Fantastic diagrams of Washington's new offense. How's it working for Gilbert Arenas? From his blog: "I know my three-point percentage is horrific right now -- 1-for-17 -- but I think the rims are broken around the league. David Stern, you need to look into fixing these arenas. But really, 1-for-17, I'm shooting worse than ... I don't know who to say without pissing somebody off. I'm just shooting really bad right now, but I'll get the mojo back in a minute."
TrueHoop reader Michael with some observations from last night's Knick victory: "Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph outsmarted and outhustled Denver's bigs in the second half. Also, Randolph was killing himself to get the ball at the end of the fourth quarter, and rewarded his team by hitting open cutters or getting to the basket. Curry and Randolph both showed a lot of discipline in dealing with their respective double teams, and shot a high percentage in single-coverage. In this case, a good offense rescued their terrible defense." And on Houston beating San Antonio: "In short, Bonzi Wells (seven offensive rebounds)! Not only were his stats phenomenal, but he harassed dribble penetration, and got his hands on a lot of loose balls. Yao/TMac/Battier trio all played predictably well, but when players like Bonzi and Mike James get going, this team becomes a nightmare to play against. Some other notes: while defending Bonzi Wells, Ginobili flopped so badly that the commentators were shocked. It was embarrassingly bad. At one point, the Rockets had Mutombo and Yao on the floor at the same time. That's some serious frontcourt size. As Mutombo played the 5, I'm guessing Yao made history as the tallest power forward in NBA history. Tim Duncan looked surprisingly ineffective. He was taking tough shots all night. The +/- confirms it too ... he had the worst rating at -12. Yao's defense had something to do with it. The best plus/minus goes to Battier (+11) and Wells (+10). The Rockets' ball movement is exemplary. You could teach team basketball using video of their play."
Until someone changes it, this is the last line of the wikipedia entry on Delonte West: "As of November 2007, he still hasn't graduated from St. Joseph's (PA) nor has a command of the English language." Irony: the very sentence making fun of West is grammatically incorrect itself. Thanks for looking out for the language, guys.
Not too soon to start looking forward to Dallas at Golden State tomorrow. Dallas looks great to me so far -- couldn't imagine a better test of their spirit than returning to the scene of the crime.
Bloggers hand out awards to other bloggers for participating in ESPN.com's season previews, and somewhere Lang Whitaker blushes. Me? I'd vote for Wizznutzz on this one, and it wouldn't be close. They just hit this one right the frig out the park. (What's crazier than Gilbert Arenas? Wizznutzz.)
"LeBron?" jokes Deron Williams, whose Jazz are about to face James. "Who's that?"
Let's hear it for crazy drills and salad. DeSagana Diop looks better than ever, doesn't he? Remember when he used to be overweight, slow, uncoordinated guy? Jean Jacques-Taylor of the Dallas News reports: "He even had the nerve to flex in the locker room, showing off his abs to rookie Nick Fazekas, who jokingly accused Diop of having a body shaped by too many chicken wings. Diop quickly corrected him. 'It's from a lot of salad,' he said with a laugh. And a lot of work in the off-season. After playing summer league ball, Diop returned to Dallas for a couple of weeks. Then he headed to New Jersey to work out with a personal trainer. He did box jumps and jumped rope. He alternated standing on one leg for minutes at a time and did several other exercises designed to make him more limber and flexible. 'We did a bunch of crazy drills that I had never heard of before,' Diop said, 'but they worked.'"
Highest scoring team in the NBA: the Utah Jazz? As in, the team run by the guy who collects tractors?
Brian Berger of Sports Business Radio on attendance in New Orleans: "The team's second home game of the season drew a crowd of 9,817. And this is after the team has been away in Oklahoma City for a year and you would think that if people are excited about NBA basketball returning to their city, they'd come out and show their support early in the season. Not to mention, the Hornets are healthy this year and have a pretty solid squad led by Chris Paul. But people in New Orleans are rebuilding their houses and trying to find jobs. They're not attending NBA games. And the real alarming part is that I could see the team averaging a shade over 10,000 fans per game for the season (New Orleans Arena's seating capacity is 19,000 seats). Playing to a half full arena every night won't sit very well with George Shinn and he won't put up with it for long. He was unhappy about the attendance BEFORE Hurricane Katrina. Imagine how he's going to feel now."
The defensive prowess of Renaldo Balkman. Anyone who has not yet taken back the mean things they said about that draft pick should think about doing so soon. Isiah Thomas can draft.
David Berri of the Wages of Wins: "When we look at all the statistics, and we consider the value of these statistics in terms of offensive and defensive efficiency (which Wins Produced does), the choice for Chicago is clear. Luol Deng needs to be re-signed. And given how many wins he produces, $10 million per year is a bit low. A win -- as noted in the Anderson Varejao piece -- is worth at least $1 million (at least, I am pretty sure about this). On the other hand, giving $10 million to Gordon is a bit too much. Yes, Gordon is developing into an average player. But $10 million per year is an above average wage. Unless Gordon suddenly develops into an all-around player (like Deng), the Bulls would be better off letting Gordon go and using some of his money to sign Deng."
Dennis Rodman's itinerant mind has latched onto yet another post-playing career plan: WNBA coach. Just like all of them, he's very serious about this one.
Michael Jordan, one of the gnarliest souls in the history of professional sports, is into hot milk and almond pedicures?. (OK, OK, I've never had one. Maybe they're incredibly effective. And if they are, can we order some up for soldiers in Iraq?) Also, while we're good-naturedly mocking the king, have you seen this video of Michael Jordan missing uncontested dunks?
Jarvis Hayes is loving Detroit. Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press (via Detroit Bad Boys): "Pistons small forward Jarvis Hayes paused to think about the question: How many times in his Washington Wizards tenure did a coach or teammate call a play for him late in a close game? 'Uh ... ' he said, looking up in thought. 'Never? I can't remember.'"
Britt Robson on his Rake blog: "The litany of reasons why Coach Randy Wittman didn't have a good year last season go beyond his terrible 12-30 record (after his fired predecessor went 20-20) and have been amply discussed on this site. Promises were made by the Wolves braintrust that we'd see an improved Wittman (and thus a better ballclub) once he had the team under his control right from training camp. Yes, Witt essentially had nowhere to go but up, but there are tangible signs of a more assured and effective performance this year. For three straight games the Wolves have jumped out to large first quarter leads, for example, indicating that Wittman has his team prepared to play at the opening tip. The coach's postgame press briefing offered other hopeful signs. Although the Wolves were once again on the short end of a free throw disparity, 44-25, Wittman appropriately blamed his team for not penetrating to the hoop and drawing fouls on offense, and too often trying for the steal or the big play instead sticking to fundamental, foot-moving defense at the other end of the floor. He pointedly noted that Orlando was in the penalty with eight minutes to play in the final period."
If basketball will ever be a key factor in major international relations, you will have read about it here first.
0-4 soul-searching in Chicago. Matt from Blog-a-Bull sets up a scenario that has to at least make some people think about Kobe Bryant: "Well, tonight's game was yet another loss. But while I thought they played much better overall, it only got them to the point where they've always been: susceptible to scoring droughts and lost leads. The most glaring time being the final four minutes of the game, where the Bulls made ZERO field goals. Just pathetic."
This kind of talk is pretty rare from an NBA coach, and I think it's a key to Phoenix's success: giving shooters confidence. Paul Coro on his AZCentral blog: "Grant Hill shot the three-pointer well in preseason but he is now 1 for 11 with his new offensive tool in the first four regular-season games. D'Antoni said he is fine with Hill going through this because he wants him to be comfortable and confident to take the shot in the spring."
The longest sellout streak in the NBA, in Sacramento, comes to an end. Wondering why? You can blame Ron Artest all you want, but plot the win totals from the last five years on a graph, and I think you have your answer: 61, 59, 55, 50, 44, 33.
Jason Friedman of the Houston Press on Rocket chemistry: "There was a great sequence of events in the second half that really hammered this point home: On one trip down the floor, Battier and Rafer Alston failed to connect on a pass, resulting in the ball flying out of bounds for a turnover. Next time down the floor, they corrected the error, Battier nailed a trey, the fans went crazy, San Antonio called timeout, and Battier put Alston in a playful headlock on their way to the bench. 'This is an imperfect game,' says Battier. 'There are a lot of ups and downs, a lot of peaks and valleys to the season, and it's good to go through it with a group of guys you want to go to battle with. You're gonna have times when you want to wring each other's necks, and there are going to be times when you want to hug each other. But that cohesion-if you can develop it-only serves you well in the playoffs.'"
Ever snoop around in someone else's closet? Ever snoop around in Gilbert Arenas' closet?
I think it's clear Portland needs a big man to play some defense. For now, they're counting on Channing Frye to be the guy who bangs under the basket. Maybe Josh McRoberts can help whe he gets healthy?
Do not leave Peja Stojakovic open. Everyone understand? Somebody else can help on Chris Paul's penetration. If you don't give this guy open threes, he's not going to kill you.
P Nussbaum of SuperSonicSoul: "Sure, Clay Bennett has done a horrible job of pretending to care about keeping the Sonics in Seattle, and his ownership group could not have been more transparent about their true motives. But the citizens of OKC, and the region in general aren't to blame. They just want a professional team, so that they can be considered as important as all the other members of the pro sports club. It's sad that in 21st century America possessing a professional team is more important than poverty, air quality levels, or crime when calculating a city's self-worth, but that's where we are. If Oklahomans think that bringing the Sonics to their state will improve their value in the eyes of this country, who am I to argue? No, the point of my piece is not to belabor the Clay Bennett v Seattle argument any further, but to present a bigger argument, that of the NBA v North American Cities. For if you think that what is happening in Seattle won't happen in your city, disabuse yourself of that notion. 10 years ago, this city forked over everything the Sonics were asking for, revamping an arena to their exact specifications. Now, less a decade hence, that reconstruction appears to be all for naught. And the Sonics are not alone in their mindset. The Spurs are currently badgering the city of San Antonio to rework their situation, in a stadium that is less than half as old as KeyArena. And if the Warriors make it to the playoffs again this year, you can be sure that the drums will begin beating in the Bay Area for a replacement facility. Sacramento has joined the list as well, and if you think that within ten years the same thing won't happen in dozens of other American cities, well, you obviously haven't followed this situation closely in the past decade. I asked two months ago on this site, Where does it end? Well, perhaps it ends with the Sonics."
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