Due to a computer error, I wasn't able to do my standard WotN writeup. I will now devote thenext five minutes to giving you some quick worst-of highlights. If you want some funny commentary on the games as they happened, go
here.
Andray Blatch: Jesus
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo-dancing dancing Christ....
really?!
Andray Blatche was kicked out of practice and suspended for tomorrow's game against the Detroit Pistons for conduct detrimental to the team.
If it's not one thing, it's another with these Wizards, who are dealing with some distraction on a daily basis. Saunders wouldn't elaborate much on the suspension, but it was based on his behavior during Sunday's 115-110 loss to New Orleans. Blatche had zero points, three rebounds and three turnovers in almost 17 minutes. After the game, Blatche dressed, went to Randy Foye's locker and sprayed himself down with Foye's cologne. Head athletic trainer Eric Waters approached Blatche and asked him to head to the training room. Blatche responded, "Do I look like I care about my knee?"
That incident was not the reason for the suspension, according to a Wizards spokesperson, but it is not good for a team that continues to deal with more and more adversity. "It's already been too much," Antawn Jamison said after practice.
The Toronto Craptors: After back-to-back losses to the Kevin Garnett-less Celtics and the Indiana Pacers (12-25), the Craptors slide back below .500. Or as I like to call it: back where they belong.
The New Orleans Hornets: After winning six straight games by margins of 4, 4, 4, 5, 4 and 5 points, the Hornets finally lose a 4-pointer to the Sixers in Philly, redeeming the law of averages in the process.
The media: I simply cannot believe how many stories and heard and read about how the Hawks have now "mastered" the Celtics, owing to their 3-0 record against the C's this season. The first win was legit, but the last two have been against the Boston without KG and last night's game was minus Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. And it's not like Atlanta blew the Celtics out: they won by 6 points as a weakened Boston team shot 55 percent from the field. Again, without KG and 'Sheed.
Why does the press want the Hawks to be awesome? Can someone explain this?
By the way, a big old Basketbawful "welcome back" goes out to our boy
Mario West...
back for at least 10 days.
The Detroit Pistions: Remember when Joe Dumars sent the Pistons' heart and soul (Chauncey Billups) to the Nuggets for The Cancer and experts pointed out it was part of Dumars' master plan to rebuild his team on the quick? Brilliant, right? Only Dumars went out and spent $90 million on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villaneuva...which was fucking insane when it happened and it looks like utter madness now. And, in case you missed it, the Pistons are tied (with the Golden State Warriors) for the third-worst record in the league.
Last night, BG played six scoreless minutes and Villy finished with 2 points on 1-for-11 shooting as the Pistons gave up season highs in points (120), field goal percentage (57.1) and margin of victory (33) to one the league's worst scoring teams. Oh, and they lost their 13th consecutive game for the first time since Isiah Thomas' retirement tour.
The New York Knicks: The Knicks losing to the Thunder is no big deal in and of itself, but I wanted to point out that New York is 15-22 and on pace for another 30-35 win season...
which would push their streak of 30-win seasons to nine. LeBron, are you sure you want to come here?
Update! Thanks to
Jonathan for pointing me in the direction of this
Skeets post from Ball Don't Lie about how the Knicks blamed their crappy play on...ghosts.
I'm dead serious. (Get it? Dead?!)
From the New York Daily News:
The Knicks were afraid, very afraid. And it had nothing to do with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For two days, several players had trouble sleeping because they were convinced that their downtown hotel is haunted.
"I definitely believe it," Jared Jeffries said. "The place is haunted. It's scary."
Eddy Curry claims he slept for only two hours Sunday night because he couldn't stop thinking about ghosts roaming the hotel.
For years, guests staying at the Skirvin Hilton have reported ghost sightings and strange noises. Legend has it that sometime in the 1930s, a woman jumped to her death while holding her baby in her hands.
"They said it happened on the 10th floor and I'm the only one staying on the 10th floor," Curry said. "That's why I spent most of my time in (Nate Robinson's) room. I definitely believe there are ghosts in that hotel."
Based on their team record over the last nine seasons (256-428), I'm guessing the ghosts are simply following them from place to place. It might be time to call Ghostbusters.
The Minnesota Timberwolves: There's been all this talk lately about how Al Jefferson and Kevin Love can't co-exist, but last night they combined for 44 points and 29 rebounds. Of course, the Timberpoops shot 37 percent, lost by double-digits and cemented their reputation as the second-worst team in the league. So while the critics may have a point, but I'm still not sure trading away their best player is Minnesota's best chance for improving as a team. I mean, look how things have gone since they dealt Kevin Garnett to the Celtics...
The Phoenix Suns: The Suns' amazing streak of choking away big leads continued unabated, as they put the Milwaukee Bucks in a 21-point first quarter hole but before barely hanging on for a 4-point home win. Oh, and Captain Canada's streak of 5-plus-turnover games also continued, as he threw the ball away 7 times. That Steve Nash...he just likes giving things away...
Oh, and did I mention this all happened on the same day that the Bucks lost Michael Redd for the season and their coach was hospitalized shortly before the game with an irregular heartbeat? If there was a team ready to be blown the hell out, it was the Bucks. Oh well. On the bright side, Grant Hill's six points gave him 15,000 for his career.
The Miami Heat: Miami got their buns blistered 118-89 by their fellow
Jekyll-and-Hyde "bipolar significant other" team, the Utah Jazz. When the Heat are good, they go balls out on defense. Well, the Jazz shot 57 percent from the field and 60 percent from downtown. So...yeah.
Memo to Dwyane Wade: The Bulls will have a lot of money available to sign a free agent this summer. If you're going to lose, wouldn't it be better to lose alongside Derrick Rose in your hometown? I'm just sayin'.
Crabs-Warriors: Defense?! We don't need no stinking defense! King Crab outscored his fellow starters 37-28, Cleveland gave up 26 points off 22 turnovers, Corey "Bad Porn" Maggette earned 18 free throw attempts, and the final score of 117-114 probably tells you everything you need to know about this game. But I'm going to leave you with this quote from Basketbawful reader BW in Cleveland anyway: "The best part of the game was the last offensive 'possession' Don Nelson drew up. Can we all agree that the last 5 seconds of the game has to be a WotN nomination? Cavs up 3, 5 seconds left, Monta tries to call a timeout and Nelson waves it of. Monta is forced to rush up court and pass to an unsuspecting Curry. Heave. Airball. Fail."
Lacktion report: Chris continues to get the job done:
Hornets-Sixers: Bobby Brown knuckled out one brick in 7:06 for a +1 suck differential.
Hawks-Celtics: Joe Smith uncovered a forgettable scratch ticket and won 4.1 trillion (4:06)!
Wolves-Nuggets: Oleksiy Pecherov took a rejection and brick for a +2 in 1:19, while Denver's Joey Graham pressed A and B together on the Wiimote for a 25 second Mario!
Crabs-Warriors: Andris Biedrins took five fouls in 12:55 (and tossed four bricks) to earn a 5:3 Voskuhl against three boards!
Labels: Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors
Ha! No, if I have real flu-like symptoms, I'll own up to it. And with a guy trip to New Orleans for a four-day Mardi Gras celebration coming up...you can probably expect a few days worth of flu-like symptoms. :)
Of course Al and Love work well together. Kevin Love's hilariously low At Rim FG% has dropped to 50.5% this season, rebounds for all!
Also, I can't find the exact number, but Dalembert's 12 1stQ rebounds were helped by like 30 shots at basket by the Hornets.
YOU'VE GOTTA THROW IT DOWN, BIG MAN! [/Bill Walton voice]
If anybody has watched the Timberpoops this season...well, first off, I'm sorry. But secondly, watching them run the triangle has spawned some unintentional hilarity, particularly when the players run into each other. Good times being had by all in Minnesota.
Would they try? Oh hell yes. But would anybody take them? Oh hell no.
Damnit, I really want to see this now. It's almost endearing, like parents watching their special children.
Dude, I wondered where the hell you'd been. In fact, I still wonder where the hell you've been.
It's almost endearing, like parents watching their special children.
All that's missing are crash helmets and bibs.
Speaking of the press wanting teams to be awesome, yay John Hollinger, glad to see his formula is as accurate as ever.
"Well, it took half a season, but the five teams we expected to rule the NBA this season have finally asserted themselves. Take a look at today's Power Rankings, and you'll notice something for the first time all season: The top five spots belong to the "power five" of the Lakers, Magic, Cavs, Celtics and Spurs." (Side note: due to yesterday's games, the Jazz are now above the Magic, but that's beside the point)
The power five eh? Why are people still subjectively claiming the Spurs are a great team?
Wins over quality competition: Dallas (11/1), @Houston (11/27), (you can add an opening night home win over the then can't-beat-almost-anybody Hornets if you must)
Losses to quality competition: @Utah (11/5), @Portland (11/6), Oklahoma City (11/14), @Dallas (11/18), Utah (11/19), Boston (12/3), Denver(12/5), @Utah (12/7), @Phoenix (12/15), Portland (12/23), Dallas (1/8)
Of course, because I posted this, karmically (or due to KBA-itis) the Lakers will probably get blown out tonight at the AT&T Center. But seriously, they haven't beaten any quality competition in a month and a half. (How many people count the Heat as a tough opponent? Yeah, didn't think so)
Their recent slate of wins in reverse order since December: Nyets, Pistons, @Washington, Miami, Minnesota, @NY, @Milwaukee, Clippers, Indiana, @Golden State, @LA Clippers, Charlotte, @Sacramento. A veritable who's who of bottom feeders that includes every non-top 4 team in the East except Chicago (Toronto is not in the list because, well, the Spurs couldn't beat the Craptors). Of the teams in the West, they beat the bottom 4 teams 5 times. Let's not forget the home/road disparity due to the Rodeo Trip not yet arriving (16-6 at home, 6-7 on the road). Talk about feeding off the schedule...
I'm not trying to be all what-have-you-done-for-me-lately for the hometown team, but I am seriously confused as to whether I'm watching the same team. Yeah, just a smidge frustrated.
Even the Spurs fans wouldn't buy that kind of BS by Mr. BS.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Knicks-attribute-poor-play-to-haunted-hotel;_ylt=Atq3yicRkMVHdtrMtvRu8uG8vLYF?urn=nba,213113
Blasphemy!!!! (Ok I cry every night imagining this happening)
The other side says "Nets > Cavs", or "New York = $", or something. And stuff about LeBron not wanting to play with a shitty team like the Knicks.
But lets look again at the outcome of the Knicks' 2-years worth of fire sales and trades. Look at all the shitty players that won't be back: Nate, Larry "please stop taking so many bad shots" Hughes, freaking Duhon, Darko, Mobley off the books, Al "chuck it up" Harrington... LeBron really has a chance to reshape the landscape here, even without 1st rounders and even if Fat Curry and Jared "how do I fucking suck so bad" Jeffries take their player options.
They probably need to lock in David Lee, but having Gallinari and his 3pt sniping is a great start to building around LeBron. Now finding a guard may be tough, but why not keep going and sign Wade? Sign another guard that can sink the open three, and that's one hell of a team. Get another big man to back up Curry's contract year (or trade for Curry's expiring contract), and that's the flexibility to go small or big. Fun option would be lure Bosh too for the $90 million payroll with some collaboration, but they should probably get someone that plays defence to compliment Wade and LeBron's D.
Longest winning streak in the NBA belongs to...THE CLIPPERS! The better of the two NBA D-League teams in L.A.
CAPTCHA: "diaties," i.e. "Oliver Miller and Eddy Curry need to curb the sweets or else risk catching diaties."
DocZeus -- I'll take that bet. If a healthy Celtics team faces the Hawks in the playoffs, the Celtics will prevail. What are the stakes?
AnacondaHL -- I see your point, but even if the gods smile on the Knicks and they get both Wade and LeBron, who's going to be on their bench? I mean, the Knicks would have to break the bank to sign those two guys. Better yet, will two superstars who need to dominate the ball work together?
Bottom line is, I can't see the Knicks contending for a title for at least a few years even if they get King Crab. Will his titanic ego be able to withstand the wait? It's hard to imagine someone who talks in third person to be part of a rebuilding process, even if he hearts New York.
But I could be wrong.
Jim in KFalls -- Hmmm...they play the Grizzlies in Memphis. That would have been a tough W even if you hadn't stat-cursed them. Which you did.
Wouldn't the crappiness of the East accelerate the process? Once King Crab is no longer crab dribbling for the Cavs, they're done. The Celtics have quite the aging core. By default there you gotta think they'd be good for a 3 or 4 seed behind Orlando, Atlanta, and maybe some unknown team. It could be like the beginning of the millennium all over again, with the East serving up the token team for the West to destroy. Still, it'd take him tantalizingly close to the crown again right?
With the Nyets, honestly, at bad as they are, you throw Lebron with Brook Lopez, Yi Jianlian, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Devin Harris (maybe swap for a more jump shooting type), is that really any worse a core than almost every other East team?
My question is what does everyone think about the Clippers? I mean, odds are that if he signs with them his ACLs will spontaneously combust. However, they could very well come pretty close to being able to offer a max contract to Lebron, while having more attractive pieces (Griffin [assuming the injury doesn't set him back too badly], Kaman, Davis, Gordon, Thornton, and DeAndre Jordan, nobody is under contract past this year). Is LA that much worse of a destination than NY? Plus, he has a chance to mint his name by taking a perennial laughingstock franchise and turning it into a championship contender. The Lakers' core won't hold up for much longer, so he has a chance to turn Kobe and the Lakers into LA's "other" star and team. Wouldn't that cement his legacy?
WV: flearypoo. Not sure what kind of poo this is, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the Nyets and their sub double digit win percentage.
And the thing about Wade and LeBron is they aren't Kobe superstars. They don't really need the ball to dominate together, which is why this Olympics collaboration seems so intriguing. There's no real bank to break in NY, the money is always there.
And due to the shrinking salary cap and the 105% rule, both of their salaries would start in the $16.6 million range and work upwards, so considering NY is already paying $85 million for crappy crap, this seems like something they should work towards. Actually, this may work only if Curry or Jeffries don't pick up their option, otherwise LeBron and Wade may have to collaborate for a slight paycut.
Which basketball league have you been watching?
That said, if LeBron and Wade are gonna team up, it's probably more likely to happen in Miami. If the Knicks lock up David Lee, that's eating into the cap space they can offer LeBron, Wade, Bosh or anyone else. They'd have to sign those guys first and then re-sign Lee afterward (assuming he's still sitting around on the FA market).
My guess is Wade and LeBron won't be playing together though. I think players of that caliber have egos which are too large to allow them to entertain not being the Alpha Dog on their team. You might see Bosh team up with one of them though, unless of course he gets traded to the Lakers for Andrew Bynum.
Don't they need the ball? I try to watch as much basketball as I can, but I can't watch every minute of every game. However, I do tend to over-watch games of teams I like and games with superstars. I watch a lot of 'Bron and Wade, and those guys have the ball in their hands constantly.
This season, they rank first (Wade) and fourth ('Bron) in Usage Percentage (Kobe and 'Melo are second and third, respectively). Last season, Wade and LeBron ranked first and second. The season before that, LeBron was first and Wade appeared in only 51 games as the Heat went 15-67.
My point is, the Olympics was a special case because they were on a team with so many great players. In NBA play, these guys have needed a lot of touches to dominate. This isnt a Shaq-Kobe situation where one of them owns the paint and the other owns the perimeter. Pookie and King Crab both isolate on the perimeter use one-on-one play to create. Maybe that changes in a D'Antoni system, maybe it doesn't. But my gut tells me that a Wade-LeBron pairing doesn't seem to have the balance you'd want in a two-superstar system.
There's no real bank to break in NY, the money is always there.
True...but there are still salary cap restrictions...
And due to the shrinking salary cap and the 105% rule, both of their salaries would start in the $16.6 million range and work upwards, so considering NY is already paying $85 million for crappy crap, this seems like something they should work towards. Actually, this may work only if Curry or Jeffries don't pick up their option, otherwise LeBron and Wade may have to collaborate for a slight paycut.
I honestly can't imagine LeBron and Wade taking a paycut in their primes. I just can't. So for arguments sake, let's say they both take $16.6 million deals. Between that and NY's existing salaries, the Knicks would have a total cap number of $60.5 million next season...and thtat's before re-signing David Lee.
This season's salary cap was $57.7 million, and I've been getting buzz that the cap will remain about the same or possibly even shrink next season.
Teams can surpass the cap number, but only by re-signing their own players, trading existing contracts, or using various cap exceptions (such as the mid-level). This means that, even if they let all their contracts expire, they could not give LeBron and Wade max deals under current conditions. So they would have to take paycuts, then they would have to re-sign Lee. Now they're over the cap and only have their cap exceptions...and I don't know what the status of those are.
It just doesn't seem feasible, unless someone murders Eddy Curry and/or Jared Jeffries.
Quick compare: who's worse at their craft, Jefferies or new Pauper Hilton Armstrong?
Well, there's always the distinct possibility that Eddy Curry will eat Jared Jeffries. So they've got that going for them, which is nice.
Well, there's always the distinct possibility that Eddy Curry will eat Jared Jeffries. So they've got that going for them, which is nice.
And then the ghost of Jared Jeffries will scare Eddy Curry to death? What a huge win for the Bricks.
I think you haven't wrote it yet,but THE MARIO WEST is back in the nba
Back to Wade, he's mainly the one I see taking a 2nd banana role in the relationship, like Parker to Duncan. Playing with LeBron would hopefully reduce the bumblefinger responsibilities, and may be the only team I'd be excited to watch for the defence.
Anyways, assuming NY can only get one, LeBron, and signs David Lee early, it still looks better than the pupu-platter Cleveland will have next year.
And what the heck is "since Lebron shoots far below his TS% from long range" even supposed to mean? TS takes into account 3ptrs, so, huh?
'LeBron and Wade might not necessarily feel the need to shoot as much as Kobe does (though they're not exactly shy in that department), but both guys have played for years in a situation where the coach essentially has said "give them the ball and let them figure out what's gonna happen."'
I fail to see how that is "defending" Kobe in any way, shape or form. Yes, I'm a Laker fan, but that doesn't mean that I'm totally on board with everything Kobe does. I think in general he shoots too much, and that's especially true lately. Sorry if saying so doesn't fall in line with your preconceived stereotype about what Laker fans are like.
BTW, I think (as just about everyone else has pointed out) that the problem with your original statement is you're confusing the idea of "dominating the ball" with "shooting too much", as the two things are not the same. LeBron and Wade don't feel the need to jack it up as much as Kobe does (only Allen Iverson in his prime really challenges for that), but since LeBron and Wade initiate their offenses, they often have the ball in their hands more than Kobe does for the Lakers. Steve Nash dominates the ball for Phoenix, but A) that's a good thing for the Suns, and B) doesn't also mean he's shooting it too much. That's why everyone is disagreeing with you here, not because you're the lone person who thinks Kobe shoots it too much.
Lebron hits 35% of his 3s (TS value = 52.5%) and 32% of his long 2s based on NBA.com hotspots for 46% TS% (yes, I'm aware that he does draw some fouls out here too, but it's nothing compared to when he drives). The implication is that because it is far below his TS% of 61%, he must be vastly more effective attacking the rim (which must be much higher than 61% to average out), and far less effective roaming around looking for his shot. Wade is even chillier at a shade below 40% TS% from long 2 or 3. You can therefore deduce how much more effective the two are having the ball and attacking the rim, as opposing to curling past a screen on the perimeter. One might say, "Well NO SHIT Sherlock" to that, but the point is either you have them both attacking at the same time somehow, or you doom one or the other to a range where they shoot at highly inefficient clips. I know what TS% includes, I was merely being lazy since I figured you would see where I was going with this.
By contrast, Ray Allen, despite slumping a little, is still making 48% of his long 2s and 54 TS% of his 3s for 51% TS% overall from long range. That's a little below the 56% he converts right around the rim (I'm ignoring free throws for Allen because his are more evenly distributed), but it's still fairly solid use of his talents to have him off ball potentially to launch a jumper as BronBron pulls the defense. Wade? Brrrr.
When Timmy's in the game with Parker, he makes it harder for opposing defenses to defend Parker because his man can't leave him, and sometimes he even pulls an extra defender a little out of position, which makes it easier for Parker to drive in and kick to a corner. Lebron and Wade would not synergize the same way.
Who's defending Kobe? I don't think even Yams is. Especially after his recent shotjackery, I don't think many of us would rush to defend Kobe as any sort of pass first player (remember, I'm the Kobe fan, Yams is the Lakers fan, so I should be worse about this). We're all saying that while these guys aren't as selfish as Kobe, they still dominate the ball and derive their offense through that. You don't have to be selfish to dominate the ball. When you create like they do, you should be dominating the ball. You agree, pointing out that it's as a result of their teams, but what is there in a Bricks team that would change their style by much?
But you know, I don't see Wade wanting to play second banana to anybody...and in that teamup, he'd be the once to sacrifice. I'm not sure he's ready to do that at this point in his career. Maybe after several more years of championship-less toil. But there's something in me that believes he wants everybody to hold him in the same regard as LeBron. I mean, the dude is competitive.
I agree. However, I wonder if that system has created a belief in LeBron that the best way for his team to succeed is him always having the rock in his hands. Players pick up bad habits during their early years...and 'Bron's early years have been shaped by the league's worst offensive coach.
Of course, LeBron has always been a willing passer, so it's certainly possible he could make the transition.
NarS - Can you link these stats? Why are you using TS% in such a crappy and arbitrary way? It's just an umbrella stat for combining the percentages. And I really hope you're not suggesting LeBron drive to the hoop more based on this single data point. This is simple saddle-point equilibrium, and I'm assuming you don't know the rate of change when conditions change. (Uh oh! LeBron's <10ft FG% is dropping because he's driving it too often and he's shooting 50% from 3! He needs to over adjust again!)
Anyways, regarding Nash, yes he would be another star that I think this would also work for, given the circumstances. Since we're using the phrase "dominating the ball" instead of "being a PG" in his case, I'll use that convention and him as an analogy to Wade and LeBron. (Earlier, I assumed everyone just noticed mostly even TO and AST impact, which is why I concentrated on FGA jeez.) Nash dominates the ball for the Suns (same for other two). Take Nash off the Suns, and they would suck (same). Nash doesn't need to dominate the ball to succeed. (I believe this about LeBron/Wade). If put together with [other star player], he wouldn't need to dominate the ball. They would play together and kick ass.
Now, regarding the Knicks, the other big reason was, in fact, because of Lee and Gall. Lee is surprisingly becoming a good passing big man, and Gall is the 3-pt shooter both LeBron and Wade always wanted.
So I was actually envisioning more of a prior Sacramento system, with passing and assists coming from everywhere. D'Antoni would actually have to adjust, to allow more free passing and less forced reliance on the PG. I mean honestly, keyword here is forced. Freaking Duhon ugh. If D'Antoni can adjust to that, then alls well. Same applies to the only-LeBron scenario.