NBA! NBA! NBA! [Archive] - The Gemstone IV Players' Corner

Latrinsorm

12-28-2011, 06:47 PM

lol @ Knicks. Do you think Amar'e can handle playing 40 minutes a night when they have to play 4-5 games a week?Between Chandler's defense and Melo's offense I think a lot of the stress is taken off Amar'e. His inexplicable development of a 3 point game will also help that concern a lot, look how well it worked for 'Toine. Plus, everyone else has to play 4-5 games a week too, so there will be plenty of opportunities for stars to take nights off without losing ground on anyone except Miami, because LeBron James is an indefatigable basketball cyborg, and they weren't catching Miami anyway.
Pacers are number 3.It would be pretty incredible timing for David West, huh? I always liked that guy, it's fine by me.
Age ain't nothing but a number, and the Celtics are #1.39 ain't 29, bro. Did you notice when they were running out Ray Allen at small forward last night after Daniels got his fifth foul in about 14 seconds? Yeah but when Pierce gets back they'll have Sasha Pavlovic in that spot. Oh boy. Heck, with Wilcox hurt Pavlovic is their de facto 3rd PF too. Oh boy! Hey but at least they have negative $25 million in cap space.

C's don't have a prayer.

RichardCranium

12-28-2011, 10:54 PM

Celtics look amazing right now against the Hornets.

Bobmuhthol

12-28-2011, 11:11 PM

Fuck all y'all.

DoctorUnne

12-29-2011, 10:56 AM

C's don't have a prayer.

No, but they have a ring.

RichardCranium

12-29-2011, 11:41 AM

No, but they have a ring.

True, and theirs doesn't even have an asterisk attached to it, unlike some other Boston teams.

Gan

12-29-2011, 03:02 PM

At least the crime rate will go down now.

Latrinsorm

01-06-2012, 01:27 AM

I didn't bother watching the Heat - Hawks game because no LeBron/Wade, and I happened to turn it on right as Ivan Johnson started stomping people flat. Takeaways:
-Just a pathetic performance from the Hawks.
-After seeing Bosh dominate the offense, it's easy to see why the Raptors never went anywhere.
-Terrel Harris at 6'5" with 14(!!!) rebounds. Big in a season where depth is crucial.
-Dexter Pittman wasn't completely outmatched... but it was close.

Things looking good for the Heat! :)

Drew

01-06-2012, 02:29 PM

The Heat look like the deepest team in the league at this point. They still have Mike Miller coming back, it's crazy. I don't get your Bosh comment though, he looked pretty good?

Latrinsorm

01-06-2012, 05:39 PM

Oh sure he looked pretty good, my point was that if your best player is only pretty good you're going to get bounced in the first round every year, at best.

Can you imagine if LeBron could start playing like a big big man, shades of Magic 1980? Every base would be covered for the Heat.

Drew

01-06-2012, 07:17 PM

Oh sure he looked pretty good, my point was that if your best player is only pretty good you're going to get bounced in the first round every year, at best.

Yeah even Kobe missed the playoffs when he had bad teams.

DoctorUnne

01-07-2012, 11:58 AM

Every base would be covered for the Heat.

Except not wilting in crunch time in the finals

Latrinsorm

01-07-2012, 01:34 PM

Except not wilting in crunch time in the finalsHe really should have sent someone with an iPhone to the Mavs' practices, huh?

Anyway, Drew's comment reminded me of a project I had been working on recently. I extended Professor Hollinger's PER concept to the team level by weighting individual PERs of everyone on the team by minutes played in any given year. If a person had a 25 PER and played 3000 minutes, he contributed 25 * 3000 / tmMP (where tmMP accounted for overtimes and that teams generally play 5 players at a time). I then applied this to every Finals team since 1980, and found a few interesting things.

The only teams to get above a 17 regular season TER were:
-1997 Bulls (17.44)
-1991 Bulls (17.40)
-1996 Bulls (17.29)
-1992 Bulls (17.24)
-1987 Lakers (17.10)
-1983 Lakers (17.08)
-1997 Jazz (17.07)
All of these teams won the Finals except the 1997 Jazz (obviously) and the 1983 Lakers, who lost to the Moses-Erving 76ers (16.50).

The only teams to get below a 15 TER (noting that a 15 PER is by definition league average) were:
-2007 Cavs (14.92)
-1999 Knicks (14.05)
-1994 Knicks (14.78)
Obviously all these teams lost.

TER predicted the outcome of the Finals 20 of 32 times so far, which is within statistical variance of a coin flip. I also kept track of supporting cast TER, which I defined simply by removing the largest contribution. This largest contribution usually coincided with who seems like the best player on the team. (LeBron on the Cavs, Kidd on the Nets, etc.) There were a few interesting ones: by this metric Garnett was the largest contributer on the 2008 Celtics but Rondo was in 2010, Billups was on the 2005 Pistons but Ben Wallace in 2004 (very strange as PER traditionally underrates defense), the only year for Kareem on the Lakers was 1980. This highlights one of the obvious flaws in the analysis: how to account for injuries, especially those either during the Finals themselves (as Kareem's) or like Jordan's in 1986.

That digression aside, supporting cast TER improved the prediction to 22 of 32 times, right on the cusp of statistical significance. Additionally, 3 of the 10 misses were Jordan years and 1 was 2000 (The Year Shaq Cared, The Year Some Jabrone Voted For AI as MVP). If there were some statistical measure of unstoppability, that could be factored in.

The only times both metrics were wrong were:
-2006 (Heat/Wade over Mavericks/Nowitzki)
-2004 (Pistons/Wallace over Lakers/O'Neal)
-1998 (Bulls/Jordan over Jazz/Malone)
-1995 (Rockets/Olajuwon over Magic/O'Neal, sweep)
-1984 (Celtics/Bird over Lakers/Johnson)
-1983 (76ers/Malone over Lakers/Johnson, sweep)
It is interesting to recall how in some of these cases the star on the losing team had a notoriously poor performance in the finals: you shouldn't have shook Mr. Olajuwon's hand, Tragic Johnson. It is also interesting to recall how some of those cases are perhaps considered poor erroneously: Nowitzki's 2006 is statistically barely distinguishable from his 2011 Finals performance, but the differences in public perception are dramatic; Shaq's performance in 1995 wasn't really all that bad: 28 points 13 rebounds and even 6 assists per game.

As we would expect, the 2007 Cavs had the worst supporting cast TER so far: 10.99. Others below 11.50:
-1994 Rockets (11.07)
-1981 Rockets (11.32)
-1994 Knicks (11.34)
-2000 Lakers (11.46)

Finally, I measured the 2005 Lakers, the only year Kobe's team missed the playoffs, and got 15.04 overall TER, 11.87 supporting cast. Were they really that bad? This was a team with Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, after all.

Drew

01-07-2012, 01:50 PM

After reading all of that I somehow feel no less informed. Also I thought Magic fans mostly blamed "Brick" Anderson for 95.

Latrinsorm

01-08-2012, 01:27 PM

Loved the game last night. It seems like LeBron adds something new to his game every year: last year it was the kind-of walker/runner/floater curling from the elbow, this year he posts a guy, faces, keeps the ball high, and shoots. It would be a bit grandiose to call it a "move", but I like it anyway. It seems like the only one he's missed so far was last night when he tried to go Tim Duncan.

I also liked the Dwyane Wade style baseline spinning fadeaway, but my guess is that was more for the lulz than a shot he'll actually take in a real game.

.

I noticed today that Kobe is averaging over 23 FGAs per 36 minutes, his most since 2006 and, along with that year, the only time in his career he's even been over 22. Obviously the Lakers didn't win the title in 2006, and I wondered: has anyone won a title with a player taking 23 or more FGAs per 36 minutes? I have found:

1993 - Michael Jordan (23.5, 49.5%)
1975 - Rick Barry (24.7, 46.4%)
1965 - John Havlicek (23.6, 40.1%!!!)
1963 - Tommy Heinsohn (23.4, 42.3%)
1962 - Tommy Heinsohn (24.4, 42.9%)
1961 - Tommy Heinsohn (25.0, 40.0%!!!)
1960 - Tommy Heinsohn (23.7, 42.3%) AND Bill Sharman (23.0, 45.6%)

I knew that the pace back then was faster, but talk about your dramatic illustrations. The next two highest guys after Kobe on the 2006 Lakers combined only managed 22.7 FGAs/36.

Drew

01-08-2012, 05:24 PM

Latrinsorm

01-11-2012, 06:04 PM

Windhorst's positive "LeBron doesn't even take 3s in practice anymore" article just had to come out the day LeBron missed a game-tying 3, didn't it.

I don't get how D-Rose goes 4 for 17 in a loss to the Warriors and no one cares, LeBron goes 10 for 19, 26 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and it's a C performance. What??

Drew

01-11-2012, 06:22 PM

People forget all the times LeBron has won clutch games or series. And they forget all the times Kobe has lost them. Clutch is the least accurate tag around.

Latrinsorm

01-14-2012, 04:04 PM

Bad game yesterday for the Heat - bad habits on offense creeping back in, tired defense. Pittman looked ok though.

Anyway, let's have some unfair speculation about Kobe! He's averaging 31.2 points per game in his 16th season, aged 33, 48310 previous minutes. The only other people in history to average 30+ aged 30+ are:
Jordan - 30.4, 11th season, aged 32, 28041 MP
West - 31.2, 10th season, aged 31, 25365 MP
Iverson - 33.0, 10th season, aged 30, 26015 MP
Kobe - 31.2, 16th season, aged 33, 48310 MP

One of these things is not like the other.

The next highest scoring averages for a guy in his 16th season:
Karl Malone - 23.2
Kareem - 22.0
Moses Malone - 18.9
Havlicek - 16.1

It's only 13 games, you may say! Kareem and Havlicek's seasons predate basketball-reference.com's game logs, but the highest month for each Malone was:
Karl - 26.0 (12 games)
Moses - 21.1 (12 games)

Sooooomebody's juiiiiicing.

Keller

01-14-2012, 04:45 PM

Stem cells are amazing.

Drew

01-14-2012, 05:31 PM

Somebody was drafted in high school...

Latrinsorm

01-14-2012, 05:53 PM

Somebody was drafted in high school...Doesn't fly. Kobe has over 20,000 more NBA miles on his odometer than the other guys - being of similar calendar age isn't as relevant. Even if it was, Moses was a former 30+ scorer and drafted out of high school, too, and he put up an 18.9 at Kobe's age.

Also, we're not looking at a gradual progression here. If we look at the 15th seasons of careers, we get:
25.5 - Karl Malone
25.3 - Bryant
21.5 - Kareem
20.2 - Moses Malone
20.0 - Jordan

If we look at the last 5 seasons of Kobe's career, we get:
2011 - 25.3
2010 - 27.0
2009 - 26.8
2008 - 28.3
2007 - 31.6

This is the pattern everyone has - pass your peak and decline as you get older. Kobe is the first guy in basketball to suddenly spike. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Drew

01-15-2012, 03:39 AM

Didn't Kobe sit his first couple of years? Years he would have been grinding out a full college season?

Rimalon

01-15-2012, 04:08 AM

He didn't *start* his first two years, but he still played 1000 minutes and 2000, respectively... so I guess his first two seasons would equal out to about one full one. He was fucking on fire tonight, just unconscious, if anyone was watching the Lakers--Clippers game. Crazy to watch.

Latrinsorm

01-15-2012, 01:09 PM

Didn't Kobe sit his first couple of years? Years he would have been grinding out a full college season?College is barely half as many games, dramatically more spaced out, much less travel. Kobe loves Duke, so let's look at Duke's schedule this year. From December 7th to March 3rd Duke:
-plays 23 games (in 88 days, a little over 3.8 days per game)
-never has a back to back
-never leaves the Eastern time zone
-plays 15 of its games in North Carolina, ffs

Various tournaments in the rest of the schedule change these stats, of course, but by definition can't be calculated in advance. If we look at the Lakers schedule from 1997 in the same period, we get:
-39 games, a little over 2.25 days per game
-eight back to backs, none of which were both at home
-ranging from Miami to Vancouver to Texas to Chicago
-20 games in southern California

Throw in dramatically lower level of competition, dramatically shorter post season (especially relevant in Kobe's case), just smaller dudes... the relative grinds aren't close.

edited to add: I'm not saying it's a slam dunk. I'm saying if it turns out Kobe pulled a Rafael Palmeiro, you shouldn't be surprised.

Drew

01-15-2012, 02:59 PM

Well I mean he already admitted to getting this new treatment. You think he's doing something more that we don't know about it?

Latrinsorm

01-15-2012, 06:15 PM

Well I mean he already admitted to getting this new treatment. You think he's doing something more that we don't know about it?We are 14 games into the Laker season, so I am 14/66 - 1% sure he is. If his numbers go off a cliff in February, I am willing to believe it was a historically unprecedented fluke and nothing more. If he's still putting up these numbers in March, April, May...

Drew

01-16-2012, 12:48 AM

Latrinsorm

01-16-2012, 05:07 PM

There is something to be said about being just young. Most of our data for this many games is on older people. For instance a 45 year old who never played 1 minute couldn't be expected to be fresh just because of their age. Kobe may be juicing or maybe we just don't have enough data on people this young with this many games.It's not so much a question of whether he could be fresh at age 33, it's a question of whether he could suddenly become fresh at age 33. His PER this year is not only up over 4 points compared to last year, it's tied for the best mark of his entire career. We've seen this movie before! Guys don't pass their peak, go into gradual decline, then suddenly return to form without help.

Drew

01-17-2012, 01:44 PM

It's not so much a question of whether he could be fresh at age 33, it's a question of whether he could suddenly become fresh at age 33. His PER this year is not only up over 4 points compared to last year, it's tied for the best mark of his entire career. We've seen this movie before! Guys don't pass their peak, go into gradual decline, then suddenly return to form without help.

But his team has changed significantly this year. Doesn't Kobe always turn into A.I. when his team sucks?

Atlanteax

01-17-2012, 02:13 PM

But his team has changed significantly this year. Doesn't Kobe always turn into A.I. when his team sucks?

Except that the team this year does not "suck" ... is still clearly one of the better teams in the NBA.

Keller

01-17-2012, 02:55 PM

Except that the team this year does not "suck" ... is still clearly one of the better teams in the NBA.

The point Drew was making is that the Lakers no longer run the triangle offense and that has forced Kobe to shoulder more of the offensive load.

And they "suck" in comparison to other championship caliber teams.

DoctorUnne

01-17-2012, 04:31 PM

In other news, this was a pretty awesome 7-step travel by LeBron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32o8uHmX36o

Atlanteax

01-17-2012, 04:46 PM

In other news, this was a pretty awesome 7-step travel by LeBron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32o8uHmX36o

Happens in the Playoffs too, and only does not get called because it is LeChoke.

Latrinsorm

01-17-2012, 05:14 PM

But his team has changed significantly this year. Doesn't Kobe always turn into A.I. when his team sucks?Not all that significant imo. Derek Fisher is still old and decrepit, Pau is still the model of efficiency, Lamar is a big loss but Bynum is a big gain. Going from a legitimate head coach to a goober makes it harder from an Xs and Os standpoint, but it's still trivially easy for someone as skilled as Kobe to set up a legit 7 footer. The only reason the Laker bigs aren't getting touches is because Kobe doesn't want them to and there's no authority figure to keep him in line.

There's no question the Lakers are scuffling this year, but maybe the causation is the other way around. I read the other day where he actually referenced an espn.com article that didn't consider him for MVP as motivation. It's astonishingly insecure, the guy is widely heralded as one of the all time greatest. Combine that level of ego and that level of insecurity, and it's totally conceivable he would cross the line to turn back time.
In other news, this was a pretty awesome 7-step travel by LeBron
Happens in the Playoffs too, and only does not get called because it is LeChoke.:violin:

Drew

01-18-2012, 03:52 PM

In other news, this was a pretty awesome 7-step travel by LeBron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32o8uHmX36o

I think I saw a crab dribble in there.

Drew

01-18-2012, 03:59 PM

After watching Bosh demolish Duncan and seeing the big statistical drops that Nowitzki and Garnett are suffering this year, I have a question: Who are the best power forwards in the game right now?

1. Blake Griffin
2. Chris Bosh
3. Kevin Love
4 David Lee

Does that look right? It just looks weird having those names at the top.

Atlanteax

01-18-2012, 05:28 PM

I can definitely buy a healthy Blake Griffin being #1

Keller

01-18-2012, 05:28 PM

Amare, Pau, Love, Aldridge are all better than Griffin and Bosh. Bosh is above Griffin.

Latrinsorm

01-18-2012, 05:49 PM

To me nobody stands out enough to warrant an unconditional #1. Chris Bosh's situation is historically unique, Blake has the benefit of playing with by far the best point guard of his generation, Love and Lee (and Millsap) are on atrocious teams, Pau gets to (or has to) play with Kobe, it's too soon to tell whether Amare is just scuffling or dropping off permanently. Aldridge is really fascinating: what if Roy hadn't had knees made of paper? What if Oden wasn't made of glass? I think he could be an outstanding #2 guy but is not suited to #1 guy, like Bosh before him. Duncan and Garnett are obviously old-old, even if we are counting Duncan as a PF.

I will assume you all have left out Mr. Boozer accidentally.

If pressed I think I would say Bosh as long as Wade is out, then I would stick with Pau, because I am reasonably sure that Kobe is not actually juicing and will come (plummet) back to earth shortly. It's crazy how few of the big name PFs still in their prime are worth anything on defense, no?

If Pau turns out to be semi-old, I think I would go with Love. A major rebounder and a major three point shooter is just too interesting to pass up. Also, I just don't understand how Kevin Love's vertical leap can be about 6 feet less than Blake and yet he still gets more rebounds. Playing next to Darko instead of DeAndre obviously helps, but still.

Keller

01-18-2012, 06:03 PM

If forced I would rank them: Love, Pau, Amare, Aldridge, Bosh, Griffin, . . ., Glen Davis, Darko, Boozer.

Drew

01-18-2012, 07:08 PM

Amare what?

Rimalon

01-19-2012, 04:35 AM

Al Jefferson is technically a power forward, is he not? I'd have to add him into the top 5 somewhere... hmmm...

I've got two lists:

BEST RIGHT NOW:

1) Dirk
2) Love
3) Bosh 2.0
4) Jefferson
5) Blake

UPSIDE:

1) Blake
2) Ibaka
3) Greg Monroe (beast)
4) Gallinari
5) Cousins

As we can see, Blake wins. And if Millsap were 2-3 inches taller, he cracks both lists like whoa. But alas.

Keller

01-19-2012, 10:14 AM

Gallinari is a wing player. If we're considering him a PF, then we have to say LeBrone is the best PF in the league by a wide margin.

Cousins is a center, right?

Taking bets that, at the end of their careers, Greg Monroe is considered a better PF than Blake Griffin. If you think I'm wrong, as yourself whether you consider Tim Duncan or Shawn Kemp the better pro.

Keller

01-19-2012, 11:40 AM

Let's pick the US Olympic BB team.

You can pick 12 with a balance of 5/6 guards, 5/6 forwards, and 1/2 center(s).

Forwards

Carmelo Anthony
LeBron James
Chris Bosh
Kevin Durant
Blake Griffin
LaMarcus Aldridge
Rudy Gay
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Love
Lamar Odom

Guards

Chauncey Billups
Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
Eric Gordon
Derrick Rose
Dwyane Wade
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams

Centers
Dwight Howard
Tyson Chandler

Starters

PG - Chris Paul
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Lebron James
PF - Carmelo Anthony
C - Kevin Love

Reserves

Derrick Rose (PG)
Eric Gordon (SG)
Dwayne Wade (combo guard)
Chris Bosh (PF)
Kevin Durant (combo forward)
Lamarcus Aldridge (PF)
Dwight Howard (C)

DoctorUnne

01-19-2012, 11:49 AM

Starters

PG - Paul
SG - Kobe
SF - LeBron
PF - Dirk
C - Howard

Reserves

Wade
Rondo
Durant
Rose
Carmelo
Aldridge
Chandler

Keller

01-19-2012, 11:59 AM

Starters

PG - Paul
SG - Kobe
SF - LeBron
PF - Dirk
C - Howard

Reserves

Wade
Rondo
Durant
Rose
Carmelo
Aldridge
Chandler

Are you trolling us?

Drew

01-19-2012, 01:15 PM

This would not be the way I would build an all-NBA team but this is how I would do a FIBA team:

PG
Chris Paul (starter)
Russell Westbrook

SG
D-wade
Kevin Durant (starter)
Kobe Bryant

SF:
Lebron James (starter)
Rudy Gay

PF:
Chris Bosh
Carmello Anthony (starter)

C:
Blake Griffin (starter)
Kevin Love
Dwight Howard

Latrinsorm

01-19-2012, 03:55 PM

I'm surprised no one has fitted AI in yet. He's the perfect guy to add to a team.

Love the Dirk pick, lol.

Starters
PG - Paul
SG - Wade
SF - James
PF - Bosh
C - Chandler

Reserves
Williams
Durant
Aldridge
Iguodala
Griffin
Love
Howard

It's not clear to me that adding Melo to a team makes it better, no matter how brilliant a scorer he is. Billups is clearly washed up. Kobe will be by the Olympics, and if he's not there's no way he's getting past the testing. Odom and Westbrook would be great picks for All-Headcase team. Rose is going to be too burned out from dragging the Bulls around, whereas Williams is going to be free to mail it in starting in about a week. When Wade withdraws due to injury, I think I'd start Iguodala and give Gay a reserve spot.

Keller

01-19-2012, 04:25 PM

Drew

01-19-2012, 04:52 PM

Melo is the best international player in the world.

Latrinsorm

01-19-2012, 06:06 PM

You have no argument from me that Carmelo is an excellent player. I just can't shake how his teams never seem to benefit from that personal excellence.

Keller

01-19-2012, 06:25 PM

You have no argument from me that Carmelo is an excellent player. I just can't shake how his teams never seem to benefit from that personal excellence.

Are you talking about Carmelo or Lebron?

Carmelo at least has a championship from Syracuse.

Latrinsorm

01-19-2012, 08:06 PM

Are you talking about Carmelo or Lebron?

Carmelo at least has a championship from Syracuse.lol

Carmelo's team got out of the first round once. LeBron's team got out of the first round five times.
Carmelo had a much better coach.
Carmelo had a much better supporting cast: future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, elite defensive center Marcus Camby, legitimate star Chauncey Billups.
LeBron got traded to a super team that went to the Finals. Carmelo got traded to a super team that was swept by a decrepit Celtics team and is struggling to reach .500 this year.

How dare you attach Syracuse's good name to your trolling, sir. How dare you.

DoctorUnne

01-19-2012, 08:32 PM

Are you trolling us?

No, why?

Keller

01-19-2012, 08:37 PM

No, why?

You listed a few players that are not in the selection pool and one player (Dirk) that isn't even eligible for the selection pool.

DoctorUnne

01-19-2012, 08:39 PM

You listed a few players that are not in the selection pool and one player (Dirk) that isn't even eligible for the selection pool.

I didn't realize that was an official pool. I thought it was just a list of players you thought were the best. Why isn't Dirk eligible?

Keller

01-19-2012, 08:39 PM

lol

Carmelo's team got out of the first round once. LeBron's team got out of the first round five times.
Carmelo had a much better coach.
Carmelo had a much better supporting cast: future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, elite defensive center Marcus Camby, legitimate star Chauncey Billups.
LeBron got traded to a super team that went to the Finals. Carmelo got traded to a super team that was swept by a decrepit Celtics team and is struggling to reach .500 this year.

How dare you attach Syracuse's good name to your trolling, sir. How dare you.

Carmelo's team won a championship. Lebron's team hasn't.

Keller

01-19-2012, 08:40 PM

I didn't realize that was an official pool. I thought it was just a list of players you thought were the best. Why isn't Dirk eligible?

It is the official pool.

Dirk is German.

DoctorUnne

01-19-2012, 08:45 PM

Dirk is German.

He is?!

Drew

01-19-2012, 09:52 PM

He is?!

Now you trollin.

Atlanteax

01-19-2012, 10:02 PM

Or just seriously oblivious

Drew

01-19-2012, 11:37 PM

Well Miami handily demolished the Lakers, it was bigger than the 11 point end-score would indicate. Also Eric, two games in a row where Kobe has looked very pedestrian.

Latrinsorm

01-20-2012, 01:46 AM

-The black on black uniforms are pretty cool.
-I don't get how the Lakers were allowed to wear their home uniforms, or why they even had them.
-I haven't seen Bynum play very often, but it is shocking how much he complains. I can't believe he doesn't have a single T this year.
-It's even more shocking how poorly the Lakers offense made use of their overwhelming size advantage. The Heat were repeatedly single covering Bynum with Bosh. I mean... come on. Bosh gets a lot of unfair criticism, but not even his mom thinks he can guard Bynum one on one.
-I love the Mario Chalmers smirk after he drills a wide open three. He makes bad decisions but he's got his head on straight, I think he's got a bright future.
-Josh McRoberts is a wimp.
-I can't believe the pops Eddy Curry got. Does he have a previous connection to the Miami area? Incredible.
-World Peace enters the game 2 of 27 from 3, then goes 2 of 4. What?
-Haslem finally starts making some jump shots, and now he's having trouble finishing at the rim. Depressing.
-As if he wanted to help reinforce my claim about how bad a coach he is, Mike Brown lets Kobe play 41 minutes, leading all players.

Kerr made a great comment about how Pau seems lost when the Lakers moved from the triangle offense to the Mike Brown doesn't know what he's doing offense. It makes me wonder if he's trying to shoehorn Pau into the Z role. Looking at hoopdata.com, Pau has seen a dramatic increase in the 16-23 foot zone. Over his first 4 years with the Lakers his breakdown was:
At rim: 42% of attempts
3-9 feet: 27%
10-15 feet: 15%
16-23 feet: 15%

This year it's 26%(!), 23%, 17%, 29%(!!). Zydrunas over his last 3 years with Cleveland had splits of 33%, 10%, 9%, 44%, which puts Pau about halfway between but trending the wrong way. It's symptomatic of the larger problem: your size advantage doesn't help if you have it stuck 17 feet from the rim, and if you take away the size advantage the Lakers are just a mediocre team with an aging gunner.

LeBron led the team in all 5 categories tonight. He's one of only four guys to do that for a season (Pippen, Garnett, Cowens), but I can't remember the last time he did it in any given game. (Last season he ended up 1st in points, assists, steals, 2nd in rebounds, 4th in blocks. You know. Ho hum.) It might even be the first time in a Heat uniform, I'll check tomorrow.
Also Eric, two games in a row where Kobe has looked very pedestrian.Yes. Do you think he can squeeze in a trip to Germany before tomorrow night? No but seriously, it's very plausible that the last month was just a fluke and he'll be creaky for the majority of the rest of the season, especially if he continues refusing to sit.

Drew

01-20-2012, 01:57 AM

I think people are just rooting for Eddy Curry to do well. Also seeing someone score 2 points in the center position in Miami is now a novelty. Which is sad as this team used to have Shaq and Zo down there.

Latrinsorm

01-28-2012, 02:28 AM

-The Miami crowds are so weird. They barely get 50% filled by the start of either half, but they'll spontaneously start cheering/chanting at appropriate times once filled.
-When Miami is actually running an offense, it's fascinating to watch the pieces move. On the first James to Wade dunk, the set starts with Bosh(!) at the very top, 1-2 screen on one side, 5-3 screen on the other, Bosh to James to Wade, easy money. Compare to during the 3rd quarter when James devolved into "everyone stand around, watch me half-heartedly cross over... screw it, long 2!" on back to back possessions.
-At 12-8 NYK I saw Amare pick and roll deep into the paint, except the ball handler completely ignored him and threw it around the perimeter. I think Amare saw it too. He didn't play well, but if your guards are ignoring you, what can you do?

-2nd quarter, Wade's FTs have dramatically more arc than earlier in the season. I don't know how he ever shot a decent % with those line drives, but his form looks great now.
-Is James finally in the right system? Cleveland's pace was 90.8, 89.7, 89.8, 90.8, 90.2, 88.7, 91.4, then 90.9 last year, routinely in the bottom third of the league. This year he's up to 3rd in pace 93.8, and it just seems to fit so much better. I recognize his team made the Finals twice, but the first time was miraculous luck and the second was against teams too young or too old.
-Bill Simmons loves the alpha dog thing. I'm not convinced, but something really fascinating late in the 2nd: LeBron never passes the ball out after a made basket by the other team. Never. If he's one of the two standing there, he'll stare at the other guy until the other guy goes and gets the ball. This time, Wade was the other guy... and LeBron went and got the ball.
-Look at these bizarro lineups late in the 2nd: Cole Wade James Miller Anthony vs. Whichever-PG Fields Walker Stoudamire Chandler... James was guarding Chandler(!), Walker was guarding James, Miller was guarding Walker, Stoudamire was guarding Miller, Anthony was guarding Stoudamire. Super duper cross match, and the Heat were eating the Knicks up with it, stealing minutes for LeBron, defensive breather. I don't want to go out on a limb here but I think Spo got the better of D'Antoni at Xs and Os.

-How does Wade not get Td up every single time he thinks he was fouled? He hollers, waves his arms around, glares directly at the ref, slaps the stanchion. I mean, really.
-Mike Bibby draws the charge on LeBron. How is it in the last 2 Heat games I've watched the only legit rib-crushing charges drawn on LeBron came from Derek Fisher and Mike Bibby? Where are the guys in his weight class?
-Speaking of, the Bosh jumper from the foul line in the 4th. Bosh was being guarded by Stoudamire, except Haslem just walked into him and pushed him towards the basket, then just walked around him and boxed him out in case of a rebound. Couple possessions later Stoudamire is guarding James as he brings the ball over halfcourt, then weakly shoulder blocks him out of bounds for a stupid foul. Great job. Good work.
-Knicks end up shooting >40% from 3 and <30% from 2 for the game. I mean... how?

After watching Knicks guards completely ignore Stoudamire rolling to the basket in the pick and roll, I don't think Baron Davis' absence can be overstated. They're just a train wreck at point guard. In contrast the Heat don't seem to have any exploitable weaknesses. After Randolph's and Bogut's injuries, the only teams with real size are the Lakers (who refuse to use it) and the Magic (who have suddenly looked just God awful). Lot of season left, but it's looking good. I'm excited! :)

Drew

01-28-2012, 04:03 AM

The interesting thing this year is that LeBron looks about 10% better, Dwade about 5% worse but Bosh looks 50% better than he did last year. It's hard to overstate how well this guy is playing.

Constal

01-28-2012, 04:38 PM

Keller

01-29-2012, 10:35 AM

The interesting thing this year is that LeBron looks about 10% better, Dwade about 5% worse but Bosh looks 50% better than he did last year. It's hard to overstate how well this guy is playing.

Drafted him in all my fantasy basketball leagues.

:smug:

My best team (auction draft with keepers from last year (Greg Monroe, Mike Conley, and John Wall)) has Bosh, Garnett (ugh), Wall, Monroe, Conley, Durant, Kemba, and Jarrett Jack. There are other players, but none particularly noteworthy (Rip Hamilton, Pachulia, Tyrus Thomas off the top of my head. Oh, and Gordon Hayward).

I never lose steals or assists. I always lose TOs and usually FG%.

Latrin, do you play fantasy basketball. It seems like an endeavor you'd succeed at.

Latrinsorm

01-29-2012, 01:34 PM

How about them Clippers (No, I'm not a Clippers fan)? Last year they were alright to watch when Griffin would be stuffing the ball down. Now, they have more complimentary players. Still missing a piece or two, but nonetheless, they're winning.The Clippers are in an odd situation. They have the best point guard in the NBA, then they have about 26 backup point guards. This wouldn't be that bad with a good coach, but Vinny del Negro is not a good coach, so he does things like play Mo, Chauncey, and Paul at the same time which is just... yikes. Not only that, I remember in the Clips-Heat game his players completely ignoring him during a time out. He asked a basic question and not a single player responded, or even looked at him. They have a very strong frontcourt, but I can't help feeling a good coach and even a slightly more balanced roster would make them legit contenders. For one thing it would take the pressure off Blake, who is not handling it well and has taken steps backwards in a number of areas.

I can see them keeping a top 4 seed and beating anyone below them, but that's more a testament to the West being in a transition period and it's hard to see them getting past the 2nd round.
Latrin, do you play fantasy basketball. It seems like an endeavor you'd succeed at.Thanks. I do not, I disagree with it philosophically.

Latrinsorm

01-29-2012, 01:37 PM

Oh yeah, and from rep:
Do you think the Knicks intentionally sabotage themselves?

The Baron lives! Have faith Stanley, you're not going to have to put up with a starting backcourt of Toney and Shump much longer.

Latrinsorm

01-30-2012, 01:26 AM

What a game, lol.

-Two things I noticed about Cole: he is flying around defensively, and he is amazingly small next to Rose. His being undersized would be more worrying if Baron Davis wasn't on the Knicks, or Deron Williams wasn't on the Nets, or etc. It seems like it would have made more sense to have Wade cover Rose and let Cole sprint around after Hamilton, though, Wade doesn't seem to do well against the Hamilton/Allen types.
-Eddy Curry knocked over another Heat player at least once, was in completely the wrong spot multiple times, and was only on the floor for two minutes. I'm confident he can learn, I'm just not sure a Bulls game is the time for it.
-I kept wondering what Rip Hamilton could really bring to the Bulls. One play near the end of the 1st quarter: strips Miller, has a breakaway opportunity but notices LeBron lurking, so he dribbles away from the basket and drills a 20 footer. He might not be big or strong or athletic or young or a good shooter, but at least he's smart. (Final line: 4 of 16, 0 of 1 from three, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 5 turnovers. Rip is not the answer.)
-The atrocious end of quarter offense LeBron insists on running. It's frustrating even in the first quarter, how much more when he went back to it for long stretches of the 3rd and to end the game. This was illustrated most dramatically when he backed down Brewer with ease halfway through the 4th, like he wasn't even there.

-I keep hearing that Chicago has this great depth, and I don't get it at all. All their depth is on the perimeter. Their only bigs are Noah, Asik, Boozer, and Scalabrine, and only the first two provide any semblance of rim protection. They trotted out a lineup of Rose Korver Brewer Gibson Boozer and promptly got brutalized by a Norris Cole layup. Especially without Deng, they don't have the luxury the Heat have of generating rim protection with hyperkinetic perimeter players a la Wade and James. For a team built on defense, it seems like a glaring hole.
-Bosh's battle for the rebound and semi-hook shot to close the half was very impressive, and wasn't an isolated incident of toughness, and they weren't all against Boozer either. Drew was right on, he's like a different guy this year.

-Rose was amazing... but he ended up playing 45 minutes and taking 28 shots. The Bulls have clearly done nothing to address their fundamental problem. His usage is down for the year which is great, but if this is how they're going to use him in big games (the playoffs), the outcome will be the same. And if they're banking on C.J. Watson to save the day...
-And the ending! My favorite officiating call in all of sports is the basketball "we're not sure what happened... let's jump it up". As Bosh was making the FTs the camera cut to Wade and James, James looks at Wade, Wade just shakes his head. Crazy game.

Drew

01-30-2012, 12:05 PM

-Bosh's battle for the rebound and semi-hook shot to close the half was very impressive, and wasn't an isolated incident of toughness, and they weren't all against Boozer either. Drew was right on, he's like a different guy this year.

Bosh absolutely destroyed Boozer, people were making legit arguments last year that Boozer was a better player than Bosh. Now that argument is laughable.

Also LeBron's efficiency is ridiculous right now. The difference in PER between him and the #2 (Durant) is the same as the difference between Durant and the 51st best PER player.

Latrinsorm

02-04-2012, 06:27 PM

Interesting developments yesterday:

-Kenyon Martin back in the USA, headed for Lob City! His best years are clearly behind him, but LA was pretty thin in the frontcourt and this lets them cut/trade one of their 58 point guards. It also will presumably shore up what to this point has been a fair to middling rebounding team and a poor defensive team, although I'm not sure where he'll play. Perhaps more importantly, him playing for the Clippers prevents him from playing for anyone else. It's almost like the Clippers are a real NBA team.

-Magic continue to implode. Glen Davis mysteriously suspended for 2 games. They've already been held to under 70 points 3 times this year, the only other teams I can find in the past 5 years to pull that off were the 2007 Heat (3 times, Wade got hurt, swept out of 1st round), 2008 Heat (3 times, Wade got hurt, finished 15-67), and the 2012 Raptors (also 3 times so far). The only real saving grace for them is everyone else in the East from 7 down is just as bad or worse, so they'll probably be able to limp into the playoffs and get crushed by the Bulls, Heat, or 76ers.

-Which brings us to the Heat crushing the 76ers... again. The 76ers are -20.5 points per game against the Heat and +13.1 against everyone else. Their largest loss against anyone else is (inexplicably) an overtime loss by 7 points to the Nets. It's pretty astonishing, on paper they seem like they could match up well with the Heat: competitive athleticism, an elite wing defender in Iguodala, a good coach, very low turnovers, reasonably good 3PT shooting, defend well without fouling... yet the Heat just annihilate them. The Heat even managed to shoot a higher 3PT than FT percentage last night, which really ought to be impossible. I didn't get to watch either game on TV, did anyone else? Anything stand out?

Drew

02-04-2012, 06:36 PM

-Which brings us to the Heat crushing the 76ers... again. The 76ers are -20.5 points per game against the Heat and +13.1 against everyone else. Their largest loss against anyone else is (inexplicably) an overtime loss by 7 points to the Nets. It's pretty astonishing, on paper they seem like they could match up well with the Heat: competitive athleticism, an elite wing defender in Iguodala, a good coach, very low turnovers, reasonably good 3PT shooting, defend well without fouling... yet the Heat just annihilate them. The Heat even managed to shoot a higher 3PT than FT percentage last night, which really ought to be impossible. I didn't get to watch either game on TV, did anyone else? Anything stand out?

I watched it. The Heat had a 5-10 point lead for most of the first half but stretched it to ~20 by the end of the 3rd quarter. The 76ers looked totally lost, they couldn't get any easy drives, the Heat pushed them around in the paint and defended hard, made them settle for bad jumpers. This team looked like one of the worst in the league last night. The Heat looked totally energized which is funny compared to the Bucks game where they looked like the didn't care.

Stanley Burrell

02-04-2012, 11:08 PM

This should probably be X-posted from things that blew my mind today, but ... I'm awake, right?

And if so, I think, let me rub my eyes and self-administer a drug test to see if there's something in the water. Uh. Yeah.

Yeah, so, I think a Chinese point guard Harvard grad just secured a win for the Knicks.

Latrinsorm

02-05-2012, 07:24 PM

Kobe is endlessly fascinating to me. I can't think of a better example of potential vs. ego, and for today's data point I would like to consider the % of team FGAs an individual player has. All-time, there have been 4 seasons where a player took 30% or more of his team's FGAs, and you'll never guess who they were:

1. Wilt Chamberlain, 1962 Warriors, 35.38%
2. Kobe Bryant, 2006 Lakers, 32.89%
3. Wilt Chamberlain, 1963 Warriors, 32.78%
4. Michael Jordan, 1987 Bulls, 31.85%

The first interesting point is that none of these teams won championships. The 1962 Warriors lost in 7 games to the eventual champion Celtics in the Eastern finals, the 2006 Lakers lost in 7 games to the Suns in the first round, the 1963 Warriors missed the playoffs by 3 games, and the 1987 Bulls were swept in 3 games in the first round by the Celtics. Interesting aside, there were 6 playoff spots for 9 teams in 1963, so... pretty pathetic on the Warriors' part.

The second interesting point is that Kobe is the only player whose FG% was lower than the team's:

1. 50.6% to 43.9%
2. 45.0% to 45.3%
3. 52.8% to 45.0%
4. 48.2% to 47.3%

So far this year, the average value for a leading FGA taker is 19.0%, and 11 teams have a player with 20% or more of the team's FGAs:

Player | Pct | Team
Bryant | 30.86% | Los Angeles Lakers
Durant | 24.73% | Oklahoma City Thunder
James | 23.23% | Miami Heat
Ellis | 22.17% | Golden State Warriors
Love | 22.05% | Minnesota Timberwolves
Aldridge | 22.00% | Portland Trail Blazers
Anthony | 21.42% | New York Knicks
Jennings | 21.18% | Milwaukee Bucks
Griffin | 20.72% | Los Angeles Clippers
Williams | 20.59% | New Jersey Nets
Gay | 20.24% | Memphis Grizzlies

And yes, there is Kobe all by himself topping 30%. Once again he is slightly below his team's FG%: 44.7% for Kobe, 45.5% for the entire team. (It's also interesting to see three guys who are nominally point guards on the list.)

Now, a common refrain on the 2006 season is that the supporting cast was poor, therefore Kobe needed to take that many shots for the team to have a chance. His style of play dramatically changed between 2005 and 2006, and the Lakers had a much better record, so there you have it, right? The problem is that the Lakers' offensive rating (a measure of points scored per 100 possessions) was almost identical from year to year: 108.1 to 108.4. It was dramatically improved defense that made the Lakers better off: their defensive rating went from 111.4 (dead last) to 105.7 (dead middle).

In much the same way, we can compare the Laker teams of the Pau Gasol era, starting with his first full year with the team:
Year - ORtg - Kobe FGA% - DRtg - Finish
2009 - 112.8 - 24.5% - 104.7 - Champions
2010 - 108.8 - 22.8% - 103.7 - Champions
2011 - 111.0 - 24.3% - 104.3 - Second Round
2012 - 103.7 - 30.9% - 100.9 - ???

See what I mean? The Laker offense has not improved with Kobe taking more shots, the only thing keeping them alive is defense. Leaguewide Rtg has gone down about 4.5 since last year, so relative to the mean they've gotten worse on both ends. These also aren't the Chris Mihm and Smush Parker Lakers, Kobe has extremely talented offensive teammates in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. That trio on paper should be extremely competitive, even title contenders, but they're scuffling to even make the playoffs at the moment. Isn't it possible, even plausible that Kobe being Kobe is the problem? Isn't it also possible that Kobe being Kobe has always been the problem?

This is what I mean about potential: what if Kobe had been happy with 15-17 shots a game instead of needing 20+? Isn't it possible we could be talking about a guy threatening double digit rings (team) instead of a guy stubbornly and hopelessly gunning for Kareem's points record (self)?

Latrinsorm

02-07-2012, 02:46 PM

As if on cue, last night's Lakers 76ers game. As anyone with half a brain would expect, the 76ers are getting dominated inside. Bynum and Gasol are crushing Hawes and Vucevic, to the tune of 36 to 16 points on 27 to 20(!) shots and 31 to 11(!!) rebounds. Entering the 4th quarter, the Lakers are down 1. The Laker response? Kobe takes 10 jump shots from an average of 16.6 feet, making only 1, drawing 0 fouls.

Despite all this, the Lakers are clinging to a 2 point lead with 3 minutes to go, 88-86. What happens next?
-Kobe misses jumper, Bynum rebound.
-Kobe turnover, 76ers score 2.
-Kobe misses jumper, 76ers score 3.
-Kobe misses jumper, Gasol rebound and fouled but the Lakers aren't in the bonus yet(???). It's only the 4th team foul on the 76ers. 1 drawn by Bynum, and 3 drawn by Gasol in only 5 minutes played.
-Kobe misses jumper, 76ers score 2.
-Kobe finally makes, Lou Williams finally misses, Lakers rebound.

Lakers have the ball, down 3, 43 seconds left. They have at least two timeouts left but don't call one. 12 seconds into the shot clock Kobe misses a 2(???). Pau misses a tip, the 76ers control. The Lakers are down 3 with 22 seconds left, but wait 11 seconds(???) to foul Lou Williams. He makes both, game over.

Anyone can have a bad game, but this really seems representative of a larger trend to me. Mike Brown is a terrible offensive coach, Kobe Bryant is out of control. As a result, the Lakers are a mediocre team. They don't have a single convincing win over a quality opponent, and have been convincingly beaten by the Blazers, the Heat, even the Magic. It's on one hand a testament to Kobe's astonishing skill level that they're even competitive with this style of play, and on the other an indictment of Kobe's astonishing style of play that a team with so much talent is merely competitive.

eta: One other thing I wanted to point out. Kobe took 26 shots, Bynum and Gasol combined only took 27. It's just comical. Counting shooting fouls, the numbers go to 28 vs. 31. Remarkably, no Laker had an and-1 opportunity in the game.

Atlanteax

02-08-2012, 11:40 AM

Agreed on Mike Brown not being an offensive coach ... I figured Lakers lost because Bryant went from Hot to Cold, but for a guy who so badly wants to win and be deep into the playoffs again, not sure why he did not recognize that his bigs had the advantage as you pointed out.

Latrinsorm

02-10-2012, 02:25 AM

Caught a few minutes of the Thunder game, and they are simultaneously amazing and awful to watch. Everything is iso, iso, iso... but Westbrook is unbelievable, Durant is unbelievable, even Harden and Collison are fun to watch in isolation. Defensively same thing: Westbrook and Harden gamble on everything, but with Ibaka backing them up, I mean, why not?

So I looked up every team's Assist rate on hoopdata.com, and sure enough OKC is 28th in the league, and are only tied for 28th with the Wizards. Dead last: Sacramento. Apparently a team full of shoot-first ball hogs doesn't get a lot of assists, go figure.

Another interesting thing is that Durant's percentage of FGs assisted is down to 45% this year from 62% last year. Westbrook's percentage of teammate's FGs assisted is also down: 33% this year, 43% last year.

Last interesting thing I saw in the stats: Harden's rate of FTA to FGA. Here are the top 10 guys in the NBA who have played at least 500 minutes so far this season:

Chandler NYK (has more FTAs than FGAs)
Howard ORL (90%)
Perkins OKC (63%)
Harden OKC (63%)
Shelden Williams NJN (58%)
Jordan LAC (57%)
Pachulia ATL (54%)
Haywood DAL (53%)
James MIA (52%)
Stuckey DET (50%)

I haven't seen him play much, but whatever he's doing is really working, obviously. It got me interested, so I checked the values for Wade and Bryant: 39% (36th!!) and 32% (61st!!!) respectively. It's unreal how many points Bryant is scoring while ice cold from 3 and not drawing any FTs. I also checked Jordan's career value: 36%. I thought it would be higher. Even at his peak he didn't crack 50%. Makes you wonder what he would put up in today's NBA. My guess is a lot of points.

SHAFT

02-10-2012, 03:12 AM

Lebron looks like the MVP and Kobe looks like the scoring champ. I'm curious to see how the lakers handle Jeremy Lin. Even more curious to see if Lin can keep this up. I wish the lakers had him

Latrinsorm

02-13-2012, 12:37 AM

The Miami-Atlanta game was just hard to watch. I don't know if it's a mic situation or what but the Atlanta crowd is brutal. Obviously it's harder to make noise when you're watching a beat down like this, but come on. The only thing I remember hearing was half-hearted boos of LeBron at the FT line.

I lost track of how many unforced turnovers and near-turnovers the Hawks had. Miami was intermittently playing great defense, but even in the lulls the Hawks were hurling the ball around the court with reckless abandon. Bored and uninspired on offense, downright lazy on defense, Hubie said it best: lackadaisical. On the James dunk off the Wade layup and the Anthony rebound off the Bosh missed 3, the Heat players were literally untouched. And it's not like the Hawks were out of position, there were 2 and 3 bodies in the area, they just didn't care.

Even with how pathetic the Hawks were, it was nice to see the Heat playing hard and smart for the first 2.5 quarters. There were some lucky long jumpers, but it seemed like the majority was good ball movement, good effort (on offense and defense), high % shots.

I wonder if the Hawks work as a Thunder Lite. Teague as a poor man's Westbrook, Smith as a very poor man's Ibaka, Johnson as a homeless man's Durant. (Harden's beard is inimitable.) Iso-heavy offense plus unusual athleticism, before tonight they had identical margin of victory... bit of a stretch, but it makes me feel more comfortable about the prospect of a Heat-Thunder Finals.

Ardwen

02-13-2012, 01:20 AM

Rondo was amazing in todays game, if the Celtics could actually manage to play consistently I'd be a lot more able to judge what they are doing this year

Latrinsorm

02-15-2012, 01:16 AM

Heat sweeping the road back-to-back-to-back against 2 playoff teams and the scrappy Bucks, by 20 18 and 15, with largest leads of 32 24 and 35, and with every opponent having at least one day off before. Astonishingly dominant performance, to quote Hubie Brown on witnessing a LeBron post-up... "We've been waiting!"

Here are the largest gaps between 1st place and 2nd place PER since the 1977-1978 season, when turnovers were first recorded and therefore when PER can first be properly calculated:

2012: 5.5: James - Paul
2001: 5.2: O'Neal - Carter
1999: 4.9: O'Neal - Malone
1978: 4.4: Abdul-Jabbar - Lanier
1989: 4.1: Jordan - Barkley
1990: 4.0: Jordan - Malone
1988: 3.9: Jordan - Bird
2000: 3.5: O'Neal - Malone
2010: 3.1: James - Wade
1987: 2.8: Jordan - Johnson
Perhaps counter-intuitively, of these seasons only 1988 Jordan, 2000 Shaq, and 2010 James received the MVP. In any event, it's pretty astonishing how completely LeBron has separated himself from the field. His would also be the highest single-season PER ever recorded if he keeps it up, as well as giving him a third 30+ season, tying him with Shaq for the second most behind Jordan's 4.

LeBron's shot selection is much publicized, but it's interesting to look at the hoopdata.com breakdown by zones. His % of long (16+) attempts is 45.7%, the average of the previous 5 years is 49.2%. That seems pretty subtle, doesn't it? More interesting to me is his assist %, which measures how many of his baskets are assisted by teammates. His last 4 years in Cleveland averaged 34.6%, then it went down to 32.3% last year, and this year it's up to 38.0%. It's almost too neat, but obviously it makes sense that if you are assisted on +5%, your field goal percentage is going to go up ~+5% too, bing bang boom 32 PER. Getting up to 8 rebounds and 7 assists a game is pretty sweet too, the only guys to ever do that with 25+ points per game were Jordan, Bird, Havlicek, and Robertson. LeBron historically great, same old same old.

Drew

02-15-2012, 02:45 AM

I flipped between the Heat-Pacers and Knicks-Rockets. The Heat are so good right now that even games against relatively quality opponents on back to back to backs are boring affairs. The way this team is putting it all together does breaking the Bulls single season win record seem at all unlikely next year?

Latrinsorm

02-15-2012, 05:52 PM

It's pretty hard to win 73 games, especially if you aren't neurotically competitive like Jordan was, I don't think I would go that far. The pythagorean w-l formula puts the Heat at 75.6 wins if we take the last 4 games, there's barely any margin for error even with them playing jawdroppingly well. It makes me crazy when people disagree that Jordan is clearly the best player of all time. The guy screwed around playing baseball for a couple years, then led his team to the most dominant two year stretch of all time.

I do expect the Heat to be championship favorites when the playoffs roll around this year, though. Me and Dirk still aren't scared of anyone out West, the Bulls desperately need a new offense, the Celtics have both feet in the grave, the Hawks are still the Hawks, Superman will learn to fear Big Pitt, the 76ers and Pacers are demonstrably worse than the Heat... it's looking pretty good. Cue Dwyane Wade rupturing a kidney.

Drew

02-15-2012, 05:58 PM

Tom Haberstroh just said that LeBron - from an efficiency standpoint - is having a better year than any year Jordan ever had.

Latrinsorm

02-15-2012, 06:14 PM

Tom Haberstroh just said that LeBron - from an efficiency standpoint - is having a better year than any year Jordan ever had.Can you imagine if Jordan could play in today's NBA? He's a significantly better free throw shooter than LeBron, the talent is more diluted (only 25-27 teams in Jordan's athletic prime), he would have grown up with a 3 pointer rather than have it invented when he was halfway through college. Could he have scored 40 a game for a season? Would the inevitable Jordan-Wade duels be the greatest ever, or by far the greatest ever?

Ardwen

02-15-2012, 08:05 PM

Parkbandit

02-15-2012, 08:21 PM

http://hoopeduponline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/linsanity_tee_w.jpg

Drew

02-15-2012, 08:38 PM

Drew

02-15-2012, 08:39 PM

http://hoopeduponline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/linsanity_tee_w.jpg

That's a woman's shirt. Are you trying to tell us something PB?

Keller

02-15-2012, 08:42 PM

http://hoopeduponline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/linsanity_tee_w.jpg

That will look cute on you.

Drew

02-15-2012, 08:44 PM

It's a deep V bro.

Latrinsorm

02-16-2012, 06:16 PM

I still think Bill Russell is the best player that ever played, sure it was a different era, but his defense metrics were ridiculous, and the man just did not know how to lose, Jordan is the modern era's best player, be it the shot clock era or whatever.You're making me crazy. Bill Russell is physically smaller than LeBron James, and shot a scant 3% better from the FT line than Shaq. If he had played today he would be Ben Wallace. Put Jordan in any era and he would dominate, let alone on a team with 9 other Hall of Famers or whatever it was.

Latrinsorm

02-19-2012, 07:45 PM

Taking into account today's game and the last Heat game against the Magic, it looks like we've found the only team that has a prayer of beating the Heat... the Heat. When their focus is on, they are killing everyone. Home. Road. Rested. Back to back to back. Good teams. Middling teams.

Poor J.J. Reddick. I'm not sure I've ever seen an NBA player just fail to vertically reach an easy rebound like that. A slightly less obvious but still pretty terrible Magic play was at about 8 minutes in the 3rd quarter, on the James to Wade layup. He and Anderson were ball-watching and so far out of position that Anderson (who was "guarding" Bosh) almost accidentally bumped into Wade as he made his move to the basket.

.

A fairly crude measure of efficiency is points per field goal attempt, but one I still like. It favors shooting a high percentage and getting lots of free throw attempts, which I figure are good things. Anyway, LeBron was at 1.51 pts/FGA before an incandescent 25 on 14 today, and is averaging 28 points per game on the season. Here is the complete list of players who have averaged at least 28 points and at least 1.5 pts/FGA for a full season:

Adrian Dantley (4 times!!!)
Charles Barkley
Karl Malone

Not bad company. Throw in 8 rebounds, 7 assists, (legitimate) All-NBA defense, the #1 overall seed for good measure, the best PER of all time... this season is pretty special. For reference, the current scoring leader (Kobe Bryant) has about 1 more point per game on about 5.5 more field goal attempts, which is just crazy.

For a bit more reference, the absolute highest value I can find for a full season is Cedric Maxwell's 19 points per game with 1.88 pts/FGA in 1979, although Tyson Chandler is currently averaging 12 on an astonishing 2.12 pts/FGA. This value comes from three things: shooting 70% from the field and the line, shooting almost exactly as many FTs as FGs, and general Linsanity.

Stanley Burrell

02-19-2012, 09:19 PM

I can't use any logical rebuttal against PP/FGA.

You're hired.

Stretch

02-19-2012, 09:51 PM

People who believe too much in statistics fall prey to the belief that Karl Malone was the greatest power forward of all time, and therefore are not real NBA fans.

Ardwen

02-19-2012, 10:38 PM

How bout the logic of winning more titles then anyone, and winning in college with a team that clearly wasnt top tier at san francisco university, twice

Stretch

02-19-2012, 10:54 PM

I'm pretty sure there's a rule somewhere that says that nothing that happened before the NBA/ABA merger counts.

Ardwen

02-19-2012, 11:09 PM

Thats like saying hockey after the original six doesnt count

Parkbandit

02-19-2012, 11:12 PM

That's a woman's shirt. Are you trying to tell us something PB?

Yea.. I like women and thought Linsanity was funny.

That will look cute on you.

Sorry, still not interested.

Parkbandit

02-19-2012, 11:14 PM

People who believe too much in statistics fall prey to the belief that Karl Malone was the greatest power forward of all time, and therefore are not real NBA fans.

Precisely.

DoctorUnne

02-20-2012, 12:07 AM

OKC's box score today was ridonculous. Check out Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka

thefarmer

02-20-2012, 12:20 AM

I'll be the token azn here and just add in Lulz Linsanity.

Drew

02-20-2012, 01:13 AM

If you didn't see the SNL cold open last night it was on point:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/331272/saturday-night-live-cold-opening-linsanity-postgame#s-p2-sr-i1

thefarmer

02-20-2012, 03:27 AM

If you didn't see the SNL cold open last night it was on point:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/331272/saturday-night-live-cold-opening-linsanity-postgame#s-p2-sr-i1

LOLZ

Parkbandit

02-20-2012, 09:02 AM

If you didn't see the SNL cold open last night it was on point:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/331272/saturday-night-live-cold-opening-linsanity-postgame#s-p2-sr-i1

lol. It's hilarious because it's funny.

Making fun of Asians: Culturally acceptable
Making fun of Blacks: DON'T YOU DARE! THAT IS LINSENSITIVE!

Keller

02-20-2012, 11:29 AM

thefarmer

02-20-2012, 11:32 AM

Parkbandit

02-20-2012, 12:11 PM

Ways we make fun of Asians: they are smart, can't pronounce their Ls, and have small eyes.

Ways we make fun of Blacks: they're poor, irresponsible, and have illegitimate children.

You're right, I don't see any difference at all.

Ways we make fun of Asians: They have small penises, can't play sports well and are terrible drivers.

Ways we make fun of blacks: They have giant penises, play sports too well and drive stolen cars well.

Keller

02-20-2012, 12:11 PM

Ways we make fun of Asians: They have small penises, can't play sports well and are terrible drivers.

Ways we make fun of blacks: They have giant penises, play sports too well and drive stolen cars well.

I leave the penii expertise to you.

Latrinsorm

02-20-2012, 01:44 PM

People who believe too much in statistics fall prey to the belief that Karl Malone was the greatest power forward of all time, and therefore are not real NBA fans.Do you have any statistics to back that claim up? :)
How bout the logic of winning more titles then anyone, and winning in college with a team that clearly wasnt top tier at san francisco university, twiceWho was a better player, Robert Horry or Larry Bird?

If you answer Larry Bird, you are correct and you have demonstrated that "winning more titles" does not necessarily mean being a better player.
If you answer Robert Horry, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, you are a dope.

I also can't help but notice how you didn't address the part about Russell playing in a dramatically weaker, shorter, less athletic era. If you could pluck any NBA player in history fresh out of high school and plop them on a team today with a 20 year contract, would you take Russell over Jordan?

Ardwen

02-20-2012, 01:54 PM

Silly question, I'm from Boston I'd take Russell. How many of those players that played with Russell would have been hall of famers without him, how many players did Jordan improve enough to be considered hall of fame caliber? Great players make the players around them great, Jordan did it, Russell did it, Kobe is doing it, I have yet to see any evidence that LeBron has ever done it

Latrinsorm

02-20-2012, 06:27 PM

Silly question, I'm from Boston I'd take Russell.So you're telling me if Danny drafted a 6'9 center with no scoring touch this year, you would think that was a good idea?
How many of those players that played with Russell would have been hall of famers without him, how many players did Jordan improve enough to be considered hall of fame caliber? Great players make the players around them great, Jordan did it, Russell did it, Kobe is doing it, I have yet to see any evidence that LeBron has ever done itRodman doesn't make the HOF without the 3 Bulls titles, no? Not HOF, but Horace Grant certainly never sniffs the All-Star game without Jordan, no? Not to mention that fat Magic contract.

-With LeBron, Sasha Pavlovic started Finals games. Without LeBron, he barely gets playing time on the injury-ravaged Celtics.
-The Cavs went from 61-21 and the overall #1 seed with him to 19-63 and the overall #1 pick without.
-LeBron even got Mike Brown a coach of the year award.

Also, your arrow of causation on Kobe is backwards. Caron Butler became an All-Star only after he left the Lakers, for instance, and Kobe's team famously struggled when he didn't have a teammate who was previously elite without him. While LeBron was carrying guys like the aforementioned Pavlovic deep into the playoffs Kobe was getting run by the Suns. Did Kobe forget that he was a great player for that 3 year stretch? If LeBron's team wins the title this year, does that suddenly mean he was great in Cleveland after all? What if he has a below average performance in the Finals and the Heat win anyway?

Constal

02-22-2012, 10:27 PM

Furthermore, Mike Brown got the coaching job in LA because of Lebron :) He should've called Lebron before Kobe just to thank him after he found out (but he probably did do just that!)

Latrinsorm

02-24-2012, 01:21 AM

Knicks at Heat: alternatively great and excruciating to watch.

-Chalmers playing with a bigger chip on his shoulder than usual, with his first dunk of the season off a strip of Lin. Not to be outdone, Cole does the same in the 2nd quarter and almost breaks his arm failing the dismount. Pretty astonishing for both to have their first dunks of the season on identical plays, perhaps indicative of the most important Lin backlash... every other PG in the league is just dying to one-up him, and with his fumbleitis they get plenty of opportunities.

-Chris Bosh!!!!!!!! Who pissed in his cornflakes? That's the most ferocious I can remember him playing, and he was going against/over/through Chandler most of the time, not just picking on Amar'e or Jeffries. I counted 10 strong or aggressive plays, but oddly none came in the Miami Raptors lineups of Bosh without James and Wade. It could make sense in that the defense clearly would key on him in those situations and clearly wouldn't with James or Wade on the court, I suppose.

-Baron Davis!!!!! What in God's name was that. First of all, what's with the #85. You can't out-crazy J.R. Smith, don't even try. Second, you're fighting for playing time, what was with the atrocious shot selection. There was the brick of a 3 pointer near the end of the 3rd quarter with 10+ seconds on the shot clock, but that was topped by being well-covered off the dribble and deciding to bomb a 27 footer. Really? That's how you win your starting job back? Finally, how pathetic is not even jumping for the jump ball against Battier. I mean really. I don't think I've ever seen a player just give up on a jump ball like that. He allegedly played 14 minutes but it seemed like he was off the court for hours at a time. Even Toney Douglas was playing better... well, ok, no. But he wasn't playing much worse.

-Steve Novak, how do you get called for offensive 3 seconds. Your job is to shoot 3s. You cannot shoot a 3 from the paint. That's not how it works.

-Jeremy Lin played very poorly, but! The energy level goes through the roof whenever he is on the court, and goes into the toilet whenever he leaves. The Knicks, the Heat, the crowd, the announcers, everyone. It's fascinating. It's especially fascinating going from Lin and Not 'Melo to Everyone Stand Around While 'Melo Isolates. I love a chance to go grab a snack without having to pause the game.

-Favorite Heat possession early in the 3rd: Joel fights his way to getting half a hand on a rebound and punches it out to Chalmers, who passes to James at the 3pt line, who does not shoot but passes it to Wade on the baseline, who does not take the contested 10 footer but passes it to Bosh for a wide open dunk. No heroes! It's such a simple game.

-Battier is hitting 3s even on bad passes now. This is exciting, although James Jones is probably pretty annoyed.

-James' line of 20 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks. Since the 1986 season, the following players have had at least 2 games with at least that many in each category:
LeBron James (2)
Alvin Robertson (2, both losses)
Charles Barkley (2)
Jason Kidd (2)
Scottie Pippen (2)
.
Michael Jordan (3)
Hakeem Olajuwon (3, all three against the Warriors)
This includes Hakeem's kind-of quadruple double: 29 points, 18 rebounds, 10 or 9 assists depending on who you ask, 5 steals, 11(!!!) blocks. (In his definitely-a quadruple double, he only had 1 steal. Slacker.) LeBron is statistically astonishing; sing us a new one.

Drew

02-24-2012, 02:27 AM

The ball movement is the biggest revelation for this Heat team; aside from D-wade playing second fiddle. No one on the Heat will say it but it's eminently clear from watching him. D-wade used to only move north-to-south, including last season. Now he spends most of the time moving east-to-west (mostly without the ball). This is the biggest piece that has made the Heat dangerous in the half-court. With Wade as the wanderer he's too dangerous not to cover but if you do cover him Lebron is free to drive to the basket in an iso or at best late help. This one change in attitude has changed the whole dynamic for the team and has made them the most dangerous basketball team I've ever seen.

Parkbandit

02-24-2012, 08:58 AM

THE FACTS

1. Jeremy Lin is Asian American, not Asian (more specifically, Taiwanese American). It's an important distinction and one that should be considered before any references to former NBA players such as Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, who were Chinese. Lin's experiences were fundamentally different than people who immigrated to play in the NBA. Lin progressed through the ranks of American basketball from high school to college to the NBA, and to characterize him as a foreigner is both inaccurate and insulting.

2. Lin's path to Madison Square Garden: More than 300 division schools passed on him. Harvard University has had only three other graduates go on to the NBA, the most recent one being in the 1950s. No NBA team wanted Lin in the draft after he graduated from Harvard.

3. Journalists don't assume that African American players identify with NBA players who emigrated from Africa. The same principle applies with Asian Americans. It's fair to ask Lin whether he looked up to or took pride in the accomplishments of Asian players. He may have. It's unfair and poor journalism to assume he did.

4. Lin is not the first Asian American to play in the National Basketball Association. Raymond Townsend, who's of Filipino descent, was a first-round choice of the Golden State Warriors in the 1970s. Rex Walters, who is of Japanese descent, was a first-round draft pick by the New Jersey Nets out of the University of Kansas in 1993 and played seven seasons in the NBA; Walters is now the coach at University of San Francisco. Wat Misaka is believed to have been the first Asian American to play professional basketball in the United States. Misaka, who's of Japanese descent, appeared in three games for the New York Knicks in the 1947-48 season when the Knicks were part of the Basketball Association of America, which merged with the NBA after the 1948-49 season.

DANGER ZONES

"CHINK": Pejorative; do not use in a context involving an Asian person on someone who is Asian American. Extreme care is needed if using the well-trod phrase "chink in the armor"; be mindful that the context does not involve Asia, Asians or Asian Americans. (The appearance of this phrase with regard to Lin led AAJA MediaWatch to issue statement to ESPN, which subsequently disciplined its employees.)

DRIVING: This is part of the sport of basketball, but resist the temptation to refer to an "Asian who knows how to drive."

EYE SHAPE: This is irrelevant. Do not make such references if discussing Lin's vision.

FOOD: Is there a compelling reason to draw a connection between Lin and fortune cookies, takeout boxes or similar imagery? In the majority of news coverage, the answer will be no.

MARTIAL ARTS: You're writing about a basketball player. Don't conflate his skills with judo, karate, tae kwon do, etc. Do not refer to Lin as "Grasshopper" or similar names associated with martial-arts stereotypes.

"ME LOVE YOU LIN TIME": Avoid. This is a lazy pun on the athlete's name and alludes to the broken English of a Hollywood caricature from the 1980s.

"YELLOW MAMBA": This nickname that some have used for Lin plays off the "Black Mamba" nickname used by NBA star Kobe Bryant. It should be avoided. Asian immigrants in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries were subjected to discriminatory treatment resulting from a fear of a "Yellow Peril" that was touted in the media, which led to legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/asian-american-journalists-association-releases-guidelines-jeremy-lin-155822233.html

When I first read this list, I thought it was satire.. but unfortunately, it's real.

Constal

02-24-2012, 04:46 PM

NEW YORK CHINKABOCKER! :P Teehee, just had a ring to it.. I know I'm an idiot, having said that, it was mostly for chuckles

Latrinsorm

03-01-2012, 08:55 PM

Age ain't nothing but a number, and the Celtics are #1.Sources say Boston aggressively (http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/7631850/sources-boston-celtics-aggressively-trying-trade-guard-rajon-rondo) trying to trade Rondo. Skipped right over actively. Sorry bro. (Danny Ainge promptly lies through his teeth (http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4690365/ainge-rondo-is-celtics-best-player). He's no Steve Kerr.)

DoctorUnne

03-01-2012, 11:54 PM

Danny Ainge sucks. Never should have traded Perkins. I hope he wins a title with the Thunder.

I was despondent when they got rid of Posey. I actually said right then that the Celtics would not win another title with that group. Posey was so important to that team.

Latrinsorm

03-02-2012, 03:52 PM

Great game last night.

-As was widely reported, LeBron defends 1 through 5. I think what's really understated is what a smart coaching ploy it is to have LeBron defend these particular 5s, though: Chandler and Camby are quintessential "no plays called for them" guys, all you really have to do is box them out and rarely defend a basic pick and roll. LeBron already has a microscopic foul rate, this defending amplifies that and reduces the energy he has to spend on the defensive end. It also frees up Joel Anthony or Haslem to guard the scoring big man: Stoudamire for the Knicks or Aldridge for the Trailblazers. The only thing I would change is making LeBron take the opening tip. It would make almost no practical difference, but there's a reason people love that clip of Magic taking the opening tip in the Finals.

-I'm a little concerned about Wade. He seemed to get shut down pretty easily by Batum on a number of occasions off the dribble... although I just checked Batum on 82games.com and for the year he's holding SG to a 1.9(!!!) PER, and Wade did score 33 points, so maybe I'm overreacting. He also muffed another dunk, which seems to be happening a lot recently. I think he throws bad passes to LeBron on purpose, though: like when you're playing football and you tell the QB to make you dive for it to look cool.

-Rust! The Blazers open a 14-6 lead, then proceed to get outscored 54-28 for the rest of the half, then get outscored 13-6 to start the second half. Between the first spurt and when Spo decided to get extended PT for Pitt and Cole, the Heat doubled up the Blazers, an underachieving but still borderline playoff team. Just astonishing.

-Speaking of Pitt and Cole, man do they need some work. Pittman just isn't fast enough for Miami defense and compounds it by making bad decisions/mistakes. On the plus side, he fights on everything: FT rebounds*, loose balls, regular rebounds, and then a little too far with the ref and gets a T. Good hands, good size, and good hustle are a pretty good starting point. I can see it taking until next year for him to get a bead on the mental part though, with no practice and no training camp. Cole continues to mess up fast breaks, which should be impossible on this team. This along with the * above illustrate two of the faults LeBron has on the court: he hardly ever tries for FT rebounds on offense, which conceivably might be a good play by the numbers (low chance at rebound, high chance to foul?) but is really annoying to watch; he gets visibly annoyed when teammates screw up easy plays, not just Cole on the break but Anthony catching and finishing around the rim and others. LeBron could still get (very slightly) better!

-Last thing I noticed today: LeBron is playing a career low minutes per game (36.9, previous low 37.7), Wade is playing by far a career low (32.3 to 34.9), Bosh is playing the second lowest of his career (35.2 to 33.5). That they're the best performing team in the NBA and getting relative rest for their stars is downright scary.

Drew

03-02-2012, 04:08 PM

I agree you might be overreacting a little bit to Wade. A double-double and 33 points is a pretty amazing game by any standard. Good observation about LeBron guarding the weaker of the talls. I hadn't considered that. I think the most important point you're hitting on is the minutes played. This team always looks fresh, come the playoffs that might play big dividends. Not in a game 1, but maybe in a game 6 or 7 after 2 or 3 series when everyone's stars have been playing 42+ minutes a game.

DoctorUnne

03-03-2012, 01:39 AM

Seriously LeBron? LePass to Udonis? I think he's as statistically amazing as the next guy, but dude has to start taking the last shot or he's never going to live this down

Constal

03-03-2012, 02:27 AM

Seriously LeBron? LePass to Udonis? I think he's as statistically amazing as the next guy, but dude has to start taking the last shot or he's never going to live this down

Agreeeed. Yes, he passed it to the open man, Haslem, who is totally capable of knocking that shot down. He's been doing it for years, but not with the game on the line. Final shot possession, you want the ball in your best players hand and to take the final shot. He can drive to the lane pretty much at will whenever he wants and could've drawn a foul, or pulled up and taken the shot. Worst case scenerio, he passes to Haslem who misses the wide open shot. Second to worse case scenerio, Lebron misses the shot and they lose. How would you rather lose?

Drew

03-03-2012, 05:28 AM

I knew people would be killing LeBron even though he did EVERYthing right that game. He was the only reason he was in that game, he hit two contested 3s in the last ~minute, he was the one who led them back from 18 down. If anyone is to be blamed for losing that game it should be Wade, he missed the free throw that cost them the game. He had 2 bad fouls in the last minute. LeBron made the right pass to a wide open guy who was on his spot. Sometimes people just miss, it doesn't make it the wrong play.

DoctorUnne

03-03-2012, 09:40 AM

I'm sure it was the right play. But in that situation Jordan wouldn't have made the right play. Kobe wouldn't have made the right play. And as long as he still has the reputation of shying away from the clutch, people are going to kill him for plays like that.

I'm upset because I actually like LeBron a lot and I think there's no reason why he shouldn't be known as a great closer. The three he hit with 30 seconds left was ridiculous. Even if he shoots 40% from the field taking those last shots which means there's a better option, no one's going to remember the 60% he misses. He just has to take them.

Latrinsorm

03-03-2012, 02:51 PM

Seriously LeBron? LePass to Udonis? I think he's as statistically amazing as the next guy, but dude has to start taking the last shot or he's never going to live this down
Final shot possession, you want the ball in your best players hand and to take the final shot.I can think of no better term for this than the Kobe Effect. Somewhere along the line it became publicly acceptable for the best player on the team to take every shot, no matter how ridiculously covered. There's a great picture of Kobe taking a shot in the Finals against the magic with literally 4 people defending him (well ok, 3 defenders and JJ Reddick).
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/0126/nba_g_kbryant1_576.jpg
Obviously, the Lakers won those Finals. No one can argue that they won the Finals. The relevant question is did they win the Finals because of Kobe taking those shots or despite Kobe taking those shots?

The good doctor Unne alludes to this later: what should be more important, being popularly renowned as a closer/winner/etc., or contributing to your team's overall performance? It also provides a fascinating opportunity for sociological insight. Kobe is famously insecure, and whenever he has been in charge he has gone for the first option at the clear expense of the second, yet this is perceived as him rising to the occasion, as not shrinking in the clutch. Isn't that completely bass ackwards?

Latrinsorm

03-04-2012, 01:08 PM

I noticed something cool today. There are exactly 12 players with 2 or more MVP awards in NBA history:

Kareem
Jordan
Russell
Chamberlain
Bird
Johnson
M. Malone
Duncan
LeBron
K. Malone
Nash
Pettit

12 players makes a team, so how would you set them up? I went:
PG Nash
SG Jordan
SF Bird
PF LeBron
C Russell

Magic backup PG, Chamberlain backup C, and everyone else is a backup forward/center/make LeBron play SG. It might make more sense to have LeBron the de jure backup SG and start someone else, though.

.

Also interesting to me: 10 of the 12 were physically large men for their era, the only exceptions being Michael Jordan and Steve Nash, and usually played PF/C or both. It's kind of obvious, but the exceptions are still interesting.

Stretch

03-04-2012, 01:51 PM

You would put LeBron at PF? Really?

SHAFT

03-04-2012, 01:53 PM

Magic
Jordan
Bird
Russell
Chamberlain

At some point Lebron just has to stop being a pussy and dominate the end of a game. He has to seal the victory on his own and it has to be a memorable game. Or they have to win the title this year and it has to be because of him, not Wade. That's the only way Lebron loses the stigma of not being clutch in big moments.

Drew

03-04-2012, 02:17 PM

The good doctor Unne alludes to this later: what should be more important, being popularly renowned as a closer/winner/etc., or contributing to your team's overall performance? It also provides a fascinating opportunity for sociological insight. Kobe is famously insecure, and whenever he has been in charge he has gone for the first option at the clear expense of the second, yet this is perceived as him rising to the occasion, as not shrinking in the clutch. Isn't that completely bass ackwards?

Can LeBron James Do Anything Right?

Following the Miami Heat loss to the Utah Jazz, a loss in which LeBron scored 17 in the fourth quarter but passed on the final possession, the argument goes like this: "It was the right 'basketball' play, but I would like to see LeBron take that shot." Or, as ESPN's resident basketball-as-played in-a-vacuum analyst Jon Barry put it: "Great basketball play? Yes. Bad timing? Absolutely." This, in a nutshell, is the story of LeBron's career as told by talking heads. And this, in a nutshell, is total bullshit.

Putting aside the very legitimate argument that the Heat would not have been in a position to win the game without LeBron making two huge three-point shots in the final minute (or the equally legitimate argument that they may not have been in a position to lose the game without Dwyane Wade forgetting he played basketball and not hockey), do you want to have your cake, or eat it? To criticize a player for doing the right thing but, by definition, wishing he did the wrong thing is about the most disingenuous thing a fan or pundit can do. Aside from claiming the play was correct but for when it occurred, that is.

The respect of sports fans—and those who are paid to tell sports fans what to think—is gained in one of two ways: being so awe-inspiringly good one can only shake his head in disbelief or playing the game the "right way." We love superstars and we love team players. LeBron James by most accounts is both and can't seem to win either way.

LeBron is a physical specimen capable of doing just about anything on the court himself yet he also understands how to play basketball within a team structure. He is praised for his "court vision" and can pass and find the open man. What's more, he is willing to give it up to the open man when he finds him. Udonis Haslem was wide open and LeBron James was double covered. That is why it was the "right basketball play." That is why he passed the ball. Players are routinely praised for unselfish, team-oriented play yet whenever a superstar does it, he gets labelled "soft," "unclutch" or lacking in that "killer instinct."

The superstar is thus put in the most untenable of situations. He must be successful at all times, by himself. If Lebron took the shot and made it, LeBron and the Heat would have done exactly what is expected: beat the Jazz in March. If he took the shot and missed, the story would be LeBron forcing a shot because of the All-Star Game debacle. And when he passed it up, he's weak but with the all but irrelevant caveat that he made the right decision. This kind of framework makes it impossible to appreciate the very greatness that created it.

It's fun to hate on LeBron because of his poor Decision-making and the ridiculous introduction ceremony performance, but let's be honest about it. Let's kill LeBron when he actually screws up. If he has an atrocious performance in a playoff game, let him have it. Just remember that somehow it has become impossible to be both great and play with all the other qualities we respect, admire and often wish our superstars exhibited.

http://deadspin.com/5890172/can-lebron-james-do-anything-right

Ardwen

03-04-2012, 02:17 PM

Lebron, when you absolutely positively must pass the ball in the clutch!

SHAFT

03-04-2012, 02:32 PM

Also when you call yourself The King, you're anointed as "The Chosen One", you say "Not 1, not 2, not 3, yada yada yada", you're expected to win games. You better not fuck up.

Drew

03-04-2012, 02:46 PM

PG: Magic
SG: Jordan
SF: LeBron
PF: Duncan
C: Russell

When I was putting together the team I didn't want to put on too many people who needed the ball in the last seconds and I didn't want any bad seeds (Wilt gets kicked off this team). Russell is like a super charged Joel Anthony for the Heat, he doesn't need to score, he just defends the paint and grabs rebounds. If I'd wanted a scorer I'd have put Pettit in there but this team doesn't need any more scoring. I think this team has great chemistry. Jordan is the big ego on the team. LeBron and Magic know they are great but don't mind sharing the spotlight. Duncan and Russell compliment each other in defensive prowess and being "9 to 5 guys". In any team or job it's important people know their roles so they can work together in harmony. That's why I don't like Shaft's team at all, other than Russell he's got 4 Joe Johnsons on his team. It's an impressive assemblage of talent but one that will never co-exist, much less gel.

Drew

03-04-2012, 02:47 PM

Lebron, when you absolutely positively must pass the ball in the clutch!

LeBron: When you absolutely positively must make the correct play.

Latrinsorm

03-04-2012, 04:41 PM

You would put LeBron at PF? Really?One of the great confluences of the statistical and internet revolutions is 82games.com. For some inexplicable reason they refuse to give a simple hyperlinked list of players, so you have to go through the team they were on in any given year to get to their individual stats, but here (http://www.82games.com/1112/11MIA8.HTM) is LeBron's page for this year. I'm a little suspicious of how they keep track of this, but they split a player's playing time into positions by some metric, and by that metric LeBron is dramatically, enormously better at PF without sacrificing much on defense. I suspect this second part is largely because, as noted earlier, most of the time when LeBron is assigned defending in the post he's doing so against offensively limited centers, but still. He's clearly big and strong enough to play in the post, and his quickness advantage is overpowering against the average PF, which can't be said for the average perimeter defender. This is why his stupid "isolation at the top of the key" play to end quarters is so frustrating, he's just not quick enough to get around and he's not a good enough shooter to get over.

This also segues nicely into A MILLION MORE WORDS I LOVE TYPING. How do we define positions? Tim Duncan and Magic Johnson are classic cases for different reasons.
-Is Tim Duncan really a PF or a C? If he played next to Shaq, we could agree he was playing PF, but if he played next to Hakeem, Duncan looks like the C to me. For that matter, is there even a distinction to be made there, or are we better off just calling both "bigs"?
-Magic Johnson is clearly not a guard, and the Lakers routinely cross-matched as a result, but he clearly plays the point.
There's also changing positions over time. The average SF in today's game is a perimeter player frequently indistinguishable from SG (hence "wing"), but this hasn't always been the case, right?

That's why I'm suspicious as to how the 82games.com folks dice this up. In a looser sense, though, Larry is just more suited to the perimeter. He's a much better shooter, LeBron is dramatically larger and stronger. He's listed at 6'8 240 but he is clearly at least 6'9 270. They are clearly the best two of the actual forwards, so I want them both, and this alignment makes the most sense given those premises.
(or the equally legitimate argument that they may not have been in a position to lose the game without Dwyane Wade forgetting he played basketball and not hockey)I love how Wade is simultaneously a legitimately cool/charismatic guy, a berserk hothead, and has a secret mean streak. LeBron is a normal/plain/boring guy anyway, but next to Wade the contrast is just astonishing.
That's why I don't like Shaft's team at all, other than Russell he's got 4 Joe Johnsons on his team. It's an impressive assemblage of talent but one that will never co-exist, much less gel.Zing! Poor Joe Johnson. Or I guess... extremely, astonishingly rich Joe Johnson, but still.

I was thinking along the same lines you were, but I put more value in having at least one legit 3pt shooter for spacing, so I went with Nash. Also I really think Jordan would straight up punch Duncan in the face the first time he did his whiny bug-eyes routine... but maybe that's what you were going for? In which case I can't disagree.

Latrinsorm

03-04-2012, 07:44 PM

I understand why the Lakers were getting every call, but I don't understand why Pau Gasol didn't get a single call. Anthony clearly went over his back at least once, and him getting repeatedly called for fighting LeBron back on offense was just astonishing. Everyone hates Pau?

Hindsight and all, but wouldn't it have been interesting to see Spoelstra pull a Popovich and rest all his starters in this one with Bosh out? What are the odds Mike Brown would have panicked and started resting all his starters too, at least 50/50 right? In all seriousness, the Heat should expect to win this game even without Bosh, so going for it was the right call.

Two weaknesses in LeBron's game on display: yet another iso to end the 3rd quarter, JUST STAP LEBRON, you're traumatizing me; and when he had to actually defend a legitimate offensive big man (Pau Gasol) his shows on pick and roll were slow and mechanical, I bet he just needs more PT for them to be intuitive and fluid. I loved how the old lady in the front row gave him the "angry crossed arms" routine after he landed on her foot, though. Final line of 25 pts, 13 rebs, 7 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks, let's throw that in Game Finder and see what we get. In the past 10 years there have been 5 such games:

LeBron James (three times)
Kevin Garnett
Josh Smith

Ho hum.

RichardCranium

03-04-2012, 07:59 PM

You do understand that Lebron has so much more natural ability than MJ, and in the end it will be completely squandered, right?

SHAFT

03-04-2012, 08:18 PM

You do understand that Lebron has so much more natural ability than MJ, and in the end it will be completely squandered, right?

His mind is weak. He's more concerned about being loved and building his "brand". Jordan and Kobe are miles above lebron. I hope lebron wins at least 1 title though.

RichardCranium

03-04-2012, 09:03 PM

His mind is weak. He's more concerned about being loved and building his "brand". Jordan and Kobe are miles above lebron. I hope lebron wins at least 1 title though.

It's not just him, either. CP3, Melo, D-Will...it's all about the image.

SHAFT

03-04-2012, 09:36 PM

Yeah, Melo for sure. I have faith in CP3 though. I wish he was on the Lakers

Ardwen

03-05-2012, 12:37 AM

Much more impressed with Rondo's ridiculous stat line then Lebron's though damn did Rondo miss a lot of layups. If half the great talents in the league had a quarter of Rondo's hustle the league would be a hell of a lot more fun to watch, and man is watching people high five after every free throw and decent defensive stand getting old.

SHAFT

03-05-2012, 01:37 AM

I like Rondo too. I'm praying the Lakers make a move for him before the trade deadline. I keep hearing the Celtics wanna move him....

I would do Pau Gasol for Rondo straight up all day. The Celtics wouldn't do that though. They'd have to involve another team for a 3 way trade probably.

Latrinsorm

03-05-2012, 02:35 PM

You do understand that Lebron has so much more natural ability than MJ, and in the end it will be completely squandered, right?Both parts of that conjunction are huge overstatements. Jordan was a freakish athlete too, and dramatically quicker than LeBron since he's bulked up. As for "completely squandered", if LeBron retired today he would be a first ballot Hall of Famer. The level of team success he had with those otherwise horrific Cleveland teams is unbelievable. Seriously, look at those rosters some time. It goes without saying that his individual accomplishments are impeccable.

Why you gotta troll me like that. I only picked up on it like 10 minutes later. :(
I like Rondo too. I'm praying the Lakers make a move for him before the trade deadline. I keep hearing the Celtics wanna move him....

I would do Pau Gasol for Rondo straight up all day. The Celtics wouldn't do that though. They'd have to involve another team for a 3 way trade probably.Rondo would be a disaster on the Lakers. Are you kidding me? Cons: He's a brutally bad perimeter shooter, the Lakers are already one of the worst 3pt teams in the league, and 45% of Blake/Fisher's field goal attempts are 3s. He's famously emotional, Kobe is famously hard to play with. He's best on the fast break, the Lakers are the worst fast break team in the league. He exacerbates their weaknesses, they nullify his strengths.

Pros: He can rebound better than Blake/Fisher, which probably isn't just an artifact of not playing next to Andrew Bynum and his 20 foot wingspan, and create his own shot, which could be an artifact of playing next to multiple perimeter threats that simply do not exist on the Lakers.

???s: There's no telling how he would respond to getting half as many touches, or in general playing the quasi-SG Laker PGs play next to Kobe.

The idea that Mike Brown is going to be able to re-tool his system on the fly to adjust to Rondo's strengths and weaknesses is yet another problem with this scenario. Not to mention that they would almost certainly have to lose a marquee player in Gasol or Bynum, which would dramatically undermine their size advantage. Their nominal backup center is currently Troy Murphy. With Gasol and Bynum being able to switch off at center, that's not a problem. With one gone...

I'm completely baffled that anyone thinks Rondo on the Lakers would work.

SHAFT

03-05-2012, 08:56 PM

Because he's better than Blake and fisher?

Latrinsorm

03-05-2012, 09:11 PM

But he doesn't fit. Something's got to give in that hypothetical situation, it's not going to be Kobe in a million years, and Rondo has shown no interest in improving the aspects of his game most needed to gel with the Lakers as constituted. You could even argue that his jump shooting has gotten worse as the years have gone by.

SHAFT

03-06-2012, 01:14 AM

oh shit! lobbbbbbbbbbbbbb citttttttyyyyyy

Ardwen

03-06-2012, 06:11 AM

Rondo needs a team with multiple outside threats for his style of play, Mavericks for instance would likely be a good fit, clog the middle Rondo would never be able to drive, he just isnt tall enough to manage that with 2 7 footers inside, of course he'd fit this lakers team better then the triangle offense lakers of the past.

Latrinsorm

03-06-2012, 02:02 PM

Bollocks, Rondo is awesome. ~pk

He's awesome at some things, he's atrocious at others. It so happens that the Lakers desperately need the others and either don't need or actively inhibit the some.

If we were picking from every player in the NBA to make a team from scratch and had to pick PGs first, he'd be in my top 10. This doesn't mean he's one of the 10 best fits for any particular team. Just getting the most talented player you can ends up with Isaiah Thomas getting mercilessly heckled whenever the Kings come to New York.

Latrinsorm

03-07-2012, 12:55 AM

Hard to have too many takeaways from such a mismatched blowout, but:

-Deron Williams seems to be checking out. More than once when the Nets were nominally still in the game, he chose to gun a 3pt shot rather than run a play. It doesn't matter if it goes in or not, it sabotages the team identity. Compared to last year he is +3.9 FGA and -4.6 AST per game, and 3.4 of those FGA are from 16+ feet. His rebounds have always been mediocre for a PG of his size, and they're down even further this year. Remember when some people seriously believed Williams was a better PG than Paul? That was so absurd, but hopefully we're done with it now.

-An elite PG should be able to make any team better, but I will admit that I don't think I've seen as many plays where a guy fumbles an uncontested rebound out of bounds in a long time. All I could think watching the Nets was "relegation".

-Dexter Pittman!!! Assertive, aggressive, even showing some savvy passing out of what is certainly the first double team he's seen since being on the Heat. With Joel Anthony blowing two more passes from LeBron, I wouldn't be surprised to see longer runs for Pitt. He's still a train wreck defensively and is putting up an astonishing 9.6 fouls per 36 minutes, but it looks like Joel is at his ceiling, while Pittman has upside. With how pathetic the rest of the Eastern Conference is playing, the Heat have at least the #2 seed locked up, they beat a pretty much identical Chicago team without home court advantage last year, why not see if Pitt can play?

-It's remarkable how well the Heat bench plays, how well the team concept permeates. James Jones hasn't played in about a year and a half and looked completely in sync. Miller and Battier can anchor any lineup. Spo even had Chalmers and Cole on the floor at the same time for a spell, and they coexisted beautifully.

Latrinsorm

03-07-2012, 03:15 PM

espn.com drives me crazy sometimes. The headline for last night's Pistons Lakers game: "Pistons overcome Kobe's heroics to top Lakers". Ok, let's look at the box score... 22 points on 8 for 26 shooting, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 turnovers. More pedestrian than heroic. Let's look at his late game performance...

Re-enters the game with 8:03 left in the 4th quarter and the Lakers up 63-62.
-Misses 21 foot jumper
-Assists Gasol's layup
-Turnover
-Makes 27 footer
-Misses 27 footer
-Makes 19 footer as time expires
Overtime
-Misses 26 footer
-Assists Bynum
-Assists Gasol's 14 footer
-Misses 26 footer
-Misses 28 footer

All told: 2 for 7, 5 points, 3 assists, 1 turnover, no rebounds. Prorated over 38 minutes (his season average), that works out to 15 points on 20 shots, 9 assists, 3 turnovers. Heroic? You tell me.

Not mentioned at all in the headlines: Bynum abusing the Pistons to the tune of 30 points on 18 shots, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, and playing his most minutes in a single game in 2 years. Kobe had more misses from 3 point range alone (7) than Bynum had altogether (5).

Drew

03-08-2012, 01:52 PM

I'm waiting on Shaft and others to kill Dwyane Wade for passing the ball over and over in the last 2 minutes of the game and not taking the game winning shot last night.

Atlanteax

03-08-2012, 02:06 PM

I'm waiting on Shaft and others to kill Dwyane Wade for passing the ball over and over in the last 2 minutes of the game and not taking the game winning shot last night.

Clearly he was trying to get LeBron to man up.

Latrinsorm

03-08-2012, 02:22 PM

It's no surprise the Lakers are throwing Mike Brown under the bus, but for the life of me I can't figure out why they're killing him for Xs and Os of all things. Of course he's bad at that, but Kobe routinely sabotages plays anyway, who cares. How about killing him for playing Kobe 22 minutes in the second half, in the second game of a road back-to-back, the day after he played 43 minutes in an overtime game, all while playing through a broken nose and gimpy wrist? It's a borderline OSHA violation at this point. Kobe and Pau are in the top 5 in minutes played, that's just wrong. Compare to Miami: LeBron is 10th, the next highest is Chris Bosh at 33rd... and LeBron is an indefatigable basketball cyborg.

DoctorUnne

03-08-2012, 11:54 PM

indefatigable cyborg

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0305/grant_g_jamesbag_400.jpg

Atlanteax

03-09-2012, 11:30 AM

No wonder LeBron has issues...

Drew

03-09-2012, 12:02 PM

Are we making fun of that outfit? I think it's pretty dope. I've worn some similar ones before. Also shame on you BadTie for making fun of people's outfits :)

Atlanteax

03-09-2012, 12:13 PM

Are we making fun of that outfit? I think it's pretty dope. I've worn some similar ones before.

That explains a lot too...

Parkbandit

03-09-2012, 12:24 PM

Are we making fun of that outfit? I think it's pretty dope. I've worn some similar ones before. Also shame on you BadTie for making fun of people's outfits :)

I wear a similar outfit (minus glasses) to that.. except my shoes and belt are oxblood color instead of what he has.

Drew

03-09-2012, 12:29 PM

We live in Florida, it's expected to dress better than some New Yorker.

RSR

03-09-2012, 07:54 PM

Do you carry a murse too?

-Richard.

Constal

03-15-2012, 02:41 AM

Do you carry a murse too?

-Richard.

ROFL

What do you do when you get a boner with those jeans? I heard black men that are 6'8 have a huge package? Wait.. what's hiding in that murse!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO4MI9gsEvw

Too bad Lebron does All-state :)

BTW.. surprised about Mike D'antoni? Knew his ass was going to be FIRED (wait sorry "resigned")

Next.. Stan Van Gundy!

Bobmuhthol

03-15-2012, 02:52 AM

Celtics gonna win it all.

Constal

03-15-2012, 02:56 AM

Latrinsorm

03-15-2012, 03:47 PM

Wanted to revisit an earlier discussion:
You have no argument from me that Carmelo is an excellent player. I just can't shake how his teams never seem to benefit from that personal excellence.After Stoudamire clearly and repeatedly blamed Carmelo for disrupting the team and getting his coach fired, I think I've figured it out. George Karl has repeatedly expressed the same sentiments, and even poor old Jeff (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-01-11/sports/0401110204_1_nuggets-coach-jeff-bzdelik-denver-locker-room-general-manager-kiki-vandeweghe) Bzdelik (http://www.denverstiffs.com/2008/06/jeff-bzdeliks-candidly-discusses.html) has gotten in on the criticism. If the stats, his coaches, his teammates, and your eyes all tell the same story, maybe that story is true: Carmelo is a selfish player, and while very talented he's not so overwhelmingly talented that his teams can succeed at the highest level with the way he plays.

If I was picking the Olympic team, I wouldn't take the headache. It's not like there's a shortage of talent in the pool.

SHAFT

03-15-2012, 03:51 PM

Carmelo isn't as good as he's been billed during his career. I would never want him on a team I rooted for. He doesn't play defense. I never understood the hype behind him.

Latrinsorm

03-15-2012, 04:05 PM

Yay Kobe.. playing 49 minutes tonight in OT against NO today (in which they BARELY WON, against the NBA's second worse team in basketball).. after 2 OT's last night in Memphis. AWESOMELY capital sarcasm

Phil Jackson, we want you in NEW YORK!It almost makes you wonder if Brown is trying to get him all the way injured, thereby forcing him to rest, thereby giving them a better chance in the playoffs...? It seems a little too diabolical, Brown doesn't seem like a bad guy, but what other explanation makes sense at this point? The Memphis game was the most minutes Kobe played in 4 years.

Speaking of rest, Haslem looked awful last night. Second game of a road back-to-back and all, but I really think Spo needs to have some alternate rotations going, Haslem was gassed from minute 1. His defense was awful, he wasn't rebounding, went 1 for 5. With that said, Norris Cole got a huge amount of PT, so maybe Spo is trying one untested guy at a time in these situations. The obvious sub for Haslem is Pittman, who looked good in his limited minutes, which would let Bosh play PF instead of getting run over by the Asiks and Noahs of the world.

Latrinsorm

03-19-2012, 12:51 AM

Good game. Not well played or well won, but it was really telling how the Heat stuck with their offense. Scruffy game, wildly inconsistent officiating, shots aren't going, but there were only two or three hero shots down the stretch, and one was LeBron's inexplicable 22 footer after the game was decided. Also great to get a win on a mediocre LeBron night (14 pts, 12 rebs, 7 asts, 5 steals... mediocre), especially against real competition. I couldn't believe how they were relying on Bosh to defend Howard late in the game, even without fouling they completely shut him down. Relying on the Magic guards to self-combust paid off too, of course.

With home court advantage and extended rest, is there any way the Heat can lose to the Magic in the playoffs?

Constal

03-19-2012, 01:39 AM

Constal

03-19-2012, 01:53 AM

Celtics gonna win it all.

I bet, they won't :P

Latrinsorm

03-19-2012, 02:52 PM

The playoffs is a total different monster. If Orlando executes well, and can do what they did to the Heat at Orlando mixed with Howard going for 4 20+ point, 20+ rebound games (which we saw, he is capable of doing against them).. I think.. possibly. HAHA. It's a longshot.. or was that supposed to be rhetorical?That's pretty much it, right? Same with Chicago, hope Rose/Howard can put up 4 phenomenal performances in 7 games and no one on Miami matches.

lol @ Lakers

Bynum 12 of 14 for 33 points, 11 rebounds
Bryant 3 of 20 for 15 points, 7 turnovers

Kobe comes into the game with 7:50 remaining, Lakers are down 5.

-Kobe misses 20 footer
-Kobe misses 12 footer, Bynum rebound and fouled
-Kobe fouled
-Kobe misses 2 pointer
-Kobe fouled
-Kobe misses 11 footer

At this point, Jazz are up 7 with the ball and 4:45 left. 6 of 6 Laker possessions began with Kobe taking a shot, resulting in 5 points.

-Bynum dunks (yes! someone beside Kobe was allowed to shoot!)
-Kobe misses 27 footer
-Bynum layup, assisted by Kobe (see!!! He's not selfish!!!)
-Gasol makes 7 footer, assisted by Kobe (MVP!!!!!!!)
-Bynum fouled
-Barnes fouled on loose ball
-Bynum misses 2 pointer, Barnes tip-in
-Kobe and-1

Millsap's layup is blocked, Lakers have the ball with 10 seconds left, down 3. At this point Kobe is 3 of 19, 1 of 5 from 3. He is shooting .293 from 3 on the year, .336 for his career. Blake is 0 of 1 from 3, shooting .317 on the year, .387 career.

-Kobe misses 26 footer

Not so good.

Latrinsorm

03-20-2012, 06:39 PM

Using basketball-reference.com's play index, I have determined that the Magic are the first team to score less than 60 points twice in one season since the 2003 Nuggets. They are the only two such teams since the 1986 season, which is as far back as the tool goes. The Magic! What's their deal?

Atlanteax

03-22-2012, 05:12 PM

How to flop: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/mick-pennisi-flop-philippine-basketball-association_n_1372023.html?ref=sports&ncid=webmail1

Keller

03-22-2012, 05:27 PM

How to flop: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/mick-pennisi-flop-philippine-basketball-association_n_1372023.html?ref=sports&ncid=webmail1

Divac doesn't have shit on Pennisi.

Latrinsorm

03-24-2012, 12:25 AM

I'm not sure I like the Turiaf signing by Miami. He's definitely an upgrade over Pittman now, but I really think Pittman is the future starter. The 7 minutes a game he was playing isn't going to make or break anything for the Heat, but I have to think it would help his development, at least more than sitting on the bench will.

With that said, I'm absolutely sure the signing is a million miles ahead of picking up Fisher (because Mike Bibby's veteran leadership was so effective last year) or any of the other bigs they were kicking the tires on. Also, like I said in the other thread, everyone loves Ronny, so we've got that going for us.

SHAFT

03-24-2012, 06:19 AM

Lakers look good with sessions. Don't be surprised when they overtake San Antonio as the #2

Latrinsorm

03-24-2012, 11:32 AM

Lakers look good with sessions. Don't be surprised when they overtake San Antonio as the #2He's been playing great, but the Lakers have three things going against them:

1. Kobe eats first. He's a smart guy, a great player, and mostly says all the right things... but get him on the court, and it inevitably gets back to Kobe eats first. Are you ready for a crazy stat? Last night was the first game since February 22nd that someone took more FGAs than Kobe. 14 games in a row where Kobe took the most shots every night, 14!! All told it's been Kobe 44 times, Pau 3 times, and Bynum (shooting .582 from the field!!!!!!!) exactly once.

2. This isn't the first time this season a point guard has had an inexplicable raging hot stretch, and there's a reason Sessions is on his 4th team in the NBA.

3. One statistical metric suggests the Spurs are farther ahead of the Lakers than the record indicates. The Spurs are 7-5 in 5 point games, the Lakers are 14-7. This is an amazingly high number of 5 point games: through 48 games it's already more than 9 teams had last year in 82. Combined with the fact that the outcomes of 5 point games are basically random, this artificially inflates their record.

Finally, Kobe's minutes have been too high all season, and they've actually been up in March. No one can argue that he's a tough guy, but it's time (past time) to be a smart guy instead. This could end up working in the Lakers' favor, like I said, because he's taking way too many shots anyway, but if I were a Laker fan I don't think I'd be super enthused with the situation.

Atlanteax

03-26-2012, 04:46 PM

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/545633/TIM-DUNCAN-OLD.jpg

Heh @ "Old" as DND reason

Latrinsorm

03-26-2012, 06:15 PM

Atlanteax

03-26-2012, 06:57 PM

I'm really surprised we haven't seen more people do the Popovich and just not play their older players for a game here and there this season. Then again, Popovich is actually a good coach. I also love how Joey Crawford Td up Duncan on the bench... again. What a joke that guy is.

Especially for games against terrible teams like Charlotte.

The T was also funny due to how Crawford was reprimanded for the last time he T'd up Duncan.

Keller

03-26-2012, 10:28 PM

BOOM BABY!!!

Suck it, Drew.

Drew

03-27-2012, 01:08 AM

Heat are in a bit of a slide lately.

Latrinsorm

03-27-2012, 12:32 PM

I'm not worried. The Heat are playing terribly, and they were still in games late against the best team in the West and a decent Indiana team, on the road, back-to-back, with a sensational performance by Durant, integrating a new center and without Miller. Orlando isn't going to catch them for the #2 seed, they don't need to catch Chicago for the #1 seed.

The Durant MVP campaign reminds me so much of the Republican primaries. We all know who the winner is going to be if the delegates have one brain cell between them. We get that it's your job to make stories, the media, but that doesn't mean you should make them up if they're not there.

I'm more worried Wade has decided to shoot 3s again and Bosh has developed an allergy to rebounds, really. Haslem could really use a week off, too. Slot in Turiaf, put Pittman back in backup C, go for it. What's the worst that could happen?

Keller

03-27-2012, 12:47 PM

The Durant MVP campaign reminds me so much of the Republican primaries. We all know who the winner is going to be if the delegates have one brain cell between them. We get that it's your job to make stories, the media, but that doesn't mean you should make them up if they're not there.

You really think Howard has the MVP locked up already?

Latrinsorm

03-27-2012, 12:57 PM

You really think Howard has the MVP locked up already?That is not at all what I meant, sir! I will now post four pages of obscure, meaningless numbers to prove my point because you clearly believe what you wrote.

Keller

03-27-2012, 01:15 PM

That is not at all what I meant, sir! I will now post four pages of obscure, meaningless numbers to prove my point because you clearly believe what you wrote.

I have a hard time saying that LBJ is the most valuable player.

Take that team, add a lesser star with his salary in LBJ's spot (say, Danny Granger), and I think they're still 2nd in the east. At the very least they are top 4.

Take the Magic, add a lesser stat with Howard's salary in his spot (say, Amare), and they're fighting to get to the playoffs. A better example might be Steve Nash.

I'm not disputing that LBJ is the best basketball player in the world. That is indisputable in my view. I just don't think "most valuable" is the same as "best player in the world."

Latrinsorm

03-29-2012, 07:15 PM

Steve Nash "would definitely listen" (http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7752775/steve-nash-listen-miami-heat-free-agent) if recruited by the Heat this summer.

Steve Nash on the Heat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me? Plausibly the best three point shooting point guard of all time, would completely resurrect Chris Bosh, a team that is dying to run... is David Stern allowed to void free agent signings the way he can void trades? I guess we'll see.

Drew

03-29-2012, 07:47 PM

Ardwen

03-29-2012, 07:52 PM

Nash would need to take a fairly huge pay cut to get on that roster, not like the Heat have any cap space

DoctorUnne

03-29-2012, 08:11 PM

They could probably have a roster of Nash, LeBron, Wade, Bosh and no one else and still win the title.

Latrinsorm

03-29-2012, 08:12 PM

According to the article they could only give him the mid-level, which would be $5 million. He could absolutely get more than that, but at the end of this year he'll have made $119m in salary alone. He's going to be incredibly rich for the rest of his life, I can't imagine another $5-8m will convince him to keep carrying around Channing Frye and JMZ over joining the flying death machine in Miami.
Haha that team would run more than a soccer team.It would be un... real.

Drew

03-29-2012, 08:28 PM

My guess is that at this point Nash would value winning a championship over more money.

Drew

03-29-2012, 08:29 PM

I'm excited to see this Heat-Mavs game tonight.

SHAFT

03-29-2012, 08:51 PM

I'm excited to see this Heat-Mavs game tonight.

Miami is -8. You want action????

Please contribute to the "help shaft get a rapture cloak" fund

SHAFT

03-29-2012, 08:53 PM

I'm stoked about this okc and lakers game. Lakers are favored by 1. This could very well be a playoff matchup.

Bynum better keep his shit secure and not throw up any 3's

Atlanteax

03-29-2012, 11:17 PM

My guess is that at this point Nash would value winning a championship over more money.

This ... I would expect Nash to sign with Heat if it would work.

Otherwise, the Lakers could be an interesting alternate destination for him.

SHAFT

03-29-2012, 11:23 PM

This ... I would expect Nash to sign with Heat if it would work.

Otherwise, the Lakers could be an interesting alternate destination for him.

Nah, Lakers got Sessions. They need to shore up the bench now. Hopefully they go after Beasely again.

Speaking of Miami, they just whooped that ass against Dallas

Latrinsorm

03-30-2012, 12:12 AM

That game was frequently hard to watch. The Mavs are setting interior defense back 30 years between Dirk, Odom, Wright, and having all three on the floor at once. It's astonishing how they can still be a good defensive team with such porous bigs. Their 3P% allowed and rebounding is pretty much the same, the only other thing I can find is they're +52 in turnovers this year and were -31 last year. Maybe it was just a bad night? No clue.

Latrinsorm

03-30-2012, 04:17 PM

SHAFT

03-30-2012, 04:28 PM

Is Kobe the worst 3 point shooter in the NBA? Which is to say, the player that most hurts his team due to his 3pt attempts.

He is currently shooting .288.
Out of the 121 players who have attempted at least 100 3s, that % is good for 112th.
Out of the 34 players who have attempted at least 200, Kobe is 33rd, leading only Jordan Crawford's .284.

There are 4 players shooting less than .300 from 3 in the top 75 of 3PA:
7. Kobe Bryant
24. Jordan Crawford
51. Ray Felton
67. Carmelo Anthony

Probably not the worst, but surprisingly close, right?

I'm not surprised. He's had some horrendous shooting performances lately and he's been turning the ball over more.

I'm not gonna fret about the regular season though. Let's see what happens in the playoffs when they have more time to gel with Sessions and deal with Fisher being gone.

Latrinsorm

03-31-2012, 04:54 PM

Today's amazing but true stat from the Weekend Dime: there are exactly 3 current head coaches who have coached championship teams. Doc Rivers with the Celtics, Gregg Popovich with the Spurs, Rick Carlisle with the Mavs. Obvious in hindsight, but still amazing.

The only other still living coach with a ring under the age of 65: Rudy Tomjanovich. The oldest? John Kundla, coach of the Minneapolis Lakers dynasty, still going at 95.

DoctorUnne

04-02-2012, 12:15 AM

Rondo is a beast.

Drew

04-02-2012, 12:22 AM

dot dot dot when Chalmers covers him. If anyone think the Heat are playing for anything right now they are crazy.

Latrinsorm

04-02-2012, 12:36 AM

My response to this game is vodka and Tom Waits. I still don't feel that bad though, when your top 3 players all play poorly and your 4th best player doesn't play at all, you should expect to lose. Miami's up 7 in the loss column on Orlando and only have 5 road games left, the #2 seed is locked up. They're only 2 back on Chicago in the loss column with two left to play against them. After this next PHI/OKC back to back, the schedule is ludicrously easy.

Latrinsorm

04-02-2012, 12:42 AM

Also! My boy Javale McGee with 7 rebounds in 11 minutes, baby! The rest of the box score... not so good. But he's on track for 23 rebounds in 36 minutes! Think positive, Pierre.

Ardwen

04-02-2012, 12:54 AM

Celts played without their best outside shooter and schooled whats supposed to be a contender, Bulls play with heart, not a clue what Miami is doing some nights.

Latrinsorm

04-02-2012, 01:37 PM

Celts played without their best outside shooter and schooled whats supposed to be a contender, Bulls play with heart, not a clue what Miami is doing some nights.Don't you think you're overreacting a little? Last year Miami was 2 wins from the title, with Miller and Haslem both either hurt or coming back from injury, and giving significant minutes to Mike Bibby and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Turiaf > Ilgauskas, Cole > Bibby, Battier > Jones, throw in Chalmers and James taking a step forward this year, and how is Miami anything but a contender?

Nobody ever gets through the season without an ugly loss. Even the 72-10 Bulls lost a regular season game by 32 to a middling playoff team. Your 2008 champion Celtics lost by 18 at home to the Jazz, in a game Paul Pierce went 1 for 7 from the field with 5 turnovers. They even had an eerily similar quarter by quarter split: blitzed for -10 in the first, managed to get back to -5 (by the 4th instead of the 3rd), then got obliterated late. It happens.

Drew

04-02-2012, 02:47 PM

The 92 Bulls lost 2 of 3 regular season games to the Cavs.

Latrinsorm

04-05-2012, 12:25 AM

That game was awesome, even though both teams really played pretty poorly.
-9 turnovers for Durant
-7-18 and 5 turnovers for Wade
-brutal performance from Bosh in the first half, sat for 6 minutes in the 2nd quarter but it felt like 20
-missed layups and dunks from both teams throughout
-both teams completely abandoning offense in the second half, including Erik Spoelstra openly daring the Thunder to run through Perkins in crunch time by guarding him with Shane Battier(!!!)
-Thunder were in the bonus with about 9 minutes left in the 4th and didn't attempt a free throw until Perk's with 43 seconds left.
-the awful, awful play drawn up for Durant at the end of the game. Ok coach you want me to sprint from the baseline to the 3 point line, take a 27 footer in stride fading from right to left with the best perimeter defender in the league on me? ...yeah you're right, still better than letting Westbrook touch the ball.

That guy LeBron had a pretty good night though. 34 points on 10 of 20, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, a block, only 2 turnovers. The Heat were +20 for the 42 minutes he was on the floor and -15 for the other 6(!!!).

Also fascinating were some of the rotations.
-LeBron came in at the 10 minute mark in the 4th, when usually he comes in at 8 minutes at the earliest.
-The aforementioned Bosh benching.
-Durant playing every minute of the 2nd half, visibly gassed (squatting on the court!), casting the last play in an even worse light
-Norris Cole apparently losing his spot, first to James Jones then to Terrel Harris. For just this game? I remember Terrel Harris having a good game awhile ago, and especially when Miller comes back this team has a surplus of playmakers and it would help the rebounding. I guess we'll see how it goes?

All in all, gutsy calls by Spo, one glaringly curious call by Brooks.

SHAFT

04-05-2012, 03:25 AM

Kobe is should be MVP but lebron will win. And no I have no stats or charts. Love you latrin;)

Keller

04-05-2012, 03:20 PM

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/295107_404764076218789_367810133247517_1440867_474 860697_n.jpg

SHAFT

04-05-2012, 03:39 PM

I see what you did there

Latrinsorm

04-05-2012, 06:19 PM

Kobe is should be MVP but lebron will win. And no I have no stats or charts. Love you latrin;)I only have one stat for you. Kobe hasn't received more than 2 first place MVP votes since the 2008 season. Is he better or worse than he was then? His supporting cast is inarguably better.

(Sidebar: he's only received more than 2 first place votes in two other seasons: 8 in 2003 (3rd most, 3rd place finish), 22 in 2006 (2nd most, 4th place finish). For a completely random comparison, Jordan received more than 2 first place votes ten times.)

.

How 'bout dem Magic? What a fiasco. For those who haven't heard (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7778991/orlando-magic-stan-van-gundy-dwight-howard-wants-fired), Stan Van Gundy tells reporters that he was told by managements that Howard wants him fired, and not 12 seconds later Howard walks in, embraces Van Gundy, and denies wanting him fired. ...
...................
.................................................. ........

Blame it on LeBron.

Latrinsorm

04-11-2012, 12:06 AM

I'm not worried. It took an insane jump shooting night for the Celtics to beat the Heat at home. The Celtics have a 0% chance of having home court advantage against the Heat. Problem solved.

Joel Anthony with a DNP-CD, first one this year obviously. Talk about your falls from grace. At least he's got company... Norris Cole! Especially with Miller back, I think Cole getting serious playing time is over. I do wonder how long Spo is going to tinker with the rotation, though.

It looks like Drew's going to be right on the money: Pacers #3 in the East. Orlando and Philly in free fall, Atlanta physically incapable of being better or worse than middling playoff team, Boston has a brutal schedule coming up. #3 in the West is a lot more interesting, can the Lakers hold off Clips/Memphis? Their remaining schedule is pretty interesting: 3 games with the Spurs (2 in SA!), hosting scrappy Denver, mysterious Dallas, and potential cruise control OKC. The Grizzlies by comparison have only @ Spurs and vs Magic for playoff teams and are just playing better recently.

SHAFT

04-11-2012, 11:01 PM

Lakers are crushing the spurs right now

Latrinsorm

04-12-2012, 12:00 AM

Andrew Bynum with THIRTY REBOUNDS. :O As many OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS as anyone else in the game had TOTAL. Perhaps most astonishing, with all that ungodly size advantage he only manages to go 7 for 20 from the field. Wat?

So true story, I went to espn nba to check the LA game out and was treated to the 88-86 BOS-ATL brickfest, including an astonishing 2 for 20 from 3 for the Hawks and Rondo with a freaking 10-10-20 triple double, 3 of 16 shooting, and 6 turnovers, getting torched by Jeff Teague. I'm just not sure what to make of that.

Ardwen

04-12-2012, 12:31 AM

watched the second half of the celts game, one of the officials was apparently blind or had a side bet in vegas on how many ties he could make Tom Heinsohn scream on the sideline, lots of bad calls and no-calls in both directions. and alot of bad shots as the clock ran out, and being the northeast no lakers coverage at all to see what was happening there

DoctorUnne

04-12-2012, 04:35 PM

Rondo with a freaking 10-10-20 triple double, 3 of 16 shooting, and 6 turnovers, getting torched by Jeff Teague. I'm just not sure what to make of that.

Rondo is a beast.

Latrinsorm

04-12-2012, 06:37 PM

Rondo is a beast.Yeah... but 3 of 16? Getting lit up by Jeff Teague??? It's weird to see a performance with so much positive and negative.

Latrinsorm

04-14-2012, 12:41 AM

Dwight Howard out indefinitely with a herniated disk. Wow! Is there literally anything else that can go wrong for the Magic?

I wanted to give Spoelstra credit for this before last night's loss: it's pretty obvious that the Heat are much better with LeBron on the court (duh), so it's in turn pretty tempting to play him into the ground in the regular season, but a good coach resists that temptation, and Spo has largely done so with last night being an exception. Tonight continued that trend: outright sitting Wade, Miller, Haslem, and Turiaf was a bold move... we're talking the #2 player and somewhere in the #4-#7 range for the last three. He didn't go all the way to Popovich territory, but still pretty far.

Also, why I'm not scared of the Celtics exhibit 247: they only managed 79 points against THE RAPTORS. Jump shooting teams, man, when they're hot they're amazing, when they're cold they're just sad.

Ardwen

04-14-2012, 01:09 AM

Doesn't matter if you're afraid of the celtics, matters that the Heat have to be, played em in Boston and the celts totally shut them down, played them in Miami a week later and the Heat couldn't stop them from scoring at will. Happily take the week the Celts had, wins vs good teams and a letdown vs a team that's irrelevant.

Latrinsorm

04-14-2012, 01:39 AM

All I know is last year the Celtics were 3-1 and the Bulls were 3-0 against the Heat, and they both got spanked in the playoffs. The Heat have removed painfully inept players (Ilgauskas, Bibby) and added quality players (Turiaf, Battier, Miller with thumbs, Haslem with ankle tendons). The Celtics and Bulls have tread water, and the Celtics were already decrepitudinally old. Tell me when it starts making sense for us to expect a different outcome.

Drew

04-14-2012, 01:29 PM

Simmons was on the Lebatard show yesterday trying to claim the Celtics didn't win because of jump shooting. It's painfully obvious that a team that shoots 60% from the field and knocks down 70% of their 3s in the first half is going to win almost any game, but you can't do that in a series.

Latrinsorm

04-14-2012, 01:30 PM

Watching the highlights of Bobcats-Heat: LeBron closes from underneath the basket to the top of the key, blocks DJ White's jumper, scoops it up, goes the other way for a dunk. A sensational play, but my favorite part was Kemba Walker laughing hysterically as it unfolded. Why wouldn't he? That play was ridiculous.

DoctorUnne

04-16-2012, 02:35 PM

The Celtics are playing with house money. They have their championship and before the break it looked like they were more likely to miss the playoffs than make them. If the Heat swept the Celtics no one would be surprised.

BUT, if somehow the Celtics did pull off the upset? Would not want to be LeBron.

I think the Knicks would actually be more concerning to the Heat than the Celtics. Although I'm still hoping for a Thunder/Heat or Lakers/Heat finals.

SHAFT

04-18-2012, 01:30 AM

Tony Parker is killing the lakers

Latrinsorm

04-18-2012, 12:10 PM

Tony Parker is killing the lakersHow about the Cavs starting the 4th quarter down 50 points... to the Pistons? Can we retroactively give LeBron double MVP for 2010?

With such an oddly poor showing against such a weak opposing front line, I wondered if Bynum is starting to tire. This is the most minutes he's played in a season in his career, and I don't know if you guys have heard but this year's is a very strenuous schedule. So I checked his points, rebounds, blocks, and turnovers per 36 minutes for January, February, March, and so far in April:

Pts Reb Blk TO
Jan 16.49 12.62 1.97 2.28
Feb 16.07 14.02 2.36 2.44
Mar 20.97 10.32 1.83 2.88
Apr 22.25 12.92 1.44 2.39

Looks pretty much the same or better. If we look at shooting percentage, Pts/FGA, and defensive plays (blocks + steals) per foul, however:

FG% Pts/FGA D/PF
Jan 0.533 1.347 1.054
Feb 0.546 1.342 1.609
Mar 0.639 1.622 2.222
Apr 0.455 1.192 0.833Perhaps he is. He's currently 5th, 4th, and 3rd in the NBA in those categories, though, so we could also just be seeing regression to his mean after a sensational March.

Latrinsorm

04-20-2012, 01:01 AM

Absolute brick-fest tonight in the CHI-MIA game. Some good defense, but a lot more giving up and missing layups. The Hamilton flop on Wade's "flagrant 1" was epic. Him and Watson, man, lily livers. Also some more good minutes from Pittman, this kid really has a bright future. A craptastic 15.6% ORB for the Bulls, a pretty poor 20.5% for the Heat, just sad all the way around. (LeBron had a really good game! :))

The big news, though: Dwight Howard quitting on his team completely, coincidentally opting for surgery mere hours after reports surfaced that he didn't want to play for Van Gundy anymore. I didn't think anyone could top Carmelo for team-killing, but wow.

Latrinsorm

04-21-2012, 03:05 PM

Some pretty interesting (but ultimately meaningless) games closing the season. Kobe Bryant is currently averaging 27.89 points per game, Kevin Durant 27.79. The Lakers are 1/2 game ahead of the Clippers for the 3 seed with 2 remaining: vs. OKC, @SAC, and have the tiebreaker. The Clippers have 3 remaining: vs NO, @ATL, @NYK. The Thunder are 1/2 game behind San Antonio with the Spurs holding the tiebreaker, and OKC's remaining schedule is @LAL, vs. SAC, vs. DEN. Plenty of reason for Durant to keep playing as well, not to mention his outside chance at the MVP for additional motivation to put up numbers.

1. How great is that OKC-LAL game going to be? I can't wait to see Pau Gasol's 2 for 7 box score, or Kobe's 4 of 10 on 3s with 3 assists.
2. The LAL@SAC game is the very last game of the season. If Kobe's behind Durant, how many shots do you think he's taking, 100? (Shades of Gervin - Thompson?)
3. If neither man gets above 28, this will be the first incidence of back-to-back sub 28 scoring champions since the 1957 and 1958 seasons. Speed kills.