Acumen

PART 2 - Painting By the Numbers [from hoopdata for the 2009-2010]

From Toronto’s perspective …

The more some things change, the more other things simply stay the same.

After sliding down into the NBA’s Draft Lottery last year …

What exactly has happened with the Phoenix Suns this season to propel their team back toward the top end of the Western Conference?

1 Robert Sarver … once vilified as a “spendthrift” owner, to the worst degree … is now perceived as a “champion of the people.”

2 Steve Nash is still a terrific offensive Point Guard and a first-class leader.

3 Grant Hill is still a consumate professional.

4 Amare Stoudemire is still a dynamic force at the Center position.

5 Leandro Barbosa is still a whirling dervish capable of providing instant offense.

6 Robin Lopez - drafted [No. 15] by S-Kerr summer 2008
7 Goran Dragic - acquired via Draft Day trade [No. 45] by S-Kerr summer 2008 
8 Louis Amundson - added by S-Kerr summer 2008
9 Jason Richardson - acquired via trade by S-Kerr 2008-2009 season
10 Jared Dudley - acquired via trade by S-Kerr 2008-2009 season
11 Earl Clark - drafted [No. 14] by S-Kerr summer 2009
12 Alvin Gentry - appointed head coach by S-Kerr 2008-2009 season
13 Taylor Griffin - drafted [No. 48] by S-Kerr summer 2009
14 Channing Frye - added by S-Kerr summer 2009
15 Jarron Collins - Added by S-Kerr fall 2009
16 Dwayne Jones - added by S-Kerr 2009-2010 season

* Bold - individuals who are sound defensively and in terms of rebounding.

October 24 2008, this is what was written in this space about Steve Kerr, the current GM of the Phoenix Suns:

Making the correct decisions in the Valley of the Sun

April 28 2009, this is what was written in this space about the immediate future of the Phoenix Suns, under the direction of Steve Kerr:

Where the Suns go from here, under Steve Kerr

12 months later …

After sweeping their 2nd Round Playoff series againgst arch-nemesis, San Antonio, today, Phoenix is basking in the glow of a return trip to the Western Conference Finals … courtesy of the fine work done by STEVE KERR. 

If you do not happen to know exactly who Steve Kerr is … and what his personal history happens to entail … then you should take a minute to read THIS and, then, understand fully that - in the opinion of yours truly - he has the make-up [i.e. the basketball pedigree, the list of basketball-related accomplishments and the personal attributes] of someone who is going to be an outstanding General Manager in the NBA for an extended number of years with his commitment to a Balanced Approach to the game.

Related:

Phoenix Suns News

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 18 – vs Phoenix [Sun Nov 29]

Originally, this was a game which yours truly thought the Raptors could/should/would win during this initial stretch of 20 games to start the season … that is … until the individual match-ups were examined in closer detail, especially, in the light of last night’s exhibition games vs Boston [aka, Hedo Turkoglu's debut with the Raptors] and Portland [for Phoenix].

The pre-season injury to Robin Lopez is going to impair the Suns’ ability to match-up physically in the post with a number of teams in the league this year. However, at the same time, Suns’ opponents are going to have their hands full coping with the different/unusual 5-man combinations which Phoenix will now be able to put on the floor together, playing at a very high tempo [e.g. last night Phoenix closed their game with Nash + Barbosa + Dudley + Frye + Stoudemire]. 

When healthy, this group of Suns is going to be too much for the Raptors to handle, given that:

1 The only match-up advantage in Toronto’s favour is Chris Bosh; 

2 The Raptors’ defense and rebounding will continue to struggle this season with the addition of Turkoglu; and,

3 The Suns are now capable of shooting the lights out with the 3-ball.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 6-12

Finally … a stats guru speaks who is at least on the right track.

How stats apply to individual match-ups for elite level NBA coaches
WW: Tracy McGrady is a player who has never helped his team as much as people thought. Allen Iverson — for one or two years he was really good.

The best player of the decade, though, I’d say, was Kevin Garnett. We have a rating over the last eight or nine years, and Garnett comes out number one. And I think everybody else [other stat experts] has that too, so that’s nice.

Although I don’t like Garnett. When I watch on TV, he’s turning too edgy. Chippy attitude.

Another guy who is totally overrated is Amare Stoudemire. I mean, he’s a stat stuffer. Troy Murphy gets great stats, but never does much for the team.

(UPDATE: Winston amends this statement: “With Golden State Troy Murphy was a stat stuffer who did little to help the team but with Indiana the last two years he has improved to where he is an above average NBA player.”)

There’s a bunch of guys like that.

Andre Iguodala, though. Whenever he’s on the court for Philadelphia, they’re great. Whenever he’s off, they suck. God knows why he’s a good player. I watch him play, and I don’t know. (More on Iguodala.)

Jason Kidd is a little like that, but you can see why he makes guys better. But not Iguodala.

HA: Sometimes I feel like I can see Kidd’s greatness, but other times, at this stage of his career, I can’t. 

WW: Kidd can’t guard a fast guard. They go right by him like he’s standing still. They always did. Against Chris Paul … Jason Kidd might as well be standing still on defense.

But the interesting thing: Devin Harris can nail Tony Parker. But Steve Nash can beat Devin Harris. But Parker can beat Nash.

It’s not transitive. We can show that. That’s really interesting. That shouldn’t be. But it is. There are probably a lot of other things like that.

If coaches see other examples of things like that, we can back them up with data. Del Harris really got to like us, I think, because a lot of times our numbers confirmed what he thought. It’s hard to argue with the numbers when you’ve got a full amount of data on it.

Last year [Maverick assistant] Terry Stotts did a really great job asking us questions. Before the Spurs series, they asked us about Antoine Wright.  He’s not on the team anymore, thank god. OK, he had a bad rating in our system. But the fascinating thing was, when he played small forward, he was good. When he played shooting guard, he was terrible. So we can break that down. I can find every combination where he was small forward and he was good. Every combination where he was shooting guard he was terrible. 

Against the Spurs, they used him as a small forward and he was great. Every time he played for Howard at small forward, they killed the Spurs.

Things like this … I needed the coach to ask me the question because I would have never thought of it. You don’t just throw the numbers at the coach, because, I mean, 500,000 numbers! But if the coach understands what he’s doing, and says “I think Antoine Wright can play small forward can you tell me if that’s true?” That’s how you use the stuff.

———————————

THIS is the direction in which basketball analysis NEEDS to go.

Sincere thanks to you … Wayne Winston!

PS. It’s the job of an elite level basketball coach to answer correctly the questions which Wayne Winston doesn’t happen to have the specific training, knowledge base and experience to discern properly on his own … e.g. What really makes Andre Iguodala as good as he is given what the “average” stats/numbers have to say about his level of play?  Those who can DO THAT are the ones with the type of Basketball Analysis/Acumen you SHOULD BE listening to in order to better understand, How The NBA Game Actually Works, Based On Individual Match-ups.

PPS. Class for NBA 101 is now finished for today … or, in fact, for some of you, at least, it may just be starting … from scratch.

PPPS. Btw … What Wayne Winston had to say in this piece about there being no distinction necessary between the use of players like Brandon Bass [#4/PF] and Dirk Nowitzki [#5/C], on the court together, regardless of their position, and the effect/thinking of Mike D’Antoni, just happens to be wrong.

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 10– @ Phoenix [Sun Nov 15]

The Suns are a much more stable team this season, provided they have a healthy Stoudemire at the Center position, with 8 of their first 10 players as returnees from last year’s squad. If Earl Clark turns out to be as good as this corner thinks he is going to be … i.e. a starting calibre #3/SF, who can score the ball, defend and rebound his position effectively … Phoenix will have a very solid rotation that’s 10-men deep and capable of playing well at a high tempo for the entire season. In this specific spot on their schedule, the Raptors will most likely be over-matched in a high scoring shootout.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 4-6

Two highly interesting points of view …

Steve Kerr - the lost interviews, part I
A mid-April conclusion to the Suns season just leaves more time for second guesses about last season and first suggestions about next season.

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr tackled both departments after a 46-36 that was better than 17 other NBA teams’ records but considered by many as the most disappointing outcome in the league. The season was marred by Leandro Barbosa’s absence and an uncomfortable coaching change early and Amare Stoudemire’s and Barbosa’s injuries later. In between, Kerr shook the team’s core up by trading Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary to Charlotte for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round draft pick.

“I don’t see a massive overhaul as being necessary,” Kerr said. “We won 46 games in a season in which we endured a lot of turmoil, from the coaching situation to the injury to Amare to a pretty big trade. We had a lot of change.

“I know all of us in that room feel like that 46 should have been about 52, 53. I have no doubt that this team is a very, very competitive good playoff team. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it. That doesn’t mean we’re going to blow up the team and start over. It also doesn’t mean there couldn’t be some changes. We have to evaluate everything. We could’ve done better. This was not a championship team. This was a very good team that could’ve done better but we have to improve and we have to make improvements this summer.”

———-

Shaq - the lost interviews, part II
The Suns talked about trading O’Neal at midseason and will explore the idea again. He has made himself a tradeable commodity despite the $20 million price tag ($21 million cap number) and the Suns will be looking to begin to transform itself into a younger team. Part of that redesign could include seeking a center who is more mobile to defend and help defend.

“I realize every summer something might happen,” O’Neal said. “Something will change. I just told Steve (Kerr) that ‘I’ve been under a lot of general managers but no one treated me the way you did,’ ” O’Neal said. “Whatever happens, I understand the business and we all just have to move on. Steve was great. At the trade deadline, he didn’t have to call me and ask me if I wanted to go. A lot of guys would’ve just did it. He promised me if something would go down, that he’d call me and he called me. I love him for that. I respect him for that. I played for a lot of great GMs and he’s up there.”

Coming out of the annual All-Star Break and heading toward this week’s Trade Deadline  [Feb 19, 3:00 PM] … as different trade rumours swirl about the NBA [on-line & elsewhere] … it can be instructive to assess where certain marquee players rank amongst their brethren, at the specific position[s] they play the best.

When considering Big Men [i.e. Centers/C and Power Forwards/PF], it is also imperative to understand what their fundamental role is within the NBA game and what qualities are the most important for them to exhibit on a consistent basis, if their respective team’s are going to have a legitimate chance to win a League Championship, now or in the not-too-distant future.

Big Man Ranking Criteria

* Leadership
* Rebounding [which includes: i. Defensive; ii. Offense]
* Team Defense [which includes: i. Interior Rotations; ii. Perimeter Rotations; iii. Execution of Pick & Roll Techniques; iv. Transition Effectiveness; v. Shot blocking off the ball; Switching off the ball]
* Low-Mid Post Scoring
* Passing Effectiveness
* Individual Low-Mid Post Defense [which includes Shot blocking on the ball]
* Individual Perimeter Defense
* Screening Effectiveness
* Picking Effectiveness
* Perimeter Scoring
* Offensive Transition
* Physical Traits: i. Quickness; ii. Agility; iii. Explosive Power; iv. Size & Strength
* Psycho-Emotional Traits: i. Stability; ii. Intelligence; iii. Intensity; iv. Toughness 

These are the current rankings, according to this corner:

Use the “comments” section to provide your feedback.

Shaq bringing out vintage moves
“You always take what the defense gives you, but I couldn’t always do that last year,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of young, energetic, new-millennium trainers here, and they’re really into their craft.”

O’Neal said his problem was major.

“A muscle in my (rear) wasn’t firing,” he explained. “So they left me for dead. ‘He’s old. He don’t have it anymore.’ Now I’m doing things I couldn’t do last year because my (rear) wasn’t firing.”

Makes sense. O’Neal without his gluteus muscles is like Allen Iverson without his crossover, Tim Duncan without his bank shot, Rasheed Wallace without his rants.

——————————–

Since trading for Jason Richardson the Suns are 8-3.

At present, Phoenix is in 2nd place, in the Pacific Division, with an overall record of 21-13 [.618].

As has been said in this space … since the off-season … the Suns are going to be a tougher out in the Playoffs this year than they were last spring.

Providing that they can qualify for the post-season tournament, in the first place, the Suns might just be one of the Top Four teams in the Western Conference come May/June … with the following line-up:

STARTERS

1/Steve Nash
2/Jason Richardson
3/Grant Hill
4/Amare Stoudemire
5/Shaquille O’Neal

KEY BENCH SUBS

1-2/Leandro Barbosa
2-3/Matt Barnes
4-5/Louis Amundson
5/Robin Lopez

RESERVES
1/Goran Dragic
2-3/Alando Tucker
4-5/Jared Dudley

as long as their innovative training staff can continue to work their magic on the Big Cactus’ rear end.

Actually, it’s a super interesting process …

Whither the Suns: An Update

gradually becoming more and more active on-line, in a variety of different places.

The NBA’s pre-season is now complete.

These are the final standings:

———————————–

———————————–

Fans should take a close look at where their favourite team is at today … and, then, compare this reality to the final regular season standings which they’ll see in April, 2009, as the little bolded letters get placed beside the playoff-bound teams’ names in the far-left column.

Time to Let the games begin, in earnest …

———————————–

[caption id="attachment_1129" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Mano a Mano"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1130" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Certified"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1131" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bad Boyz II"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunrise, Sunset"][/caption]

———————————–

2nd Coming