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.

What you saw Miami do on defense last night vs Dallas’ vaunted Pick-and-Roll/Pop Game … featuring Dirk Nowitzki, as “The Picker”:

Heat Defensive Adjustments

#1. Zydrunas Ilgauskas [i.e. the Heat's worst PNR Defensive Big] was not dressed.

#2. The pick defender was asked to “switch” initially; and, then, once the original ball defender had “fought his way around the pick and re-established his position against the ball-handler”, the pick defender was sent back to defend against the picker.

#3. The weak side wing defender who was responsible for checking the weak side wing player also had “the responsibility of running at Nowitzki,” in order to “buy time” for the original pick defender to “recover back” to Dirk, after executing his original “switch.”

Given Miami’s personnel, this was absolutely the “Correct Systemic Call” for Coach Spoelstra to implement against Dallas, since it forces the ball out of [A] Dirk Nowitzki’s and [B] Jason Terry’s hands and creates additional scoring “opportunities” for the Mavericks’ less efficient offensive players.

From a coaching standpoint, the “proverbial ball” is now in Rick Carlisle’s hands, going into Game 2.

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.

FINAL SCORE: Raptors 99, MAVERICKS 108
Complete Game Info

Down by 7 points at the half, the Raptors quickly closed the gap on the Mavericks to open up the 3rd quarter scoring on 3 of their first 4 possessions:

Full Play-By-Play

At the 10:36 mark, however, when Joey Graham [SF] was called for his 4th PF and was then replaced by Marcus Banks [OG/PG], the Mavericks responded by inserting James Singleton [F] into their line-up, replacing Eric Dampier [C]. After pulling down 5 Rebounds in the first half, Singleton collected 9 more in the 3rd quarter, which allowed the Mavericks to match-up successfully with the Raptors’ “small” line-up and still retain their Rebounding superiority.

When the Mavericks then replaced Antoine Wright [OG/SF] with Jason Terry [OG/PG], to further spread the floor, it was Toronto that could not match-up successfully with Dallas, as the home team opened up a 9-point margin … on the strength of [i] 2 Fts by Jason Kidd, [ii] a putback dunk by Singleton, and [iii] consecutive jumpshots by Dirk Nowitzki [one 2FG & one 3FG] … that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

When the Raptors then chose to end the quarter with the following line-up:

1/Ukic + 2/Banks + 3/Kapono + 4/Bosh + 5/Bargnani

[i.e. Chris Bosh plus 4 non-Solid Rebounders]

any hope of a 2nd half comeback was eliminated, as the lead then ballooned to 15-points [75-90].

If/when you compare [B] where the Raptors could/SHOULD have been with their player roster for the 2008-2009 season and [A] where they stand today, in relation to a team like the Mavericks:

it’s quite stunning just how much the talent level of this team’s overall roster has declined this season.