Re: Random thoughts from around the league (An Onging Thread)

[Sam]

Good find, Steve.  That's a lot of points while being so careful with the ball.

Sam

[gyso]

I got to attend the Charlotte-OKC game last Friday.  Perk vs. Big Al.

Perk's line:

25:27 min, 0-3 FG, 0-2 FT, +4, 4 ORB, 6 DRB, 10 REB, 1 AST, 3 TO, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 BA, 1 PF, 0 PTS

Yeah, I remember that all too well.  He did play tough D on Big Al, although Big Al went 7-16 FG, 2-2 FT for 16 points.  Some of those misses were caused by Perk.

No Russell Westbrook.  Durant shot a lot, many times with another player draped on him and he hit it anyway.  He was almost unconscious in the 4th, keeping OKC in the lead.

Gerald Henderson played smooth and comfortable.   Cody Zeller looked hopeless, he missed a couple close to the rim when he tried to lay it in instead of stuffing it.

The Bobcats almost came back to win it.  They were behind by two points with 3.9 seconds left, but Josh McRoberts missed a wide-open 3-pointer and OKC finished out the scoring with two free throws.  

We had a girl sitting one row behind us whose voice made you just cringe.  She kept it up ALL game.  Every time an OKC player was at the free-throw line, she yelled, "Boo!!  Miss it!!!", except it came out, "Baaayoooo!!!" (with the southern accent).  I got a couple laughs from one of my son-in-laws by copying her booing style.

One would think that with her non-stop "cheering", she would actually know her team.  Early on, she yelled, "Wallace, Wallace, Wallace, where are you, you, you?"  One of the guys next to her said, "He's gone, gone, gone. (I think he plays for the Nets)"  I felt like turning around, pointing to my hat (Celtics, of course) and saying to her, "He plays for us, us, us . . . You want him back, back, back?", but I just laughed at her instead.  Opportunity missed.  Later on, when CDR missed a shot, she yelled, "Hey . . . um, hyphenated name guy, get your head in the game."   The four of us all thought that she was a rather large pain in the . . . , um, butt.

All in all, it was a fun game to attend.  I didn't really care who won, but with much of my family living in Charlotte, I generally cheered for the Cats.

gyso

[steve3344]

Garnett’s Spirits Dip With His Production
By ANDREW KEH
New York Times

SAN ANTONIO — Kevin Garnett said Wednesday that this season was more frustrating than any of the previous 18 he had played.


As the Nets have lurched to a 10-21 record, Garnett’s struggles have been glaring. He is averaging career lows in nearly every statistical category and, even more critically, is having trouble establishing his role.

“Honestly, I have no rhythm,” he said. “I’m trying to establish some confidence and figure this whole where-I-fit-into-the-offense thing.”

Garnett, along with Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, joined the Nets over the summer through a trade with the Boston Celtics. For the first time in his career, he is not a first or second — or even third — option in the offense.

“This has been an adjustment period,” Garnett, 37, said, adding that he had been a “primary” on every other team he has been on. “Coming here, I didn’t expect a lot of minutes. I didn’t expect a lot of touches.”

The Nets have been trying to adapt to new players and a new coach. A rash of injuries stunted that process.

“It’s a lot of moving parts throughout the year, and it’s hard to get a rhythm with that,” Garnett said.

Garnett is averaging 21.5 minutes per game after averaging 29.7 last season, and his production has decreased significantly. He is averaging 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds this season, compared with 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds last season. His shooting percentage, which was 49.6 last season, is down to 36.4.

The drastic reduction of Garnett’s playing time has been by design. Coach Jason Kidd said from the beginning of training camp that keeping Garnett’s legs fresh would be a priority. Garnett also referred to “Father Time” on Wednesday as a factor complicating things for him.

Some observers, including Garnett’s former coach, Doc Rivers, have suggested that efforts to rest Garnett have hurt his ability to find a rhythm. Garnett is taking about five fewer shots per game than he did last season with the Celtics.

But Kidd said the team would stick to the plan to limit Garnett’s minutes. Asked whether that was to save Garnett for a postseason run, Kidd said it was to get him through the regular season. He said he believed Garnett’s production would pick up.

“He’s getting great looks,” Kidd said. “Some of them haven’t gone in, but we all believe as a team that they will.”

Garnett said his focus had shifted almost entirely to being a vocal and aggressive presence on defense. But his inconsistency on offense has been a source of frustration and a blow to his confidence. He said the most exasperating thing of all was that he felt he had continued to work diligently but had not been seeing the result of his labor.

“I put a lot of time into my craft, so I expect a lot out of it,” he said.

[steve3344]

I can't believe how badly KG is playing this year and am glad it's not happening in green.  We traded him just in time. Pierce too.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nets/garnett-calls-season-nets-frustrating-career-article-1.1563798

[beat]

Steve

Sad..... but there isn't a professional athlete alive that has beat father time.

Guess in my lifetime George Blanda and Gordie Howe staved it off as long as anyone and still were able to compete with kids half their ages.

beat

[steve3344]

Steve

Sad..... but there isn't a professional athlete alive that has beat father time.

Guess in my lifetime George Blanda and Gordie Howe staved it off as long as anyone and still were able to compete with kids half their ages.

beat

Mariano Rivera too. And Nolan Ryan was amazing even at 44-45 years old.

[steve3344]

Paul Pierce, power forward? That's a stretch:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nets/kidd-small-ball-lineup-earning-praise-nets-article-1.1565460

[gyso]

Steve

Sad..... but there isn't a professional athlete alive that has beat father time.

Guess in my lifetime George Blanda and Gordie Howe staved it off as long as anyone and still were able to compete with kids half their ages.

beat

beat,

Carl Yastrzemski played until he was 44. He is my favorite Red Sox player of all time.

As of the 2013 baseball season, on the all-time lists for Major League baseball, Yastrzemski ranks at #1 for games played for one team, #2 for games played, #3 for at-bats, #6 for bases on balls, #7 for hits, #8 for total bases, #8 for doubles, and #13 for RBIs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Yastrzemski

gyso

[beat]

GYSO and Steve

here is the list of oldest professionals to play various sports... some like Howe played 1 shift at 69 years of age......obviously none was very competitive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_professional_athletes_by_sport

But the one that caught my eye was the race car driver at 86 years old. Gotta research him a bit more..............I can only imagine him driving in the slow lane holding up traffic.

beat

[steve3344]

Watched the Heat/Knicks game tonight and can't believe Wade missed more free throws (6) than the entire Knicks team made (5). That's amazing.

On another note, still watching and rooting for the Hawks to slide down and hopefully out of the playoff race which I think could happen if several teams below them start playing better (including the Knicks, Cavs and Pistons).

[steve3344]

I certainly thought the Pistons would be better than they are so far this year (14-22 when this article was written, 16-22 now). Seems their bigs can't play together and stats bear that out:

Report: Pistons not even considering trading Greg Monroe
Dan Feldman Jan 10, 2014, 9:45 AM EST

The Pistons have a big-man problem.

They have three good bigs – Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond – who start but have, so far, fit poorly together.

The problem isn’t a single one of them. Rather, it’s an issue of fit.

When all three play:

Offensive rating: 104.3
Defensive rating: 112.2
Net rating: –7.9
However, remove one from the lineup – doesn’t matter which one – and things suddenly look much better for Detroit.

Monroe and Drummond, not Smith:

Offensive rating: 113.6
Defensive rating: 109.4
Net rating: +4.2
Smith and Monroe, not Drummond:

Offensive rating: 106.9
Defensive rating: 100.5
Net rating: +6.4
Smith and Drummond, not Monroe:

Offensive rating: 111.6
Defensive rating: 105.2
Net rating: +6.4
(numbers via nbawowy)

What should the Pistons do about this?

Removing one of the three from the starting lineup could work, as could trading one for a more-traditional wing player.

Smith probably doesn’t have much trade value after signing a four-year, $54 million contract this summer. His production has slipped, and teams might not accept such a burdensome contract without attaching one of their own bad contracts in the deal.

Drummond is even more untradeable for the opposite reason. He’s too good for too cheap a salary to make a trade viable. It’s difficult to match salaries when most of the players whose value are as high as his are on max contracts and he’s still on his rookie deal.

That leaves Monroe, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Monroe is more likely than not to receive a max contract, so the Pistons should decide before the deadline whether he’s worth that. If not, they should trade him. That dealing him, both by omission and addition, would likely improve the frontline should move the needle toward a trade.

But the Pistons don’t see it that way.

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

I can say with certainty there is no talk of trading Greg Monroe currently. Could that change? Sure, but right now the Pistons are going to be patient.

You can’t prove a negative, so it’s logically impossible for Ellis to say this with absolute certainty. He can know a trusted source in position to know told him as much, but that’s the limit.

But assuming Ellis is correct, the Pistons should get over it and stop being so stubborn.

They’re 14-22. If the season ended right now, not only would they miss the playoffs, they’d send their first-round pick to the Bobcats to complete the Ben Gordon trade. They’re facing disaster, and they won’t even entertain trading Monroe?

I actually don’t think the Pistons should trade Monroe for a lesser and/or older wing player, the most likely return, even though that would likely improve the team this season.

I think it’s still possible, though unlikely, the three-big lineup works with more time. Most of all, I just think a young and productive big like Monroe is too valuable to trade for a quick fix.

But to not explore a trade is choosing to limit your options for improving, and I don’t see the point of that.

[steve3344]

You've got to be kidding:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/michigan-state-branden-dawson-breaks-hand-during-film-213534733--ncaab.html

[steve3344]

Sixers trailed by at least 49 points for the second game in a row tonight in losing to GS 123-80, one day after losing to the Clips 123-78.

That's pretty hard to do.

Hard to believe they started the season 3-0 and beat the Heat, Washington on the road and Chicago, all tough ones.

[steve3344]

Sicksers make history, again:

No other team in NBA history has lost two straight games by at least 40 points each. Philadelphia has now done it twice.

[Outside]

Steve,

They have the great tradition of the 1972-73 team to uphold.

At first, I thought you were saying that Philly has lost two straight games by 40 or more this season, but I found an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that said the Sixers are the only franchise to do this and that the other time was during the 1993-94 season.

As bad as they've been, they have a ways to go to catch up to that 1972-73 team. Besides the overall 9-73 record (this year's team already has 15 wins), the 1972-73 team lost a staggering 48 games by double digits and 18 games by 20 or more. This year's team has lost a mere 29 games by double digits and 10 games by 20 or more. They have 29 games left to make up ground on the 1972-73 team. The 1972-73 team was only able to lose two games all season by 40 or more, so this year's team does have some realistic goals.

Here's a list of Philly's losses from this season sorted by point differential.

http://bkref.com/tiny/37k8D

Here's the same info for the 1972-73 team.

http://bkref.com/tiny/RGOK5

The Play Index tools on basketball-reference.com make looking up this information really easy. Plus they have companion sites for college basketball, pro and college football, major league baseball, and hockey. What a great site.

[tjmakz]

Here's an interesting statistical oddity from the OKC/Lakers game.

Wesley Johnson is a young and athletic player.
Last night he played 42 minutes and had 0 rebounds, 0 assists and 0 blocked shots. What the...???
He did have 19 points, so it's not like he wasn't involved in the offense.

[steve3344]

Gerald Green with 36 points tonight in under 30 minutes of playing time as Phoenix continues to surprise, beating the Nuggets on the road. GG averaging 29 a game his last three games on 60% shooting. He's becoming a monstah.

Can we trade Greens?

[steve3344]

Is Ben Gordon really done at age 30?:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bobcats-waive-seldom-used-g-190405767--nba.html

He reminded me of Andrew Toney in the '09 playoffs but really hasn't been great in about five years. His stats this year are awful. Maybe he just doesn't care anymore. He's not old. Maybe the fact that he's already made $80 million has taken away his fire. Who knows. But I wouldn't mind if we gave him a flyer.

[beat]

Gerald Green with 36 points tonight in under 30 minutes of playing time as Phoenix continues to surprise, beating the Nuggets on the road.  GG averaging 29 a game his last three games on 60% shooting.  He's becoming a monstah.

Can we trade Greens?

had another big scoring game last eve, 35 points 10X10 from the stripe and 9-14 from the field with 5 treys made.

Seems he finally gets it.

beat

[steve3344]

Gerald Green with 36 points tonight in under 30 minutes of playing time as Phoenix continues to surprise, beating the Nuggets on the road.  GG averaging 29 a game his last three games on 60% shooting.  He's becoming a monstah.

Can we trade Greens?

had another big scoring game last eve, 35 points 10X10 from the stripe and 9-14 from the field with 5 treys made.

Seems he finally gets it.

beat

He's been averaging 22.1 points a game his last 10 games on 49% shooting and 87% on FT's. Those are All-Star numbers. And at 6'8" he's a match-up nightmare because he's been playing guard alongside Dragic. Guess Phoenix has stopped tanking....

[steve3344]

Just one of an endless list of horrible decisions - the Knicks wound up paying $2 million for two minutes of playing time just so a player who had a disastrous year could have his worthless brother on the team, who after being sent down to the D-League, even gets released by his team down there:

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/04/chris-smith-brother-of-j-r-smith-released-from-d-league-team-following-dispute-over-playing-time/

Here is Chris Smith's career so far:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithch05.html

And that's how it's probably going to be for all eternity. For a cool $2 million.

[Outside]

Likely a cool $2 million wasted.

[steve3344]

Gerald Green hit for 41 against OKC tonight.  Was reasonably warm from three point land going 8-13 from beyond the arc.  Now hitting  40% of his threes for the season.  Holy effin Jesus.  Boy has he come a long way from not having a clue how to play the game.

Oh, and by the way, the expected-to-tank Suns knocked off the Thunder 128-122.

[steve3344]

Funniest line after last night's 142-94 Laker loss to the Clippers was from Charles Barkley: "Kobe Bryant is rolling over in his grave."

[beat]

Funniest line after last night's 142-94 Laker loss to the Clippers was from Charles Barkley:  "Kobe Bryant is rolling over in his grave."

Perhaps that is part of his rehab.............

beat

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