The NBA 2014-15 Regular Season Thread

[whomario]

seems worth mentioning (and maybe i´ll find the time to dig for a bigger post later) that the NBA this season looks to be filled with legit Cs/Big Men making a huge stept forward in their development: Vucevic is kinda hamstrung by a young Orlando team but awesome, Valanciunas is steadily developing (and went 14-15 from the field last night), Drummond has refound his magic, Alex Len is showing some encouraging signs and is a big reason for the Suns recent streak and Rody Gobert is doing the same for the Jazz (already has killer advanced defensive metrics, passes the eye test there and also is developing rapidly in other parts of his game. Went from being literally the worst passer in the league to someone who can roll to the basket and make adequate decisions and execute the pass back out)

[korme]

John Henson quietly turning into a Brandan Wright/Tyson Chandler type

[kingfc22]

Anybody interested in losing over $140 million in one year...

Owner Mikhail Prokhorov decides to sell Brooklyn Nets - ESPN New York

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Anybody interested in losing over $140 million in one year...

Owner Mikhail Prokhorov decides to sell Brooklyn Nets - ESPN New York

I think 45% of the Barclays Center is probably the real draw there, no?

[nol]

I unfortunately witnessed Hassan Whiteside's breakout game against the Clippers on Sunday, and he had another good one tonight. He was one of those players I thought the LeBron-era Heat should have been going after with a minimum contract rather than old name guys if they were going to stick with the scrambling style of defense.

Whiteside's as long as they come and is another one of those guys whose offense mainly consists of dunking anything lobbed in the basket's general vicinity (some of them in more acrobatic fashion thanks to his really good hands) but he surprised me with some good defensive plays on on the perimeter against the pick and roll in addition to the shot blocking ability you'd expect from someone with a 7'7" wingspan and his college reputation.

[whomario]

yeah, i saw his highlights and he looks pretty impressive. The couple games before the Clippers game were effective as well. Again shows that you should never give up on a cheap 7 footer. Hello Kings !

Also, Mo "Tony" Williams scores 52 in the first Wolves win in forever.

Gobert with 16/11/4 with 2 steals and 3 blocks.

Horford with 21/10/10 for the Hawks, who have zero problems beating the 76ers despite sitting out Teague, Millsap, Carroll and Antic.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by nol

I unfortunately witnessed Hassan Whiteside's breakout game against the Clippers on Sunday, and he had another good one tonight. He was one of those players I thought the LeBron-era Heat should have been going after with a minimum contract rather than old name guys if they were going to stick with the scrambling style of defense.

Whiteside's as long as they come and is another one of those guys whose offense mainly consists of dunking anything lobbed in the basket's general vicinity (some of them in more acrobatic fashion thanks to his really good hands) but he surprised me with some good defensive plays on on the perimeter against the pick and roll in addition to the shot blocking ability you'd expect from someone with a 7'7" wingspan and his college reputation.

Though it is a small sample size, Whiteside looks to be a rich man's version of Chris Andersen circa 2012-2013. Still early days though.

I fully admit that I have not seen a great deal of Kevin Love in previous years. For those that I have, what does he do well defensively? As I have watched Chris Bosh during his time in Miami, I know that he is not blocking shots and if you leave him alone in the post isolation situation he will be overpowered frequently. However, he will stay in front of his man more often than not and will play pretty good help defense. The few times I have watched Love, I can't tell what he does well defensively.

[Arles]

Watched the Suns game last night and Love looked awful. Not only did he play impressive "El Matador" defense that allowed Markieff Morris to set a career high with 35 points, he was 3/11 from the field and basically sat the entire 4th quarter because his defense was so bad they had to play James Jones?!!

I have to admit I thought that Love was a better player than he appears to be on the Cavs, but maybe he just is a good stats guy on a bad team where defense/winning isn't that important. I'm not sure where the Cavs go from here, but I don't think it's the end of the world if Love walks after this season. As much of a PR hit as it would be, it might be the best thing for them long term.

[Brian Swartz]

I think Love's inconsistency is at this point a general reflection on the surprising and disappointing dysfunction of the Cavaliers in general. It doesn't look the team agrees on what they are even trying to do, which I think is a more disastrous thing for Love than say for Irving or Lebron.

I really hope they pull their collective heads out of their posteriors. Way too much talent on the team for them not to be much, much better than this. They've shown it in stretches.

[Fidatelo]

I love that the Cavs are struggling so much and that Wiggins is really looking good. Karma ftw.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I think Love's inconsistency is at this point a general reflection on the surprising and disappointing dysfunction of the Cavaliers in general. It doesn't look the team agrees on what they are even trying to do, which I think is a more disastrous thing for Love than say for Irving or Lebron.

I really hope they pull their collective heads out of their posteriors. Way too much talent on the team for them not to be much, much better than this. They've shown it in stretches.

Agreed. Love was never a guy to just go in with the team concept. He needs to be catered to. That, of course, is not a good thing, character-wise, but it is something that can pay dividends with a guy with Love's talent. When he is motivated, he can really make a difference on the court (even with bad defense).

It's absolutely clear to me that there are massive disconnects going on between the staff and players in Cleveland, and probably between the players as well.

[Icy]

In my first NBA live game ever, watching Houston at Orlando.

Not the best game to watch but I'm in a business trip around USA and currently in Orlando and had the chance to attend and sit really close to the court, enjoying it a lot!

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I love that the Cavs are struggling so much and that Wiggins is really looking good. Karma ftw.

Hey now. We kept one Canadian around.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by whomario

Horford with 21/10/10 for the Hawks, who have zero problems beating the 76ers despite sitting out Teague, Millsap, Carroll and Antic.

Hawks are continuing their Spurs impression by sitting Korver and Horford tonight against the Celtics. I wonder when other teams will adapt that as well, Bulls would be a prime candidate here.

[Icy]

To my surprise, really good game from Orlando, close until the end and really fun to watch.

[Simbo Klice]

Originally Posted by Icy

To my surprise, really good game from Orlando, close until the end and really fun to watch.

I admit I didn't see the game, but looking at the box score every Rockets starter was over 50% shooting and Josh Smith shot 2-11. Does this accurately describe why the Rockets lost?

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

I admit I didn't see the game, but looking at the box score every Rockets starter was over 50% shooting and Josh Smith shot 2-11. Does this accurately describe why the Rockets lost?

Smith was horrible the whole game, but the key was that Oladipo was great, and so was Vucevic until the last quarter when he was heavily defended and then Payton started to take over with some great plays attacking the basket, he is incredible quick!

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Icy

Smith was horrible the whole game, but the key was that Oladipo was great, and so was Vucevic until the last quarter when he was heavily defended and then Payton started to take over with some great plays attacking the basket, he is incredible quick!

Sitting up close at an NBA game might be the best live sporting event in the USA. Even if it's not the best game. I always tell people "It doesn't matter if one or both teams suck, you're going to have a good time." I'm glad you got to check it out.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by whomario

Hawks are continuing their Spurs impression by sitting Korver and Horford tonight against the Celtics. I wonder when other teams will adapt that as well, Bulls would be a prime candidate here.

Nah, Thibodeau isn't wired like that. Jimmy Butler will be a shell of himself by age 30 at this pace.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Sitting up close at an NBA game might be the best live sporting event in the USA. Even if it's not the best game. I always tell people "It doesn't matter if one or both teams suck, you're going to have a good time." I'm glad you got to check it out.

Yep, I went to three games last year (one was a preseason game to be fair, at MSG), and we were real close to the front at the Warriors-Kings game near the beginning of the season. It was an amazing experience, one of the real highlights of the trip.

[Sublime 2]

Just read this.

With the latest C's trade, the Ainge has turned Rondo/Green into: Jae Crowder, 12M in expirings, 23M in trade exceptions, two 1sts, four 2nds.

Interested to see where he goes with all of this ammo...I just pray it's not a max contract DeAndre Jordan.

[nol]

Trade in the works that's sending Brook Lopez to OKC, Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn, and Jeremy Lamb and Jarrett Jack to Charlotte. It's a worthy price to get rid of Lance for Charlotte and can't hurt OKC given how sparingly Lamb has played over the years. The biggest WTF, as always is in Brooklyn's direction, but Lionel Hollins definitely hates Lopez.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by nol

Trade in the works that's sending Brook Lopez to OKC, Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn, and Jeremy Lamb and Jarrett Jack to Charlotte. It's a worthy price to get rid of Lance for Charlotte and can't hurt OKC given how sparingly Lamb has played over the years. The biggest WTF, as always is in Brooklyn's direction, but Lionel Hollins definitely hates Lopez.

Lance is owed $9 mil next season with a club option for 2016. Lopez is owed $16.7 million.

Plus, there is the added benefit of the hometown hero coming back to lead the team to the title. I hear that is the trend in the NBA nowadays.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Sublime 2

Just read this.

With the latest C's trade, the Ainge has turned Rondo/Green into: Jae Crowder, 12M in expirings, 23M in trade exceptions, two 1sts, four 2nds.

Interested to see where he goes with all of this ammo...I just pray it's not a max contract DeAndre Jordan.

Assuming we don't win the lottery and get Okafor, and any of these guys would actually sign here, I'd be down with signing Marc Gasol to max or near-max money... Jordan would also be a good fit, but like you said hes not a max guy. Other than that don't see anyone worth it. Aldridge and Millsap are much better than our current PF's, but the same type and don't solve our real issues. Spurs will match anything on Leonard, Bulls same on Butler. Rondo, Brook Lopez, Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight? No thanks.

I haven't actually seen anything concrete on the Memphis pick for Green, but if it's an unprotected 2019 1st that could be a sneaky good deal. No one was giving us a potential lottery pick in the next 2 years, and we really didn't need another pick in the 20's then. But now that has a chance to be a great asset once we've (hopefully) turned the corner.

PS you forgot the return of Shavlik Randolph in that haul!

[Vince, Pt. II]

I think it might be time to be unabashedly excited about the Warriors. 4th game in 5 nights in 4 different cities and they casually dismantled the Rockets. This team is very good, very deep and I am really enjoying following them this year.

[korme]

BENO!

[korme]

Originally Posted by nol

Trade in the works that's sending Brook Lopez to OKC, Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn, and Jeremy Lamb and Jarrett Jack to Charlotte. It's a worthy price to get rid of Lance for Charlotte and can't hurt OKC given how sparingly Lamb has played over the years. The biggest WTF, as always is in Brooklyn's direction, but Lionel Hollins definitely hates Lopez.

Prokhorov is trying to sell, and the less big contracts he has on the books, the juicier the franchise value

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I think it might be time to be unabashedly excited about the Warriors. 4th game in 5 nights in 4 different cities and they casually dismantled the Rockets. This team is very good, very deep and I am really enjoying following them this year.

yeah, the Warriors are a terrific team in basically every area. Even aside from the splash brothers they have terrific talent and might just be the deepest team in the league, as showcased by their record even when guys like Lee and Bogut missed time. They have 13 legit NBA rotation players, they have 2 6th man caliber guys (in Lee, Igoudala) and guys like Speights and Livingston are perfect fits for this team. Heck, Barbosa and Rush look good everytime i see them get a few minutes.

Plus, Curry is just ridiculously good. He is having a down year from 3 but has gotten so much better in every other aspect of the game in the last 2 seasons. And when he is feeling it, it makes for amazing entertainment. He is also best enjoyed when having the other teams broadcast crew on, the respect and astonishment at what he does is palpable.

They have the leagues best defensive rating and play at the leagues highest pace, i´m pretty sure that ever happened before. Their margin of victory is a just a shade below 11 (the Hawks are 2nd with about 7).

They are however a below-average rebounding team and turn the ball over a little too much, so there´s that

Wiggins with 31/9/4 on 11-17 shooting in a win for the Wolves


oh, and Kyle Korver is shooting 53.6% from 3 while having the most makes in the league with 125. In the history of the league, the most made 3s in a season while shooting above 50% is Tim Legler at 128. Only Glenn Rice and Steph Curry made more than 200 while shooting above 45%.

Hope the coaches vote him into the Allstar game ...

[korme]

Hawks really have four all-stars. I wonder which ones will actually make it (my guess is Horford and Teague)

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Sitting up close at an NBA game might be the best live sporting event in the USA. Even if it's not the best game. I always tell people "It doesn't matter if one or both teams suck, you're going to have a good time." I'm glad you got to check it out.

Sitting on the court opposite the benches is a good time. Watching the end of the bench zone out and check out the dance squads' asses is funny.

[Groundhog]

Cavs should try trade Love for that Wiggins kid.

[Brian Swartz]

Fun fact from San Antonio - Utah: game-high scorer was Splitter with 14. I wonder how often it is that nobody scores 15 points in an NBA game? My guess is not often.

[stevew]

Mosgov puts up 15/15 and leads the Cavs to a nice victory vs the Bulls.

[Brian Swartz]

Classic Popovich from before the Utah game:

Q: What has Utah improved on since you last faced them?
A: I haven't watched them.

Q: Have you scouted them or anything.
A: No, I don't do that.

Q: Do you know anything at all?
A: I know that the two sides of an isosceles triangle are equal.

......

I also got a LOL out of his answer to what the Spurs are doing differently to stay competitive in the West with all the various injuries this year.

"We've been playing zone and all kinds of things. I don't know what I'm doing. They say 'what are we doing tonight'. 'Two-three'. 'Well, what if -- '. 'Don't ask me any questions, I don't have any answers. Two-three. Go out and do it'"

In all seriousness, the biggest casualty is likely to be that Duncan is playing bigger minutes than usual, which could lead to problems come playoff time.

[Brian Swartz]

As of yesterday the NBA went over the halfway point of the regular season. Stuff that I think is interesting:

** Golden State and Atlanta are really, really good. Espescially the Warriors. I wonder about Curry's ankles though, it's been a long time since they made it through a full season healthy. I also wonder about their inexperience. Neither team has anybody who has seen the conference finals or NBA finals, and generally it takes such a run to prepare a team to be ready to make the step to being a champion, historically. I think Golden State is good enough to be a champion, but I don't know if they are really ready to be one, if you catch my meaning.

** Oklahoma City is still 3.5 games out of the playoffs. Phoenix, in 8th in the West, is on a 48-win pace. This would require a 29-13 finish by the Thunder to surpass them. I still think it's far from a foregone conclusion that it happens.

Originally Posted by stevew

Durant and Westbrook both back. Should be a long road back to .500 but as long as they get there by about game 40 I imagine they'll be ok.

Nostradamus award here. They made it back precisely at game 40. I'm still not sold though, they have little margin for error now.

** I still don't understand the Pistons. Brandon Jennings has been one of the most effective players in the league(something like 27-28) PER since Smith left, and they have been top-5 offensively and defensively. Only the Warriors and Hawks have been playing better basketball recently. Detroit is 1.5 games out of the playoffs, and it seems very likely, espescially in the East, that they make a bit of strange history and make it in.

** Cleveland and Chicago definitely are disappointments right now. Washington and Houston are both in the 'good, but should be great' category. Something just seems off with both teams, like there are chemistry issues or the mixing of talent just isn't quite right for whatever reason. Despite the records I don't expect much of either one in the playoffs.

** Kobe should retire. The Lakers aren't going anywhere soon enough for him to be a part of it. A sad final chapter for a truly great player, if not so much of a human being. I think Garnett and Duncan retire as well at the end of the year, no matter how it plays out. If so, my favorite generation of NBA stars fades away, it'll be interesting to see how much of the league still holds my interest.

** Phoenix is getting contributions from almost everybody they sign these days. They are 7 games over .500 in the West without a single Top-50 player in PER(Brandan Wright has played four games for them, so he doesn't really count here). I'm not sure anyone else in the league is getting more out of what they had.

** I still think the Love trade was a good idea.

** The implosion of the Kings is a sad thing. It still looks like a profoundly stupid thing to have fired Malone.

** I hope the Bucks hang in and make the playoffs, and it looks like they will. You can never have enough Greek Freak, and it's always good to see a team that hasn't won a playoff series in 15 years starting to turn the corner.

** Brooklyn is now officially a disaster, though it wasn't at all hard to see it coming.

** I still think there are seven(eight if the Thunder make it in) teams capable of winning the West.

** The Sixers starting to win games now on occasion makes it more difficult to laugh at them.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

** Oklahoma City is still 3.5 games out of the playoffs. Phoenix, in 8th in the West, is on a 48-win pace. This would require a 29-13 finish by the Thunder to surpass them. I still think it's far from a foregone conclusion that it happens.

Maybe they're on that pace in terms of winning percentage, but Phoenix's remaining schedule is the toughest in the league:



That graphic's from January 2nd, but between then and now the Suns played 4 of their 9 games against the Timberwolves, Lakers and 76ers. They've played the 2nd-most games against the East out of all Western teams. They're 12-12 against the West and 6-0 against the Lakers and Timberwolves thus far. I'd venture that the Thunder finish better than 29-13 regardless, but the Suns will definitely fall back some as their next 8 opponents are the Blazers, Rockets, Clippers, Wizards, Bulls, Warriors, Grizzlies, and Blazers.

[Brian Swartz]

Interesting info, thanks. I'm not sold on the Thunder finishing that well yet, though they are certainly capable of going on obscene tears at any time. Just takes time for teams to find themselves and they've had very little opportunity to do that. But the schedule info is a great point.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Interesting info, thanks. I'm not sold on the Thunder finishing that well yet, though they are certainly capable of going on obscene tears at any time. Just takes time for teams to find themselves and they've had very little opportunity to do that. But the schedule info is a great point.

In the "OKC will finish well" department, their record when Durant plays this season is 13-5, with one loss in his first game back and two losses on the road against Golden State.

[Groundhog]

Waiters certainly looked like the Dion Waiters I remember today.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Waiters certainly looked like the Dion Waiters I remember today.

"Listen," he told the Oklahoman of his new teammates, "they give me the ball. Like, I touch the ball. Like, I actually, like, you know, touch the ball.

I do think there is some truth that you can survive having a player like that when he accepts his role as 3rd option (Jamal Crawford on the Clippers) but not when he thinks he should be #1 and is trying to get the ball in the backcourt so he can get more shots (Dion in Cleveland, Ricky Davis).

** Phoenix is getting contributions from almost everybody they sign these days. They are 7 games over .500 in the West without a single Top-50 player in PER(Brandan Wright has played four games for them, so he doesn't really count here). I'm not sure anyone else in the league is getting more out of what they had.

Speaking of recent high draft picks more or less written off, how about Alex Len. 8/9/3 blocks per game on 58% shooting recently!

Brandan Wright being so high in PER is a great teaching point about how much context matters. He was in the perfect role in Dallas, surrounded by shooters with nobody clogging up the lane, but is a below-average player when next to another big who can't shoot. I never bought that he was going to be an improvement above Sullinger, but I thought it'd at least be worth giving him 2 months before moving on. Instead he was out of the rotation within 10 games and I'm not even mad about the trade - 2 high 2nd's seems like a perfectly fair return for him, maybe even a little high considering his age and UFA status.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

"Listen," he told the Oklahoman of his new teammates, "they give me the ball. Like, I touch the ball. Like, I actually, like, you know, touch the ball.

I do think there is some truth that you can survive having a player like that when he accepts his role as 3rd option (Jamal Crawford on the Clippers) but not when he thinks he should be #1 and is trying to get the ball in the backcourt so he can get more shots (Dion in Cleveland, Ricky Davis).

Stats don't backup Waiters words though - I was looking at the numbers yesterday, his touches are actually down - he's just been (yesterday aside) connecting on the same shots he was missing in Cleveland most nights. If Oklahoma City works out for Waiters it will be because KD and Brooks are both a lot less likely to scowl or freeze/bench him when he takes a bad jumper or doesn't pass on the fast break.

[Groundhog]

Can't embed the video right now, but this pass from Love to LeBron.... damn:

Vinnyviner's post on Vine

[nol]

Kobe tore his rotator cuff yesterday, even though the coach/training staff somehow let him back in the game. At least that will open up an All-Star spot for more deserving players.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Stats don't backup Waiters words though - I was looking at the numbers yesterday, his touches are actually down - he's just been (yesterday aside) connecting on the same shots he was missing in Cleveland most nights. If Oklahoma City works out for Waiters it will be because KD and Brooks are both a lot less likely to scowl or freeze/bench him when he takes a bad jumper or doesn't pass on the fast break.

Just shows how mental it is. All the stats in the world could tell him he's getting just as many touches next to Westbrook as Kyrie, but he's comfortable deferring to the more respected duo (Russ/KD) and a complete locker room cancer in Cleveland.

[whomario]

NBA Trade Value «

Simmons trade value columns through the years all in one place, definitely fun to read how the NBA landscape looked (well, as envisioned by Bill Simmons) through the last 15 years

[nol]

Originally Posted by whomario

NBA Trade Value «

Simmons trade value columns through the years all in one place, definitely fun to read how the NBA landscape looked (well, as envisioned by Bill Simmons) through the last 15 years

I looked through those earlier today. Some of the standouts were:

-Andre Miller being around #10-11 after one of his first two seasons

-07-08 Dwight Howard not having as much potential wear and tear when he reaches his mid-thirties because of his Christian lifestyle

-Rookie year OJ Mayo having the potential to be a Pippen-like defender

-04 Steve Nash

Some idiot once wrote that Nash was one of the best 10 point guards of the past 25 years. Oh, wait, that was me. Defensively, he’s atrocious. He didn’t break a sweat in the Kings series until Game 5 … by then, it was too late. He’s also about to be wildly overpaid by someone — probably Dallas — for something like six years and $60 million. And he’s 31 next February. With a history of back problems to boot. I wouldn’t go near him for that amount of money. But that’s just me.

[Chief Rum]

To be fair, I am sure we all have made some pretty dumb predictions, and I am guessing they could be cherry picked all to hell to make us look really bad. At least his predictions are out there.

I pretty much try to hide from many of my past posts.

[Groundhog]

I would love to see what I wrote about Drummond pre-draft. I expected him to be terrible.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

To be fair, I am sure we all have made some pretty dumb predictions, and I am guessing they could be cherry picked all to hell to make us look really bad. At least his predictions are out there.

I pretty much try to hide from many of my past posts.

Yeah, most of them stood out for how they were pretty rational and reflective of the conventional wisdom at the time but went on to be wrong in goofy, unexpected ways.

Nash got pretty much exactly that amount from Phoenix, and almost everybody did think it was an overpay, but then he goes on to have those ridiculous seasons. Howard had missed 0 games in his career to that point and was actively portraying himself as the anti-Kobe/LeBron superstar - all yes sir, no sir, praise the Lord, etc., and we all know how that turned out.

One of the systematic things I can see is leaning conservative on really young players on rookie deals who are definitely going to be superstars. Not just in a hindsight is 20-20 way, but pretty much every team that's not a legitimate championship contender would at least consider trading away an All-NBA level player for a 20 year old Durant/Davis caliber player. For example, Andrew Wiggins should probably be slightly ahead of someone like John Wall this season.

Also when you look at the players ranked in the 30-40 range over the years, the league has definitely gotten much deeper.

[Groundhog]

Exum got the starting nod over Burke tonight and has looked OK so far. I'm biased, but I think it's a good move - Burke's ceiling to me looks like a solid sparkplug bench scorer. Interesting that Exum's biggest weakness was supposed to be his three point shooting, yet so far on that end of the court it's probably been his strength - it looks like he's put so much time into his three point shooting that he's isn't looking to attack enough, especially off the pick and roll.