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BasslineSpin.com November
17, 2008 ...My money is on Randy Wittman to be the first coach canned this
season in the NBA. ...Kings rookie Jason Thompson needs
to work on focusing when he gets close to the rim. From what I have observed,
Thompson often makes a good move to get free but then blows his opportunity
to score with a lack of focus and follow through near the basket. He clearly
has the tools to be a very good—if not great player. It says here though that
Thompson is not a THREE. He should be playing Power Forward minutes behind Brad Miller (which means Spencer Hawes should be starting at Center) and Mikki Moore should be relegated to the bench.
…...A SPIN around the NBA: I have
tracked NBA player stats since the late 80’s. I know that it takes roughly
300 minutes played for the near stabilization of efficiency numbers. In many
cases around the league—players are hitting the 300 minute mark for the
season right about now. So - let’s look a few players and see how their
performance rates vs. what their final efficiency number was last season. ...Dirk Nowitzki .544. Last year .706. Ouch. Dirk is
off to a slow start as new, slower pace, coach Rick Carlisle establishes his system in Dallas. ...Elton Brand .507. This number doesn’t warrant
the $$$ Brand received. Last season’s EFR for Brand is a moot point as he
only played a handful of games—but EB’s career EFR is easily in the .600’s.
...Kelenna Azubuike .376.
Last year .431. Azubuike is in the same range as last season but his
efficiency is down a bit most likely due to the added responsibility he faces
now that the Warriors no longer have Baron Davis, and Monta Ellis playing. ...Rasheed Wallace .535. Last year .525. A slight up
tick for Sheed but a perfect example of how the numbers peg a player. Wallace
is always right around this number which ranks him among the top 20 Centers
in the NBA. ...Ray Allen .464.
Last year .439. Allen has slowed a bit from his early NBA career where he was
routinely in the .500’s but .464 ain’t bad at all. It would rank him 18th
among all Shooting Guards. ...Marquis Daniels .434.
Last year .374. Brother Marquis is getting more touches with Mike Dunleavy sidelined. ...Stephen Jackson .387. Last year .431. He leads the
league in minutes played. I am not a
fan of his game at all. He can hit a big shot but you also have to deal with
his multiple misses on the way. ...Udonis Haslem .502.
Last year .439. Haslem is playing better than last season under new coach Erik Spoelstra. ...Andre Iguodala .431. Last year .505. Iguodala too is
struggling as rebounds are much harder to come by now with the Sixers’
addition of Brand. ...Ronnie Brewer .368.
Last year .480. One of the biggest drops in efficiency seen this season - I
believe it is mostly a case of not having dime-dropper Deron Williams (injured) alongside. ...Rudy Gay .363. Last year .497. This tells me that Gay and
rookie O.J. Mayo do not
compliment each other in Memphis. Mayo has stolen Gay’s role as the MAN in
Grizzly Ville. ...Chris Kamen .505.
Last year .622. Kamen has most likely passed his career peak but he should be
better than his current EFR. ...Tracy McGrady .452.
Last year .500. We’ve seen this one coming. T-Mac’s efficiency has been in
slip-n-slide mode for the last three years. He is still worthy of a starting
NBA job but he ranks just 29th at Small Forward. ...Rajon Rondo .399. Last year .474. This one is
hard to figure. Most likely Rondo is simply in a bit of a funk. I expect his
EFR to rise. ...Kendrick Perkins .396.
Last year .480. November
16, 2008 ...A very winnable game was lost by the Sacramento
Kings tonight. The Spurs were in town minus injured Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. The Kings continue to ball without Kevin Martin, and Francisco Garcia.
Sacramento could have easily won this game had ANY pressure been placed on
the Spurs offense initiators down the stretch. I watched up close as Beno Udrih stood four-to-five feet away, with
his hands at his side, from either Roger Mason Jr., or Jacque Vaughn. Allowing any NBA team to make their
first pass uncontested is a recipe for disaster and Sacramento got exactly
what it deserved in the loss. Look at the tape! I’m saying the final eight
minutes—the Spurs were allowed to make their entry pass without even smelling
Udrih’s breath. Not only is Udrih to blame but also the entire coaching staff
and all teammates for not recognizing the problem and URGENTLY trying to fix
it. There were no offense-defense substitutions. There was nothing. Except a
free pass (literally) for Mason (not a real point guard to begin with), and
Vaughn. In most cases, the one pass made that was not being defended in the
slightest, was to Tim Duncan. You
can guess how that story goes. TD abuses whoever guards him and he scores.
...I understand that you need Udrih on offense. But in this instance—he
needed to be reminded that ball pressure is expected—especially when we are
talking about defending two guys that aren’t blowing by anyone with
regularity. Mason and Vaughn are not break-you-down and finish type
ball-handlers. ...Can you tell I’m frustrated? ...A SPIN around the NBA: Who is playing at an All-Star level
through the first 19 days of the season? Here we list the best efficiency
ratings to create the 12-man rosters for EAST and WEST. ...EAST: Guards - Dwyane Wade .828, Devin Harris .696, Joe Johnson .622, Nate Robinson .573, Vince Carter .570. Forwards: Lebron James .845, Chris Bosh .644, Zach Randolph .629, Kevin Garnett .583, Tayshaun Prince .575. Centers: Dwight Howard .818, Zydrunas Ilgauskas .653. ...WEST: Guards - Chris Paul .792, Tony Parker .739, Jason Kidd .606, Kobe Bryant .602, Chauncey Billups .543. Forwards: Carlos Boozer .774, Tim Duncan .713, Amar’e Stoudemire .708, Pau Gasol .611. Centers: Shaquille O’Neal .752, Al Jefferson .715, Andris Biedrins .715. November
15, 2008 ...The Kings lost to Phoenix last night in a game I
attended at ARCO Arena. Steve Nash and Matt Barnes were out due to a league suspension
and Leandro Barbosa was
away in Brazil following the death of his Mother. The Kings are still without
Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia so it is hard to judge them based on
their first ten games (4-6). The ugly truth is that their wins have come
against teams with a combined record of 8-26. The positives are the improved
play of Spencer Hawes, and
the return of Quincy Douby who is
the Kings best, on-the-ball, perimeter defender (along with Garcia). ...A quick trip to Lake Tahoe offered the
opportunity to bet on some games. Wednesday night - I was a winner with wagers on Sacramento
+7.5 at LAC, Milwaukee getting points at home against the Spurs , and the
Lakers –1 in New Orleans. I lost on
the Celtics –10.5 at home to Atlanta. And I lost on a Phoenix, Houston bet
where I had the Suns giving up points at home. ...The next day was awful as I
went 0-3 with Denver, Dallas, and Golden State letting me down. ...Good thing
there is a craps table to offset basketball L’s. ...A SPIN around the NBA: Anthony Morrow started
today when the Warriors traveled south to LA to play the Clippers. That is so
Nellie. Don Nelson has
used DeMarcus Nelson, C.J. Watson, and now Morrow as Kelenna Azubuike’s backcourt mate. ...I have enjoyed the
Gary Payton, and Chris Webber teaming on NBA-TV just for the sake
of listening to GP talk shit. ...Ryan Anderson has
been playing very well in limited minutes for New Jersey. The Cal product is
shooting 52% FT, and 87%FT to date. |