Donaghy’s Book

ESPN reports that the publication of Donaghy’s book has been canceled.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s tell-all book has been canceled by Triumph Books and parent company Random House, the publisher said.

“Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA” was slated for publication later this month. The book was to have covered Donaghy’s experience as an NBA referee and the events leading up to his conviction on federal wire fraud charges.

During the process of editing and vetting the manuscript, which Triumph received from Donaghy in the spring, Random House and its imprint made the joint decision to cancel the book out of “concerns over potential liability,” according to an e-mail from a Triumph representative.

But Deadspin.com has a few excerpts for us to flick through though:

Kevin McHale Back In Broadcasting

Tremendous news folks from BDL

Big news via Sports Media Watch today: Former Minnesota Timberwolves vice president Kevin McHale has found a new job, joining Ernie Johnson and Chris Webber on NBA TV’s Tuesday “Fan Night” telecasts, replacing my friend, and yours, Gary Payton.

I remember McHale’s work as television analyst for the Wolves prior to taking over the club and he was fantastic. He has a great sense of humour and a brilliant knowledge of the game. Very enjoyable to listen to.

McHale is one of the very best commentators/analysts in the NBA today. It’s great news that he’s back working in this industry and that’s he’s now on the national stage.

Trial: New Layout

This is the third or fourth time I’ve tried a new layout in the past six months. I’m liking this new edition the best.

However, each time I’ve changed the layout in the past, well, about a week later I switch I tire of it and switch back to the previous version … so we’ll wait and see how this one stands the (short) test of time.

Any thoughts on the layout would be appreciated!

• Like it?
• Dislike it?
• Makes no difference either way?

Announcement

Wow, the NBA season has finally come to end, with the Los Angeles Lakers crowned as the 2009 Champion.

I only have so much time in a day to follow the NBA – quite a lot of time really … addictions are demanding like that — and during the playoffs I generally get snowballed and loose track of other happenings around the league. I haven’t had much time to write any posts on non-playoff matters over the last few weeks, because nearly all my time is spent watching the games and writing game time posts. So, now that we’re finished with the season, I’m looking forward to getting back to some other matters.

Over the next few weeks I hope to spend time looking at

1. Finishing up posts on each team’s cap situation for the 2009/10 season, which I’ll hopefully have all finished prior to free agency opening. This is something I lost track of during the playoffs and would love to finish.

Announcement

Hey folks,

There is a small problem with the layout of the site at the moment. The three column layout is only using one of those columns, and using it three times. So the layout is messed up. If you want to check the latest posts you can scroll down to the halfway point or so of the page and see links to the latest comments and posts.

Anyway, the good people at WordPress are helping to fix the problem and all will be back to normal in awhile.

I’ve been hesitant to write any posts until it’s fixed, but I’m starting to waver on that so there likely will be some posts shortly.

Update: Everything is back to normal and working perfectly. Many thanks to WordPress Support

NBA Roundtable’s Reading Level?

A little fun to start a Wednesday morning – a blog readability test:

Wahoo! Fun feature. NBA Roundtable is easy to read and understand, good to hear.

That’s a clever idea by whomever thought of it.

Rudy Heading To Dunk Contest

The Orgegonian is reporting Rudy Fernandez is the winner of that vote for a rookie as the final participant in the Slam Dunk contest

Trail Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez has won a fan vote to compete in the 2009 NBA Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Phoenix on Feb. 14, The Oregonian has learned.

For the first time, the NBA this season opened a slot in the contest for a rookie, who would be chosen by a fan vote. Fernandez won the voting over Milwaukee’s Joe Alexander and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.

Fernandez will compete against reigning dunk champion Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, as well as New York’s Nate Robinson and Memphis forward Rudy Gay.

Rudy is a very good dunker in game situations, he should be a good addition.

Spurs Sign Austin Croshere

RealGM has the press release

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed free-agent forward Austin Croshere to a 10-day contract.

The 6-10, 235-pound Croshere joins the Spurs after being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/6. Now in his 12th NBA season, he has also played for the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. Croshere was originally drafted 12th overall by Indiana in the 1997 NBA Draft.

This season Croshere appeared in 11 games with the Bucks and averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per game. Over his career he has averaged 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 656 games. Croshere has also appeared in 68 playoff games where he averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds.

Big Winning Streaks = Losing Streaks?

Interesting report from ESPN’s Daily Dime today

ESPN Research

Yao Ming dropped in points to lead the Rockets to an 89-85 win over the Celtics on Wednesday night — the sixth loss in eight games for the defending champions. Boston, which ended Houston’s 22-game winning streak last year, isn’t the first team to slump after stringing together a long win streak.

Longest Win Streaks In League History (*won NBA title)
Year	Team	Wins	Following the Streak
1971-72	Lakers*	33	Lost 4 of 6
2007-08	Rockets	22	Lost 5 of 8
1970-71	Bucks*	20	Lost 5 of 6
2008-09	Celtics	19	Lost 6 of 8
1999-00	Lakers*	19	Won 11 of 12

Suns Get Their Point

Good sequence of reports from Paul Coro on the Suns search for a new backup point guard.

Here’s the first report, Coro starts by describing the six players Suns GM Steve Kerr will be looking at over the next few days

Season’s Greetings

Holidays Announcement

I don’t know how active this blog will be over the Christmas period. I’ve found time hard to come by over the past week, so who knows how the next 7-10 days go.

I’ll be watching basketball (addicts are predictable like that) over the Holidays and I’ll do my best to free up a little time now and then to chime in with news/reports/analysis.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Power Rankings

Teams under these Power Rankings are being judged when at full capacity (healthy), and judged on where they stand within the league when at full capacity rather than through their current form. So teams that are losing because of injuries will not suffer, and teams who are top squads but lose 7 of 9 will not be downgraded because of it.

Eastern Conference

#1 Boston Celtics

The Celtics are the class of the East and the frontrunner to win the Conference. They’re ahead by a large margin

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs have been one of the season’s pleasant surprises, they’ve transformed themselves from a below average offensive team to the league leader in offensive efficiency. They’ve been trouncing teams with regularity and look a vastly improved regular season side.

Cleveland have always been the team best equipped to take down the Celtics and they remain so. But something else has changed since our last power rankings

Defenses Adjusting To Biedrins

Andris Biedrins began the season at a torrid pace, dropping 16.8 points a night and leading the league in rebounds with 14.9 boards a game. He had registered 18 straight double doubles dating back to the end of the last season. Biedrins was by far the Warriors best player and was dominating on a nightly basis, but that’s changed over the last fortnight or so.

Recently, Biedrins has not only failed to live up to his earlier numbers, but he’s also failed to reach a double-double. He has only one double-double in the last six games and he’s gone four straight without one at all. In fact, for the last two games (Boston+Cleveland), he’s been held to single digits in both points and rebounds. A massive contrast to his earlier production.

So what’s happening?

The McDyess Buyout

Here’s a good question and answer as to why the Nuggets bought out McDyess instead of trading him

I understand Antonio McDyess didn’t want to come to Denver. Not much the Nuggets can do about that. However, it appeared a lot of other teams were interested in him. Why couldn’t the Nuggets trade him to another team, rather than buying him out, then releasing him? Seems like we could’ve gotten a better deal.
– Tom, Colorado Springs

Tom – It’s possible, but the fact is, the Nuggets felt like they benefited with the way the McDyess deal played out (even if they didn’t get an actual player out of the deal). Denver only had to pay $6 million over two years, as opposed to $13.5 million over two years, which they would have had to pay McDyess or who they got in the trade. With this move, the Nuggets are now within $1 million of the luxury-tax line, a heckuva accomplishment for Denver’s brass, which had a payroll flirting with $90 million to begin the summer.

Raptors Notes

Offensive

The last statistic I saw for fastbreak points had the Raptors ranked last in the league. So I decided to have a look and see where the shots were going to:

• 31% of the Raptors shots are coming in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock this season and the Raptors are making 47% of those shots. Last season, 33% of their shot attempts came in the first 10 seconds and they hit 56% of them. That’s a huge difference in field goal percentage and a large difference in extra shots taken.
• The 2009 Raptors make up that difference elsewhere, holding a comparable field goal percentage advantage and extra attempts, but they come at the 16-20 second mark. So they’re taking more shots late in the shot clock and getting good shots then.
• There are small differences in the 10-15 second marks and 21-24 second marks.

Defensive

The Raptors are conceding the same percentage of shots in the paint since Jermaine O’Neal arrived, but opponents are now shooting a substantially lower percentage making 50% of their shots compared to 55% last season. Since Jermaine got injured, that percentage has risen back up to 52%.

New Layout

I’m pleased to present this new look, I’m happy with it and I think you folks will be too.

I’ve been searching for a new layout for NBA Roundtable for some time now. I was never quite satisfied with the previous look and had become increasingly agitated about it over the past month. Over the past few hours I have changed the design several times over and checked out several interesting looks, ultimately deciding on this one.

The site is brighter than the previous version, the dark colours of the previous design were bothering me. I think the white background will make the site easier to read. I was wary of the three column look at first but after checking it out for awhile I think it shows recent posts better, making the site easier to scan through for recent posts to your interest. I also like the quotation sections and comments sections.

The site can also be ran as a low maintenance (very tempted by journalistic view) one which is terrific for my lazy ways, no need for pictures or fancy graphics on the header. Suits me to a T.

So, I came across this excellent design over at The Utah Jazz wordpress blog, and subsequently stole it - my apologies for stealing it … they say imitation is the ultimate form of flattery. For those that haven’t noticed, I have listed the Utah Jazz website over on my Blogroll for the last couple of months. It’s simply a fantastic Jazz website that is updated regularly, it contains has terrific Jazz information and game recaps. Unlike NBA Roundtable, the site is both well organized and well written.

Some of the changes you’ll notice

• The links on the right hand side of the page have been moved to a page, “links”, that is at the top of the frontpage.
• The recent comments and recent posts sections are down at the bottom of the page on the left hand side
• The categories organizing my posts are also at the bottom of the page but in the central column.
• On the bottom right hand side there is the archives and a search function
• You can click on the heading of one of the posts, from the three column layout, and view it one larger column. I find it easier to read the enlarged version.

I’m going to try this new design out for the next couple of weeks, I’m hopeful of it sticking long term.

Kapono’s Shooting/Scoring

Some very impressive shooting marks from Jason Kapono

• Field goal percentage is 49.3%
• Three point percentage is 55%. This is an incredible mark
• Free Throw percentage is 80%

Like I said, very impressive shooting statistics. Unfortunately, they’re not as effectual as they should be, for comparison’s sake let’s use Jamario Moon. I think most would agree that Jamario Moon has underperformed badly in the opening period of the season – here’s some stats:

• Kapono’s field goal percentage is superior at 49.3% to 45.3% for Moon
• Kapono’s three point field goal percentage is superior at 55% to 37.5% for Moon
• Kapono’s free throw percentage is superior at 80% compared to 71.4% for Moon

So who’s the most efficient scorer? Well, not so quick, let’s look at a few other statistics

• Jason Kapono plays 24.5 minutes a game. Jamario Moon plays 23.7 minutes. So Kapono plays slightly more minutes but it’s very close.
• Jason Kapono takes 6.6 shots a game. In comparison, Moon takes only 4.8 shots a game.
• Kapono scores 7.9ppg while Moon scores 6.5ppg.

Wait a moment, why does Kapono score only 1.4ppg while taking 1.8 shots more per game? All of Kapono’s shooting percentages are higher and his three point shooting is vastly superior. How is this happening?

• Jamario Moon takes 2.2 three pointers per game. Kapono actually takes less, only 1.8 threes per game. Still, Kapono’s vastly superior three point shooting percentage means he makes 25% more threes per game than Jamario Moon does.
• A important difference is the number of three point shots out of their total shots. Moon takes 2.2 three pointers out of his 4.8 shots per game. Kapono on the other hand takes only 1.8 threes out of 6.6 attempts per game. In other words, 46% of Moon’s field goal attempts are from downtown whereas only 27% of Kapono’s field goal attempts are from behind the arc.
• Another key difference is free throw attempts. Jamario Moon takes 1.9 FTs per game versus 0.5 for Kapono. That’s 380% more FTs than Kapono takes. That stastisc is even worse when you consider Kapono shoots more shots than Moon. Moon gets 1.9 FTs per 4.8 shot attempts, a 40% clip. In comparison Kapono takes 0.5 FTs per 6.6 shot attempts, a very poor 7.5% clip. That’s 533% more FTs attempted per field goal for Moon versus Kapono.

The result?

• Jamario Moon scores 1.36 points per shot (including free throws)
• Jason Kapono scores 1.19 points per shot

A couple of further things to bear in mind

• Jermaine O’Neal while off to a poor start offensively (42% from the field) is scoring 1.11 points per shot. Kapono is actually closer to Jermaine than Moon despite his fantastic shooting percentages.
• Kapono scored 1.16 points per shot last season, so he’s actually doing better this year.

My point? These two point jump shots (only 5% of Kapono’s shots come inside the paint – interestingly that’s 58% less than last year, but comparable to his best season as a pro in Miami when he took 6% in the paint) that Kapono takes are killing his efficiency. He needs to do a better job sticking to his strengths and take a large percentage of his shots from downtown. It would be brilliant if he could get to the FT line more often, but since this is sixth year in the league and he’s shown no capability to do that it may be asking too much from him.

Two examples to further validate my point

• In his breakout season in Miami, he took 37.3% of his shots from downtown and scored 1.30 points per shot. That season he also shot 49% from the field, and a lower 51% from downtown.
• Against Orlando in last season’s playoffs, Jason Kapono took 45% of his shots from downtown and scored 1.47 points per shot attempt. That was not the only factor for Kapono’s efficiency in that series, he was also red hot from the field shooting 58% from the floor and 54% from three, but it was a big factor. If Kapono shot his present level of three pointers per shot attempt (27%), he would have only scored 1.31 points per shot while shooting the same percentages from the floor.

There will be more (short note) on Kapono tomorrow – the recent move of putting Bargnani in the starting lineup has renewed my interest in the Raptors wings.

Mario Chalmers’ Jumpshooting

I’ve been a big fan of Mario Chalmers for some time now. I thought he was one of the major steals on draft day, and have been talking him up as the Heat’s starting point guard since that very moment all the way through to opening night when he won the job outright from Chris Quinn and Marcus Banks. Chalmers isn’t a prototypical point guard but I think he can be a very good fit alongside a gifted playmaking/ball-handling two guard like Dwyane Wade.

But something has left me perplexed, I’m astonished by how poorly Mario Chalmers is shooting the ball so far in his rookie season.

Let’s start of by giving this some context, let’s state his shooting percentages in his final season, his junior season, for Kansas:

• 51.6% from the field
• 46.8% from three point range
• 74.6% from the FT line
• eFG% was 63%
• TS% was 66%

Mario Chalmers’ junior year was his best shooting season but he also put up impressive shooting numbers as a freshman (TS% – 58%) and as a sophomore (TS% – 62%).

So how does this compare to his numbers as an NBA player in his first 12 games with the Miami Heat?

• 39.7% field goal percentage
• 32.5% three point percentage
• 59.1% from the free throw line
• eFG% 48%
• TS% stands at 50%.

Clearly, Chalmers is shooting the ball terribly by the lofty standards he set in college.

12 games is a very small sample, since he’s a rookie we don’t have much else to fall back on … How about preseason? Chalmers played 7 games in preseason, what were his numbers then?

• Field goal percentage was 48.6%
• Three pointer percentage was 35%
• His free throw shooting percentage was 72.7%
• His adjusted field goal percentage was 58.1%
• His true shooting percentage was 60%

His total in 19 games for true shooting percentage would be 53% which is solid.

————————————————————

I’m suprised by how poorly Mario Chalmers is shooting the ball. He is a three year college player who was NBA ready, I expected a smoother transition. His shooting in college was phenomenal and a dip was expected, but I also expected him to remain a slightly above average shooter instead of a way below par one.

Perhaps I was being overly optimistic though, after all Chalmers is shifting from shooting guard to point guard and doing so in the beginning of his rookie season in the best basketball league in the world. Maybe it was always likely that he would struggle at the start of the year.

Anyway, if I were a Miami Heat fan I wouldn’t be too bothered by his initial struggles from the field. His track record in college shows that he’s capable jumpshooter …. he just needs more time to acclimate himself to the NBA, and when he does (no idea how long that’ll take, hoping it’ll happen his rookie year) we’ll start to see some of the pure shooting we’ve come to expect from the NCAA Champion Mario Chalmers.

I would also take solace in the fact that half of Mario’s field goal attempts are coming from downtown and that’s earning almost two FTs a game only 6 shot attempts. Both are good marks for a shooter (role player) and will give a big boost to his efficiency (as they do already, as seen by his eFG%) as he starts to make more shots.

Hopefully, for Heat fans he’ll start shooting better sooner rather than later.

RaptorsTalk comment

A lengthily response to an interesting comment over at RaptorsTalk

The Shooting Guard + Small Forward option vs Small Forward option

Okay, my first attempt at writing this failed miserably so I deleted it. I’ll start again and with one straight forward sentence – The foundation of the team is more important than the short term needs that this squad currently has.

The difference between the two in my mind is: When you talk about the foundation you talk only about the core structure of the team - in this case Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh, Jermaine O’Neal - and discount the rest of the roster. When you talk about the needs of the team you talk about guys like Jason Kapono and Will Solomon in conjunction with the core of the team.

The Foundation’s Needs

Firstly, the foundation that this team needs is very clear. With the trio they presently hold it’s abundantly clear that a fourth player is needed for two main reasons

1. Bosh and Jermaine while excellent aren’t dominant enough to control a game (to a Championship level) without a good perimeter crew
2. Jose has too much pressure on the perimeter. Scoring wise the perimeter only has role players. Calderon is the only player who can create his own shot. Calderon is the only playmaker on the perimeter, so he’s the only perimeter player that regularly creates shots for teammates. As long as these two facts (scoring/playmaking) are true, the Raptors will lack diversity. Also, their fourth quarter execution is always going to be difficult until he gets more help, too predictable and one-dimensional.

What type of fourth player is needed? That player needs to be able to:

• Score at a high level, second option so 18-20ppg (minimum)
• Score from the perimeter with jumpshots/penetration
• Some creativity off the dribble
• Solid one-on-one defender + solid rebounder

with additional preferences in descending order of importance

• Best option is also a playmaker/passer/ballhandler (think Joe Johnson rather than Jason Richardson)
• Better D+Rebounding + perhaps general all round play (above option better but not elite)
• Better scoring

Let’s play out the argument with an example – Gerald Wallace vs Jason Richardson

Gerald Wallace was chosen by RapsFan as one of the better options (along with Marion) on a small list of players I offered up in a comment. One of the other players was Jason Richardson. The fact they’re two teammates and two very different types of wings makes for an interesting comparison, one that will help bring a greater definition for the needs the Raptors have.

#1 Gerald Wallace

Gerald Wallace fits the short term needs of the squad very well. He’s a small forward. He’s athletic. He’s a very good rebounder. He’s a quality defensive player. He can score. Fills a lot of holes very well.

Medium term fit is poor though. Here’s a few reasons:

(1) Gerald Wallace defensive value comes primarily from being a help defender, someone who scrambles and tries to get turnovers. While that’s useful it’s not primarily what Jermaine/Bosh need, Bosh/Jermaine need someone who’ll stop dribble penetration and Wallace is barely an average one-on-one defender (something which has drawn the ire of Larry Brown).

(2) Gerald Wallace’s points per game is impressive but the way he scores is less so. He scores primarily out of the low post, mid post, broken plays and fastbreak opportunities. The spaces he likes to take offensively on the floor are the exact same spots Bosh and Jermaine take so spacing becomes a major issue, the Raps suddenly become easier to defend and it’s harder to take advantage of his scoring ability.

(3) Staying on his scoring, Wallace only scores from isolation plays in the halfcourt or broken plays. This means a lack of fluidity to the offense, because now there’s three frontcourt players who all need an iso or post up … offense will regularly lack movement and secondary threats in possessions. Said another way – it’s a my turn your turn offense

(4) Streaky jump shooter. Not a strength of his, his offensive value comes from high percentage hoops in the paint. Once again causing spacing issues for Toronto.

(5) Wallace is a poor passer and a poor ball handler for his position. Despite being a wing he does not help Jose Calderon, that burden of running everything on the perimeter is still on Jose’s shoulders.

So now we go back to the drawing board, the club is clearly improved, but clearly still has major flaws.

1. Defensively they still need a one-on-one stopper. Dribble penetration defensively is still a major issue

Offensively the addition isn’t good enough to form a foundation for a contender.

1. Wallace will be doing well to score 16ppg when playing alongside two players who take his favourite positions/touches on the court. Chris Bosh is still without a true second scorer.
2. The way Wallace scores his points will not help Bosh/Jermaine/Jose. He adds nothing new that they do not already have. Several of his touches/shots will be ones that would have gone to Bosh/Jermaine otherwise. His complementary scoring he does create will be closer to an Anthony Parker/Jamario Moon level, than a true second scorer.
3. The team will not improve it’s execution in the fourth quarter because at a basic level it’s still the same play (isolation)
4. The offense will stick lack balance and Jose Calderon still has no help threading the offense together. Another poor passer/playmaker/ball handler. Calderon will still need to make all the decisions he’s making right now.

#2 Jason Richardson

Jason Richardson is a 20-24ppg scorer. He’s one of the best jump shooters in the league. He’s one of the most versatile scorers in the league – stand still jump shooter, jumpers off the dribble, high post, mid post, low post game, midrange game, can beat his defender off the dribble, can get to the rim and finish, can get to the line (although doesn’t do it enough), and can score on the fastbreak, can run off screens off the ball, good cutter, work the pick and roll off the dribble.

Richardson is able to get his baskets no matter what offense a team runs. He’s a low usage player who doesn’t need many touches to score, and he can play off of (alongside) any type of player. Richardson is a clutch shooter at the end of the games and plays well in big games (put the Warriors on his back in the final month of that season to get them to the playoffs). His versatility and athleticism makes him a very tough scorer to limit/contain.

Richardson is also one of the best, if not the best, rebounding two guards in the league. He’s also a good defender who could be a very good defender if he didn’t have a whole offense resting on his shoulders every night. His strength defensively is his man-to-man defense.

Richardson is also one of the most athletic players in the league.

He’s not a playmaker/passer but he is a solid ballhandler and he can create his own shot from the perimeter. It’s not the perfect fit because you’d rather have a Brandon Roy/Joe Johnson, someone who can take some of the playmaking duties away from Calderon …. but Richardson ability to create his own shot and solid handle does enough to make it work.

The structural fit of the team is far stronger with Jason Richardson because he fits into the present core (Jermaine, Bosh, Jose) much better. He’s also easier to fit role players around because his strengths correlate better, and his weaknesses (unlike Wallace) don’t decide the player that needs to be acquired.

Jason Richardson is not good enough to be a Contending team’s best perimeter player except in one scenario – a playmaking point guard who’s an excellent floor general, someone who can thread the play together. Also a good supporting cast and deep level of high caliber talents (four).

Part Two

Okay, that was the first part of equation, now onto the second part. Most trades have a consequential action, in this case it’s who needs to start alongside Wallace/Richardson on the wing and can they be acquired.

Gerald Wallace

This is the problem of judging the need from the whole team rather than the core, it can give you and unfavourable foundation to build around. As we covered in the Wallace section earlier, Gerald certainly improves the squad but still leaves major weaknesses in play. So who does his teammate need to be?

Anthony Parker is a good role player. He’s a two way player who contributes in a number of different areas. Is a Calderon-Parker-Wallace-Bosh-Jermaine combination enough to contend for a title? No, it’s not. Parker scores a good clip (12ppg), is a great shooter (40+% from downtown, TS% 58%), and a useful defensive player. What’s missing? Dribble penetration. A legitimate stopper defensively. Ability to create his own shot from the perimeter. How many role players have this combination of skills? Very, very few.

Let’s change it to two extremes.

(1) A stopper at the two guard spot. Let’s say Bruce Bowen off last season’s Spurs.

Is a Calderon-Bowen-Wallace-Jermaine-Bosh lineup good enough to contend for a title? I do not think so, I think it’s too weak offensively to get the job done. It could be a great defensive team though and a very good rebounding (not elite) team.

Bear in mind that a player of Bowen’s caliber (last year) is not acquirable, and that the team will likely be playing with a lesser player.

(2) The best role player in terms of scoring and shot creation in the league is JR Smith.

Is a Calderon-Smith-Wallace-Bosh-Jermaine lineup good enough to contend for a title? Probably not, but it’d be a dangerous team that could win a few rounds in the playoffs. A Smith/Calderon backcourt would be one of the worst defensive backcourts in the league, and Wallace is no stopper on the wing, so defensively there would be huge concerns. You could help limit that by having good defenders off the bench but it’s likely to much to overcome. Calderon’s below par defense puts too much pressure on the wings to be positives defensively. Offensively that’s an incredible team. Rebounding wise it’s very good.

Bear in mind that a player of Smith’s caliber is not acquirable and that the team will likely be playing with a lesser player

So let’s get back to the player that Gerald Wallace would need alongside him, this player would likely need to be a mix of these two skills – even rarer and harder to acquire - without losing the necessary shooting. The odds of landing that are terrible – in fact off the top of my head I can think of only one role player in the league making MLE or less money (not rookie contract) that can do that.

To add context, the fifth wheel would likely need to be a Stephen Jackson or Tayshaun Prince level player. Because the foundation is not strong enough with Jose-Wallace-Bosh-Jermaine, ergo, the four man foundation has to stretch to five players. This requires bringing in another high level player who’ll be making $7-10mil per annum. Since the Bosh-Jermaine-Calderon-Wallace group is making so much money, this option is not achievable.

Jason Richardson

This is where the benefits of the foundation come to fruition. Richardson’s strengths fit alongside the Raps trio much better, and his weaknesses do not cause major trouble on the rest of the squad.

Also, it’s very much possible to find and acquire role players who are steady rebounders and good defenders on the wing. Pietrus is an example of one last year. Bad case scenarios also have good fits like Keith Bogans.

My preference: After trading Parker+Bargnani+makeweights needed for Richardson. Then trade Kapono for an expiring contract to free up some spending money so the Raps actually use their MLE in the offseason, and sign Trevor Ariza.

Is a Calderon-Richardson-Ariza-Bosh-Jermaine lineup good enough to contend for a title? Yes, I think so. Offensively that’s a very good team, defensively that’s very strong, and it’s also very strong on the boards. Get a good bench to go with it and you definitely have a contender on your hands. It’s not a frontrunner like LA or Boston, but it is a contender (Detroit or New Orleans level).

One small point – if Richardson makes them a contender but not a frontrunner like Boston/LA, what does?

What would the squad need to be a frontrunner for a title?

That goes back to the start of my thoughts and fourth option on the needs for the fourth player in the foundation - a playmaker/passer/ballhandler in conjunction to Richardson’s skills - That player is Joe Johnson or a Brandon Roy. A higher level version would be Tracy McGrady. A higher level again is Pierce, Kobe, or a LeBron James.

Conclusion

I think Jason Richardson is the far superior option for the Toronto Raptors.

Also, I do not think it matters one iota whether it’s a two guard or a small forward that’s acquired. In contrast, the skill set of the player matters very much.

Jacks Signs Extension

RealGM – press release

The Golden State Warriors have signed guard/forward Stephen Jackson to a contract extension, the team announced today.

Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

The deal is rumoured to be close to $28mil over three years putting him under contract until 2013 (two remaining on his deal already).

Some words from GSW leadership

“We’re excited to have Stephen under contract for the next several years,” said Warriors President Robert Rowell. “He has been nothing short of terrific – both on the floor and in the community – since we acquired him almost two years ago. He has embraced this opportunity with the Warriors and has become a leader of a very young basketball team. Furthermore, he expressed a desire to be here long-term and we wanted him to be a part of our team as we move forward. We view this as a win-win for everyone.”

Make a note that it was Robert Rowell and not Chris Mullin delivering this news.

Some words from the man himself, Stephen Jackson

“I’m extremely happy,” said Jackson. “The Bay Area has become my second home since I arrived here in 2007 and I can’t accurately describe how good it feels to be wanted and appreciated by an organization. The Warriors – from Chris Cohan, Robert Rowell, Chris Mullin and Coach Nelson to the last person working in the front office – have embraced me since Day One. This organization has put me in a position to succeed and, for that, I will be forever grateful. I am really looking forward to the next several years, helping this young team win and providing my veteran leadership.”

Several times in the past I’ve said I’m not a fan of this deal because of the financial implications for the Warriors … that opinion has not changed.

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Good Q&A with Jackson from a couple of days ago, two relevant questions

Q: You’re essentially committing yourself to the Warriors – and vice versa – once you sign that three-year contract extension. Why is this the right move for both sides?

A: “I’m finally at the point where I’m wanted. I can be the player I’ve always wanted to be. I can be a leader. And I’m tired of bouncing around. I’m tired of going from team to team. And this is somewhere where I feel comfortable, my family is comfortable. And I love the coach I’m playing for.

“So for me, it’s a great situation.”

Q: Even if that means being part of a rebuilding team?

A: “I’ve been on both sides of the ball. I’ve been on good teams, I’ve been on bad teams. So I kind of know how to deal with getting back to the winning situation. And I don’t think that this team is as bad as when I was with Atlanta. We have way more upside and way more talent.

“I think the biggest thing for us is just to realize we have a young team and to have some room for error because the young guys are still learning. Me and coach talked about it, we might not be as good as last year, we might be better, we don’t know yet. But the biggest thing for me is to stay positive and do what I do best, and that’s be a leader.”

Chicago Bulls Sign Lindsey Hunter

Chicago Tribune reporting

CHICAGO – The injury-depleted Chicago Bulls have signed former Detroit Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter.

The veteran is expected to join the team for its game Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.

With a Bulls’ backcourt thinned by injuries, the 37-year-old Hunter brings 15 years of experience to the team. He played 24 games for Detroit last season.

Guard Kirk Hinrich could be out for three months after thumb surgery, and Larry Hughes hasn’t played this season because of a preseason shoulder injury.

I’m surprised Lindsey Hunter signed for anyone other than Detroit.

I’m surprised Joe Dumars didn’t give Hunter the final roster spot on the team. Hunter has been a long time servant at the club and is expected to join the front office there when he decides to call it a day.

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As for Chicago, this is a good stop-gap signing. The team needed a fill in for Kirk Hinrich while injured and Lindsey Hunter can provide that.

I like having Hunter as a practice companion/challenge for Derrick Rose. Hunter is a pro’s pro who has great experience, plus his defensive ability can serve as a learning lesson on two counts: (1) Rose learning how to play high quality full court pressure defense, and on the other hand how to beat it when on offense. Good preparation. (2) Teach Rose how to get more out of his raw defensive ability, something Rose needs a lot of work on (especially off the ball D) .

I wouldn’t play Hunter unless foul trouble or poor play dictated it. I don’t see the need. The Bulls have three starters in Rose, Thabo and Deng plus two high quality reserves in Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni on the perimeter. They don’t really need to play a sixth player. I think Gordon can handle the point for 12-15 minutes a night while Rose sits comfortably enough. I’d rather have Thabo out there trying to contribute and improve. There will be even less of a need once Larry Hughes gets fit.

Update: The Bulls have chosen to use Hunter as their backup point guard, despite Ben Gordon’s presence and the return of Larry Hughes (played the point on his previous three teams at one time or another). Hunter is averaging close to 11 minutes a night in the 11 games he’s played in.

Hunter has played solid basketball. His character, leadership, effort and defense have been commendable a good addition to the Bulls. According to on/off court stats, the defense is performing 4.3 points better when Hunter is on the floor. He’s also making one steal a game in those 11 minutes, which is a nice bonus for the Bulls.

His offense on the other hand hasn’t been great. Lindsey has been hitting only 36.8% of his jumpshots, but half of those attempts are from downtown where he’s shooting a good percentage, but his true shooting percentage is still very poor at 48%. Hunter is scoring 3.4ppg and handing out 1.5apg in those 11 minutes.

Update: Good article in the Detroit News with some answers to my queries over why Detroit did not sign their long time servant Lindsey Hunter.

Lindsey Hunter has been around this game too long to be taken by surprise by anything.

But not getting a contract offer from the Pistons last summer certainly gave him pause.

“You know, it’s the NBA. It’s business,” said Hunter, who signed with the Bulls on Nov. 13 after playing 12 of the last 15 seasons with the Pistons. “You never know where you are going to end up. The good thing is, I am with a good group of guys, young guys, who go out and compete every night. That’s all you can ask for. I am just trying to help any way I can.”

So why didn’t the Pistons sign him?

After last season Hunter, 37, wasn’t immediately sure he wanted to play another season. The Pistons held a roster spot for him until after summer league. When Hunter finally decided he wanted to play another season, the Pistons had signed Will Bynum as their third guard.

“Yeah, we kind of went with Will,” coach Michael Curry said. “I liked Will and we weren’t sure whether Lindsey was going to come back or retire.”

Oddly enough,

Hunter apparently had never heard that story. When asked why he isn’t still a Piston today, he said, “That’s for other people to answer for you. I can’t answer that.”

When asked if he wanted to re-sign with the Pistons, he said, “Definitely, that was my intention. But you know, things always happen and you can ask the powers-that-be why. Then you can call me and tell me.”

Hunter says he bears no ill-will towards the Pistons

“I don’t have any hard feelings at all. I am happy,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to play as long as I have and to be able to continue to play this game. I don’t have no hard feelings for anybody.

“I’ve been on other teams, I know how it goes. It’s like I told my wife, it didn’t shock me and it didn’t surprise me. It’s just how things go sometimes.”

I think the Pistons mishandled this situation badly.

Tony Parker Injured

I tuned into the game late after hearing the news, here’s a link to the ESPN story

Tony Parker, the NBA’s leading scorer, sprained his left ankle Friday night against Miami and is expected to miss at least two weeks.

An MRI was expected to be performed Saturday.

The Spurs said X-rays were negative.

The Spurs performance was what you’d expect without Parker – terrible. They don’t have enough firepower to work without Tony. It’s going to be a rough two weeks for San Antonio. Some role players (Finley!) are going to have to step up their scoring if the Spurs are going to weather this … also need to get their defense back to normal.

Update: ESPN says Parker will actually be out for a full month upon further evaluation

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker will be out about four weeks with a sprained left ankle, a critical blow to the San Antonio Spurs, who are off to their worst start in 12 years.

Parker was driving for a layup when he rolled his ankle.

The 26-year-old Parker was using crutches and wearing a protective boot while watching Sunday’s practice.

Also a Manu update

The Spurs are also missing Manu Ginobili, who is expected to be out until December while recovering from ankle surgery. He participated in cutting and shooting drills during Sunday’s practice.

“I don’t think we can comment on Manu other than to say that he continues to progress as prescribed,” Buford said.

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Here’s the Spurs schedule for the rest of November – Knicks, @Bucks, Rockets, @Kings, @Clippers, Nuggets, Nuggets, Jazz, @Grizzlies, Bulls, Grizzlies, @Rockets. That’s 12 games in the next 20 days.

Going forward for the full month for Tony Parker, add these games – Pistons, @Nuggets, Warriors, @Dallas, Atlanta. Five more games.

That’s 17 games that the Spurs will miss Tony Parker for. Manu Ginobili is expected to return sometime next month, it’s unknown how many of December games he’ll miss.

Update: Hollinger PER Diem on this topic – link

Carlisle Quote

Carlisle’s quote

“Every player in the league wants to play here, seriously,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said before the start of training camp. “We’ve got the best facility; we’ve got the best physical setup in terms of proximity of airport and where everybody lives. Guys want to be here. There were a bunch of guys that were dying to come here for below market value this summer because they love Dallas.”

Seriously – Who are these players?

Why didn’t Dallas sign any of them?

Why are Dallas turning away quality players who want to play for below market value?

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The article (four days ago) was about the possibily of LeBron coming in 2010, some other pieces on the Mavs, the positive reputation the organization has.

Word on the NBA street is that owner Mark Cuban treats players like the pros they are. From luxury travel accommodations to thick-and-thirsty bath robes to in-locker stereo systems (although most players seem to prefer their iPhones) to in-locker video-game system (even if the next guy seen playing one will be the first) to hot catered postgame meals (former Pacers forward Shawne Williams said at Indiana, no postgame meal).

“This is as good as it gets,” confirmed Jason Kidd

LeBron adding

“Everyone who’s been there, you hear conversations that it’s a good franchise to be a part of,” James said before Monday’s game. “I think it’s very loose, but it’s very competitive and they want to win around here. I think it’s Dallas in general, from the Cowboys to the Mavericks to the Stars, whatever professional teams are here, they’re always about winning.

“This one, in particular, Mark Cuban does a great job. He puts a team on the floor every night to try to compete for a championship and that’s all you can ask.”

Hollinger’s PER Diem – Spurs

I don’t know if you’ve noticed Hollinger’s new piece called PER Diem this season or not, but if you haven’t it’s worth checking out. He has a medium sized article on some interesting happenings in the NBA.

Today’s was on the San Antonio Spurs and three facts got my attention:

For the first time in 35 years, the Spurs fell to 0-3 after Tuesday’s 98-81 loss to Dallas.

That’s the first, here’s the second

Here’s the part where Spurs fans should really start worrying: Tony Parker is leading the league in PER, and Tim Duncan is third … and yet the team still hasn’t won a game. That’s major red-flag territory, people — San Antonio’s two stars couldn’t possibly be playing any better, and it hasn’t been enough to get them even one win.

This has to scare the life out of every Spurs fan in the nation. When your best players are dominating like this and you still can’t pull out a win ….. very bad situation.

Throughout the summer I’ve said several times that the San Antonio Spurs cannot win the NBA title (but can play the act of playoff spoiler, capable of knocking anyone off, but not doing it for four rounds), and the reason they cannot is not their top players but their poor supporting cast. Their supporting will cost their top trio a shot at another title and will do so in a time when their best players are running out of Championship opportunities.

Their poor start to the season only increases my worst fears about this year’s edition of the Spurs – the supporting cast – I love the Spurs, they play beautiful basketball and Duncan is one of my favourite players, it pains me to see them stumble before their time and it is most assuredly before their time.

Several of their older players like Michael Finley, Robert Horry and Jacque Vaughn had to be replaced and upgraded this summer. It never happened.

Another player of note is Kurt Thomas, someone who hasn’t fitted into the Spurs team well enough since his arrival, and looks incapable of functioning at a high level next to Duncan – Kurt has struggled offensively, and his lack of pace leaves an older Duncan more exposed than he should be. He’s another player that the team had to consider replacing. They choose to resign him to substantial money.

This is only half the problem too. They not only needed to replace and upgrade players, they also needed to add certain types of players.

• Such as a true fourth scorer, someone who can score 12-15ppg and create his own shot, someone who can take a little pressure of the big three offensively. The preference was for a wing who could start instead of Finley to complement Parker/Duncan while Manu stayed on the bench, also allowing Manu to have some help in the second unit when they needed it.
• They desperately needed a second shot blocker to play alongside Tim Duncan, or to sub in for Tim Duncan. The lack of a second shot blocker has left the Spurs defense lagging behind the Celtics and Rockets, leaving them overly vulnerable to penetration from perimeter players.
• The team also needed a long physical wing - although Ime Udoka does a good stand in job while that is being found - someone who can help on the backboards, play physical defense against bigger wings, drain three pointers, play tough defense, allow the Spurs the flexibility to play a good small ball lineup (Walter Herrmann would have been an excellent low cost option, Posey a high cost option). The Spurs lack lineup flexibility. In other words it’s 5 years later and Stephen Jackson still hasn’t been replaced. Even an offensively inclined big small forward who’s an average defender would have been preferable to the current situation.  Robery Horry’s perimeter orientated ways at power forward allowed them to work around this hole effectively, but with his decline last season and departure this summer, the hole has continued to grow in importance.

Entering the season I felt the team had two high quality role players and one average role player.

The two high quality players were Oberto and Bowen. The average role player was Roger Mason Jr.

• Unfortunately Roger Mason was replacing a high quality role player in Brent Barry, so there’s no upgrade there. He’s also being used at shooting guard because his team is desperate for scoring/shooting, so his potential defensive impact is lowered – more effective at the point.
• Here’s a quote and link – Oberto, 33, missed the first two games of the season after the surprise return of a heart condition called atrial fibrillation. – Oberto is one of their best players and his absence has cost the team dearly, his loss compounded by Manu’s absence. Oberto is now back and healthy, and should soon resume his normal minutes. His loss has hurt the Spurs options up front, leaving their bigs short handed and ill equipped to compete once you got beyond Duncan. The Spurs desperately need his defense and rebounding, and also his offensive abilities (excellent passing, movement, efficient scoring).
• Bruce Bowen is the second high level role player. His defense has been falling off substantially each season for a couple of years now, but he’s still remained an elite defender. I haven’t caught a Spurs game yet but several people I’ve talked to say that his defense has been poor this season. That’s easy to belief when you look at his minutes (18mpg) and some of the impressive performances that have come against him. Bowen doesn’t contribute enough offensively or on the backboards to sustain a big loss in defensive impact, so if he drops off badly he’ll be close to useless. He’d be finished as a quality role player and incapable of playing 20 minutes a night. It’s way too early to say definitely where he is defensively but the concern is there and it’s been rising with each passing game.

If Bowen has lost his defensive edge, that means San Antonio have only one high level role player. It also means they’ve lost their second most important defensive player and have big question marks of his replacement options. It also means they’ll lose their best three point shooter in terms of accuracy and makes outside of the Big Three (Manu really). This could be a massive blow to the Spurs. Their role playing wings are already one of the weakest in the league in terms of playoff caliber squads.

This brings us to three-four final role players, these guys are all swing factors.

Udoka is the last established role player the Spurs have, he’s a useful player who provides quality defense and decent offense. I’ve expected more from him in his first season in San Antonio, which has lost some of my confidence in the lad. The reason why Udoka is a large swing factor is Bruce Bowen, if Bowen has truly lost his defensive charms then the duties of defensive stopper fall on Udoka’s shoulders. How well he responds to that opportunity - the extra minutes, the defense, his perimeter shooting - will be a major deciding factor on San Antonio’s season.

The other three role players are youngsters. They are George Hill, Anthony Tolliver and Ian Mahinmi. I don’t know what to expect from any of these three. Hopefully one or two is ready to step up and play in the rotation. The Spurs backup point, Jacque Vaughn, is poor and needs to be replaced so Hill has a good opportunity there. If Hill is anywhere ready to play he should take those minutes by midseason. The second opening is as the fourth big in the rotation, the Spurs desperately need an athletic big who can block shots and provide energy, Mahinmi looks the prime option. Mahinmi’s injury early in training camp forced him to miss all of preseason and the games so far, so getting into the rotation after a late start will be difficult. Tolliver is someone I know next to nothing about.

Ready to be shocked further? Try this: The Spurs are dead last in defensive efficiency. It’s not a close dead last, either — even lowly Sacramento ranks well ahead of them. Parker and Duncan are dominating and the team is second in the NBA in offensive efficiency, but the normally buttoned-down San Antonio D has been surrendering points with such ease that it hasn’t mattered.

Finally, we get to some good news. The Spurs are not the worst defensive team in the league, they are at worst an above average team defensively (worried about Bowen) and they should be one of the best defensive teams in the league. When that happens their season will turn around quickly.

I don’t know if how many people remember, but the Spurs defense also started off poorly last season and was below average for a good time. It turned around finishing  in the top 5 for defensive efficiency by the end of the season. So adjust your level of concern and patience accordingly.

Another piece of good news is Matt Bonner. Popovich is inexcusably starting the lad. With Oberto getting his sea legs back this should not last much longer.

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The article caught my attention for two reasons:

(1) The Spurs slow start highlights some of the flaws that exist within their supporting cast. The Spurs shouldn’t be playing this poorly without one of their top three players, and shouldn’t be losing while getting such contributions from their remaining two best players. They’re losing because their supporting cast isn’t getting the job done.

(2) It raises a question of how vulnerable are San Antonio to missing the playoffs? What happens if Manu’s absence is longer than expected? Or if someone else got injured? What happens if all are healthy, are they vulnerable then?

Too early to answer, or even guess at these questions, but it’s time to recognize that for the first time in Duncan’s career these questions are reasonable and exist.

If the Spurs win 6 less games than last season then they’re a 50 win team. Manu is likely out until mid-to-late December (around 20-30 games). If Bowen has declined that puts further pressure on San Antonio. Winning 6 less games isn’t out the realm of possibility. Could Dallas, Denver and Portland catch that mark? It’s certainly possible.

Iverson Debut Held Off ‘Til Friday

Allen Iverson will not play against the Toronto Raptors tonight

TORONTO — Denver Nuggets coach George Karl told reporters Wednesday morning that both Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb would not be in Denver until late Wednesday night and wouldn’t take their NBA-mandated physicals until Thursday morning.

Thus, Allen Iverson was not expected to make his Pistons debut in Toronto on Wednesday night. Instead, he will do it in New Jersey on Friday.

That’s disappointing, I was hoping to see the new look Pistons tonight.

Billups and Co. will also be held out until Friday, and will play their first game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Batum To Start

Very good article by John Conzano on rookie Nicolas Batum’s first start. It’s worth checking out.

There’s one part which was particularly pleasing

McMillan planned to start Batum in the season opener but changed his mind the morning of the game against the Lakers. The Blazers coach got jittery, and nervous, and decided to go with veteran small forward Travis Outlaw, who is terrific as a sixth man and hadn’t practiced enough with the starting unit.

It was a mistake.

McMillan knows it. Batum knows it. The rest of the Blazers know it. You know it. I know it. Your dog knows it. And today, it gets corrected when Batum gets his first start at small forward and Outlaw gets back with the second unit where he can cut loose doing the things that make him effective.

I agree with Canzano and many others, I think it was a mistake not to start Batum from opening night. He was the best option to replace Martell Webster in the starting lineup.

What I liked most about this segment and the rest of the article is that Canzano doesn’t make a big deal about Nate’s mistake. Coaches make mistakes, even great ones. There’s no problem stating those mistakes, but there’s no need to jump to silly conclusions that have no basis. So many articles kill coaches whenever the slightest mistake (or wrongly perceived as a coaching mistake) is made and they drive me nuts, this one didn’t. No fuss, no huffing and puffing. A relaxed view point.

Anyway, back to Batum, I’m looking forward to seeing him play tonight. Batum should help balance out that starting lineup, and the return of Outlaw to the second unit will certainly improve the Blazers bench. Tonight’s game is against the Utah Jazz.

The Blazers were 3-1 against the Jazz last year. Their zone defenses were a huge part of that record, as was Brandon Roy and the Jazz’s problems containing Aldridge. This is a good test for both Portland and Utah. Utah now have a healthy Okur (he missed 2-3 of those games) and Kyle Korver, so they should handle those zone defenses better this season. Also a test for how well they do defensively against a top penetrating wing and athletic post player. For Portland it’s a matchup against a Western titan and likely winner of their division, so it’s huge for them.

OKC Sign Steven Hill

RealGM has the press release

Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has signed center Steven Hill.

Hill (7-0, 245) saw action in three preseason games with the Portland Trailblazers, recording averages of 1.0 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.67 blocks, and 9.0 minutes.

The Missouri native played four seasons at the University of Arkansas where he averaged 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.11 blocks as a senior. Hill was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a junior.

The Thunder roster now stands at 15.

It’s nice to see Steven Hill get a chance in the NBA after all the feel good stories we heard about him this summer from the workouts with Greg Oden.

Good luck to him

Pistons Extend Rip Hamilton

ESPN has the story

In addition to acquiring Allen Iverson in a three-for-one trade with the Denver Nuggets, the Pistons agreed to a three-year extension with Richard Hamilton, a team source told ESPN.com’s Chad Ford.

The new contract is worth $34 million, with the first two years guaranteed. The third year is only a partial guarantee, the source told Ford.

Excellent deal for the Pistons. That’s a cheap contract considering all that Rip Hamilton brings to the table.

As for Rip, he could have gotten more on the open market. I think he lost a lot of money on this deal.

Warriors Sign Kurz

The Golden State Warriors have signed training camp victim Rob Kurz.

The Warriors had a 15 man roster, so to make room to do so, they needed to and did place Monta Ellis on the suspended list. Clever move by Chris Mullin to get some much needed reinforcements.

Blazers Sign Webster To Extension

ESPN reports

Webster’s agent, Bob Myers, told ESPN.com that the 21-year-old has signed a four-year extension with the Blazers believed to be worth $20 million, very similar to the deal Jason Maxiell received Thursday from the Detroit Pistons.

The fourth season of Webster’s new contract, which will kick in next season, is at the Blazers’ option.

Excellent contract for the Blazers. Webster is still improving at an impressive rate and still has good upside.

It’s a solid contract for Webster, I think he could have gotten an MLE type deal in the summer though.

Pacers Sign Granger To Extension

Here’s the details

The Pacers and Granger agreed this evening to a five-year extension between $60 million and $64 million. Granger’s extension will start next season.

Danny Granger’s agent added

“I think it’s great for Danny and the Pacers,” Granger’s agent, Mark Bartelstein said. “I think (president) Larry Bird and (general manager) David Morway and (owner) Herb Simon did a terrific job in being proactive here. There were a lot of long conversations with David, Larry, myself and my associate Aaron Mintz.

“You have a great emerging player. I think the Pacers are trying to rebuild the franchise and I think to let Danny get into restricted free agency when you never know what could happen, I think it was a terrific move on their part to get Danny locked up. It shows how much he means to them.”

So that’s about $12mil per annum for Granger. That’s a good deal for Granger and a solid deal for Indiana. I was worried about this deal for Indy after they effectively named him the franchise player with the Jermaine trade, but they stuck to their guns and got a sensible deal. It’s a little more than I’d like but yeah it’s absolutely a solid deal for the Pacers.

Update: Some quotes of the ESPN news wire story

Larry Bird

“He’s been one of our hardest workers, and a guy that’s improved every year since I’ve been here, since we’ve drafted him,” Bird said before Indiana beat the Boston Celtics on Saturday. “I think it’s very important to take care of the ones who do their job, are professional, and we’re just glad to have an opportunity to get it done.”

“He’s always in great shape, and he just plays,” Bird said.

Danny Granger

Granger said on Thursday that he wants to achieve individual success, but only in the framework of winning as a team.

“My goal is always to become an All-Star, but more so, I want to get this team to the playoffs and have us be a contender, if not this year, the year after that,” he said.

“You can’t really name too many star players in this league that can also play defense,” Granger said. “Ron Artest, Kobe [Bryant] when he wants to. So that’s my goal, not only to be a force on the offensive end, but on the defensive end also.”

Jazz Decline Almond Option

Here’s the report

Whether it was the Jazz’s decision to match C.J. Miles’ offer sheet from Oklahoma City this summer or exercise an option in Ronnie Brewer’s contract – but not his – before the start of training camp, Morris Almond could see this day coming.

That didn’t make what happened Friday any less stunning: The Jazz took the first step in cutting ties with their 2007 first-round draft pick, declining a $1.157 million option to bring back Almond for the 2009-10 season.

“You kind of wonder, ‘What could I have done better?’ or ‘Where’d things go wrong?’ but it never really took off in the first place,” Almond said.

The Jazz will look to trade Almond before his contract expires

Almond will become an unrestricted free agent after this season, but is likely to leave the Jazz sooner. He learned of the decision from general manager Kevin O’Connor earlier this week and said trade talks already were underway.

It’s a very good article on the subject, Almond adding some more thoughts

“They said it’s kind of like a numbers game,” Almond said. “Something had to give, and this is the start of that.”

Almond’s agent Lon Babby

“His goal is to get on the court, whether it’s Utah or someplace else,” said Lon Babby, Almond’s agent, adding, “I think people like him and think he’s going to be a solid NBA player, he just has to get the chance to play.”

The reason Utah weren’t high on Almond

Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan has stressed the need for Almond to be more than a one-dimensional scorer almost from the day he arrived and did so again Friday.

“Everybody’s graded on the number of points they score,” Sloan said, “but there are a lot of valuable players in this league that don’t score as many points but they do other things.”

It’s a very good article, worth reading the whole thing.

Good decision by the Utah Jazz. They’ve clearly made decisions on Ronnie Brewer and CJ Miles as their two guards of the future, and then there’ Kyle Korver too. There simply wasn’t the room for another shooting guard, no playing time or opportunities. Almond was the worst player of these four off guards, and two of the players ahead of him are young prospects with Ronnie Brewer clearly being a quality prospect.

The Jazz are facing luxury tax concerns on the horizon with Deron Williams’ extension and with both Boozer and Okur likely receiving extensions …. any savings they can make outside of their core players are valuable. So it’s a good call for Utah.

The Utah Jazz have also made a good decision on trying to trade him now rather than letting his contract run out. He won’t play so he has nothing to offer to Utah outside of what he can get in a trade.

As for his trade value, I expect he’s worth a second round pick or two. The Jazz will be doing well to get low first round pick. It’s possible Utah get a 10th or 11th man type veteran, someone outside of a rotation but solid enough.

Almond’s agent, Lon Babby, said there would be some interest in Almond and I agree. Shooters are always valuable and Almond has some scoring abilities too, several teams will want him. Almond would be a good pickup for somebody like the Oklahoma City Thunder, or maybe a playoff squad in need of a shooter like Philadelphia.

Blazers Babbling + Oden Injury

The Oregonian is reporting that Greg Oden will be out injured for 2-4 weeks

An MRI performed on the 7-foot player revealed some relatively good news: Oden has a mid-lateral right foot sprain and is only expected to miss between two and four weeks. If so, Oden, who suffered the injury Tuesday night during the Blazers’ season-opening 96-76 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, would miss between six and 14 games.

In a press release from the Blazers, the team said Oden has a “couple of avulsions,” or fractures, in his foot but the injuries are not serious and will not require surgery.

That’s good news considering the levels of concern.

For the last two or so weeks I’ve been thinking more about Portland and the playoffs. I’ve said several times over the summer that I think they’ll be force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, but also that I expect them to be a low seed. What I’ve been wondering lately, is how much of threat is there for Portland to lose their playoff spot? What would it take? Is it possible?

The following is mostly a half-hazard disorganized thought process

Some of the reasons why I’m less convinced of their regular season record are

• They’re a very young squad. Not just their top three players (Oden, Aldridge, Roy) but also their bench and their role players in general. Przybilla and Blake are the only two veterans on the team, and the only two players on the roster who’ve fully established their games … the rest of the roster is mostly young players who are still developing as players. Young players generally don’t make for good role players, how does this group do? (too early to tell)
• There’s a lot of new faces from last season’s squad. At the minimum in the regular rotation we have Oden, Bayless, Rudy and beyond them there’s even more. Gone from last year’s squad are key glue guys like Jarrett Jack and James Jones.
• Greg Oden is in his rookie season. There’s going to be a huge learning curve from him. The Greg Oden that finishes the season will be a lot stronger than the one that started the season
• Greg Oden is recovering from a big injury. We don’t know how quickly or how well he’ll initially be or how long it’ll take him to get back to full fitness/sharpness. We also know that this makes his learning curve as a rookie even more difficult, but we do not know to what degree.
• The rest of the squad has to get used to how Greg Oden plays, how to make him more effective and how to play off of him. There’s a process there. Since he’s a rookie it’ll likely be a longer process than usual for his teammates.
  • Aldridge had free rein last season. He wanted to post, then he went into the post. He wanted the pick and roll, he went and set the pick and roll. He wanted to shoot jumpers, he shot jumpers. Aldridge could work out of any space on the court he pleased and got a lot of touches.
  • With two 7 footers on the court, finding space will be more difficult. This could effect penetration and movement off the ball. We saw this in LA on opening night. This is a learning curve rather than a long term issue. Remember Portland played small ball a lot last season.
• Travis Outlaw’s role and situation has changed considerably, not totally but considerably.
  • The Blazers are looking to use him as a small forward this season, rather than a power forward as they did last season. Gone are the small ball lineups where the space is infinite and he’s able to iso against big slow power forwards. Travis still has good athletic advantages (he’s 6-9 and can jump over anyone in the league) at the three spot, but he’ll be in a different situation against a different type of defender. That will effect his game. The question is how much? Is it a positive or negative change? Also defensively how well does he do at small forward.
  • With Greg Oden entering the lineup and taking/creating shooting opportunities for others, how does that effect Travis’ shots/touches? It’ll likely be less. How much less?
  • Outlaw was primarily a one-on-one player offensively last season, how well does he integrate with superior offensive options around him?
  • Travis will still be the first option off the bench, but now he has more scorers alongside him in Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless. How does that effect his touches/shots?
  • Travis was a surprise last season. Nobody expected that type of burst from him. Now he’s on every team’s scouting guide. How does that effect him? Is his offensive arsenal versatile enough to handle that? …. and there’s much concern on that score. Outlaw is far too reliant on that pull up jumper. He doesn’t get to the rim often enough, he doesn’t get to the line, and he doesn’t shoot from the perimeter often enough for a shooter of his caliber. Outlaw last year over relied on that one dribble/two dribble drive and pull up. Many defenders are going to be playing him for it, plus now he’ll be defended by that quicker perimeter defender rather than a big man.
• Other rookie seasons from Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless. Bayless is one heck of a scorer and in many ways is NBA ready but he’s also struggled to play the point so far in his career, he has a large learning curve at that position. Rudy Fernandez is also making the difficult jump from Europe to the NBA, one that normally takes a bit of time (Scola took a third of the season last year). The most comparable rookie season for expectations is Manu Ginobili’s – 7ppg, 2apg, 2rpg – and I thought Manu had a more developed/well rounded game when he entered the league. There’s also the defensive transition for Rudy Fernandez, last season his coach in the ACB, Aíto, used a lot of 1-3-1 zone to hide Rudy defensively. Now the level of talent and athleticism just jumped hugely, how does Rudy do defensively?
• Offensively they have some issues, specifically with the caliber of their top scoring options. Brandon Roy is the best scorer at 19ppg, Aldridge was second at 18ppg and Greg Oden is likely the third best scorer (I’m expecting 12-15ppg). These are all young players who are constantly improving so they could get a bump, even a big bump (Aldridge) … but you still look at this team and wonder if they have enough scoring from their best players, and if that scoring is diversified enough. The Blazers ranked 14th in offensive efficiency last season, how much does Oden improve that?
• How good is the perimeter play (starters) on both ends of the court? Brandon Roy is brilliant but after that you wonder. Steve Blake is a solid role player. Then comes the difference maker, Martell Webster. I consider him the glue guy of this team. They desperately need him as the lineup’s premier perimeter defender, as the team’s fourth scoring option, as their best and most prolific and perimeter shooter. Webster has improved tremendously over the past 18 months, and I was expecting him to take another large step this season, but how large? What happens if he stagnates? What happens to the Blazers defense if he can’t fulfill their defensive needs on the perimeter? Martell and his possible improvement is one of the biggest keys to Portland’s season. Unfortunately he’s been out injured since the first preseason game so I have no grasp over how much we can expect from him this year. The one thing about Portland’s perimeter play, is that off the bench they’ve got a lot of talent which goes a long way to even out a possible (depends on Webster) weak perimeter crew (by comparison to other contenders) on the starting unit

Blazers are loaded with potential. Loaded with young players who are hard workers, who are trying to improve and progress as players. Their season could turn into so many things.

Quickly, the main reasons for Portland being a much better playoff team than regular season team are

• Youth. Their young players are likely to progress throughout the year and be far better come playoff time.
• Defensive ability + Rebounding ability.
• Overall ability in the interior. This isn’t some young team that’s going to get beaten up by a veteran crew in the paint. Oden will see to that and he has plenty of help with Przybilla and Aldridge.
• Having two seven footers that are extremely difficult to match up with
• Brandon Roy is incredible. The poise, the leadership, the passing. He’s capable of playing both guard positions at an All-Star level. He gives Portland two players (Blake) that are capable of running the offense at all times.
• Portland’s execution last year was very good. Not just for a young team, but for any team. They take good care of the basketball. They’re good at getting the shots they want.
• The Blazers are capable of playing any style of basketball. They can play big, they can play small, they can play halfcourt, they can play fastbreak ball, they can play scrappy, they grind it out … whatever it is they can do it.
• They’re a very good halfcourt team which is of paramount importance in the playoffs. Their best basketball and most natural basketball was in the half court last season, the Blazers played at one of the slowest paces in the league, and with Oden they’re going to be even better at it.
• They’re defense/rebounding/fasbreak/interior play should create some easy points which again is of paramount importance to winning in the playoffs.

Anyway, I said there have been questions floating around in my head over the past forthnight about Portland … Is it possible for Portland to lose a playoff spot? What would it take for them to lose the spot? Who could take it from them? How big is their margin of error? If they’re fully healthy is their any chance they lose it? Will it take 50 games to make the playoffs again in the West? 48 games? How many games could the Blazers win?

The Oden injury, in conjunction with the Webster injury, has brought these questions to a climax and have their importance has grown substantially. Unfortunately just because there’s questions, does not mean we have the answers. This is one of those we need to wait and see situations, but we can offer some clues and frame the situation better.

So what does the playoff picture in the West look like? Who are Portland’s competition?

I’ve said in the past that I expect these 7 teams to be locks for the playoffs (with reasonable health of course) – Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trailblazers. I’ve also said that I expect three teams to battle it out for the 8th seed – Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers with the Dallas Mavericks heavily favoured. I don’t expect either of the following five teams to put up a challenge – Golden State, Sacramento, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Memphis.

So looking at that it appears the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers are the main threats to Portland’s playoff spot.

The Los Angeles Clippers are a complete unkown because (1) Camby has yet to play with them (2) and because they’re very dependent on the abilities/development of two youngsters in Al Thornton and Eric Gordon (3) They have 9 new players from last season’s squad. We have no choice but to wait and see. Perhaps things work well and they make a strong challenge. Perhaps they come together badly and they’re nowhere close to challenging for a spot. It’s likely somewhere in between.

You also have to wonder about the health of Baron Davis and Marcus Camby, both of who are injured already, and both very much have iffy injury histories. Kaman has had some injuries too (Clippers led league in games missed by injuries last season). Are they more vulnerable to injuries than most? It appears so. They could be a tough challenger but completely derailed by an injury. They’d fall apart with Baron Davis, and they’re interior looks weak if one of the bigs is missing. Still that’s true for most teams, I’m just saying the Clips have added question marks there.

This brings us to Denver and they’re the team that I’m worried about from the Blazers perspective. Many people’s prognoses for the Nuggets is a disastrous-to-.500 season, that they’ll fall apart after the Camby trade, or that perhaps Iverson will be traded for peanuts and their season will go up in smoke then. Frankly I think the Iverson one is the more likely of the two. I’ve disagreed with the idea of a Nuggets’ collapse, I expect them to be comparable to last season … and that’s a 50 win ball club. Even without Camby the Nuggets have a very talented roster and with Nene coming back from injury they have some quality replacing for Camby.

The Nuggets were hot in preseason going 6-2 which only served to increase both my belief in them and my concern for the Blazers playoff appearance.

My early season reaction is that the Denver Nuggets are very much capable of putting up a strong challenge for Portland’s spot in the playoffs. That really should be reversed, since Portland are tying Denver’s playoff spot from last season … but hey I had already written the Blazers into the playoffs in my mind. I do think the Nuggets are capable of 50 wins and capable of pushing Portland all the way to the final weeks of the season, and capable of punishing any under-performance or misfortune the Blazers suffer.

If both the Nuggets and Clippers struggle to .500 or thereabouts, then you have to consider the Blazers a lock. If one or two can win 47 games there would be a fair bit of pressure on Portland. If one or two could win 50 games there would be a lot of pressure on Portland. If one of them could win 52-53 games (very doubtful) then I’d be very concerned about Portland’s chances.

Greg Oden will miss 2-4 weeeks, in games that is 6-14 games

I’m sure we’re all aware that Portland were given a nightmarish start to the season with several grueling matchups … so the loss of Oden could be quite severe. Let’s have a quick look:

6  games - San Antonio Spurs, @ Phoenix Suns, @ Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, @ Orlando Magic

6 to 14 games - @ Miami Heat, @ New Orleans Hornets, @ Minnesota Timberwolves, @ Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, @ Sacramento Kings, @ Phoenix Suns,  Sacramento Kings

9 of the 14 games are on the road

5 of the 14 games are at home

7 of the 14 games are against expected playoff teams

7 of the 14 games are possible+certain contenders for the NBA title

7 of the 14 games are against expected lottery squads

At least those extremely tough early season matchups are surrounded by some winnable games.

How important is this stretch of the season? Very important. So how much does the loss of Oden swing things?

The matchups against the contenders were always going to be extremely difficult to win this early in the season for the Blazers, so do they lose much there? Probably not. You’d look at teams like Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix (twice) … these three teams dominated the Blazers last season, especially in the paint, losing Oden likely makes each game a loss. Spurs sans Manu Ginobili are a team the Blazers could have gotten after with Oden in the lineup, that would have been a tough game for San An. Utah and New Orleans are teams that the Blazers had some success against last year and two teams where Oden could make a big difference. Orlando too, Oden would have helped with Dwight, and forced Lewis to defend Aldridge. These were all tough games for Portland even with Oden, so I’m not sure how much the W-L record changes without him.

The matchups against the lottery teams are another issue. I’d still favour Portland but they suddenly look a lot more vulnerable against Golden State, Sacramento and even Minnesota. They’re all teams where having a big man presence is very important.

If it’s only 6 games is it important that Greg Oden is missing? Not at all. There’s only one game there were Portland are expected to win.

If it’s 14 games is it important that Greg Oden is missing? It could be. If they struggle badly against the better teams (likely), and drop a couple (the real worry) against the weak teams, then they’re in a bad situation. They still have to get Oden back healthy, and then comfortable, then get the rest of the team comfortable around him. The learning process (functioning as a team) will be delayed considerably. That’s a lot of negatives to start your season with, a lot of negatives to overcome.

Let’s play out an awful scenario: Portland lose against all the top teams, and only go 4-3 against the weak teams. Their W-L record would be 4-10 with Oden returning to the lineup. For Portland to win 50 games they would have to play at a 56 win pace, win 46 of 68 games, for the rest of the season. This would put a large amount of added pressure on the squad. It would also put their playoff spot in jeopardy, making them vulnerable to a big season from the Nuggets/Clippers.

Let’s play out a very good scenario: Portland meet expectations, lose the big ones, win the little ones. Are playing at .500 at 7-7. There’s no dent on their season and no added pressure on the remaining games. An excellent scenario would be stealing one or two of those games against the top sides.

Let’s play out a solid scenario: Portland go 5-9 or 6-8. That would require Portland to play at a 54 win pace or a 53 win pace respecitvely, for the remainder of the season. It adds some pressure, more than you’d like, but the Blazers could be able to meet that pressure.

Conclusion

Is there a conclusion? Not really, like I said it’s a disorganized thought process and one based more on questions rather than answers.

Mmm … I guess it’s that the Blazers ability to win a playoff spot isn’t as secure (I still favour them to make it) as I thought it was during the summer. It’s under greater threat than I initially thought.

In conjunction with this raised concern, the Blazers face a tough period without both Greg Oden and Martell Webster which highlights this period as a key one in the Blazers season.

In a tough Western Conference any prolonged blip in performance can have a dramatic effect on a team’s chances of making the playoffs … so this period without Oden is one to watch with a wary eye.

Pistons Sign Maxiell

Yahoo/AP reports

The Pistons and Jason Maxiell agreed on a $20 million, four-year contract extension, a basketball official told The Associated Press on Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been signed.

He had career highs last season, averaging 7.9 points on 54 percent shooting along with 5.3 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 21.5 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-7, 260-pound forward is one of the Pistons’ top reserves and likely will have a larger role in the years to come.

This is a solid deal for the Pistons, Maxiell is worth this type of money.

As for Maxiell, it’s a good deal for him, it was going to be difficult for him to make more money as a free agent. The likely benefit was extra years rather than extra money per year, so he did well.

On the downside, the Pistons financial flexibility just decreased.

Bynum Signs Extension

LA Times reports

The Lakers and Andrew Bynum have agreed in principle on a four-year contract extension worth about $58 million, keeping their center of the future in the fold through the 2012-13 season, according to sources familiar with the negotiations who would not speak publicly.

Bynum, who will make $2.8 million this season, will earn close to $42 million over the first three years of his contract extension. The fourth year will be a team option for about $16 million.

Good deal for both sides. Good contract for LA, and good security for Bynum.

$14mil per season for three years and a team option on the fourth should Bynum develop into an excellent player worth $17mil.

Update: Some good quotes on ESPN’s article

GM Mitch Kupchack

“We’re extremely happy to have signed Andrew to this extension, which will secure his immediate future with the franchise,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “Andrew has shown a vast array of skills for a player his size and if he continues to stay dedicated and work hard to improve, he has an excellent chance to develop into one of the top players in the NBA.”

Andrew Bynum

“This has been a fantastic week for me so far: turning 21, winning our first two games of the season, and now getting this new contract signed,” Bynum said. “This gives me and my family financial security, and more importantly, cements my future with the Lakers, which in my opinion is the best organization in all of professional sports. I couldn’t be happier.”

Nuggets Close To Signing Kleiza (deal is off)

Here’s a link to the report from the Rocky Mountain News’ Nuggets Blog. Two thirds of the article is on how this relates to Marcus Camby so here are the important points

Now, they’re on the verge of signing Linas Kleiza to what has been reported to be a four-year, $25 million contract extension that would kick in next season. That’s also a very reasonable contract.

If reports of the terms of the deal are accurate, Kleiza’s contract extension, which has to be signed by Friday’s deadline, will start at an amount around this season’s midlevel exception of $5.558 million. The midlevel should go up slightly next summer.

That’s a solid contract. Kleiza is a difficult player to value because so much of the contract comes down to potential. He’s shown good production as a scorer with 12ppg in under 24 minutes a night, and had a few wildly impressive games like the 41 point explosion against the Jazz. He provides a rare size and skill set at (1) 6-8 245lbs, big strong body with good quickness, (2) with an impressive arsenal – very good perimeter shooter, can drive, and play some in the post. So he has big potential as a scoring option and he’s also a difficult matchup as a big small forward or a quick perimeter power forward.

As for the rest of his game? I need to see more from him. I’m concerned that his rebounding numbers (per minute/percentage) have decreased each season as his minutes have increased. I need to see more from him defensively too. Better passing and better movement without the ball (although in Denver that’s hard to judge), and more ability to create for others around him. Lot of areas for improvement.

The fact that he’s overshadowed (reputation, touches, shots, minutes) by the trio of Iverson, Melo, and to a lesser extent JR Smith could mean anything … perhaps we’re undervaluing his production (more likely) or overvaluing how good he could be offensively without them. Is he a good scoring role player who needs to do more in other areas? Or can he grow into a quality third or fourth option, perhaps even more as a scorer?

Kleiza is a talented young player with potential. For his potential the contract is reasonable and good …. but I think we’re all waiting to see just how capable a player he is in this league. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Kleiza this season.

——————————————–

The article also goes on to state the Nuggets cap situation for next season after this move

Also, indications are the Nuggets are leaning toward picking up the $2.11 million option on Balkman for next season.

Throw it all together, and the Nuggets are now in line to have nine players under contract next season for a total of about $63 million. They can get down to about $60.3 million if they let Chucky Atkins go by only paying the $760,000 of his $3.48 million contract that is owed next season. That’s a move that is very possible.

The luxury tax threshold is $71.15 million next season, and should go up a few million for next season. So the Nuggets should have a decent amount of wiggle room.

That’s not including Allen Iverson who is a free agent this summer.

Update: Balkman’s option has been picked up by the Nuggets.

The Nuggets would have two quality big men in Nene and Kenyon Martin. Three quality wings with Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith and Linas Kleiza. That’s a decent foundation. They’re weakened by the big men contracts, also Steven Hunter will still be on the books. If Denver got a good point guard (Kirk Hinrich?) they’d have a fairly well balanced starting five.

Iverson for Gooden and Hinrich? Perhaps Thabo too? Does that help Denver? I’m not sure. It would be a very different team. At best it’s a lateral move but that’s likely all they can achieve from an Iverson trade.

——————————————————————

Update: The extension is off

The Nuggets’ deal to sign Linas Kleiza to a contract extension has fallen apart and he will become a restricted free agent next summer, his agent said Friday.

Bill Duffy told the Rocky Mountain News that the Nuggets decided Friday not to offer Kleiza, a Nuggets forward, a deal in the range the two parties had been talking about that would start next season. The sides had been talking about a possible extension in the range of $25 million over four years which would have had to have been signed by the Friday deadline.

“(Nuggets owner Stan) Kroenke decided (Friday morning) he wanted to keep some flexibility open, and we don’t disagree with that,’’ Duffy said. “We think that he has some options

I think the Nuggets should have signed the deal but it’s an understandable decision to walk away.

Kleiza’s agent added

Duffy said that while Kleiza likes Denver, other NBA teams will be looked at next summer. He’s also a candidate to go overseas.

“We’re going to look at all of his options, including Europe,’’ said Duffy, noting how European teams have been paying big bucks for NBA players, including Josh Childress last summer.

Duffy said Kleiza actually could make more money by not signing now.

“(Golden State center) Andris Biedrins didn’t sign (when he was first eligible to last fall), and he ended up making an extra $20 million,’’ said Duffy.

Duffy noted six NBA teams will be under the salary cap next summer and could bid for Kleiza. The Nuggets, though, can match any offer for Kleiza.

Kleiza’s agent is correct, Kleiza can make more money next offseason and he will make more money next offseason. This is good news for Kleiza’s bank account.

Mark Warkentien had this to say

Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said the sides were “close’’ and “everybody was trying to get it done, but we just didn’t.’’

“As an organization, we’re big fans of flexibility,’’ said Warkentien, who said that with the economy, it’s not out of the question the NBA salary-cap could go down next season.

Warkentien said the Nuggets remain hopeful Kleiza will be part of their long-term future.

“We love the guy,’’ Warkentien said. “We’re engaged now . . . Wait for the invitation to be received (next summer).’’

Coby Karl To Denver?

There’s an article on the Rocky Mountain News with some reaction from Coby Karl’s father George Karl

Coby Karl wants to play in the NBA, and, with a rich dad, he sure doesn’t need to go overseas any time soon just for money. With that in mind, Karl believes his son’s best option could be to return to the NBA Development League, where he played well last season.

Perhaps Coby will want to join the Colorado 14ers, where he can play under the watchful eyes of the Nuggets and be nearby should they want to sign him to a 10-day deal in January.

In the meantime, expect Karl to try to convince Nuggets brass to eventually sign his son.

“I think he fits our weakness,” Karl said. “But we’re kind of in a limited roster position (now).”
Karl hopes that will change in January when 10-day contracts can be signed. By that time, there’s no guarantee Juwan Howard, on a non-guaranteed deal, still will be with the team.

George Karl was grateful for the opportunity Coby got in LA

“I’ll probably call Mitch and thank him because they did give him an opportunity,” Karl said of the Lakers having his son, Coby Karl, play for them last season as a rookie. “Probably less than 10 percent of players… get to the NBA Finals.”

“Very few players get to the NBA Finals. His disappointment was he wanted to win a championship… (But) I’m not sure the Lakers are the best team for you to get minutes.”

Coby Karl looks an NBA player, I’d like to see him get another shot in the league. His intelligence, movement, passing and shooting ability would be useful for a team like the Nuggets.

Hard squad for him to get minutes on the Nuggets though. The Nuggets are loaded on the wings with Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith and Linas Kleiza. His best chance to get minutes would be as a makeshift point guard. Defensively he could switch up with Iverson, offensively I think he could do a decent job there.

The first option for Coby Karl will be to sign with another team in the near future. We’ll see if anyone shows interest.

Eddy Curry Out Of Knicks Rotation

Wow … big move by D’Antoni. ESPN has the story

New Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said he doesn’t plan to play Curry in the team’s season opener Wednesday against the Miami Heat, simply responding “no” when asked Tuesday if Curry would be part of his eight- or nine-man rotation.

Curry was surprised

After playing in four of the seven Knicks’ preseason games (including one DNP/coach’s decision), Curry was surprised by the news that he is not part of his coach’s regular rotation.

“Definitely stunned, especially being that [D'Antoni] didn’t tell me that,” Curry said Tuesday. “I haven’t talked to him. I’m here with him every day. All he has to do is tell me. I’m definitely stunned to hear that.”

Curry played nearly 14 minutes a game in preseason and produced only 4.3ppg and 2.5rpg in that time.

Huge change for Eddy Curry from 12 months ago … back when he was the Knicks franchise player and future, now he can’t even crack the rotation.

There’s no clues as to whether this is a long term or short term issue, whether D’Antoni will look to re-insert Curry into the team after his fitness and performances pick up, or whether he doesn’t see a future for Curry on his team.

I imagine Malik Rose will replace Curry off the Knicks bench. I’ve always wanted Rose to spend more time (not much) on the floor. You can’t have all your leaders on the sideline, you need a couple on the floor and Rose brings that to the table for the Knicks. He plays with a purpose, with energy, with focus. He’s a hard worker, a guy who’ll battle in the paint for position, who’ll dive on the floor for loose balls. Rose is a both a spark plug and elder statesman on the team. He can contribute something necessary to this team – a sense of fight, of belonging, of direction.

Small Roundup

A few short notes on some NBA players that are moving homes in Europe

• Stephane Lasme has joined Partizan
• Marcus Fizer has been released by Maccabi Haifa after struggling to recover from yet another knee surgery.
• Mustafa Shakur has signed with TAU
• Darius Washington has joined Ural Great
• There are rumours in the Italian press about the possibility of Nick Fazekas replacing Mike Hall on Olimpia Milano’s roster.

Brooks Out 1-3 Weeks

Small story of minor interest, anyway, Houston Rocket’s backup point guard Aaron Brooks has a bone bruise in his right ankle and will be out for 1-3 weeks. The Rockets backup point guard slot has the one area of their bench that’s under the microscope, for both Brooks’ readiness and what amounts to their other options.

Steve Francis is still working his way back on the comeback trail so he’s unlikely to replace young Brooks.

That leaves a pair of shooting guards under consideration – Brent Barry and Luther Head. Both players have had some reps at the point during training camp for the Rockets, and both have played the position in the past.

In the past Head was unimpressive at the point and needed much work on his skills as a floor general, so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s made any progress there or not. Barry on the other hand was far more successful, and once started at the point full time for the Sonics. That however was 4-5 years ago, prior to the rule changes, Brent Barry is now 36 years old going on 37 years and his athleticism has declined a fair bit since then  … so it’s up in the air how well he can perform at the point nowadays. Offensively he’ll be fine but defensively is another question.

It’ll be interesting to see who the Rockets choose (I’m think Head), and it’ll be very interesting to see how well they perform at the position. Should Brooks falter (there are concerns – while he’s very talented he’s also a little erratic + little self-centered for Adelman’s system), this episode will serve as a good picture over the quality of the Rockets in house alternatives.

Bucks Sign Croshere, Waive Griffin

The Bucks Blog on the Journal-Sentinel online breaks the news

About 24 hours before their regular-season opener, the Bucks acquired veteran forward Austin Croshere off waivers and released guard-forward Adrian Griffin.

The Indiana Pacers had released the 6-foot-10 Croshere on Thursday. He played in six exhibition games and averaged 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds

Was that Adrian Griffin’s last stop in the NBA? Trusted servant of Scott Skiles in Chicago … a great locker room leader and the type of glue guy that all rosters need. I can’t help but think that Griffin must have nothing left in the tank if Skiles was willing to part with him. Griffin barely played last year, something like 30 games and 300 minutes, and I didn’t see much of those limited minutes so I can’t say for sure he’s done, but today’s events point in that direction.

The Bucks claimed Croshere off the waiver wire, and had to make roster room by waiving one player choosing Adrian Griffin. The situation with Damon Jones is still ongoing, but he’s making big money for a role player so it was always going to be Griffin.

Austin Croshere is still an NBA level player and he can provide something. It’s not a lot but it’s something. Croshere was always going to get another job offer following the Pacers decision to cut him a day or two ago, so neither the offer or the timing (how quickly he received the offer) are surprising.

Milwaukee have a very weak bench so Croshere might actually crack their rotation. He’ll have to beat out Malik Allen or Francisco Elson to the spot. I’d still favour the other two (especially Elson), but the difference between Allen+Croshere isn’t much. You could add Gadzuric to the mix too. Four big men without a huge amount of seperation.

Sean May Lacking Conditioning

This was first reported by the Charlotte Observer 11 days ago, and more recently on ESPN. The story is the level of physical fitness Sean May is currently in and Larry Brown’s reaction.

“He’s just playing foul line-to-foul line. Until that changes, I don’t know that he’ll be rebounding,” Brown said.

More Brown on May:

“He’s 50 percent, if that….It’s his leg (coming off knee surgery) and his conditioning right now. He’s spending so much time out on the perimeter. (Yet) he’s our best low-post player,” offensively.

“If you look at Sean right now, he’s not ready at the level we expect. And neither is Adam” Morrison.

ESPN had some further quotes

After watching an unfit May lumber through eight exhibition games collecting more fouls (22) than rebounds (21), coach Larry Brown believes they have a problem.

“Right now I don’t think he’s ready to play at all,” Brown said Saturday. “I think he’s trying, but I don’t think he’s in the kind of shape to be able to compete on this level and do all the things he’s capable of doing.”

When Larry was asked about the power forward position this was his reply

It’s going to be a committee right now,” Brown said when asked who would play power forward. “That’s what I’ve been talking to Michael and Rod about.”

In the Charlotte Observer article, Larry Brown said that he was still considering Sean May as his starter for the season. Earlier in the offseason Larry Brown was very upbeat about Sean May joining the starting lineup.

ESPN goes on

May, who led North Carolina to a national championship, has played in only 58 of a possible 246 games since he was selected 13th overall in the 2005 draft. He sat out all of last season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee.

Already criticized for being too puffy in the middle, May spent 14 weeks on crutches and his weight soared. May has been slow to regain his conditioning since being cleared to play 5-on-5 in September.

May chimes in

“I’ve got to get in better shape. I’ve got to get in better condition,” May said. “I haven’t played in so long that, boom, it’s hit me smack dab in the face. I’m picking up some early fouls due to being out of position. My timing is a little off. Now, here in a week we’re getting ready to play, so I’ve got to do a lot of work.”

——————————————–

About a month and a half ago I commented that Sean May was one of the biggest keys (and the biggest key beyond the their top trio) to Charlotte making a postseason push …. and I still feel that way.

Long term it isn’t an issue at this point, it could become that but it isn’t there now. Short term is a different story for the Bobcats, I expect the Bobcats to struggle out of the gate and continue to struggle until Sean May gets himself together. I’ve commented several times on the past about the Bobcats interior, and particularly my dismay at the lack of help Emeka Okafor receives from his fellow big men …. the only player with enough quality to change that right now on their roster is a healthy productive Sean May. May isn’t there yet, so expect a large hole on the Bobcats to exist over the start of the season.

There’s no word about how long the Bobcats expect it’ll take May to get himself back into game shape. If it takes a lengthily period of time (say 30 games or more) it could be enough to wipe out their postseason chances. If it takes a short time (say 10 games) it’s a dent in the plan, but something they can recover from.

This is a story to watch closely when considering the Bobcats chances of cracking the playoffs this season.

Warriors Discussing Jacks Extension

There have been quite a few articles on the Warriors intention to sign both Don Nelson and Stephen Jackson to an extension before the window closes.

Here’s ESPN’s:

Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson has quietly inched toward a contract extension with the club after some serious negotiations in recent days, ESPN.com has learned.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that Nelson, whose current contract expires at season’s end, could conceivably have a new deal in place by next week to coincide with the start of the regular season.

Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson, sources said, is also likely to receive a contract extension in the same time frame, as Jackson has repeatedly indicated in interviews this month with various reporters.

The Warriors have publicly acknowledged this month’s talks with Jackson but declined comment Friday when asked about a possible extension for Nelson.

I’m very concerned about Golden State’s attempt to give Stephen Jackson an extension. In previous interviews he’s made it clear that he wants parity with the club’s top earners, which is right since he’s either their best or second best player …. but that puts Jackson in the $10mil per annum ball park.

There’s three big problems with this

(1) Stephen Jackson is very unlikely to get an eight digit salary per annum from another team in the open market. The Warriors are bidding against themselves.

(2) Jackson is 30 years old with two years to run on his contract. The extension being talked about will likely tie him up until he’s 35 years old.

(3) The Warriors delicate salary cap situation

The Warriors have spent a huge amount of money this offseason on Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf and Kelenna Azubuike … all of these contracts are multiyear deals ammounting to a close to $40mil. And the Warriors are clearly not a contender. They’re not close to being a contender either. The Warriors need all their remaining salary cap flexibility to have a healthy shot at making the additions their squad needs in order to become a contender.

In two years time the Warriors will have a good amount of cap space, about $46mil (plus draft picks, other signings in next two years) on the books and enough space to offer a max contract to a top free agent. They have this cap space because of two players’ expiring contracts – Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson.

If the Warriors sign Jackson to a contract worth circa $10 million, they will waste their cap space and will remove their only chance at making a marquee free agent signing in the near future. Now remember Jackson’s age, why sign him if you’re not making a run at the title and he hurts your capability to build a contender?

Now think about the type of player the Warriors need to turn them into a contender, how do they acquire him? They’re too good to get a high lottery pick. They have some good trade assets but most are tied up in long term contracts … but let’s say they get lucky and they manage to land a top player in a trade, the vacuum left behind from the departing players will leave the Warriors incapable of making a title run. They have only one option that is truly great that could land a top player, and that’s their cap space. They cannot deal away their best remaining asset lightly and that’s exactly what they’ll be doing with a Stephen Jackson extension.

They’ve got one great shot …. do they want to take that shot or throw it away?

———————————

There’s a second underlying issue at the heart of these negotiations

New deals for Nelson and Jackson, however, only figure to increase the uncertainty surrounding Warriors vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin, amid growing suspicion in front-office circles that Mullin won’t be retained beyond this season. Mullin’s contract, like Nelson’s, expires at season’s end.

We’ll learn an awful lot about Mully’s job security by whether or not these contract extensions get done.

Arenas Recovering Well

The Washington Post reports [at the end of a Nick Young article]

Wizards Notes: Arenas said Wednesday that he is “a lot ahead of schedule,” and could return in late November. Jordan said the team will remain cautious with Arenas, who signed a six-year, $111 million contract in July. “Gil’s gone down this road before. He’s tried to really enhance his rehabilitation on his own in previous surgeries,” Jordan said. “But now he knows he has to be diligent, he has to be disciplined and follow the advice of the trainers and the doctors and he’s done that.”

I’m reluctant to put to much trust in an earlier return date.

That’s good news that he’s recovering well though.

Livingston Ready To Play?

Here’s the quick note Ira Winderman made on his blog

Shaun Livingston said he anticipated participating in one of the final three exhibitions next week.

Here’s another report

There was pre-game talk from coach Erik Spoelstra that guard Shaun Livingston might play. Livingston said he was ready, but with Miami already splitting time among its three point guards on Tuesday (Chris Quinn, Marcus Banks and Mario Chalmers) there wasn’t much room for Livingston to make his first appearance since his ugly knee injury in February 2007. “I’ll be ready for the season opener,” he promised.

Also

As for Livingston, this is way more than just a game. The possibility of playing for the first time since his February 2007 knee injury makes this possibly a huge game.

“I’m so excited,” he said after his pre-game shooting. “Regardless whether it’s pre-season or regular season I know what’s at stake here, and it’s about getting better.”

Livingston, who would be a favorite to start at point guard once totally healthy, said he thinks he’s ready for full-time action now.

“I’ve been having good practices with no limitations,” he said. “I could play (in the opener at New York) next week.”

Livingston will be wearing a knee brace when he returns

I’m amazed at how close Shaun Livingston is to returning …. I thought he was still a month or two away from being game ready. This is exciting news.

Larry Hughes Injured

It looks like Hughes will be out for 6-8 weeks with a dislocated shoulder

All those organizational discussions about whether Kirk Hinrich might adjust to a reserve role more professionally than Larry Hughes are moot for now.

Team sources said Hughes would miss six to eight weeks after dislocating his right shoulder late in the third quarter of the Bulls’ 85-75 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Target Center.

Sources said it’s likely surgery would be avoided, although more tests will be conducted Thursday or Friday.

How long is 6-8 weeks in games played?

If Hughes misses six weeks, he would return Dec. 3 at Milwaukee and miss 18 games. If it’s eight weeks, he would miss 24 games — more than 25 percent of the season.

Hughes was predictably down beat after

Hughes grimaced and wore a sling as he tried to dress one-handed afterward.

“It’s definitely tough because I was getting my touch back,” Hughes said. “I’ve had different injuries before, so I’ll figure what I need to do with rehab to get 100 percent healthy. I’m confident I can do that.”

I was watching the Wolves-Bulls game when it happened; Hughes was dribbling out on the left wing, lost his dribble, himself and Mike Miller dived on the floor to win the loose ball, Hughes arm ended up being pinned under Miller’s back and you could see it move in angles no arm should. It was clear straight away it was dislocated and that Hughes was in considerable pain.

I don’t like to make light of players getting injured because it’s a horrible thing for the player and often for the respective team, but this truly is decent-to-good news for the Bulls. Hughes is the highest paid player on the roster and the fifth most useful guard at the club. The minutes he earns should be going elsewhere.

The Chicago Bulls should be playing Rose/Hinrich/Gordon 30 minutes each a night with Sefolosha as a utility player to be used intermittently. A healthy and functional Larry Hughes only gets in the way of that rotation, making every Bulls player’s life more difficult on the court. The injury is a blessing in disguise in this regard. The injury solidifies the rotation and should ensure their best players play more often.

As for the Bulls-Wolves game, I missed the first quarter and the start of the second but the Bulls blazed out to a 22 point lead displaying excellent defensive intensity according to the Wolves broadcastors. Shortly after I tuned in the Wolves started scrambling away the lead and cut it to single digits early in the third (Rashard McCants led the 3rd quarter run, plus their defense). The fourth quarter was a tight affair but Minnesota was never able to make that final run to tie up the game or take back the lead. Chicago did just enough to hold onto the game and pull out the win.

Update: It looks like the initial diagnosis with Hughes is up in the air … here’s the details

While team officials still aren’t ruling out a six-week absence, Larry Hughes said the initial MRI on his dislocated right shoulder went well and he doesn’t expect to be out that long.

“It’s really weird that it’s not bothering me as much as it should or nothing’s really showing up,” Hughes said Thursday. “It’s shocking to our doctors what’s really going on or why nothing’s really showing up. But right now, it’s just kind of sore and it feels like I need a couple days rest.”

Coach Vinny Del Negro painted a more pessimistic picture. A second MRI exam that involves injecting dye into the injured area is scheduled to be performed on Friday and a more definitive answer on Hughes’ absence will be available then.

I guess we’ll have to wait for more information, for that second MRI.

Update: Hughes will only be out 2-4 weeks, that’s 5-12 games

Petro Focusing On Rebounding

Good article in the Oklahoman

“Rebounding was kind of my weakness,” Petro said. “This year, I’m trying to prove I’m somebody else. I’m going to have to go after everything, get every ball I can possibly get.”

Petro often has played away from the basket, where most 7-footers thrive, sparking the “prove I’m somebody else” reference.

The athletic 7-footer from Paris, France, leads the team in rebounding (9.2). He’s grabbed at least seven rebounds in all five preseason games, including 15 in the most recent game in the Ford Center.

Head Coach PJ Carlesimo adds

Petro often has played away from the basket, where most 7-footers thrive, sparking the “prove I’m somebody else” reference.

“We want him to be more of a center than a 4 (power forward) or perimeter guy,” said coach P.J. Carlesimo. “He’s such a good shooter and runs the floor so well. His game has been jump shots for a long time. We need him to be more of a post presence, an interior defender and rebounder. Johan has done a good job.”

At 245 pounds Petro isn’t your prototypical big man. His game on occasion has been described as cute, which is why he’s concentrated on developing into a more physical player.

“It can be hard to change your nature,” Carlesimo said. “He’s a way-above-average perimeter shooter. That’s how coaches have used him throughout his career. We’ll use that, too. But we don’t like him being primarily a jump shooter. We’d like him to primarily be an interior player.

“It’s a little bit of a change for him. We don’t want a 7-foot jump shooter, but a 7-foot inside player. He understands that. Johan is doing well.”

Johan Petro feels better entering his fourth season

“I have had a tendency to let things get in my head too much,” Petro said. “I’d start thinking too much. Then I’d get frustrated. I now have more confidence. This year I’m just playing. I know what I can do. I’m confident if I make a mistake; I just get ready for the next (possession) and try to do better.”

Rockets Second Unit Will Run

Good article in the Houston Chronicle about the Rockets wanting to run more this season …. especially when Yao is out of the game

Adelman on the second unit

“I think you have to have some kind of identity when Yao’s out of the game,” coach Rick Adelman said. “You have to have some way you’re going to play.

“I think that second group can do that. When Yao is not in there, all our big guys will run. Ron (Artest) will run. Brent will get out and run. Luther will run. But we have to do a better job of pushing that in practice and understanding that in a game.”

Also

“Because our starting lineup is not a running lineup, we’ve been trying to incorporate the main offense in the flow offense.” [Adelman]

It was not until the return to the practice court Saturday that Adelman went to work on getting things right at high speed.

“In doing that, you’ve really got to be a lot more fundamental in what you’re trying to do,” Barry said. “You have to be able to control the chaos to have a second unit that’s able to do that. It’s always nice to have a change of pace with your lineups, but you have to make sure that change of pace is still under control.”

Some info

When Yao is on the floor, the Rockets might look for an occasional break, but more often will let him get his touches in the half court.

The emphasis on running this season comes when he is out, with the Rockets choosing to go with a collection of power forwards who take turns in the middle and who expect to be able to outrun full-sized frontcourts.

When the Rockets played without a true center — Yao or Dikembe Mutombo — last season, they outscored opponents by 2½ points more per 48 minutes than did the Rockets’ groupings with a center.

So far the Rockets have been playing at a slow pace

In the preseason, the Rockets are hardly burning up the court, averaging just seven fast-break points per game. Adelman said the lack of transition scoring was because of an emphasis in practices on operating the half-court offense best-suited to the starters.

“We talked about running, but we’re going to have to get back to how we’re going to run,” Adelman said. “We still have four people running within 15, 20 feet of each other. There’s no spacing. For someone like Aaron, there’s no opportunity to get to the basket because we are not running wide. We are not running to flatten the defense down

Luther Head adding

“I think it’s definitely true,” guard Luther Head said, breathing hard from a practice spent at high speed. “I think we have the pieces to do it. We got guards that can run the ball as well as bigs. I think we’ll all show as a team we can get up the floor.

“When we don’t have Yao out there, it will be hard to pound it in to somebody. We don’t have that type of thing when Yao is out. Running would be our next best option. It will probably be better than anything to just push the ball and get easy buckets and use the offense. Me and Aaron (Brooks) are so fast, and we have big guys who can run the floor with us.”

Another issue which may necessitate or instigate the Rockets’ second unit’s fastbreak abilities is their lack of size on the interior

If the second unit learns to run effectively it could offer another way to negate the lack of size. If opposing big men struggle to run with the Rockets’ smaller frontcourt options — Carl Landry, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Joey Dorsey — it could force teams to downsize just as teams have tried to force the Rockets to do when unable to match up with Yao .

“I think it can be an advantage,” Brooks said. “Our bench is a little smaller and likes to get out and run to create easy baskets. That’s a strength of the bench. We want to exploit that.”

Sounds like a solid plan …. not the best of finishers in the world out on the wings (Barry+Battier) though, that could be a problem.

Rockets Missing Battier

There was a good article in the Houston Chronicle about the Rockets preseason defensive woes …. but one section in particular was interesting, and that was on how the Rockets are missing Shane Battier:

The other problem has been the absence of Shane Battier. As much as Artest is also one of the league’s best defenders, Battier helped guide the Rockets’ defense during games, often barking orders like a quarterback at the line of scrimmage.

“I’m a talker,” Battier said. “My job is I try to make the coaches explain everything as clearly as possible so that no one has any questions about their responsibilities on the defensive end. I make the coaches work. In walkthroughs and practices, I’m constantly questioning them.

“That’s the foundation of every defense. You have to have communication. You have to have familiarity. During the streak last year, we were so locked in defensively. It was a beautiful thing because everyone moved as one unit on defense. With the new pieces, it’s important we get everyone on the same page. Brent (Barry) has been around forever so he knows. Ron is a former defensive player of the year. So they know defense. It’s a matter of getting everyone on the same page and with one frame of mind.”

Battier was second to Kevin Garnett last season in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting. Artest won in 2004 and said he would have won it since if not for his suspension and off-court issues.

Baron Davis Sprained Finger

The Boston Globe is reporting that Baron Davis has a sprained finger that could necessitate surgery, which would leave Baron on the sidelines for 4-6 weeks.

An NBA source told The Boston Globe Sunday night that the Clippers are fearful that newcomer star guard Baron Davis could miss 4-6 weeks because of a sprained ring finger on his left hand that could require surgery.

The two-time All-Star is expected to learn how long he will be out and whether he needs surgery during an evaluation with a doctor Monday. Davis sprained the finger Friday.

Losing Baron Davis for an extended period of time would be a huge blow for the Clippers.

It’s especially important for the Clippers as they come out the gate.

• The Clippers are looking to switch styles of plays from heavy use of post ups into a running team,
• The Clippers are a team that’s trying to integrate 10 new players. Losing their floor general, leader and overall best player makes that more difficult.
• 3 of those 10 new players are rookies, at least one of who (Eric Gordon) will be expected to contribute right away.
• An offense that has no players who scored above 16 points per game last season. An offense that had no players who averaged more than 3.5 assists last season. Two huge areas where Baron is needed. Also an offense that lacks leadership at guard, and penetration off the dribble.
• A defense that lacks defenders on the perimeter … would lose it’s best defender … which puts more pressure on their interior.

Update: JA Adande is reporting that Baron Davis will not have the surgery, does not need the surgery, and will suit up for the Clippers’ opener

Los Angeles Clippers point guard Baron Davis will not need surgery on his injured left ring finger, and a Clippers spokesman said he does not expect him to miss any regular season games.

Clippers spokesman Rob Raichlen said Davis is expected to resume all activities in a week. Davis will wear a brace on the finger, which was diagnosed as having a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament.

Davis injured the finger in practice Friday and did not play in the Clippers’ two exhibition games over the weekend. Although an X-ray did not show a fracture, an MRI was inconclusive and Davis met with Dr. Roy Meals, a hand specialist at UCLA Medical Center, for further examination on Monday. A worst-case scenario — a ruptured tendon — would have required surgery and an absence of four to six weeks. But when Meals tested pain tolerance in the finger, Davis said there was none.

Celtics Waive Darius Miles

Scott Souza reports

The Portland Trail Blazers can rest easy for a few days.

The Celtics today announced that Darius Miles has been put on waivers. The roster now stands at 15.

Though he looked impressive in workouts, Miles apparently did not convince the brain trust that he will be a rotation guy this season. His 10-game suspension to start the season probably did not help.

“Darius was a model citizen during his time here in Boston,” said Danny Ainge in a statement. “He showed he still has a lot of basketball left in him.”

I expect Darius Miles will get at least one, possibly two more, chances with other NBA teams before the season ends. This won’t be the last stage of his comeback, only the begining.

Miles was always the likely cut for Boston so no surprises here.

Update: Danny Ainge describes Miles as still being a capable NBA player …. Miles just got caught in a numbers game.

Troubled forward Darius Miles, trying to make a comeback, might not be finished in the NBA even after he was released by the Boston Celtics this week.

“Without question, he can play in this league,” Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge said. “We’re just kind of jammed up with young guys we want to develop. If something happened to us injury-wise, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to bring him back.”

“He had a good camp and was a great kid,” Ainge said of Miles. “Everything I heard or read about him, I didn’t see any of that.”

Celtics Clipping

Fun anecdote in an article in the NY Daily News

Doc Rivers walked into the visiting team locker room at the Meadowlands the other night, looking to put his defending champs to the test.

“Quiz time,” he said.

Handing a magic marker to Kevin Garnett, Rivers asked him to go to the board and draw up “fist-up power four.”

“No problem,” said Garnett.

Well, not quite, even though the play is designed for Garnett to wind up with a shot on the baseline.

Garnett’s first attempt was met with laughter from Paul Pierce, Sam Cassell and a few other Celtics, prompting Garnett to yell, “Hold on.”

Garnett’s second try caused Ray Allen to roll his eyes. Again, Garnett asked for patience.

The third time, Garnett got it right, although the laughter continued at his expense.

“That was a play from last year,” Rivers said. “We haven’t put it in yet. He struggled to draw it, but all these guys already know it.”

Kobe Tired?

Article from the LA Times

Long after the NBA Finals ended in mid-June, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol took center stage in an international theater, helping their respective countries to gold and silver finishes at the Beijing Olympics.

Has there been a carry-over effect from almost two months’ worth of overtime?

Phil Jackson’s quote is interesting

Gasol seems to be faring fine on the court this month, but Bryant has looked fatigued at times, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.“Kobe still looks to me like his legs might be a little bit tired,” Jackson said. “So I constantly ask him if he wants to take a day off or if he needs a day off. I check in with him.”

Bryant sat out a few practices the first week of training camp and was sidelined for the second part of Friday’s practice after feeling a twinge in his back. He is not expected to miss preseason games tonight and Sunday at Staples Center.

Bryant’s shot has been somewhat flat in preseason play. He is shooting 36% (nine for 25) in three exhibition games.

“That’s all legs,” Jackson said. “He’s got to get his legs into it.”

Kobe Bryant has played 82 games, 21 postseason games and had a month’s play (8 games) of games with Team USA. More importantly than the games is the lack of time off, the lack of rest.

This is one of those things, the effect of this year long competing, that we just won’t know until the season ends. It might take it’s toll early or late, it might be mild or severe … or it might be nothing. Kobe is one of the most gifted and hardest working athletes in the game today, so physically you like his chances. He’s also older than guys like LeBron and Wade, and has a lot of miles on his legs already. Who knows, wait and see.

Maxiell Turns Down Contract Extension

The speculation from earlier this summer has come to a conclusion, and it is now confirmed that Jason Maxiell will turn down the Pistons offered contract extension

Jason Maxiell’s agent confirmed that his client will not sign a contract extension with the Detroit Pistons by the Oct. 31 deadline. That means the 6-foot-7 forward will become a restricted free agent next summer.

“(The team has) expressed that he is a major contributor to their success,” Maxiell’s agent, Richard Katz, said in a telephone interview on Friday. “What we differ about on, is what that is worth.”

The Pistons have offered the former first-round pick a three-year deal worth $15 million, with a team option for a fourth season.

Appearantly the Pistons are still his first choice

A strong season could land Maxiell a more lucrative offer from another team. However, Katz made it clear that returning to the Pistons is Maxiell’s first choice.

“He loves it in Detroit, and is very comfortable,” Katz said. “We’ll just have to see how all this plays out.”

The Pistons have five quality bigs who’ll all play, how is he going to get the touches and minutes to prove himself worth of a major contract? He won’t.

The Pistons were offering $15mil over three years which isn’t much less than the MLE over three. Maxiell’s chances of getting more than the MLE are minimal. I don’t see the financial incentive unless additional years (eligible two more, three with Detroit but that’s unlikely) is his priority.

You look at Amir Johnson and that starting position … does that play a role? Maxiell is a young player who’s improved every year and proven himself to be a quality player, and now is ready to start but hasn’t gotten the opportunity. All young players want their chance to show their talents. Is Maxiell hoping to find that opportunity elsewhere? If Maxiell had that starting position right now is this contract signed?

Anyway, this is great news for the Pistons. Signing Jason Maxiell only hurt their financial flexibility, which was badly hurt by Kwame Brown. Maxiell is a restricted free agent next season so they’ll still have first option him.

Francis Update

This is my third – first and second – Steve Francis update in the past month, and for good reason – he’s a former All Star guard who’s trying to make a comeback on the team where he built his reputation, also a team that’s gunning for a title and has some questions at backup guard.

So why does he deserve a third update, because he just finished his first full practice.

Steve Francis rejoined the Rockets on Friday for the day’s shootaround and plans to go through his first full practice of the preseason today.

“I’m definitely going to practice ,” said Francis, who’s trying to come back from quadriceps surgery on his right knee . “I feel good. I’m ready to play. That’s been the main concern, the day after practice. We’ll see how it feels as far as the pain.”

Great news for Stevie Franchise.

Update: Steve Francis missed the practice with a head cold ….. check out the picture on the link, Francis looks thinner I’ve seen him in a long time.

Bynum Workout

The first half of the video shows some of the exercises Bynum does to get in shape – the second half shows him bowling.

Theo’s Veteran Presence Helping

Good article in the Phily inquirer about Theo Ratliff’s impact on the Sixers

Injuries and Father Time are starting to catch up with Theo Ratliff.

But that’s OK with the 76ers. The 35-year-old backup center’s value won’t be measured by blocked shots or even minutes played.

Providing leadership to a young team is a big reason Ratliff, a 13-year NBA veteran, is making his second tour with the Sixers.

Wilks Out For Season

The Orlando Sentinel reports

Orlando Magic reserve point guard Mike Wilks is out for the season after sustaining a major injury to his right knee in the team’s game Thursday against the Bobcats in Charlotte, N.C.

Wilks, according to his agent, Bill Neff, tore his anterior cruciate ligament, slightly tore the medial collateral ligament and sprained his meniscus.

“Mike can’t have surgery for four weeks” Neff said by e-mail. “He’ll be out at least 6 months. The only one handling it well is him.”

Terrible news for Mike Wilks.

Wilks had a partially guaranteed contract, which didn’t become fully guaranteed until January … so he doesn’t have this contract to fall back on.

Another team issue for the Magic is their roster size ….. Wilks was also the 13th man on Orlando’s roster for the upcoming season. With his injury it’s very likely Orlando will waive him and sign someone else. So do they keep Jeremy Richardson and have 5 shooting guards? Or Dwayne Jones and have 5 centers? I think they should find someone else to sign, wait and see who shakes free from others training camp. They’ll likely want another point guard to replace Wilks as the third string point.

Miami Lose Jones To Injury

I feel like I’m having a Miami Heat day … third post on Miami in about 12 hours. The first being a list of concerns heading into the season, and the second an update on Alonzo Mourning. Now back to the business at hand -

Losing James Jones for three months to injury is terrible news for the Miami Heat

MIAMI — The Miami Heat will be without forward James Jones for three months because of a ruptured tendon in his right wrist, adding to the team’s injury woes.

Jones, a Miami native, was signed as a free agent this summer to give the Heat a 3-point shooter the team lacked last season, when it stumbled to the NBA’s worst record. He’d been slowed throughout camp because of a sprained wrist, but even this week, the team was hopeful his return would come in a matter of days.

Jones ruptured the tendon while shooting on Wednesday.

“Just imagine somebody punching you in your stomach as hard as they can,” Jones said. “I felt like I was turning the corner.”

The surgery will be performed Saturday.

Three months …. that’ll take him to mid/late January.

Miami just lost their best perimeter player off the bench, and the only steadying influence Miami had off the bench (depending on what they do with Udonis). They lost their best shooter. Miami now has only two players on the roster who are high quality shooters – Chris Quinn and Mario Chalmers. Spacing the floor for Dwyane Wade has suddenly gotten much tougher.

This is very bad news for Miami.

Update On Alonzo

From the Miami Herald

• “I caught up with center Alonzo Mourning Tuesday night at the launch party for new magazine SOBeFit. He is on the cover of the first issue with the headline: “The Race is On!” As far as the Heat, Mourning’s race to return is on but think of it as more of an intense run as opposed to a sprint. Mourning is working hard to come back but he also is being careful not want to overdo it and wind up having a setback. Mourning said he is about a month ahead of schedule and should be able to gauge if he can come back and how long it would take him to get in game shape by mid-to-late December.

“I think I’m squatting over 300 pounds now, which is great. I haven’t started running and jumping yet,” Mourning said. “I’m doing the bike, spinning and things of that nature to keep my cardio up. I still feel like when I do the bike rigorously it swells occasionally, so that lets me know my body isn’t ready to start running and jumping and exploding yet. Regardless of the strength-training aspect of it, I still have a ways to go.

“Literally this particular injury takes a year to recover from. I have to let it take its course. I can’t rush it. It would truly be a detriment to me  if i did come back too early. I don’t want to be in a cast again and I don’t want to have any more surgeries. I think I met my quota. I’ve had five knee surgeries, and I’ve had 10 surgeries in my lifetime.”

That’s great news that Alonzo is ahead of schedule and will be able to tell if he can make another comeback before the new year.

My Concerns For Miami

Apologies for the late edit on this post, I published it prematurely, it still needed some polish

I was disappointed in the lack of interest Pat Riley showed in upgrading his supporting cast and bench, after all this is the major reason why their previous two seasons fall apart to that level of chaos. You’d think he’d have learned his lesson?

Instead Riley learned (incorrectly) that Kapono was the reason things fell apart, and replaced him aptly with a superior player in James Jones.

Make no mistake, Miami’s supporting cast is the single biggest problem they have going into this season.

So, what issues am I talking about?

Udonis Haslem

How much impact can Udonis Haslem have playing behind Beasley? How many minutes can he average playing behind Beasley? 12-16 minutes?

Haslem’s entire season is about how well he can function at center, and that will decide how many minutes he can play at the position. I think he’ll be okay there but not more than that. He’ll rebound enough and give enough post defense to keep the team steady. Offensively he isn’t confident enough to take advantage of the matchups he’ll have. The biggest key to Haslem playing center will be the caliber of perimeter defense Miami exhibit, if they’re good on the perimeter they can easily get away with Haslem there. If they can’t, then Haslem’s short size and inability to protect the rim will be exploited over and over and over again.

James Jones

James Jones is a good 8th man …. but he’s earning 6th man dollars and is expected to hold the bench together which he is quite simply incapable of doing. Jones is incapable of doing this because he has only one major value offensively and that’s his spot up perimeter shooting. He also holds a secondary value as he is good for ball movement, he always makes the extra pass and that will be contagious while he’s on the floor.

However, James Jones is not capable of being a go-to scorer, he’s not capable of being a playmaker, he’s not capable of being a top level defender or rebounder which makes him incapable of leading a bench. He’s too one-dimensional for that.

Miami have a good bench player here but they’re asking too much (6th man) of him, and that will hurt them.

Marcus Banks

Marcus Banks elicits no confidence from me. Banks is 27 years old, has 5 seasons of experience and 5,000 minutes in the league, and has played for four teams and four different coaches, and in several different offenses. The man has had chances, plenty of chances.

At every stop he’s proven himself incapable of being a point guard, incapable of being a floor general, of organizing+directing his team’s offense. He’s proven himself incapable of being a pass first player. I’ve seen no evidence of a sudden and dramatic improvement in this area of his game during preseason, and I’m not hopeful of seeing it later.

Quite simply, Marcus Banks is a scoring point guard … although I think of him as a small two guard because he’s point skills aren’t up to snuff to be considered a scoring point. Unfortunately Banks isn’t good enough as a scoring option to demand major touches, so his inabilities at the point reign supreme.

His saving grace has been his defensive ability which was nothing short of incredible his first three seasons in the NBA … but has vanished over the past two. His minutes this season should, and likely will, depend totally on his defensive impact. If he can get his D back to a high level he can help this team, if he can’t well then he can’t help this team. So look out for his defensive impact.

The Backup Wings

The rest of the backup wings – Daecquan Cook, Dorrell Wright, Yakhouba Diawara – are all incomplete/flawed players.

• Cook is a gunner who doesn’t do enough defensively, or on the backboards, or help his teammates offensively. He’s also a streaky scorer who regularly shoots his team out of games.

• Dorrell Wright is a big long small forward who can play at least 3 positions. He’ll give solid rebounding but only average defense, and is a weak offensive player.
• Diawara is one of the most inconsistent offensive players in the league. He’s going to drive Spoelstra nuts. His defense is his calling card (but is overrated) … but I’m not sure he’s good enough to be on the court. Miami is a big opportunity for Diawara to prove he’s developed as a player while in Denver. So far I’m hesitant to depend on him but I won’t write him off either.

The Backup Bigs

The backup bigs (beyond Haslem) worry me greatly.

• • I think Jamaal Magloire is finished and has nothing to offer.
  • David Padgett is skilled player but very weak overall in comparison to who the opposition will line up against him.
  • The best of the bunch is Joel Anthony and that’s because he provides great energy, great shotblocking, average defense, and solid rebounding. Anthony might be the key to solidifying their big man rotation, he’s their best chance. Clearly they’re light on contributors here.

Mark Blount

I’m okay with Mark Blount as a temporary fixture on Miami’s squad. He does contribute a good offensive option, especially on high screen and rolls with Wade. His rebounding and defense have been below par in recent years but he is capable of a lot more … but you can’t rely on Blount because he’ll only let you down.

If Miami get lucky and get good Blount to show up, then they’re in business with a good starting caliber center. If Miami get unlucky (likely) and get bad Blount, then they’re in huge trouble in the paint. I’m worried about which Blount shows up (I’m not crazy, he is two people, ask any Celtics fan), and how many minutes the ensuing Blount is forced to play. If he’s playing 20-25 minutes his offense will be a solid aid to the side. If he’s playing 30-35 minutes his defense/rebounding become much larger issues and it’ll make it very hard on Miami.

Two Other Points

That leaves the other two point guards – Shaun Livingston and Chris Quinn.

The concern with Shaun Livingston one is obvious, he’s coming back from a catastrophic injury and nobody knows how much he can contribute or when (Livingston not ready to play yet, maybe in a month, maybe midseason).

I wasn’t impressed with Quinn last season, not as someone who can play major minutes, and I’m still shaky on him now. Unlike the rest Chris Quinn is actually off to a good start and is offering some reason for optimism. He’s done the best job of running their offense and as we already know he’s a knockdown shooter. The key to his season is how well he runs the offense, because last year I didn’t he did a good enough job in this regard, this will be the key to his minutes. I’d like to see more defense too …. but the offense will be the key.

Lack of Scoring Options

Quickly scroll down the list of the players mentioned above.

• Tell me how many good scoring options are there?
• How many of those players can create their own shot?
• How many of those players will be reliant on the Big Three to create their shot for them?
• How many of those players will score double digits consistently?
• How about 8 points per game?

Clearly there is some scoring help there for Miami, but how much? Let’s put in perspective. Oklahoma City have more scoring from their supporting cast.

Let’s look at it from another angle, the fourth scoring option angle. Miami have no player who can step up and create their own offense, or some for others. They’ve nobody who can score 10-14 points a night and take some pressure off the Big Three for a few minutes here and there.

If we look back to the supporting cast’s offensive talents again, we find there’s likely to be a huge reliance on the Big Three for offense. I say offense and not scoring but because that’s not the only need. Miami’s trio will have to score a huge amount of points, but they’ll also have to create a huge amount of the supporting cast’s shots too …. that’s a huge amount of pressure, an unenviable amount.

Switching gears now to the the member of the supporting cast that I have confidence in

Mario Chalmers

Chalmers is the only player beyond the big three I have a large amount of faith in … and he’s started poorly, looking very much like the 2nd round pick that he is. So he’s shaking the little confidence I had in Miami’s supporting cast.

I’d like to see Chalmers get more minutes alongside Wade because I think he needs a safety net while he gets comfortable and confident out on the court, and also because I think it’s the best combination for Wade/Chalmers/Miami. I still believe they can get steady starter minutes out of Chalmers in his rookie season.

I’ve talked a lot about the supporting  cast and some of the questions and concerns currently facing them, but two huge issues will decide how important these flaws will be …. and those two issues come from their top three players – I’ll give you a hint, it’s not Dwyane Wade I’m concerned about

Shawn Marion

I know what to expect out Marion on the backboards and on the defensive end. His contributions in both areas will be fantastic. Marion’s rebounding in particular will be important to helping Miami’s concerning big man rotation.

The concern with Marion is his offense and it’s because of two reasons

• Beasley is a rookie, how much can Miami depend on him to be a top flight second scoring option?
• Miami’s supporting cast lacks scoring options putting more onus on Miami’s best players to deliver.

Marion has never been the type to create for his teammates so it’s unreasonable to expect that to change … but his scoring is something of great concern.

Marion averaged between 19-22ppg for 5 straight seasons both pre and post-Nash … but in the last two years his scoring has dropped off. He scored 17.5ppg two seasons ago, and then last season scored only 15.8ppg in 63 contests.

It’s not enough for Marion to provide good scoring, and very efficient scoring. He has to be a better go-to scoring option who’s prolific enough to score around 20 points a game. What he produced last season puts too much pressure on Wade and on Beasley. Marion’s scoring is a huge variable here.

Michael Beasley

My major concern with Beasley is not his defense, but his offensive output as a rookie. I have no doubt that he can be a prolific scorer, but as we’ve seen in summer league and preseason there are other issues. Beasley will have games where he’s unstoppable, also games where he shoots his team out of the arena, and some games where his production is decent but took far too many shots to get there.

So ….

• How efficient can Beasley be with his scoring?
• And can Beasley create easy opportunities for his teammates?

If those answers are poor the team is in huge trouble. If those answers are good they still have a shot at the playoffs.

The importance of these questions could increase hugely if Shawn Marion doesn’t provide a 20ppg go-to scoring option.

————————-

This post is only concerned with the worries facing the Miami Heat. There’s a lot of reasons for optimism too, and some of these concerns will be eased by improved player performances or prove to be unfounded (Haslem a primary option there).

I’m looking forward to finding out all the answers to the above concerns over the next couple of months.

Pacers Buy Out Eddie Jones

Here’s the press release via RealGM

Eddie Jones will not join the Pacers but the franchise will recoup the ability to sign another player as a result of an agreement reached today.

Jones was acquired by the Pacers from Dallas, along with two second-round picks and cash, in exchange for Shawne Williams on Oct. 10. The 36-year-old veteran guard made it clear he preferred not to play this season.

The Pacers worked with agent Leon Rose and reached an agreement that lowers the salary-cap figure for the one season remaining on Jones’ contract, thus clearing enough room for the team to sign another player to a veteran minimum contract without exceeding the NBA Luxury Tax threshold.

That was predictable.

It’ll be interesting to see where Eddie Jones goes from here. I don’t think he has much left in the tank … off the top of my head I’m not coming up with any good situations (contenders) for him. Most likely he’ll join a contender to serve as an insurance player rather than a rotation player.

Porter To Start Barnes Against Atlanta?

Terry Porter is going to experiment with Matt Barnes in the starting lineup tonight in place of one Grant Hill

A failed experiment in the playoffs can be costly. A preseason experiment can do no wrong, providing answers for theories.

Suns coach Terry Porter tested the idea of starting Matt Barnes at small forward in place of Grant Hill, playing Barnes with the first team in the past two practices. Porter did not commit to starting Barnes Wednesday night at Atlanta but the idea has been up for debate since the summer. It is Porter’s only lineup decision until he settles on an eight- or nine-man rotation in next week’s final three preseason games.

“He (Barnes) and Grant have some very similar skills, as far as the ability to put the ball on the floor, run pick and rolls, space it,” Porter said. “In a lot of ways, they’re the same type. Matt’s just a young version of Grant maybe.”

Nuggets Trim Fat

This is from the Denver Post

It took only three months for Nuggets coach George Karl’s edict to have a sleeker basketball team to become an on-court reality.

And as a result, Karl said, “The thing I’m seeing is we are quicker and faster than we’ve ever been.”

So what does that mean in terms of pounds?

Six Nuggets — Nene, Kenyon Martin, Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Anthony Carter and Chris Andersen — lost a combined 76 pounds since the beginning of the summer. They are thinner to the eye, and on the court they have displayed fleeter feet than they did last season.

“We sat down at the end of the season with the coaching staff, and then George was like, ‘We need to be faster, we need to be stronger, we need to be quicker,’ ” Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess said. “We want to remain strong, but we want to make sure everyone loses fat and comes in leaner and meaner. So we pretty much told every player our goal is to keep your body fat as low as possible, get you as lean as possible and get you as fast as possible.”

That’s a lot of weight. Six Nuggets combining to lose 76 pounds …. impressive collective effort

Nene and Andersen were predictably the biggest shredders

The biggest losers have been Nene and Andersen. Nene, who is expected to be the Nuggets’ starting center, checks in at 264 pounds, down from 278 in the summer. Hess said Nene will play this season at 258 pounds.

Andersen can get back to his high-flying ways now that he has shed 18 pounds, going from 250 to 232.

Predictably because they are making their comebacks to the NBA (injury+suspension)

There’s an interesting note on the impact on one’s joints from being overweight, also the note that Kenyon Martin lost weight for the good of his post microfracture knees

In the case of Martin, part of his lost poundage was to ease the stress on his knees. He has had two microfracture knee surgeries and spent as much time last season making sure he didn’t have an injury setback as he did making certain he was getting better on the court.

“This is not an aesthetics competition,” Hess said. “This is a performance thing. If you take a guy like Nene, for every five pounds over a specific weight, that’s about 50 pounds of force output on the joint every time he strikes. So when you’re looking at 20 pounds, that’s 200 pounds of extra force output on the knee every time his foot hits the ground.”

As for his 13 pounds lost, Martin said: “I feel good. No problems at all.”

Here’s the other three Nuggets – JR Smith lost 11 pounds. Anthony Carter lost 12lbs. Carmelo Anthony lost 9 pounds and now weighs in at 236lbs.

Great work by the Nuggets on their conditioning over the summer

Brandon Wright + Anthony Randolph

Let’s set the plate

• Back to back lottery picks
• Two bright prospects at the same position
• Two long athletic skinny power forwards
• A Warriors rotation that includes two centers – Biedrins and Turiaf – and a solid power forward in Al Harrington …. leaving only one spot in the rotation open …. pitting two starlets head to head

So how’s the training camp battle going so far? Who’s ahead of the curve?

The Contra-Costa Times reports

Wright is competing with rookie Anthony Randolph for minutes in the backup power forward spot. Though Warriors coach Don Nelson still deemed it an “interesting competition,” he said Tuesday that Wright is behind in the race.

“It hasn’t been close,” Nelson said. “Brandan’s got a bad toe right now, and that’s held him back. But it hasn’t been close so far.”

There’s also another report that states Randolph is spending far more time in the starting lineup, while Wright is playing with the backups.

A little more on Wright

“We need Wright to be more aggressive, there’s no question about it,” he [Don Nelson] said. “He needs to show he’s a good player. It’s his second year; I expect more out of him. He’s got to start stepping up”.

“He needs to develop that habit of being aggressive,” Smart said. “At our level, you’re rewarded when you’re the aggressor first. Brandan, when he gets on the floor with (Corey) Maggette, Al (Harrington) and Jack (Stephen Jackson) and you don’t have Monta (Ellis) or Baron (Davis) there, he has to figure out, ‘Where do I fit into this wheel? Am I passive, am I the aggressor? What do I do?’ The game he’s playing right now, more than anything, is a game against himself.”

Also on Randolph

“Randolph is getting better every day and at this point he’s ahead (of Wright),” Nelson said.

Ever since I saw Randolph’s assertiveness and willingness to make plays I’ve felt that he’d have a great chance to pass Wright by in the rotation. Simply put, Randolph is Nellie’s type of player …. Wright not as much.

This fight for playing time, and to become the future star of the ball club, isn’t nearly over yet  …. but’s it’s very interesting to see the rookie leading the race so early in the day.

Update: From the John Hollinger chat

Raja, Boise: Do you think this is the year when Nellie finally lets rookies play? Talking specifially about ARandolph and diamond in the rough possibility DeMarcus Nelson.

John Hollinger: (3:40 PM ET ) Nelson is a nice story making the roster undrafted (and it appears Rob Kurz may join him) .. but don’t get ahead of yourself, he probably won’t play much once the real games start. Randolph has been a turnover machine in preseason and when I talked to Nelly he was very frank that Randolph was unlikely to help much this year. I doubt he’ll play unless they white-flag this year.

Article On Brand/Clippers Debacle

There’s a good article in the New York Times adding more detail to the departure of Elton Brand from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Here’s out it played out according to the Times

Except there was one problem: Brand never re-signed.

He was on the verge, focusing on the fine print with Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy, who also had the role of general manager, a title recently made official by the team’s parting with its longtime vice president for basketball operations, Elgin Baylor.

Dunleavy negotiated directly with Brand. They agreed on money and years, but became stuck at a point for an early termination option, a clause that would allow him to become a free agent earlier.

“My last correspondence with him was July 1 at 7:57 p.m.,” Dunleavy recently said in a telephone interview. “He texted, ‘Hey Coach, I have some problem with some language and the E.T.O.’

“By the next morning, I texted him back and said I got it taken care of and to call me. I haven’t heard from him since.”

At that point, Brand recalled, his agent, David Falk, told him: “Turn your phone off. You’re not talking to them anymore. I’m your agent. Let me do my job.”

Brand cut off communication with everybody from the Clippers. Falk took charge of Brand’s negotiations and, after entertaining an offer from the Warriors, Brand signed a five-year, $82 million deal with the 76ers.

Kirilenko Bench Player ?

So far Utah have played three preseason games, and in 2 of the 3 games AK47 has come off the bench. What’s happening in Salt Lake City with the Jazz and Kirilenko? Is a change afoot?

Because Carlos Boozer was on the mend with a tweaked hamstring, Jerry Sloan started Paul Millsap at power forward, threw C.J. Miles into the starting lineup and used Kirilenko off the bench.

And for one night, the change worked. Millsap and Miles were both very productive on the offensive end, scoring 20 points between them, with Kirilenko being active on both ends of the court.

Sloan has hinted to the change being more permanent over the coming weeks, especially with Matt Harpring out with an ankle infection without a timetable set for his return. Sloan’s reasoning is simple. Bringing Kirilenko off the bench would bring a much needed veteran presence to the second unit. He likes the energy Kirilenko brings off the bench and the fact that it wouldn’t take him long to get into the flow of the game. Plus, it’s likely Kirilenko would be able to handle the ball much more than he would as a starter, simply because so much of the offense runs through Deron Williams, and being a facilitator is something that he’s thrived at for his entire career.

“It would help the bench a lot,” Millsap said. “The second group really lacks a creator, and that’s where Andrei would help a lot.”

It’ll be interesting to see how long the Jazz float this idea

My initial thoughts … there’s lots of things that I dislike about how Kirilenko fits into the starting lineup and there are several better fits at a vastly lower cost around the league, and of those better none are on Utah’s roster so those problems will not be addressed by this decision.

So the question becomes is Kirilenko more productive as a bench player or starter? Frankly I don’t expect to see any positive difference. Utah’s wing players + Millsap (Kirilenko being a combo forward) are all very productive … so the change would have to elicit a major reaction in Kirilenko to make a subtantial difference. Even if they get a boost, do they get that large of a boost? Doubt it but it’s worth trying out.

Fesenko vs Shaq

Fesenko is great man for a funny quote

This time Fesenko matched up against his childhood idol for a 10-minute stretch of the second quarter.

“It was really hard,” Fesenko said. “I realize that I am not big, I am not strong. I am small girl compared to Shaq. So I have a lot of work to do – I have a lot of work to do – and I need to start right now if I want to make the team, at least this year.”

O’Neal didn’t say anything to him Thursday, but the 7-foot-1, 300-pound Fesenko said, “One time after I push him in the back, he look at me and this look I will see probably in my nightmares.”

The article continues on and describes some of the action when Fesenko went head to head with Shaq

The Suns worked the ball inside to O’Neal eight times against Fesenko, though he turned that into only three points.

Fesenko was active, reaching around to poke the ball free from O’Neal, batting away a pass and intercepting an inbounds lob. O’Neal’s one basket came as he fumbled the ball, Fesenko went after it and O’Neal banked in a shot.

“This is the only way to stop him,” Fesenko said, “because after he turn around and face the basket, there is like no way to stop him.”

“That’s a tough assignment,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan added. “At least he tried to compete against him. That was the nice thing to see. That’s a little bit more than what we got out of some of the other people.”

Another shot spun off the rim for O’Neal, who was called for two offensive fouls and missed three of four free throws. Fesenko’s best scoring chance came as he got the ball in the post and took two dribbles only to be stripped by Boris Diaw. O’Neal finished with five points in 21 minutes while Fesenko was scoreless with three fouls and two turnovers in 12.

After spending the bulk of last season in the NBA Development League, Fesenko said playing O’Neal was a lesson in how much he must improve his defense, rebounding and conditioning.

“It was a great experience,” he said.

Update: Feseneko had a double double (10pts, 10rbs, 3ast) last night against the short handed Blazers (no Roy, Aldridge, Blake, Rudy, Martell, Frye) . I didn’t see the game but by the looks of the box score he’d have to be playing most of his time against one of Oden/Przybilla so that’s great.

Update: Some praise for Fesenko from head coach Jerry Sloan

Keeping in mind that his first season coaching Kyrylo Fesenko probably felt like a lifetime, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan offered some fitting praise after watching Fesenko finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s game.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen him play since he’s been alive,” Sloan said, describing the double-double as “kind of a shock.”

Told what Sloan said, Fesenko searched for the right words. “You don’t hear that from Jerry a lot,” he said, “so it means a lot for me. It means a lot and it means that I’m doing the right thing, so I cannot stop. I have to keep on going.”

Fesenko scored off a layup, two free throws, two hook shots and a dunk with 2 1/2 minutes remaining and the bench on its feet. He and Andrei Kirilenko played particularly well off each other, with Kirilenko looking for Fesenko and vice versa.

Fesenko declared it his best game in the NBA, even better than the six points and seven rebounds he had against the Lakers as a rookie.

“He had a little success and hopefully he can carry that forward,” Sloan said. Fesenko, meanwhile, was delighted with the two free throws he hit in the first quarter, saying, “Now this is even better for me than 10 rebounds.”

DJ White Injured

DJ White suffering a long term injury here, he’ll be out 4-6 months. Here’s what ESPN has to say

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie forward D.J. White will have surgery on his jaw next week to remove a benign growth, the Thunder announced in a news release.

White will be sidelined for four to six months after the surgery, in which doctors will have to take a bone graft from White’s hip to fix the bone in his jaw.

Terrible news for the young fella. He’s going to miss most if not all of the season.

Hawes Struggling To Find Himself

Three quotes tell it all

Firstly the Head Coach

“Um, Spencer’s got to find himself right now,” Kings coach Reggie Theus said, measuring his words when asked about Hawes’ performance. “He’s got to figure out where he’s going to be most effective. … We’re expecting him to play. He’s got to show us that he’s ready for that type of pressure.”

Then Hawes’ best friend on the team and his starting point guard

Point guard Beno Udrih, who is one of Hawes’ closest friends on the team, explained that Hawes must commit to a style of play. When he decides, Udrih said, he wants to be the first to know.

“He doesn’t know if he wants to be a shooter or if he wants to be a post player,” an exasperated Udrih said after Wednesday’s practice. “He’s saying, ‘Hit me in the post,’ but then he took like eight shots from outside. He has to decide what he likes to do so we get comfortable hitting him for the shot or hitting him in the low post.”

Specifically, Udrih said, Hawes’ positioning coming off high screens leaves the point guard unsure where to pass the ball.

“Sometimes when he goes pick and roll (and a defender) denies the pick and roll – and he’s got the whole paint in front of him – he stays outside,” Udrih said. “(Do) you want to shoot the ball … to be a pick and pop guy like Brad?”

Then the Kings toughest player and veteran big man Mikki Moore

Kings forward Mikki Moore said Hawes’ hesitation is working against him.

“The problem is, he’s letting the defense dictate what his game is,” Moore said. “He needs to be more determined in what he wants to do. I think he needs to stop thinking so hard and just play, stop trying to impress people and just play.”

Spencer Hawes played exactly the same way in summer league. He had good numbers something like 18 and 8 but you could tell the way he was playing the game that he wasn’t preparing himself well and that it would hold him back. Hawes hasn’t learned how to use his skills effectively and efficiently, he doesn’t know when to use what move or where on the court he’s most effective.

Hawes is a talented kid but his game needs to mature, he has good skills but learning how to use them effectively is imperative. Until he does he’ll be limited to a small role for the Kings.

Foster Receives Extension

This was announced simultaneously with the Williams trade, but I felt it deserved it’s own mention. The Indiana Pacers yesterday signed Jeff Foster to a new two year extension

“I’m very pleased that we’ve signed Jeff to an extension,” said president Larry Bird. “Jeff is very important to this franchise. He’s a glue guy; and his hard work, both on and off the court, makes him a great representative of this team.”

The extension is for an additional two years, which will keep Foster with the Pacers through the 2010-11 season.

“I’d like to thank the Pacers’ organization for signing me,” said Foster. “We’re in the midst of returning Pacers’ basketball back to the stature of what our fans expect on and off the court. This is my 10th year and I have every intention of finishing my career here. I’m thankful to have been part of this organization and I’m excited to be able to continue to be part of the Pacers.”

No word yet on the figures involved but it’s likely in the five million per annum range. If so, that means the Indiana Pacers will have no cap space for the next two off-seasons if they decide to extend Danny Granger … so we’ll be waiting three years (2011) for Indiana to bring home a top name free agent to boost their squad.

Foster is a good role player but I’m not sure it was wise for Indiana to hurt their financial flexibility when they clearly need more changes.

I’m also a bit disappointed that I won’t be seeing Foster play for a contender next season.

Power Rankings

Teams under these Power Rankings are being judged when at full capacity (healthy), and judged on where they stand within the league when at full capacity rather than through their current form. So teams that are losing because of injuries will not suffer, and teams who are top squads but lose 7 of 9 will not be downgraded because of it.

Eastern Conference

#1 Boston Celtics

The Celtics are the class of the East and the defending Champions …. not only are they the best team in the East but they are also well ahead of all competitors.

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland are an incredibly irritating basketball team. They’re just as likely to win or lose to the Charlotte Bobcats as they are to the Boston Celtics and it’s because their squad has serious construction flaws, especially on the offensive end of the floor.

That said they are an extremely tough team beat who are capable of playing excellent defense, have excellent rebounders, and are passable offensively while being led by the mercurial LeBron James which gives them a chance against every single team in the league … which is why they’re a terrifying matchup in the playoffs.

#3 Philadelphia 76ers

The four teams after the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference are in close proximity to one another, and could be switched into many different orders. With that in mind, my choice for third place in the East is the unproven but potent Sixers.

I’ve been pondering where to place the Sixers ever since Elton Brand landed in Phily. Cleveland were my second ranked Eastern team for some time, but considering how closely the Sixers matched them last year I felt Elton Brand pushed them beyond the Cavs so I moved Phily second, and I still feel that way. No, it wasn’t the Mo Williams acquisition which pushed the Cavs back to second …. it was the incomplete logic. Simply put I reckon the Cavs have a better chance at knocking off all the other teams around them including Boston, that’s why they got bumped back to 2nd.

The Sixers are the team on this list that has the most issues to work through during the regular season so there will be up and downs, the overall growth will be key. They should be a very good basketball team.

#4 Orlando Magic

I’m of the opinion that the Orlando Magic underperformed in the playoffs last year. I thought the spotlight got to them and that their decision making as individuals (Nelson, Dooling, Arroyo, Hedo, Dwight) and as a collective fell off substantially in the second round of the playoffs. I believe the experience gained last year will be beneficial to the team and that this flaw will be minimized in the future.

I like what Orlando did in the summer adding Courtney Lee, Anthony Johnson, Mickael Pietrus and also the return of Tony Battie. I also like the club moving their erratic backup point guards. This is a stronger and deeper squad than before – although further reinforcements look necessary (still lots of concerns on the bench).

#5 Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons will have the second best regular season record in the East.

I feel very confident about that but I’m less confident over their credentials as a title winning side. I don’t consider the Pistons capable of winning four straight series in the playoffs, I think they need to play at their highest possible level to beat any of the four teams above (and the Western team) to win a series and I don’t think the squad is capable of playing at that level for a full month under playoff pressures. I’m taking a “prove it to me” attitude regarding Detroit’s hopes of winning a title this season.

The keys to the Pistons righting their ship and putting up a challenge for a title lie in the development of their youth and the diversity of their offense.

#6 Toronto Raptors

This is where the East takes a sizable dip.

The gap between Toronto and the above five teams is substantial and it will likely cost the Raps in the first round of the playoffs. Toronto have the weakest collection of perimeter players of any playoff squad in the league,  and they lack depth. The chances of them overcoming this are minimal.

#7 Washington Wizards

We have another dip again.

The Washington Wizards simply aren’t a good enough defensive team to win three series against the team’s ahead of them in this ranking. What they can do is act the role of playoff spoiler …. because they have the firepower to scare the daylights out of anyone and if they get hot they can knock out anyone.

If Gilbert Arenas ends up being out for a longer period of time the level of certainty of the Wizards playoff spot will decline considerably, as several chasing teams in the East will be within shooting distance. As long as Gilbert makes a timely recovery, and the usual stuff about reasonable team health all round, the Wizards look a safe bet for a playoff spot.

#8 Miami Heat

The final playoff spot could be won by any 1 of the next 6 teams, including this Miami Heat. It’s wide open and it’s anyone’s game. Just because someone is lower doesn’t mean their chances are that far apart. It’s close, very close.

I chose Miami as my eight seed because I think they’ve the best top trio of players in Wade, Marion and Beasley of the trailing pack and because they’re the only team in with a legitimate MVP candidate in their squad.

The biggest questions with Miami will be their interior play, and their overall depth as their bench looks weak. The more time that passes the more concerned I’ve become with their supporting cast. I was hoping Pat Riley would do a better job of bringing in quality help but that didn’t happen.

#9 Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta is one of those teams that could be just about anything (say a 30 win team to a 50 win team).

Their playoff hopes ride on the development of their key young players – Al Horford, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith – and to a lesser extent their young bench players. Until we see this team in action we really don’t have a clue how serious a threat they are.

If the improvement is minimal and they’re comparable to last year’s Hawks team, I think they miss out on the big dance. Huge concerns on both ends of the floor …. Defensively they had only two defenders better than average …. Offensively they lacked quality and reliability in their scoring options, also lacked diversity in their scoring. Another big issue for this team is the coaching of Mike Woodson which handicaps the squad severely (I wish Mike D’Antoni was in Atlanta). There’s also the question of how capable their bench is.

Things could fall right, or very poorly for this team … or most likely somewhere in the middle. Have to wait and see.

#10 Chicago Bulls

The Bulls are another one of these teams who’s season could veer hugely depending on how their youth comes together.

I actually wrote this post about three weeks ago, but then forgot to publish it, since then some Bulls information has come to light and I’ve decided to move them up two slots in the rankings. I thought that Larry Hughes would retain his starting spot allowing Gordon to remain off the bench, and that Rose would split minutes with Hinrich at the point. I also thought Rose would struggle to outplay Hinrich, especially by a large margin, to drastically improve the Bulls chances.  But early signs all point to (1) Rose being much further ahead than I expected (2) a Rose-Hinrich starting backcourt. This is a big plus for the Bulls, I have much love for the Hinrich-Rose tandem, and has forced me to re-think their standings. So now Chicago are 10th and I consider their chances of making the playoffs much improved.

#11 Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are flying quietly under the radar. It’s not surprising because they have no recognizable star players …. but they do have a solid squad.

Last year the Pacers won 35 games, only two games out from making the playoffs. One roster upgrade alone dramatically changes their chances, and that’s the upgrade from Travis Diener to TJ Ford. Add in two quality wings in Dunleavy and Granger and you’ve a potent group of perimeter players. They also have quality depth on the perimeter with Jack, Rush and Daniels. Also Shawne Williams. The interior is where the major questions lie but a group of Foster, Rasho, Murphy, Hibbert will be able to do a solid job and keep the squad ticking.

This is a completely mediocre basketball team in every imaginable way … so they have a solid shot at winning the 8th seed in the East.

#12 Charlotte Hornets

The lack of quality role players, depth, and interior help for Emeka Okafor destroyed the Bobcats season last year.

In comes Sean May, DJ Augustin, Adam Morrison. It doesn’t sound like a huge amount, but when coupled with the role players already here – Raymond Felton, Matt Carroll, Nazr Mohammed – you get a solid supporting cast to surround your three main players (Richarson, Wallace, Okafor).

No role player is of more importance than Sean May, his health and contribution is imperative for the Bobcats to make a serious push for the postseason.

The next biggest problem was the coaching of Sam Vincent, which has been replaced by Larry Brown. Once again, good news which should strengthen the side.

#13 Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are the final squad in the East that I feel have playoff credentials.

The reason they’re last? Defense.
Another reason? Bench play.
How about one more reason? Lack of help for Bogut in the paint.

Scott Skiles has never coached an NBA team that was above average in offensive efficiency. Simply put, Milwaukee’s only hope of making the playoffs is that Skiles’ streak ends right now. Skiles will help improve their defense, but that improvement won’t be enough to lead the Bucks back into the playoffs (not enough good defenders on the roster for that large of a jump) …. that improvement has to come on the offensive end.

The Bucks were a disappointing outfit offensively last season as they finished 21st in the NBA in offensive efficiency. I also think they underperformed which is good news for their chances for improvement next season.

One of the big problems was Mo Williams, who is a very good change of pace scoring guard but unfortunately a rather woeful floor general. In his place steps Luke Ridnour who has a good track record as floor general and pass first point. With Mo’s scoring gone the club needs a replacement, in steps a top 10 scorer from last season in Richard Jefferson. Now we’re cooking. Add in the improvement from Andrew Bogut and the extra touches he should receive and Milwaukee have the basis of a good offense. Now it’s time to turns those thoughts and words into reality. Milwaukee will likely need to be slightly above average offensively so we’ll see if they can achieve it.

If I was looking at an offense-defense model for Milwaukee. I’d think last year’s Wizards who ranked 12th in offensive efficiency but only 24th in defensive efficiency. That’s something that Milwaukee needs to shoot for.

#14 New Jersey Nets

There is no team in the NBA who’s season could swing as far in either direction depending on their youth as the New Jersey Nets can.

This team is next to impossible to predict. They have a solid collection of youth with competition all over their squad. Things could work out and they’d be in solid shape (mid thirties win wise) or things could become a disaster area (low 20s).

So why am I so down on the Nets?
- Lack of scoring options after Vince Carter+Devin Harris. Someone has to step up, probably two players including one interior player. The Nets will struggle to survive offensively if they have only one high quality scoring option.
- Question marks defensively outside of the point. Trenton Hassell is the only above average defender on the wings, and he’ll be tough to play because of their offensive issues. Lots of questions over their interior D with Yi, Lopez, Najera, Boone. Sean Williams is the most likely answer and he could do great work in this department but he has to piece it together on a nightly basis first.

#15 New York Knicks

How does D’Antoni alter the lineups?

Is Stephon on the team? Will Crawford and Q be the starting wings again? Can Eddy get in shape and contribute enough? What’s Gallinari’s health?Does Chris Duhon start? What about Nate? What happens to Nate/Duhon if Marbury is kept? Can Chandler start? Or will he be kept to the bench?

How much does Gallinari missing training camp and pre-season hurt these lineup decisions? The Knicks need a shooter/passer/playmaker/ballhanlder like him on the wing to balance the squad offensively. Personally I think Gallinari missing training camp is a big loss and will hurt the Knicks over the first period of the season when D’Antoni is trying to install order and teamwork into the Knicks.

I do think there’s a few lineups which could work favourably for the Knicks but there’s just as many that are disaster areas … the lack of roster movement will make it difficult to find them. The more that Gallinari, Duhon and Chandler play the more positive I’ll be about the Knicks chances, unfortunately right now that’s a huge unknown.

D’Antoni’s coaching skills and philosophies may never be tested as severely as what is coming next.

Too many questions need to be answered before I consider moving NY up. There’s some talent there though so it’s not all bad.

Western Conference

#1 Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are the frontrunner for the West … and along with Boston are the two biggest players in this season’s run for the NBA title. Everybody else is playing catch up.

Bynum is the biggest addition any contender made in the offseason but Is it enough to get the Lakers past Boston? Maybe not, but it gives them a real chance.

The Lakers will lead the West and likely the league in regular season wins, they will win 65+ games and they could threaten 70 (I thought they would win 70 this coming season the day after Pau arrived, but I’ve since wavered during the summer).

#2 Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are the most significant threat to the Lakers in the West.

They are the best rebounding team in the league. They are one of the top two defensive teams in the league. They have two premier stoppers to throw at Kobe Bryant and generally made his life hell in the past with only one of them. Everything that Boston did that bothered LA and Bryant … Houston do as well. They have three go-to scorers who are top talents in the NBA. They have the role players. They have depth. They have coaching. They have shooting. This team is ready and potentially brilliant.

After Boston and LA, the Rockets have the next best chance of winning the NBA title. Time will tell but perhaps the only reason they’re behind the first two is because to date they’re unproven.

Health is everything for this club and it’s ruined their chances in recent seasons.

#3 Portland Trailblazers

This is where the West takes a dip in terms of well-rounded top tier teams, a fairly big dip. Suddenly it becomes a bar brawl where everyone has major vulnerabilities and is in need, sometimes dire need, of a good playoff draw to make it out of the West ….. all but one team and that’s why Portland are third.

Portland is the only team in the West after the above two that can matchup with anyone in the West at a solid or better level. This team will not rank third in regular season wins, they’ll be lower, likely much lower, but this team is going to be one of the toughest outs in the entire playoffs.

Their two seven footers in Oden and Aldridge, plus good depth up front, and that’s going to ensure this team does not get bullied in the paint. They’ll be a very good rebounding team. They’ll have an excellent interior defense. They’ll have two low post scoring options.

Then comes the beauty of Brandon Roy, the man with the abilities of a point guard effectively giving Portland two creators offensively and two players capable of initiating the action. Portland’s execution and decision making last year was very impressive and it was mainly because of this (Roy plus a point guard) wrinkle … this is a big reason why they play with such composure and why the playoffs won’t adversely affect them.

Add in the depth and talents, the shooters, the defense. This is a very good team.

#4 New Orleans Hornets

This is where I see my second dip in the West albeit a small one. The degree of separation isn’t much, and it exists only because I think New Orleans will have a tough time beating a couple of teams around them.

I’m down on the Hornets for two major reasons:

(1) Lack of offensive versatility

The Spurs effectively made New Orleans play 2-on-5 over the final four games of the playoffs last year. They are far too reliant on Chris Paul to create, and not just to create but to create on almost every single possession for every single shot. It’s too much and it’s not good. Paul is incredibly talented and freakishly efficient, and that’s the only reason why this hole doesn’t show up more severely … but make no mistake top tier opponents in the playoffs will exploit it.

The Hornets are an immense side when they have a third scorer going, and incredibly difficult to beat …. and Peja Stojakovic is the guy who needs to be that. Unfortunately as has been proven time and time again in the playoffs, a good defender who plays with discipline defensively can shut Peja down.

(2) Lack of big man depth. Tyson and West need more help. Doesn’t need to be a star, just a good role player. They don’t have that. NO are going to be forced into a lot of small ball action next season and that could hurt them.

#5 San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs will not win the title this coming season. They don’t have the supporting cast to get it done. They have too many holes on their roster and they’re too dependent on their Big Three for their own good. San Antonio cannot win four series against top class opposition, just can’t do it.

But what they can do is defeat anyone in the West other than the Lakers, and maybe the Rockets. They’re the spoiler team that knocks someone off with higher hopes (like NO or Utah).

#6 Utah Jazz

I love the Utah Jazz. They’re a joy to watch. They play beautiful basketball, especially on the offensive end. I can’t get enough of Utah. Fantastic.

But they’re not good enough to win the title. Utah need a perfect playoff draw, they need to avoid all the teams they don’t match up well with, and then hope they can outplay the guys they match up with to a mediocre level. It’s a shame. They just can’t do it. They’ve no stopper on the perimeter good enough to handle an elite scorer on the wing (Kobe), and their big men struggle against elite bigs (like Duncan) or teams with two quality bigs (like Pau/Odom/Bynum or Oden/Aldridge). They can’t get this done.

If this team was in the East they’d be the second best squad in the Conference and stand a very good chance at making the NBA Finals. Unfortunately they’re in the West, and playing against teams they don’t match up well with, and their GM hasn’t fixed their problems so they’re going to lose.

Utah’s best chance for a playoff draw is to finish top or second in the West.

#7 Phoenix Suns

Phoenix may have a better chance of winning the West than Utah, but if Utah is vulnerable to certain matchups … what does that make the Suns?

The Suns are going to lose because their three best players are defensive problems and because they cannot defend the screen and roll – let’s see that’s Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Blazers … that’s why Phoenix lose.

Amare Stoudemire’s growth as a defender may be the single biggest issue facing this team.

Like I said, this is the West and it’s loaded, the Suns have a shot at the title, they just need a lot of luck and a perfect draw so they can avoid the team’s they match up poorly with. Chances are they won’t get it.

#8 Dallas Mavericks

Another big dip in the West …. I think the first seven seeds are all but locked up already. I can’t see any one of those sides missing out (if reasonably healthy of course).

Only one seed is up for grabs in my mind and that’s the eight seed … and there’s three competitors gunning for it.

I picked Dallas as the winner, and I think they’re ahead by a good margin, for two reasons:

(1) Because Rick Carlisle will bleed this squad dry of every meaningful contribution he can find, and because,
(2) Dirk is sensational and will drag them upon his back over the finishing line.

#9 Denver Nuggets

Don’t believe the hype about Denver falling through the floors without Camby. It’s nowhere close to being true.

Everyone says the Nuggets have nobody to replace Camby but that’s simply not true, they have Nene who missed all of last season with injury returning from injury. Nene and Kenyon are the clubs two best interior defenders and they will keep Denver competitive in the paint. From there the wonderful talents of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson will keep Denver within shooting distance of the playoffs.

JR Smith is a big player for this squad, hopefully he gets the minutes he deserves because he’s a season changer.

#10 Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are third on my list of playoff hopefuls gunning for the final playoff seed. They are in with a shout and have a decent chance … but I think Denver and Dallas are just that bit better.

The Clippers are the first team in the West who’s season will swing violently towards success or failure dependent on the development and readiness of their youth. Al Thornton has to become a high caliber scorer, a 18-20ppg option who can create for himself and hopefully for his teammates, and who become someone who can score better in the flow of the offense. Eric Gordon is the next best scoring option on the squad and he too must do great things offensively. If the Clippers get those two contributions …. and they’re not certainties …. their chances of making the playoffs jump hugely. If they don’t they’ll have a tough time making a legit run for the playoffs.

#11 Golden State Warriors

The West takes a huge dip now. Nobody else has playoff hopes, only the Top 10.

I don’t have a lot to say about Golden State, they’re a completely mediocre team. They need quality contributions from their young bigs (Biedrins, Randolph, Wright) and a timely return from Monta Ellis … if they can get that, then they can struggle towards/around .500 although that looks unlikely, I expect they’ll find themselves glued to that mid thirties win range or lower.

#12 Sacramento Kings

Sacramento’s season hinges on the performance of John Salmons, and their two young big men (especially Thompson).

If Salmons performs to the level he showed last season as a starter, then Sacramento has a very good three man rotation on the wings and will be competitive night in night out. Salmons scoring and penetration is incredibly important to the Kings because without it their offense has the possibility of becoming dire. What the Kings need from Thompson is rebounding and defense at the four spot to complement Miller. They get those two things (Salmons/Thompson) then they’re somewhere in the 30’s win wise and comparable to last season’s squad. I’m optimistic that they can get those contributions and that’s why they’re at #12.

If they don’t get those things they’re going to fall back fast and hard, joining the cellar dwellers OKC and Memphis.

#13 Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota have the opportunity to finish 11th in the West. They have a decent team that’s improved considerably over last season and could take some positive steps forward and possibly break the 30 win barrier, maybe even 35 wins. They have that opportunity.

I like their nucleus offensively. They’ve got a quality high post low post combination with Kevin Love and Al Jefferson. They also have three 40% three point shooters who can create their own shots off the dribble and score at a healthy rate in Miller, McCants and Foye. Offensively they’re in good shape.

So why are they 13th? Because I think their defense will hold them back. They need to make their defense more competitive, otherwise their gains elsewhere will largely go unaccounted for.

#14 Oklahoma City Thunder

Now comes the final dip, and it’s a huge one.

Is Sam Presti purposefully keeping his team in the cellar? Possibly.

At the moment this team has only one starting quality player and that’s Kevin Durant, this man, this very very young man, has the worst supporting cast in the league and the whole hopes of the franchise on his shoulders. The sadness I feel for this man …. imagine what he could do with some help out there?

#15 Memphis Grizzlies

Yeah I don’t know what to say. An unbalanced roster with huge questions on the interior.

The lack of balance on the Grizzlies team will eliminate many of the quality contributions their prospects make this year. They’re pretty much going to be running into a brick wall night after night.

The duo of Conley and Mayo is the team’s best hope of a more encouraging season than I’m expecting.

Luther Head Fighting For His Spot

Good article on the challenge facing Luther Head, and how he has positively responded to it

The news kept coming, and if Luther Head let himself look at it that way, it was not good news for him.

The Rockets signed Brent Barry, a veteran with championship rings best suited to play Head’s shooting guard position.

They traded for Ron Artest, who can play many positions, with shooting guard near the top of the list.

And with Head’s position on the roster seeming tenuous, the Rockets were clear about their hopes to cut just a bit of salary to move under the luxury tax threshold at a time they were just a bit more than his $1.96 million salary over the tax line.

Head’s response

“Just (think about) getting better, learning,” Head said. “You can’t really worry about guys coming, if you’re going to play. I think that was my big mistake last year, thinking about the guys coming in and if I was going to play, so this year I’m just ‘whatever.’ When I’m called upon, I’m going to play, try to learn this offense and get better each and every day. Wherever it falls, that’s where I’ll fall.”

“You saw it happen with Rafer last year,” Head said. “I don’t think about anybody else that’s here. It’s about me trying to find what I can do to help the team. I do what I can do, catch-and-shoot, getting good cuts. This year it’s about me trying to find my spot.”

Head’s feeling the competition but his performances and versatility in practice is opening eyes to other possibilities

This season, they added Barry and Artest, veterans with greater size and two-guard credentials than Head’s, but Head has not surrendered.

He is not beating out Barry or Artest at the position, but he has turned heads with his play, much as Alston did last season in training camp, giving coach Rick Adelman reason to look for ways to work Head into his rotation.

Seemingly easy to forget in the Rockets’ crowded roster — with nine guards in camp — Head has stood out and earned praise after nearly every practice.

“He’s playing very well,” Adelman said. “You have to look at him and Brent together, see how you can get him on the court. He’s come into camp in great shape, and he’s played well every day. He just runs all day long. He’s got a lot of weapons. He can shoot it. He runs the floor. He cuts well. I’m really pleased with the way he played.

“I think we have enough flexibility in our roster we can find a place for him. That’s the ideal situation, that enough guys play well enough, it’s going to make a hard decision to how you dole the minutes out. Luther knows what we’re trying to do in this system, and he’s one of the better guys at cutting. And he’s a very good shooter. He’s been good every day.”

Adelman has been switching Head around into both guard positions, playing him alongside both Brent Barry and Aaron Brooks in two very different backcourts

Adelman has played Head with Brooks in an effective fast-breaking backcourt, but also with Barry to provide the potential for ball-handling help when Head is at the point. Head and Barry have worked well together, with both having the shooting range to provide spacing for their cuts. Both are among the Rockets’ best players moving without the ball.

“It’s good to know two positions, but it’s all about playing,” Head said. “It’s about whatever I can do to help.”

Looking at Houston’s roster I consider their backup point guard the most suspect spot. I most assuredly agree that Aaron Brooks is a good prospect but I’m not sure how ready he is on the offensive end, and so far in his career he’s shown that his flaws as a floor general make him a poor fit for the offense. Brooks is at his best when he’s allowed to control the ball and dictate the action rather than keeping the ball movement crisp and active. His development fitting into this offense will be a big factor for the Rockets season, on the positive side the Rockets were pleased with his progress during summer league, decided not to sign another point guard, and they’re very high on Brooks so they must feel he’s ready to step up in his second season.

The reason why Brooks is important is that he could decide the short term future of Luther Head. I think it’s all but impossible that Head wins out the spot at off guard with four talented wings (Tracy, Artest, Battier, Barry) ahead of him in the likely rotation, so his best chance at winning playing time will be as a backup point guard. Brooks will be first choice but Head could make it interested with his better jump shooting and increased ability to play off of the ball.

Curry Settles On Rotation

Pistons Coach Michael Curry has pretty much settled on his rotation

Pistons coach Michael Curry said, barring injuries, his primary rotation is just about set.

“We have the starting five (Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups), and then Max (Jason Maxiell), Dyess (Antonio McDyess) and Rodney Stuckey — those eight guys are going to play heavy minutes,” Curry said Thursday after putting the team through a rare light, no-contact practice. “I count anything over 15 minutes as heavy minutes, so those guys are going to play over that every night and I don’t see that changing.”

As for the rest

Curry said Arron Afflalo, Walter Herrmann and Kwame Brown would also work into the mix on a nightly basis.

“One or two of those guys will play big minutes, as well, depending on the matchups,” Curry said. “We are going to have 10 or 11 guys that will be playing regular minutes and we want to try and keep consistent with that all through the season.”

Sounds about right

The Pistons have three players capable of contending for the 6th man of the year award of their bench in Stuckey, Maxiell and McDyess. Still they have no backup wing in their primary rotation. Two bigs and a combo guard. This hole has existed since the loss of Corliss Williamson and still hasn’t been adressed. The quality of their first three bench players and depth in the rest of the roster is enough to give Detroit the best bench out of the contenders but that hole is significant and problematic, hurts their overall balance. If they just had a solid player there it would make a substantial difference …. maybe Herrmann or Afflalo can answer that but we’ll have to wait and see on that.

Solomon Jones Looking Good

Good article by Sekou Smith

New and improved, that’s the way Solomon Jones wanted to be viewed when Hawks training camp began three days ago.

After wrapping up an eye-opening performance during the team’s first scrimmage of camp Thursday, consider that mission accomplished.

Jones is wearing an extra 25 pounds like a new suit. His last move of Thursday’s scrimmage was a wicked spin move that was followed by swished turnaround jumper over Randolph Morris that ended the workout.

The session was highlighted by the improvement Jones has made since most watched him last.

“Solo has put in some serious work and now he’s just showing off now,” Josh Smith said and then laughed. “I’m proud of him, though. He was on fire out there and has been all summer. So he’s earned the right to show it all off.”

Jones, who now carries 245 pounds on his 6-foot-10 frame, didn’t do it to show off. This was a work assignment for the third-year center/power forward with eyes on an increased role.

Jones explaining the need for the extra bulk

“Picking up this extra weight has allowed me to play more physical, to bang and to play with a lot of confidence on both ends of the floor,” Jones said. “I’ve always been confident in what I could do but now I feel like I have the strength to do it consistently.

“The past two years I was so tentative and hesitant at the same time. I’d catch the ball in positions to do things and would hesitate instead of playing the way I know how to play. Playing my role was the only thing on my mind and I think that got me out of my comfort zone and into the trap of being hesitant and really tentative all the time.”

Jones has improved dramatically and his teamamtes are noticing

Tired of waiting for an opportunity to fall into his lap, Jones decided to take a more proactive approach this summer. He opted not to play on the Hawks’ summer league team so he could work the weights and his game at his own pace.

The immediate results are hard to miss. Jones is much more decisive on the offensive end and has shown a nice touch on his shot. One of his other impressive plays Thursday was a baseline jumper over Al Horford’s outstretched hand.

“I think he and Josh both would have to rank at the top in terms of the guys that have come back the most improved,” Horford said. “We always knew Solo was athletic and stuff. But now that he’s figuring it out in the post, and if we can have another guy that we can trust in the post and a guy that can play our style and get up and down the floor, that just makes us that much better as a team.”

It looks like the work is paying off with Mike Woodson confirming that he hopes to use Solomon more often this coming season

Hawks coach Mike Woodson is counting on it. After using Jones sparingly the past two seasons — he played just 4.1 minutes per game last season — Woodson expects to use Jones in a more prominent role going forward.

“He looks like a different player,” Woodson said. “When I look at his physicality and his body, he’s picked up a little weight and he’s not as flimsy as he was the last two years. It used to be somebody would hit him and he’d be all over the place. Now he has to continue to build on that.

“But he’s practicing well. I thought his play in the summer during pickup ball he was playing pretty well. It’s been a nice carryover for him into camp. He just has to continue to build, because Solo is the kind of guy we need with the way we want to play, up and down and everything.”

This gives something extra to look out for during the Hawks preseason and early regular season games.

Hopefully Solomon Jones can keep this up because the hole at backup power forward is sizable for Atlanta …. and their bench is going to require all hands on deck following the loss of Josh Childress, and on that count the early returns from Law, Mo, and Zaza have been very good. If Solomon Jones can find a way to add to that, that’ll be great.

Webster Injured

We found out late last night during the Portland-Golden State game that Martell Webster had a lingering pain in his foot, upon seeing a doctor it was discovered that he had a stress factor in his left foot. The early diagnosis for recovery was 5-8 weeks, but a Joe Freemon article now says at least 8 weeks (although a firm timetable has yet to be set)

The euphoric aftermath of the Trail Blazers’ electric start to the exhibition season was dealt a somber dose of news Wednesday when Martell Webster, the front-runner to start at small forward, was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Webster, who unbeknown to the Blazers had been experiencing discomfort throughout training camp, finally told the team Tuesday night after playing a painful 26 minutes against the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-7 sharpshooter had X-Rays taken Tuesday night and underwent magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography testing on Wednesday, which revealed the injury to his fifth metatarsal.

Webster is expected to miss at least eight weeks — and potentially as many as 20 or 25 games — but an official timetable for his return will be determined Thursday after he undergoes further examination. The team has not yet determined if Webster will undergo surgery or simply rehabilitate his left foot.

“We lost a piece of this team and I think an important piece,” coach Nate McMillan said. “He was one of the guys this year who could help us spread the floor and take some of that pressure off the low-post game and (we were) hoping he would have a big year. We’ll have to make adjustments.”

“He’s disappointed because he worked hard this summer,” McMillan said. “You don’t want to start the season off with an injury because a lot of times when … you try to rehab an injury during the season, you normally will be rehabbing all season long. So it was disappointing for him. But as I tell him, it’s not a season-ending injury. Best thing is to listen to the doctors, find the best way to take care of this problem and get back as soon as possible

I thought Webster was ready for a big season this year so this setback is, well just horrid timing.

The two main candidates to replace Webster in the starting lineup are Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez … with Brandon Roy moving over to small forward defensively in Rudy’s case. There’s also the option of Nicolas Batum, but I’m thinking Batum only gets that call if Nate McMillan wants to keep his second unit together and have Travis lead it.

Blazers start the season off with an extremely difficult schedule so losing Martell will be a significant blow to the side. Someone needs to step up, especially on the defensive end where Martell looked much improved by all accounts.

In other Blazers injury news, Rudy Fernandez sprained his ankle wth 2-3 minutes left in the game last night … but it doesn’t look serious, hopefully only a few days until his return.

Quick Oden Watch – Greg Oden is now 10-19 from the field and 9 of those 10 field goals are dunks.

Haywood Injured

Very bad news for Wizards center Brendan Haywood

Center Brendan Haywood, who missed tonight’s presason opener at Dallas with a wrist injury, will be in New York tomorrow to see a hand specialist. Haywood also met with hand specialist today and according to a source familiar with the situation, the specialist advised Haywood to undergo a surgical procedure that would require him to miss between four to six months.

I spoke with president Ernie Grunfeld, who said that the team is waiting to hear about tomorrow’s consultation before drawing any major conclusions.

Haywood injured the wrist during a training camp practice last week and has not played or practiced since. The injury was originally called a sprain but Haywood has continued to experience pain and discomfort. Etan Thomas started at center tonight.

Gasol/Bynum Struggling Early

The Lakers just finished a losing effort against the Utah Jazz last night, but unforuntately we didn’t get to see this pair in action due to Pau Gasol playing only 5 minutes (cut lip or something, precautionary withdrawal) and Bynum coming off the bench. However in a recent article by the OC Register some concerns were raised:

Phil Jackson quote

If Lakers coach Phil Jackson were still toting that cane around, he’d have spent most of training camp pointing it up at Bynum and Gasol, both 7-feet tall, and what they have been doing wrong as a twin-tower tandem.

“Right now, they’re very clumsy; they’re not working well together,” Jackson said Monday. “We’ve got a group that played very well together last year. There are some things that we have to discuss and see how long we drag this out — or how quickly we facilitate it, because I think we have got the ability to play exceptionally well if we use all our skill players.”

Said Winter: “The complexion of our team changes considerably when you’re playing Gasol and Bynum together. That’s going to be a real project to work that out so both those guys can play up to their potential and really show what they can do.”

The author pondered on some of the challenges

Both big guys are used to being the first to go challenge a shot, but both can’t go first anymore. With another big guy nearby, how much is each one free to stray from his assigned rebounding territory to chase and secure the ball (something that Bynum acknowledges he didn’t do well enough last season)? Gasol is definitely good at the elbow and a surprisingly capable threat at the wing, yet he remains a big-time weapon at the low post and will need to figure out when to take that spot away from Bynum at times.

Oh, and by the way, a dude named Kobe Bryant will most often be up there at the wing, elbow or post this season, calling for the ball. So Bynum and Gasol must navigate that, too.

Bear in mind how Bynum and Gasol together limits the Lakers’ fast-break offense that was such a surprise smash hit last season. Jackson has been working the Lakers extensively in camp on committing even more to the running game this season, and most opponents these days are fielding smaller lineups, not bigger ones.

Any chance that last year’s big man duo could remain and Bynum could play off the bench?

Asked directly how much he wants Gasol to play center again this season, Jackson said: “It depends upon how well they work together.”

Unless Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol find a flow on the floor together soon, Bynum could begin the regular season on the Lakers’ bench.

“It has been mentioned,” Lakers consultant Tex Winter said of the coaching staff’s internal discussions. “We played pretty well last year without him.”

Tex Winters feels that some of the difficulties are coming from a lesser level of effort from Andrew Bynum

To put it bluntly — and Winter always will, which is why Michael Jordan loved him in Chicago — Gasol has been a lot better than Bynum in camp. (I can still hear what Tex flatly offered me last training camp about Kwame Brown: “Kwame apparently is not very tough.”)

Winter said a major factor in the slow start so far has been Bynum not giving maximum effort in practice.

“He’s just not exerting himself, maybe,” Winter said. “And most of the other guys are. I think he just needs to play a little harder.”

Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis, who has worked individually with Bynum for years, agreed with Winter, saying Bynum needs to run the floor consistently hard.

“Andrew has had some good moments, but one of the things we’re trying to impress upon him is he has to extend those good moments,” Rambis said. “It’s not a sometime thing; it’s an every-time thing.”

Bynum has said himself that practice work hasn’t had him completely riveted.

“This is the first year where it’s kind of a little bit boring just because we have to run through the same stuff we already know,” he said.

How has Gasol looked at power forward in the Triangle?

On the bright side in the building of the twin towers, Gasol has looked downright dynamic out on the wing as a face-up player while still learning the position in the triangle. He fundamentally prefers playing power forward to center, so it is downright inevitable that Bynum and Gasol will start together — just maybe later than sooner.”

Gasol has shown signs of playing the power forward pretty well,” Winter said. “He has a lot of all-around skills. And when Bynum gets with it, I think it’ll work itself out.

I wouldn’t get to worked up about this issue at this stage of the season. Just pointing out there’s a problem and that it’s something to keep an eye on. I still fully expect this duo to function together and at a high level.

Mavericks Offense

Following the dismissal of Avery Johnson and hiring of Rick Carlisle, and all the hoopla about opening up Dallas’ offense … well we’ve been wondering what they’re actually going to do. Here’s what they’re doing in camp and something else that they want to do more of.

I could pretend to be a basketball savant and detail the elements of the Princeton offense that will be unveiled tonight when these new-look Mavericks open the preseason against Washington.

I could fake my understanding of the triangle offense and its place in this scheme before cleverly directing you to one of the books written by Tex Winters.

Or I could put this in more practical terms.

Rick Carlisle concluded his first training camp as the Mavericks coach Monday. The players ran and ran some more. He stressed defense. He experimented with different combinations. And how many new half-court sets did he install?

None.

Carlisle concedes even he is intrigued to see what form the offense takes beginning tonight.

“Well, we’re not running the triangle,” Carlisle said. “Maybe I’d call it a rectangle. I don’t know what I’d call it.

“But we don’t have many sets in. We’re going to be playing mostly out of movement.”

None?

As expected there will be far less set plays, and more onus on creativity

The offense under Avery Johnson was more structured. He would call the play, put his team in position to exploit a mismatch then attack. It was about discipline and imposing the Mavericks’ will on the defense.

The idea under Carlisle will be for players to read the defense and react. There will be more motion in the form of backdoor cuts and pick-and-rolls. Fewer plays will be called.

“We have no half-court sets,” guard Jason Terry said. “There is a base and a method to our madness, but it’s all creative madness.

“It’s a little bit of the Princeton offense. A little bit of run and gun. Can you call it the West Coast offense of basketball? I don’t know.”

They’re going to run, but not a breakneck pace

Those who expect the Mavericks to adopt the breakneck pace of Phoenix, Denver or Golden State will be disappointed. You can’t do that and adhere to the defensive principles Carlisle espouses.

The Mavericks hope to pick up a few more fast-break points. The point guard will push the ball, the wing players will fly down the court and the power forward and center will sprint down the middle.

Go on

But the true test of any motion offense is how efficient it is once the initial assault on the basket is stopped.

In this secondary break, the Mavericks won’t pull the ball out and set up. They will probe the defense with players cutting to the basket. The defensive response dictates how they proceed.

Don’t look for center Erick Dampier or DeSagana Diop on the low block at this stage of the offense. The Mavericks need the strong side open to create more room to drive to the basket. Dirk Nowitzki will be in motion on the theory that he is harder to cover on the move than he is standing still.

“The key is to be able to explore off the fast break and not have to waste time getting guys in spots,” point guard Jason Kidd said. “You have spots on the floor, and anyone can fill them.

“You don’t eat up the shot clock in that sense. You don’t criss-cross. You don’t have to wait to get one guy to run to the other side of the court for the play. You play once you get over half court.”

Carlisle has talked about this a number of times over the summer, clearly he feels these secondary breaks are where Dallas can have some of their biggest improvement offensively and also unleash the creativity of Jason Kidd.

Anything else about the offense?

Carlisle said the offense is a combination of what various teams have done through the years. Assistant coach Terry Stotts said some of the cuts Utah runs have found their way into this scheme.

“It’s a fun way to play, a fun style to watch,” Stotts said

The second part of the Mavs offensive changes, is that they want to shoot more three pointers and at a better clip.

The article, and Rick Carlisle, start out by point out that the league has changed and three point shooting has never been as important as it is today

The top six 3-point shooting teams last season made the playoffs. Two of them – Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers – were in the NBA Finals. Of the bottom 11 teams in 3-point percentage, only the Mavericks, Houston and Philadelphia made the playoffs. None of them made it past the first round.

This trend cannot be ignored, nor will it be by new Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and his staff. He wants the Mavericks to get back to their old form as one of the best 3-point teams in the league.

So how did the Mavs do last season?

Last season, the Mavs ranked 20th at slightly better than 35 percent. They shot 17 3-pointers per game. In the playoffs, they were worse, hitting 34.6 percent to New Orleans’ 45.9 percent.

That won’t cut it.

“If you’re really going to contend, you’ve got to be shooting it 36 [percent] or higher,” Carlisle said. “And most teams in that category shoot 18 to 20 times. For example, last year [the Mavs] were 12-3 in games where [they] shot 36 percent and had 18 or more attempts. It just shows you the quantum power of the 3-point shot.

“We just want it to be the kind of thing where the right guys are shooting them, obviously, and when the opportunities present themselves, we’re just stepping into them and not thinking about them.”

The article has a good graph at the bottom of the page, worth checking out, last year’s Mavericks shot the second worst percentage from downtown in the last 8 years of their history. They also shot the second lowest number of threes last season over the past 7 years.

Interestingly Rick Carlisle has focused in on Josh Howard as the key to make this strategy more effective

In particular, Carlisle wants Josh Howard to regain his touch from afar. Nowitzki and Jason Terry are always going to be 3-point threats. It was Howard who had the biggest falloff last season.

“I’ve encouraged him to spend a lot of time working on it this summer, and he has,” Carlisle said of Howard. “He’s one of the guys that’s got to mix it up the right way. He can get a jump shot anytime he wants, because people back off of him because of his driving ability.

“We need him to put pressure on the defense with his ability to put the ball on the floor and be ready to shoot spot-up 3s when they present themselves. We’re going to be asking an awful lot of him this year because he’s so multidimensional, both offensively and defensively.”

I like the idea of getting Josh Howard to improve his three point shooting. The Mavs need more guys shooting threes (not just Kidd, Terry and to a lesser extent Dirk) and most of their wings are the unproductive kind so having someone like Josh Howard around who can (hopefully) consistently hit that three pointer … that’s a big bonus.

The Mavericks also need to get Dirk Nowitzki shooting more from downtown. Dirk only hit 79 threes last season, only 72 the year before. He shot a lowly 34%, which is the second worst of his career. Now I wouldn’t be worried about this for two reasons

• We all know Dirk is one of the greatest shooters in the game today and can hit that three ball at a high clip
• It improved a lot once Devin Harris was removed from the equation, and point guard who can actually create shots for his teammates was added. Dirk went from 29% from three with Harris to 48% with Jason Kidd. It’s great for Dirk that he finally has someone who can the pick and pop well enough to get Dirk an open look. Dirk ended up almost scoring as many threes in 24 games alongside Kidd, as he did in 53 prior to Kidd’s arrival.

Still they need to make sure Dirk shoots more from distance. Nowitzki is too good a shooter, and too much of a mismatch away from the rim not to exploit this advantage.

Two Small Mavs Notes

The first is the idea that Eddie Jones is a possible candidate to be waived

The Mavericks hope swingman Eddie Jones can recover from a left hamstring problem and figure out what he can contribute to the team.

“Right now, our preference is to see where he’s at, and if he can help us,” Nelson said. “He has to get healthy before we can determine that.”

Asked if a buyout of Jones’ contract was possible, Nelson said: “That’s a conversation for later on. Right now, we need to get him healthy.”

Jones is earning $1.9 million this season after he exercised the option year on his contract during the summer.

I’m quite surprised by Donnie Nelson’s answer, perhaps someone (an invite) is impressing in training camp? Also  the young wings (Wright/Green) must be doing well, and also the veterans (Stackhouse/George) for this to be worth considering.

The second piece of news is the addition of Paul Westphal to the Mavs front office.

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have named Paul Westphal executive vice president of basketball operations. He will work directly with President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson and assist in all areas of management as well as scouting.

Westphal, a 12-year NBA veteran, brings 25 years of coaching experience to his new role. Westphal owns a .627 winning percentage as an NBA coach and led the Phoenix Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals. In 1995, he became the second-fastest coach in NBA history to reach 150 wins. The Suns surpassed the 55-win mark in each of his three seasons in Phoenix. Last season, Westphal served as an assistant coach for the Mavericks.

“I can’t tell you how excited we are to add Westy to our management team,” Nelson said. “The Mavericks have gained a valuable asset. As a player and coach, Paul has pretty much seen and done it all. He has a wealth of experience and expertise. Now he has the opportunity to apply that knowledge on the management side of the ball and the Mavericks are a much better team for it.”

Barry Making His Presence Felt

Good article over at the Houston Chronicle on Brent Barry

“He’s been very active to the point I spoke to coach (Rick) Adelman and asked how that was going,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “He really welcomed Brent doing that. He’s been pulling aside pretty much everybody, but mostly the younger players. Pretty much from day one, he’s been running what Coach wants him to do as well as the guys that have been here.

“It’s more specific basketball — defensive pointers, offensive reads. I think he has as high a basketball IQ as anybody on the team. I think a lot of people look to him knowing he knows what it takes, particularly the younger players. He has won more than anyone we have.”

A lot of players talk. Barry, however, has known what to say. Though new to Adelman’s system, he has taken to it quickly enough to offer instruction. But more than talking about how to run through the offense, he has offered everything from tips to encouragement.

With Shane Battier, who often was at the center of on-court strategy sessions, out, Barry has quickly filled that void, and with Adelman’s blessing.

“I think that’s who he is,” Adelman said. “He’s probably always been that way — vocal. He’s a very smart player. If he thinks he can help somebody, he’s more than willing to say it. I’ve had guys do it before in a bad way. But he picks his spots and does it in constructive ways. Guys respond to that. I have no problem with that. The more guys talk to each other, the better.”

Barry recognizes the importance of communication

“It’s just trying to help guys be more efficient the way they play,” Barry said. “It’s better than not telling them. We’re trying to all get better. Training camp is there for a reason. The coaching staff is trying to get us in shape and on the same page. The more communication we have between teammates, the better off we’re going to be once the season starts.

His teammates are paying attention to his words

Barry’s teammates have been eager to hear what he has to say, not that they have had much of a choice.

“He’s always, always putting his input into stuff,” second-year guard Aaron Brooks said. “He tells me when I’m doing a good job, tells me what I can do better. He’s always saying something. He’s been in the league so many years, there’s a lot of stuff I can learn from him.

“He has the respect. He has everybody’s ear. We need that. He’s outspoken, and he’s good at it.”

Beyond that, when Barry isn’t talking, the Rockets have found he also can shoot and pass the ball a little.

Rose Starting Strongly

I’ve been dying for some news on how Derrick Rose is doing and quite frankly Chicago’s media outlets have been letting me down for weeks … until now. Thank you KC Johnson for this article.

Remember all the talk from last June about bringing Derrick Rose along slowly and not burdening a rookie owning one season of college experience with too many expectations?

Well, forget about all that.

In conversations with several people who have witnessed or participated in Bulls practices, the praise for Rose is glowing and unanimous. Two people—one with ties to the Bulls’ organization, one without—said Rose is having the best training camp of anybody on the team.

Best Bulls player in camp? That’s high praise. KC goes on to say Rose has played alongside Kirk Hinrich for most of training camp, clearly an indication that the coaching staff are looking for the two of them to play some time together this season.

Still, most observers now consider Rose a lock to be a starter on opening night against the Bucks on Oct. 28.

So much for bringing Rose along slowly.

What do his teammates say?

“He has been very good, really, really impressive,” Sefolosha said. “He’s quick. He makes good decisions on the court. I’m impressed with the way he prepares himself and how he knows when to pass, when to attack. He’s already playing at a very high level.”

How does Rose feel about his proggression?

Rose is the type to look at what he’s doing poorly before acknowledging any success. So ask him how his camp is going and he talks about the need to improve an erratic jumper and to become better defensively.

Then ask him if he feels comfortable offensively and watch his eyes light up.

“I’m the type of player if you teach me one thing, I’ll adapt to it very quickly,” Rose said in a quietly self-assured manner. “Coach has put me in plenty of screen-and-roll situations, and I’m learning from them pretty quickly.

“At Memphis, we only ran pick-and-roll to get the alley-oop. Now we run it for me to shoot the jumper, get to the rim, get other people open. It’s always something different. And I love it.”

KC then uses a Del Negro quote to remind everyone that the toughest position for a youngster to play is the point guard

That may be true. And bumps along the way will exist for Rose. But by all accounts, the training wheels are off.

“My knee is fine, I’m learning plays, learning from the veterans, from the staff,” Rose said. “The veterans challenge me every day. They don’t let down. They know I’m not at that level yet. They make sure I’m learning.

“But I feel very comfortable. There’s no pressure. I thought being the first rookie it’d be difficult.”

The implication being it’s not.

The Bulls have helped Rose’s rookie transition but they’re not alone

Rose credits his veteran teammates with challenging him in practice. But his NBA education has extended beyond the Berto Center.

The Bulls this season joined other NBA teams who subscribe to Synergy Sports Technology, a TiVo-like service that allows the coaching staff to show, say, Rose and Tyrus Thomas every screen-and-roll situation Phoenix’s dynamic duo of Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire have executed in their careers.

Or instantly show Rose every screen-and-roll Jason Kidd and Chris Paul have performed from last season and beyond. Rose feels fortunate to have access to the revolutionary scouting tool.

“People think screen-and-roll is an easy set, but you have to read it,” he said. “Sometimes you have to slow down if a defender jumps out. Other times you can get to the rim. There are so many things you can do with it.

“I’m trying to master it. I’m watching the veterans who did master it. That makes it a bit easier. But I still have to experience it against great NBA players night in and night out to get better at it.”

Rose reportedly had a great summer (as did several other Bulls players) and his work ethic is clearly on display in the above quote.

I’m hoping we’ll hear a lot more about Rose as training camp wears on …. but at least this is something and appearantly that something is very very good. Best player in the Bulls training camp …. Impressive.

Redick’s Team Option Used

Per ESPN

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic picked up their $2.8 million option on guard J.J. Redick for next season.

The former Duke star has struggled to work his way into the backcourt rotation and last season asked for a trade. He was the first guard off the bench in the Magic’s loss to Atlanta in the preseason opener Monday, scoring 12 points, and drew praise from coach Stan Van Gundy for his play in practices.

Good start to season for JJ Redick. Orlando’s rotation at shooting guard is fairly packed with Pietrus, Bogans, Courtney Lee, and JJ himself … so I’m sure he’ll get minutes yet …. but he’s made a good start for himself. Financially it’s good for him to get that extra security.

There’s rumours flying around that Orlando are showcasing him for a trade, I do not think they’re doing that but regardless of their intentions it still might play out that way. Lot of bodies in his way plus Orlando could get something valuable in return for Redick. He’s also one of the primary guys who might be used in a combined package based around Hedo Turkoglu should the Magic choose to cash in rather than pay Hedo a large extension ….. so this team option isn’t security for Orlando being his home just yet …. but it is a good start. Well done JJ Redick.

Edit: Another link to the extension story

Baylor Out, Dunleavy In

ESPN reports

Baylor’s side

LOS ANGELES — Elgin Baylor is out as vice president of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Clippers, and coach Mike Dunleavy will assume his responsibilities as general manager.

While Dunleavy said Baylor had decided to resign after spending 22 years as an executive with the team, Baylor painted a little different picture when reached by The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

“There is a dispute, and on the advice of my attorney they did not want me to discuss it,” Baylor said, according to the newspaper. “That’s all I can say.”

Clippers owner and chairman of the board Donald T. Sterling issued a statement on Tuesday.

“We greatly appreciate Elgin’s efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best,” it said.

The 74-year-old Baylor became vice president of basketball operations with the Clippers in 1986 after an outstanding 14-year playing career with the Lakers and a brief stint as coach of the New Orleans Jazz.

Clippers’ view

The Clippers also announced that Neil Oshley, the team’s director of player personnel, will be elevated to the position of assistant general manager.

“In Mike and Neil, we’re fortunate to already have talented people in place to make this transition a seamless one,” Clippers president Andy Roeser said. “Going forward, we have high expectations for our team. From a basketball standpoint, these are the people we’re counting on to make those expectations a reality.”

Dunleavy’s view

Dunleavy, about to start his sixth season as coach of the Clippers, has manned dual roles before; he was the coach and vice president of basketball operations with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1992-96.

“About a week or 10 days ago, I was approached by the team about being named the general manager,” Dunleavy told The Associated Press. “The sense was there was a chance that Elgin might resign. Basically, they were trying to figure it out as soon as possible. They had made Elgin a couple different offers about going forward, and he had until Monday to make a decision on it.

“Today, Andy Roeser came to me and said they were going to go forward with this, that Elgin had resigned, and they were going to name me the general manager and Neil Oshley the assistant general manager.”

Dunleavy said he hadn’t seen Baylor for nearly a month, since the funeral of longtime Clippers physician Dr. Anthony F. Daly, who died Sept. 5.

“I enjoyed my time working with Elgin, it was a good working relationship,” Dunleavy said. “I wish him all the best. The way we’ve done business the last couple of years, we’ve all worked together to go forward with whatever made the best sense for us, and we’ll continue to move forward.”

Is this the aftermath of the Elton Brand debacle? Or something else entirely?

Update: It appears it was an ongoing power struggle, one Elgin lost to the combative Mike Dunleavy. Excellent article written by Bill Simmons over at ESPN on the life of Elgin Baylor in the NBA.

Delonte West Interview

Typical Delonte West interview, lots of funny stuff in there. The man sure does know how to give an interview.

Was there anything to the rumor that you were considering playing in Russia?
West: Well I read that on the Internet just like you did. The Internet’s real interesting. I call the Internet “The Devil.” The Internet and cable television are the Devil. They’re just a way to influence others with color schemes and all kinds of stuff.

That’s said jokingly, but honestly, I read it just like you did. My agent never told me anything about Russia. That might have been a 14-year-old basketball fanatic who wrote that. He might have wrote that in his basement and next thing you now, (the media)’s running with it. I actually didn’t pay much attention to it.

Could you see yourself playing in Russia?
West: Not with all these tattoos I got. I’d be the first one to go. I know some Russians be shooting at me. I got a Chinese symbol over here, I got a Muslim symbol right here. So I’d look like a terrorist over there.

I don’t think I’m going nowhere overseas looking like this.

What did you do with your off-season off the court?
West: I got back to my roots, man. I stayed in my mom’s basement – in my old room – with a 19” TV.

No cable?
West: Like I just said, cable TV is the Devil. So I watched Sponge Bob tapes over and over again. I went to the same courts I used to work out at. I just got back to my roots, man. I didn’t do too much “live” basketball, for obvious reasons.

Bill Walker Doing Well

Per ESPN and Doc Rivers

Rivers says he was pleasantly surprised by what he has seen of rookie Bill Walker.

“He’s not your typical rookie that thinks he’s got it figured out already,” Rivers said. “He really isn’t. He knows he has some catching up to do but he’s been a pleasant surprise.”

“Clearly, he would have gone earlier if he projected healthy,” Rivers said. “I think he would have been mid-first [round] definitely to low-first. But everyone was scared about his knee.”

“He clearly can earn a position if a team is willing to take the chance.”

The question is what position can he play since, considering his height, he’s a classic “tweener.”

“He’s that in size but in body he’s a three,” Rivers said. “I think he would struggle even more guarding twos. He’s athletic enough to, but his body tells you he’s a 3 because he’s so strong.

“He attacks the basket, too, and will live on the foul line. He’s got to work on his ball handling a little bit, but if he comes off the cuts, he’s going to live on the foul line.”

Rivers says he believes that Walker could excel in a transition game and could be even more productive as a post-up guard.

“Billy’s great in transition,” Rivers said. “But I think Billy’s going to be a great post guard. I don’t know if he knows that yet, but I think he will be.”

Said it before, I’ll say it again, Walker was an excellent pickup by Danny Ainge. There’s other reports that he’s well ahead of Giddens in training camp, that his intelligence on the court has allowed him to pick up the offense quickly, and that his summer long workouts in Boston have him in tremendous shape. Walker is doing great. Right now it looks like he’s the favourite to be the second wing off the bench behind Tony Allen for Boston.

Francis + Landry Updates

This is the latest update I’ve come across on how Steve Francis is doing

After the morning walk-though, Rockets guard Steve Francis said it would be three to four weeks before he could go through scrimmages. It turned out to be three to four hours.

He was limited, but he took turns in the evening scrimmages, a significant step after he was happy even to be able to join the lighter morning practice.

“I was able to go through some of the drills (Tuesday),” Francis said. “It felt good to be back here. It was the first practice I had here since February, so it was the first practice I had since February, so it was great.

“I don’t want to take any chances until I’m cleared by my doctor. But mentally it helps to be out here. Last time I tried it, that’s why I’m in the situation I’m in now. I tried to play injured, and it got worse.

“Hopefully with some rehab the next couple weeks, I’ll be ready to go.”

Later in the preseason, Francis will have to compete for playing time.

For now, however, he made an important step in that direction just by stepping on the court and running through some of the evening session.

“It will have to happen eventually when I’m healthy, but I don’t want to take that chance if I’m not healthy because I’ll be in the same predicament that I was in last year,” Francis said. “Anyone with an injury will tell you, if you come back too soon, that’s when other things start to snowball and start to happen.”

Here’s a previous report, either on or just before media day, on where Francis is at

Rockets guard Steve Francis has been cleared for the non-contact portion of training camp, a step he said was significant in his comeback from his right knee surgery last February.

“It’s way more than I’ve been doing,” said Francis, adding that he dropped 15 pounds since last season. “Just being around the guys, I think, is going to mentally help. Plus, I forgot the plays. It’s going to be great for me.”

Rockets trainer Keith Jones said he believed Francis needs to test the knee with the additional work.

“All he’s done is drill work and played pick-up ball,” Jones said. “But he has not done anything (organized) since last season. He needs this.”

I included the second report because I liked hearing he lost some weight, that will hopefully do his body good and help him get some of that agility and quickness back. Clearly Francis is still very much on the comeback trail but he’s making progress so that’s good.

Carl Landry

There’s always a concern regarding a player’s fitness when he has long drawn out negotiations during the summer, so many player’s are fearful of picking up an injury and either don’t train or go easy, and they end up well behind the curve of where they need to be. So where’s Carl Landry’s fitness and game sharpness at?

But there have been raves for the fitness and renewed athleticism of Carl Landry, who was a free agent working out on his own in Indianapolis throughout the summer and was not certain to return to the Rockets until they chose to match his offer sheet with the Charlotte Bobcats last week.

“He’s been great,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “He’s in great shape, very active. He’s really picked up from where he left off last year. So far, I don’t see any problems with Carl at all.”

Landry’s professionalism and hunger has been outstanding ever since he joined this league. Houston are lucky to have him.

Some other Rockets who are in good shape and performing well

Players and coaches have praised the performance and conditioning of Aaron Brooks, Joey Dorsey, Luther Head and Mike Harris, Brent Barry has stood out, shooting especially well on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A Rookie’s Life

Joey Dorsey is learning quick about where a rookie ranks along the NBA’s totem pole

As the only rookie expcted to make the Rockets’ roster, Joey Dorsey can likely expect more than the usual share of initiation duties. But Dorsey has resisted.

“They tell me I’m going to have to sing the national anthem, have to do the laundry,” Dorsey said. “I don’t do my own laundry. How am I going to do Tracy (McGrady’s) or somebody else’s laundry? It’s going to be crazy for me.

“One thing Tracy said is ‘3 o’clock in the morning, have your phone on’ because I have to go get him Denny’s. I’m not waking up 3 o’clock in the morning out of my bed, going all the way where he stays to get him Denny’s. And I know he’s not going to eat it. I cut my phone off. Nobody said anything. I was happy about that. I was a bully in college. I’m trying to work my way right here right now.”

McGrady said no one noticed that Dorsey’s phone was off because those calls come when the team is on the road.

“That’s what rookies have to go through,” McGrady said. “If he turns off his phone when I’m calling at 3 o’clock in the morning, that’s not good the next day. There’s consequences to pay.”

Fesenko Disappointing, Koufos Encouraging

It looks very likely right now that Fesenko is going to spend a lot of time once again down in the D-League playing for the Utah Flash

I think it’s a given Fesenko will start the season in the D-League, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Fesenko needs some serious work – - the Rocky Mountain Revue was his wake-up call – - and Jones describes himself as being the Ukrainian center’s “biggest fan.”

Fesenko told me earlier this week that he hoped to stick with the Jazz this season. He mentioned that he was a D-League All-Star last season and felt like he had learned the American game. That might be wishful thinking, though, on his part right now.

Fesenko got a lot of criticism for his performance in summer league. He just hasn’t advanced as everyone hoped he would. He’s still a solid prospect but by all accounts he’s behind where he needs to be to play at the moment.

The article goes on the ponder on two other Jazz players who are D-League eligible – Almond and Koufos

Almond is an interesting case. The Jazz still are waiting to decide about exercising the third-year option in his rookie contract, though Jerry Sloan has praised Almond for being in better shape and looking more comfortable in this training camp.

Harping’s injury may serve as a springboard for Almond

If Matt Harpring recovers from his ankle infection in time for the season opener, Almond could find himself ticketed for the Flash yet again. I’m not sure how much he would benefit from that, but Sloan made clear Friday that he didn’t think there was anything damaging about sending Almond to the D-League.

“If you’re a basketball player and want to play,” Sloan said, “you benefit from playing, wherever you play.”

It’s a good point by the writer, Ross Siler, because right now it appears that there are five wings ahead of Almond in the rotation – Kirilenko, Brewer, Korver, Harpring, Miles – and they’re not going anywhere. It’s going to tough for him to earn playing time.

Onto the rookie Kosta Koufos

At first, Koufos would seem like the perfect candidate to head to the Flash. He’s only 19, spent just one year at Ohio State and was a late first-round pick. I joked with one Jazz staffer Friday that Koufos is basically 17 months removed from having to remember the combination to his locker in high school.

Yet it’s clear that Sloan thinks Koufos is ahead of the curve for any rookie, 19 years old or otherwise. It wouldn’t surprise me if he spent a lot of this season with the Jazz. The Jazz, as I was reminded Friday, are going to need a big man just to help relieve veterans Mehmet Okur and Jarron Collins in practice.

There also are questions about whether Fesenko and Koufos both would benefit playing on the Flash at the same time. Each of their minutes at center would be reduced by the mere presence of the other. It’s possible that Koufos’ time with the Flash will come when the Jazz leave on long road trips or are otherwise challenged to find practice time.

It’s great to hear that Jerry Sloan likes what he sees in Koufos and may have a chance of sticking with the Jazz. I think Koufos could help early on, definitely someone to keep around the squad over the first two months of the season to find out.

………………

I was searching through a few more Jazz articles and their training camp and came across two of interest, one on Fesenko and one on Koufos. We’ll start with Fesenko

BOISE, Idaho – For the second consecutive day, Jazz center Kyrylo Fesenko could be found working out on the court with Jeff Hornacek before the team bus arrived for evening practice at training camp.

However encouraging the sight might have been, coach Jerry Sloan made clear Wednesday that Fesenko’s conditioning still leaves much to be desired for a player entering his second season.

Sloan said Fesenko has yet to “realize the importance of being in great shape, because when you aren’t in great shape, you have a tendency to always be behind, whether it’s offensively or defensively or reacting, and those things really hurt you.”

“If you aren’t in shape,” Sloan added, “you’ve got to work harder to get in better shape every day and not be afraid of getting tired.”

After a summer-league showing that Sloan described as “very poor” and Fesenko said was the worst he possibly could have played, the 21-year-old opted to stay in Utah before the start of training camp.

Fesenko said he was still trying to figure out what went wrong during the Rocky Mountain Revue. His first game was a nightmare – no points, seven turnovers, four fouls – and things didn’t improve much from there.

“Everybody was talking around me that this was really important summer,” Fesenko said, “one of the most important summers, ‘You have to play good, you have to play good,’ and I was nervous a lot and as a result I make such a stupid mistakes.”

Fairly damning beginning to season for Kyrylo.

Backing up the endorsement from the first linked article, there is more promising news about Kosta Koufos

Even though he never got the chance to bring in Kosta Koufos for a workout or sit down with him before the draft, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor had some idea what he was getting in his newest first-round pick.

The Jazz had done their research, best as they could, on the 19-year-old center from Ohio State. O’Connor had talked to his college coach, to rival coaches in the Big Ten, to his high school and AAU coaches in Canton, Ohio, and to his agent.

All his reports mentioned the same thing: Koufos was young, but he was a tremendous worker. So much so that he often would head to the gym in the middle of the night after returning from a road trip with the Buckeyes.

Jerry Sloan has been impressed

As unlikely as the marriage might have seemed at first, the early returns for Koufos and the Jazz have been encouraging. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, for starters, said his rookie 7-footer’s attitude was “as good as you could get.”

“I think he has come farther than I probably expected from where he was in summer league,” Sloan added. “He’s picked stuff up pretty good, he’s a lot more relaxed trying to do the stuff, and just played.”

After playing in the Rocky Mountain Revue in July, Koufos returned to Canton, where he worked on his shooting, conditioning and strength. He was back in Utah by early September and paid visits to the Jazz’s practice facility at all hours.

Sometimes he was there, shooting and lifting weights by himself, well after midnight. “It’s a 24/7 facility,” Koufos said, “so I’ll just use it to the max.” How much time did he put in? “A lot,” he said. “Let’s just put it that way. A lot.”

Sloan isn’t the only, Koufos’ work ethic has also caught the eye of Jazz GM O’Connor

O’Connor said Koufos’ work ethic was at a different level than most players that he’d seen come to the NBA out of high school or after one year of college.

“He’s going to hit a wall somewhere along the line, I’m sure, and go through some stuff, but so far he’s worked extremely hard,” O’Connor said. “And if you’re that size and you work hard and you’ve got some skills, you usually succeed.”

Kosta’s words on the transition and possibly playing in the D-League

Koufos said he’s having fun, learning a lot and feeling comfortable with the Jazz. The biggest adjustment so far has been the speed of the game. “I’m just here to work hard, learn the system, and I’m just enjoying this process,” he said.

With Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko spending much of last season with the Utah Flash in the NBA Development League, Koufos was asked about doing the same as a rookie. “Whatever it is, I’m willing to work hard,” Koufos said.

Koufos’ shooting is his greatest strength, but his focus for right now is on the defensive end. Sloan’s praise suggests that Koufos might be able to contribute as a rookie, even though his age would suggest otherwise.

“He doesn’t get to the back of the line and stay there,” Sloan said. “He’s willing to step up and get after it.”

Koufos to replace Collins before the end of the season? I think he’s got a shot.

Brewer Impressing

Ronnie Brewer has been drawing some positive reviews (link to Sloan article) from his summer improvement

As always, Sloan reserves the right to wake up tomorrow and walk away from coaching. His enthusiasm this season, however, has been telling, with Ronnie Brewer the latest player to earn Sloan’s praise.

Brewer scored 20 points and hit 8 of 10 shots, including two three-pointers and two other long jumpers, in the Jazz’s scrimmage Saturday.

“I’m just amazed at how much he’s improved,” Sloan said, “and the way he’s worked and the way he’s played so far.”

If Roonie can nail those 18 footer jump shots this Utah offense is going to go to a whole other level. If he has legit three point range …. well wow …. Utah already has one of the best offenses in the league, this could make it the premier offense in the NBA.

As much as Ronnie’s jumpshooting and scoring will add to the team, nothing is more important than his growth as an individual defender (link to Jazz defense focus article), as a stopper.

More also will be asked of Brewer, the Jazz’s primary defender when it comes to stopping Kobe Bryant, McGrady and others. He said his focus will be on better funneling scorers toward help defenders, forcing them to give up the ball.

Having bulked up to 235 pounds, Brewer also is looking forward to using his size and being more aggressive. “It definitely starts with me,” Brewer said. “My intensity and getting us going on the defensive end, getting a steal here and there.”

Also

“You just don’t do it,” Ronnie Brewer said. “You have to want to do it, because it definitely doesn’t feel good having to play defense every possession, bending down, sliding, getting physical with the other team.

“But if we just buy into the concept of being in help position, not being afraid to go and help and then have confidence that another teammate will help you if you go help somebody, I mean, that’s what the good teams did.”

Utah’s entire championship hopes rest on the improvement of their two starting wings defensively, and in particular Ronnie Brewer because the chances of Kirilenko improving are fairly small.

Kenyon Martin Trying To Lead

Kenyon Martin is trying to turn things around in Denver and lead the Nuggets to better times

To his credit, Martin said he has been the “main culprit” in some of the Nuggets dysfunction over the past few seasons.

He lashed out at coach George Karl during the 2006 playoffs, earning a suspension for the final three games of Denver’s first-round exit against the Los Angeles Clippers.

He bristled at the coach and the organization over how former college teammates Ruben Patterson and DerMarr Johnson were used during their time with the Nuggets.

He even traded elbows with teammate Nene during their first training camp together in 2004. With Marcus Camby traded to Los Angeles this summer, Martin and Nene now will anchor the middle of the paint.

“That’s in the past, man. You’ve got to grow up. You can’t be fools your whole life,” Martin said. “We’ve both grown since then. After that happened, we put it behind us. There hasn’t been one incident since, and there’s not going to be (another).

“We’re great teammates now. It’s about us winning and playing the right way and doing things that we can to help us get a championship. There’s no room for that right now. If I can swallow it, everybody should be able to.”

Good man admitting that he was the “main culprit” to problems in the past.

Now he’s trying to change his Nuggets career

“You have to have somebody lead and I’m ready to do that,” Martin said. “I don’t know if I had an epiphany or not, but it’s a mindset of mine that I have now, realizing what’s at stake. It’s now or never, do or die, however you all might want to say it or categorize it. It’s now. It’s not next year. It’s now. That’s the way I’m approaching it.”

It’s all about the team

Martin, often injured and understandably grumpy during his first four seasons in Denver, seemed inspired by the Boston Celtics, who found the right talent, chemistry and defensive desire to win the NBA title last spring

“Can’t be every time somebody mentions us, they mention Melo and A.I.,” Martin said, referring to All-Star teammates Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. “You look at Boston last year, even though everybody talked about the Big Three (of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce), it wasn’t about them. You could tell by how they played the game, which hasn’t always been the case around here. Something has always creeped in, so we can’t allow that.”

That competitive fire and determination has caused Martin trouble in the past, but he returns to the team-player theme in the next breath.

“I’m ready to play. I’ve got a great outlook on what’s going on,” he said. “Just trying to be positive. It’s time. We’ve got to police ourselves. I’ve got to make sure the next guy is doing it as well as myself. Can’t be no one out of line. Everybody has to be in a straight line and making this thing going the right way. It has to be like a Riverdance – in sync. You’ve seen Riverdance. Somebody’s out of line, it messes everything up, right?”

Martin has also gotten himself into great shape

Martin has dropped 10 pounds to get down to 230.

It shows, with the often-injured Martin saying he’s in the best shape he’s been in years.

“It just happened,” Martin said of getting down to 230. “I was in the weight room and playing a lot of basketball this summer.”

Martin has played in 70 games in just four of his eight seasons, including 71 last season. Martin wants to break his personal best of having appeared in 77 games with New Jersey in 2002-03.

“I haven’t played a full NBA season,” Martin said. “The most I’ve played in is 77 games. I haven’t played a full one year, and I’m looking forward to doing that.”
Said Karl, “He’s the happiest and feeling good I’ve ever seen him.”

He wants to play big minutes

“Thirty to 35 (minutes)? Thirty-five to 40. George don’t know it yet. I feel great. I just want to be on the court. If I’m on the court, I think I’m being productive. I can’t be productive on the bench.”

I forgot how old Kenyon is

Approaching his 31st birthday, Martin seems like a man who understands that his window of opportunity is closing. He seems like a man willing to listen to his coach and inspire his teammates.

Same draft as Darius Miles, who’s only 26.

Martin has played 8 seasons now, 482 games out of 632 possible games. Lot of injuries on those legs plus a couple of long playoff runs, it’ll be interesting to see how he ages.

………………

I’m looking forward to this Nene and Martin partnership in the paint. It should be good defensively and could contribute offensively if the Nuggets scorers involve their teammates more.

The biggest thing I’d like to see out of Martin, aside from good health, is better rebounding. He does a good job putting a body on someone and winning tough contested rebounds, but he has to do a better job going out there and grabbing more boards. There’s no good reason why he shouldn’t be averaging at least 9 boards a game, especially with the pace the Nuggets play at.

Update: General Nuggets article full of Melo quotes, mainly about the media’s pre-season predictions. One quote of interest on Kenyon Martin.

One player who has helped to ensure Denver stays focused on the defensive end is Kenyon Martin, and Anthony indicated he has noticed some differences in his teammate this season which he believes could make the Nuggets a better basketball team.

“I think he’s more focused,” Anthony said of Martin.  “I think his mind is solely on basketball right now and nothing else.  He’s coming in here and working hard and getting better.  I think the past few years I don’t know if his mind was solely on basketball or something else, I have no idea.  But you can tell the difference right now with him, and it’s helping everybody out.”

Powell Making His Presence Felt

Here’s the link

impressed with the way the 6-foot-9 former Clipper has played during the first week of training camp.

“He seems to have an idea of what we’re trying to do even though he’s been here (this week). He seems relatively comfortable playing in our offense,” Jackson said this week. “He’s creating a lot of problems with our big guys. They know they’ve got a tiger down there after the rebound.”

Powell says he’s just playing the way he always has, and tried to downplay the comparisons to Turiaf, but outside of their personalities (Turiaf is one of the league’s loudest characters, Powell is decidedly more reserved), the similarities are striking … from their style of play, jersey number (No. 21) to their hair styles.

“I just try to work hard defensively, to rebound, hustle and do all the little things that make a different,” Powell said. “I’m not trying to be Ronny (who signed a four-year, $17 million contract with Golden State in the offseason). Ronny’s in a different area code now, a different place. I’m here and I’m just trying to be me.”

But as far as energy, rebounding, hustle and defense, the Lakers may just have found a pretty good replacement for Ronny Turiaf in the form of free agent forward Josh Powell.

Powell made a good effort in the offseason to learn the Triangle

One thing that’s helped Powell make the quick transition is his familiarity with the triangle offense. He made a point of brushing up on it over the summer, sitting down with game tapes and studying them.

“I’ve been trying to get a feel of what’s needed from me,” Powell said. “It’s been going good. I think I’m picking it up quickly.”

Powell signed a partially-guaranteed contract in the offseason.

Good start by Josh Powell. I’m still not sure what to make of his role on the Lakers next season, I think he’s a fine fifth big but he’ll likely be needed/asked for more by LA. He’ll certainly bring good rebounding to the table though.

Amir Johnson Will Start

True it’s only a temporary position …. true it’s unknown how many minutes the starter will play with three quality backup bigs (McDyess/Maxiell/Brown) behind him all vying for time …. but as of right now Amir Johnson is the one who’s been picked to play and that’s very encouraging. Surely the boy must be showing some improvement.

Calling him a “welcome addition,” coach Michael Curry made official Saturday what he’s long been hinting at — Amir Johnson, as of now, is the Pistons’ starting power forward.

“Amir does things without having to have the ball,” Curry said. “He’s able to pick up baskets through his activity, by running the floor and playing off the other four guys. He does all the intangible things, and through that he’s able to create offensive opportunities for himself.”

How long Johnson holds onto the spot is completely up to him.

“I am glad I got the opportunity,” Johnson said. “It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been sitting on that bench for three years. I am ready to play.”

Johnson, drafted No. 56 overall out of high school in 2005, has never started a regular-season game for the Pistons. He played in a career-high 62 games last season and in eight playoff games.

“I am comfortable out there now,” he said. “I’ve been playing with these guys for four years. I play against all-stars in the summer in Vegas and in Los Angeles. Now is my chance, and I am very excited.”

Curry even made some comparisons to Ben Wallace, at least from a balance standpoint if not a direct comparison

Curry was careful not to make any direct comparisons to former Piston Ben Wallace, but he believes Johnson can bring some of the same intangibles to the starting unit Wallace did.

“Ben could make a tremendous impact on a game without having any plays run for him. Amir is like Ben in that sense,” Curry said. “Amir can impact a game by how he rebounds, he can impact on the speed in which we play, offensively and defensively. His presence will be a welcome addition to that group.”

Johnson was flattered by the comparison, but like Curry, kept it in perspective.

“I just do the little stuff, the garbage can stuff,” he said. “I get rebounds and putbacks. I know the other guys like to shoot, so every miss I am going to try and get every ball.”

Amir has beefed up a bit too

Johnson, at 6-feet-11, is heavier (230) and stronger than he’s ever been, but the worry has always been whether he could hold his position defensively. Curry doesn’t share that worry.

“We tell him, ‘The best way you can handle guys stronger than you is to front the post and use your quickness,’ ” Curry said. “We just tell him to play to his strengths. Most of the guys that are stronger than him are usually stronger than most other guys, too. He might not be as strong as some, but they aren’t going to be able to run with him or be as active as he is.”

……………………..

I’m surprised Michael Curry is going to have Amir Johnson in the starting lineup. I didn’t think the young fella would get the nod with some impressive individual improvement over the summer . The more the idea of Amir starting sinks in, the more intruiged I am and the more belief I hold in the idea.

The starting lineup badly needs more energy and athleticism. Someone with a little bite who’ll come in and jump all over the place trying create some havoc. I thought Maxiell is an ideal candidate because he’ll do that, but Amir can too. From a defensive standpoint I thought Maxiell was more well rounded but Amir has very good strengths too (more long term upside, short term? close, more different than better or worse) – his athleticism in the open court that can pressure/trap the ballhandler, screen and roll D, shot blocker, he can also trap well in the halfcourt.

Two of the keys for Amir staying in the lineup will be how well he defends the post, and how well he covers his defensive backboards (boxing out, taking up space in the paint) so far has been weaker then the older veterans. It’ll also be interesting to see how much physical strength Amir has added, if he can be imposing in that manner or not, if not Rasheed will have a lot more pressure on him and the perimeter will have to handle some extra duties in that regard too.

There’s a lot of potential growth in Amir as he gains more experience so this could be a lot of fun to watch over the next 6 months.

Edit: Good quote from Curry

The Rasheed Wallace-Amir Johnson pairing looks like it benefits both players. As Curry said, “They’ve done a really good job. Amir brings all the athletic ability and youth to the floor. He’s not a very vocal guy, so when you put him out there with Rasheed, Rasheed helps him in a lot of areas and he doesn’t make nearly as many mistakes. I think they complement each other very well. Sheed can’t move like he once could, but he can direct Amir to do a lot of the dirty work for him.”

The Third Sting Clippers

The two second round draft picks selected by the Los Angeles Clippers are impressing coach Mike Dunleavy early in training camp

Here’s what Mike Dunleavy had to say about the Clippers two second-round draft picks, DeAndre Jordan and Mike Taylor. From the sound of things, both guys are going to be pushing hard for some PT this year.

On DeAndre Jordan:
“He’s done a great job of blocking shots, defending people, rebounding. At this point, to be honest with you, he’s a little further along than I expected. You hope, but you just never know. But he’s been very good.”

On Mike Taylor –

“Mike Taylor has been just terrific. Defending and running his team. He’s scored points and run his team very well. We went after him, we went out of our way to go get him because we felt like he could play point.”

I’m very excited about prospects here, the Clippers have done a really nice job acquiring these two players.

Expectations should be kept in check for their first season but both guys have the ability to have good futures ahead of them in this league.

As far as playing time goes I’m not sure either player has a shot at earning substantial time next year. I’m sure we’ll see them play some minutes but both will be third string players and unlikely to be regulars in the rotation. Jordan’s chances of earning playing time are partially dependent on how coach Dunleavy uses Camby – whether just at power forward, or some minutes at power forward and more minutes as backup center – because that will go a long way to deciding how much of an opening Jordan has to exploit. To start the season Brian Skinner will also be ahead of Jordan in the depth chart but Jordan may be able to catch him if he plays within his limitations which he did very well in summer league. Taylor on the other hand will be behind a top three PG and a capable reserve in Jason Hart, so minutes will be tough to come by. Taylor’s speed and intent on pushing the ball could make him a good game changing player for the odd 5 minute spell, so one of those third stringers that plays irregularly but has a role … I think he has a good shot at earning that role.

Adelman’s Offense

Rick Adelman is looking to bring in more of his offense this coming season

Rick Adelman made himself a promise.

The season ended and before all the analysis that would come, before the trade for Ron Artest or free-agent acquisition of Brent Barry, before the Rockets left Salt Lake City and another promising but also disappointing season behind, Adelman knew the change he wanted.

In his second season as the coach, the Rockets would run his offense.

“It’s totally different this year,” Adelman said. “That’s what I told them in the meeting (Monday). They’re familiar with what we’d like to do; now we have to do it better.

“We’re going to demand a little bit differently now that they understand what we want to do.”

His first season didn’t go as planned offensively

In the first season, they had to abandon much of his planned offense, running the standard NBA play calls, returning to the well-practiced offensive strengths of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

The Rockets learned the offense last season, but ran it as if running plays. They were hesitant, often deliberate in going through the levels of improvisation within the offense that can make it its most effective.

Adelman adds

“Last year we found out very quickly these guys weren’t very used to doing it, and we had to make calls,” Adelman said. “When you make calls in this league, as soon as you make the call, everybody in the world knows it. It’s harder to run anything.

“Our offense, if we don’t have to make calls and we’re just running the right pass, right cut, the defense can’t set up and gear up for what you’re going to do because they don’t know what’s coming. That’s what I expect this year. We’re going to be able to do those things a lot better than we did last year.”

The Rockets feel better equipped to perform this offense at a high level now

This season, the players have grown to the point that they can more instinctively and, ultimately, more effectively make the cuts and bring the rapid-ball movement the offense demands.

“We’re far ahead (of last season),” point guard Rafer Alston said. “It’s just review for us. I think it’s fine-tuning some things, getting some spacing and some timing. I think most of us know the offense. Us veterans can bring the new guys along. Ron (Artest) has picked it up quick. Guys in the second year know it and some had the opportunity to play summer league.

“What we’re trying to get to is just (be) instinctive. We can come down and get to where we’re running by a guy’s movement, where he goes with the ball and where he goes with his body. Getting everyone on the same page, that’s going to be the key.”

Yao is eager to move more often from the low post to the high post, and to create more from the perimeter for his teammates. The Rockets quickly discarded that part of the offense when Yao was more efficient in the low blocks than anything they created with him away from the low post. But Yao said the greater diversity will make things easier for him, too.

“I think perimeter jumpers, perimeter passes and cuts to the basket and more movement from inside to outside,” Yao said. “I don’t mean ball movement, I mean myself moving from inside to out makes it harder for the defense to come catch me. Last year, I think because it was the first year, it should be better now.”

Adelman feels this will benefit the supporting cast

The change does not, however, de-emphasize Yao and McGrady. Rather, Adelman said it will make it more difficult for teams to lock in on them as they did when he was forced to call their plays. Beyond that, he thought the improved movement would benefit players working around the Rockets’ top scorers.

“Out of necessity we had to do that last year,” Adelman said. “Then, it really puts the onus on Tracy and Yao. We can always go to those guys. I don’t care if the whole world knows they’re getting the ball, they’re going to have a hard time guarding them. It’s the other guys that can benefit from the offense if we don’t have to make calls and just play.

“These guys have to be a little bit more obedient, and they have to execute a little bit better. We don’t want to make a ton of calls. We want to play (with) movement on the pass. I feel really good about what we’re going to do offensively.”

The Sound Of Music

Beasley’s unconvential ways of learning the plays

Fortunately, Spoelstra and his staff made learning them a bit more teen-friendly by filing them all in an iTouch device that makes an actual book unnecessary. Attention deficiency isn’t a major issue when, like the alphabet, you can sing while you learn it.

”The way I do it, I find one song and I put it on repeat, and I’ll go over the play while I’m listening to the song,” Beasley said. “So when I’m out on the court, if it’s that play, I sing the song and it’s just natural.”

If Beasley’s mouth is moving as he’s setting a down screen, you will know why.

It’s one way to remain sane while facing dizzying demands.

You gotta love that, Beasley is learning the playbook off his ipod.

Miami Sign Shaun Livingston

The Miami Heat have inked Livingston to a two year deal

“He has great size and feel for the game at his position,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I’ve followed him for a few years. It’s unfortunate, really, what happened, but we’d normally never be able to get a player of his talent at this time. He’s very committed to getting healthy and we have a great staff to help him get there.”

ESPN offered a guess about a consequential move

Heat president Pat Riley said last week the team only was $415,000 shy of reaching the luxury-tax threshold, so signing the 6-foot-7, 23-year-old Livingston would suggest another deal to free up some cap space could be forthcoming before the regular season opens at the end of the month.

Sounds like the idea may have some legs to it.

Wade is happy

“Shaun is 23 years old so he’s still very young,” Wade said. “And a 6-7 point guard, you don’t really see too many nowadays. I think for the future of Miami, that’s a good start.”

Steven Hunter Impressing Karl

Via Rocky Mountain News, the article starts off with the Juwan Howard signing

Steven Hunter said the “real Steven Hunter” is on display, and Karl doesn’t disagree.

“He’s in better shape,” Karl said. “He’s much more confident.”

Karl said the center, who averaged 2.1 points in 19 games last season, will be given a chance to get minutes.

“You’re going to see a guy that can run the floor, that can rebound, that can block shots, that’s extremely athletic,” Hunter said of what will be different after last season was wrecked by knee surgery.

The Nuggets have a lot of strength (Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony) and depth (JR Smith, Linas Kleiza) on the wings, however, the deciding factors on how good their season can be will depend on the contributions they get out of their big man and point guards. There’s a certain amount of reliability (health being the one unreliable variable) from Nene and Kenyon Martin … in contrast there’s no levels of dependability from the backup bigs, so any positive signs of a contribution from either Andersen or Hunter is brilliant.

Mo Pete Feeling The Pressure

Ever since the summer signing of James Posey, Mo Peterson’s job has been under question

Since last Saturday’s opening day of training camp, Peterson usually has been the last player to leave the court at the Alario Center. He has continued to work out past practice, making 100 to 150 shots, a majority from 3-point range.

Peterson might be working extra hard because he is the Hornets’ only starter on the edge. For the remainder of training camp and entering the regular season, Peterson is faced with the challenge of fending off top free-agent signee James Posey from taking his starting job.

Scott sees the difference throughout the team

“When we signed James, I think a lot of guys all of sudden started thinking they’ve got to start getting better and doing some different things,” Scott said. “One thing I like is guys who don’t back down. I like guys who are not going to allow anybody to come in and take their spot.”

Peterson welcomed the news that the Hornets had signed Posey, instead of considering it a setback.

“I think the addition of J.P. is good for us,” Peterson said. “It gives us another weapon. If we’re winning, I don’t care what happens.”

More than anything, Mo doesn’t want to feel like the weak link

“I don’t want to be the weak link,” Peterson said. “Nobody wants to be the weak link.”

The pressure was on after a disappoint first season

In May, Scott said he told Peterson he had to get more familiar with the Hornets’ offense and lose weight to get quicker. Scott said Peterson ran at one speed, which was not very fast.

Peterson took it as a challenge to improve before acknowledging that he had a disappointing season.

“There was a lot of bad for me last year,” he said. “I was learning on the fly and had to absorb so much. In my previous season in Toronto, we didn’t have a lot of plays. But learning a different system is always hard. But I’m not one to make excuses. I take the good and the bad.”

In 50 of the 76 games Peterson started, he scored fewer than 10 points. His 8.0 scoring average was the lowest among the team’s starters.

West adding

“He came back in better shape than last year,” starting forward David West said. “I think he understands that his role has to be bigger. He’s got to be better, and he knows it.”

Mo Pete took his body to task

To prepare for camp, Peterson went back to his roots in Flint, Mich., this summer, where he was a high school star before going to Michigan State. He played pickup games with former high school and college teammates and worked on his conditioning. He reported to camp at 215 pounds; last season he came in at 227.

“I told him he had to get back to being more athletic,” Scott said. “Right now, he is a lot better than he was at this point last year.”

Peterson is moving quicker and hitting jump shots more frequently. Also, he is making better decisions as he gets more comfortable with the offense.

Scott likes the competition and talent at off guard but it’s Peterson who he’s focusing on

Depth at shooting guard is one of the Hornets’ strengths. Besides Peterson and Posey, Julian Wright and Rasual Butler have been productive, Scott said.

But it’s Peterson who Scott is watching. Despite that kind of pressure, Peterson appears more relaxed

Ben Gordon Takes Qualifying Offer

After much speculation and updates throughout the day, Ben Gordon has once and for all rejected the Bulls offer and taken the qualifying offer to play one more season with the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls just released a statement on their site a shot while ago

October 1, 2008 – The Chicago Bulls today announced that guard Ben Gordon agreed to accept the one-year qualifying offer that had been tendered to him by the team.

Gordon will thus be under contract with the Bulls until the end of the 2008.09 season, at which time he will become an unrestricted free-agent.

This a huge risk taken by Ben Gordon and I don’t like the odds of it working out for him … this has “mistake” written all over it.

I do like this for the Bulls because I thought their offer was over-valuing what Ben Gordon brought to the table, so they avoid what was likely to turn into a bad contract.

Will this become a distraction for the Bulls? No way, Ben Gordon is one of the most professional guys in the league.

Update: Good article from Bulls beat writer Mike McGraw. It appears the Bulls final offer was in the $54-55mil range over 6 years … which is less than the offer they made last summer.

Superman’s Jumper

Dwight Howard is working diligently on adding a face up jumpshot and turnaround J to his repertoire

Howard worked hard this summer – first at the Olympics with Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer and later in Orlando with assistant coach Patrick Ewing – on adding a turn-around jumper and a short, faceup shot to his offensive repertoire.

`I’ve just got to keep shooting them and know that I’m going to miss some and make some,’’ Howard said. “During the real games, I’ve got to shoot them, too. Even during a real game, even if I miss 20, I’ve got to shoot them.

“There’s a lot of stuff that I’ve in my game had for a long time, but sometimes I just want to tear the rim down with dunks. But one day I’m not going to be 22. I’ve got to work on my game and come up with some other stuff.’’

That became very apparent to Howard when Detroit dispatched Orlando 4-1 in the second round of the playoffs. Detroit limited Howard to just 15.2 points and 11 shots a game in the five-game series. Hence, the work on expanding his shooting range.

“It’s very important to have that other stuff to fall back on,’’ he said. “Especially when we get into the playoffs against a tougher team like Detroit where they have guys who can play a physical game and they send body after body at me. You have to be able to do things differently.’’

SVG chimes in

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he still wants Howard to rely predominantly on his powerful, low-post game and resort to the jump shots only when his first move is denied.

“He hit a turnaround jumper and he hit a free-throw line jumper off a pick-and-roll (on Tuesday). He looked good,’’ Van Gundy said. “It just makes him a lot more versatile. His confidence in shooting it and our confidence in him taking that will grow. There’s no question he still has to play to his strengths and he can play through those while he’s developing the other parts of his game.’’

I don’t know about this, over the last 16 months there just seems to be far too much interest in Howard developing his face game. I’d much rather hear about Howard mastering some moves down on the low post, working on his footwork and hook shots. Also his passing out of the post. Turning himself into the most feared low post player in the league.

I’m not wild about players worried about adding versatlity, worried about adding mediorce weapons and then trying to use them ahead of their best talents … stick to the weapons that can cause the most damage. If he’s going to spend time on this jumper he better do it right and make it near-automatic like Amare Stoudemire has over the years.

Hopefully it’s just the way the media have covered it but there seems to be too much interest in getting Dwight shooting jumpers … I guess Patrick Ewing standing in the background adds to my nerves.

Bayless’ First Day

The first day

The first practice started at 10am on Tuesday morning. Rookie Jerryd Bayless was the first player to the practice facility. I was told he arrived a little before 7 a.m., ready to roll. And, he already leads this team in floor burns. The enthusiasm is fantastic, but he’ll probably learn what many young players learn quickly- it’s a long season.

You gotta love hearing that

Webster Looks Ready

Firstly check out the video, it’s an interview not highlights. I was taken aback by how different Martell looked while answering questions … he looks ready, in control of his destiny. Focused, focused on his team and on finding a way to help them win.

Webster’s summer preparation

But, Webster has revealed his own deficiencies as a starter, which opens the door for debate. Webster made strides last season, when he started 70 games and logged the best statistics of his career, finishing with career-highs of 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. But, as he pointed out this week, he’s mostly been “consistently inconsistent” during his three-year career.

To attain that ever-elusive trait, Webster overhauled his mental focus and day-to-day preparation this offseason, creating and following a monotonous daily routine that he plans to employ throughout the season. He would not reveal the details of his new routine, but he did note that part of it is working overtime at practice — arriving an hour early and staying late to work on various aspects of his game with assistant coach Monty Williams.

“I’ve just been working on it every day, day in and day out, to the point where it’s become boring,” Webster said of his new routine. “That’s how you keep consistent.

“I’m going to come in here mentally knowing that it’s a war. Not only in practice, but in games, as well. Simply put. So I’m not going to let anything distract from that routine and I’m just going to keep doing it.”

Nate McMillan likes what he sees

McMillan says Webster’s mental transformation is a positive step of a larger journey toward NBA maturation.

“It comes as you get experience in this league, when you get more confident in your ability,” McMillan said. “You see what you need to work on. You know where your opportunities are coming from. You know the league and you’re more comfortable with the league. He’s settled. He can focus more on the game. That’s what experience does for you.”

As do Martell’s teammates

During the Blazers media day on Monday, multiple teammates — including Outlaw — said Webster was the most impressive performer during team pickup games leading into training camp. He seems more confident and prepared for this season than ever.

I must continue praising Monty Williams, he seems to have developed a fantastic relationship with Martell. Monty has done great work helping Martell to develop as a player and a professional.

In the video interview Martell said that he’s been working on all areas of his game. Some previous reports had him concentrating on his handle and ability to drive, and appearantly he’s made good progress in those areas. That’ll help him create more room from his jumper because in the past everybody has played him for the shot knowing he was reluctant to put on the floor. There’s also been reports of Martell working on his movement coming off screens, to sharpen his use of the screener.

………………….

I was very happy with Martell’s progress over the last season and a half, and expected further progress this season from him. These reports of his workouts and his summer preparation (which has been praised in the past as well this summer) inspire even more confidence in the man.

The biggest necessity for making a run at Most Improved Player award are touches and shots, and I don’t think Martell will get them playing alongside Aldridge, Roy, Oden … so I’m not optimistic about his chances for that. But I do think we’ll see some real improvement, big improvement, that helps Martell set his career on a higher track.

I think the most important task for Martell this season will be improving his defense (and he’s shown some potential there) and becoming a good defensive option on the wings. This is what I’d like to see most from Webster but I think we’ll have to wait and see on that account. Offensively I think he’ll be a very good fourth scoring option and will fit in seamlessly alongside the starters.

……………………..

I’m reminded of a certain game against Utah

This is a good prospect …. a man who can become a dangerous player with the right direction and for the past 18 months or so he’s been taking positive step after positive step toward that goal. His maturation has been very impressive and I can’t wait to see how he does this season.

Mahinmi Injured

Terrible news for the San Antonio Spurs. No, not the severity of the injury but the timing of the injury, the timing is disgusting.

Second-year forward Ian Mahinmi, last seen walking with trainer Will Sevening from the team’s practice facility to the nearby Texas Center for Athletes for an MRI exam of his sprained right ankle.

Mahinmi sprained the ankle in a workout session last week. Coach Gregg Popovich said Mahinmi appears likely to miss most of training camp. Having planned to play the 6-foot-11, 230-pound forward-center at least 30 minutes in each of the Spurs’ preseason games, Popovich called Mahinmi’s situation a disappointment.

The Overlooked Blazer

Great article by Jason Quick

During the course of the NBA Draft telecast this summer, ESPN commentators couldn’t stop raving about the Trail Blazers.

If it wasn’t Brandon Roy this, it was Greg Oden that. And if it wasn’t Nate McMillan this, it was Kevin Pritchard that.

Back home in Dallas, Texas, LaMarcus Aldridge watched. And listened.

How many times was his name mentioned during the telecast?

“None,” Aldridge said definitively during the Blazers’ media day on Monday. “I was talking to somebody after that and told them ‘They didn’t even know I was on the team’. I thought I might be traded because they didn’t even mention me.”

By now, the lack of recognition shouldn’t be a surprise for Aldridge. In fact, it has served as a constant motivator through his first two seasons. When he was drafted No. 2 overall in 2006, Aldridge said the “experts” on ESPN criticized the pick, saying Portland could have drafted him later. And during his rookie season, he was not invited to play in the rookie-sophomore game at the All-Star break, which left him confused and angry.

Aldridge is one of those guys that uses anything and everything for motivation, and now he wants to make a name for himself

“My whole summer, I was training to try and make myself a better team leader, and to put myself in the best position to be an All-Star this year,” Aldridge said. “I got bigger, I got stronger and my game got better. But I also know that if you win games, that’s better than individual things.”

I haven’t come across a picture of LaMarcus yet during these media sessions but several Blazers writers have comment on his extra bulk. Here’s one of those comments

A lot of guys looked very sharp already, but leading the pack of guys who look to be ready for the pre-season right now is LaMarcus Aldridge. His upper body looks chisled, and his shooting touch has gotten even better.

Make no mistake, Nate McMillan understands what he has in Aldridge

And even though Roy has received all the awards, and Oden all the attention, McMillan said he thinks Aldridge could be the one player who makes the biggest leap this season. It’s one reason why the coach last week kept raving about Aldridge during a media session. The tactic was intentional, McMillan said, because he wanted to make sure Aldridge didn’t get lost in the Oden/Roy frenzy.

“A lot of people are talking about Greg and talking about Roy, but my conversation has been about LaMarcus,” McMillan said. “Because he is going to play an important role for us; I think he is one of the big keys. And that’s why I’m talking about him – he’s not forgotten.”

As does Brandon Roy

And it’s definitely not just about me and Greg; LaMarcus is talented. He has All-Star potential. I think he is going to be one of the best power forwards in the game.”

What has Aldridge added to his game?

This year, Aldridge figures he will be better because he has extended his outside range to the three-point line (he says the over-under for his three-point attempts this season is 20) and because he has improved his ball handling, which will enable him to escape double teams easier.

But the biggest difference might be Greg Oden

But the main reason he feels he will enjoy more success is Oden, the 7-foot rookie center who Aldridge describes as “massive”.

“Last year, teams keyed in on me and Brandon, and that made it hard for us to score. But with Greg, it’s going to be easier for me to score because they can’t put the best defender on me no more,” Aldridge said. “They have to put him on Greg.”

Playing his natural position will help too

Plus, Aldridge said he won’t have to play center as much, if at all, now that Oden and Joel Przybilla are both healthy.

“And that’s huge,” Aldridge said.

McMillan agreed that not having to play Aldridge at center should improve his offense.

“I think we can play his game, so-to-speak,” McMillan said. “He is more a perimeter player, a shooter, a runner … and having a guy like Greg, who you can dump it down to for the entire game, he won’t have to establish that low presence.”

Enough of this perimeter crap, he’s a big man, get in the post already!

However, Aldridge nearly came out of his shoes Monday when it was hinted that he can live on the perimeter this season.

“I don’t want to be on the perimeter all day!” Aldridge said. “With me and Greg on the block, they have to guard both of is. I think I had a pretty good year on the block last year, so of course, I want to be down there.”

LaMarcus made big strides down on the block last year, from early season to mid season to late in the season he just kept on improving. That development as a post player is going to serve him for the rest of the career.

Check out the video interview for more from Aldridge

……………………….

I’m very excited about LaMarcus Aldridge’s upcoming season. I think he’s one of the early candidates for Most Improved Player of the Year. I’m expecting big things, big steps. I’m looking for his all-round game to come together, for his defensive impact, rebounding impact, passing, jumpshooting, post game … the overall package to come together and have bigger impact. I think there’s a good chance he leads this team in scoring too.

This is the year Aldridge establishes himself as a borderline All-Star and helps give Portland one of the most devestating big man combinations in the league.

The Elton Brown Story

I’ve seen very little of Elton Brown over the past two years, but I keep hearing his name and his stats and I find myself wanting to know more. So I began to search for some more information and I came across two very good articles describing the road taken by Chicago Bulls hopeful Elton Brown

The first is a nice puff piece with good information and quotes

And if you don’t know the name Elton Brown yet, you had better learn quickly.

The 24 year-old has twice led the D-League in rebounding and double-doubles.  The 6-foot-9, 255 pound forward also had a fabulous showing in summer league play averaging 13.4 points and 10 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets while simultaneously holding his own against the best bigs the league had to offer.

“This was the first summer that I actually had the opportunity to showcase some of my skills because before I went to summer league teams that actually had draft picks and they would get all the playing time,” Brown told HOOPSWORLD via telephone on Thursday.  “I really didn’t get the time to play, but Denver actually gave me the chance.  They started me and played me 24 minutes a game.  It was good to show what I can do.”

Brown has had trouble convincing the NBA to take a chance on his talent

Brown, whose NBA journey has taken him from Greece, to the D-League to Israel, understands better than anyone it’s not easy to carve a niche out for yourself if you’re a free agent playing in a sea of first round draft picks during summer league play.  Even an impeccable resume which featured Brown joining fourth place Hapoel Holan in Israel mid-season and then helping them unseat perennial Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv for the first time in 14 years in just 75 days time wasn’t enough to get him a guaranteed deal in the Association.

“When I was younger it was a dream (to play in the NBA), but now that I’m older and wiser I realize that I deserve a crack at it.  I’ve proved myself everywhere I’ve been.  I went to Greece and led the league in rebounding.  I was the only player to average a double-double in Greece.  I was the Rookie of the Year in Greece.  Then this year I went to Israel.  We won a championship over in Israel and when I got there they were in fourth place.  Overseas was a great experience.  If the NBA would give me a chance I would love it.  I would love to get a crack at showing people what I can do and prove all the doubters wrong.”

The doubters

“First thing I heard when I came back from Vegas was, ‘Oh, he did all that in the summer league, but can he do that in the NBA?’  But the funny thing is when a draft pick does good they say, ‘Oh, he’s gonna be a stud, or he’s gonna be so good’ because he’s a draft pick.  It’s kind of hard for guys who are free agents because they are already behind the eight-ball.  Everybody goes off potential and draft picks, and GM’s feel like their jobs are on the line when they try to pick up free agents.

“The NBA to me is all based on hype — who you know, hype, the name of a person and what school you go to.  There are a lot of players that deserve to be in the NBA but are just not getting that chance.  I played overseas and I was successful over there.  I played in Greece and it was a tough, physical league.  Actually, Greece was tougher than summer league.”

Brown has had interest from around the association

Just because the Nuggets have only shown passing interest in Brown, though, doesn’t mean he isn’t drawing more significant interest from other teams.  At least seven teams in addition to the Nuggets have shown interest in Brown with the Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks expressing the most interest.

When asked where he thinks he would fit in best, Brown replied: “Any three of those teams, especially I’d say Indiana.  Indiana doesn’t have a big really.  Playing with T.J. Ford would be a good thing because he makes players around him better.  Memphis is a young team.  They’ve got great young players with Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Javaris Crittenton.  Even Atlanta, everybody needs a big in those three situations.  I feel like I can come onto one of those teams and be a solid rebounder and a solid scorer.”

Elton feels the D-League is a good test of his abilities

“The D-League is a tough league,” Brown asserted.  “If it wasn’t, then NBA teams wouldn’t send their players down to get experience.  I led the league in rebounding and averaged a double-double.  It’s not an easy league because everybody in the D-League is trying to get to the NBA.   Everybody’s going to play extra-hard, and everybody’s going to do what they have to do to get to that next level.  And it’s the same thing with the summer league.  There are no guaranteed roster spots unless you’re a first round draft pick.  Summer league and the D-League, all of it’s the same.  If you can play there and be successful, you can play at the next level and be successful.”

Elton has hooked up with ESPN writer David Thorpe

Perhaps more important than any of his physical skills, Brown is a very hard worker as evidenced by the physical and mental work he put in with trainer David Thorpe at IMG Academies prior to summer league play.

“When I first got into the program I thought I don’t really think this guy can help me that much,” Brown admitted.  “After the first week I realized that if I stayed with him he was going to get me to the NBA hands down.  It’s not just a physical thing but a mental thing.  He gets you so prepared mentally that the physical part you don’t even really take notice of.  You don’t even realize that you are losing weight, that you’re losing body fat, that you’re shooting an NBA three-pointer because you’re so focused mentally.  He really prepared me for summer league.  I was only down there for maybe two weeks, and in those two weeks I had the most improvement in my game ever.  If I didn’t work with him, the numbers I put up in Vegas wouldn’t have even come close.  I probably would have been a five (point) and five (rebound) guy.

“If I latch on with a team I’m going to go down there and get some more training done because he really prepared me.  Honestly, if I get in the NBA and sign with a team a lot of it was due to him.”

The second article is willing to be a bit more critical of Elton’s past and discusses the reasons why he failed to make the league in the first place … let’s skip back to his college days

Odds are if you’re not a big Virginia or ACC fan, you’ve probably never heard of the name Elton Brown.

Of course, if you’re a Virginia fan, he’s probably a name you would like to forget.

Brown, whether deserved or not, became the symbol for everything wrong with Virginia basketball during the Pete Gillen era.

Brown was a big man with a big smile who had tons of potential.  Everyone had high hopes for him—as did the Cavaliers who began his freshman season ranked in the top five in the country.

Well, that team soon fell apart for a myriad of reasons—and many people began to associate the team’s flaws with one man.

The author continues

Brown was a tough rebounder, but he made dumb decisions.  He had a very low basketball IQ, and constantly had fans up in arms over costly turnovers.

Brown may have finished with over 1,300 points in his Virginia career, but fans mostly remember his foolish attempts to shoot three-pointers that were air-mailed into the stands of University Hall.

Brown was also a terrible liability at the line.  In his one of his final regular-season games at home against Maryland, Brown had a chance to tie the game in overtime.  He bricked the first shot, then air-balled the second one to cost the Cavaliers a chance at victory.

Brown never played defense, a trait almost all of Gillen’s players shared.  He was someone that the ACC big men were able to eat alive. Even though Brown did a good job being physical when he had to, that attitude was not consistent enough over 40 minutes to result in wins.

His biggest flaw, however, was his attitude.  Mentally, Brown was not ready to handle the physical gifts God has given him.

n other words, he often acted like a brat.

He pouted when Gillen would put him on the bench. He cursed out his fellow players and the referees.  Most distressing, he showed no desire to really improve his game.  His girth made it difficult for him to ever really hustle, and he soon became the bane of Virginia fans existence.

People wondered how someone so immature could captain a team.

To this day, I have never seen a college player receive such ire from his home crowd as Brown—and I’m not the only one.

Brown did lower his weight, but still did not seem willing to commit to the weight room and the game film to reach his full potential.  He was more content to blame others for the fall of the program and feel sorry for himself than to actually do something about it.

But soon enough the author, Ben Gibson, turns around on Elton Brown as he sees the maturation and development he’d always wished for.

Brown went undrafted in the 2005 NBA Draft, and many considered this to be yet another story of a gifted athlete who wasted his talent.

Then a funny thing happened—Elton Brown grew up.

In a recent interview with the Denver Nuggets media, Brown called his time at UVA “The best four years of his life.”

Why?

It taught him that if he really wanted his dream of playing in the NBA to come true, no one was going to hand it to him.  He was going to have to reach the big time the old fashioned way—earning it.

Clearly, that gives a man some time to think about the past—and Brown has learned his lesson.

If you need proof of this metamorphosis, listen to what the scouts are saying:

Brown is known as a relentless and physical force who plays bigger than he is and will do all the little things.

He is not concerned about putting up big offensive numbers; he just wants to give his team a chance to win.

They also rave about his ability to listen and work with coaches to improve.

What a difference three years make.

The author signs off with well wishes “Good luck, Elton Brown.” Good article with interesting insights into Brown’s character. Brown sounds like the type of players I want hustling under the boards on my team.

Hopefully we’ll get some news about his workouts in training camp with the Bulls over the next week or two.

Update: Matt from Ridiculous Upside dropped by and linked to his article on Elton Brown that was written earlier this summer. Ridiculous Upside is a great site that follows the D-League so his observations are well worth checking out.

There’s one line in particular that I love hearing about big men and it’s at the end of this section

It’s not rare for a player like Brown to end up in the NBA’s Developmental League.  He’s not huge.  He’s 6-9 (if he’s wearing big shoes), and he maxes out at 255. He wasn’t a top prospect.  Most people don’t know who he is. And there has been talk of him being abrasive to coaches.  Interestingly,though,  he plays “bigger” than a lot of guys who are 7-0.  He brings a toughness, and a relentlessness, particularly on the offensive glass.

Toughness and Relentlessness …. gotta love that. Elton Brown seems like a man in need of chance, and a man who’s worthy of that chance.

McGrady Struggling Health Wise

Tracy McGrady is already fighting through injuries

There were no new injuries, but rather, slow recoveries from McGrady’s offseason surgeries and an announcement McGrady will play the season with an arthritic left shoulder.

“My knee is about 75, 80 percent right now,” McGrady, 29, said. “It took longer than expected. I was expecting to recover 100 percent in four months, but e_SLps the doctor told me it would be six months or even more. My shoulder had, after surgery, kept bothering me. I had another MRI and discovered I have arthritis in there, so I have to have surgery again on my shoulder. That’s something I have to deal with again this season, but my knee should be ready by opening night (Oct. 29).”

McGrady will practice today and said he will not need that surgery until next off-season, but that the condition could hinder his play.

“It’s not anything that is going to keep me out of games, but it’s going to bother me,” he said. “I played through it last year. I didn’t realize how bad it was. I’ll be ready to go.”

McGrady isn’t the only one … Shane Battier is also out with injury and will be out for the duration of training camp.

Battier had surgery to remove bone spurs from around his left ankle joint May 9 and has experienced pain during his rehabilitation.

“It’s precautionary,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said Friday. “(The doctors) want to see how it reacts to rest and they figured now is the time to rest him, in the preseason.

“I suppose if the inflammation weren’t to go down, then we can all get more worried.

“But right now they feel that it will do good with rest and then he’ll be better.”

Not the note you’d like to kick off your campaign with … not with all the doubts and past seasons ruined by injuries. All I can say it’s better to have it done now than later on in the season.

Edit: Looks like Steve Francis is doing well on the comeback train

Rockets guard Steve Francis has been cleared for the non-contact portion of training camp, a step he said was significant in his comeback from his right knee surgery last February.

“It’s way more than I’ve been doing,” said Francis, adding that he dropped 15 pounds since last season. “Just being around the guys, I think, is going to mentally help. Plus, I forgot the plays. It’s going to be great for me.”

Rockets trainer Keith Jones said he believed Francis needs to test the knee with the additional work.

“All he’s done is drill work and played pick-up ball,” Jones said. “But he has not done anything (organized) since last season. He needs this.”

Rockets Gearing Up

The Rockets are excited for the new season, McGrady kicking it off with

“This is the first time I felt good going into the season feeling something really, really good is going to come out of this season if we all just put it together.”

“I have to do what I do, I know,” McGrady said. “But there is a God who sent help. I’ve been waiting for this for a while. I get criticized a lot for not leading my team out of the playoffs, but when you don’t have those pieces that you need to elevate you to that next level, it’s hard.

“If you don’t have that (help) it’s tough. Now I have that. We’ll see what happens.”

Ron Artest was feeling the message

“I believe in God. I guess He sent help to me, too,” Artest said. “I had a great run on the previous teams I was on. But this team right here, e_SLps could be unbelievable. I’m grateful to be on a team that has a chance to win.

“I like when I have something to play for, and this year, I really do have something to play for. Last year, we did, but everybody wasn’t on the same page. I came here and the organization, players, Tracy, everybody, was like, ‘Let’s win.’ It’s fun to be a part of that.

Yao wants to win now

”Every year we have good players joining us, and this year I think we had a very exciting summer and got a few good players like Ron Artest, like Brent Barry,” Yao said. “I think those two guys bring a lot of experience. Now we need to make something happen. We don’t need to worry about what will happen next year. We have to win this year.”

Adelman concurs

Asked if he expects the Rockets to be a contender, coach Rick Adelman did not hesitate.

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “We were that anyway if Yao would have stayed healthy.”

Other Rockets news …..

Ron Artest is looking forward to keying in on top scorers on opposing teams next season

Artest can also step into the role Shane Battier played for the Rockets last season, defending the opposing team’s top scorer. Artest said he was asked to score more for the Kings last season and that coach Reggie Theus told him to ease up on defense to conserve energy.

“I think I can play a little harder on defense now,” he said. “I always wanted to guard the best player. Coach wouldn’t let me guard the best player all the time, because I had to score also. This year, I can go all-out on defense. I haven’t had that joy in a couple of years.”

Wizards Bits & Bobs

Antawn Jamison rang the school bell during the Wizards media day, telling the youngsters on the squad to shape up, contribute more and act like a professional

“Growth in our young guys,” the 11th-year veteran said. “For [veterans Antonio Daniels], Caron [Butler], DeShawn [Stevenson], Brendan [Haywood], Etan [Thomas], myself, we’ve been there before. We know what it takes to be serious about our jobs and when it’s time to joke. But I think our young fellas, we had to baby-sit a little too much last year. When I come back to that bench, don’t be laughing about the last play. Tell me what’s going on. Help your teammates. … I welcome them bringing laughter into the locker room, but on this practice court and during games, it’s time to be serious.”

Jamison wants to see Blatche make better use of his abilities

“My message to Andray is: ‘You want to be treated like a veteran, you’re ready for the task, well you need to show it.’” Jamison said. “We need him to be consistent. … We need Andray this year more than we need anybody. We need him to bring energy night in and night out. And I’m not talking about four out of five games. Every night. There’s no reason Andray shouldn’t be averaging 14, 15 points game.”

Butler agreed.

Wizards co-captain Antawn Jamison demanded more maturity from the team’s young players this season. (Allison Shelley/The Washington Times)

“He has been that X-factor,” the two-time All-Star said. “We just need him to be that X-factor on a consistent basis. And I think that this year he gets it. I’ve seen him in pickup games and he looks strong – you can tell he’s taken care of his body and that he seems serious about his craft.”

Blatche has added 10lbs of muscle to better aid his battles in the low post … but then Eddie Jordan threw an unexpected curve ball

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said earlier this week he wants to challenge Blatche to become a defensive stopper. Jordan envisions Blatche defending bigger small forwards like Houston’s Tracy McGrady and Cleveland’s LeBron James.

Blatche defending LeBron James? No, don’t do that.

The Wizards Insider has some early reports on camp, once again positive accounts of McGuire, and also

Eddie Jordan is a becoming a big Dee Brown fan. Loves Brown’s quickness, energy, “Chicago toughness” and defensive pressure. This could be Brown’s real opportunity. When Eddie trusts a player, that player plays.

Brown should be the primary backup at the point while Gilbert is out, it’s a great sign that Jordan is comfortable with Dee. Another report of Blatche bulking up:

It’s amazing to see how Blatche has physically matured over the last three years. He’s only 21 years old so that shouldn’t be a surprise but still, he’s really filling out and the word is that he’s bringing it so far.

One of the weirder stories of the day was the news that Flip Saunders was coaching at the Wizards training camp

Question #1: What is Flip Saunders doing at training camp?

As mentioned in the washingtonwizardsblog.com blog from training camp day 1, K.C. Jones is also at camp, but he has ties to the franchise (coached the Bullets from 1973-1976), and hasn’t been in the NBA coaching game since 1992 (Seattle Sonics). The Hall of Famer currently works for the University of Hartford Athletic Department.

Flip Saunders, on the other hand, would seemingly be on the prowl for another NBA head coaching gig. But now Saunders is running defensive drills in Wizards training camp, the occurrence of which was deemed worthy of a bold font in the blogging of Johnson and Buckhantz. My initial line of thinking was to wonder who invited Saunders to camp. If it was Grunfeld, does this ruffle the feathers of Eddie Jordan? I doubt it as Jordan seems like a ‘check the ego at the door’ type and would welcome input from any angle.

Eddie Jordan has switched his focus this season in training camp, last season he spent nearly the entire camp working on the defense and possibly to the detriment of his team’s start – they lost their first five games with poor showings offensively

This week, as the Wizards lay a foundation for the upcoming season, Jordan is striking more of a balance between offense and defense.

“We’re into the offense,” Jordan said Monday after his team completed its third practice of camp. “It’s not like we’ve had two or three practices and it’s been 80 percent defense and 20 percent offense. It’s been about 60/40 because the system is in defensively for the second year. As long as they give effort and they remember our scheme, then we’re ahead of last year.”

Oddly enough, since Flip is teaching some D, the team has an assistant coach who’s a defensive expert and they’re running the same D as last season

This season, Jordan is again going with the defensive schemes assistant coach Randy Ayers helped implement and teach last fall, and that familiarity should give the Wizards a chance to improve even more, according to several players.

The Wizards players are more comfortable with the principles heading into year two of the schemes

“You can say that’s the case with everything, that guys are more comfortable given the foundation coach Ayers laid last year,” Daniels said. “You can see it in drills and principles. Guys know what to do now and what not to do. You still have to pick your spots and use your instincts in certain situations but guys know where to be on the floor, what’s asked of you and what’s expected of you.”

While I’ve seen lots of good reports on McGuire and a few for Blatche, I had seen none on Young until this

Jordan said he likes what he’s seeing from second-year shooting guard Nick Young.

“He looks more comfortable on the floor,” Jordan said. “A lot more comfortable on the floor. He knows what the offense will give him and what he can do in the open floor. He’s not thinking so much. So, he’s showing me a lot of comfort level while still being aggressive.” . . .

Just kind words? Surely if one of their main prospects was playing at a high level we’d be hearing more about it? I don’t know.

Update: A good comeback article about Etan Thomas. Two other notes in the article were interesting, Jordan talking some more about Dee Brown

Jordan has long sought a quicker, change-of-pace reserve point guard, and this summer, team president Ernie Grunfeld acquired Dee Brown from the Utah Jazz.

After just one session, Jordan said Brown, who played in Turkey last season, is just what the Wizards have lacked.

“Dee was a lighting bolt today,” Jordan said. “It was really great to see. He talks a lot. He’s tough. He pushes the ball. He’s fast, and his shot has really improved. He’s a speed demon out there. That’s something that we haven’t had since I’ve been coaching here, and we welcome that sort of talent.”

Some additional info on the guest coaches

Jordan has a tradition of inviting former NBA coaches to help out during training camp, and this year former Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders and former Washington Bullets coach K.C. Jones joined the Wizards.

“I’m proud to have them here,” Jordan said. “They’re both very good defensively. Obviously K.C. is from one era and Flip has done some good things recently. They’ve been in our meetings, they’ve made suggestions on the court. We’re happy to have them around. . . . Our team respects what they’ve done, they listen, they pay attention and that’s a good thing.”

Magic News

Interesting news that Courtney Lee and Hedo Turkoglu have been playing the point guard in some Magic sets, and that SVG is considering that type of lineup a possibility

Lee, Turkoglu Will Practice At Point:

Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy has never been adverse to shaking things up on the court and he’s going to do it right of the bat today as his team officially opens training camp.

Van Gundy said Monday that he would get both veteran F  Hedo Turkoglu and rookie G  Courtney Lee into the rotation for a few minutes each practice in a pseudo-point guard role during the first week of workouts.

Both played the point some during voluntary team practices recently and said they would be comfortable trying their hand at filling that spot in certain sets if needed.

“He and Turkoglu together with a two or three man, sharing the ball handling duties together,” Van Gundy said. “Which is something I do think we can go to because I do think Courtney is capable of guarding point guards.”

That doesn’t mean that either would be out there buy himself, but rather to aid the other when there was a great defensive point opposite them.

Lee said it wouldn’t be that big of an adjustment, even after playing shooting guard throughout college.

Damon Jones Stays Home

Odd report from Yahoo Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP)—Veteran guard Damon Jones won’t be joining the Milwaukee Bucks after all.

The Bucks, who open training camp Tuesday, said that by mutual decision Jones instead would work out on his own and try to catch on with another NBA team. The Bucks said both parties would explore options to help the 10-year veteran reach that goal.

That doesn’t sound like he’s been waived. Why not waive him? If he’s not going to play just cut him and move on.

Dickau Gets Cut

Dan Dickau’s stay in Avellino didn’t last long

According to mondobasket.it, Air Avellino is on the lookout for a replacement point-guard. The reason behind that is the problem that Dan Dickau is having with persistent back pains. Dan Dickau was their most expensive transfer (close to 1.1 million dollars) this transfer and they had high hopes for him but the condition of his back gives them now something to worry about.

Is this the end of Dan Dickau?

Update: Dickau has joined the Warriors training camp

Heat GM Pfund Leaves

RealGM staff report

The Miami Heat announced today that General Manager Randy Pfund has resigned from his duties with the Heat to pursue other business opportunities. “Randy Pfund has done a tremendous job for the HEAT, helping to build this team into a Champion,” said Riley. “His work ethic and contributions to the organization have been invaluable. I’ve known Randy for over 20 years and in addition to our great working relationship he has been a wonderful friend to both Chris and me and our family. On behalf of the Arison family and my family, I would like to wish him continued success and happiness in everything he does.”

Sources have told Local 10 in Miami that Pfund was forced out of Miami.

Wow … that was a completely unexpected move, and very odd timing too – why media day? why not the dog days of August?. I wonder if those sources about Pfund being forced out are accurate.

I’ve always assumed that Pfund was one of the leading front office officials that convinced Riley to draft Beasley, over the years it’s looked clear that Riley values him and his input.

I’m sure there’ll be more information up across the internet over the next few hours.

Update: The Palm Beach Post has the story

Pfund wasn’t fired, and his job isn’t going to be taken by Nick Arison, the son of owner Micky Arison, according to a Heat official. Nick Arison was recently promoted to vice president of basketball operations.

Heat President Pat Riley is expected to absorb some of Pfund’s personnel duties for the time being.

The team is hoping to get a statement from Pfund later tonight.

Update: More info on Nick Arison’s recent promotion and basketball/Heat history

Already listed as a “limited partner” in the Heat’s ownership group, Nick Arison, son of Heat owner Micky Arison, quietly has been elevated to vice president of basketball operations this season.

The younger Arison is in his fifth year with the organization, having previously served as account manager as well as director of corporate and premium services, a job he held the past two seasons.

While this will be his first basketball-related executive post in the organization for the 27-year old, Nick Arison has a basketball resume, having served on the support staff with the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 in Athens and this past summer in Beijing.

Prior to joining the Heat in 2003, Arison spent four years as a team manager at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski, the coach of this year’s gold-medal Olympic team.

“He’s been around basketball his whole life, not just here in Miami, but also at Duke, around Coach K,” said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who spent considerable time with Arison in Beijing. “It’s no secret that he doesn’t have to do the things he does, when it comes to being an equipment manager for USA Basketball, but he enjoys it. He’s trying to be around and learn things. He has a great knowledge.”

As vice president of basketball operations, Arison will attend the daily staff meeting chaired by Heat President Pat Riley, a session that also includes General Manager Randy Pfund, Senior Vice President Andy Elisburg and Ed Maull, the team’s assistant to the president.

Did his promotion play a role in Randy Pfund’s departure? Nothing but speculation at this point. Probably not though, the Miami Heat runs a tight family and I have trouble believing Riley didn’t value him highly.

Update: The Herald now has an article up

Pfund did not immediately return a message seeking comment, but the team announced he was leaving to pursue other business interest. The Heat is not expected to immediately hire a replacement

There seems to be the answer

The article continues

Pfund has spent the past 13 seasons as the Heat’s general manager and is credited with helping to draft guard Dwyane Wade and trade for Shaquille O’Neal as the centerpieces of Miami’s team that won the 2006 NBA championship. Pfund was just one year into a contract extension he signed with the team two years ago.

Pfund’s resignation is the latest in a line of significant moves within the Heat’s front office in recent months. Riley, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this month, left the bench after last season to focus solely on his duties as team president. Nick Arison, the son of team owner Micky Arison, was promoted to vice president of basketball operations — a move, at least in appearance, that is a step between general manager and team president.

Pfund did not attend Monday morning’s training camp practice at AmericanAirlines Arena with other members of the front-office staff that included Riley and Nick Arison.

Big loss for the Miami front office. Having a guy with Pfund’s credentials and abilities is of great value. More pressure on Pat Riley.