Daily Factoid: After the 1999 finals, the NBA decided to add more offense by implementing the hand checking rules. The next year the league’s top 10 scorers scored 6% more points than the league’s top 10 scorers from the year before.
- ESPN – ‘Blazers’ Rudy Fernandez fined by NBA’: “Rudy Fernandez is not returning calls from Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, and was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Thursday for ‘public statements detrimental to the NBA.’ With Team USA set to play Fernandez and the Spanish national team Sunday night, the latest developments regarding the disgruntled Fernandez and the trade speculation surrounding Carmelo Anthony added two more subplots to an NBA offseason that refuses to take a holiday.”
- ESPN – ‘Coach calls team young, small’: “When LeBron James guaranteed gold two years ago, Mike Krzyzewski knew his players could deliver. The U.S. Olympic team was loaded with everything coaches like: big names who flourished in big games and a veteran roster long on size and international experience. The team that will take the floor when the world championships open next weekend in Turkey has neither. The Americans are good but certainly beatable, and their coach envisions a way it can happen. Krzyzewski likes his players but realizes they have shortcomings — starting with the fact that they’re kind of short. ‘We like the team that we’re developing, but it’s not a powerhouse. It’ll be very much a developing team,” Krzyzewski told The Associated Press last week during an interview in New York, where the Americans were training. “We hope that we’ll have our best product by the medal round.’”
- Jonathan Feigen – ‘On vacation and in a Melo state of mind’: “Anthony is a max player. It can be argued whether he should be, but he is unquestionably pretty close and will receive whatever the new max will be should he become a free agent and it will take the extension max to keep him from becoming a free agent. Teams that consider trading for him now, including the Rockets, can believe that they would not be outbid for him next summer. And the Rockets have much higher hopes for next season than they had in mid-February last season. Morey has made no secret that the Rockets’ goal is to get a second star, a perimeter force to go with Yao Ming. Anthony is not just a prolific scorer; he is a last-minute star. He will fit with whoever the Rockets would still have in the backcourt. He would excel in Rick Adelman’s motion-based offense. Much of the talk could be meaningless. The Nuggets don’t have a GM. When they get one, he might want at least some time with Anthony on his roster. If the Nuggets are fearful of losing Anthony for nothing, they could deal him in February, rather than rush to make an August move to help fill the slow news part of the NBA off-season. If Anthony would sign an extension, however, the Rockets would offer just about anything necessary to get him. Start with Kevin Martin. Add a Knicks pick. Include young talent. He more likely, however, will want to keep his options open. He can always sign that extension during the season, whether he remains in Denver or moves.”
- Trey Kerby – ‘Chris Bosh swears he didn’t quit on the Raptors, not one bit’: ‘I’ve never quit at anything,’ Bosh said. ‘Comments like that, they don’t bother me as a player. Professionally, I’m disappointed. [Colangelo and I] went through a lot together. He was the GM and we both tried our best to make that team better while I was there. We had many conversations, we went back and forth on e-mails, so just to hear that, it’s disappointing. But at the end of the day, there’s no reason to be upset. I know that I would have done anything to win.’ Wait, so the comments don’t bother him ‘as a player,’ but he’s disappointed ‘professionally?’ How does that work? Isn’t Bosh’s profession playing basketball? Yes, it is and that’s why it’s confusing. Maybe he’s just mad that Colangelo would say something mean about him, because they sent emails back and forth and Bosh though they were friends? I don’t know. Moving on. Bosh can say he didn’t quit all he wants, and it’s certainly commendable that he played through some injuries, but maybe he tried just a little less hard at times. That tiny bit of loafing makes for a huge difference in the NBA, especially on a team like the Raptors that had basically no room for error. If he struggled or took a play off here and there, that was Bad News Bears for Toronto. Furthermore, it’s easy to understand taking it a little easy with a broken face. It’s certainly not the best thing to do if you’re a professional athlete, but it’s definitely understandable. I mean, if I have a broken face I’m taking as many naps at possible, not playing the highest level of basketball in the world. Nonetheless, the real issue is Bosh refusing to let this go. He’s not going to win over fans in Toronto — he admits the situation had become “too poisonous” and he never really considered returned — and no one else is crazy about him bringing this up time and time again. He just needs to relax, enjoy being in Miami, find a belt for his khaki pants and let this thing go. So Brian Colangelo thinks he was mentally checked out — so what? If Bosh really, truly believes he tried hard the entire season then that shouldn’t bother him. Have an inner peace, man.”
- Trey Kerby – ‘Stan Van Gundy agrees with his brother, loves the Heat’: “‘If I look at what the Bulls did winning 72 games and I look at the Heat roster, I am going to tell you that the Heat roster is better than any roster that Michael Jordan played with with the Bulls. I don’t think that people predicting them breaking the win total and being in the 70s and the whole thing, I don’t think those are expectations that are out of line based on their roster … Dwyane Wade is certainly, in my opinion anyway, as good as he was, is better than Scottie Pippen. Chris Bosh is better than Toni Kukoc. Mike Miller is every bit as good a shooter as (John) Paxson or (Steve) Kerr or anybody they put there. Plus, he’s 6′8″. If you start going down the list, I don’t think there is any question that the roster the Heat have is as talented a roster if not more so as any roster there has ever been in the NBA.’ You know what they say — blood is thicker than measured reactions to blockbuster free agent transactions. Or something like that. In actuality, Stan isn’t totally crazy. I’m not entirely convinced that Dwyane Wade is better than Scottie Pippen. Offensively Wade tops Scottie, no doubt. But when it comes to the other half of the game — defense — there was no better or more disruptive perimeter defender, ever, than Pippen. That’s a big deal, and I’d be willing to offer a tie on that comparison. Furthermore, I will concede Toni Kukoc is not the equal of Chris Bosh, but Bosh’s corollary should probably be Dennis Rodman who is better at rebounding and defense than Bosh, just as much as Bosh is a better offensive player. We can call that one a wash as well, or give a slight nod to the Heat if you’re feeling generous. The Steve Kerr/Mike Miller comparison? Hardly true. Through their first 10 seasons — which include Kerr’s stint with the Bulls — Kerr’s shooting stats are far better than Miller’s in every category. Considering he’s one of the best shooters of all-time, that’s not a surprise. Not to mention, Kerr’s 1995-96 season — the year the Bulls won 72 games — was one of his best as he shot .515 from three, .506 overall from the field and .929 from the free throw line, all while playing the second most minutes per game in his career. Mike Miller is good, but he’s not that good. Top to bottom, the Heat roster probably is better than that of the Bulls, but that’s because the Bulls had guys like Dickey Simpkins, Judd Buechler and John Salley actually playing double digit minutes every night. Those guys were big, hilarious parts of my childhood, but they aren’t anything to write a blog post home about.”
- Tom Ziller – ‘Xavier Henry Dispute Hinges on Uncommon Incentive’: “We finally know what has kept Xavier Henry from signing his rookie deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. Since Henry sat out of the Grizzlies’ Vegas Summer League schedule, the contract dispute between Henry and the team, which picked him No. 12 in the 2010 NBA Draft, has become more public. Henry’s camp, led by powerful agent Arn Tellem, says Memphis was being unreasonable and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is telling reporters other teams had done what Memphis is attempting. But through it all, we never knew just what incentive was at the center of the dispute. Until now. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that part of Memphis’ performance-based incentive demands Henry would have to meet to earn $2 million as a rookie instead of $1.7 million is either a berth in the All-Star weekend’s Rookie Challenge, or a spot on one of the two All-Rookie teams… But as performance-based incentives for rookie first-round picks are fairly rare, and as Tellem is among the most fearsome agents in the league, and as Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has a well-entrenched reputation (fair or not) as cheap, this stands out, and it really appears Memphis picked the wrong time to implement its new policy. Tillery reports the Grizzlies are receiving trade offers for Henry, and that might be the solution. The Grizzlies want to make the playoffs this season, and frontcourt depth might be a bigger priority than another perimeter scorer, especially one a year removed from high school.”
- Kevin Arnovitz – ‘The 1-5 pick-and-roll: your common household appliance’: “After Jazz point guard Deron Williams shredded the Nuggets with a high pick-and-roll attack, Dantley was asked to evaluate his big men’s pick-and-roll defense. Dantley thought about the question for a second, then rubbed his cheek before explaining that NBA big men were uniquely unsuited to defending the pick-and-roll. That’s the whole point. That’s the reason almost every team in the real runs a high pick-and-roll 60 or 70 times per game. And Dantley wasn’t about to publicly kill his front court for not having the coordination or footwork to backpedal against one of the most capable point guards in the world. A couple of months later, Vinny Del Negro emerged as a top candidate for the Los Angeles Clippers’ head coaching vacancy. One of the criticisms commonly leveled at Del Negro was a lack of offensive creativity in Chicago. Naysayers pointed out that the Bulls ran a predictable series of middle pick-and-rolls for Derrick Rose and little else, but Del Negro’s defenders would tell you that it would’ve been malpractice for him not to run a high screen for Rose almost every time downcourt. Since the Bulls had few other offensive assets on the floor, a 1-5 pick-and-roll for Rose was far and away the unit’s best opportunity to score on a given possession, even though the big men for Chicago rolling to the hoop lacked offensive polish. Maybe Del Negro’s supporters have a point. Rely on the high pick-and-roll exclusively as Del Negro did, and you’re obtuse. But ride it to success, the way Stan Van Gundy has in Orlando in recent seasons, and you’re a genius. Few teams have gotten more mileage out of a high screen from its center for its point guard at the top of the floor — or the 1-5 pick-and-roll — than the Magic have with Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard.”
- Michael Schwartz – ‘Phoenix Suns handled Amare Stoudemire situation well’: “Now I can sell AmareStoudemireTradeRumors.com (seriously, anyone want it?) and we can start focusing on the Hedo Turkoglu/Hakim Warrick power forward era in Phoenix. But this was such an important topic for such a long time that now with STAT’s departure not so raw and his replacements largely acquired (we think), let’s take a look at how the Suns came out. In essence the Suns traded Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa for Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick plus about $5 million worth of trade exception that could still be put to good use. When you consider the pu pu platter offers on the table this February, the Suns made a brilliant decision not to unload STAT at the deadline just to unload him. Sure, maybe they could have gotten a J.J. Hickson here or a Mario Chalmers there, but you really can’t compare that to the haul of established players the Suns acquired instead. The Suns are better off in the immediate future with this cast of veterans, and they were never offered the kind of youngster that can change your franchise. You also certainly can’t fault Miami for not making a better off considering what has since transpired in South Beach, but you do have to wonder if Cleveland trading for STAT (and potentially J-Rich as well) could have changed Ohio’s history. As much as this situation looks favorable to any potential STAT trade they could have made at the deadline, the biggest reason it was so smart to stand pat is because the Suns ended up being one of the top three or four teams in basketball last season.”
- Eddy Rivera – ‘Additional Commentary on Carmelo Anthony’: “Is Anthony a top five player? No. Is Anthony an efficient player on offense? No. Anthony’s True Shooting Percentage and effective field goal percentage were at or below the league average last season. Granted, Anthony’s Offensive Rating was 110, which was above the league average. Also, if there’s a bright side to Anthony’s obscenely high usage rate (33.4 percent in 2010), it’s that he does an excellent job of taking care of the basketball. That being said, Anthony doesn’t compare favorably to his peers offensively. Yes, Anthony can score and if there’s one thing the Magic desperately need, it’s a dominant perimeter scorer, but he does so with nary an ounce of efficiency… Anthony’s career usage rate is 31.1 percent, which is high. To put that number in perspective, LeBron James’ career usage rate is 31.9 percent. James is one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA. Anthony is not. If Anthony were to join Orlando, he would have no choice but to cut down on his possessions. Dwight Howard has to be the focal point of the offense if the Magic want to win a championship. If Anthony is willing to accept a lesser role compared to his standards, then perhaps the arrangement could work in theory. But these are all valid concerns. As for Anthony’s rebounding prowess and defensive acumen, those aren’t major issues. At least, they shouldn’t be. Anthony’s defense isn’t great — it never will be — but he’s improved on that end of the floor in recent years (the numbers suggest he regressed defensively last season, though) and would benefit from playing alongside Howard. Still, even though Anthony has gotten better on defense, there are still questions about his desire, commitment, and appreciation with an aspect of basketball that doesn’t have anything to do with scoring. That’s something that head coach Stan Van Gundy would have to address, or else Anthony’s scoring prowess might be nullified by his lack of impact defensively. Even then, in the grand scheme of things, Orlando’s issues aren’t on defense.”
