By now, most of you know I'm a former Sonics/OKC Thunder fan. And let's keep it real here: Kevin Durant is a bona fide All Star and a flat out stud. But I'm here to tell you not to sleep on a cat who is rapidly becoming one of the best all around players in the NBA, and a soon-to-be All Star in his own right - a man named Russell Westbrook. With or without KD in the lineup, Westbrook has taken his game to the next level and is making a strong case for why he should not only head to LA for this years ASG, but definitely in the conversation for best point guard in the L.
Witness the most recent case for my argument; a triple overtime thriller that OKC won over New Jersey 123-120. While starting out slow, Russ ended the game with a crazy line of 38/15/9, and found time to grab 3 steals as well. Oh, and did I mention he also scored all 13 points for the Thunder in the 3rd overtime period? Yeah, that too. Looking at the season numbers, Russ has really worked hard to improve from last year, and its showed. Running the point isn't ever easy, but he's managed to do the following so far this season:
FG% - 45%, FT% - 87%, PTS - 23.8, REB - 5.6, AST - 8.6
And he's had at least 1 theft in every game but 2 this year. Impressive numbers for a guy in just his 3rd season out of UCLA when everyone at draft time said he was athletically gifted, but perhaps didn't have a position in the NBA. Consider that's he's averaging almost 8 points more per game this year, and doing it while almost doubling his free throw attempts/makes per game, and pushing his free throw percentage up from 78% to 87%. So not only is his getting more attempts per game, but he's also making almost 90% of them. And while the assists are up only slightly from last year (8.0 to 8.6 this year) the turnovers have only risen by about the same amount as well (3.3 per to 4.0 per). A 2-1 assist to turnover ratio isn't horrible from your point guard, and not bad at all for a guy who "was going to have a hard time running the point" in the NBA, according to a lot of draft analysts.
And let's move beyond just the numbers...he's pretty damn exciting to watch. Blake Griffin is making a lot of noise out in LA (and rightly so, that dude is flat out crazy skilled), but Russ is putting up highlights on the regular as well for Thunder fans. He's got the whole package...explode by defender into the lane for circus dunk? Check. Rebound tip dunk off a teammates miss over not one but two 6'8" or taller guys? Check. Have the ball stolen from you, get back on D and steal it back, then take it in for a dunk? Check there too. Westbrook is a freakish athlete with a tremendous wingspan and a knack for offensive rebounding and finishing in traffic for the And-1s. And he can get his shot while getting the rest of the team involved too.
Only 2 heads are averaging at least 20/5/5 so far this year: LeBron James (you may have heard of him) and Russell Westbrook. The Thunder are going to get a lot of airtime this season (and rightly so) after the great run they had last year in the regular season and the playoffs. But the next time you turn on ABC or ESPN or even NBATV to watch one of their games, keep one eye peeled for #35...and keep the other one on #0. Because you never know what he might do, but I can promise you it will be exciting to watch.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
First Impressions...
So here we are early into the NBA season, and there are a few thoughts that first come to mind...
* The Lakers look to be in mid season form already, with an unblemished early record
* The Heat look like they are going to need some time to gel together
* The Utah Jazz are gonna be better than everyone thought
* The Thunder look like they are struggling to duplicate last seasons successes
* The Celtics are old, but still dangerous every night.
The Lakers: Even with Andrew Bynum out of the lineup, the Lake Show keeps on rollin. Pau is playing at a high level, and Lamar Odom is playing just about as good. Kobe has been able to rest his assorted injuries and keep his minutes down early. The additions of Matt Barnes and Steve Blake have paid dividends already and they will only get better with more time spent in the triangle offense. Ron Artest and Shannon Brown appear to have put the summer to good use and both look sharp early as well. When Bynum comes back, and LO returns to the "bench mob" this Laker squad will be deep and talented at every position; heck even Theo Ratliff has given them quality minutes and knows his role. At this point, in the Western Conference, there's LA...and then there's everybody else.
The Heat: Their opening day thumping at the hands of the Cs notwithstanding, the Heat (while possessing a wealth of talent at multiple positions) suffer from a lack to time spent playing with each other. D Wade's absence in the preseason games has obviously hurt the Heat's chemistry and while this will improve with time, expectations are high. And what is the Lakers strength is the Heat's weakness - size and depth. Wade, LeBron, and Bosh are all stars...but who else on the roster can contribute? Big Z is not mobile, Udonis Haslem is undersized, and the rest of the bench & starters are wings or guards that can't really help in the middle. Even teams in their own conference like Orlando and Boston were able to get bigger, athletic players to help them match up for a presumed match up against LA. While everyone was crowing the Heat the "beasts of the East" early on, I don't think anyone really looked at how this roster was put together. Because its going to take a LOT more for Miami to get to the Conference Finals, much less the NBA Finals.
The Jazz: How does Jerry Sloan do it? He is really the ageless wonder. His teams are prepared, compete, and find a way to make the pick and roll a success year after year after year. Deron Williams is still an all star, losing Boozer but getting al Jefferson appears to have not slowed them at all, and Paul Millsap is showing why the Jazz gave him all that money last year. Even guys like Kirilenko and Gordon Heyward are playing well and fitting in around the core pieces. And Memo Okur isn't back from injury yet, which will add another big who can stretch the floor with his shooting. They will be a team to be reckoned with come playoff time.
The Thunder: it pains my heart to say it, but OKC isn't really playing up to their lofty expectations so far this season. KD hasn't shot well, the team looks a little disjointed on offense, and has been very lazy and slow to rotate on defense. The emergence of Serge Ibaka and addition of Cole Aldrich was supposed to improve their interior defense and rebounding but so far it has been very poor. They are one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in the league, and that combined with a lack of anything resembling a post game has led teams to pack it in on them and force them to shoot jumpers (which isn't anyone else but KDs forte). Westbrook is a terror in the open court, and may be in the talk soon as one of the best young point guards in the league, but Harden appears to have taken a step back and has struggled early on. Thabo is a defensive specialist, and is showing it with his anemic offense. Green (who is injured as we speak) is in a contract year but knows he isn't the focus on offense or defense. All in all, the showing the Thunder have put up so far this year is a far cry from the team that took LA to a scary 6 games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season. Its early yet, so look for them to improve, but maybe not improve upon last years win totals.
The Celtics: some of you know I have a soft spot in my heart for Ray Allen, who was a Sonic for a few years before leaving for Boston. He's a class act, and a helluva shooter, and since Paul Pierce went to Kansas (my college fav) I actually catch quite a few Boston games. And while folks (including me) have been looking to write them off ever since they won the 2008 championship, they appear to be as dangerous defensively as ever. They absolutely broke the will of the Miami Heat opening night, and have rolled ever, ever onward since. Rondo has blossomed into an all star point guard and supreme distributor, which is exactly what this team constructed around the Big 3 needs. Allen can still shoot, Pierce is a threat from distance and the midrange, and KG is an intense a player as ever. Glen Davis has played extremely well in the preseason and this has carried over into the early regular season. If Doc Rivers can limit the amount of minutes the Big 3 plays, and they stay healthy, Boston poses the biggest threat of any team out East to make it back to the Finals. (sorry Orlando, but you gotta show and prove that 2 years ago wasn't a fluke)
So there you have it...my first impressions on the season. Once I get a few more games under the belt, I will check in on a few other teams making some noise (but don't really have a shot at the 'chip) like New Orleans, Atlanta, Orlando, and Denver. Have an opinion on this season so far? Hit me back with some comments!
* The Lakers look to be in mid season form already, with an unblemished early record
* The Heat look like they are going to need some time to gel together
* The Utah Jazz are gonna be better than everyone thought
* The Thunder look like they are struggling to duplicate last seasons successes
* The Celtics are old, but still dangerous every night.
The Lakers: Even with Andrew Bynum out of the lineup, the Lake Show keeps on rollin. Pau is playing at a high level, and Lamar Odom is playing just about as good. Kobe has been able to rest his assorted injuries and keep his minutes down early. The additions of Matt Barnes and Steve Blake have paid dividends already and they will only get better with more time spent in the triangle offense. Ron Artest and Shannon Brown appear to have put the summer to good use and both look sharp early as well. When Bynum comes back, and LO returns to the "bench mob" this Laker squad will be deep and talented at every position; heck even Theo Ratliff has given them quality minutes and knows his role. At this point, in the Western Conference, there's LA...and then there's everybody else.
The Heat: Their opening day thumping at the hands of the Cs notwithstanding, the Heat (while possessing a wealth of talent at multiple positions) suffer from a lack to time spent playing with each other. D Wade's absence in the preseason games has obviously hurt the Heat's chemistry and while this will improve with time, expectations are high. And what is the Lakers strength is the Heat's weakness - size and depth. Wade, LeBron, and Bosh are all stars...but who else on the roster can contribute? Big Z is not mobile, Udonis Haslem is undersized, and the rest of the bench & starters are wings or guards that can't really help in the middle. Even teams in their own conference like Orlando and Boston were able to get bigger, athletic players to help them match up for a presumed match up against LA. While everyone was crowing the Heat the "beasts of the East" early on, I don't think anyone really looked at how this roster was put together. Because its going to take a LOT more for Miami to get to the Conference Finals, much less the NBA Finals.
The Jazz: How does Jerry Sloan do it? He is really the ageless wonder. His teams are prepared, compete, and find a way to make the pick and roll a success year after year after year. Deron Williams is still an all star, losing Boozer but getting al Jefferson appears to have not slowed them at all, and Paul Millsap is showing why the Jazz gave him all that money last year. Even guys like Kirilenko and Gordon Heyward are playing well and fitting in around the core pieces. And Memo Okur isn't back from injury yet, which will add another big who can stretch the floor with his shooting. They will be a team to be reckoned with come playoff time.
The Thunder: it pains my heart to say it, but OKC isn't really playing up to their lofty expectations so far this season. KD hasn't shot well, the team looks a little disjointed on offense, and has been very lazy and slow to rotate on defense. The emergence of Serge Ibaka and addition of Cole Aldrich was supposed to improve their interior defense and rebounding but so far it has been very poor. They are one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in the league, and that combined with a lack of anything resembling a post game has led teams to pack it in on them and force them to shoot jumpers (which isn't anyone else but KDs forte). Westbrook is a terror in the open court, and may be in the talk soon as one of the best young point guards in the league, but Harden appears to have taken a step back and has struggled early on. Thabo is a defensive specialist, and is showing it with his anemic offense. Green (who is injured as we speak) is in a contract year but knows he isn't the focus on offense or defense. All in all, the showing the Thunder have put up so far this year is a far cry from the team that took LA to a scary 6 games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season. Its early yet, so look for them to improve, but maybe not improve upon last years win totals.
The Celtics: some of you know I have a soft spot in my heart for Ray Allen, who was a Sonic for a few years before leaving for Boston. He's a class act, and a helluva shooter, and since Paul Pierce went to Kansas (my college fav) I actually catch quite a few Boston games. And while folks (including me) have been looking to write them off ever since they won the 2008 championship, they appear to be as dangerous defensively as ever. They absolutely broke the will of the Miami Heat opening night, and have rolled ever, ever onward since. Rondo has blossomed into an all star point guard and supreme distributor, which is exactly what this team constructed around the Big 3 needs. Allen can still shoot, Pierce is a threat from distance and the midrange, and KG is an intense a player as ever. Glen Davis has played extremely well in the preseason and this has carried over into the early regular season. If Doc Rivers can limit the amount of minutes the Big 3 plays, and they stay healthy, Boston poses the biggest threat of any team out East to make it back to the Finals. (sorry Orlando, but you gotta show and prove that 2 years ago wasn't a fluke)
So there you have it...my first impressions on the season. Once I get a few more games under the belt, I will check in on a few other teams making some noise (but don't really have a shot at the 'chip) like New Orleans, Atlanta, Orlando, and Denver. Have an opinion on this season so far? Hit me back with some comments!
Monday, October 11, 2010
The game versus a game...
This is usually the time of year when one of the most compelling and most devastating of events occurs for men everywhere, young and old...draft time for the upcoming fantasy basketball season. As every true hoops fan knows, fantasy basketball creates such a division in everyone who plays - the desire for your favorite team to succeed (fan) versus the need for those on my fantasy team to succeed (fan.tasy) and more often than not these two desires conflict in a very real way.
Take me...having recently drafted for one of my two leagues, I know eagerly await the start of the 2010-2011 NBA season. I happen to follow the OKC Thunder, and was lucky enough to draft Kevin Durant to my first team. But after that, I have no other players from the Thunder on my roster. I do have several players from teams in the Western Conference that I know will play the Thunder several times, including Chauncey Billups, Manu Ginobili, Baron Davis, and Andre Miller. I now am in the unenviable position of wanting to root for my favorite team to win, but also wanting these individual players to do well for my fantasy team (though the end result of individual success could lead to my favorite team losing.)
I find this position unique, and nearly unacceptable. While I know intellectually that the players will play, and the outcome is never predetermined, I find my fan-dom is too often swayed by my current fantasy teams standings in the league. When I do well in fantasy, I don't mind that the Thunder may lose, so long as Durant "gets his." But if the opposite were true, and if the Thunders success came at the expense of Durant deferring to his teammates more, or if their defense shuts down the players I noted above, then I am aggravated by their increasing win total. This is not the way it should be. I find that fantasy ruins the purity of fan-ness such as that I have in baseball, where I follow my beloved Mariners semi-religiously, but avoid fantasy baseball like the plague. It helps me to stay focused on the game, and what it means to be a Mariners fan. I just wish my obsession with hoops would allow me to enjoy either one or the other, without taking on the pains of both. Fantasy hoops kills the spirit of the true fan, where you root for your team to win, no matter who scores, who grabs the most boards, or no matter who they play that night.
Maybe I'm taking it too serious, but I wonder if the next time I check my smartphone for the scores, I look to the win/loss column first, or the stat lines from each game. As any NBA player will tell you, basketball is a team sport, not one played by a group of individuals.
Take me...having recently drafted for one of my two leagues, I know eagerly await the start of the 2010-2011 NBA season. I happen to follow the OKC Thunder, and was lucky enough to draft Kevin Durant to my first team. But after that, I have no other players from the Thunder on my roster. I do have several players from teams in the Western Conference that I know will play the Thunder several times, including Chauncey Billups, Manu Ginobili, Baron Davis, and Andre Miller. I now am in the unenviable position of wanting to root for my favorite team to win, but also wanting these individual players to do well for my fantasy team (though the end result of individual success could lead to my favorite team losing.)
I find this position unique, and nearly unacceptable. While I know intellectually that the players will play, and the outcome is never predetermined, I find my fan-dom is too often swayed by my current fantasy teams standings in the league. When I do well in fantasy, I don't mind that the Thunder may lose, so long as Durant "gets his." But if the opposite were true, and if the Thunders success came at the expense of Durant deferring to his teammates more, or if their defense shuts down the players I noted above, then I am aggravated by their increasing win total. This is not the way it should be. I find that fantasy ruins the purity of fan-ness such as that I have in baseball, where I follow my beloved Mariners semi-religiously, but avoid fantasy baseball like the plague. It helps me to stay focused on the game, and what it means to be a Mariners fan. I just wish my obsession with hoops would allow me to enjoy either one or the other, without taking on the pains of both. Fantasy hoops kills the spirit of the true fan, where you root for your team to win, no matter who scores, who grabs the most boards, or no matter who they play that night.
Maybe I'm taking it too serious, but I wonder if the next time I check my smartphone for the scores, I look to the win/loss column first, or the stat lines from each game. As any NBA player will tell you, basketball is a team sport, not one played by a group of individuals.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Golden Nugget
So...there's a lot of talk out there right about now about Carmelo, and how he wants out of Denver and all these teams are looking to get in line to win the 'Melo sweepstakes. The feeling (as he has not/cannot come out and say "I want a trade") is that he's feeling New York/Chicago the most, and into the mix have inserted themselves the groups from New Jersey and Houston, at last count. New York eyes the new Bernard King, and wants to pair his act with Amar'e (aka STAT) and bring the Big Apple back to hoops relevance.
After a summer of Cleveland and Toronto watching their super stars walk for nothing at contracts end, many are (rightly) saying that the Nugs need to get what they can for 'Melo before he bolts for greener pastures leaving them with nothing to show for his years in the L. And I think that may be the point. What HAS Carmelo really left or is leaving Denver with? Some great play his rookie season? Sure. A few exciting playoff appearances? Check. An exciting series against the Lake Show that really showcased the boneheaded nature of the team assembled in the Mile High? Pretty much. The point here is that (much like LeBron and Bosh before him) 'Melo is pretty much feeling like Denver hasn't done enough to get him to the promised land of a championship, and he wants to walk to a team that gives him a better shot at making it to the Finals (a place he's never been).
But his preferred destinations, and one of his aggressive pursuers, are in the East. Wouldn't the recent shift of power towards Miami seem to make the East a (somewhat) less desirable destination? In the West, there's LA....and then everyone else. OKC has Durant/Westbrook and put the Lakers through a hell of a test last season. But then LA pounded their next two opponents in two series that shouldn't have even been as close as they appeared to be. But other than maybe OKC, there's a huge disparity between the 2-8 teams in the West. Isn't it conceivable that with a little luck, and an injury or two, that if the Lakers aren't there, the West is wide open for anyone to win? Look at the East by comparison. Okay, we all know about Miami and the SuperHeat. Then you still got Boston, who've been to 2 out of the last 3 Finals (with one of those ending in a 'chip). Then there's Orlando, the other Finals candidate, who pummeled everyone on their way to the Finals 2 years ago and were close this year. Then you've got about 2-3 other teams in Chicago/Milwaukee/Atlanta who either got better over the summer, or took the year to season their talented squad and could jump up and surprise some folks. THIS is the conference 'Melo wants to defect to? Would you (if your stated goal was to try to win it all) head out of the conference where there's 1 team to beat, to the conference where there's at least 3, with maybe a total of 5 squads with a reasonable chance to advance to the Finals? Is this really about 'chips, because its not about money (Denver can max him, and has offered the extension even before knowing where the next CBA will take us) or is it maybe something else entirely? Some have floated the idea that its more about family issues (wife related or going home to the Baltimore area) and if that is the case, then good on 'Melo for deciding that some things are more important that winning the title. Because I'm thinking if this was all about basketball and winning, then the surest destination would be to stay in Denver and hope his GM can add a piece or two to help them get over the hump against LA and stay as close as the Western Conference Finals. Rather than moving east and finding out the grass maybe was greener on the side of the fence that he just left before its too late to do anything more than have regrets about it.
-Shawn
After a summer of Cleveland and Toronto watching their super stars walk for nothing at contracts end, many are (rightly) saying that the Nugs need to get what they can for 'Melo before he bolts for greener pastures leaving them with nothing to show for his years in the L. And I think that may be the point. What HAS Carmelo really left or is leaving Denver with? Some great play his rookie season? Sure. A few exciting playoff appearances? Check. An exciting series against the Lake Show that really showcased the boneheaded nature of the team assembled in the Mile High? Pretty much. The point here is that (much like LeBron and Bosh before him) 'Melo is pretty much feeling like Denver hasn't done enough to get him to the promised land of a championship, and he wants to walk to a team that gives him a better shot at making it to the Finals (a place he's never been).
But his preferred destinations, and one of his aggressive pursuers, are in the East. Wouldn't the recent shift of power towards Miami seem to make the East a (somewhat) less desirable destination? In the West, there's LA....and then everyone else. OKC has Durant/Westbrook and put the Lakers through a hell of a test last season. But then LA pounded their next two opponents in two series that shouldn't have even been as close as they appeared to be. But other than maybe OKC, there's a huge disparity between the 2-8 teams in the West. Isn't it conceivable that with a little luck, and an injury or two, that if the Lakers aren't there, the West is wide open for anyone to win? Look at the East by comparison. Okay, we all know about Miami and the SuperHeat. Then you still got Boston, who've been to 2 out of the last 3 Finals (with one of those ending in a 'chip). Then there's Orlando, the other Finals candidate, who pummeled everyone on their way to the Finals 2 years ago and were close this year. Then you've got about 2-3 other teams in Chicago/Milwaukee/Atlanta who either got better over the summer, or took the year to season their talented squad and could jump up and surprise some folks. THIS is the conference 'Melo wants to defect to? Would you (if your stated goal was to try to win it all) head out of the conference where there's 1 team to beat, to the conference where there's at least 3, with maybe a total of 5 squads with a reasonable chance to advance to the Finals? Is this really about 'chips, because its not about money (Denver can max him, and has offered the extension even before knowing where the next CBA will take us) or is it maybe something else entirely? Some have floated the idea that its more about family issues (wife related or going home to the Baltimore area) and if that is the case, then good on 'Melo for deciding that some things are more important that winning the title. Because I'm thinking if this was all about basketball and winning, then the surest destination would be to stay in Denver and hope his GM can add a piece or two to help them get over the hump against LA and stay as close as the Western Conference Finals. Rather than moving east and finding out the grass maybe was greener on the side of the fence that he just left before its too late to do anything more than have regrets about it.
-Shawn
Sunday, September 19, 2010
In case you missed it...
...the USA FIBA team took home the gold! Kevin Durant (KD) was voted MVP of the tournament, with several eye-popping performances, including dropping 28 on the team from Turkey in the gold medal match. Along the way, KD set or tied several tournament records...truly an inspired performance. Along the way, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom impressed with their performances as well. The team's performances against Team Russia and Team Turkey (a surprise finalist) were especially noteworthy. And while some might say we (the US team) is "expected" to win pretty much every international basketball competition we enter (the Olympics included), I'd say that if you are still thinking that international cats can't ball, you got another thing coming. Considering the US team hadn't won gold in the international FIBA tournament since 1994, you gotta show respect to the international game, and the players that run it.
Though this squad was dubbed "The B-Team" I think we left the championship game knowing the future of the L is in good, no, GREAT hands. Our FIBA squad:
Kevin Durant
Derrick Rose
Danny Granger
Chancey Billups
Eric Gordon
Rudy Gay
Stephen Curry
Russell Westbrook
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Love
Tyson Chandler
Congrats the the gold medal squad from the good old US of A!
(photo from usabasketball.com)
Welcome...once again.
So...the first experiment was a hit or miss one with my blog about the TV show LOST...seems like the year I started the blog, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof decided to end the show. Wow, bummer. Even more of a bummer since I was just getting started...but I digress. So I'm choosing to move on to something I know just about as much about as LOST, and I'm pretty sure won't get flat out cancelled...the NBA (aka the L aka the Association). Since I've got them Hoop Dreams, you'll find here (among other things):
1. General NBA notes and updates
2. Specific notes and updates on those NBA teams I regularly follow (Thunder, Lakers)
3. Updates about my personal rec league team (the Free Ballers, booyah!)
4. Related NBA updates on shoes, apparel, and other merchandise
So if you like hoops, like the Thunder or Lakers, or hell, even if you just like me, go ahead and become a fan/follower of my blog and let's make this like Dashboard says "the best one...of the best ones."
-Shawn
1. General NBA notes and updates
2. Specific notes and updates on those NBA teams I regularly follow (Thunder, Lakers)
3. Updates about my personal rec league team (the Free Ballers, booyah!)
4. Related NBA updates on shoes, apparel, and other merchandise
So if you like hoops, like the Thunder or Lakers, or hell, even if you just like me, go ahead and become a fan/follower of my blog and let's make this like Dashboard says "the best one...of the best ones."
-Shawn
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