khandor’s sports blog

Instead of trying to ‘put down’ the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade [Miami Heat, 2010-2011], by comparing them to the perceived to be ‘less-than’ dynamic pairing of Jack Sikma and Gus Williams [Seattle Supersonics, 1978-1979] …

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Bringing it all together

So why were two good players able to team up and win it all when some of the all time greats (Wade and LeBron, Stockton and Malone, Drexler and Porter) have failed to do so? The answer is that they had perfect timing. They were in the league when the requirement to be a top team was much lower and the competitive advantage of a top team wasn’t as high. Additionally the playoffs were easier if you were a top team. Putting this all together let team work prevail! Of course as I’ve chronicled, this is not  the way things are any more. And that’s why modern superteams can still fail and why teamwork is no longer enough to win it all.

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… what ‘Mr. Dre’ SHOULD really be doing is asking the following question:

“How do the Dallas Mavericks/2010-2011 compare favourably with the same TEAM of Seattle Supersonics?”

The answer, on a person-to-person basis, might actually surprise him … when it comes to understanding the construction of a championship-winning TEAM.

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 …

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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

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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]

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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.

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.

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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.

There are many subtlties involved in developing an accurate description of a solid but unspectacular player who has a valuable role to play for a good-very good team-great team in an environment like the NBA which the “average fan” has considerable difficulty trying to understand properly.

Case in point:

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Exhibit A

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… who was never truly appreciated in Raptorville for what he brings to the table in the NBA, as a player that:

- was not the most useful return possible in the Rafael Araujo trade
- was overpaid paid unnecessarily during the last 2 seasons, given the derth of actual burn he got from the Raptors’ coaching staffs
- was a whole lot more effective than Andrea Bargnani, by comparison, at the #4/PF position, as a complementary “Back-up” front-court running mate when “starting” beside Chris Bosh [C]

Training Camp Report: Day Two, Humphries Turns Heads
The Mavericks feel that their off-season trades and signings addressed their defensive deficiencies prior to this season. Now Dallas is focused on bringing the new Mavs up to speed with the returning players to build a cohesive defensive unit.

An unheralded player, who is turning heads early in camp and providing defensive help in the interior, is Kris Humphries.

“(Humphries) has really impressed me. He’s a physical force inside, but he has outside touch. He has a high basketball I.Q., so he’s been a surprise,” Terry said.

The five-year veteran, who came to the Mavs in the four-team trade that delivered Shawn Marion, is looking to prove he is more than just an add-on. The 6-foot-9, 235-pounder could provide Dallas with a physical presence after the departure of Brandon Bass.

“He’s been extremely consistent,” Carlisle said of Humphries early in camp. “He’s a physical kid and an underrated player. He had a strong summer and he picks things up very quickly. He’s a guy that knows his game, and he knows how to be effective down there.”

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By no means should K-Hump ever be confused with a “star” NBA player. However, the manner in which he was used, and mis-used, by the Raptors during his time in Toronto should be considered as the working [pictoral?] definition for what,

“A Wasted Opportunity To Make Something Substantial … Basically From Nothing … Actually Looks Like In The NBA,  Regarding A Highly Serviceable Role Player.”

If the Mavs finally make the decision to use Dirk Nowitzki as their primary Center this season … primarily to give Shawn Marion and Josh Howard the amount of PT their skill-sets warrant, as bookend Forwards [i.e. #4/PF and #3/SF, respectively] in an under-sized but very athletic line-up … it should come as no surprise, whatsoever, at least, to astute NBA observers, if K-Hump steps up to grab the available MP at the #4/PF position [over Drew Gooden], given the recent departure of Brandon Bass [PF, Orlando, UFA].

Operating beside, either, [A] Dirk, or [B] Dampier, Kris Humphries will be a good fit for Dallas this year, given his [i] physical toughness, [ii] ability to Rebound & Defend the #4/PF position, [iii] run the floor in transition and [iv] score the ball in bunches, working under a solid head coach like Rick Carlisle.
Related:

Humphries pushing for larger role with Dalla Mavericks

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

The first back-2-back of the season for the Raptors will be a difficult one to win. In general, whichever team gets the best player in a NBA trade will eventually be seen as “the winner” in that specific transaction. In this instance, Dallas won the 4-team player swap of the summer by acquiring Shawn Marion, who is a flat-out better player than Hedo Turkoglu. Shifting Dirk Nowitzki to the Center position this season will present the Mavericks with their best possible 5-Man Unit, allowing Josh Howard and The Matrix to co-exist as interchangeable #3/SF-#4/PF’s, in an under-sized line-up that is going to be very difficult for opponents to match-up against, given their ability to rebound ball with their superior athleticism. Rookie PG, Rodrigue Beaubois has the makings of a future “star” in the NBA, and it will be very interesting to see whether or not the Mavs choose to integrate him into their line-up this season with J-Kidd, Jason Terry and JJ Barea still on their roster. The Mavs are going to be a very good team this season and a tough out in the WC playoffs.

Game 6– @ Dallas [Sat Nov 07]

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 2-4

Prior to the recent transaction between the Raptors [Bryan Colangelo], Mavericks [Donnie Nelson], Magic [Otis Smith & Dave Twardzik] and Grizzlies [Chris Wallace], this is what each of those team’s rosters looked like:

Coming out the other side, today, this is what they look like now, respectively:

Legend:
UFA – Unrestricted Free Agent; RFA – Restricted Free Agent; R – Rookie Player; TPE – Traded Player Exception; DP – Draft Pick; CC - Cash Considerations

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The Perspective From This Corner

The fact is, however, that the Cleveland Cavaliers [Danny Ferry] MAY have benefitted most of all from this specific transaction, as they subsequently gained unfettered access to Anthony Parker, the exact sort of complementary wing player they were searching for … to augment LeBron James & Co., in an effort to win their 1st NBA Championship. 

Your feedback is welcome in the “Comments” section.

There’s a tonne of information on-line right now but this one, courtesy of John Schuhmman, is as sound and concise as any:

Position-by-position: Top 5 free agents
As we’ve seen in the NBA Draft over the years, the best strategy is usually to take the best player available. You never know how draft picks will turn out, so selecting the guy closest to a sure thing, even if you’ve already got a similar player on your roster, is often the prudent way to go.

In free agency, though, teams pretty much know what kind of player they’re getting. Teams have seen what these guys can do and are able to better evaluate what they’re capable of and what they can bring to their team.

So the next few weeks will be about finding the right fit, both on the court and on the payroll.

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By position, the following players are under-rated [#, indicates where they should be ranked] in this year’s Free Agent class, according to yours truly:

POINT GUARDS
* Ramon Sessions [#1]
* Jarret jack [#2]
* CJ Watson [#6]

OFF GUARDS
* Anthony Parker [#1]

SMALL FORWARDS
* None

POWER FORWARDS
* Antonio McDyess [#3]
* Brandon Bass [#7]
* James Singleton [#9]

CENTERS
* Johan Petro [#4]

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.

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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.

Image means great deal to GM Colangelo
There’ve been rumblings all season that Bosh wants out. It’s not hard to fathom that, come the off-season, the Raptors will want Bosh out.

That’s not to say a trade’s afoot. But Colangelo has been a GM in a situation that wasn’t completely dissimilar a while back. In 2001 Jason Kidd, the Phoenix Suns’ best player, was arrested for assaulting his wife, which is not to compare the egregiousness of alleged domestic transgressions, only to suggest that a negative headline is a negative headline.

When Kidd was traded by Colangelo in the following off-season, he acknowledged that the arrest could have been a factor in the trade, and certainly it wouldn’t have been the only factor. But perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that another Sun who brought the franchise into disrepute that year, Cliff Robinson, who was charged with marijuana possession and driving under the influence, was also shipped out in the off-season.

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This entry is what appeared in this corner of the blogosphere on Wed, April 30, 2008:

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & coaches

It’s suggested here & now that you take the time to read it again carefully and click on each of the separate links contained therein.

The FACT IS … Sam Mitchell was eventually relieved of his duties, as head coach for the Toronto Raptors, on Dec 3, 2009, 17 games into the current season, the first day that the team’s W-L record slipped below the .500 mark [8-9]. 

As Jeff Van Gundy stated succinctly, on Sunday, April 27, 2008, and yours truly happens to believe whole-heartedly, in this world,

“You are who you are.”

… something which is illustrated precisely in the ancient parable of The Scorpion and The Frog, in conjunction, perhaps, with the well-known idiom that states, “The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

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As Mr. Feschuk’s article concludes, neither of the following two eventualities should now come as a surprise to astute observers of both the NBA and human nature.

“Trading all-stars for value is tricky, mind you (see: Carter, Vince). [OUTCOME #1] Surely this eventually blows over and Bosh makes it right. And maybe next season brings a fresh start with some new teammates, a new first-round draft pick, a clean slate. Or maybe [OUTCOME #2] Colangelo, surveying his club’s prospects and the way it’s perceived, recognizes it’s high time for somebody else to make an image-conscious exit, and pronto.”

Related:

Just when you thought this season couldn’t possibly get any worse, as a Raptors fan

Time to Rise and Shine

Suns’ Robinson arrested on DUI charge

Kidd pleads guilty to spousal abuse

History of the Phoenix Suns