OFFICIAL 2010-2011 NBA PLAYOFFS THREAD : VOL. MOST. ANTICIPATED. PLAYOFFS. EVER?

[Deleted member 38182]

Originally Posted by JPZx

So the Rockets are going to end up looking like the 2008 Kings when it's all said and done? And vice versa?

 suckas

 

[dacomeup]

A lot of guys come into the league just needing the ball in their hands to be productive.. He definitely has time to change that, and the fact that he's on horrible, young teams adds to this also.

 

[dacomeup]

A lot of guys come into the league just needing the ball in their hands to be productive.. He definitely has time to change that, and the fact that he's on horrible, young teams adds to this also.

 

[CP1708]

And this is why I wish Phil would just be quiet and coach his guys..........



ORLANDO, Fla. -- Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who faces former employer Miami on Wednesday night, called Phil Jackson "inappropriate" and "ignorant" for hypothesizing that the Heat soon could change coaches if the ultra-talented Heat don't shake their sluggish start.

Jackson drew attention -- and some ire -- after discussing the fallout to the Heat's 8-6 start under coach Erik Spoelstra during an interview Tuesday with ESPN 1000 in Chicago.

[h4]ESPN 1000, Chicago[/h4]
Lakers coach Phil Jackson joined "The Waddle & Silvy Show" to discuss the possibility of Pat Riley coaching the Heat; the Lakers' chance of breaking the Bulls' 72-win mark; and the future of the Bulls and Derrick Rose.

More Podcasts »



"That record, I think, says a lot about coming together with some real talented guys, and not having a base," the Lakers coach said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show."

Jackson went on to say, "The scenario that sits kind of behind the scene, is that eventually these guys that were recruited -- [Chris] Bosh and [LeBron] James -- by [team president] Pat Riley and Micky Arison, the owner, are going to come in and say, 'We feel you [Riley] can do a better job coaching the team. We came here on the hopes that this would work,' and whatever, I don't know," Jackson said. "That's kind of my take on it, is that eventually if things don't straighten out here soon, it could be the Van Gundy thing all over again."

Jackson's direct analogy to the events that precipitated Van Gundy's departure in Miami during the 2005-06 season particularly irritated the Magic's coach.

"Phil has no idea what the Van Gundy situation was because, even though he coaches in our league, he certainly had no insight or knowledge of that," Van Gundy said Wednesday. "So an analogy he'd make to my situation would be totally useless because he doesn't have any clue what the situation was in that case."

Van Gundy resigned in December 2005 after the Heat went 11-10 through the early stretch of their season. Although he cited personal reasons for resigning, many observers maintain that Van Gundy was forced out by Riley. In the five years since his departure, Van Gundy has insisted repeatedly that the prevailing views of his exit are patently false -- an opinion he reiterated in the wake of Jackson's comments.

"To second-guess another coach and comment on a situation he knows nothing about -- it's inappropriate. And it's also ignorant," Van Gundy said. "I don't mean that commenting on Phil's intelligence. He's obviously a very smart guy. I mean it as ignorant [in that] he doesn't know what that situation was and he doesn't know what the situation is now.

"I don't think, unless their relationship has changed drastically, that [Jackson] and Pat talk on a regular basis. So I doubt he would have any information whatsoever on what's going on in Miami."

Asked about Jackson's assessment of the situation in Miami, Spoelstra had a considerably more light-hearted reply.

"My coaching staff was giving me some grief about it, they got a good chuckle out of it," Spoelstra said. "Everybody has had something to say about us, I can't expect that I would be excluded from that. I'm sure people are saying some stuff about me out there, other than him, too."

Heat guard Dwyane Wade was taken aback by Jackson's comments, though he conceded that the 11-time NBA champion has earned a certain license to speak candidly.

"The only thing surprising about it is a coach saying it about another coach," Wade said. "I respect someone else to say it but not another coach. It is unfortunate but I guess Coach Jackson had earned the right to say what he wants so he continues to exercise that right."



Don't rile people up for no reason Phil, leave that to a-holes like me. 

 

[CP1708]

And this is why I wish Phil would just be quiet and coach his guys..........



ORLANDO, Fla. -- Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who faces former employer Miami on Wednesday night, called Phil Jackson "inappropriate" and "ignorant" for hypothesizing that the Heat soon could change coaches if the ultra-talented Heat don't shake their sluggish start.

Jackson drew attention -- and some ire -- after discussing the fallout to the Heat's 8-6 start under coach Erik Spoelstra during an interview Tuesday with ESPN 1000 in Chicago.

[h4]ESPN 1000, Chicago[/h4]
Lakers coach Phil Jackson joined "The Waddle & Silvy Show" to discuss the possibility of Pat Riley coaching the Heat; the Lakers' chance of breaking the Bulls' 72-win mark; and the future of the Bulls and Derrick Rose.

More Podcasts »



"That record, I think, says a lot about coming together with some real talented guys, and not having a base," the Lakers coach said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show."

Jackson went on to say, "The scenario that sits kind of behind the scene, is that eventually these guys that were recruited -- [Chris] Bosh and [LeBron] James -- by [team president] Pat Riley and Micky Arison, the owner, are going to come in and say, 'We feel you [Riley] can do a better job coaching the team. We came here on the hopes that this would work,' and whatever, I don't know," Jackson said. "That's kind of my take on it, is that eventually if things don't straighten out here soon, it could be the Van Gundy thing all over again."

Jackson's direct analogy to the events that precipitated Van Gundy's departure in Miami during the 2005-06 season particularly irritated the Magic's coach.

"Phil has no idea what the Van Gundy situation was because, even though he coaches in our league, he certainly had no insight or knowledge of that," Van Gundy said Wednesday. "So an analogy he'd make to my situation would be totally useless because he doesn't have any clue what the situation was in that case."

Van Gundy resigned in December 2005 after the Heat went 11-10 through the early stretch of their season. Although he cited personal reasons for resigning, many observers maintain that Van Gundy was forced out by Riley. In the five years since his departure, Van Gundy has insisted repeatedly that the prevailing views of his exit are patently false -- an opinion he reiterated in the wake of Jackson's comments.

"To second-guess another coach and comment on a situation he knows nothing about -- it's inappropriate. And it's also ignorant," Van Gundy said. "I don't mean that commenting on Phil's intelligence. He's obviously a very smart guy. I mean it as ignorant [in that] he doesn't know what that situation was and he doesn't know what the situation is now.

"I don't think, unless their relationship has changed drastically, that [Jackson] and Pat talk on a regular basis. So I doubt he would have any information whatsoever on what's going on in Miami."

Asked about Jackson's assessment of the situation in Miami, Spoelstra had a considerably more light-hearted reply.

"My coaching staff was giving me some grief about it, they got a good chuckle out of it," Spoelstra said. "Everybody has had something to say about us, I can't expect that I would be excluded from that. I'm sure people are saying some stuff about me out there, other than him, too."

Heat guard Dwyane Wade was taken aback by Jackson's comments, though he conceded that the 11-time NBA champion has earned a certain license to speak candidly.

"The only thing surprising about it is a coach saying it about another coach," Wade said. "I respect someone else to say it but not another coach. It is unfortunate but I guess Coach Jackson had earned the right to say what he wants so he continues to exercise that right."



Don't rile people up for no reason Phil, leave that to a-holes like me. 

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

Originally Posted by Im Not You

Son is in year 2...and is already a career loser?

Obviously he is still young, but I have never been a fan of the way he plays.  1 on 1 players don't usually suddenly transform into team basketball players.  He's a hog without a jumper who needs the ball in his hands at all times to be effective.  Obviously he is extremely young so all of this is really just BS at this point, but I see his destiny as a guy who puts up numbers on crap teams.\

Good chance I'm completely wrong though

Won't be the first time.

Should I JPX you again?

Back to the original statement from SHUGES, there is no PG movement talk this season. As much as I want Tyreke to start at PG, he hasn't. But he is the primarily ball handler still even with Beno/Luther Head at PG now. Has anyone seen a Kings game here on this thread tho besides the Kings fans? Beno is right that there is a bunch of one-on-one and its not just Tyreke doing it. Coach Westphal's offensive sets are just too predictable. And no one makes the extra pass.

Making an excuse response, but dude has not been 100% healthy this season. I hope this see some improvement in his game when he finally gets back to 100%. Even if he misses games, he has to. It would be good (probably horrible) to see DMC out there as the first option. Sorry Landry.

You really got numerous guys at his position you rather have over him on your squad? What team tho? Even Kobe gonna need major help to get this Kings team to the playoffs. 

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

Originally Posted by Im Not You

Son is in year 2...and is already a career loser?

Obviously he is still young, but I have never been a fan of the way he plays.  1 on 1 players don't usually suddenly transform into team basketball players.  He's a hog without a jumper who needs the ball in his hands at all times to be effective.  Obviously he is extremely young so all of this is really just BS at this point, but I see his destiny as a guy who puts up numbers on crap teams.\

Good chance I'm completely wrong though

Won't be the first time.

Should I JPX you again?

Back to the original statement from SHUGES, there is no PG movement talk this season. As much as I want Tyreke to start at PG, he hasn't. But he is the primarily ball handler still even with Beno/Luther Head at PG now. Has anyone seen a Kings game here on this thread tho besides the Kings fans? Beno is right that there is a bunch of one-on-one and its not just Tyreke doing it. Coach Westphal's offensive sets are just too predictable. And no one makes the extra pass.

Making an excuse response, but dude has not been 100% healthy this season. I hope this see some improvement in his game when he finally gets back to 100%. Even if he misses games, he has to. It would be good (probably horrible) to see DMC out there as the first option. Sorry Landry.

You really got numerous guys at his position you rather have over him on your squad? What team tho? Even Kobe gonna need major help to get this Kings team to the playoffs. 

 

[proshares]

After topping 50 wins for the first time in 12 years, the Hawks are on course for just 38 this season.
Nothing's going on with the Atlanta Hawks to be concerned about. Nothing at all. Except for the fact they have lost seven of nine since a 6-0 start, and have lost five of their last six home games, including the last one when they trailed by 26 points after the first quarter.

Other than that, no worries.

Although it's been largely forgotten, the Hawks won 53 games last season. Fifty-three. They won three more games than the Celtics, in fact, and during the regular season, they bludgeoned Boston 4-0 when they went head-to-head. Like Boston, they return the same core players from a year ago.

[h4]HOLLINGER'S PLAYOFF ODDS[/h4]
Check your team's chances of making
it to the playoffs.
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So it was a bit jarring to see the Celtics come into Philips Arena on Monday and crush the Hawks' spirit in the first 12 minutes, opening up a 39-13 bulge after one quarter. We haven't seen an opposing side roll through Hotlanta that easily since the Union Army left.

Unfortunately, Monday's debacle wasn't a single bad night, but rather part of a larger trend. Both objectively and subjectively, the Hawks don't appear anywhere near the team they were a year ago. Atlanta has just two impressive results on its résumé this season -- a 119-104 opening night win in Memphis, and a 102-92 road win over a spunky Indiana squad. Even the Memphis win comes with a massive asterisk, since Marc Gasol didn't play and Zach Randolph was injured before halftime.

Otherwise, they've beaten up on the league's stiffs -- Philadelphia, Washington, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota twice -- and none of the wins was by more than a dozen. Alas, the NBA requires them to schedule good teams too, and since the schedule turned tougher, Atlanta's strong start has shriveled.

It's going to get harder: The Hawks have played the league's seventh-easiest schedule and -- after they see five more relative patsies (Washington, Toronto, New York, Philly and Memphis) -- things get dramatically more difficult in mid-December.

As a result of their struggles, Atlanta has plummeted to 19th in the Power Rankings -- the lowest ranking of any team with a winning record. The current playoff odds give them only a 49 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason, with their most likely landing spot a 38-44 record and the eighth seed in the East.

Yuck.

And beyond yuck, we're left to wonder how this is even possible. Atlanta has the same top nine players as a year ago. Three of them are 24 and one is 22, and the others aren't exactly doddering graybeards, either. It seems inconceivable that the same team that cruised through the regular season a year ago could have so much trouble this time around.

Yet the evidence is overwhelming. In particular, a few things stand out:

1. The $120 million man

Joe Johnson hasn't lived up to his huge offseason contract, struggling because of an injury to his left hand -- at least that's what the Hawks are hoping. With five years at the maximum due after this one, Atlanta has to hope his spotty November play isn't part of a larger decline by the 29-year-old guard, in which case the doubts about the deal the Hawks gave him will only increase.

Looking more closely, Johnson is taking about as many shots as always -- he's just not making them. At 41.1 percent for the year and a miserable 25.8 percent on 3s, his offensive woes are one reason the Hawks have taken a step backward. Historically, Johnson has played extremely well in December. If he can't turn it up a notch in the next couple of weeks, it's time to start worrying.

2. The frontcourt puzzle

Al Horford has been the Hawks' best player at both ends thus far. He's had a truly dominant November, in fact, ranking fourth in the NBA in player efficiency rating and shooting 61.9 percent from the floor.

He's also playing just 31.7 minutes per game, and I wish I had a good reason why. Fouls haven't been a problem -- he averages just 2.6 per game -- but the Hawks have been strangely reluctant to keep their best player on the court. It goes without saying that this has been a needless, self-inflicted wound.

Meanwhile, new coach Larry Drew has also taken a shine to veteran retread Josh Powell. Powell has a lot of positives as an end-of-the-bench guy -- he's tough, he works really hard, and he can make a 15-footer. He also can't rebound or finish, though, which is why he's had single-digit PERs in five of his six NBA seasons, so giving him minutes at the expense of Zaza Pachulia is absurd.

Score one for absurdity. Powell (14.8 minutes per game) has basically been used interchangeably with Pachulia (15.5), a huge shift from the departed Mike Woodson's strategy of using a three-man frontcourt rotation unless he absolutely, positively had to put in another body. Likewise, this wound appears purely self-inflicted.

3. The decline of Jamal

This is the one part of Atlanta's struggles that could easily have been forecast. Jamal Crawford is 30 and coming off a career year; additionally, he's in a spat with management over his lack of a contract extension.

Crawford hasn't played nearly as well this season, shooting 42.3 percent overall and 30.1 percent on 3s, and he seems weirdly uninvolved in the offense at times. Defensively, he's been more of a liability than ever.

This alone, however, can't explain the Hawks' steep decline. We knew Crawford probably wouldn't do as well this year, but continued improvement by Josh Smith and Horford should, at the very least, have offset that. Because of the other factors on this list, it hasn't.

4. Decline of the D

Basically, they've stopped guarding people. The Hawks weren't a particularly good defensive team a year ago, especially in transition, but this year they've taken another step backward. That's the opposite of what you'd expect from a crew that's added another year of experience and cohesion.

Atlanta is just 19th in defensive efficiency despite the easy early schedule, an unacceptable result from a team with one of the league's most feared shot-blockers and only one position (point guard) in which defense appears to be a real liability. The Hawks have been subpar on the boards (21st in defensive rebound rate) but they were last year, too. The bigger problem is an inability to force turnovers -- Atlanta is 27th in opponent turnovers per possessions.

5. The new coach

Not to put too fine a point on this, but pretty much everything about this year's Hawks is the same except one. Drew decided to change a few things, most notably that they stop switching so much on D and they stop running so many isolations on offense. It appears both maneuvers have left his troops worse off.

Beyond that, one wonders if the players have the same respect for Drew that they did for Woodson. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mark Bradley pointed out earlier this week, one reason players pine for the well-liked assistant to take over is because they think life will be easier -- they won't be held as accountable for mistakes and they can take a few plays off.

Watching players laze back on defense and appear to break the offense, one wonders if a substitute-teacher mentality has set in.

Drew called out his team after the Boston game, saying, "I told the guys I don't know what you are doing the night before we play," but Atlanta still dropped another winnable game Tuesday night in New Jersey.

Obviously, there's plenty of time to turn things around, and there are more than a few clubs who would love to exchange problems with Atlanta. Nonetheless, it's been an underwhelming start for a Hawks team that changed generals largely because they thought themselves ready to make a deeper incursion into the postseason.

At the very least, the slow start will likely require any such incursions to be accomplished without the benefit of home-court advantage. That's the best-case scenario. More worrying is the possibility that, after five straight years of improving win totals, the franchise is taking a major step backward.

  Parker is making sure Spurs fans know he's the future of the franchise.
You know that contract hangover theory? It doesn't apply to Tony Parker.

At the end of October, the San Antonio Spurs re-upped with their star point guard for a four-year, $50 million extension that should keep him in a Spurs uniform through 2014-15. Three weeks later, the Spurs boast the league's best record of 12-1 -- and Parker, who is currently sporting the league's ninth-highest player efficiency rating, is a huge reason why.

In the midst of a 10-game winning streak, the Spurs have stormed out of the gate in multiple ways. Just two seasons ago, the Spurs were the fourth-slowest team in the NBA, averaging 90.4 possessions per game. This year? They have cranked out an extra 7.4 possessions per game with predominantly the same core. Don't look now, but the Spurs are actually outpacing the Phoenix Suns in the speed game, ranking seventh in possessions per game with 97.8 to the Suns' 97.3.

So what changed? The Spurs are unleashing the blow-by speed of Parker outside of the half court.

People tend to forget that Parker is only 28 years old. It's easy to lump him in the same age bracket as Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, since they've played together for so long. But Ginobili and Duncan have five years on Parker, which makes an enormous difference in this league. So instead of catering to their mid-30s stars, the Spurs embraced the fact that they possess one of the league's fastest point guards in his prime, who also happens to represent the future of the franchise.

By putting Parker in the driver's seat, the Spurs have seen their transition game make up 13.3 percent of the team's offense, according to Synergy data, up dramatically from their 9.4 percent rate last season. Teams find it hard enough to stay in front of Parker in the half court, but the Spurs are leveraging the three-time All-Star's speed and quickness in traffic where there's no safety net in the form of defensive rotations. Flying in transition, Parker doesn't have to circumvent two or three defenders on his way to the rack anymore.

You'll notice this season that the Spurs have been pushing the ball off defensive rebounds, but more importantly, they're also getting turnovers, which trigger the run-and-gun style of play. Causing turnovers was a sore spot for the Spurs last season, as they ranked third to last in opponent turnover percentage. This season, the Spurs have jumped 15 spots in the rankings on their way to a 14.3 percent opponent turnover rate.

Once again, Parker is leading the way. Parker was vocal this offseason about his newfound dedication to the defensive side of the ball, but those proclamations usually end up being contract propaganda. In Parker's case, though, it was more than just talk. The 6-foot-2 point guard has been far more active in passing lanes this season. Whether it's intercepting entry passes to bigger point guards trying to body him up -- which happened more than once against Deron Williams on Friday night -- or picking off a lazy swing pass, we're seeing an offseason promise actually come to fruition on the court. With 26 steals this season, the normally undisruptive point guard is just three steals away from eclipsing his 2009-10 total after just 13 games, while ranking ninth in the NBA with 2.0 steals per game.

Parker utilizes a lightning-quick first step to destroy his man off the dribble, but it never seemed to translate on the defensive end. Similar accelerators like Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo perennially rank atop the steals leaderboard, but Parker was the rare case in which a devastating first step vanished on the other side of the ball. Not anymore.

As is always the case with Parker, however, we have to complement our compliments with a caution: He can't seem to stay healthy for a full season. Over the previous three seasons, he has missed about 16 games per season and perennially battles a fragile left ankle. But he seems to be fully healthy after suffering a broken right hand in March and has shown zero signs of slowing down at age 28.

While Ginobili is in the midst of another spectacular season, the Spurs have redefined themselves through Parker's play on both ends of the floor. These aren't the same ol' Spurs, and if MVP voters are looking for the most valuable and transformative player on the league's best team -- which is often the case -- then it's time we recognize Parker as a legitimate MVP candidate in the early going.

  It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's Blake Griffin in full-posterization mode on Saturday versus the Knicks.
We're only a month into the season, but it already seems like we've had a season full of rookie highlights, thanks mostly to Blake Griffin and John Wall.

There have been other years in which two rookies seemed primed for a Rookie of the Year fight from day one, only to have the reality fall short of the expectation. Injuries, coaching changes or simply players who did not perform to their lofty expectations have been prominent. Rare is the season in which two highly-thought-of rookies played their parts to perfection.

This season, though, is shaping up to be sensational. Two No. 1 picks, two teams that feature their top picks and two players who have superstar potential. This week was all about Griffin, though Wall returned to action and reminded us that he's going to go step-for-step with Griffin in the ROY race.

1. Blake Griffin, Clippers
Griffin's 44-point, 15-rebound and 7-assist performance on Saturday was inevitable, and we'll see more outbursts like this from him going forward. In a fast-paced game, when the opponent is a team that does not clog the lane with space-eaters or shot-blockers, Griffin will use his agility and quickness to nimbly weave through defenders and get to the rim constantly. Once there, his explosiveness takes care of the rest.

His combination of power, agility, quickness and size makes him unique. Mix in his ferocious desire to pound and embarrass opponents at the rim, and you get a prototypical power forward for the new NBA (save his lack of a shooting stroke -- he has a pronounced hitch and a wrist turn that is difficult to replicate consistently).

As it stands today, he might be, and probably is, the best slashing power forward in the game. When his defender moves toward the ball and away from him as a helper, it is difficult to rotate back as the ball arrives to Griffin's hands. He takes up too much space too quickly and is 12 feet up in the air before the defender can react. The Clippers are a terrible team, but Griffin gives them hope for the future.

[h4]ROOKIE 50 RANKINGS[/h4]

Blake Griffin has taken over the No. 1 spot in Thorpe's rookie rankings.
[table][tr][th=""]Rank[/th][th=""]Player[/th][th=""]Stock[/th][/tr][tr][td]1[/td][td]Blake Griffin[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]2[/td][td]John Wall[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]3[/td][td]Landry Fields[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]4[/td][td]Derrick Favors[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]5[/td][td]Eric Bledsoe[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]6[/td][td]Al-Farouq Aminu[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]7[/td][td]Tiago Splitter[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]8[/td][td]DeMarcus Cousins[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]9[/td][td]Gary Forbes[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]10[/td][td]Gary Neal[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][/table]
• Click here for the complete rankings »





2. John Wall, Wizards
Even though he missed a few games because of a foot injury, Wall's efforts to date have kept him in the top two of our rankings. This is partly because of the weakness of the field, but more so because he looks like an absolute star.

Considering how much he loves to play and compete, his return on Tuesday night was must-see TV. Would he try to outdo Griffin's amazing Saturday night? You bet! He came off the bench to score 25 points on 7-for-15 shooting (3-for-7 from the 3-point line) with 6 assists and a turnover. And with the Wizards down three with 3 seconds left, he drew a three-shot foul and calmly made them all to force OT, in which his team would go on to win.

3. Landry Fields, Knicks
Fields has had an intriguing past two weeks. When he was playing some of his most productive ball and logging more minutes, the Knicks lost. In fact, his best game this year was a terrific 21-point, 17-rebound performance in a losing effort against the Nuggets. Then, with the Knicks on a six-game losing streak, coach Mike D'Antoni cut his minutes back. The team has now won four straight.

It's clear that the Knicks are best on offense when he's in the game. His overall feel allows the system to run well, and he's capable of finding ways to score efficiently within the system. It's also clear that he's struggling on defense, though guarding NBA shooting guards is tough to begin with and even tougher without paint help.

Fields, though, continues to be the pick of the draft and has an early lock on the rookie-sophomore game in February.

4. Derrick Favors, Nets
Favors has slid a bit, not finishing as many shots inside and, more alarmingly, not getting to the line as often. He took 14 free throws in his first three games but just 20 in the next nine.

However, he did take seven free throws on Saturday, so it's possible that he's learning to attack guys and look for contact more with his quickness. This remains something important to follow. Power forwards with explosive first steps can be foul magnets, provided they attack at the right times, not forcing things into the teeth of the defense.

He's proving to be a solid defender, which is impressive considering his position and age.

5. Eric Bledsoe, Clippers
Yes, his turnovers are up and his assists are down, but overall he's a dynamic young guy playing 30 minutes a night in a tough situation for a rookie point guard, considering he's often trying to lead four other young guys on the court. Relative to the rest of the NBA, the youngest Clippers are just kids. Imagine being a babysitter when you were 11 years old, and the four kids you were watching were 11, too.

However, Baron Davis or the coaching staff has done a good job teaching him not to rush everything as much as he was. I love how he is competing on defense and the boards, too. He's in the top 10 in rebound rate among all NBA point guards, which isn't a surprise when considering how long and fast he is and how he goes to the glass every time. It's a great sign to see him that locked in. He's also shooting the ball OK and not just chucking up shots.

6. Al-Farouq Aminu, Clippers
Coming on strong, Aminu makes it three Clippers in the top 6. He's still picking his spots to race the floor and having a difficult time defending small forwards who use screens -- simply because he's never had to do that before -- but the truth is he'll definitely get better in both areas. And fairly fast.

Meanwhile, he is 13 for 24 from 3-point land (54 percent) and scored 16 points in the Clippers' huge win against the Hornets on Monday. It was his sixth double-figure scoring night in his last 8 games, and his true shooting percentage is creeping to the magical 60 percent mark (58.8 -- third among non-center rookies).

Another plus for Aminu is his effort on the glass, where I think he can be special. He plays some minutes at the 4 for this reason and probably will continue to do so. An Aminu-Griffin frontline will surely present some matchup nightmares for opponents in the future.

7. Tiago Splitter, Spurs
Splitter's playing time is inconsistent right now. He's played significant minutes against the lesser teams but not at all against the better teams. But when he's in, he is good on both sides of the ball.

The Spurs play some of their best defense when he's in the game and, perhaps surprisingly, some of their best offense, too. As an offensive rebounder, he's been an eyelash better than DeJuan Blair, who was the best in the league in this area among rotation players last season.

Splitter's problem, though, is his below average defensive rebounding. Until he starts doing a better job in this area, he'll continue to ride the minutes roller coaster.

8. DeMarcus Cousins, Kings
Cousins remaining in the top 10 despite a poor month -- 36 percent shooting from the field and 2.7 turnovers per game -- proves that the experts were right when they called this a weak draft class.

Ironically, those experts were counting Cousins as one of the few strengths of the class, but we're not seeing much except his potential right now. He shows incredible hands and his massive size poses matchup problems for most opponents, but he's still struggling with conditioning issues, poor shot selection and a lack of a plan inside.

The plan will come with little doubt. It may take a season or two (or less perhaps). And his turnover rate, highest among all rookies (behind only Bledsoe), will creep down once he studies enough tape and learns from the mistakes he's making.

I think he'll learn to eat better and train harder, getting sleeker in the process. Until then, the Kings will just have to live with their man-child and take the good with the bad. Unfortunately for them, the bad is outweighing the good right now.

9. Gary Forbes, Nuggets
Want a glimpse into Forbes' world? He was diagnosed with diabetes while starting his freshman season at Virginia; transferred to UMass and dominated the conference; went undrafted despite dominating in pre-draft camps; then played for a few seasons in Europe, the Philippines and the D-League.

He finally got his chance to make an NBA team this season and actually earned rotation minutes, impressing his coach and teammates. Then he busted out with a 19-point, 9-rebound performance in a win over the Knicks, while moving to the top of the rookie PER chart ahead of two former No. 1 overall picks (and future All-Stars).

What happened next? He played 32 minutes in Denver's next three games combined. Now he's facing little chance of playing as long as J.R. Smith continues to keep his nose clean and arrives to practices and games on time. Such is life for a rookie on a good team.

10. Gary Neal, Spurs
A 3-point specialist in San Antonio who reminds me of the Nets' Anthony Morrow in some ways, Neal is proving to be a valuable part of the Spurs' offense. He ranks 26th overall in 3-point accuracy (43.2 percent) and is part of a core group of role players that helps support the big three on offense -- Matt Bonner, rookie James Anderson (who's still hurt), Richard Jefferson and Neal all rank in the top 26 in 3-point percentage.

Once Anderson returns, the two rookies will likely fight for playing time, but Neal's overall experience will provide him an edge. The danger with Neal, however, is that he's almost strictly a deep-perimeter shooter (2.8 of his 5.4 shots per game are 3-pointers), so if his shot disappears for a while, his minutes could too.

 

[proshares]

After topping 50 wins for the first time in 12 years, the Hawks are on course for just 38 this season.
Nothing's going on with the Atlanta Hawks to be concerned about. Nothing at all. Except for the fact they have lost seven of nine since a 6-0 start, and have lost five of their last six home games, including the last one when they trailed by 26 points after the first quarter.

Other than that, no worries.

Although it's been largely forgotten, the Hawks won 53 games last season. Fifty-three. They won three more games than the Celtics, in fact, and during the regular season, they bludgeoned Boston 4-0 when they went head-to-head. Like Boston, they return the same core players from a year ago.

[h4]HOLLINGER'S PLAYOFF ODDS[/h4]
Check your team's chances of making
it to the playoffs.
NBA Playoff Odds

So it was a bit jarring to see the Celtics come into Philips Arena on Monday and crush the Hawks' spirit in the first 12 minutes, opening up a 39-13 bulge after one quarter. We haven't seen an opposing side roll through Hotlanta that easily since the Union Army left.

Unfortunately, Monday's debacle wasn't a single bad night, but rather part of a larger trend. Both objectively and subjectively, the Hawks don't appear anywhere near the team they were a year ago. Atlanta has just two impressive results on its résumé this season -- a 119-104 opening night win in Memphis, and a 102-92 road win over a spunky Indiana squad. Even the Memphis win comes with a massive asterisk, since Marc Gasol didn't play and Zach Randolph was injured before halftime.

Otherwise, they've beaten up on the league's stiffs -- Philadelphia, Washington, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota twice -- and none of the wins was by more than a dozen. Alas, the NBA requires them to schedule good teams too, and since the schedule turned tougher, Atlanta's strong start has shriveled.

It's going to get harder: The Hawks have played the league's seventh-easiest schedule and -- after they see five more relative patsies (Washington, Toronto, New York, Philly and Memphis) -- things get dramatically more difficult in mid-December.

As a result of their struggles, Atlanta has plummeted to 19th in the Power Rankings -- the lowest ranking of any team with a winning record. The current playoff odds give them only a 49 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason, with their most likely landing spot a 38-44 record and the eighth seed in the East.

Yuck.

And beyond yuck, we're left to wonder how this is even possible. Atlanta has the same top nine players as a year ago. Three of them are 24 and one is 22, and the others aren't exactly doddering graybeards, either. It seems inconceivable that the same team that cruised through the regular season a year ago could have so much trouble this time around.

Yet the evidence is overwhelming. In particular, a few things stand out:

1. The $120 million man

Joe Johnson hasn't lived up to his huge offseason contract, struggling because of an injury to his left hand -- at least that's what the Hawks are hoping. With five years at the maximum due after this one, Atlanta has to hope his spotty November play isn't part of a larger decline by the 29-year-old guard, in which case the doubts about the deal the Hawks gave him will only increase.

Looking more closely, Johnson is taking about as many shots as always -- he's just not making them. At 41.1 percent for the year and a miserable 25.8 percent on 3s, his offensive woes are one reason the Hawks have taken a step backward. Historically, Johnson has played extremely well in December. If he can't turn it up a notch in the next couple of weeks, it's time to start worrying.

2. The frontcourt puzzle

Al Horford has been the Hawks' best player at both ends thus far. He's had a truly dominant November, in fact, ranking fourth in the NBA in player efficiency rating and shooting 61.9 percent from the floor.

He's also playing just 31.7 minutes per game, and I wish I had a good reason why. Fouls haven't been a problem -- he averages just 2.6 per game -- but the Hawks have been strangely reluctant to keep their best player on the court. It goes without saying that this has been a needless, self-inflicted wound.

Meanwhile, new coach Larry Drew has also taken a shine to veteran retread Josh Powell. Powell has a lot of positives as an end-of-the-bench guy -- he's tough, he works really hard, and he can make a 15-footer. He also can't rebound or finish, though, which is why he's had single-digit PERs in five of his six NBA seasons, so giving him minutes at the expense of Zaza Pachulia is absurd.

Score one for absurdity. Powell (14.8 minutes per game) has basically been used interchangeably with Pachulia (15.5), a huge shift from the departed Mike Woodson's strategy of using a three-man frontcourt rotation unless he absolutely, positively had to put in another body. Likewise, this wound appears purely self-inflicted.

3. The decline of Jamal

This is the one part of Atlanta's struggles that could easily have been forecast. Jamal Crawford is 30 and coming off a career year; additionally, he's in a spat with management over his lack of a contract extension.

Crawford hasn't played nearly as well this season, shooting 42.3 percent overall and 30.1 percent on 3s, and he seems weirdly uninvolved in the offense at times. Defensively, he's been more of a liability than ever.

This alone, however, can't explain the Hawks' steep decline. We knew Crawford probably wouldn't do as well this year, but continued improvement by Josh Smith and Horford should, at the very least, have offset that. Because of the other factors on this list, it hasn't.

4. Decline of the D

Basically, they've stopped guarding people. The Hawks weren't a particularly good defensive team a year ago, especially in transition, but this year they've taken another step backward. That's the opposite of what you'd expect from a crew that's added another year of experience and cohesion.

Atlanta is just 19th in defensive efficiency despite the easy early schedule, an unacceptable result from a team with one of the league's most feared shot-blockers and only one position (point guard) in which defense appears to be a real liability. The Hawks have been subpar on the boards (21st in defensive rebound rate) but they were last year, too. The bigger problem is an inability to force turnovers -- Atlanta is 27th in opponent turnovers per possessions.

5. The new coach

Not to put too fine a point on this, but pretty much everything about this year's Hawks is the same except one. Drew decided to change a few things, most notably that they stop switching so much on D and they stop running so many isolations on offense. It appears both maneuvers have left his troops worse off.

Beyond that, one wonders if the players have the same respect for Drew that they did for Woodson. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mark Bradley pointed out earlier this week, one reason players pine for the well-liked assistant to take over is because they think life will be easier -- they won't be held as accountable for mistakes and they can take a few plays off.

Watching players laze back on defense and appear to break the offense, one wonders if a substitute-teacher mentality has set in.

Drew called out his team after the Boston game, saying, "I told the guys I don't know what you are doing the night before we play," but Atlanta still dropped another winnable game Tuesday night in New Jersey.

Obviously, there's plenty of time to turn things around, and there are more than a few clubs who would love to exchange problems with Atlanta. Nonetheless, it's been an underwhelming start for a Hawks team that changed generals largely because they thought themselves ready to make a deeper incursion into the postseason.

At the very least, the slow start will likely require any such incursions to be accomplished without the benefit of home-court advantage. That's the best-case scenario. More worrying is the possibility that, after five straight years of improving win totals, the franchise is taking a major step backward.

  Parker is making sure Spurs fans know he's the future of the franchise.
You know that contract hangover theory? It doesn't apply to Tony Parker.

At the end of October, the San Antonio Spurs re-upped with their star point guard for a four-year, $50 million extension that should keep him in a Spurs uniform through 2014-15. Three weeks later, the Spurs boast the league's best record of 12-1 -- and Parker, who is currently sporting the league's ninth-highest player efficiency rating, is a huge reason why.

In the midst of a 10-game winning streak, the Spurs have stormed out of the gate in multiple ways. Just two seasons ago, the Spurs were the fourth-slowest team in the NBA, averaging 90.4 possessions per game. This year? They have cranked out an extra 7.4 possessions per game with predominantly the same core. Don't look now, but the Spurs are actually outpacing the Phoenix Suns in the speed game, ranking seventh in possessions per game with 97.8 to the Suns' 97.3.

So what changed? The Spurs are unleashing the blow-by speed of Parker outside of the half court.

People tend to forget that Parker is only 28 years old. It's easy to lump him in the same age bracket as Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, since they've played together for so long. But Ginobili and Duncan have five years on Parker, which makes an enormous difference in this league. So instead of catering to their mid-30s stars, the Spurs embraced the fact that they possess one of the league's fastest point guards in his prime, who also happens to represent the future of the franchise.

By putting Parker in the driver's seat, the Spurs have seen their transition game make up 13.3 percent of the team's offense, according to Synergy data, up dramatically from their 9.4 percent rate last season. Teams find it hard enough to stay in front of Parker in the half court, but the Spurs are leveraging the three-time All-Star's speed and quickness in traffic where there's no safety net in the form of defensive rotations. Flying in transition, Parker doesn't have to circumvent two or three defenders on his way to the rack anymore.

You'll notice this season that the Spurs have been pushing the ball off defensive rebounds, but more importantly, they're also getting turnovers, which trigger the run-and-gun style of play. Causing turnovers was a sore spot for the Spurs last season, as they ranked third to last in opponent turnover percentage. This season, the Spurs have jumped 15 spots in the rankings on their way to a 14.3 percent opponent turnover rate.

Once again, Parker is leading the way. Parker was vocal this offseason about his newfound dedication to the defensive side of the ball, but those proclamations usually end up being contract propaganda. In Parker's case, though, it was more than just talk. The 6-foot-2 point guard has been far more active in passing lanes this season. Whether it's intercepting entry passes to bigger point guards trying to body him up -- which happened more than once against Deron Williams on Friday night -- or picking off a lazy swing pass, we're seeing an offseason promise actually come to fruition on the court. With 26 steals this season, the normally undisruptive point guard is just three steals away from eclipsing his 2009-10 total after just 13 games, while ranking ninth in the NBA with 2.0 steals per game.

Parker utilizes a lightning-quick first step to destroy his man off the dribble, but it never seemed to translate on the defensive end. Similar accelerators like Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo perennially rank atop the steals leaderboard, but Parker was the rare case in which a devastating first step vanished on the other side of the ball. Not anymore.

As is always the case with Parker, however, we have to complement our compliments with a caution: He can't seem to stay healthy for a full season. Over the previous three seasons, he has missed about 16 games per season and perennially battles a fragile left ankle. But he seems to be fully healthy after suffering a broken right hand in March and has shown zero signs of slowing down at age 28.

While Ginobili is in the midst of another spectacular season, the Spurs have redefined themselves through Parker's play on both ends of the floor. These aren't the same ol' Spurs, and if MVP voters are looking for the most valuable and transformative player on the league's best team -- which is often the case -- then it's time we recognize Parker as a legitimate MVP candidate in the early going.

  It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's Blake Griffin in full-posterization mode on Saturday versus the Knicks.
We're only a month into the season, but it already seems like we've had a season full of rookie highlights, thanks mostly to Blake Griffin and John Wall.

There have been other years in which two rookies seemed primed for a Rookie of the Year fight from day one, only to have the reality fall short of the expectation. Injuries, coaching changes or simply players who did not perform to their lofty expectations have been prominent. Rare is the season in which two highly-thought-of rookies played their parts to perfection.

This season, though, is shaping up to be sensational. Two No. 1 picks, two teams that feature their top picks and two players who have superstar potential. This week was all about Griffin, though Wall returned to action and reminded us that he's going to go step-for-step with Griffin in the ROY race.

1. Blake Griffin, Clippers
Griffin's 44-point, 15-rebound and 7-assist performance on Saturday was inevitable, and we'll see more outbursts like this from him going forward. In a fast-paced game, when the opponent is a team that does not clog the lane with space-eaters or shot-blockers, Griffin will use his agility and quickness to nimbly weave through defenders and get to the rim constantly. Once there, his explosiveness takes care of the rest.

His combination of power, agility, quickness and size makes him unique. Mix in his ferocious desire to pound and embarrass opponents at the rim, and you get a prototypical power forward for the new NBA (save his lack of a shooting stroke -- he has a pronounced hitch and a wrist turn that is difficult to replicate consistently).

As it stands today, he might be, and probably is, the best slashing power forward in the game. When his defender moves toward the ball and away from him as a helper, it is difficult to rotate back as the ball arrives to Griffin's hands. He takes up too much space too quickly and is 12 feet up in the air before the defender can react. The Clippers are a terrible team, but Griffin gives them hope for the future.

[h4]ROOKIE 50 RANKINGS[/h4]

Blake Griffin has taken over the No. 1 spot in Thorpe's rookie rankings.
[table][tr][th=""]Rank[/th][th=""]Player[/th][th=""]Stock[/th][/tr][tr][td]1[/td][td]Blake Griffin[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]2[/td][td]John Wall[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]3[/td][td]Landry Fields[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]4[/td][td]Derrick Favors[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]5[/td][td]Eric Bledsoe[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]6[/td][td]Al-Farouq Aminu[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]7[/td][td]Tiago Splitter[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]8[/td][td]DeMarcus Cousins[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]9[/td][td]Gary Forbes[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][tr][td]10[/td][td]Gary Neal[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][/table]
• Click here for the complete rankings »





2. John Wall, Wizards
Even though he missed a few games because of a foot injury, Wall's efforts to date have kept him in the top two of our rankings. This is partly because of the weakness of the field, but more so because he looks like an absolute star.

Considering how much he loves to play and compete, his return on Tuesday night was must-see TV. Would he try to outdo Griffin's amazing Saturday night? You bet! He came off the bench to score 25 points on 7-for-15 shooting (3-for-7 from the 3-point line) with 6 assists and a turnover. And with the Wizards down three with 3 seconds left, he drew a three-shot foul and calmly made them all to force OT, in which his team would go on to win.

3. Landry Fields, Knicks
Fields has had an intriguing past two weeks. When he was playing some of his most productive ball and logging more minutes, the Knicks lost. In fact, his best game this year was a terrific 21-point, 17-rebound performance in a losing effort against the Nuggets. Then, with the Knicks on a six-game losing streak, coach Mike D'Antoni cut his minutes back. The team has now won four straight.

It's clear that the Knicks are best on offense when he's in the game. His overall feel allows the system to run well, and he's capable of finding ways to score efficiently within the system. It's also clear that he's struggling on defense, though guarding NBA shooting guards is tough to begin with and even tougher without paint help.

Fields, though, continues to be the pick of the draft and has an early lock on the rookie-sophomore game in February.

4. Derrick Favors, Nets
Favors has slid a bit, not finishing as many shots inside and, more alarmingly, not getting to the line as often. He took 14 free throws in his first three games but just 20 in the next nine.

However, he did take seven free throws on Saturday, so it's possible that he's learning to attack guys and look for contact more with his quickness. This remains something important to follow. Power forwards with explosive first steps can be foul magnets, provided they attack at the right times, not forcing things into the teeth of the defense.

He's proving to be a solid defender, which is impressive considering his position and age.

5. Eric Bledsoe, Clippers
Yes, his turnovers are up and his assists are down, but overall he's a dynamic young guy playing 30 minutes a night in a tough situation for a rookie point guard, considering he's often trying to lead four other young guys on the court. Relative to the rest of the NBA, the youngest Clippers are just kids. Imagine being a babysitter when you were 11 years old, and the four kids you were watching were 11, too.

However, Baron Davis or the coaching staff has done a good job teaching him not to rush everything as much as he was. I love how he is competing on defense and the boards, too. He's in the top 10 in rebound rate among all NBA point guards, which isn't a surprise when considering how long and fast he is and how he goes to the glass every time. It's a great sign to see him that locked in. He's also shooting the ball OK and not just chucking up shots.

6. Al-Farouq Aminu, Clippers
Coming on strong, Aminu makes it three Clippers in the top 6. He's still picking his spots to race the floor and having a difficult time defending small forwards who use screens -- simply because he's never had to do that before -- but the truth is he'll definitely get better in both areas. And fairly fast.

Meanwhile, he is 13 for 24 from 3-point land (54 percent) and scored 16 points in the Clippers' huge win against the Hornets on Monday. It was his sixth double-figure scoring night in his last 8 games, and his true shooting percentage is creeping to the magical 60 percent mark (58.8 -- third among non-center rookies).

Another plus for Aminu is his effort on the glass, where I think he can be special. He plays some minutes at the 4 for this reason and probably will continue to do so. An Aminu-Griffin frontline will surely present some matchup nightmares for opponents in the future.

7. Tiago Splitter, Spurs
Splitter's playing time is inconsistent right now. He's played significant minutes against the lesser teams but not at all against the better teams. But when he's in, he is good on both sides of the ball.

The Spurs play some of their best defense when he's in the game and, perhaps surprisingly, some of their best offense, too. As an offensive rebounder, he's been an eyelash better than DeJuan Blair, who was the best in the league in this area among rotation players last season.

Splitter's problem, though, is his below average defensive rebounding. Until he starts doing a better job in this area, he'll continue to ride the minutes roller coaster.

8. DeMarcus Cousins, Kings
Cousins remaining in the top 10 despite a poor month -- 36 percent shooting from the field and 2.7 turnovers per game -- proves that the experts were right when they called this a weak draft class.

Ironically, those experts were counting Cousins as one of the few strengths of the class, but we're not seeing much except his potential right now. He shows incredible hands and his massive size poses matchup problems for most opponents, but he's still struggling with conditioning issues, poor shot selection and a lack of a plan inside.

The plan will come with little doubt. It may take a season or two (or less perhaps). And his turnover rate, highest among all rookies (behind only Bledsoe), will creep down once he studies enough tape and learns from the mistakes he's making.

I think he'll learn to eat better and train harder, getting sleeker in the process. Until then, the Kings will just have to live with their man-child and take the good with the bad. Unfortunately for them, the bad is outweighing the good right now.

9. Gary Forbes, Nuggets
Want a glimpse into Forbes' world? He was diagnosed with diabetes while starting his freshman season at Virginia; transferred to UMass and dominated the conference; went undrafted despite dominating in pre-draft camps; then played for a few seasons in Europe, the Philippines and the D-League.

He finally got his chance to make an NBA team this season and actually earned rotation minutes, impressing his coach and teammates. Then he busted out with a 19-point, 9-rebound performance in a win over the Knicks, while moving to the top of the rookie PER chart ahead of two former No. 1 overall picks (and future All-Stars).

What happened next? He played 32 minutes in Denver's next three games combined. Now he's facing little chance of playing as long as J.R. Smith continues to keep his nose clean and arrives to practices and games on time. Such is life for a rookie on a good team.

10. Gary Neal, Spurs
A 3-point specialist in San Antonio who reminds me of the Nets' Anthony Morrow in some ways, Neal is proving to be a valuable part of the Spurs' offense. He ranks 26th overall in 3-point accuracy (43.2 percent) and is part of a core group of role players that helps support the big three on offense -- Matt Bonner, rookie James Anderson (who's still hurt), Richard Jefferson and Neal all rank in the top 26 in 3-point percentage.

Once Anderson returns, the two rookies will likely fight for playing time, but Neal's overall experience will provide him an edge. The danger with Neal, however, is that he's almost strictly a deep-perimeter shooter (2.8 of his 5.4 shots per game are 3-pointers), so if his shot disappears for a while, his minutes could too.

 

[Bert.]

Blake Griffin has the ROY locked up, only way he doesnt win it is if he gets injured which hopefully doesnt happen.

 

[Bert.]

Blake Griffin has the ROY locked up, only way he doesnt win it is if he gets injured which hopefully doesnt happen.

 

[abovelegit1]

Tyreke has definitely taken a step back this year in terms of production. Now it could be the injuries or a sophomore slump, but whatever it is the fact remains that he is clearly not a point guard. He turns the ball over entirely too much and his play-making skills leave way too much to be desired. In fact, he's dead last among starting point guards in assist ratio (percentage of a player’s possessions that ends in an assist) . Now his absolute ceiling is probably a D-wade type off-guard that can get to the rim at will and take a ton of free throws, while creating scoring opportunities for others via drive and kick. Being a high efficiency and volume scorer would indeed make him a valuable player. He has the physical tools to become an all-star caliber player at both ends and is just 21.

As of right now though he has huge holes in his game, mainly his shooting and how inept a player he is going towards his left. You can tell teams are doing their homework on him, forcing him to go left, where he either turns it over or makes a bail out pass with little time left on the shot clock. His shooting mechanics are flawed and is terrible from just about everywhere, and as for his defense: 

 

[abovelegit1]

Tyreke has definitely taken a step back this year in terms of production. Now it could be the injuries or a sophomore slump, but whatever it is the fact remains that he is clearly not a point guard. He turns the ball over entirely too much and his play-making skills leave way too much to be desired. In fact, he's dead last among starting point guards in assist ratio (percentage of a player’s possessions that ends in an assist) . Now his absolute ceiling is probably a D-wade type off-guard that can get to the rim at will and take a ton of free throws, while creating scoring opportunities for others via drive and kick. Being a high efficiency and volume scorer would indeed make him a valuable player. He has the physical tools to become an all-star caliber player at both ends and is just 21.

As of right now though he has huge holes in his game, mainly his shooting and how inept a player he is going towards his left. You can tell teams are doing their homework on him, forcing him to go left, where he either turns it over or makes a bail out pass with little time left on the shot clock. His shooting mechanics are flawed and is terrible from just about everywhere, and as for his defense: 

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by SHUGES


- Ariza needs to go back to LA b/c he's been exposed. I'm sure he's looking at Shannon Brown fill the EXACT role he (Ariza) once had and wishing he could be back in LA.

The only person that didn't even think to see that coming was Ariza himself.   That high horse was very deceptive. 
With that said, I'd have him back in a heart beat, he fit so well in this system.  

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by SHUGES


- Ariza needs to go back to LA b/c he's been exposed. I'm sure he's looking at Shannon Brown fill the EXACT role he (Ariza) once had and wishing he could be back in LA.

The only person that didn't even think to see that coming was Ariza himself.   That high horse was very deceptive. 
With that said, I'd have him back in a heart beat, he fit so well in this system.  

 

[CP1708]

Nice couple games tonight. 

Mia v ORLD
SA at Minny might be nice
Dallas v OKC
GS and Houston could be fun
Bulls Suns should be good
and I'm forgetting one other.......who was it.....Oh, CP3 at D-Will.  (The kiddin special)  

 

In case I don't get on at all this weekend, ya'll have a good Thanksgiving, be safe out there and we'll mix it up in a few days. 

 

[CP1708]

Nice couple games tonight. 

Mia v ORLD
SA at Minny might be nice
Dallas v OKC
GS and Houston could be fun
Bulls Suns should be good
and I'm forgetting one other.......who was it.....Oh, CP3 at D-Will.  (The kiddin special)  

 

In case I don't get on at all this weekend, ya'll have a good Thanksgiving, be safe out there and we'll mix it up in a few days. 

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Tyreke has definitely taken a step back this year in terms of production. Now it could be the injuries or a sophomore slump, but whatever it is the fact remains that he is clearly not a point guard. He turns the ball over entirely too much and his play-making skills leave way too much to be desired. In fact, he's dead last among starting point guards in assist ratio (percentage of a player’s possessions that ends in an assist) . Now his absolute ceiling is probably a D-wade type off-guard that can get to the rim at will and take a ton of free throws, while creating scoring opportunities for others via drive and kick. Being a high efficiency and volume scorer would indeed make him a valuable player. He has the physical tools to become an all-star caliber player at both ends and is just 21.

As of right now though he has huge holes in his game, mainly his shooting and how inept a player he is going towards his left. You can tell teams are doing their homework on him, forcing him to go left, where he either turns it over or makes a bail out pass with little time left on the shot clock. His shooting mechanics are flawed and is terrible from just about everywhere, and as for his defense: 

Although he hasn't started at PG this year, I can respect that assessment of Tyreke.

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Tyreke has definitely taken a step back this year in terms of production. Now it could be the injuries or a sophomore slump, but whatever it is the fact remains that he is clearly not a point guard. He turns the ball over entirely too much and his play-making skills leave way too much to be desired. In fact, he's dead last among starting point guards in assist ratio (percentage of a player’s possessions that ends in an assist) . Now his absolute ceiling is probably a D-wade type off-guard that can get to the rim at will and take a ton of free throws, while creating scoring opportunities for others via drive and kick. Being a high efficiency and volume scorer would indeed make him a valuable player. He has the physical tools to become an all-star caliber player at both ends and is just 21.

As of right now though he has huge holes in his game, mainly his shooting and how inept a player he is going towards his left. You can tell teams are doing their homework on him, forcing him to go left, where he either turns it over or makes a bail out pass with little time left on the shot clock. His shooting mechanics are flawed and is terrible from just about everywhere, and as for his defense: 

Although he hasn't started at PG this year, I can respect that assessment of Tyreke.

 

[bhzmafia14]

Don't be surprised if the Heat still make it to the Finals to face the Lakers. 
Just sayin'.....

 

[bhzmafia14]

Don't be surprised if the Heat still make it to the Finals to face the Lakers. 
Just sayin'.....

 

[Bert.]

Originally Posted by bhzmafia14

Don't be surprised if the Heat still make it to the Finals to face the Lakers. 
Just sayin'.....

i dont see them beating the Celtics at all, i literally give them a 1% chance of beating the Celtics

 

[Bert.]

Originally Posted by bhzmafia14

Don't be surprised if the Heat still make it to the Finals to face the Lakers. 
Just sayin'.....

i dont see them beating the Celtics at all, i literally give them a 1% chance of beating the Celtics

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Nice couple games tonight. 

Mia v ORLD
SA at Minny might be nice
Dallas v OKC
GS and Houston could be fun
Bulls Suns should be good
and I'm forgetting one other.......who was it.....Oh, CP3 at D-Will.  (The kiddin special)  

 

In case I don't get on at all this weekend, ya'll have a good Thanksgiving, be safe out there and we'll mix it up in a few days. 

You too, as well as the rest of the NT S+T family.

I can't wait for round 2 of MIA/ORL.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Nice couple games tonight. 

Mia v ORLD
SA at Minny might be nice
Dallas v OKC
GS and Houston could be fun
Bulls Suns should be good
and I'm forgetting one other.......who was it.....Oh, CP3 at D-Will.  (The kiddin special)  

 

In case I don't get on at all this weekend, ya'll have a good Thanksgiving, be safe out there and we'll mix it up in a few days. 

You too, as well as the rest of the NT S+T family.

I can't wait for round 2 of MIA/ORL.