khandor’s sports blog

Deron Williams and the Jazz know what they’re doing

“With Chris Paul sidelined, is any point guard playing better than Deron Williams?”

There are a few things I try not to do. Among them:

• I try not to wake up my wife and kids when they’re sleeping.
• I try not to call people who have little children late at night.
• Realizing I’m a journalist, not a coach, I try not to make statements that rely strictly on my own cobbled-together basketball judgment.
• I try not to curse.

Last night I came this close to breaking all those rules …

———————————————-

Given the already stated preference of this corner, when forced to choose between CP3 and D-Will …

It’s the Age of the Point Guard, in today’s NBA [Dec 18 2009]

it is now a simple fact that the age-old …

QUESTION of …

Who is the best Point Guard in the NBA today?

… needs to be asked and, then, answered, in a different way than it’s ever been asked before … 

considering THE WAY a certain member of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been conducting his on-court business since approximately Jan 11 2010.

LeBron James’ Complete Game Log

———————————————————–

 Loading ...

THE CORRECT ANSWER is … LeBron James.

[... which is something this corner has been advocating for at least the last 2+ years quite some time ... i.e. Best Point Guards in the NBA: An Update, Jan 30 2008]

———————–

PS. In sharp contrast to other NBA experts/analysts/fans/etc. … there is a good reason why many of the statements and observations which appear on this blog do, in fact, rely mostly on “cobbled-together basketball judgment” rather than elaborate prose and/or the use of unnecessarily complicated new-age statistics. For those of you who took the time to read what Henry Abbott wrote in his introduction, it’s important to always be aware of How the Principle of Opposite functions in The Game of Hoops.

This corner of the blogosphere has been saying for at least the last 2+ years that Deron Williams is, in fact, a better PG than the Annointed One, Chris Paul …  

However, despite the affection which exists here for the members of the TNT Crew, please let it still be known, to one and all, that there is also a VERY BIG difference between making a comparative statement like that, and subsequently christening D-Will as the No. 1 PG, overall, in the entire NBA today … whilest other top dogs, like:

Chauncey Billups
Steve Nash
Tony Parker, and
Jason Kidd

are still running, at near full-throttle, in the pound, and other still-as-yet wet-behind-the-ears young bucks, like:

Rajon Rondo
Devin Harris
Russell Westbrook
Derrick Rose
Rodney Stuckey
Monta Ellis
Tyreke Evans, and
Brandon Jennings

are just beginning to prowl.

Indeed, in the grand history of the game, you might not be able to identify any other era during which quite THIS many [and potentially even more than just the 14 names listed here] very-good-to-perhaps-great Point Guards roamed the floors of the NBA, all at once, on an every day basis.

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

Game 5 – @ New Orleans [Fri Nov 06]

Q1. What’s the reason Chris Bosh should be playing Center for the Raptors rather than Power Foward?

A1. Difficult individual match-ups like this vs David West [PF].

Instead of being able to use his significant quickness advantage against an upright player like Emeka Okafor [C], Bosh is forced to bang with one of the best scoring under-sized PF’s in the league. CP3’s combination of quickness and strength makes him a difficult check for Jose Calderon. Very seldom will a rookie [i.e. DeRozan] outperform an established player like Peja Stojakovic, especially, in a road game. Byron Scott is a first rate head coach.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 2-3

Here’s the link,

The 10 best point guards of the last decade,

Here’s the relevant quote, which attempts to categorize the extraordinary work of Chris Paul, during the first phase of his prolific pro career:

“Rings aside, Chris Paul has had the best first 300 games of any point guard in NBA history. Maybe the best 300 games in NBA point man history. He’s that good, that soon.” - KD

Here’s the comment I left, in reply:

“With all due respect, Chris Paul’s group of 1-300 games has not been better than Oscar Robertson’s.

Different, yes; but, not better.” - khandor

———————————–

FYI …

From Basketballreference.com:

Chris Paul and Oscar Robertson

Chris Paul vs Oscar Robertson

————————————————————-

 Loading ...

————————————————————-

The view from this corner?

The one and the only, Big O, still reigns supreme … in terms of sheer dominance, from this position, on a NBA court.

Chris Paul [6-0, 175] is considered to be one of the Elite Level players in the NBA today who, seemingly, has been able to take the New Orleans Hornets into the upper echelon of the league single-handedly.

Rules changes in the NBA implemented over the last decade have been viewed, by-and-large, to have ushered in a new era of “offensive-focused” basketball predicated on the ability & initiative of a “smallish, dynamic Point Guard” like CP3. 

The NBA is a copycat league.

When you look at some of the mock drafts on-line today … what you see are an insane number of players slated to be selected in this year’s draft who project at either the PG or Combo Guard [i.e. #1-2] position in the NBA.

Hoops Addict [12 in the 1st Round]

nbadraft.net [19 in total]

DraftExpress [22 in total]

Q1. Is this really the best way possible to elevate a team’s fortunes in the NBA, short and long term?

A1. Not in the least … if your Prime Directive is to actually win the NBA championship some day down-the-road.

If you take a look at the list of teams that have won the NBA Championship, what you should be able to see is that not very many … if any, at all … have been led by a Point Guard who was actually drafted [in a given year] after as many as 5 other Point Guards have been selected AHEAD of him.

When all is said and done, a few years hence, several of the teams that end up choosing one of these projected PG’s in this year’s draft are going to regret THIS decision, as a massive waste of valuable resources. 

At this level competition, if the goal is to win a championship someday, it makes little sense to add a key player in this way who is simply not going to be one of the very best players in the league at the position he will need to play in this league on a regular basis.

Watching Luis Scola dismantle the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1st quarter of last night’s Game 6, the following thought came to mind …

Q. Do most so-called NBA experts/observers really truly understand just how good, and skilled, and smart, and tenacious, etc., the 2004 Olympic Games [Athens] Men’s Basketball Champions actually were?

A. Not a chance.

———————————

However, if you want to pass yourself off as someone who has a thorough knowledge of the game of basketball, you really SHOULD.

STARTERS
PG/Pepe Sanchez
OG/Manu Ginobili
SF/Andres Nocioni
PF/Luis Scola
C/Fabricio Oberto

KEY SUBS
Alejandro Montecchia [G]
Carlos Delfino [G/F]
Walter Herrmann [F]
Ruben Wolkowisky [F/C]

This is a team which had at least 9 players who were more than capable of holding their own against the very best in the world, and was full value for winning their [i] quarter-final vs Greece [host], [ii] semi-final vs the USA and [iii] final vs Italy, after starting the tournament with an 0-2 record.

If that exact team would have been able to stay together for the 2008 Olympic Games [Beijing] Men’s Basketball Tournament, this past summer, and been 100% healthy, there is simply no telling whether the following group of players, coaches and administrators:

Jason Kidd
Dwyane Wade
Kobe Bryant
Lebron James
Chris Bosh

Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Michael Redd
Carmelo Anthony
Tayshaun Prince
Carlos Boozer
Dwight Howard

Mike Krzyzewski
Mike D’Antoni
Nate McMillan

Jerry Colangelo

would still enjoy the stellar reputations they have today and have been strong & cohesive enough to reclaim the Gold Medal for the Red, White & Blue.

Oh, but, what a game THAT would have been to witness.

Despite the respect yours truly has for [i] Adrian Wojnarowski, as a talented writer, who chooses to ply his trade for Yahoo! Sports, and [ii] Kelly Dwyer, another talented writer, who does likewise … the cold, harsh fact-of-the-matter is that neither of these two wordsmiths hit the target today: 

Hornets’ horrow show wasn’t just on the court

Why … the Hornets have fallen so hard

in their analysis of what actually happened during last night’s demolition of the New Orleans Hornets by the Denver Nuggets.

Dis-crediting Byron Scott, at a time like this … is wrong.
Dis-crediting Jeff Bower, at a time like this … is wrong.

PART I

What needs to happen today … in the aftermath of last night’s superlative, historic, victory by the Nuggets … is the giving of CREDIT to these men & women, instead.

When you consider precisely how Denver’s current roster of 12 players and 1 head coach has been assembled over the last 12 months, since the team failed to advance past the 1st Round of the Western Conference playoffs last year, yet again, despite winning 50 regular season games: 

you should begin to understand the fantastic job which has been done with this team by Mark Warkentien [VP, Basketball Operations], Rex Chapman [VP, Player Personnel], and the other members of the Nuggets’ staff.

* Which head coach a team decides to keep & not simply throw away
* Which players a team decides to keep & not simply throw away
* Which players a team decides to use in NEW roles
* Which players a team decides to ACQUIRE from another team
* What specific Style of Play a team decides to make its own

are all key components to the success or failure it achieves, from one season to the next, relative to the other 29 franchises in the league.

What was on display last night, in New Orleans, two days after Denver gave up Game 3, in a disappointing 2-point loss to the home team, was not an horrific failure by an under-manned and under-motivated squad of 12 Hornets, but the culmination of a tonne of first-class work by the Nuggets’ entire organization, since April 2008.

———-

PART II

Nuggets dismantle Hornets, 121-63

Quote #1: “Every coach talks about playing a playoff game, every possession having value, every possession having intensity to it,” [George] Karl began. “I thought my team, probably in my career, I’ve never seen a team probably do that on every possession - do what they were supposed to do and play the game the right way - as much as they did tonight.”

Quote #2: “I don’t think I’ve ever had a team play defense like that,” [George] Karl said. “Defensively, when you play this well, offense just happens.”

Quote #3: “Every time we tried something, they countered,” [Chris] Paul said. “We didn’t play well and they executed their game plan to perfection. … Understand that while it was embarrassing and they beat us pretty bad, it still was only one game.”

D*mn Straight!

Nothing more, and Nothing less than THAT.

FINAL SCORE: Raptors 92, Hornets 101
Game Info; Box Score; Full Play-By-Play; Video Highlights

When you only use 8 players, and your starting Center & Power Forward combine to make 10 Turnovers … 5 apiece, both with a negative AST:TO [3:5] … and their primary back-up off the bench also commits 2 Turnovers, for a total of 12 from these two positions; with the entire team committing just 16 [i.e. 12-16/75%] … there should not be any mystery, whatsoever, when a team is unable to play through its post players coming down the stretch of a close game, in the NBA, on the road.

When the Hornets are forced to play without Chris Paul [PG] and Tyson Chandler [C], and the Raptors still cannot close the deal, despite leading by 8 pts [83-75] at the 06:52 mark of the 4th quarter … and in spite of playing without Chris Bosh, themselves … by [i] losing the Turnover Battle, [ii] losing the Rebound Battle [34-36], yet again, and [iii] getting hammered from the 3PT Line, to the tune of 24 Pts [21-45] … it is a harbinger of troubled times ahead for the Dinos.

—————————–

To wit:

Failing and falling and finding blame
Action: Another late-game meltdown.

Reaction: When they have fallen completely apart, and it happens with shocking regularity, there’s always been a measure of, not calmness, but togetherness in the locker room.

But when does that fall completely apart like the team does? When do they start turning on each for the brain cramps that kill them night after night after night?

There were a few sideways glances and rolled eyes at times in the New Orleans game and a few in the locker room after.

Maybe Bargnani could pass the ball a wee bit more.

Maybe Jamario could not take silly jumpers.

Maybe Jose could feed O’Neal more and not try to get everyone else involved, or ask them to get the ball in the post.

I’m not saying they’re at each other’s throats but with each blown game, I get a sense an explosion is closer to reality. That might not be a bad thing, mind you, but the danger is that they really start getting on each other and it’s counter-productive. Some creative differences are good, a meltdown of any semblance of team chemistry is not.

This losing is getting to them, I can just tell by the terse answers, or lack of answers, we’re getting to innocuous questions. Nerves are frayed and this is a dangerous, dangerous time.

—————————-

There is now a solid chance that things will actually become even WORSE, in Raptorville, before they eventually end up getting BETTER.

RAPTORS SCHEDULE

Jan 30 vs Milwaukee L 85-96
Feb 01 vs Orlando L 90-113
Feb 03 at Cleveland L 83-101
Feb 04 vs LA Lakers L 107-115
Feb 06 at New Orleans L 92-101
Feb 07 at Memphis ?
Feb 10 at Minnesota ?
Feb 11 vs San Antonio ?
Feb 15 All-Star Game
Feb 18 vs Cleveland ?
Feb 19 Trade Deadline
Feb 20 at New York ?

Close your eyes … think quickly … and without looking at the current NBA standings … say out loud the name of the team which you believe is now the 2nd best in the Western Conference, trailing only the LA Lakers, and leading its division with an overall 31-14/.689 W-L record?

Last year’s Cinderella team, the New Orleans Hornets, led by their superstar PG, Chris Paul?

Guess again.

The Houston Rockets, with their three-headed monster of Yao Ming, T-Mac & Ron Artest?

Nope.

The re-surgent Denver Nuggets, with the return of Mr. Big Shot?

Not quite.

The New Kids On The Block, in the Pacific Northwest, who will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come, led by Brandon Roy and Greg Oden?

0-4, so far.

————————————-

After starting the season with a dismal 2-5 mark …

* With their 2nd best player on the shelf, still recuperating from off-season ankle surgery, and

* With their 3rd best player on the sidelines, as well, with a severely twisted ankle injury of his own, and

* With the grey showing in the beards of their head coach, their best player overall, and his long-time [trusted] side-kick,

the San Antonio Spurs seemed to be wobbling noticably, on their last legs, as the class of the WC for the better part of the last decade.

Yet, lo and behold … three months later … there they are, again, positioned towards the very top of the NBA standings with the 5th best W-L record in the entire league.

Talent? Toughness? Guile? A combination of all three? Or, perhaps, some Vodoo?

It doesn’t really matter what the specific reason is.

The simple fact is … when all is said and done … there is no other team in the League today which this corner of the net R.E.S.P.E.C.T.S. more than the Men in Black from San Antone …

led by RC Buford [GM], Gregg Popovich, and stalwarts Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

With a very interesting player roster that now looks like THIS … it says here & now that the Spurs will NOT be going away this season without a Fight to the Finish, and in fact stand as good a chance of returning to the Conference Finals, as do any of the other TOP NOTCH outfits across the league today.

Kudos to all concerned!

… for the first-class way in which they choose to operate their GOLD STAR franchise, in the NBA, year after year after year.

When yours truly sees this type of observation being made repeatedly in on-line articles and commentary by traditional media sources, bloggers, and members of the Raptors’ fanbase …

——————————————–

Reasons for concern in Raptorville
The defenceless point guard

In his first year as starting point guard, Jose Calderon has kept up his efficient offensive ways, with a league-leading 4.18 assists for every turnover.

But on the other end of the floor, opposing point guards routinely light up Calderon. Tony Parker had 24 points and 10 assists against him. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 19 points and eight assists. Devin Harris has torched Calderon in two decisive fourth quarters.

——————————————–

it indicates that there is still a significant level of basketball sophistication that has yet to be reached by many of the followers of this team.

The average Raptors fan has seen Jose Calderon play each and every game of his NBA career to-date; but this does NOT mean that said fan has a sound/accurate understanding of the game, in general, and how it should be played properly, concerning a player like the Raptors’ starting PG.

In reality … while Jose Calderon will never be confused for a top notch defensive player … he is far from being an atrocious defender at the PG position in the NBA.

——————————–

Specific Defensive Responsibilities of a PG for a team in the NBA

Situation #1. In a half-court situation when there is no Pick being set on him. Pressure/contain the opposition’s PG, 1-on-1.

Situation #2. In a half-court situation when there is a Pick being set on him. Direct the opposition’s PG toward the Picker - in conjunction with the Picker’s defender - and then recover [by going either under or over, depending on the specific defensive tactic being used] to defend the PG on the dribble.

Situation #3. In a transition situation when there is no Pick being set on him. To contain the opposition’s PG on the dribble, 1-on-1.

Situation #4. In a transition situation when there is a Pick being set on him. To contain the opposition’s PG on the dribble, in conjunction with the Picker’s defender.

Situation #5. In a half-court situation when there is no Pick being set on him. To switch defensive responsibilities with a teammate who has the task of defending against an opposition player who plays a different position and is, therefore, usually a bigger player. 

Situation #6. In a half-court situation when there is no Pick being set on him. To initiate defensive double-teams and traps against opponent players who are very skilful at scoring either in the Low Post or on drives from the perimeter into the lane.

Situation #7. In a half-court situation when there is no Pick being set on him.  To rotate appropriately in order to provide the necessary help for a teammate who has been beaten on a dribble penetration move by an opponent.

Situation #8. In a half-court situation when there is no Pick being set on him. To rotate appropriately in order to provide the necessary help for a teammate who has had to rotate to assist a teammate that has been beaten on a dribble penetration move by an opponent, i.e. Help-the-helper.

Situation #9. In a half-court situation when there is no Pick being set on him. To close-out appropriately versus an opponent shooter, contesting the shot and containing that player on the dribble.

——————————–

When Jose Calderon is injury-free, the vast majority of his individual defensive breakdowns occur in Situation #2, as a result of a Big-on-Little Pick, where the main culprit isn’t actually Calderon at all but the Raptors’ Big involved in defending this specific action.

If Andrea Bargnani [who is the worst offender], Jermaine O’Neal [who is the 2nd worst offender], Chris Bosh [who is fairly good at this] and Kris Humphries [who is the most proficient at this], as a group, do a poor job defensively when:

i. Switching
ii. Showing & Recovering, or
iii. Trapping

in a 5/4-on-1 Pick scenario … and the opponent’s PG is able to dribble penetrate into the heart of the Raptor’s defense on a consistent basis, primarily, this is not the fault of the Dino’s PG.

When assessing Jose Calderon’s individual defense … encompassing those Nine Situational Categories … versus that provided by the other starting PGs across the League, this is what you should be able to see:

which would place him in the middle-of-the-pack, approximately, not towards the bottom.