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February
25, 2008 ...Cal and Stanford played tonight at Palo Alto. Ryan Anderson had a bad night while Brook Lopez tried to convince me further that he
is as good as the hype. On this
night—he was by far the best player on the floor. Devon Hardin fouled out after scoring five points,
and grabbing just five boards. ..Anderson did make all ten of his free throw
attempts but truthfully he looked overmatched. ...Cal’s shot selection and
offensive spacing was horrendous. Jerome Randle has
the tools to be effective as does Patrick Christopher—but
those dudes need to check themselves for some of the ill advised jacks. How
about playing Anderson at the THREE with Harper Kamp at the
FOUR, and Hardin at FIVE? Kamp is too good to only be playing 17 minutes.
...Stanford is going to give trouble to any team that lacks BIGS. Once Hardin
fouled out - Brook Lopez became unstoppable. ...Also watched the Kings lose
in Orlando. I wish Reggie Theus would
show some trust in Shelden Williams. I
want Shelden to play about 35 minutes in a game - let him get a flow going.
...How about the Pistons beating Phoenix by 30 in Phoenix? ...Make it 16-0
for the Houston Rockets when Carl Landry plays
12 minutes or more. ...My Fave Five Minnesota Timberwolves of all time: 1. Kevin Garnett, 2. Terrell Brandon, 3. Dean Garrett, 4. Al Jefferson, 5. Malik Sealy. February
24, 2008 ...We have a new number one in college hoops.
Tennessee got `er done in the showdown between #1 & #2. Maybe I’m too
hard on teams because I thought both Memphis and Tennessee were not very good
tonight. Furthermore—I don’t see either team cutting down the nets at this
year’s NCAA Championship. Memphis basically just tries to break teams down
off the dribble. When that one-on-one plan doesn’t develop they kick to a
three point shooter. They settle for WAY TOO MANY jump shots. Derrick Rose played well for the Tigers. I still
think he is overrated but he played well tonight. Coach John Calipari didn’t get much tonight from Chris Douglas Roberts or Joey Dorsey. ...Tennessee meanwhile was
bolstered by the energy of J.P. Prince. On a
night where Chris Lofton was
2-11 from the field - the Volunteers still found a way to win. Lofton can’t
create his own shot. ...The Houston Rockets are now 15-0 when Carl Landry plays 12 minutes or more. ...Kudos to Brad Miller for all the work he did in the summer
to be ready to excel this season. That is pro’s pro stuff. ...Francisco Garcia is in a groove right now. When he
releases a three point shot—I expect it to go in. ...Saw the movie Vantage
Point. I thought it was hokey. Save your money. ...Glad to have Saturday
Night Live back on TV. February
21, 2008 ...The Rockets are 14-0 when Carl Landry plays 12 minutes or more. ...So the
trading deadline has passed and there were some crazy deals. A quick
digestion of the eleven player deal between Chicago, Cleveland, and Seattle?
I love Delonte West —always
have. I like his skill set and I like the way he plays. So I give the Cavs
kudos for making what I feel is a major point guard upgrade for their team.
In the short term - Joe Smith as a
Cav is a help too. I am not on the Ben Wallace bandwagon
in 2008. His best days are behind him so the Cavs may have blundered there.
However, the Cavs improved big time in the back-up department if you think
about Wally Szczerbiak playing
the minutes that Ira Newble was
getting. Overall—The Cavs are winners here. ...
Chicago
should be happy they got rid of Big Ben and his fat contract. But
I can’t say I like what they acquired. Drew Gooden has
slipped in my eyes, and so has Larry Hughes.
Chicago’s hope is that Hughes will somehow return to his pre-Cavs form when
he was an efficient scorer for the Wizards. ...Seattle just traded to get a
bunch of expiring contracts. I call them losers in this because they traded
West today and Kurt Thomas yesterday.
...None of the other deals today really will make any difference. I did like
Houston getting a 2nd round pick in this year’s draft from New Orleans.
...One historical aspect to think about when evaluating current college
talent is the case of Juan Dixon who
was traded AGAIN today. I sure thought he would be a better pro player. He
has a sweet jumper. He plays defense.
But he is a 6’3” shooting guard that relies more on the perimeter shot than
putting the ball on the floor and getting to the hole. I see similar
qualities in current Tennessee Guard
Chris Lofton.
February
19, 2008 ...I’m not sold on Brandon Roy playing Small Forward in Portland. It
certainly did not work tonight as the Kings bruising SF Ron Artest dominated him physically. Now, Artest
over-matching someone is nothing new but fundamentally I never like to see
guys under 6’7” playing the THREE spot. Why? Simply because of size and
presence. I would want my team to be physically stronger which is hard to do
giving up size. Rebounding can also be a factor. Guys 6’7” to 6’9” are
generally better rebounders than guys 6’6”.
Does playing a smaller guy at the THREE work sometimes? It does. But
in the long-run what is gained in quickness with the shorter player at SF is
not worth the rebounding given up, and the defensive liability it can create.
Look at the tape. Roy didn’t even want to get near Artest around the basket
when Ron-Ron was scrapping for a ball. Understandable from a Guard’s
perspective but as a Forward you are expected to give your team some
toughness. Some 6’5” and 6’6” guys can play SF because they are naturally
drawn to contact and not shy about mixing it up (Andres Nocioni comes to
mind) - I don’t see B. Roy that way at all. He is a Guard. A leader, a skill
guy, a finesse guy. ...As I always preach - NBA basketball is a game of
inches; one or two plays can win or lose a game. So you play the percentages,
use your common sense, and learn from history. NBA Finals winning teams usually have a SF 6’7” or bigger that shoots at
least 33% from the three-point line. · 2007 SA - Bruce Bowen 6’7”
career 39% 3 pt% · 2006 MIA - Antoine Walker 6’9”
career 32.5% 3 pt% · 2005
SA — Bowen · 2004 DET - Tayshaun Prince 6’9”
career 37% 3 pt% · 2003
SA - Bowen · 2002 LAL - Rick Fox 6’7” career 34.9% 3 pt%. Robert Horry · 2001
LAL - Horry 6’10” career 34.3% 3 pt.% · 2000 LAL - Glen Rice 6’8”
career 40% 3 pt% · 1999 SA - Jaren Jackson 6’6”
career 35% 3 pt.% · 1998 CHI - Scottie Pippen 6’8”
career 32.6% 3 pt%1997 CHI - Pippen · 1996
CHI - Pippen · 1995
HOU - Horry · 1994
HOU - Horry · 1993
CHI - Pippen What the above list says to me is that at the NBA level - a SF
that can stretch defenses (as proven by the 33% number), yet also bring
decent size (at least 6’7” or 6’6” with super long arms) which should lead to
better team rebounding, is the way to go. ...So Portland should… Play Steve Blake (1), Roy (2), Travis Outlaw (3), LeMarcus Aldridge (4), and Joel Pryzbilla (5). Outlaw is 6’9” and is shooting
39% from long range this season. Bring Jarrett Jack off
the bench for Blake, and Martell Webster off
for Outlaw. Channing Frye can
sub for either Aldridge or Pryzbilla. On nights where Blake or Jack look flat
- give Sergio Rodriguez some
time to provide energy. ...It’s all so simple over here : ))) |