Category: NBA (Page 218 of 595)

      How good is Kobe in the clutch?

      March 11, 2010 /

      TrueHoop has a piece that outlines Kobe’s performance in crunch time, which for the purposes of this post is a shot that has a chance to tie or win the game in the last 10 seconds of regulation or overtime.

      – This season, Bryant has made seven of the 12 shots, with a chance to win or tie the game, in the last ten seconds of regulation or overtime.

      – Bryant’s the only player in the last decade who has made seven such shots in a season.

      – Bryant has made 26 of the 89 potential game tying or game-winning field goals he has shot over the last decade. That’s 29.2%, which is slightly above League average.

      Henry Abbott breaks down why Kobe is good in the clutch:

      At that time of the game, there’s value in being able to create scoring opportunities. Bryant may shoot those difficult fallaways that often miss, but he’d be a far worse player if he couldn’t get a shot off at all. And that’s the situation some lesser players would find themselves in.

      In 2008-09, 82games reports that Kobe was the best in the clutch, which, by their definition, is the last five minutes of regulation or overtime, and neither team ahead by more than five points. (I’m not sure why 82games doesn’t provide league-wide clutch stats for the current season since they do have those numbers on the individual player pages.) Last year, Bryant scored at a rate of 56.7 points (per 48 minutes) and this season he is posting 48.1 points. He shot 45.7% last season compared to 43.2% this year.

      Kobe hits a lot of game-winners for a few reasons: 1) he’s really good at getting off a decent shot even though the defense knows he’s getting the ball, 2) he takes a lot of game-winners, and 3) he has supreme confidence in his ability to score when the game is on the line. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that he doesn’t take the ball to the hole when the game is on the line, probably because refs have a tendency to swallow the whistle and let “the players decide the outcome.” He’s not an “and one” guy on the same level as LeBron, so he’d rather shoot a fadeaway and take his chances.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      How good are the Bucks?

      March 10, 2010 /

      On the heels of my feature about Andrew Bogut that I posted a couple of weeks ago, the Bucks have won five of six — and 10 of their last 11 — to rise to the #5 slot in the Eastern Conference. Even SLAM has taken notice, as evidenced by Colin Powers’ piece, “How good are the Bucks?”

      The biggest factor, though, in the Bucks upward trajectory has definitively been Andrew Bogut. I saw the Bucks play live a couple weeks ago at the Garden, and was really struck by Bogut’s play. First of all, he is a massive, massive human being, completely dwarfing any of the Knicks players as he dominated all the traffic in the paint. For the season, his intensity and commitment on the defensive end has jumped far beyond what we have seen in the past, manifest in his 2.5 blocks per game, nearly double his career average up until this point. Bogut’s strength as a one-on-one defender as well as his presence in the lane as a bulwark against perimeter players attacking the rim have been fundamental to Milwaukee’s greatly improved team defensive (they rank 10th in the League in FG% allowed at 45%). Meanwhile, Coach Skiles’ credentials as a gifted defensive coach has only been reinforced by Bogut’s transformation.

      On the offensive end, Bogut has great hands and is very active around the bucket, comfortable finishing with both hands, apt at using the glass and shooting the jumphook in addition to knocking down an occasional J from 15 feet or so. Since his Utah days, he has always been a gifted passer, whether downlow or from the high post, and he has continued to display that ability this season. His name doesn’t often come up in discussing the best young big men in the NBA, but it should.

      Granted, the Bucks have had a nice schedule of late, with wins at Detroit, Charlotte, at New York, New Orleans (w/o Chris Paul), at Indiana, at Miami (w/o D-Wade), a home-and-home against Washington, Cleveland (w/o LeBron), and last night’s win against the relatively healthy Boston Celtics. But still, winning 10 of 11 is impressive, and their sole setback was a four-point OT loss to a talented Atlanta Hawks team.

      Bogut has been the key. The Aussie averaged 16-11 with 2.8 blocks in February, and is off to a 19-10-4.3 start in four games in March. Moreover, he’s hitting better than 54% from the field and is finding his groove at the free throw line. (He’s shooting 85% in March.) Credit should also go to John Salmons (19-3-3 since the trade) and Carlos Delfino (13-7-3, 40% 3PT in Feb & March), who have given the Bucks legitimate threats on the wing. And let’s not forget the 22-year-old Ersan Ilyasova (10-6, 35% from 3PT on the season) who has played well all year, whether he starts or not.

      But back to Bogut. His post-All-Star play has me wondering if he’s making a run at an All-NBA nod despite being passed over for the All-Star Game. Dwight Howard is a shoe-in for 1st Team honors, but who is the second-best center in the league? Tim Duncan is considered a forward, so Amare Stoudemire seems like the next logical option, but his defense pales in comparison to Bogut’s. If the Bucks end up with 45+ wins and the #5 or #6 playoff spot in the East, it will be interesting to see if Bogut earns an All-NBA nod. He faces a steep climb seeing that he has to shrug off the unbelievably high expectations of being a former #1 overall pick and that he plays in a small market for a team that few seem to care about around the league.

      But first things first — the Bucks need to keep up their fine play. The road gets a little tougher as they host a hot Utah team on Friday and face the Nuggets, Hawks, Heat, Grizzlies and Cavs before the month is out. There are very winnable games intermixed — the Clippers twice, the Pacers, the Kings and the Sixers — and there are just two back-to-backs remaining in March.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      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.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      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

      T-Wolves GM David Kahn talks ticket prices

      March 9, 2010 /

      In an interesting post over at TrueHoop, Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn — yes, the guy who drafted Ricky Rubio — discussed his decision to slash ticket prices to as low as $10 for lower level seats.

      One simile caught my attention…

      Have you heard from any of the other 29 teams, or the NBA about this? I could see somebody making an argument that you’re devaluing the brand a bit. Ten-dollar lower bowl seats could theoretically make $100 lower bowl seats a tougher sell in another market.
      The pricing of the very best seats are hardly ten dollars. There’s some prime beachfront real estate, and the pricing is still quite expensive by anybody’s standards. But the analogy that I’ve used is to think of the iPhone. Check me on this but I believe when it first came out, it was priced at $399. It came back a year later for $199 and with a better phone. I don’t think anybody thought the iPhone had become devalued. It was just a way for it to broaden its usage, and it became even more iconic.

      I see this as being a very similar product. Are tickets are being reduced in price in many cases, but I still believe there’s enormous value, and hopefully this will mean there are more users.

      Whaa? Did he just compare NBA tickets to the iPhone?

      I actually agree with most of what Kahn says in the interview, but this comparison is a head-scratcher. Most electronics improve and fall in price as second or third generations are released. How does this relate to basketball tickets, which are either sold or left unsold depending on the supply and demand of each individual market. This depends on the size of the market, the quality of the team and the location of the seats.

      I do think that slashing ticket prices can devalue the product, but in most cases it doesn’t matter. If an arena has a bunch of empty seats, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the tickets aren’t worth what they’re being sold for. The value of the ticket is already devalued — slashing prices simply acknowledges that new value. The quality of the team is the root cause of the devaluation.

      Kahn is right that filling up the arena should be the most important thing. Increase attendance adds to revenue from parking and concessions, not to mention selling a seat that would have otherwise gone unsold. And, of course, a capacity crowd has the potential to swing the momentum (and outcome) of a game. This theoretically makes the team better and will drive up demand for tickets.

      One interesting point that Henry Abbott makes at the beginning of the post is how the NBA crowd is very business-oriented. One way to increase the excitement at NBA venues is to eliminate the tax write-off for sports tickets. Then, those seats will actually be filled by fans of the team instead of a sales guy taking a prospective client out for a night on the town. Since the write-off is essentially paid for by the government, our nation’s tax laws are partly to blame for bloated NBA ticket prices.

      If I were VP of Marketing for an NBA team struggling to fill the arena, I’d use the law of supply and demand to sell out the arena for virtually every game. A week before each game, I’d hold an two-day, online auction for all the unsold seats. Fans could then place a bid for the remaining seats. The highest bids get the best seats, and the worst seats could go for as little as $2 or $5 each. Whatever the price, those fans would have gone through the trouble of bidding in the auction, so they’ll probably end up going to the game. Just like that — a full arena…increased revenue from parking and concessions, and an all-around better atmosphere in which to play.

      NBA

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑