Posted by HoopsAvenue on November 9, 2008 under Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, General NBA, San Antonio Spurs | 
We haven’t even gotten through the first two weeks yet and some things have happened that have taken even the most attentive NBA fans by surprise. Of course not everything has been a surprise. The Celtics and Lakers are in first place as expected, Dwight Howard and Lebron James continue to dominate, and Inside the NBA is as entertaining as ever, but this list takes a look at 5 things we didn’t see coming.
4. The Spurs are 1-4.
The Spurs are known for their slow starts, but this is ridiculous. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are both putting up good numbers, but the Spurs can’t seem to guard anybody. They’ve only held 2 of their opponents under 100, at 98 and 99 points. That’s not the defense this team is known for. Now with Parker joining Ginobili on the injured list, things are not looking good in the city of the Alamo.
3. Tony Parker dropped 55 on the Timberwolves.
The T-Wolves aren’t exactly the best competition in the world, but since when did Tony Parker become MJ dropping the double nickel? For the last 3 years this guy has averaged just under 19 points per game, like clockwork. 18.9, 18.6, 18.8. He even opened the season with 32 and his season low was 22 in his first four games. Unfortunately, Parker is out the next 4 weeks with an ankle sprain. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of pace he can keep up when he returns.
2. The Atlanta Hawks are undefeated.
Don’t look now, but the Hawks are undefeated at 5-0. It was only last year this team finally moved past joke status to become and up-and-coming team, and now they are tops in the East?!? Ok, so it is only 5 games and they aren’t going to be the #1 seed in all likelihood, but they are among select company with the Lakers being the only other undefeated team (as of tipoff Sunday night). The Hawks have won at New Orleans and Orlando, too, so it’s not like they are beating up on chumps. Don’t be surprised if this team is hosting an opening round playoff series.
1. Allen Iverson traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheick Samb.
Ok, if you predicted this, you must be Nostradamus because there’s no way I could imagine Chauncey Billups not wearing a Pistons jersey in early November. Iverson being traded? Eh, stranger things have happened, but if you told me he was traded I would assume he had a hissy fit first and refused to play. That was not the case. This was simply a straight-up blockbuster trade the Pistons and Nuggets both felt would improve their team in one way or another, on the court and/or in the balance sheet. It doesn’t surprise me the Pistons made a move as they needed to do try something new if they want to dethrone the Celts, but trading Billups was shocking. He’s a clutch performer and has even earned the nickname “Big Shot”. You usually don’t want to give up your team leader and go-to guy, but sometimes you have to to get a guy like Iverson. Kudos to the Pistons and Nuggets for shocking us with a big deal that makes sense on both sides early in the season rather than making us wait until the trade deadline like most teams do.
Posted by HoopsAvenue on June 18, 2008 under Boston Celtics, NBA Playoffs |
It’s hard not to root for the Celtics to win the championship every year if we get to see Kevin Garnett go crazy every time they do. Seriously, someone get that guy some sleeping pills. At least he didn’t forget his Adidas plug to precede all his shoutouts. The NBA just isn’t going to be the same anymore without KG having a chip on his shoulder. Oh, and how about Paul Pierce ruining Doc Rivers shirt with the gatorade dump? Major bonus points for some originality in their celebrating.
This championship was a 21st century championship like no other, though (if KG’s “Anything is Possible” take on Adidas slogan didn’t tip you off). Nearly the entire team was put together in one season. There was, first, the Ray Allen deal which was reasonable. Then, the KG deal, which…well, let’s just remember it was Danny Ainge dealing with Kevin McHale. Yes, the Wolves did get some potential and 1st round picks, but they couldn’t find any other team to get a slightly better deal from? Hmm. Then, there were some smart free agent pickups like James Posey. And, Sam Cassell, successfully pulled off the tried and true veteran maneuver of riding coattails. So, Boston made just enough smart moves to put together a team that even Doc Rivers couldn’t screw up.
Danny Ainge is validated as a GM? Kevin Garnett doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder? The NBA just won’t be the same anymore.
Posted by HoopsAvenue on June 12, 2008 under Boston Celtics, NBA Playoffs |
What would you do if your Doc Rivers? You can either stick with Rajon Rondo or give more minutes to Eddie House and Sam Cassell. Each of the three come with major liabilities. So, here’s the breakdown:
- Rajon Rondo – He’s the best out of the three at running the offense, but everybody knows he can’t\won’t shoot. It reminds me of Avery Johnson when he was on the Spurs. Eventually Avery hit a few jumpers and the Spurs were able to win the ’99 Championship. If Rondo can knock down a few shots, the Celts would be on their way, but the smart money says he isn’t going to bother shooting them. The real problem is that the Lakers are putting Kobe on Rondo and just letting Kobe roam on D. Not everyone thinks Kobe is a great defender, but I think most would agree he is great when he has the opportunity to roam. I don’t think the Celts can afford to play Rondo in crunch time.
- Eddie House – House is clearly the best shooter out of the three, but his ballhandling is shaky, very shaky. For good reason, Doc Rivers is uncomfortable having House on the floor as a point. However, Ray Allen is a decent ballhandler and it would make sense to go with a backcourt of House and Allen on occasion. This is a pretty good option when the Lakers start exploiting Rando’s lack of shooting.
- Sam Cassell – Unfortunately for the Celts, Sam is not the man he used to be. It’s a wonder he gets any minutes at all. I’d keep him on the bench.
Conclusion – There’s no good solution here, but I would give House more minutes late in the game and let Allen do some of the ballhandling. Every possession gets so important late in the game and having to play 4 on 5 only amplifies the pressure on The Big 3. House would make their lives a whole lot easier.
What would you do?
Posted by HoopsAvenue on June 10, 2008 under NBA Playoffs |
38-10. That was the free throw disparity last night. 38-10 in the Celtics favor. Now, Kobe, if you ignore sarcasm, “didn’t notice it,” but Phil Jackson was less politically correct talking about how his team will have to do a better job creating “illusions” for Game 3. Illusions, after all, are what the referees make calls based on, argues Jackson. You’ve gotta love the Zen Master. Every post-season, especially in the Finals, he creates the best in-between-game story lines. The best thing about his quotes is that they aren’t just vociferous rants, but they actually hold quite a bit of substance and truth to them (Yes, Sacramento is basically a cow town, get over it, Kings fans).
Let’s break down the genius of the Zen Master here. First off, instead on a Mike Ditka-esque tirade, he brings up the idea of how referees are influenced by the crowd noise, intensity of the teams, and other intangible factors. He is right. Referees are refereeing an illusion, but nobody ever brings it up that way. Coaches might rant about how the fans get in the ref’s head and other cliches ad nauseam, but to label it an illusion somehow adds some sort of intrigue to the criticism. Subconsciously, the Zen Master has just created his own illusion that the referees are too weak-minded to objectively call the game. He’s called into question their ability to block out distractions and do their job. It’s almost a subtle challenge. Whether or not it’s the right time to bring up the point with 3 straight home games coming up, though, is up for debate. Regardless, maybe the Lakers ought to show up for the first 40 minutes of the game.
Posted by HoopsAvenue on June 7, 2008 under NBA Playoffs |
So all anybody is talking about after Game 1 of The Finals is whether or not Paul Pierce aka The Truth really hurt his knee as badly as his theatrics would lead you to believe. Ok, let’s see, guy goes down, needs about half the team to carry him off the court, rolls to the tunnel in a wheelchair, and he’s back in about a minute of gametime (knocking down 2 big 3s shortly later no less)? Any Laker fan would tell you he was faking it, but I’m going to have to disagree. He was merely exaggerating. First of all, watching the replay, it’s clear his leg moved a bit awkwardly after Kendrick Perkins landed on him. There’s no way to fake that in the heat of the moment. So the next question is whether he was really hurt by the play. I think he was, but not to the extent he led us to believe. Pierce might be a relatively smart player, but he’s no evil genius ready to concoct a fake injury plot in the split second he had to react to that play. He is, however, very capable of exaggerating the extent of his pain as all players are (just watch any player be in excruciating pain on defense only to look perfectly healthy when his team gets the ball back).
The thing is you can’t blame Pierce for exaggerating the extent of his injury. I would argue he wasn’t even conscious that he was exaggerating. It’s just what NBA players do. It’s almost like an extension of flopping. You don’t even realize you are doing it, but you become so accustomed to it that when you get hurt, you lie down, have everyone feel bad for you, and then sometimes it isn’t really that bad and you return as the hero. Saying Paul Pierce was exaggerating would be like saying Allen Iverson carries the ball on his crossover or Manu Ginobili flops. Duh.
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