Category: NBA (Page 503 of 595)

Kobe wants West back

May 28, 2007 / John Paulsen

Kobe Bryant isn’t happy with the progress of the Laker turnaround, and after an exit interview (presumably with Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson) where Bryant learned that the team has no plans to make a major move this summer, he’s longing for the days of Jerry West.

“My feeling on Jerry West is I trust him completely,” Bryant said, according to the paper. “I don’t want to get into people believing me to be bashing anybody. (Current GM Mitch Kupchak) is a great guy. All I can go by is what has happened with this team the last two years, and I know Jerry West is a guy who’s great at what he does.
“He wants to win and he wants to win right now. I can roll with that, even if we don’t have the complete turnaround we’re hoping to have this summer. Just having him back in the nucleus will help.”

Kupchak is under fire after several sub par seasons. His trade that sent future All-Star (and Kobe’s best friend) Caron Butler to Washington for Kwame Brown didn’t work out, and he hasn’t made any moves to make the team substantially better. If you have Kobe on your roster, you’re pretty much guaranteed 30-40 wins, so the Lakers’ 87 wins the last two seasons is a reflection on the franchise’s front office, coaching and supporting cast. Kupchak reportedly had opportunities to land Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis and Jason Kidd and failed to pull the trigger each time. He’s understandably reluctant to part ways with Lamar Odom to acquire another star, which is why the Butler trade really stings. If Butler were on the roster, it would be much more palatable to trade Odom away.

There are rumblings that Jermaine O’Neal is unhappy playing for the Pacers and might be a viable target for the Lakers. The trade would make sense because O’Neal is a talented post player that would fit in well with Jackson’s triangle offense. Odom would no doubt be a part of the trade, but the Lakers would be wise to make it happen.

Another scenario may bring Kevin Garnett to the team. It’s unlikely that the Timberwolves would want to trade KG to a team in the West, so the Lakers might have to wait until Garnett has the opportunity to opt-out after next season. Since Kobe dominates the ball, it makes more sense to bring a post player in instead of a point guard like Davis or Kidd. But the big question is will Kobe hang around another year if the team doesn’t make a big move this summer?

I wonder if he regrets not signing with the Suns or the Clippers when he was free agent a few years ago. Both teams (especially the Suns) appear to be a lot closer to a championship than the Lakers are, and Kobe’s presence would have probably put each team over the top.

NBA

Who wants it?

May 25, 2007 / John Paulsen

Based on the first two games of the Pistons/Cavs series, I’m not sure anybody does.

The Pistons have a focus problem. They sleepwalk for stretches, figuring that they can turn it on whenever they want to. So far, it’s worked for them, but they easily could have lost one or both of the first two games.

The Cavs have an execution problem and that falls on Mike Brown’s shoulders. During last year’s playoffs, I pointed out how silly it is to ask LeBron to go one-on-one every time they need a bucket, especially considering the fact that, at times, he’s not that productive in that role.

They were down by one with 24 seconds to play and decided to go for the last shot. I hate that call. You should always run a play with a few different options and take the first available good shot. That way, if you miss it, you have time for an offensive rebound or to foul and extend the game. On that play, LeBron caught the ball right away and didn’t start attacking the rim until 12 seconds ran off the clock. That’s enough time for two or three more possessions. In the end, Larry Hughes missed a wide-open jumper that would have given his team the lead. After back-to-back turnovers earlier in the quarter, that Hughes signing a few years ago is just looking worse and worse.

Going back to the previous possession, LeBron threw the ball to Sasha Pavlovic in the corner and he was called for a walk. It’s true that you can’t leave your feet and change your mind and try to dribble, but that’s not what Pavlovic did. He did leave his feet for the jumpshot and change his mind, but he didn’t dribble – he threw the ball towards one of his teammates. The ref is used to calling that a walk because players usually try to dribble, not pass. He anticipated the travel and screwed the Cavs in the process. (By the way, I think the Cavs have in Pavlovic what they were looking for in Hughes.)

Much has been written about LeBron’s late game performances, and this was another fourth quarter that he’d probably like to forget. He’s only 22 and has a lot of basketball left to play, but right now I’m just not seeing that assassin’s mentality that can make a player “transcendent.” You know, that killer instinct that guys like MJ and Larry Bird had (and that Kobe and D-Wade have).

The Cavs are still very much in this series, but they need to execute better if they hope to stick around much longer.

NBA

Hibbert returning to G’town

May 24, 2007 / John Paulsen

7’2″ center Roy Hibbert withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and will return to Georgetown for his senior season. The timing of the decision is telling, and it seems that Hibbert was waiting to see how the lottery shook out before making a final decision. Most mock drafts had him going somewhere in the 8-14 range, so it’s possible that Hibbert didn’t like the idea going to the teams in that range – Charlotte, Chicago, Sacramento, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Orleans and the LA Clippers.

According to Hibbert, it was more about wanting to play another year of college ball than it was about the prospect of going to one team or another:

“I said to myself, ‘Do I really want to go in the draft and sit on the bench?'” Hibbert said. “My heart was here. … I feel like I have unfinished business here.”

If Hibbert continues to progress, he should find himself in the top five of the 2008 draft, which looks to be much thinner on big men than this year’s draft. However, the league is slowly moving away from offenses that feature a traditional center, and Hibbert, while skilled, is especially slow. If he doesn’t progress much in his senior season, he might slip into the late first round. GMs would be wise not to forget how well Hibbert played against Greg Oden in the Final Four, posting 19 points and six boards against the probable #1 pick in this year’s draft.

College Basketball, NBA

It’s a great day in the Pac Northwest

May 22, 2007 / John Paulsen

Even though they only had a 5.3% chance, the Portland Trailblazers won the 2007 Draft Lottery and the right to draft Greg Oden. The Blazers jumped up five spots from #6 to #1. Rounding out the top three are the Sonics at #2 and the Hawks at #3. The lottery losers are Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee who each dropped three spots.

Things are looking up in Portland. They can now they can now pair Brandon Roy, the 2006 Rookie of the Year winner, with Oden and have a great nucleus to build around. Meanwhile, the Sonics, who are going through loads of ownership/stadium issues, will likely be able to add Kevin Durant to the roster. If Rashard Lewis decides to opt out of his contract and enter free agency this summer, Durant would be a natural replacement for him. If Lewis decides to stay, the Sonics could go small with Durant at small forward and Lewis at power forward. Throw in the league’s purest shooter, Ray Allen, and the Sonics would be a fun team to watch.

Even though Atlanta missed out on the top two picks, they were still winners tonight. Had they not cracked the top three, their pick would have been sent to Phoenix to close out the Joe Johnson trade. The Suns have had a couple of weeks of terrible luck. First, they lose the series with the Spurs (with some help from Commissioner Stern) and tonight they lose the #4 pick. Ouch.

From a macro standpoint, the NBA can’t be happy about the two best players in the draft going to the already loaded Western Conference. For balance, it would have been ideal for both Oden and Durant to land in the East, especially Boston, Atlanta or Chicago (when considering the marketing possibilities).

Here’s the full list:

1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
4. Memphis
5. Boston
6. Milwaukee
7. Minnesota
8. Charlotte
9. Chicago
10. Sacramento
11. Indiana
12. Philadelphia
13. New Orleans
14. LA Clippers

NBA, NBA Draft

The Sports Guy’s take on the lottery

May 22, 2007 / John Paulsen

Before tonight’s lottery, be sure to read Bill Simmons’ piece, where he ranks the 14 teams according to how much good karma they’ve built up over the last several years. Here are a few highlights:

On the Kings:
“Strangely, the Maloofs seem more interested these days in promoting the Palms, giving feature interviews, making commercials and appearing in reality shows. Hey, fellas? Quit the Dean Martin routine for a few months and start worrying about the Kings. You’re creeping us out. Also, I’d move to sunglasses in public at all times. Just a thought.”

On the Bulls:
“If this spot comes up and Chicago’s logo isn’t in the No. 10 envelope, it immediately becomes the most dramatic lottery moment of all-time. Every Knicks fan would cease breathing for the rest of the lottery. That’s no exaggeration. Whether they’d ever start breathing again remains to be seen.”

On the Bobcats:“Given that the NBA misfired so badly with Charlotte as an expansion city, watching the Bobcats land Oden or Durant would be more frustrating than watching Zach Braff make out with Scarlett Johansson.”

On the Timberwolves:
“Nobody deserves a stroke of lottery fortune less than Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale, the NBA’s version of Bush/Rumsfield for 8-10 years. Of course, nobody deserves a stroke of lottery fortune more than KG, one of the few superstars with too much pride to ever bail on a sinking ship. Either that, or they’re blackmailing him with a sex tape so he’ll stay.”

On the Bucks:
“When’s the last time you met a long-suffering Bucks fan? Didn’t Kareem flee this city once upon a time? Doesn’t everyone in Wisconsin care about the Packers, the University of Wisconsin, Marquette and the Brewers in that order?”

On the Celtics (his favorite team):
“I want you to zoom through the 14 lottery teams again. With the possible exception of Seattle (for reasons we’re about to explain), find me a group of fans who’d be more devastated tonight if they didn’t land No. 1 or No. 2. Name me a better home for Oden or Durant from the NBA’s standpoint. Name me a young team that makes a leap more quickly than the Celtics with a Pierce-Jefferson-Oden/Durant nucleus. Compared to the other perennial screw-ups and basketball coldbeds on this list, how could you argue against the Celtics’ karmic rights for a top-two pick? We’re due, aren’t we? Please tell me we’re due. For the love of God, TELL ME WE’RE DUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“…more frustrating than watching Zach Braff make out with Scarlett Johansson.” That’s some great stuff, though I took a bunch of shit from the Zach Braff Fan Club over at PremiumHollywood.com for having basically the same opinion. (My handle was Eli Cash back then.)

I do take issue with his opinion of the Bucks. Charlie Villanueva was dealing with a bad shoulder all year, so why would they press him back into service if the playoffs were already lost? Bogut injured his foot and (maybe) could have come back in early April, but what’s the point? Considering how much the C’s tanked, Simmons might be squandering some of that good karma by throwing stones from his glass house.

He’s right, though. Celtics fans are going into the lottery expecting to come away with one of the top two picks. Considering the odds are against them, I’m not sure that’s a smart way to approach it. If the C’s fall outside the top two, the devastation will be enormous.