Around the League 2/12
> I’ve already given Los Angeles Coach Mike Brown credit for his defensive (tied for 2nd in opponent shooting at 41.7%) and rebounding (2nd in rebound differential at +3.70) numbers while ripping his offensive system. (Assistant Coach John Kuester has been diagramming crunch time plays lately.) After 27 games it’s now time to focus on his playing rotation, or lack thereof.
Brown makes some puzzling decisions when it comes to doling out minutes and still hasn’t settled on a consistent rotation as we approach the half way point of the season. Now I know the Laker roster isn’t exactly chock full of talent but there is enough there to form a coherent rotation.
I’m fine with starting Derek Fisher and his 8.54 PER at the point as long as Steve Blake plays more total minutes and closes out each half. LA really needs Blake’s 3-point shooting and defense regardless of Fisher’s status in the locker for past services rendered. Something along the lines of a 28 to 20 split of the minutes in Blake’s favor seems about right to me.
Shooting guard is obviously a no-brainer when Kobe Bryant is on the team but Kobe is playing far too many minutes at 38.6 per night (2nd in the league). This is where rookie Andrew Goudelock should be given more of an opportunity. Goudelock is really a shooting guard in a point guard’s body, and while he brings almost nothing else to the table, the guy can really shoot the ball and is the Lakers best 3-point shooter at 40.6%. I think lowering Bryant’s minutes to the 33-34 range and upping Andrew’s to 14-15 would serve the team and Kobe best over the long haul.
Small Forward is where Brown has been the most baffling starting Devin Ebanks for the first four games, then moving to Matt Barnes for the next 16 and finally Metta World Peace for the last seven. MWP has been arguably the worst Laker since the lockout was lifted sporting a 5.43 PER. I know that benching him probably means he permanently checks out mentally but he’s earned his spot at the end of the pine thus far. While still a little raw I think Ebanks should start and Barnes finish each half with a minute split the lines of Fisher and Blake. In fact Matt and Steve should check in around the 7-minute mark of each quarter as Devin and Derek check out.
The big man rotation shouldn’t have any controversy but alas it does too. Pau Gasol averages 37.1 minutes and Andrew Bynum 34.8 and while I think those figures should be reversed I’m not going to complain about them too much. It’s off the bench where I have an issue. Brown currently uses Troy Murphy (8.03 PER) over Josh McRoberts (10.45 PER) exclusively when one of Pau or Drew sits. I understand that LA is dead last in 3-point shooting (28.4%) and that is Murphy’s (40% from three) only redeeming quality but McRoberts just brings so much more to the table. Josh is WAY more athletic, a better rebounder, better defender, better passer, better finisher and his hustle and tenaciousness are something the Lakers need every night.
So in closing the second unit should be Blake, Goudelock, Barnes, McRoberts and Bynum. It’s very important that Bynum checks out before Gasol so Drew can come back in and be the focal point of the second unit. When dumping the ball into Bynum he would be surrounded by two shooters in Blake and Goudelock and two hustlers/slashers in Barnes and McRoberts. So when Drew gets double teamed he should have the option of an open perimeter shot or someone slicing to the basket for a layup. It seems so simple to me that I wonder what Coach Brown is waiting for.
> “Linsanity” is sweeping the NBA as New York Knicks PG Jeremy Lin sports the fourth highest overall PER (25.91) in the league. Who is Jeremy Lin you ask? Well he went to Harvard after receiving no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and then went undrafted in the 2010 draft. He played on Dallas’ summer league team in 2010 and obtained his first buzz when he more than held his own against number one pick John Wall. From there he signed with his home town Golden State Warriors eschewing offers from the Mavericks and Lakers. Lin played 29 games his rookie year and posted a PER of 14.79.
The Warriors released Lin as training camp opened this year so they could free up the salary cap space to make an offer to restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan (which the Clippers matched). From there Lin was claimed off waivers by Houston and spent the preseason there before being released the day before the season started so the Rockets could sign Samuel Dalembert.
Lin was then claimed off waivers by New York but didn’t play much and was sent to the D-League where he had a triple-double (28 points, 12 assists & 11 rebounds) in his only game with the Erie BayHawks. With the Knicks PG situation a complete mess and the deadline to fully guarantee contracts (2/10) rapidly approaching Jeremy was finally given a chance on 2/4 to show what he could do or likely be released once again. Lin responded with 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench as the Knicks rallied to beat the Nets.
He started the next game when NY was without stars Carmelo Anthony (right groin) and Amar’e Stoudemire (death of brother) and put up 28 points and 8 assists and the rest is history. The Knicks are 5-0 since Lin was given the nod and he has single handedly saved Coach Mike D’Antoni’s job while vaulting NY back into the playoff picture. Jeremy’s averages over that stretch are 26.8 points, 8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 51.5% from the field.
Everyone wants to know if he can keep it up and I’m here to tell you he can, albeit not at this exalted level. D’Antoni’s system is tailor made for PGs that are adept at running the pick and roll which Lin most certainly is. Jeremy’s game is a little herky-jerky and he’s got sneaky athleticism and good length for his size (6’3). He generally makes good decisions with the ball but he does take unnecessary risks as evidenced by his 4.6 turnovers a game since “Linsanity” began. He also doesn’t go left that well and he’s going to have to prove he can make long outside shots consistently.
Other than D’Antoni Lin’s arrival should benefit Amar’e the most (assuming his knees hold up) by having a pick and roll partner once again. The question I have is how will Jeremy and Carmelo co-exist? Lin needs the ball in his hands a lot to be effective and Anthony is one of the premier ball-stoppers in the NBA. For the Knicks to really be at their best I think Melo is going to have to alter his game and try to fit in more than he is used to. Anthony’s willingness to adjust will not only determine D’Antoni’s fate but also how far the Knicks go in the playoffs.
> On 2/6 Chauncey Billups tore his left Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of the season. With the return of Eric Bledsoe I think the Clippers will be fine going forward in the regular season. They can start Randy Foye next to Chris Paul and spell them with Mo Williams and Bledsoe respectively. However that makes them extremely small in the backcourt with Foye as their tallest player at 6’4. When the post season rolls around though I think LA will be in trouble dealing with people like Kobe, Manu Ginobili and James Harden. GM Neil Olshey probably has to make a move for a defensive minded SG with size prior to the trade deadline if the Clips are really going to be contenders.
> The following is a plea to every GM in the Association: Please do not do business with Donnie Nelson in Dallas if he calls trying to give you Shawn Marion for free. Why would the Mavs want to dump their starting SF for nothing in return? To get rid of his $8.6 million contract for next season of course. Owner Mark Cuban has his sights set on enough salary cap space to sign two maximum contracts (or damn close to it) this summer. To get there Cubes and Nellie Jr. will need to amnesty Brendan Haywood and not pick up team options on Lamar Odom and Brandan Wright. Even by doing all that Dallas would still have $33 million in committed salary so dumping the Matrix gets them to $24.4 million or enough to reasonably tempt both Dwight Howard and Deron Williams to come to the Metroplex. So I’m hoping the rest of the GMs in the league hear my plea and are as sickened as I am at the thought of how smug Cuban will be if he manages to pull this off.
> Picking All-Stars after 25 games or so feels very rushed to me but I guess it is par for the course in this suicide season. I don’t have many problems with the West outside of Dirk Nowitzki’s inclusion by the coaches. Dirk has a PER below 20 (19.74) and even said himself he shouldn’t make it. I’d replace Dirk with Paul Millsap (23.61). The other mistake the coaches made is picking the wrong Gasol for the squad. Marc’s PER is also below 20 (19.71) and Pau’s 21.16 PER would be the lowest on my Western roster.
In the East I’d fix three errors for the coaches; first I’m switching out Roy Hibbert (18.59) for Tyson Chandler (20.20). Next I’m removing Luol Deng (16.37) in favor of Josh Smith (19.72). Lastly Joe Johnson (17.90) would be replaced by rookie sensation Kyrie Irving (21.63). Just to compare the quality of the two conferences on my All-Star teams the Eastern side would have seven players with a PER below 21 low-lighted by Andre Iguodala’s 18.76 mark.
Brown makes some puzzling decisions when it comes to doling out minutes and still hasn’t settled on a consistent rotation as we approach the half way point of the season. Now I know the Laker roster isn’t exactly chock full of talent but there is enough there to form a coherent rotation.
I’m fine with starting Derek Fisher and his 8.54 PER at the point as long as Steve Blake plays more total minutes and closes out each half. LA really needs Blake’s 3-point shooting and defense regardless of Fisher’s status in the locker for past services rendered. Something along the lines of a 28 to 20 split of the minutes in Blake’s favor seems about right to me.
Shooting guard is obviously a no-brainer when Kobe Bryant is on the team but Kobe is playing far too many minutes at 38.6 per night (2nd in the league). This is where rookie Andrew Goudelock should be given more of an opportunity. Goudelock is really a shooting guard in a point guard’s body, and while he brings almost nothing else to the table, the guy can really shoot the ball and is the Lakers best 3-point shooter at 40.6%. I think lowering Bryant’s minutes to the 33-34 range and upping Andrew’s to 14-15 would serve the team and Kobe best over the long haul.
Small Forward is where Brown has been the most baffling starting Devin Ebanks for the first four games, then moving to Matt Barnes for the next 16 and finally Metta World Peace for the last seven. MWP has been arguably the worst Laker since the lockout was lifted sporting a 5.43 PER. I know that benching him probably means he permanently checks out mentally but he’s earned his spot at the end of the pine thus far. While still a little raw I think Ebanks should start and Barnes finish each half with a minute split the lines of Fisher and Blake. In fact Matt and Steve should check in around the 7-minute mark of each quarter as Devin and Derek check out.
The big man rotation shouldn’t have any controversy but alas it does too. Pau Gasol averages 37.1 minutes and Andrew Bynum 34.8 and while I think those figures should be reversed I’m not going to complain about them too much. It’s off the bench where I have an issue. Brown currently uses Troy Murphy (8.03 PER) over Josh McRoberts (10.45 PER) exclusively when one of Pau or Drew sits. I understand that LA is dead last in 3-point shooting (28.4%) and that is Murphy’s (40% from three) only redeeming quality but McRoberts just brings so much more to the table. Josh is WAY more athletic, a better rebounder, better defender, better passer, better finisher and his hustle and tenaciousness are something the Lakers need every night.
So in closing the second unit should be Blake, Goudelock, Barnes, McRoberts and Bynum. It’s very important that Bynum checks out before Gasol so Drew can come back in and be the focal point of the second unit. When dumping the ball into Bynum he would be surrounded by two shooters in Blake and Goudelock and two hustlers/slashers in Barnes and McRoberts. So when Drew gets double teamed he should have the option of an open perimeter shot or someone slicing to the basket for a layup. It seems so simple to me that I wonder what Coach Brown is waiting for.
> “Linsanity” is sweeping the NBA as New York Knicks PG Jeremy Lin sports the fourth highest overall PER (25.91) in the league. Who is Jeremy Lin you ask? Well he went to Harvard after receiving no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and then went undrafted in the 2010 draft. He played on Dallas’ summer league team in 2010 and obtained his first buzz when he more than held his own against number one pick John Wall. From there he signed with his home town Golden State Warriors eschewing offers from the Mavericks and Lakers. Lin played 29 games his rookie year and posted a PER of 14.79.
The Warriors released Lin as training camp opened this year so they could free up the salary cap space to make an offer to restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan (which the Clippers matched). From there Lin was claimed off waivers by Houston and spent the preseason there before being released the day before the season started so the Rockets could sign Samuel Dalembert.
Lin was then claimed off waivers by New York but didn’t play much and was sent to the D-League where he had a triple-double (28 points, 12 assists & 11 rebounds) in his only game with the Erie BayHawks. With the Knicks PG situation a complete mess and the deadline to fully guarantee contracts (2/10) rapidly approaching Jeremy was finally given a chance on 2/4 to show what he could do or likely be released once again. Lin responded with 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench as the Knicks rallied to beat the Nets.
He started the next game when NY was without stars Carmelo Anthony (right groin) and Amar’e Stoudemire (death of brother) and put up 28 points and 8 assists and the rest is history. The Knicks are 5-0 since Lin was given the nod and he has single handedly saved Coach Mike D’Antoni’s job while vaulting NY back into the playoff picture. Jeremy’s averages over that stretch are 26.8 points, 8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 51.5% from the field.
Everyone wants to know if he can keep it up and I’m here to tell you he can, albeit not at this exalted level. D’Antoni’s system is tailor made for PGs that are adept at running the pick and roll which Lin most certainly is. Jeremy’s game is a little herky-jerky and he’s got sneaky athleticism and good length for his size (6’3). He generally makes good decisions with the ball but he does take unnecessary risks as evidenced by his 4.6 turnovers a game since “Linsanity” began. He also doesn’t go left that well and he’s going to have to prove he can make long outside shots consistently.
Other than D’Antoni Lin’s arrival should benefit Amar’e the most (assuming his knees hold up) by having a pick and roll partner once again. The question I have is how will Jeremy and Carmelo co-exist? Lin needs the ball in his hands a lot to be effective and Anthony is one of the premier ball-stoppers in the NBA. For the Knicks to really be at their best I think Melo is going to have to alter his game and try to fit in more than he is used to. Anthony’s willingness to adjust will not only determine D’Antoni’s fate but also how far the Knicks go in the playoffs.
> On 2/6 Chauncey Billups tore his left Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of the season. With the return of Eric Bledsoe I think the Clippers will be fine going forward in the regular season. They can start Randy Foye next to Chris Paul and spell them with Mo Williams and Bledsoe respectively. However that makes them extremely small in the backcourt with Foye as their tallest player at 6’4. When the post season rolls around though I think LA will be in trouble dealing with people like Kobe, Manu Ginobili and James Harden. GM Neil Olshey probably has to make a move for a defensive minded SG with size prior to the trade deadline if the Clips are really going to be contenders.
> The following is a plea to every GM in the Association: Please do not do business with Donnie Nelson in Dallas if he calls trying to give you Shawn Marion for free. Why would the Mavs want to dump their starting SF for nothing in return? To get rid of his $8.6 million contract for next season of course. Owner Mark Cuban has his sights set on enough salary cap space to sign two maximum contracts (or damn close to it) this summer. To get there Cubes and Nellie Jr. will need to amnesty Brendan Haywood and not pick up team options on Lamar Odom and Brandan Wright. Even by doing all that Dallas would still have $33 million in committed salary so dumping the Matrix gets them to $24.4 million or enough to reasonably tempt both Dwight Howard and Deron Williams to come to the Metroplex. So I’m hoping the rest of the GMs in the league hear my plea and are as sickened as I am at the thought of how smug Cuban will be if he manages to pull this off.
> Picking All-Stars after 25 games or so feels very rushed to me but I guess it is par for the course in this suicide season. I don’t have many problems with the West outside of Dirk Nowitzki’s inclusion by the coaches. Dirk has a PER below 20 (19.74) and even said himself he shouldn’t make it. I’d replace Dirk with Paul Millsap (23.61). The other mistake the coaches made is picking the wrong Gasol for the squad. Marc’s PER is also below 20 (19.71) and Pau’s 21.16 PER would be the lowest on my Western roster.
In the East I’d fix three errors for the coaches; first I’m switching out Roy Hibbert (18.59) for Tyson Chandler (20.20). Next I’m removing Luol Deng (16.37) in favor of Josh Smith (19.72). Lastly Joe Johnson (17.90) would be replaced by rookie sensation Kyrie Irving (21.63). Just to compare the quality of the two conferences on my All-Star teams the Eastern side would have seven players with a PER below 21 low-lighted by Andre Iguodala’s 18.76 mark.
posted by D$ at 1:06 PM
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