khandor’s sports blog

For the benefit of both Raptors and Heat fans:

Enjoy! … what should prove to be a highly entertaining game.

PS. Is there any doubt, however, that the Heat have the “coolest” [baby, baby, baby] roster web page in the NBA today?

This past off season, when this corner consistently rated Miami as one of the few sure-fire playoff teams in the Eastern Conference this year … provided the Heat get a full season from D-Wade … there were many in the blogosphere who took exception and asked, incredulously,

“Huh? How come? … Their overall roster simply isn’t good enough to be put into THAT category. Is it?”

Well …

At this moment, there are only 5 undefeated teams in the NBA:

Boston [3-0], Orlando [3-0], Denver [3-0], Phoenix [3-0] and Miami [3-0].

Reasons Why the Miami Heat Will Succeed This Season 

A. Pat Riley [GM] really does know what he’s doing … and, “all things Heat” spring forth from him.

B. When all is said and done, several years from now, Erik Spoelstra is going to be recognized as a very solid NBA coach; see “A”, above, for further reference.

C. The late additions of Carlos Arroyo and Quentin Richardson are ”good fits” for what Miami needed this season to successfully bridge the gap until the 2010 off season arrives … when they will become significant players in the free agent marketplace; see “A”, above, for further reference. 

D.-Man is a legit MVP candidate, this year … as The Best Guard in the NBA not named Kobe Bryant.

E. The players on their roster this season, although NOT as “talented” overall as the other top squads in the Association, actually DO “fit together” in a way that should/will allow them to remain in the playoff race the whole year, and eventually earn 1 of the 8 coveted berths into the post-season, i.e. With the team culture in Miami, “The whole is usually greater than the sum of the parts,” see “A”, above, for further reference.

Building a championship calibre organization in the NBA isn’t always about performing “radical surgery” on your roster in the summer months.

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“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” - Anonymous

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

Game 13 – vs Mia [Fri Nov 20]

The first home game following a WC road trip can be a dangerous situation in the NBA. That said … the Raptors might be in dire need of winning this specific contest, given their poor early season W-L record. Miami, on the other hand, might be a few games above .500, on the strength of several home games early in the schedule, and coming into this one off a road loss at Atlanta, a Southwest Division rival. Although there is no defensive match-up on the Raptors roster capable of handling D-Wade effectively … who might well go for 40+ in this encounter … the front-court tandem of Bosh & Bargnani should be able to off-set this single major disadvantage. If the Dinos are going to remain in the playoff hunt this season, they will need to win games like this one, i.e. at home; without an individual match-up disadvantage. 

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 5-8

The QUESTION is … for, let’s say, approximately $6.4 M … 

What two NBA franchises would Allen Iverson, possibly, be the best fit with at this stage of his career?

[i.e. based strictly on their respective player rosters and regardless of any Salary Cap/Luxury Tax restraints on a 1 year contract]

SCENARIO ONE

If the Cavaliers are truly serious about trying to win the 2009-2010 NBA Championship, then Cleveland needs to ratchet up its Offense with a line-up that looks like this:

STARTERS
PG - Allen Iverson [UFA, high cost]
OG - Anthony Parker [UFA, medium cost]
SF - Lebron James
PF - Anderson Varejao
C - Shaquille O’Neal

KEY SUBS
PG/OG - Mo Williams or Daniel Gibson
OG/SF - Keith Bogans [UFA, low cost]
SF/PF - JJ Hickson
C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas 

———-

SCENARIO TWO

If the Heat are truly serious about trying to reach the 2009-2010 NBA Finals, then Miami needs to ratchet up its Offense with a line-up like this is:

STARTERS
PG - Allen Iverson [UFA, high cost]
OG - Dwyane Wade
SF - Jamario Moon [UFA, low cost]
PF - Udonis Haslem
C - Jermaine O’Neal  

KEY SUBS
PG - Mario Chalmers
OG - Daequan Cook
SF - Michael Beasley
PF - Joel Anthony
C -  Chris Mihm [UFA, low cost]

———-

For a single season … a move like that would still leave Miami and/or Cleveland in the free agent sweepstakes expected to take place next summer [i.e. 2010] … while giving their respective teams a definite boost this year, in an effort to reach their specific goal.

Are either of these two situations likely to occur next month?

Hmmmm …

[Probably not ... although either one would certainly be very interesting to see materialize this summer.]

FINAL SCORE: TORONTO 100, Miami 108
Complete Game Info

Despite what certain Raptors fans might want choose to believe, the reason Toronto lost last night’s game was not due to the less-than-stellar play of Jose Calderon [or the inability of Chris Bosh to perform as a Franchise Player should, i.e. making a series of clutch plays coming down the stretch of a close game].

As has been detailed in this space plenty of times before … Rebounding and Defense - specifically, FROM THE 3 OTHER PLAYERS ON THE COURT BESIDE BOSH & CALDERON - are the Raptors major short-comings, on a consistent basis … not the sometimes erratic Offensive production levels of their two most important players [i.e. Bosh & Calderon].

Until this team commits to:

* Playing at least 2 more Solid Rebounder/Defenders in a 5-Man Unit with Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon

and

* Playing at least 3 Solid Rebounder/Defenders together, in a 5-Man Unit anytime Jose Calderon is off the floor

… it is not going to be able to sustain a consistent effort for 48 minutes against a High End team in this league.

When Eric Spoelstra called Time-out at the 09:40 mark of the 4th quarter and substituted Dwyane Wade [42 Pts; 74.0 FG%; including 3 Treys and only 5 FTs] and Mario Chalmers back into the game … Jay Triano HAD to respond accordingly and re-insert some combination of:

A. Shawn Marion
B. Chris Bosh
C. Anthony Parker
D. Shawn Marion & Chris Bosh
E. Shawn Marion & Anthony Parker
F. Chris Bosh & Anthony Parker
G. Shawn Marion, Chris Bosh & Anthony Parker

to ensure that the Raptors had enough [i.e. at least 3] Rebounder/Defenders on the floor, at that crucial juncture of the game, to cope effectively with a DYNAMIC player like Dwyane Wade.

Instead of doing this, however … when Jay Triano left Jose Calderon, Jason Kapono and Andrea Bargnani on together [none of whom should be classified as a Solid Rebounder] with Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu [who are both solid Rebounders], it was The Beginning of the End for the Raptors last night, as the Heat pumped its lead back up to 10 points.

Then, when Coach Spoelstra substituted Udonis Haslem back into the game, at the 07:09 mark, and Coach Triano responded, by replacing Joey Graham and Jason Kapono with Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker, leaving the Raptors with only 2 Solid Rebounders on the floor again, it was Time To Turn Out The Lights … as the Heat then increased its lead to 15 points, from which the Dinos were never able to fully recover, thereafter, even though they did eventually go to a solid 5-Man Unit which included 3 Solid Rebounder/Defenders [at their respective positions] at the 06:05 mark [i.e. PG/A-Parker, SF/Marion, and PF/Bosh].

It’s highly questionable personnel decisions like these, made by the Raptors’ President/General Manager and/or their Head Coach that consistently put this squad squarely behind the 8-ball, and eventually leads to the unhappiness/frustration of their best players [e.g. Wince Carter, Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon].  

How good are the Miami Heat at the moment?

According to this corner, good enough to say, “No Deal,” to all potential suitors for Shawn Marion [PF/SF] … even those prepared to take Marcus Banks‘ bad contract off the Heat’s ledger. 

Why is that?

At the moment, Miami has a 24-29/.558 W-L Record, is in 3rd place in the Southeast Division, and in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, with a 7-6 mark since Jan 1, having picked up two Quality W’s in their most recent games vs Orlando [1st Southest] and Atlanta [2nd Southeast].

However, when you examine these respective Box Scores more closely:

GAME 1

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GAME 2

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… what you’ll see is that an interesting transformation is taking place with this team right now, in the absence of Shawn Marion.

* After playing “0″ minutes in the month of December …

Mark Blount [C, 7-0, 250] averaged 19 MPG against Orlando & Miami.

* After receiving “0″ minutes during the Heat’s first 15 games this season, and then only sporadic minutes through the month of December [during their next 13 games], since Jan 1, 2009 …

Jamaal Magloire [C, 6-11, 265] has averaged 15.4 MPG and got his first start of the season against the Hawks.

* After working as the Heat’s Starting Center for the month of December and averaging almost 18 MPG, on the season as a whole …

Joel Anthony [C, 6-9, 260] did not start at Center for the Heat vs Atlanta and averaged only 7.5 MPG against the Magic and the Hawks.

* After playing sporadically in Nov-Dec-Jan …

Yakhouba Diawara [SF, 6-7, 225] averaged 21 MPG against the Magic and the Hawks.

* After playing “0″ minutes at all prior to Jan 9, 2009 …

James Jones [SF, 6-8, 200], an UFA acquisition from Portland this past summer, averaged 8.5 MPG against the Magic and the Hawks.

Using a revamped 12-Man line-up:

STARTERS

PG - Mario Chalmers [6-1, 190] 
OG - Dwyane Wade [6-4, 212]
SF - Yakhouba Diawara [Shawn Marion, when healthy?]
PF - Udonis Haslem [6-8, 235]
C - Jamaal Magloire

KEY BENCH SUBS

PG - Chris Quinn [6-2, 185]
OG - Daequan Cook [6-5, 210] [or James Jones]
SF - James Jones [or Yakhouba Diawara]
PF - Michael Beasley [6-8, 235]
C - Mark Blount

RESERVES

PF/SF - Shawn Marion [or Daquan Cook or James Jones]
PF/C - Joel Anthony

the Heat, under the direction of Eric Spoelstra [1st-yr], is plenty big and tough and good enough to challenge for a berth in the EC Finals or, at least, the Semi-finals, this season … carried by a healthy D-Wade.

Then, once the off season arrives, Pat Riley [GM] will be sitting in the catbird’s seat, in position to:

1A. Re-sign Shawn Marion, if both parties are so inclined;

1B. Execute a Sign & Trade with Shawn Marion, if a suitable deal is on the table for Miami;

1C. Allow Shawn Marion to walk away … and use the available capitol instead to sign a player or two or three who might be a better fit upfront with the Heat than an injured former All-Star like Jermaine O’Neal [C/PF, Toronto] or a serviceable but strictly ordinary Big like Brad Miller [C, Sacramento];

2. While adding another Key Rotation Player to the mix for the Heat from the 2009 NBA Draft.

Come on Pat … Show this corner what you’ve got! … When it comes to being an authentic TOP NOTCH Executive in the NBA.

Have some patience, ride it out, and the Heat will be rewarded BIG TIME, down-the-road.

Afterall, that’s exactly what building an upper echelon team is all about, in the NBA, when you’ve got the right type of Basketball Acumen, in the first place.

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. 

Two very positive and productive comments, from an article yesterday, on the present situation, going forward for the Miami Heat …

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Beasley, Chalmers put rookie symposium experience behind them
“I’m not worried about it,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press. “I think it could carry over, but from being around them the last few nights, I can see that they’re not going to be a problem. Mario knows he has an opportunity to compete for a starting spot. Beasley knows the same thing. They have an unbelievable opportunity in this league, and they need to understand the culture of the Heat and how we do things. They didn’t have that this summer.” [on what it means to be a member of the Heat]

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“I would say that’s where my immaturity played a factor,” Beasley said. “I’m 19, so I kind of tried to be a kid and get away with it. … But it was kind of eating away at me, just to watch my teammate go through so much and be basically hiding behind the lights. I just felt it was the right thing for my team, and just to stand by my teammate.” [on what it means to be 19, with a lot to learn]

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Baby steps, gentlemen … baby steps.

It’s important to be able to put your past behind you … with the full support of your friends and family.