Around the League 1/21
> Man-o-man…where to start with the Lakers. Being without Steve Blake (ribs) for 2-3 more weeks deprives them of their top bench scorer (7.3 ppg), best 3-point shooter (35.4%) and only tolerable option at PG. Derek Fisher is shooting a career low 20.8% from three and can’t guard a chair on defense. The good news is that he has a player option on his contract for next season when he’ll be 38 years old! While rookie Darius Morris is very athletic he has no idea how to run an NBA team and sports a PER of 2.89. More than anything else this is why Los Angeles struggles; they lack any semblance of competency at the most important position in the modern game.
(This is why trading Lamar Odom for nothing was beyond dumb. With Andre Miller making noise in Denver that he should be a starter Odom could have easily went there straight up. Or how about asking Dallas to include Rodrigue Beaubois in the original deal? With Devin Harris now available in Utah his $9.3 million salary doesn’t fit into the $8.9 million trade exception dumping Lam-Lam created either.)
The Lakers are tied for second in opponent shooting (41.1%) and third in rebound differential (+3.59) so defense obviously isn’t why they are 1-6 on the road. There’s no doubt that being tied for last in 3-point shooting (25.7%) plays a big part in their offensive struggles but this isn’t the first time a Mike Brown coached side has looked completely unimaginative and stale on offense. Anyone remember the give the ball to LeBron James and everyone else stand around attack he ran in Cleveland? Well we’re seeing plenty of that in LA just replace LeBron with Kobe Bryant. I’m surprised Little Jimmy Buss didn’t see this coming when he hired Brown after only one interview with almost no outside influence. Wait, no I’m not.
The future really doesn’t look very bright for the Lakers either since they have $61.5 million tied up in just four players (Bryant, Blake, Pau Gasol & Metta World Peace) two seasons after this one. The only way out is by making some big trades...and soon. If I was GM Mitch Kupchak I’d be calling Rockets GM Daryl Morey and proposing this and if that was no good I’d try to re-concoct the original three team deal for Chris Paul with New Jersey and Houston for Deron Williams. Of course if Kupchak is patient and receives some help from a few agents he may be able to swindle Nets President Billy King into this and Otis Smith in Orlando into this right at the March 15th trade deadline. One can dream anyway…
> When the Atlanta hawks lost Al Horford for 3-4 months with a torn left pectoral muscle I thought they were done, but somewhat amazingly they have gone 4-2 since losing who I consider to be their best player. In Horford’s absence Joe Johnson and particularly Josh Smith have stepped up their games but I’m dubious as to how long they can keep it up. Replacing everything Al does on the interior from low post scoring to help defense to rebounding is going to be especially tough over the long haul. Rookie PF Ivan Johnson has been a pleasant surprise, Zaza Pachulia is solid when mentally engaged but Jason Collins (-1.08 PER) is awful. I may yet be right about them missing the playoffs.
> So far this season the Boston Celtics have beaten Detroit, Washington (twice), New Jersey and Toronto. That’s it, that’s the entire list. Paul Pierce (right heel) has been slow to round into form, Rajon Rondo (right wrist) is currently sidelined and Kevin Garnett looks flat out done. Remember when the Celtics used to be one of the best defensive teams in the Association? Well that was before Tom Thibodeau and his replacement Lawrence Frank left for Chicago and Detroit respectively. Boston is tied for 12th in opponent shooting (43.5%) which isn’t that bad but when you couple that with being 26th in rebound differential (-2.72) the outlook isn’t as rosy. I’m not even mentioning that they have virtually no depth, athleticism or youth.
Which is why I think it’s high time that GM Danny Ainge starts taking some heat. Other than being gifted KG by a former teammate (Kevin McHale) and having Ray Allen fall into his lap during Sam Presti’s Seattle fire sale what has he done? He has nothing but a draft pick (less favorable of Clippers and Timberwolves pick in 2012, protected top 10 in 2012-15, unprotected in 2016) to show for Kendrick Perkins and his draft record is not the greatest to be kind. So when Ainge came out this week and said he’s willing to break up the big three it got me thinking that he’s primed for another fleecing; something along the lines of this. This is a developing situation that bears monitoring as the season progresses.
> If you are a long time reader you know that I’m extremely partial to guys like Andrei Kirilenko (young version), Josh Howard (ditto) and Jonas Jerebko. Or do-it-all small forward types that don’t demand the ball on offense, know how to defend and just play all around smart team ball. Well I’m here to tell you that I’ve found another one of these guys in Houston rookie Chandler Parsons. Since Coach McHale inserted him (and Sam Dalembert) into the starting lineup the Rockets are 6-2. Parsons is very long and has decent athleticism. He’s also a great rebounder, a willing passer, solid defender and doesn’t venture outside of his role in the starting unit. The only question I have is what took McHale so long to play him?
> In my travels around the league with my remote I’ve noticed two players in particular that have stood out to me as playing really well and when I looked at their numbers it turned out both were having career years. In Denver Al Harrington is tearing it up shooting a blistering 55.4% from the field while posting a 21.43 PER (both career highs). Then down in New Orleans Jarret Jack is putting up career numbers in points (16.3), assists (7.4), rebounds (4.3) and PER (18.36). Mr. Jack would look FANtastic in Laker purple and gold right about now. Think Hornets GM Dell Demps would do this? Even Lloyd Christmas knows that one has no chance.
(This is why trading Lamar Odom for nothing was beyond dumb. With Andre Miller making noise in Denver that he should be a starter Odom could have easily went there straight up. Or how about asking Dallas to include Rodrigue Beaubois in the original deal? With Devin Harris now available in Utah his $9.3 million salary doesn’t fit into the $8.9 million trade exception dumping Lam-Lam created either.)
The Lakers are tied for second in opponent shooting (41.1%) and third in rebound differential (+3.59) so defense obviously isn’t why they are 1-6 on the road. There’s no doubt that being tied for last in 3-point shooting (25.7%) plays a big part in their offensive struggles but this isn’t the first time a Mike Brown coached side has looked completely unimaginative and stale on offense. Anyone remember the give the ball to LeBron James and everyone else stand around attack he ran in Cleveland? Well we’re seeing plenty of that in LA just replace LeBron with Kobe Bryant. I’m surprised Little Jimmy Buss didn’t see this coming when he hired Brown after only one interview with almost no outside influence. Wait, no I’m not.
The future really doesn’t look very bright for the Lakers either since they have $61.5 million tied up in just four players (Bryant, Blake, Pau Gasol & Metta World Peace) two seasons after this one. The only way out is by making some big trades...and soon. If I was GM Mitch Kupchak I’d be calling Rockets GM Daryl Morey and proposing this and if that was no good I’d try to re-concoct the original three team deal for Chris Paul with New Jersey and Houston for Deron Williams. Of course if Kupchak is patient and receives some help from a few agents he may be able to swindle Nets President Billy King into this and Otis Smith in Orlando into this right at the March 15th trade deadline. One can dream anyway…
> When the Atlanta hawks lost Al Horford for 3-4 months with a torn left pectoral muscle I thought they were done, but somewhat amazingly they have gone 4-2 since losing who I consider to be their best player. In Horford’s absence Joe Johnson and particularly Josh Smith have stepped up their games but I’m dubious as to how long they can keep it up. Replacing everything Al does on the interior from low post scoring to help defense to rebounding is going to be especially tough over the long haul. Rookie PF Ivan Johnson has been a pleasant surprise, Zaza Pachulia is solid when mentally engaged but Jason Collins (-1.08 PER) is awful. I may yet be right about them missing the playoffs.
> So far this season the Boston Celtics have beaten Detroit, Washington (twice), New Jersey and Toronto. That’s it, that’s the entire list. Paul Pierce (right heel) has been slow to round into form, Rajon Rondo (right wrist) is currently sidelined and Kevin Garnett looks flat out done. Remember when the Celtics used to be one of the best defensive teams in the Association? Well that was before Tom Thibodeau and his replacement Lawrence Frank left for Chicago and Detroit respectively. Boston is tied for 12th in opponent shooting (43.5%) which isn’t that bad but when you couple that with being 26th in rebound differential (-2.72) the outlook isn’t as rosy. I’m not even mentioning that they have virtually no depth, athleticism or youth.
Which is why I think it’s high time that GM Danny Ainge starts taking some heat. Other than being gifted KG by a former teammate (Kevin McHale) and having Ray Allen fall into his lap during Sam Presti’s Seattle fire sale what has he done? He has nothing but a draft pick (less favorable of Clippers and Timberwolves pick in 2012, protected top 10 in 2012-15, unprotected in 2016) to show for Kendrick Perkins and his draft record is not the greatest to be kind. So when Ainge came out this week and said he’s willing to break up the big three it got me thinking that he’s primed for another fleecing; something along the lines of this. This is a developing situation that bears monitoring as the season progresses.
> If you are a long time reader you know that I’m extremely partial to guys like Andrei Kirilenko (young version), Josh Howard (ditto) and Jonas Jerebko. Or do-it-all small forward types that don’t demand the ball on offense, know how to defend and just play all around smart team ball. Well I’m here to tell you that I’ve found another one of these guys in Houston rookie Chandler Parsons. Since Coach McHale inserted him (and Sam Dalembert) into the starting lineup the Rockets are 6-2. Parsons is very long and has decent athleticism. He’s also a great rebounder, a willing passer, solid defender and doesn’t venture outside of his role in the starting unit. The only question I have is what took McHale so long to play him?
> In my travels around the league with my remote I’ve noticed two players in particular that have stood out to me as playing really well and when I looked at their numbers it turned out both were having career years. In Denver Al Harrington is tearing it up shooting a blistering 55.4% from the field while posting a 21.43 PER (both career highs). Then down in New Orleans Jarret Jack is putting up career numbers in points (16.3), assists (7.4), rebounds (4.3) and PER (18.36). Mr. Jack would look FANtastic in Laker purple and gold right about now. Think Hornets GM Dell Demps would do this? Even Lloyd Christmas knows that one has no chance.
posted by D$ at 12:45 PM
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