AP
The wheels are starting to come off in Orlando.
Just one night after blowing a 27-point lead at home in a loss to the Celtics, the Magic pulled a complete no-show in New Orleans, and were blown out 93-67 by a Hornets team that entered the game just 3-15 on the season.
That effort (or rather, lack thereof) didn’t sit well with Dwight Howard, as he explained to reporters afterward (via the Orlando Sentinel):
“Looked like guys didn’t want to play,” he said. “I told them at halftime, if you don’t want to play, just stay in the lockerroom. It doesn’t make sense for a teams we should beat to just demolish us.
“You bring everything down,” Howard said, referring to a player who isn’t playing with heart and soul.
“It hurts me to get out there and play your hardest. I expect everybody to play the same. I’m not calling anybody out by no means because we all have to get better … but if you don’t want to be out there, don’t dress up.
“If you don’t want to play, stay home. People work too hard. I want to win a championship. I work too hard every night for anybody to not want to go out there and play hard. … None of the — whatever, trade stuff — none of that stuff matters. Play basketball. That’s why we all get paid to do this, because we love the game and it’s basketball, so why not give it your all.”
The “trade stuff,” as Howard put it — referring to his impending free agency this summer and the fact that the team has already explored options to deal him earlier this season — absolutely matters. If his teammates know Howard doesn’t want to be there long-term, and that the team may be blown up at any point this season to make that happen, it matters. It’s a distraction, and it’s not going to go away until the season is over, or until a deal gets done.
But Howard’s right – it is fairly ridiculous for any players at this level not to compete on a nightly basis, and a hangover from giving away the game against Boston the previous night is no excuse. Being the team’s best player, he has every right to call out the collective for not bringing the effort.
The only problem is, with Howard’s eventual departure being a likely matter of when and not if, his teammates probably aren’t listening.
AP
The Indiana Pacers know who they are — balanced and unselfish. They also fight. Down by 13 in the first quarter Sunday they come out in the second quarter throwing haymakers (and shoot 67 percent). Break Roy Hibbert’s nose and he’ll come back in the fourth quarter and give you eight points with the game on the line.
The Lakers could really use some of that fight. They are lacking it right now. It’s why Indiana won 98-96.
Los Angeles has one guy who fights back, but with the other Lakers standing around you end up with an avalanche of Kobe Bryant shots. He scores 33 against the Pacers, but it takes him 30 shots to get there.
There are guys on this roster that won back-to-back titles a couple years ago — and you don’t do that without a lot of fight in you. But with all the changes to the franchise and roster that fire seems to have washed away that fight. You see the fire in flashes, like against Dallas last week (when Derek Fisher won it on a late three) but more nights they seem to take the punches and not jab back. Personnel and age is part of that, but the Lakers are still trying to find their identity on offense and with that they seem to stop and think, or freeze, and not push back.
The Lakers came out hot Sunday night and that was pushed by Kobe, who had 11 points in the first. But it was contagious — Matt Barnes was getting breakaways, Pau Gasol was playing facilitator (he finished with 9 assists) and the Lakers had real energy. They were up 13 and it looked like they might cruise.
Then in the second quarter the Pacers started to come back — they shot 67 percent and behind nine points from David West (including a late three) that made this a game. That carried over in the second half, but what makes them tough to defend is the balance — six guys in double figures, Hibbert had the most with 18.
This may have been the best the Pacers have played this season (to my eyes). This is a win that should shut up anyone who has been questioning these Pacers credentials — they are good. Legitimately good. Not challenging Chicago and Miami on top of the East, but in the next tier. And they are going to be a tough out come the playoffs.
The Lakers, they show flashes of being very good and of what they can be, but it’s not consistent. Put together a strong quarter to come back like the Pacers did and the Lakers seem to become sluggish. Andrew Bynum maybe most of all, he seemed slow in this game. Almost disinterested. Metta World Peace had a good game Sunday, but he has been inconsistent.
The result is a team that expects Kobe to create everything. Part of it is personnel — they don’t have a lot of guys who can create, so it falls to Kobe — but Bynum and Gasol are not demanding the ball and attacking. Derek Fisher will not back down, but he is not a guy who should be playing huge minutes.
All that manifested in the final minutes of this game, when Indiana went on a 7-0 run as they knew Kobe would be all the Lakers offense, while the Lakers had no idea who to defend on the Pacers because everybody was making plays.
The Pacers are playing about as well as they can, and they are winning because of it. The Lakers may have a higher ceiling, but they are going to have to figure out how to reach it.
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Although the final public analysis of any NBA roster move is usually distilled to a few lines of explanation, every single decision that an NBA front office makes is a complicated one. Salary, fit, production, potential, age, redundancy, personality, character, experience, flexibility — all of these factors — and more — come into play, and it’s up to general managers around the league to make sense of lengthy lists of criteria in the name of making the best moves possible.
San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford has been “making the best moves possible” for over a decade. San Antonio’s enduring success isn’t merely a product of lucking out with Tim Duncan; it’s taken careful, deliberate work to build competitive teams worthy of San Antonio’s transcendent star, and further, more difficult work to keep the Spurs near the top of the Western Conference as Duncan has begun transitioning from star to nebula.
Buford had once hoped that Oklahoma State product James Anderson would be a useful part of that transition as a dynamic wing scorer, and he used the Spurs’ highest draft pick of the Duncan Era to select Anderson with the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft. But Anderson’s projected rise seemed to fizzle out early; Anderson struggled to even make it onto the court in his rookie season, and couldn’t offer much on-court justification for the influx of playing time he saw earlier this year. All of that played into a decision that, on first glance, may seem a bit hasty: The Spurs have opted to decline their third-year option on Anderson, despite the fact that the once-promising scorer would only cost San Antonio $1.5 million to retain for the 2012-2013 season.
There are plenty of reasons why releasing Anderson actually makes some sense for the Spurs, despite his minimal price tag. But the most persuasive of which — and the factor that stands out amongst all others that Buford was forced to consider — is the emergence of third-year forward Danny Green. Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News walks us through the logic:
So why not hold onto Anderson and see what’s there? Sure, Anderson wasn’t making shots, and he looked at times as if the game was too fast for him. But he was scheduled to earn only $1.5 million next year. Given the promise the Spurs had originally seen in him, and given that he hasn’t had much time to show that yet, didn’t it make sense to wait?
Those are the thoughts that made the Spurs hesitate…Still, the Spurs couldn’t get past what they had — too many wings. But it wasn’t Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Richard Jefferson or Gary Neal who changed the roster dynamics. It was Green.
If he had not emerged, those on staff say, they would have picked up Anderson’s option without thinking.
There are no guarantees the pecking order stays this way. Green could falter as the rest of the season progresses, and Anderson could rise. Wednesday night showed why the latter is still possible. The Spurs told Anderson they were not picking up his option just before the game against Atlanta, and he responded without sulking. They wonder if he will be better for this, as Green was after Cleveland cut him. Maybe it’s what Anderson needed to hear.
…But the Spurs aren’t betting on that. They are betting on a more complete player who they don’t have to wait on, and someone who will also be a free agent this summer. Green.
It’s a roster spot. It’s a guaranteed contract. It’s Danny Green, and Gary Neal, and Kawhi Leonard. But most of all, it’s a move that the Spurs have the luxury of actually thinking about; it could certainly be argued that that San Antonio is giving up on Anderson a bit too early by declining his third-year option, but the Spurs have put themselves in a position to evaluate Anderson’s future more fully thanks to their finds in the NBA’s bargain bin. Neal and Green truly came out of nowhere, and while both deserve praise for their ability to capitalize on a valuable opportunity with the Spurs, Buford and Gregg Popovich have earned their reputation by helping discarded role players in their vein consistently find their way up through San Antonio’s woodwork.
They just haven’t quite made it work with Anderson, and maybe never will. A declined option doesn’t necessarily mark the end of Anderson’s time in San Antonio, but considering the statement of the move and the dynamics that caused it, the Spurs seem to have the luxury of moving on.
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It’s one of the “highlights” — and we use the term loosely — of Friday night of All-Star weekend: NBA rookies taking on NBA sophomores (officially called the Rookie Challenge). There’s a lot of showboating and not a lot of defense — basically a less interesting version of the All-Star game itself. But this year things may be different. We’re reserve our judgment on better, but different. Here are the rumblings, via Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com.
There have been rumblings that this year’s Rookie-Sophomore game won’t pit the two draft classes against each other, but rather feature two teams with a combination of rookies and sophomores. We’re hearing that two TNT personalities – possibly Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal – will assemble the teams from the pool of selected players and coach the squads, as well. That means we could see Kyrie Irving throwing alley oops to Blake Griffin or John Wall running a fastbreak with MarShon Brooks.
All changes to such an event are made in an effort to improve the television product. So, Shaq mumbling coaching instructions and Ricky Rubio looking at his teammates and asking, “What did he say?” in much clearer English does have the potential to be a better product. And funnier. But we’ll withhold judgment. We’re not sure much of anything can save this game.
How serious are the Lakers point guard concerns?
If you think Gilbert Arenas can help solve them, pretty serious.
The Lakers have struggled at that spot as they need a more traditional point as they move from the triangle offense to Mike Brown’s sets, and so they are looking at their options. And Arenas is one of them, reports Alex Kennedy at Hoopsworld.
The Los Angeles Lakers have expressed interest in Gilbert Arenas, according to sources close to the situation. The 30-year-old is an unrestricted free agent after being amnestied by the Orlando Magic last month. No signing is imminent, but the Lakers have reached out to the veteran point guard.
League sources say that Arenas would love to join the Lakers. He grew up in Los Angeles and is interested in playing for his hometown team. He believes that he can contribute in Los Angeles’ backcourt, which currently features an aging Derek Fisher, injured Steve Blake and inexperienced Darius Morris.
Arenas played better than expected at the start of last season in Washington but his 8.2 PER after being traded to Orlando would have younger players in the D-League. He’s not old (30) but has the knees of a retiree and had some issues with them last season in Orlando. Maybe the rest from not playing and some reported weight loss can change that, but if this gets serious Lakers doctors should take a long look at him. On the up side, Arenas was not an off the court distraction last season.
The bigger question is does he really solve the Lakers problems at the point? One of the key things hurting the Lakers offense is spacing because they lack shooters (allowing teams to pack the paint, collapsing on Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, plus cutting off driving lanes for Kobe Bryant). As a team the Lakers are shooting 27 percent from three this season, and that’s a number that has gone up over the last week.
Arenas is not a great shooter. Last season he shot 29.7 percent on threes and in Washington before he was traded he took five long two pointers a game (via Hoopdata). While Arenas hit a reasonable 42 percent of those shots, that is not really the shot the Lakers need more of (Kobe is taking 9.5 shots from 16-23 feet a game already).
Apparently the Lakers are at least having some level of conversation with Arenas. We’ll see if it ammounts to much. But the fact it is going on says more about the Lakers than Arenas.
AP
Michael Jordan’s legacy as a “teacher” or someone who passed the game on isn’t exactly sterling. He pretty much killed Kwame Brown‘s soul, and has never been known to take a special interest in any of his players on the Wizards or Bobcats. Jordan is known to have ridiculously high standards, keeps a close circle of friends, and is aware of his place, as, you know, the best basketball player of all time.
But maybe things are changing. The Charlotte Observer reports that Jordan has started taking Gerald Henderson under his wing, personally providing him with film on how to improve his game, particularly in drawing fouls to get to the line.
Jordan has taken a great personal interest in Henderson’s development. It started before the lockout when Jordan advised Henderson to focus on his ball handling, because without the ability to drive to the rim, Henderson was forfeiting what’s best about his game.
Over time, they’ve developed a bond.
“He’s a great kid with the right work ethic. He can be a really good basketball player, and if I can do what it takes to get him there, I will,” Jordan told the Observer. “I told him to work at shooting 50 percent from the field – don’t just take a lot of shots. And free throws are just what they sound like – free points. Someone with his abilities should be getting to the line all the time.”
via Bobcats owner Michael Jordan mentors Gerald Henderson | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.
A bond? Between Jordan and a player under 40? What is happening? It is the 2012 the Mayans warned us about.
No one has noticed because they keep losing and in some games are getting hammered, but the Bobcats really do have some potential. If you watch their games you’re seeing some cohesiveness, some ability. They still need a major roster overhaul, but Henderson has been very impressive offensively shooting 47 percent from the field. If he could develop a three-point shot he’d be something really deadly. But attacking the rim is going to help as well. It’ll force teams to respect the drive and open up his mid-range jumper.
Reclaiming the Bobcats is a long-term process. It’s good to see Jordan investing in a player finally, to pass on the wealth of knowledge he has at his disposal as the greatest of all time.
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It’s rare for a player selected in the second round of the NBA to have much immediate career affirmation. After all, many second rounders never even make the final cut of an NBA roster, and those that do typically warm the bench and play out unguaranteed contracts as practice filler.
Duke forward Kyle Singler appears to be an unusual exception. Not only does Singler bring the prestige of formerly being a prominent contributor for one of the NCAA’s basketball institutions to the table, but his résumé has been supplemented further with successful stints playing for two European clubs in the past several months. He was so comfortable playing overseas, in fact, that rather than return to the States following the lockout’s conclusion, Singler opted to merely switch teams and remain in Spain.
It’s all worked out pretty well for Singler, who has found a way to continue the showcase of his NBA qualifications despite being drafted into a situation with few chances at playing time. It’s a great break for a young player who easily could’ve been buried on the bench until late in the season, and playing for Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid has been so kind to Singler that he really doesn’t seem to be in all that much of a rush to join the struggling Pistons. From the Associated Press:
With Detroit last in the Eastern Conference’s Central division, Singler is happy to wait until the offseason to make a decision if the Pistons offer him a deal.
“If I do go back, I’m sure it will be Detroit because they are very interested in me,” Singler said. “I’m not saying that I don’t want to go to their team, but if it’s a good situation, I’ll definitely make that choice.”
Not exactly shocking considering that Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye, and — somewhat inexplicably — Damien Wilkins all eat up minutes at Singler’s primary position. But that kind of patience from a player without a concrete NBA deal? That casual shrug as Singler willingly waits on his NBA dreams? It’s unusual to say the least, and speaks to Singler’s strangely high value despite being drafted in the second round.
AP
It’s been a rough rookie year for Jimmer Fredette.
In college he was a pure scorer who could do no wrong, racking up big numbers in the face of double teams while setting his teammates. His team won and he was the Golden Child. In the NBA, with its longer defenders, he is shooting just 36 percent off the Sacramento bench as they loose a whole lot of games. He’s scoring 8.5 points per game but needs 8.3 shots to get there. On defense he is getting exposed and intentionally isolated by opposing teams.
His PER of 10.4 would mean you barely get off the bench most places. The Kings just don’t have a choice (and they rightfully think he can improve with experience, so he gets some hard lessons).
What happened to the gunner Jimmer? Sebastian Pruiti does a fantastic breakdown over at Grantland and the answer is he hasn’t been able to adjust to being less athletic than just about everyone on the court yet. And, the Kings have been playing him out of position.
But things are changing.
Regarding positioning, Fredette has gotten a lot of run as a point guard. He was a decent passer in college, but he was a scorer not a set up man. Why the point now? Well, one reason is Paul Westphal, but that coach has been kicked to the curb. The other issue is the Kings don’t really have a choice. They have Tyreke Evans and then, well, why not give Jimmer a shot?
So how often has Fredette been running the point? According to82games.com, 37 percent of the Kings’ point guard minutes have gone to him. The problem? He’s been very bad during those minutes, averaging 4.6 assists per 48 minutes and 3.5 turnovers per 48. He commits most of his turnovers in pick-and-roll situations, where Fredette loses the ball 14.8 percent of the time. Fredette has been such an ineffective pick-and-roll ball handler because he doesn’t put much pressure on defenses when he uses ball screens.
According to MySynergySports.com, 31.9 percent of Fredette’s offensive opportunities come when he is the ball handler in the pick-and-roll, and he shoots 35.6 percent in that situation. As already noted he turns the ball over a lot in that role. Bad combo.
But that’s not how any of us pictured Jimmer — we thought more Ray Allen, a guy who can run off screens and catch-and–shoot. Except he is getting very few chances off screens. And that’s on him.
When Fredette moves without the ball, he runs in straight lines, rarely changes his pace, and almost never creates contact with his defender. This allows his defenders to “lock and trail” him, so when Fredette receives a pass the defense is already smothering him. With the defense too close for a catch-and-shoot, Fredette is forced to create a shot using his dribble.
The athletes in the NBA can keep up with Jimmer in a way the defenders in the Mountain West Conference could not. Every shot is contested by a very long arm that closes out quickly.
But the last couple games it has been different — he is 8-of-12 from three his last couple games.
Coach Keith Smart is still having him work off ball screens. However, there is one significant difference between the ball screens Fredette has been using in the past two games and the ones he used the rest of the season. Now, the Kings are setting more screens for Fredette on the side of the court and not at the top of the 3-point line. Sacramento has been pairing him with another primary ball handler like Evans or Thomas and passing to Fredette on the wing.
It’s a start. He has to score if he wants to see the court. Eventually he’s going to have to improve his defense, which is harder because most of the two guards he’s asked to stick with are faster and a couple inches taller. But there is a role out there for Fredette — he can shoot, and if you can put the ball in the basket teams will find a way to use you.
But we are a long way — and a lot of work — from Jimmer being the guy so many hoped he would be.
AP
Kevin Durant honestly doesn’t get why people think he and Russell Westbrook can’t coexist.
They have had some friction, but so has every team that won a title. You think it was a bowl of cherries to practice with Michael Jordan? Durant genuinely could not care less who scores the most points, who gets the accolades, who is the better player, he just wants to win. Sounds corny and like a marketing ploy, but it’s true.
Which brings us to Friday night. Something was eating at Durant. He was confused enough to stop CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Steinmetz out of the blue, a story Steinmetz recounts.
“Hey my man, I’ve got a question for you,” Durant said. “Why does everyone want to talk about who the best player is on our team, whether it’s me or Russell? Why does everyone worry about that?”
Naturally, I was defensive and told Durant that’s not what I was talking about on television.
“I know,” he said. “But you’re in the media so maybe you know why some writers and guys like that do it. I just don’t get it… I mean, we’re on the same team, Russell and me, so what does it matter?” Durant said. “Who cares whether he’s better than me or I’m better than him?”
“Well, you know, the media does that kind of stuff every once in a while,” I said, unabashedly throwing my media brethren under the bus. “You know, it happens here some with Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.”
Durant nodded.
“Thanks,” Durant said. “It’s just that we’re on the same team, you now? So it doesn’t matter. Who cares?”
AP
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, David Stern put on the old jousting tights and once again decided to do a little dance around the media. In a wide ranging interview, Stern discussed his relationship with ownership, old and new, the effect of the lockout on injuries (surprise, he says there isn’t one), and most notably, the “trend” of players leaving small markets for larger ones. Stern, for his part, focuses in on Miami, and assert it isn’t a market issue, it’s a sunshine issue. Really. And that Orlando is a big market. Really.
Orlando Sentinel: When I asked you on Christmas night in Oklahoma City how you wanted the Dwight Howard situation to play out, you said, basically, that players who had put in their time in the league have the right to play where they want. They’ve earned the right to become free agents. But lets say Howard does leave Orlando for a larger market. Are you concerned that there will be a perception in small- and medium-sized markets that the teams there will not be able to hold onto their stars?
David Stern: Only to the extent that theyre fed by journalists like you. I dont remember Miami ever being referred to as a “large market.” Do you?
OS: No.
Stern: Stop right there, then. But, now, because a couple of players decided to go where the sun shines, thats now a large market. Well, guess what: Orlando, to my mind, is a large market even though you refer to it as a “small market.” Its up there in the top 10 in revenues. It has actually pretty much close to the same sunshine that Miami has, and its a preferred place for so many people to live in the middle of their careers and after their careers are over. So I think theres a small-market sort of point of view sometimes that people have a defensiveness [about]. But, to me, Orlandos a great market, and it seems to be a great place to live.
OS: With Chris Paul going from New Orleans to Los Angeles, do you not see a trend? And Carmelo [Anthony] going from Denver to New York?
Stern: Well see. But the one thing I can say to you is that the new collective bargaining agreement will speak to that with each passing year more forcefully, because what I also said to you when last we met was that as the new tax levels become effective, there will be a limitation on what any team can add. And those levels actually will hit small- and large-market teams alike, because the question is not the size of your market. Its going to be the size of your payroll.
via NBA David Stern: NBA Commissioner David Stern discusses Dwight Howard, the new collective bargaining agreement and his future in an exclusive interview – OrlandoSentinel.com.
So if Orlando is the same or better market size than Miami (and it is, by most metric counts), and has the same advantages, what is Stern pinning the failures of Orlando to keep its stars on?
But let’s leave that one.
Stern’s a cage fighter and just when you think you have him, he’s not only not in the corner anymore, he’s behind you and you’re feeling an odd feeling dripping down your leg.
It’s interesting to see him in the course of answering the same series of questions deny that there is a problem, and state that the problem, which doesn’t exist, mind you, is resolved by the new CBA. They approved a new CBA and Chris Paul wound up in Los Angeles. Dwight Howard is, in all likelihood, going to be in Los Angeles or Brooklyn next year (outside shot at Dallas, you know, that small township that Dallas is). But what may be more stunning is not just his verbal gymnastics, but the fact that after the lockout and everything we’ve learned… I agree with him.
After years of feeling that small markets were at as structural disadvantage, it’s become clear that there is an inherent disadvantage in the perception of these cities. 18-26 year-old NBA athletes don’t find Milwaukee or Orlando or Utah “cool.” L.A. is cool. New York is cool. Chicago is cool. And while these players want to win, the ability of those cities to draw other great players based on those advantages provides the excuse needed to buy into living somewhere nicer. Maybe Oklahoma City is providing a counter to that. But the fact that Stern is able to justifiably pull that there is nothing flawed in a system where Orlando is set to lose two franchise players in under 15 years is going to be an issue in this league, unless the tax escalations coming actually do have the intended effect. Until then, it’ll be Stern, sticking and moving his way through the same question with nary a blow taken.
The Sentinel does a good job of pursuit, though, and the interview is well worth the read.
