Hoops State of Mind

Flip Saunders Fired - Now What?

Dannie — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:54:11 +0000

And the Detroit Piston faithful rejoice. I am far from a Detroit Pistons fan, but even I wanted Flip Saunders to be fired. I honestly am not even sure why he was hired in the first place considering his background and the make-up of that team. That Detroit team had a clear identity, attitude and approach to the game. They were physical, tough-minded and determined. What the hell happened?

Is Flip Saunders a good coach? Sure. But the better question is, and should have been before Joe Dumars hired him, is he a championship coach? A coach that can handle stubborn veteran players? A coach that can manage players who have won a championship and are still of that caliber even though as a coach he has not reached that level? My answer is, No.

For a Piston team coming off an NBA championship and 7-game Eastern Conference Finals loss, this team was either going to digress or rise back to championship form. And it would be the next coach as the catalyst for either proposition.

The team hasn’t changed that much to not have gotten to another Finals. The top 4 players have remained steady in Hamilton, Billups, Prince and Wallace. The constant veteran presence of Lindsay Hunter has also been there the whole time. You swap out Ben Wallace for Antonio McDyess, Mike James for Rodney Stuckey and Mehmet Okur for Jason Maxiell, and I actually like this team better than the ‘03-’04 team. So again, what the hell happened?

Depending on where your head is there are a few different theories:

The Eastern Conference is just better, and the Pistons weren’t good enough to make it through to the Finals repeatedly.
After winning the championship in 2004 the players got fat, happy and content. They lost their edge, that undeniable determination that allowed them to blast through a Laker team with two of the best players in the history of the game.
Flip Saunders sucked. He just wasn’t the right coach for this particular team. He reinvented the wheel and deviated from what had gotten the Pistons to the promise land. He lost his players, and a consequence of that was they lost their focus.

It is probably some of all those points. The Pistons ran into Dwayne Wade and LeBron James who proved unstoppable during their series with Detroit. Then into a very hungry and stacked Boston Celtic team.

It has been reported, written about and preached forever: it’s always harder to win the second time around. You have the bullseye on you and get the best from everyone you face. You have slightly less to prove having won it all already, so maybe it is natural to lose some of that competitive edge.

I personally thought Flip Saunders came in with the wrong ideas when taking over Detroit. He wanted to up the tempo, run and add more emphasis on offense. But can you blame him if that is his background and expertise? Joe Dumars had to have known and discussed this with him before hiring Saunders. I also think the team took on the worst trait of their coach. Although Saunders handles his press conferences and public appearances with poise, his on-the-court demeanor is much different. He is very animated in a whiny, cry baby kind of way. And you can see some of that slowly seeping into the rough-and-tough Piston players. Overall I think the coach contributed greatly to the lack of consistency of the team during his tenure.

So what’s next? There are reports assistant coach Michael Curry all but has the job locked up, but Terry Porter may also be under consideration for the Pistons’ head coaching job. I think the next coach should be based on what the direction of the team is now. Will they keep the team intact and continue the expectation of reaching and winning the NBA Finals? If so I think they need to bring in a Phil Jackson-type coach. A guy that lets veteran players play. Keeps motivation and focus at a consistent and high level. And commands the respect of veteran, championship-caliber players. Maybe Curry or Porter is that guy.

Or will Dumars look to move some (or all) of his aging stars to free up minutes for Amir Johnson, Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell to develop and take hold of the reins. In that case Terry Porter or Michael Curry seems like the logical way to go as they have already played a big role in developing the young players and have built a good relationship already.

I kind of feel like Saunders may be portrayed as the scapegoat here, but is he really the biggest reason for the disappointment? Rather, should Flip Saunders be the only person to go? I will let the die hard Piston fans fight over that last point as they likely know best.

Spurs Earned A Lot of Respect From Me After Game 4 Loss

Dannie — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:21:03 +0000

Did Derek Fisher foul Brent Barry? Sure. Was it as big a deal as the media has and continues to make it out to be? I don’t think so. And neither did one of the biggest cry-baby teams in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs. I was shock and amazed at the lack of criticism and outrage at the refs by the Spurs players. Barry merely put his arms up for a few seconds and headed to the locker room. You got a minor jump up and down from Duncan, and that was it. Ginobili had more a look of shock than anything else. And that mild response and diplomacy carried over into the post-game press conferences as well.

“That’s not going to get called in the Western Conference finals,” Barry said. “Maybe in the regular season. But that call shouldn’t be called in the Western Conference finals.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said: “If I was the official I wouldn’t have called that a foul.”

This comes from a team who collectively and habitually complains after every play. I mean I have seen Duncan throw his arms up or give that stare even after getting calls. But in the game and play that, in my opinion, effectively ended their repeat championship hopes they were uncharacteristically calm about it.

Their reaction earned a lot more respect and admiration from me.

To put this praise in the proper context for you, I will admit that I hate the Spurs and desperately wanted them to lose in the first round against Phoenix. Why, you ask? For such a great team with great players and a severely under-appreciated head coach, they whine and cry way too much. For me it makes them collectively very unlikeable. Duncan is without question the best PF in the NBA today, and it’s debatable if he is the best all-time. There is no reason for him to be as big of a baby as he is during games when he dominates. Manu Ginobili might lose half his paycheck next season with the implementation of the flopping fines. As a basketball player myself, it pains me to watch an “elite” player who clearly is a one-hand-bandit and is virtually ineffective going right.

Rant over.

I also think Henry Abbott was off with his post: “That Was a Foul!” Especially with this comment:

And when mistakes are made, I think fans are owed a clear and honest explanation, complete with, when necessary, a swift admission that an error was made. Is that too much to ask?

I do think it is too much to ask. You are asking NBA officials, imperfect human beings, to be perfect. That is impossible. And then you are asking the league to review every questionable call and submit a statement on it. Come on, that’s a bit ridiculous. Further, all that post and the response from the NBA did was strengthen the conspiracy theory talk and hung those officials out to dry. If the Spurs didn’t complain neither should anyone else.

I will finish this post with my opinion on the play. I agree with what the people involved (Pop and Barry) said and what the player analysts have said. As a fan I don’t want the officials to decide the outcome of the game in situations like that, and if they had called a foul on that play, that is exactly what would have happened. Had Brent Barry just pumped and then went up with his shot attempt while Fisher was coming down on him that would have been the player making a great play and therefore deciding the outcome of the game. Because Barry isn’t used to those situations he didn’t know how to react under pressure. He tried to avoid the contact and in real time from the officials’ perspective probably made the contact look less severe, turning it into a much closer call. And they were right not to call it in real time.

The NBA chose its words very carefully in their “swift admission that an error was made.”

“With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul call should have been made,” league spokesman Tim Frank said Wednesday.

With the benefit of instant replay. That says it all.

The White Boy Report: Get Up, Joe!

Pete — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:36:46 +0000

from DraftExpress.com:

Any question about just how freakishly athletic he is vertically were answered as we watched him perform a series of highlight reel caliber dunks as the day of workouts came to a close-360s, off the backboard, windmills, the Vince Carter “honey-dip”/elbow inside the rim, between the legs, taking off from a step inside the free throw line, he visibly wowed each and every one of the players on the sidelines with his antics. Just for good measure, he finished off by jogging lightly towards the basket, jumping off two feet and viciously head-butting the rim.

Are You Using RSS Feeds?

Dannie — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:00:32 +0000

I hope so because RSS feeds are the simplest and fastest way to keep up with your favorite websites and blogs. May 1^st has been marked by the blogosphere as RSS Awareness Day. Here is my contribution to the cause.

RSS: The short definition

RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it. - http://www.whatisrss.com/

For an entertaining plain English video explanation of RSS head over to: http://rssday.org/

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds

Instead of randomly visiting your favorite websites for updates, RSS tells you exactly when new content has been added. Saving you time and effort.
RSS feeds allow you to check out headlines of articles so you can determine whether it’s worth reading a story or visiting the website.
To visit or not to visit, that is the question. With RSS you can read all the content without even going to the actual website.
Get all your sports news in one location. With the help of an RSS reader you can quickly check out ESPN.com, Philly.com and Hoops State of Mind all from the comfort of your homepage. Check out my basketball blogs page on Google:

Are you reaping the benefits of RSS feeds?

If you aren’t why not start by subscribing to your favorite basketball blog ; ) hint, hint. For the rest of you already taking advantage of this technology I assume you already grabbed our feed, right?

The White Boy Report Prospect Update: B.J. Mullens

Pete — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:20:41 +0000

For the first time since they started compiling their rankings online in 2002, rivals.com has a white-boy atop their boys H.S. basketball ratings. B.J. Mullens, a 7′1” Ohio State commit, took the place of Greg Monroe after Rivals released their final rankings following the all-star circuit. While high ranking recruits don’t always pan-out, you could say that Rivals has been pretty good at getting it right. Here are their top ranked players since 2002.

2002- Carmelo Anthony
2003- LeBron James
2004- Dwight Howard
2005- Gerald Green
2006- Greg Oden
2007- Michael Beasley
2008- B.J. Mullens

With the exception of Green, that’s pretty much a list of superstars and #1 picks in the draft. So what kind of player is Mullens? According to Rivals:

Size, athleticism and skill are the big three that separate Mullens from the rest of this class. It just isn’t very often that you find a 7-foot plus center who can run, jump and shoot like Mullens. He has the type of athleticism that makes you think of Bill Walton and then he has the shooting touch that makes you wonder if he could develop into a Dirk Nowitzki type player. Mullens does need to become a tougher defender and rebounder, but the pieces are there for him to be a number one pick in the draft and premiere big man in the League.

Most of the clips I’ve seen on YouTube certainly display unique athleticism for someone his size, and if he has the shooting touch to go with it, his ceiling looks to be that of a more athletic Nowitzki. The White-Boy Report will certainly be keeping an eye on him during his upcoming freshman campaign.

For what it’s worth - here are the highest ranking White-Boys since 2002, this list is not nearly as promising as the previous list:

2002- Paul Davis (Rivals only ranked by position in 2002 - though ‘Melo was the consensus #1)
2003- David Padgett, #7
2004- Robert Swift, #14
2005- Josh McRoberts, #2
2006- Chase Budinger, #4
2007- Kyle Singler, #5
2008- B.J. Mullens, #1
2009- Travis Wear, #19 (Committed to UNC, along with his twin brother, ranked #20)

And the 2008 NBA MVP is…

Dannie — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:27:46 +0000

The season is over, and now it’s really time to talk 2008 MVP award. I personally think it is only a 2-man race for NBA Most Valuable Player between Kobe Bryant, the current front runner, and Chris Paul, my mid-season winner.

Obviously there are a couple other candidates that fanatics could make arguments for as well. LeBron James, the most significant player to his particular team. Kevin Garnett, the new green fire behind Boston’s resurgence. And the wild card who might have gotten at least one vote a couple months ago is Manu Ginobili, the “closer” on the San Antonio Spurs and 6^th man of the year (the trophy is without a doubt already engraved). As Bill Simmons points out this is one of the best MVP races in NBA history, so choosing a single player with complete certainty is a near impossibility.

The point of this article is to add some structure to the MVP conjecture and hoopla (the NBA doesn’t really have clear criteria). I’ll attempt to do this while remaining unbiased (since I have no hometown rooting interest in any one candidate) and hopefully ignite some insightful and lively debate.

With that said…

MVP Criteria

In sports, a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests. - Wikipedia

Is it just me or is that a pretty vague definition? How do you define “best performing” player?

Let’s create some criteria (loosely in order of importance):

Team Success - Factual (wins and loses), relative to conference strength and relative to preseason expectations
1. The 50-win MVP rule - Essentially to win the NBA MVP the player’s team must have accumulated at least 50 wins in the regular season. The media voters have made this a precedent, and it really seems to be the only identifiable criteria we can confidently put our finger on.
Individual Stats - Obviously this is positional. You wouldn’t compare KG’s rebounding to Chris Paul’s board work.
Supporting Cast - The good, bad and the ugly of NBA sidekicks.
Games played/Injuries - Durability and “will the team die without you?”
Head-to-head - “I outplayed you” vs. “But my team beat yours.” For me this is a great situation to look at because it combines the above criteria in a collection of single match-ups. The players may or may not guard each other, but you can clearly see who rises to the occasion individually against the crème of the crop as well as lift their team’s performance during those situations.

The Two Leading MVP Candidates

Kobe Bryant

Team Success - 57-25, good for best in the highly competitive Western Conference. That marks the first fifty-win season for the Lakers since Shaq left. The Lakers were also an impressive 37-15 vs. the West. Considering 5 out of 10 ESPN analysts had the Lakers missing the playoffs and on average the Lakers finished 8^th in preseason Western Conference predictions, what Kobe and the Lakers were able to do this season is a tremendous accomplishment.

Individual Stats - Typical Kobe year at 28ppg, 5.4 apg, 6.3rpg and 1.8spg. Shooting: 46% from the field and 36% from three (2^nd best of his career). Nothing over the top, just what you expect from Kobe, and I think people (LeBron advocates) tend to take that for granted and spin it as a reason why he shouldn’t win the MVP. To me that is just faulty reasoning. His numbers are clearly on par with past MVP winners at the shooting guard position. The only thing holding him back in the past was team success. His scoring is down, only because he doesn’t need to score 30+ every game for his team to win. And it is the maturation of Kobe that he has adjusted his game this season to empower Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and the rest of the Lakers players to step up and carry a bit more of the burden.

Supporting Cast - The 2006 Lakers closely resembled the 2007 Lakers opening day roster. The major addition was Derek Fisher at the point, replacing the clearly inadequate Smush Parker. Was that enough for a 15-game turnaround? Probably not. How about when you factor in a much-improved Andrew Bynum? Now we are getting closer but probably not 15 games. Has anyone else stepped up tremendously this season? Well, Lamar Odom is shooting 52% from the field, by far the best of his career. Considering all of that I would still rank the “other guys” 3rd among the top four MVP candidates supporting casts. Kobe has elevated the level of play of his teammates with his own play and more importantly his attitude. Do his teammates love him? Maybe not, but I am sure they like playing with him significantly more this season compared to previous years.

Games played/Injuries - This is only the 2^nd season Kobe has played in all 82-games. That is even more significant since he has been riddled with a finger injury that will require surgery to fully heal. The toughness and commitment to winning he has shown are obvious traits of a true NBA MVP candidate.

Head-to-head

vs. Boston: 0-2 - 25ppg/5rpg/3apg/32.5% FGs/23% 3pt
vs. Cleveland: 0-2 - 27ppg/8.5rpg/5.5apg/41.9% FGs/0% 3pt/surprising 69% FT
vs. New Orleans: 2-2 - 28ppg/8rpg/6.3apg/50% FGs/45.8% 3pt

2-6 in the head-to-head battles isn’t very good. Especially since Kobe is probably the most competitive player in the NBA, one would expect him to excel in these match ups. I remember watching the game in LA against Cleveland, and LeBron clearly outplayed him in that one and, down the stretch, did a fantastic job forcing Kobe into some questionable shots. But as Josh over at Respect Kobe points out, the last MVP vs. MVP match up of the season against Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets was won by Kobe. And that game had significant meaning in playoff positioning. He had a near triple double with 29pts, 10 boards and 8 dimes, while shooting 53% from the field and, oh yea, only one turnover. A fantastic game that essentially locked up the top spot in the West for the Lakers. Therefore, Kobe stepped up and lifted his team when it mattered most. Fadango over at the Sport Sayers marked that game as the deciding factor in the MVP race. Whoever came out on top had it locked. Although I disagree with that extreme of a proclamation (it’s an 82-game award), I do believe the voters were paying very close attention.

Chris Paul

Team Success - 56-26 good for second best in the Western Conference. How many people thought the Hornets would even make the playoffs? I don’t think many fans would have put money on them being in the top 8 in the super strong West. Like the Lakers, 5 out of 10 ESPN analysts had the Hornets missing the playoffs. On average they were predicted to finish just behind the Lakers (8.8 vs. 8.4 avg. finish in the West). I personally feel like Paul made David West, a very good player, into an All-Star; gave both Morris Peterson’s and Peja Stojakovik’s new life and maximized all of Tyson Chandler’s ability (they have to be the leading duo in alley-oop baskets). Paul is the catalyst that makes the Hornets a very good team, and without him they would clearly be in the lottery.

Individual Stats - Truly historic numbers anyway you look at them: 21.1ppg, 11.6apg, 4rpg, 2.7spg, 48.8% FGs, 36.9% 3pt. and 85% from the line. WOW. Everyone knows this is the first time anyone has had 20ppg, 10apg and 2.5spg since Isiah Thomas, and these players are the only ones to do it since steals became an official NBA stat. To emphasize how great this season is even more consider this:

Since the NBA was started in 1946…

Only 9 other times has a player averaged 21ppg, 11apg and 4rpg in a season (Oscar Robertson - 4, Magic Johnson - 3, Isiah Thomas - 2)
Of those 9 seasons only three times did one of those players shoot better than Chris Paul’s 85.1% from the free throw line (Magic in ‘88 and ‘89 and the Big O in ‘63)
Of those 9 seasons only two times did one of those players shoot better than Chris Paul’s 48.8% from the field (Magic in ‘86 and ‘88)
Since turnovers became an official stat 27 other players have averaged 11+ assist per game in a season. Only Chris Paul has done it with less than 3 turnovers per game.

What all that means is Chris Paul had the greatest season by a pure point guard in NBA history!

Supporting Cast - Paul’s Hornet teammates are the 2nd best group of the MVP supporting cast. David West is an All-Star and Peja Stojakovik is a 3-time All-Star. Paul certainly has help around him. Are his teammates significantly better than Kobe’s crew? I don’t think so. But Paul has had the luxury of playing with the same starting line-up all year. I think that is an advantage for Paul in maintaining a winning team compared to the Laker’s rotating line-up due to injuries and trades.

Games played/Injuries - Paul played in 80 of 82 games, the model of durability for a point guard that handles the ball as much as he does. He missed back-to-back games with an ankle sprain in which the Hornets went 1 and 1.

Head-to-head

vs. Boston: 1-1 - 20.5ppg/2rpg/8.5apg/50% FGs/57% 3pt
vs. Cleveland: 2-0 - 17.5ppg/4.5rpg/14.5apg/31.4% FGs/14.3% 3pt
vs. LA Lakers: 2-2 - 23.3ppg/4rpg/15apg/45.2% FGs/20% 3pt

5-3 in the head-to-head battles is tied for first among the top four MVP candidates teams with KG and Boston. Chris Paul is proving to be a big game player in the NBA. I think over time his competitiveness could very well rival Kobe’s. He doesn’t back down from anyone or any team, and that is the sign of a great leader and MVP.

Honorable Mention

Kevin Garnett (3^rd) - He had to be in contention because his team’s success is unparalleled. But KG loses a lot of points because his supporting cast all year has been far better than any other MVP candidate. One could easily argue Garnett’s teammates represent the best in the NBA. In fact many people believe Paul Pierce stepped his game up to the point of being just as important as KG this season. Factor in KG’s missed games due to injury and the team going 7-2 without him, and I don’t think he is on the same level with Paul and Bryant. Why? Take him off the current Celtics team, and they are still in the playoffs. More importantly I still think Boston would have won 58-60 games. If you take Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant away from their clubs, and without question those teams would be vying for a top 10 draft pick.

The strongest case that can be made for Kevin Garnett as MVP is the comparison to Bill Russell, and the early 60’s Boston teams. And I haven’t even seen mentioned anywhere. Like the 2008 Celtic’s, those early 60’s Boston teams were filled with more than one great player including Bob Cousy and John Havlicek. As well as very strong supporting players. KG impacts the game in the exact same way Russell did when he won 3 straight MVP awards. Dominant on the glass and on the defensive end of the court, and most importantly he’s the vocal leader, as well as a leader by example. And because of that if KG were to be announced the winner, in no way would I be mad at that decision.

LeBron James (4^th) - 45 wins in a sub-par Eastern Conference just isn’t good enough to be considered for MVP under the 50-win rule. “But the Cavs went 0-4 in the games he missed.” Does that speak to his importance? Absolutely. But that doesn’t guarantee they would have won all four games does it? Especially when they played at Boston and at Washington during that stretch. Since we are talking about the injury, did he really miss 4 games with a hurt finger? The fact that Kobe has played through a finger injury that will need surgery after the season is enough to take points away from LeBron. “But the Cavs had a lot of injuries all season.” True, but so did the Lakers the last few years when Kobe had some of his best statistical seasons, and he didn’t win the MVP. And he wasn’t robbed those seasons either based simply on the 50-win rule. Those years other candidates had great individual seasons with superior team success in comparison. The ultimate kicker - in 1989 Michael Jordan scored 32pts per game, averaged 8 boards, 8 assists and 2.9 steals per game all while shooting nearly 54% from the field and playing 40 minutes per night. MVP season, right? No! The Bulls only won 47 games. If MJ wasn’t the exception with those numbers, in no way should LeBron be this season with slightly lesser production. LeBron probably had a stronger argument for MVP the last two seasons when Cleveland won 50 games.

And the Winner of the 2008 NBA MVP is…

Why Kobe Bryant?

He is finally the #1 guy on an elite team.
His numbers, although not significantly better this year than previous campaigns, they have remained stable. And stable is easily MVP worthy.
After all the off-season nonsense he came out and played basketball at a very high level. He led the Lakers to a 24-11 start before Andrew Bynum went down with an injury. Meaning they were on pace for 50-wins through the first 35 games of the season (before acquiring Gasol). By the way I didn’t have any problem with his comments about Andrew Bynum. I am the biggest Michael Jordan fan, and he was known for scolding teammates and calling people out. I think MJ would have done the same thing if he felt it was best for the team. No reason to treat Kobe any different.
Kobe is very polarizing; therefore many people either love or hate him. Although this has no true bearing on a regular season MVP award, Kobe’s performance and more importantly leadership in the FIBA games may have swayed enough people who dislike Bryant in some way, shape or form (me) more in his favor. His defense was amazing and he was clearly the vocal leader on a team full of stud young bucks. Melo dominated on offense but Kobe was the MVP last summer. And I see some of that carrying over in the minds of voters.
Kobe and the Lakers won the much anticipated MVP vs. MVP late season match-up against Chris Paul’s Hornets. That is the freshest comparison of both players in most people’s mind.
Kobe has had to deal with the maturation process of Andrew Bynum. Then carry more of the load when Bynum got injured. All while dealing with the frustration that is Kwame Brown. Integrate and learn how to play with Pau Gasol. Then carry the load again for 10 games when Gasol went down with an ankle injury.
Ultimately what I think will push Kobe over the top is the fact that he has been the best player in the world for at least 4-5 years, so in the minds of enough journalists (voters), he’s due.

This is how close of an MVP race and decision this was. Had Chris Paul and the Hornets won the Western Conference, only a 1-game difference, I would have named Paul my MVP. What sucks is, 9 out of 10 times, the season he had would almost automatically equate to an MVP, and with very little debate. It just so happens 2008 was that 1 in 10 occurrence.

I am calling it right now, Chris Paul will be the 2009 NBA MVP! Hold me to it.

Playoff Predictions

Pete — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:10:40 +0000

Here are my playoff predictions. I know - the playoffs have started, but I really did have these done before they did. You can ask anyone in my fantasy baseball league where we are running a pool. Also - I apologize that I didn’t get these to look as good as Dannie’s. It’s OK though, because these are the better picks.

First Round			Conf. Semifinals		Conf. Finals		NBA Finals

Eastern Conference

	(1) Boston	4	Boston	4	Boston	4	BOSTON	4
	(8) Atlanta	0	Boston	4
	(4) Cleveland	4	Cleveland	2
	(5) Washington	2	Cleveland	2
	(3) Orlando	4	Orlando	1	Detroit	2
	(6) Toronto	2	Orlando	1
	(2) Detroit	4	Detroit	4
	(7) Philadelphia	1	Detroit	4

Western Conference							VS.	Games to

	(1) LA Lakers	4	LA Lakers	2	Utah	4	Utah	2
	(8) Denver	2	LA Lakers	2
	(4) Utah	4	Utah	4
	(5) Houston	3	Utah	4
	(3) San Antonio	4	San Antonio	3	New Orleans	2
	(6) Phoenix	2	San Antonio	3
	(2) New Orleans	4	New Orleans	4
	(7) Dallas	2	New Orleans	4

30 Teams, 30 Stats

Pete — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:24:41 +0000

When I started writing on this blog, it was largely because I would spend a great deal of time coming up with random sports stats and had no one to share them with. This article is exactly the type of crap I would do in my free time, but now all you wonderful people get to read it as well.

This article consists of 30 originally researched stats, one for each team, for the 2007-08 NBA season. Some were easy, most are positive, some are negative, some aren’t that good. Here they are, in alphabetical order.

Atlanta Hawks - SF/PF Josh Smith joined Hall of Fame Centers Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar as the only players to average 17 ppg, 8 rpg, 1.5 stl/g and 2.5 blk/g in a single season. He was also the younger than any of the four when they did it.

Boston Celtics - Non big-3 contributor Leon Powe averaged 26.4 pts and 13.5 rebs per 48 minutes played. That’s a better scoring rate than 12 2008 all-stars and a better rebounding rate than 21 of the 26 all-stars this year.

Charlotte Bobcats - Matt Carroll, my boy from Notre Dame and Hatboro-Horsham, is now the 4th leading scorer in Bobcats history. Sorry Bobcats fan(s), that’s all I got.

Chicago Bulls - Kirk Hinrich, favorite of The White-Boy Report, had career lows in points (11.5), assists (6.0), rebounds (3.3) and steals (1.2).

Cleveland Cavaliers - LeBron is easy. This year was only 7th time in history a player averaged 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game. Jordan did it once, The Big-O did it 5 times. Oh - and perhaps the most ridiculous stat of the year? LeBron grew an inch.

Dallas Mavericks - How unique is Dirk Nowitzki? After he gets 6 blocks in 2008-09, he will be the only player ever to have 17,000 points, 6,500 rebounds, 1,000 3PM and 800 blocks. And he’s only 29. And I didn’t even mention his 700 steals and 2,000 assists.

Denver Nuggets - Allen Iverson is always full of awesome stats. This season, he became the oldest player (32) to average 26 points, 7 assists and 41 minutes a game.

Detroit Pistons - This was the 5th straight year their top 4 scorers were Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace. They are a boring team, what can I say.

Golden State Warriors - Baron Davis, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson are the first trio to each average 20 ppg for the same team since fellow Warriors Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Ritchmond did it in 1990-91.

Houston Rockets - According to ESPN’s John Hollinger and his PER (Player Efficiency Rating) system, Carl Landry had, by far, the most efficient rookie season, with a PER of 21.56 - good for 16th best in the entire NBA and better than Nash, Iverson, Melo, Deron, Pierce, B. Davis, T. Parker and several other stars.

Indiana Pacers - The Pacers have never had a player average 10 assists in a season. They still haven’t.

Los Angeles Clippers - Chris Kaman, another hero of the White-Boy Report, was the first American-born white player to average 15 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 2.5 blk/g since Bill Walton in ‘77-’78.

Los Angeles Lakers - No one has ever had more points (21,619) before age 30 than Kobe Bryant.

Memphis Grizzlies - Only 19 players had more points in a season, before the age 22, than Rudy Gay. Of those players, 7 are in the Hall of Fame, and 6 likely will be.

Miami Heat - Clearly couldn’t find any positive stats for Miami. Here are Miami’s team leaders’ ranks in the NBA - Total Points (Dwayne Wade, 51st), Total Rebounds (Udonis Haslem, 65th), Total Assists (Wade, 32nd), Total Blocks (Shaquille O’Neal, 62nd).

Milwaukee Bucks - Andrew Bogut has quietly become a very well-rounded player. Since 2000, the only players to average 14 pts, 9.5 rebs, 2.5 asts and 1.7 blks in a season are Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Brand, Webber, Gasol and Bogut.

Minnesota Timberwolves - Al Jefferson was only the 2nd Wolves player (KG, the man he was traded for) to average 21 points and 11 rebounds in a season. KG was the same age (23), when he got his first as well.

New Jersey Nets - Jason Kidd tied his career high for a season with 12 triple-doubles in only 49 games with the Nets. His first for the Mavericks came on the last game of season.

New Orleans Hornets - One of the best seasons ever for a PG? Chris Paul is the 2nd(Isiah Thomas, ‘83-’84) player ever with 21 ppg, 11 apg and 2.5 stl/g. Comparing his season to Thomas’, Paul had a better FG%, 3-PT%, more RPG, and less turnovers and personal fouls.

New York Knicks - As a team, they were last in the NBA in assists. Probably because of plays like this.

Oklahoma City Super Sonics - For all the criticism Kevin Durant got, he put up the 3rd best PPG ever (20.3) for a player under 20. The first 2 are LeBron and Melo - andDurant was put in a far worse situation than either. Side Note: People like the Sonics owners should not be allowed to own professional sports teams. There are millions of Sonics fans, many who have been fans for decades, who just got their team flat-out stolen because a couple rich a-holes decided they wanted the team somewhere else. This should NOT BE ALLOWED in places with a clear, established fan base.

Orlando Magic - Dwight Howard is the youngest player ever (22) to average 20 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. He also put on a dunk contest performance that prompted my favorite quote of the year, from Kenny Smith, who was just screaming “he’s not a real person! he’s not a real person!.”

Philadelphia Sixers - The only players to have Andre Iguodala’s season totals (1,600 points, 390 assists, 440 rebounds, 170 steals) at a younger age than Iggy are Michael Jordan, Julius Erving and LeBron James.

Phoenix Suns - The best shooting season ever? Steve Nash became the first player ever to shoot 50% from the field, 47% from three and 90% from the foul line.

Portland TrailBlazers - Their top 4 scorers (Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, Webster) are all 23 and under. It would have been 5 if Greg Oden had played.

Sacramento Kings - Kevin Martin proved himself to be a very efficient scorer. He was the youngest player ever to average 23 ppg while shooting 45% from the field, 40% from three and 85% from the FT line. He was only the 11th player ever to do so.

San Antonio Spurs - Big Shot Bob? There are only 5 players in the NBA who have logged 10,000 minutes this decade and shot under 40% from the field over that stretch. They are - 5′10” Damon Stoudemire (.399), 6′2” Rafer Alston (.388), 6′3” Jamaal Tinsley (.395), 6′6” Quentin Richardson (.398) and the 6′10” Robert Horry (.389).

Toronto Raptors - While fellow draft-mates (LeBron, Melo, D-Wade) have catapulted to stardom in the last 3 years, Chris Bosh hasn’t taken the next step, averaging 22.5, 22.6 and 22.3 points per game.

Utah Jazz - PG Deron Williams was only the 4th player in history to average 18 pts and 10 asts per game while shooting a blistering 50%+ from the field. The other 3 players are Steve Nash, Magic Johnson and Kevin Johnson. (Note: Williams ruined one of my best stats by falling under 19 ppg for the season. Had he stayed there, he and Carlos Boozer would have been the second pair of teammates to go for 20 ppg / 10 rpg and 19 pg / 10 apg in the same season. The first, and only, pair are Oscar Roberson and Jerry Lucas in 1965-66)

Washington Wizards - Is Antawn Jamison the most underrated player of the decade? Since 2000, he has the 10th most points in the NBA. The top 9 average 8.2 of 9 possible all-star appearances. Jamison made just his 2nd appearance this season.

2008 NBA Playoff Predictions

Dannie — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:34:19 +0000

My two buddies Mole and Mike keep getting on me to give them my NBA playoff predictions so I figured I throw my bracket up on the blog. Now they and all the readers can hold me to it - and get all over me when I am wrong. So here it is…

I will go into more depth on another post, but I just wanted to get these out there before the Cleveland vs. Washington tip off.

The White-Boy Report: ‘We Are All Witnesses’

Dannie — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:22:47 +0000

Here is my first contribution to the White-Boy Report and I wanted to have some fun. Most fans of basketball are familiar with the NIKE advertising campaign featuring LeBron James with the phrase “We Are All Witnesses.” I found the White-Boy version of those commercials on youtube. Enjoy.