We just finished the stat audit for the first four weeks of the 2010-11 NBA season. The top nine by efficiency rating at each position are considered "A Gamers".
Point Guards:
Chris Paul - NO .768
Tony Parker - SA .662
Russell Westbrook - OKC .662
Steve Nash - PHX .653
Derrick Rose - CHI .602
Rajon Rondo - BOS .583
Deron Williams - UTA .579
Devin Harris - NJ .575
Raymond Felton - NYK .570
Shooting Guards:
Kobe Bryant - LAL .696
Manu Ginobili - SA .615
Steph Curry - GSW .587
Monta Ellis - GSW .582
Kevin Martin - HOU .565
Shannon Brown - LAL .562
Dwyane Wade - MIA .532
Danny Granger - IND .521
Landry Fields - NYK .511
Small Forwards:
Carmelo Anthony - DEN .666
LeBron James - MIA .644
Matt Barnes - LAL .639
Kevin Durant - OKC .555
Paul Pierce - BOS .549
Michael Beasley - MIN .546
Rudy Gay - MEM .545
Wilson Chandler - NYK .534
Thaddeus Young - PHI .524
Power Forwards:
Luis Scola - HOU .716
Kevin Love - MIN .714
Amir Johnson - TOR .675
Paul Millsap - UTA .675
Tyrus Thomas - CHA. .668
Lamar Odom - LAL .655
Josh Smith - ATL .652
Dirk Nowitzki - DAL .643
Zach Randolph - MEM .605
Centers:
Pau Gasol - LAL .835
Al Horford - ATL .789
Dwight Howard - ORL .714
Roy Hibbert - IND .695
Tim Duncan - SA .669
Joakim Noah - CHI .641
Amar'e Stoudemire - NYK .633
Tyson Chandler - DAL .599
JaVale McGee - WA. .590
We finished our last racing assignment of the year - which means until mid January it is all basketball and music over here. ...Of course, I’ve been watching as much hoop as I can get away with while still doing my racing gigs professionally; I just haven’t been blogging about it. I do “Tweet” with regularity so if you are one of the three or four people who reads this space and you want to keep up with my most timely thoughts—you can follow me on twitter. The account name is @BasslineSpin.
Where to start? Well - nothing has boiled by blood pressure like the Sacramento Kings inability to correctly use their personnel and establish some sort of dependable rotation. I lost my Twitter cool when Sac began trying Jason Thompson (pictured) at Small Forward. At times, JT was on the floor with Center Samuel Dalembert, and Power Forward Darnell Jackson.
There are but a handful of rules in the NBA that I see as unbreakable truths. One is that your “THREE-man”, or SF must have the ability to either shoot the three-point shot or be capable of taking his man off the dribble to make a play. Jason Thompson does neither. He is 1-18 from beyond the arc for his career. As for playmaking, JT has more turnovers than assists, and his ball-handling is nothing you ever want to see more than two dribbles (if that) of. True, there are a few SF’s in the NBA that he CAN match up with defensively. But I will continue to maintain that WINNERS make the opposition match up with them—not the other way around.
It is particularly troubling to me that Thompson has been forced into this situation because after an off-season of hard work that saw him improve his upper body strength—I really believed (and still do believe) that JT could help this Kings team if given a steady diet of minutes at PF or C. The monkey wrench in this deal (aside from the questionable coaching) is Darnell Jackson, who has played well at times. Jackson “forced” the Kings coaches to find him some minutes which, I can only imagine, was the impetus for the JT position juggling.
But that is no excuse. Thompson simply NEVER, EVER should have been trotted out at SF. What happens from a floor spacing standpoint, when a non-threat from the perimeter plays SF, is you wind up with a clogged middle. Defenders do not need to worry about running all the way out to the three point line - so they smartly cheat toward the middle of the floor.
Having a clogged middle is especially bad for Sacramento. Tyreke Evans’ game (and most backcourt scorer’s games) is largely dependent on dribble-driving through the paint. The baffling part is that I know the Kings coaches HAVE TO KNOW THIS. So why did they play JT at SF?
The Kings margin for error relative to the rest of the NBA is still very small. Teams with losing records cannot have hiccups while experimenting. ...Which leads me to this… A big NBA fallacy is the thought that a “good” defender deserves playing time even though that same player is not offensively gifted.
The truth is that very few defenders are so “good” that their presence overcomes their offensive liabilities. There is a scoreboard which must be lit up with scor-ING to win a game. Antoine Wright is a “safe player”. He defends his man and he doesn’t turn the ball over. We know this from his historical data. He’s played over 5,700 minutes in his career. What we also know is that he is not and most likely never will be efficient. It is my belief he is the current poster-child for what I just described above; a “good” defensive player that simply isn’t so good of a defender that it makes up for the stuff he can’t or won’t do on offense.
Efficiency always matters. The Kings are not at a level where they can afford to play one guy out of position and then give minutes to a guy like Wright, and expect anything but a five game losing streak.
To go further into nitpicking - Sacramento still has backcourt issues - and front court scorer Carl Landry has underachieved. Landry is not getting to the free throw line enough, and in my opinion, he has settled for his fall-away jumper too often.
Beno Udrih and Evans should play until they drop dead based on their only backups being Luther Head, Wright, and Pooh Jeter. Apparently the coaches do not trust Jeter enough to play him. Jeter’s preseason numbers didn't do anything to help the staff believe he is ready for real NBA minutes.
Head might be okay as a 'fifth guard type backup' at Shooting Guard but his body dictates that bigger SG’s will always give him problems. Head should not be looked at as a PG. Just because his body type says PG - that doesn’t mean his skill set agrees. Wright, ...I’m not sure should even be in the NBA. I still don’t really buy Evans as a PG. So that means Sac has Udrih as the only PG option.
Francisco Garcia has spent time playing SG but that is not his natural spot. A good SG should be able to take someone off the dribble and create a shot on his own. "Cisco" excels more at spot shooting. He is a SF that DOES stretch the defense. Garcia has outplayed Omri Casspi to date.
Bottom line. My fix for the Kings: play Udrih and Evans all that you can (or go get a real backup PG). Start Garcia at SF, with Thompson, and Dalembert up front. Landry has always seemed most comfy coming off the bench—so bring him in as the first sub for JT. DeMarcus Cousins spells Dalembert. I’d give Casspi the nod as Garcia’s backup, and Head (as the roster stands) would get a handful of minutes backing up at SG. If there is any experimenting done - I wouldn't mind seeing Casspi given a shot at SG. He moves well and his offensive aggression is sorely needed. He has proven he can’t guard a SF like Michael Beasley so maybe Casspi’s length, against the generally smaller players at SG, would be a better fit.
I too like what Jackson has brought to the table early in the season. He does simple things within his ability. But he too has holes in his game. He struggles as a free throw shooter, is just an average rebounder for his position, and he gets an assist about once every ten days. All that said - he is not (in my opinion) better than Thompson, Dalembert, Cousins, or Landry. So Jackson should probably just be getting minutes when the team needs a spark. If the Kings really believe Jackson is an answer going forward - then they should try to trade one of their BIGS to get that backup Point Guard that they need so badly.
”Brother Hedo” is no bro to Toronto fans. This I’ve gathered in reading scattered articles from Toronto area publishers. The general consensus seems to be that Hedo Turkoglu (pictured with Alvin Gentry and Lon Babby) was disappointing during his one season stint in Raptor-land. My thought is that Hedo was exactly what he is. He’s a nice wing player. He’s not an all-star. It seems to me that Toronto fans saw Turkoglu excel during the Playoffs when he was with Orlando in 2008-09, and they over-inflated his projected worth. We had Hedo ranked 26th at his position last year which would mean he is a “lower tier” starter at this stage of his career. Turkoglu, who was tabbed “Brother Hedo” by Chris Webber when he first arrived in the USA as a Kings rookie, is now the property of the Phoenix Suns.
Chucky Atkins - the 36 year-old NBA veteran is also in Phoenix. However - unlike Turkoglu, Atkins has no guarantees. As it stands - Atkins is the fifth point guard on the Suns training camp depth chart. In front of Atkins are starter Steve Nash, and his backup Goran Dragic. Undrafted rookie Matt Janning landed a partially guaranteed two-year deal as the third PG, and Zabian Dowdell is the fourth floor general. That means this could be the end of the NBA line for Atkins. We ranked Atkins 80th at his position in 2009-10.
Former brick-laying free throw shooter Chris Dudley is running to be the Governor of Oregon. Dudley is repping the Republican party.
The D-League announced it will change goaltending rules for the 2010-11 season. Serving as a crash-test-dummy for the NBA, the D-League is switching to the international take on goaltending—meaning you can swipe at the ball while it is on the rim. This is REALLY incredibly dumb to me. Why confuse the big men who are trying to reach the NBA with a rule that is in direct contrast with the NBA’s interpretation? The rules should be the same in the minors as in the big show.
In Philadelphia, Doug Collins has former Duke assistant and Missouri head coach Quin Snyder (pictured at left) on his staff. I was surprised at Snyder’s flame-out at Mizzou but I still believe he is the kind of guy with the drive to one day be a head coach in the NBA.
While on the topic… my favorite NBA coaching candidate is Milwaukee assistant Kelvin Sampson.
Mississippi State finally has clarity on the status of their two studs that may be NBA material. Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney (pictured at right) will miss the opening 16 and 9 games respectively. Bost is a point guard that has terrific speed and vision but his shot selection is suspect. He is probably a long shot for the Association. Sidney is a BIG (6’10” 270+) that will almost assuredly be the NBA when he decides to come (as long as he keeps his weight under control). I know it is a long way away—but circle your calendar for the Bulldogs to suddenly be better to the fifteenth power when Sidney returns to their lineup in mid-December. Bost and Sidney drew the ire of the NCAA for reasons that honestly I don’t care to expand on. I hate that stuff. (You can read more about why Bost and Sidney were suspended here).
While we are quickly on the topic of college hoops ‘dynamic duos’, here is a quick rundown of our favorite pairs with regard to future NBA success. 1. Duke’s Kyrie Irving (pictured at left) and Kyle Singler. 2. Georgia’s Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins. 3. North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, and Reggie Bullock. 4. Texas’ Tristan Thompson, and Jordan Hamilton. 5. Baylor’s LaceDarius Dunn and Perry Jones III. 6. Florida’s Patric Young and Chandler Parsons. 7. BYU’s Jimmer Freddette and Jackson Emery. 8. Marquette’s Jimmy Butler, and Joseph Fulce.
Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague has a little brother that may well run Kentucky’s offense in 2010-11. Marquis Teague has tough shoes to fill not only following his big brother in basketball but also being the PG that succeeds John Wall for “big blue”.
Shaquille O’Neal said this of the Miami Heat, “They got a great 1-2.” Apparently The Big Celtic is not a fan of Chris Bosh.
Elton Brand took up cycling during the summer, which coupled with a better diet led to a loss of ten lbs. Brand and the Doug Collins coached Sixers intrigue me. The Sixers made two trades I didn’t like. I’m not a big Spencer Hawes fan, and I thought that newly acquired Craig Brackins was among the most overrated draft picks in June. What I like about the Sixers is their Team USA baller Andre Iguodala (pictured at right), the underrated and still relatively unheralded Lou Williams, and BIG Marreese Speights. Rookie Evan Turner will hopefully look better than he did in Summer League - where he was mostly ineffective.
I thought it was interesting to hear that the Knicks have their players wearing a device that tracks their activity level during practice sessions. The device measures how often you jump, run, jog, sprint, walk, etc… Slacking by vets just got a little tougher to pull off.
My basketball hiatus is over. ...I have news that makes me happy. My man Marqus Blakely from Vermont who went undrafted has signed with the Clippers. I think he should have been a first-round pick. I had him listed 29th in the 2010 Draft.
John Lucas III - who I believe should be in the NBA - has apparently landed a gig with Bulls as their third PG behind Derek Rose, and C.J. Watson.
It appears that Lester Hudson, another kid I like a bit - will get a shot to make the Wizards roster.
This is time of year where you find out who took care of their training regimen in the summer. Some players will look bigger in a good way while a few will look bigger in a bad way. For the record I try not to read too much into the whole “he’s in great shape, he’s going to have a monster season” type thing. But I do believe that a healthy mix of relaxation and training during the summer is its own reward. Some players work out too hard in the summer and poop out by Christmas. Others know that you can’t take the whole summer off but you can get away and clear your mind before returning to a maintenance program that ratchets up as training camp nears.
We hear the “in-shape” buzz already on Phoenix Suns multi-purpose wing Jared Dudley (pictured at right) as well as for Sacramento’s multi-faceted Donte Greene. Dudley is said to be leaner by 15 lbs. — while Greene is noticeably bigger in a good way - as he continues to fill out his 6’10” frame.
In New Orleans, the Hornets have 12 new players among the 18 in their camp.
Said Joey Graham at Cavs media day, “Not taking anything away from LeBron, but this team can stand on its own two feet. We are so underestimated, so underrated.” I’m going to clip and save that quote and revisit it in - say - February.
In Dallas - they are bored with the Mavs who have yet to win a championship despite having won 50 games or more for ten straight seasons. Take it from a Kings fan; enjoy that “boredom”! The Kings made the playoffs eight years in a row and then the bottom fell out. It happens. A Kings fan would offer his left cowbell for a 50 win season.
In Minnesota - Jonny Flynn (pictured at left) is still recovering from hip surgery and will miss at least the first two weeks of training camp.
There is a new allocation rule in the D-League. Starting with this season - the three most recently waived players from affiliate NBA teams, prior to the D-League Draft, become the rights of that D League team (so long as the player signs the D-League standard contract). For example, let’s say the Kings last three training camp cuts are Marcus Landry, Joe Crawford, and Darnell Jackson. Those three - as I understand the rule - would be allocated to the Reno D-League team.
Utah Jazz first round pick and former Butler star, Gordon Hayward went nutso with his first professional check. He went out and bought a Honda Accord.
Two NBA veterans have landed in Memphis for training camp. Kenny Thomas and Damien Wilkins will fight to make the Grizzlies roster. I believe Wilkins, 30, is still capable of being a SF that comes off the bench. Thomas - still has the athleticism at age 33 but his inability to make a free-throw has killed his game. He used to score AND rebound. People forget that Kenny Thomas averaged 13 points and ten rebounds for the season in Philadelphia in 2003-04. Now he simply is a rebounder, and that is not good enough. It’s as if Thomas caught the Nick Anderson disease where a player loses confidence from the free throw line and because of that—he quits putting himself in scoring positions where a foul may be drawn.
