Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 243 of 274)

After a thrilling double-overtime Game 1 for the ages, the Suns/Spurs series came to a rather unremarkable close last night when the Spurs won at home, clinching the series 4-1. Throughout the five games, San Antonio utilized the Hack-a-Shaq defense, intentionally fouling Shaquille O’Neal and putting him on the line to try to end the Suns’ possessions. For the most part, it worked, as O’Neal shot a woeful 32 of 64 (50%) from the line.

I don’t blame the Spurs for utilizing a perfectly legal tactic in attempt to win a game or series, but it’s a little bush league, isn’t it? From a fan’s point of view, it really slows the game down and hinders the enjoyment of watching two good teams battle each other for the right to advance in the playoffs. Honestly, it was kind of sad to see a proud team like the Spurs utilize Hack-a-Shaq.

That said, it’s the league’s fault for allowing it to continue. There’s a rule prohibiting it in the final two minutes of a game, but for the other 46, it’s fair game. Former coach and current television analyst Jeff Van Gundy says that the league can’t legislate for a player’s weakness. That is, they can’t put in rules to protect Shaq just because his free throw shooting stinks.

To a certain extent, I agree with him. But the league can (and has) put in rules to make the game more enjoyable to watch. And whatever we can do to reduce the number of foul calls (and subsequent free throws) will only enhance the game. I never understood why the league has flagrant fouls, but no “intentional” fouls. When a player comes up and hugs Shaq (and he doesn’t have the ball), that’s an intentional foul. Officials can tell the difference between this and an off-the-ball foul that happens during the normal flow of the game (such as Boris Diaw grabbing Manu Ginobili as he tries to go around a screen). If you intentionally foul a player without the ball, the rule should be that the player gets one free throw and the team keeps possession of the ball. This would eliminate Hack-a-Shaq altogether and certain NBA games (that have Shaq, Ben Wallace, or any other horrible free throw shooter) would be much more enjoyable to watch.

Get it done, Stern. (I’m not holding my breath.)

As I watched the young Atlanta Hawks win two home games against the far more experienced Celtics, I wondered – what would it take to turn Atlanta into a serious contender?

My first thought would be to build a time machine and go back to the ’05 draft and take Chris Paul instead of Marvin Williams. This team is in desperate need of a playmaking point guard and Paul would be a perfect fit. The Mike Bibby trade gave the team some experience at the position, but his poor shooting after he came to Atlanta (41%) coupled with his horrible accuracy in the playoffs (35%) leads me to believe that his 19-point, seven-assist seasons are long gone. He is a 14/6 guy now (at best) and for that, the Hawks will pay him $15.2 million next season. Yeesh.

The time machine theory is fine, but had they drafted Paul they probably wouldn’t have Al Horford on the roster and that would be a setback. Let’s move on to more real-world possibilities…

Josh Smith and Josh Childress are both restricted free agents this offseason. Will they pay them both? They should. Smith is a star on the rise, and as soon as he figures out to limit his outside jumpers (or learns to shoot them), he’s going to be extremely difficult to stop. Childress is a do-it-all role player that shoots a great percentage and plays defense. The problem is that there aren’t enough minutes for him with Williams on the roster.

So I say sign both Smith and Childress to long-term deals and try to move the less-efficient Marvin Williams for a point guard. Certainly there is some team out there who wants a relatively inexpensive, athletic, 21 year-old forward that regularly puts up 15/6, right? The Hawks should target the Raptors, who have two good point guards in Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford. Toronto is going to keep Calderon, so Ford seems like a logical fit for the Hawks.

If the Hawks re-sign Smith and Childress, they’re not going to have the salary cap flexibility to sign a free agent point guard for the foreseeable future. I like the idea of a sign-and-trade with Washington for Gilbert Arenas, but Agent Zero could ruin the team’s budding chemistry.

Either way, the team will eventually have to choose two of their three forwards – Williams, Smith and Childress – as it doesn’t pay to have that much money locked up in three guys that basically play the same position. Considering that Childress (9.4) gets more fourth quarter minutes than Williams (8.4), it appears that head coach Mike Woodson has made his choice.