khandor’s sports blog

Despite what you might be reading elsewhere on-line today, concerning the fantastic job which Pat Riley has done this season, as “The Emperor” of the Miami Heat:

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LeBron gives Riley payback on Bulls

Riley had to share the NBA’s Executive of the Year award with Chicago’s Gar Forman, and it’s hard to believe he lost an outright claim to the award on much beyond jealousy and spite. Just give the Bulls one of the Heat’s stars with Rose – James, Wade or even Chris Bosh over Boozer – and you’d probably be fitting them for rings this spring.

Chicago lost out on the three of them, and blew the $75 million on Boozer who seems to shrink with every challenge here. Everything’s played out in a way that’s justified the Heat’s choices.

Riley and Forman shared 11 first-place votes, but three former NBA executives of the year say they voted for Riley. As one says, “It should’ve been unanimous. I’m not close with Pat, but I’m embarrassed how that went.”

As the Heat moved within three victories of the NBA Finals with the series returning to Miami, the sight of Pat Riley standing with his wife, his assistant GM and team owner Micky Arison spoke to the undeniable truth of these modern Miami Heat: For all the talk about Wade as the lead recruiter, the most important selling point of the Heat is that Riley lords over them. That franchise is relevant because of his presence, his stature in the game. Wade sold a partnership to James and Bosh, but Riley engaged everyone in the kind of bigger, broader vision that only he can.

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there should be no doubt, whatsoever, that Gar Forman did, in fact, deserve his share of this year’s NBA Executive Of The Year Award, as the principal architect of the resurgent Chicago Bulls with a current player roster that looks like this: 

STARTERS
Derrick Rose, PG [No. 1 Selection 2008 NBA Draft *]
Keith Bogans, OG [signed as UFA last off season *]
Luol Deng, SF [re-signed as RFA July 2008 *]
Carlos Boozer, PF [signed as UFA last off season *]
Joakim Noah, C [No. 9 Selection, 2007 NBA Draft]

KEY SUBS
CJ Watson, PG [obtained, via trade, last off season *]
Kyle Korver, OG [signed as UFA last off season *]
Ronnie Brewer, SF [signed as UFA last off season *]
Taj Gibson, PF [No. 26 Selection, 2009 NBA Draft *]
Omer Asik, C [signed as UFA last off season *]

RESERVES
Rasual Butler, G/F [signed as UFA this season *]
Kurt Thomas, PF/C [signed as UFA last off season *]

EXTRAS/OUTS
John Lucas, PG [signed as UFA this season *]
Jannero Pargo, PG/OG [signed as UFA this season *]
Brian Scalabrine, PF/C [signed as UFA last off season *]

HEAD COACH
Tom Thibodeau [hired last off season *]

[Note: * - First-rate personnel moves made by Chicago the last 3 seasons.]  

and a player salary structure that is under the present salary cap. 

Based strictly on the facts …

An authentic ranking of the GM’s in the NBA today, should look like the following: 

TOP NOTCH [5]

RC Buford [San Antonio Spurs, past NBA Champs]
Mitch Kupchak [LA Lakers, past NBA Champs]
Joe Dumars [Detroit Pistons, past NBA Champs]
Danny Ainge [Boston Celtics, past NBA Champs]
Pat Riley [Miami Heat, past NBA Champs; New York Knicks, past NBA Finalists]

ABOVE AVERAGE [6]

Kevin O’Connor [Utah Jazz, past NBA Finalists]
Donnie Nelson [Dallas Mavericks, past NBA Finalists]
Otis Smith [Orlando Magic, past NBA Finalists]
Donnie Walsh [New York Knicks; Indiana Pacers, past NBA Finalists]
Gar Forman [Chicago Bulls, up-and-comers]
Sam Presti [Oklahoma City Thunder, up-and-comers]

AVERAGE-to-Below Average [19]

Everybody else.

According to the following report …

Murphy debating between Celtics, Heat

… a veteran NBA Big Man, who averaged 14.0+ ppg and 10.0+ rpg during both the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, now has a very interesting choice to make. 

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Between Pat Riley and Danny Ainge?

Hmmm …

While there is considerable angst today amongst Boston Celtics fans …

the view from this corner is that …

The current/future version of the “Men In Green” might well prove to be an even more formidable force than what’s played out, thus far, this season:

When you examine carefully what Danny Ainge/GM did yesterday:

TRADE 1 – Sending Kendrick Perkins/C and Nate Robinson/PG to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green/SF-PF and Nenad Krstic/C;

TRADE 2 – Sending Semih Erden/C and Luke Harangody/PF to Cleveland for a 2nd Round Draft Pick/2013;

and,

TRADE 3 – Sending Marquis Daniels/SF to Sacramento for a 2nd Round Draft Pick/2017;

which cost the Celtics:

while bringing on-board:

… if they can now add an experienced player like Troy Murphy/PF [and/or Leon Powe/PF] to their mix, as a recently “bought out player”, by way of Golden State [or Cleveland] …

then, the chances are actually pretty good that Boston will be able to:

A. Maintain their current status in the East, as the “No. 1 contender” this season;

AND,

B. Re-stock their “talent” cupboard, in the not-too-distant future, as their “Big 3″ continue to age.

Time will tell if kudos are due once more to Ole Danny Boy … who has already stared down his critics before while using the diverse talents of Jeff Green to bring an NBA Championship to the Celtics.

Craig Kwasniewski [The Association], a die-hard LA Lakers fan and season-ticket holder, smacks one a clear country mile, when reviewing the precise reasons why the Boston Celtics SHOULD simply “stay the course” with their latter-day version of the Big Three:

Celtics Should Keep Ray Allen for One Last Ride with The Big Three

I think it’s insane to break up The Big Three so soon after hanging banner 17.  Shouldn’t they be allowed to give it one last shot together?  Shouldn’t we consider that this might be a rough patch in a long season?  Why break up a good thing so quickly, did you not forget the 22-year championship drought?

Anyway, here are a few reasons why the C’s should keep Ray Allen and give The Big Three one last chance at a title:

The long regular season. Relax Boston… I know it’s cold and miserable back east and the long winter is getting to you but you really need to be reminded how The Association works.  The NBA regular season is a very long 82-games over six months. Mix in preseason and hopefully a long postseason and you’re looking at a 8 or 9 month season. Veteran teams always seem to hit a lull somewhere between Christmas and Easter. It’s impossible to bring playoff efforts when your key players are in their 30′s… it’s just not possible (and the ones that did, like the Pat Riley Heat teams in the late 90′s collapsed in a heap by playoff time).  Just ride out this rough patch, usually teams find their second wind around March Madness.

Don’t be so quick to blow up the Big Three.  Counting playoffs The Big Three era has lasted about 2 1/2 seasons for a total of 253 games.  Actually that sounds like a good number of games… a good run at legitimate title contention, right?  Not really when you consider that the C’s were last legit contenders when Bird retired in 1992.  That’s 15 seasons with 6 brief postseason appearances (and only one conference championship appearance in 2001-02 with the Jim O’Brien chuck-and-duck era) for a grand total of 1,275 games.  Suddenly 253 games doesn’t sound like a lot does it?  Maybe you might want to remember the long drought before sending off a future hall-of-fame guard for a quick fix.

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In the judgment of yours truly, Craig’s take is 100% on the money.

Although Ubuntu! may not have enough left in the tank this season to be able to actually win-it-all, again … with the Lakers, Magic and Cavaliers being as strong as they are right now … it sure as heck DESERVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY, at least, ONE MORE TIME, even bloodied and battered.

Simple put … that’s THE RIGHT STUFF of which True Champions are made, whether or not they, in fact, succeed on the court together.

… that the 30 gentlemen who, at present, hold the General Manager’s positions, in the NBA, for the 30 best basketball teams in the world are, in fact, the 30 men with ”the best” grasp of what it actually takes to succeed in this league, as a player, then, this specific video clip is posted here expressly for your benefit.

DeJuan Blair [PF, 6-7, 265] was selected in the 37th [overall] position of the 2009 NBA Draft [i.e. No. 7, in the 2nd Round], by R.C. Buford, GM of the San Antonio Spurs … with the 1st of the team’s 2 available picks … which means that all 29 other general managers in the league each had the chance to take him – as an under-sized PF without anterior cruciate ligaments in either knee - and, instead, simply chose to pass him by.

When the Spurs are once again playing in the NBA’s post-season tounament this spring, fans of other teams across the league who repeat, ad naseum, the phrase,

“In ______________ [substitute whatever GM's name you may want that's not R.C. Buford], we trust,”

would do well to keep this simple fact in-mind.

The best GM in the NBA currently resides in San Antonio, Texas … and, it’s by a wide margin.

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In the interview Bryan Colangelo did with Eric Smith [FAN590], prior to the Raptors’ win vs the Bulls [Nov 11 2009], he said the following words:

“We’ll know what we’ve got by the end of the month.”

The Bosh Factor: Bryan Colangelo Won’t Be Patient With Early Losses

At the time, Toronto’s W-L Record was 3-4/.429.

11 days later, it is now 6-7/.462, good enough for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Beginning with this afternoon’s home game vs Orlando, the Raptors will play 7 games over the next 11 days:

Game 14 Sun Nov 22 vs Orl [10-3/.769; 1st Southeast, 2nd EC]

Game 15 Tue Nov 24 vs Ind [5-5/.500; 4th Central, 8th EC]
Game 16 Wed Nov 25 @ CHA [3-9/.250; 4th (tie) Southeast, 10th (tie) EC]

Game 17 Fri Nov 27 @ BOS [9-4/.692; 1st Atlantic, 4th EC]

Game 18 Sun Nov 29 vs Pho [10-3/.769; 1st Pacific, 1st (tie) WC]

Game 19 Tue Dec 01 vs Was [3-9/.250; 4th (tie) Southeast, 12th (tie) EC]
Game 20 Wed Dec 02 @ ATL [11-3/.786; 1st Southeast, 1st EC]

which will take the team to the 1/4 pole of the regular season schedule.

This is the specific stretch of games that will reveal exactly what type of team the Raptors have, at the moment, and what can be expected from this group for the remainder of the season should there be no further major player personnel and/or coaching changes going forward.

While some voices in Raptorville believe the team’s performance during this stretch will turn out to be a source of tremendous optimism, and preceed a gradual upswing in the standings, as the season progresses …

45 Wins, and How the Raptors Will Get There [5-2, Nov 22 to Dec 02]

looking ahead, in September, from the vantage point of an astute NBA observer, this corner did not share that same perspective:

Raptors half-way through their first 20 games

According to his record, as a General Manager, Bryan Colangelo has a well-documented history of making an assessment of his team’s situation sometime in the first two weeks of December.

Tic toc, tic toc, tic toc … [Apr 11 2008]

If he likes what he has seen to that point, he continues moving forward, as is.

If, however, he does NOT like what he “thinks” he sees from his team … then, the fanbase best be prepared for a seismic shift, in terms of either player personnel and/or the head coach position.

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & coaches [Apr 30 2008]

Wait a second … what’s really going on here [Dec 04 2008]

What is really going on here: Part II [Dec 05 2008]

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & faces of the franchise [Mar 25 2009]

The next 2 weeks should prove to be a most interesting time in the 15 year history of the Toronto Raptors franchise. 

Related:

VC Declines Honour

For the benefit of those who may not have read it yet …

Can Toronto Build a Winner Around Bosh
When we put the entire picture together, it doesn’t look too good for fans of Toronto.  The Raptors will still employ the services of Calderon and Bosh, and these players produced about 21 wins last year.  And it’s possible that Turkoglu, Jack, Evans, and Johnson can contribute another 15 wins.  After these players, though, who else is going to produce significant quantity of wins?  And if no one else produces much, how will Bosh believe that the Raptors are building a contender?

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is a first-rate take by David Berri on the Raptors’ current situation.

Since his arrival in the NBA, 6 seasons ago, Chris Bosh has firmly established himself as one of the very best Big Men in the League … with an individual game that’s unique, as an under-sized Center, and in need of support from a group of talented teammates. Unfortunately, what has also happened during this same time-frame, repeatedly, is that the team’s ownership group [i.e. MLSE] and upper management have demonstrated an inability to make sound basketball-related decisions around him, based on an over-riding Plan of Attack geared toward the building of a championship-winning calibre team in Toronto, through the proper acquisition and retention of Top Notch NBA talent, which includes executives, coaches, support staff and players.

Understanding exactly what the Boston Celtics actually did 3 summers ago to transform their team into a legitimate title contender:

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1. Retain the services of a very good and already-proven NBA head coach;
2. Hold onto their already-established franchise player [i.e. Paul Pierce];
3. Trade an upcoming top draft pick for a 2nd established franchise player [i.e. Ray Allen];
4. Include their younger burgeoning talent [i.e. i. Al Jefferson, ii. Ryan Gomes, and iii. Sebastien Telfair] in a major trade for a 3rd “stud” player [i.e. The Big Ticket];
5. Keep a bedrock player like Kendrick Perkins [C], as a building block for their future team;
6. Draft another young stud at the PG position [i.e. Rajon Rondo], who other teams over-looked/under-valued; and, then,
7. Filled out the remainder of its roster with very serviceable players with great attitudes who were committed to winning a championship above all else.

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means that all is NOT lost for the Raptors, as long as they begin to identify accurately what their actual strengths and weaknesses are, relative to their competition.

What “regular Raptors fans” need to do is spend some more time figuring out who on their team fits properly into the corresponding roles of Wyc Grousbeck [i.e. MLSE?], Danny Ainge [i.e. Bryan Colangelo?], Doc Rivers [i.e. Jay Triano?], Paul Pierce [i.e. Chris Bosh!] and Ray Allen [?], Kevin Garnett [?], and Al Jefferson [i.e. Andrea Bargnani!!!], etc., and less time putting down the 5th best player in the brief history of the team [i.e. CB4] and his designated running mate [i.e. El Matador].

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PS. Those who think that Danny Ainge [GM] was operating without an over-riding Plan of Attack, based on his Basketball Acumen, simply do not know how the NBA actually works, or how a team needs to go about building a championship-winning organization, at the highest level of competition.

Right on the heels of this afternoon’s announcement, re: the possibility that Kevin Garnett will need to miss the playoffs entirely, comes this shocking news straight out of left field:

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Celtic GM Danny Ainge has mild heart attack
Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was hospitalized Thursday after suffering what the team described as a minor heart attack.

The team issued a brief statement saying that Ainge, 50, was taken to a Boston hospital but provided few other details.

“Danny Ainge is recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital after having a minor heart attack. He is recovering nicely,” the team said. “Mr. Ainge is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days.”

A spokeswoman for Massachusetts General Hospital referred comment to the team.

The news was first reported by WCVB, a Boston TV station.

“All of Celtics Nation is thankful that Danny got incredible medical care so quickly and so effectively,” Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said. “We wish him, Michelle and the kids all the best and know he will be back with us very soon.”

A member of two Celtics championship teams in the 1980s with the original Big Three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, Ainge was an NBA All-Star in 1988.

As general manager, Ainge helped the franchise raise its record 17th NBA championship last season by assembling a new Big Three, acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Celtics veteran Paul Pierce. Ainge was named 2007-08 NBA executive of the year and in October was rewarded with a contract extension and the title of president of basketball operations.

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Best wishes go out to Danny Ainge on what is, hopefully, a speedy recovery.

This is what was written in this space last week [Mar 25], re: the state of Kevin Garnett’s injured right knee:

Kevin Garnett should NOT be playing right now for the Celtics

If you look at KG’s Game Log you will see that he has NOT played a minute since the game against the Magic during which that blog entry was written.

This is what Doc Rivers had to say about the situation on Fri Mar 27.

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Well …

It’s now Mon Mar 30 and this is what these eyes observed last night in the NBA:

Tuned in to last night’s San Antonio/New Orleans match-up …

Spurs 47, HORNETS 43 … at the beginning of the 3rd quarter

… and was absolutely shocked to see what was on the screen,

i.e. The Big Fundamental, wearing a protective sleeve/brace on each of his knees, limping, hobbling, basically immobile and, in general, dragging himself around the court, in a futile effort to propel the Spurs to a victory in this game.

After watching Tim Duncan play earlier this season … when he was not wearing these two sleeves and was not hobbling and not hopping about in this way … in comparison with his performance last night, this trained eye will say CATEGORICALLY that Tim Duncan should NOT be allowed to play basketball right now, given the current state of his knees, as he is only doing further damage to himself and the Spurs’ long term hopes of regaining the NBA Championship this season.

Tim Duncan is injured RIGHT NOW and it’s amazing to these eyes that the Spurs are even allowing him to step on the court, under these conditions.

Gregg Popovich, RC Buford & Co. really NEED to get him off the court RIGHT NOW … if they  know what’s good for them and him, on a long term basis.

Tim Duncan IS NOT MOVING PROPERLY, at all.

Just tuned in to this evening’s Boston/Orlando match-up …

Celtics 50, Magic 61 … at the 05:31 mark of the 3rd quarter

… and was absolutely shocked to see what was on the screen,

i.e. The Big Ticket, wearing a protective sleeve/brace on his injured right knee, limping, hobbling, basically immobile and, in general, dragging himself around the court, in a futile effort to propel the Celtics to a victory in this game.

After watching KG play on the weekend vs the Spurs … when he was not wearing this brace and was not hobbling and not hopping about in this way … this trained eye will say CATEGORICALLY that Kevin Garnett should NOT be allowed to play basketball right now, given the current state of his knee injury, as he is only doing further damage to himself and the Celtics’ long term hopes of repeating as NBA Champions this season.

Kevin Garnett is still injured … right now … and it’s amazing to these eyes that the Celtics are even allowing him to step on the court, at the present time, under these conditions.

Doc, Danny & Co. really NEED to get him off the court RIGHT NOW … if they  know what’s good for them and him, on a long term basis.

Kevin Garnett IS NOT MOVING PROPERLY.