Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 151 of 274)

      Clippers fire Dunleavy…for LeBron?

      March 10, 2010 /

      A few weeks ago, Mike Dunleavy gave up his coaching duties and now the Clippers have announced that he’s no longer the general manager, either.

      Here is an excerpt from the press release posted on the team’s website…

      The organization has determined that the goal of building a winning team is best served by making this decision at this time. The team has simply not made sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure. The Clippers want to win now. This transition, in conjunction with a full commitment to dedicate unlimited resources, is designed to accomplish that objective.

      Ouch.

      FanHouse suggests that the move may be aimed at giving LeBron the ability to name his next head coach and general manager.

      The Clippers, according to another source within the organization, are hoping to persuade James to come if he also can pick his coach, and possibly his general manager.

      Aside from the franchise’s reputation for one blunder after another, the Clippers will have some attractive assets to offer a free agent like James. Kaman is one of the league’s best centers. Power forward Blake Griffin, who missed this season with a knee injury, is considered a sure-bet star on the rise. Davis is a former All-Star, and young guard Eric Gordon has great potential.

      While a lineup consisting of Davis, Gordon, LeBron, Griffin and Kaman would certainly be imposing, let’s remember that this is the Clippers. Would LeBron really be willing to risk his career on a franchise that, aside from a good season here and there, has been a complete mess for its entire history?

      If the Cavs fail to win a title this season, and the Knicks, Bulls and Heat don’t bowl him over, the prospect of playing for Phil Jackson and being able to name a trustworthy general manager might be enough to convince him to play for the Clippers.

      But I doubt it.


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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Pippen says that Dwight Howard can’t carry a championship team

      March 10, 2010 /

      He should know — ba dum bump!

      But let’s get serious: Scottie Pippen took a break from hosting cheerleading contests in China to tell the Orlando Sentinel the following…

      “He’s a very special player but I don’t think he’s going to win a championship until he gets another superstar to play alongside of him,” Pippen said recently while visiting Orlando. “A guy that’s very consistent and has that drive, that’s what it’s going to take. I don’t think that he can carry a team to a championship.”

      “He’s not that great of a scorer, he’s not a good shooter and he’s not a good foul shooter. So in the latter parts of the game, as big as he is and as much athleticism as he has, that becomes very small when the game gets into crunch time. He’s not the type of player that can dominate a game in the fourth quarter.”

      Pippen is entitled to his opinion, but let’s not forget that Dwight Howard led the Magic to a Finals appearance (beating a very good Cavs team along the way) at the age of 23. Orlando lost 4-1, but Game 2 went into overtime (after Courtney Lee just missed a layup that would have won the game), so with a little luck, the Magic would have headed home with the series tied, 1-1.

      Howard is just 24 now, and while his post game is certainly not polished, it is improving. He has developed a baby hook with both hands to go along with his signature power game. And let’s not forget that both Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal didn’t win an NBA title until the age of 27, so it took both players a few years to figure things out.

      Howard should be able to develop a lot in three years, regardless of Pippen’s opinion on the current state of his game. These days, it takes two superstars (or one superstar and two stars) to win a title: Kobe/Gasol, Boston’s Big Three, Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, Wade/Shaq, Shaq/Kobe, Jordan/Pippen, Olajuwon/Drexler. The only recent champions not listed there are the ’04 Pistons (superior chemistry and balance) and the ’94 Rockets (dominant big man surrounded by shooters).

      Would another superstar help? Sure. Is it an absolute necessity? History has proven that it isn’t, assuming Howard continues to develop.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      Joe Johnson says he’ll “sacrifice” to play with LeBron in NYC

      March 9, 2010 /

      Joe Johnson was asked about his free agent plans after the Hawks’ game against the Knicks, and here’s what he had to say…

      The inquisition of Joe Johnson began at about 6:20 p.m. ET, lasted approximately 10 minutes and yielded the following nugget:

      If a certain someone, like maybe this certain guy in Cleveland, accepted a max offer from the Knicks and wanted Johnson as a sidekick, Johnson would be willing to sign for less than the maximum.

      “I’ll sacrifice,” Johnson said.

      Those words will carry some weight as we head toward July 1, 2010, because there aren’t a whole lot of max-level free agents out there who are willing to go on the record saying they’ll sacrifice money if it translates into success on the court.

      But Johnson went ahead and said it Monday, and given the fact that he turned down a five-year max contract extension from the Atlanta Hawks last summer, that statement ranks as an eyebrow-raiser.

      Chris Sheridan goes on to speculate about what the Knicks might do if Plan A (LeBron) and Plan B (D-Wade) both fail. How about a Bosh/Johnson or a Stoudemire/Johnson combo in NYC?

      While LeBron, Wade and Bosh are all playing coy about their free agency plans, Johnson is refreshingly honest about all the possibilities. Considering that he’s playing for one of the top teams in the East, it’s an interesting way to go.

      A LeBron/JJ combo in New York probably isn’t going to happen. I have a feeling that LeBron will only go to the Knicks if he knows he’s going to play with Wade or Bosh. Usually championships are built around one excellent perimeter player and one excellent big man — think Kobe-Shaq, Parker-Duncan, Wade-Shaq — but Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did make the 2/3 combo work very well in Chicago, though MJ made a living in the post. LeBron doesn’t like to play with his back to the basket.


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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Dwight Howard’s defense is overrated?

      March 9, 2010 /

      Yes, at least according to Peter Keating, who wrote a piece entitled “Why Dwight Howard is overrated,” which outlines the recent research presented by John Huizinga and Charles “Sandy” Weil at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

      Insider subscription required, so I’ll be brief in my excerpt…

      Over the entire stretch of data that Huizinga and Weil examined, Tim Duncan didn’t goaltend once, while 24 percent of Dwight Howard’s blocks resulted in free points for the other team.

      The data yields all kinds of instructive contrasts, most clearly between Duncan and Howard (hence the name of Huizinga and Weil’s paper). In 2008, Howard had 232 blocked shots, but he either saved or created just 124 points; Duncan had 149 blocks, but generated 167 points. On a points-per-block basis, Duncan has four of the top 10 seasons, according to Huizinga and Weil. Howard has three of the bottom 10.

      If anything, Howard should look at this report and draw two conclusions: 1) he needs to stop goaltending, and 2) he needs to try to direct his blocks better. Either block it to himself or to a teammate to start a fast break opportunity. He often tosses the ball out of bounds, which only serves to give possession back to the other team.

      On the final Laker possession in Sunday’s tilt in Orlando, Howard picked up Kobe off of a screen and roll and forced him into a very tough fadeaway jumper. His defense on that play was excellent and I think he is a very good defender. Could he be better? This research says he can.


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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Pau Gasol wants the ball

      March 8, 2010 /

      Okay, that’s not quite what he said…

      The Lakers’ loss to Orlando on Sunday marks the first time since Pau Gasol’s arrival that the team has lost three straight games. After the game, Gasol discussed the lack of flow on offense, which could be construed as a knock on Kobe.

      “We haven’t been playing with a good flow out there offensively and it takes a lot of people out of their rhythm,” Gasol said. “We need to figure out how to move the ball a lot more so there’s a flow out there, there’s a rhythm.”

      When Gasol was pointedly asked if the offense was being bogged down by how many shots Bryant has been attempting, he answered, “I don’t know” at first, but then made the point he was trying to make regardless of whether he would be treading a little harshly on the guy who just hit back-to-back 22-footers with 26.4 seconds left and 12.9 seconds left in the fourth.

      “Kobe’s a great player,” Gasol said. “We have to find balance as a team, as a unit out there. Kobe’s a great player and he’s probably the best offensive player out there. We understand that. … But at the same time, we need to find that balance and we need to find balance with our interior game developing … using it a little more and moving the ball and changing sides more, because that’s the triangle, that’s what it does. … We need to get focused on that a little more. To find that balance, to find that flow.”

      Kobe’s M.O. is pretty much the same game to game. He starts out by looking to set up teammates and picking his spots to take shots. If the offense is rolling, he’ll continue to pass first until the situation warrants that he take over. If the offense is sputtering, he’ll generally look to start taking a lot of shots when the Lakers get down by 8-10 points, depending on how much time is left in the game.

      Gasol went 8-13 in the game for 20 points, but he was physically overmatched by Dwight Howard on the block. He looked visibly frustrated throughout the second half, which could partly be due to his lack of post up opportunities on the offensive end.

      The Lakers should be all right, but the lack of flow could be attributed to Ron Artest. He went 2-10 on the night and the ball tends to stop when it finds his hands. He’s only shooting 41.5% on the year, so when he’s in with the starters, he should probably be the fourth option. He is behind Kobe, Gasol and Andrew Bynum in shot attempts, but he’s far too close (9.8 to 10.6) to Bynum for my liking, especially considering Bynum has the highest points per shot (1.40) on the team.


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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

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