Pippen Denies Specifically Criticizing Hinrich, Thomas
I mentioned in a recent
post that the
Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith quoted Scottie Pippen offering several blunt criticisms of various Chicago Bulls players. Smith
now says that Pippen angrily denies that his comments referred to specific players. Pippen claims that his remarks were simply general statements about the drawbacks of utilizing small guards and about the limitations of players who are not students of the game; he insists that Smith erred by applying Pippen's quotes to Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas. Pippen called up Smith and told him, "I've always liked Hinrich a lot and would have him finishing games. I think Thomas could play someday like I did and just needs to develop." The original quotes attributed to Pippen were quite harsh but they really did not create much of a stir--mainly because, as TNT's Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith noted on Thursday, they were true.
Although Smith begins his most recent article by writing, "Scottie Pippen says I owe him an apology," Smith neither apologizes nor does he categorically state that the quotes are accurate. Instead, he recalls the furor that accompanied the release of his book
The Jordan Rules and how all of that faded as the Bulls racked up victories and championships; the book's behind the scenes look at the team contained frank--but fair--portraits of the team's players and coaches and discussed Michael Jordan's competitiveness and how hard the coaching staff had to work to get him to pass the ball to lesser teammates. No one has denied the truth of these stories but not everyone liked that these things were brought to light for the general public to see.
It is possible that Pippen really did mean to speak in general terms and that Smith erred in applying the quotes to specific players. This is a little hard to believe because Smith has covered the NBA for years and has interviewed Pippen on numerous occasions. Would Smith really not be able to tell the difference between a quote about small guards in general and a quote about a specific small guard? One interviewing technique that I find helpful in such situations is to repeat back to the subject what he just said and confirm that this is what he meant. I get the impression that some writers--not necessarily Smith--don't do this because they don't want to give a subject the chance to modify a potentially inflammatory quote. One time, I was interviewing Paul Silas, then the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, for an article that I was writing about Bob Dandridge, who Silas played against twice in the NBA Finals. Silas told me that Dandridge was "a talker." I interpreted that to mean "trash talker," which is completely at odds with what I know about Dandridge. Rather than just running with that quote, I expressed surprise and said to Silas that I thought that Dandridge was not a boastful player. Silas immediately clarified that by "talker" he meant someone who communicated with his teammates on the court, calling out screens and relaying other information. If I had not asked the follow up question then I could have ended up writing something--quite unintentionally--that would have misrepresented both what Silas thinks and how Dandridge acted. Fortunately, I made sure to get the complete story. Moments like that happen more often than you might think during interviews; it is very easy for an interviewer who is either unskilled--or deliberately manipulative--to create a wrong impression about what someone says. The best way to avoid problems is to do enough research to be very familiar with your subject (I knew that Dandridge was not considered a boastful player), ask good questions and, above all, listen carefully to the answers; some people are so focused on the next question on their list that they don't really hear the answer to their current question and thus don't realize that a follow up question is necessary to clarify something.
Although I am often skeptical of the reporting and analysis done by many writers, I trust Smith. I suspect that after seeing the quotes in print, Pippen felt badly about how harshly he had spoken and regretted saying what he did. Although Pippen shoots from the hip when he makes public comments, sometimes after further reflection he tones down his initial statement.
Labels: Chicago Bulls, Kirk Hinrich, Scottie Pippen, Tyrus Thomas
posted by David Friedman @ 3:01 PM
NBA Leaderboard, Part IX
The Boston Celtics keep right on rolling along. Their nine game winning streak is the league's longest active winning streak and their
92-85 win over Detroit means that they have now avenged each of their three defeats. LeBron James is still on course for his first scoring title, while Dwight Howard appears to be headed for his first rebounding crown.
Best Five Records
-------------------
1) Boston Celtics, 29-3
2) Detroit Pistons, 26-8
3) San Antonio Spurs, 23-9
4-5) Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Hornets, 23-11
Most of the Eastern Conference is mired in mediocrity (or worse) but, ironically, the league's two best records also reside there. By the way, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs--the team seldom talked about until June--have overcome injuries to Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to maintain a pace for 59 wins and the best record in the Western Conference.
The L.A. Lakers (21-11) just missed the cut for the top five, quite a turnaround for a team that supposedly was on the verge of trading Kobe Bryant and blowing up the whole roster. The Phoenix Suns (23-10) are also in the mix but there are questions about the team's focus and interior defense.
Top Ten Scorers (and a few other notables)
------------------
1) LeBron James, CLE 28.9 ppg
2) Kobe Bryant, LAL 26.7 ppg
3) Allen Iverson, DEN 26.6 ppg
4) Carmelo Anthony, DEN 25.4 ppg
5) Dwyane Wade, MIA 24.9 ppg
6) Richard Jefferson, NJN 24.5 ppg
7) Carlos Boozer, UTA 23.5 ppg
8) Michael Redd, MIL 23.4 ppg
9) Dwight Howard, ORL 22.4 ppg
10) Baron Davis, GSW 22.1 ppg
12) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 22.0 ppg
16) Yao Ming, HOU 21.6 ppg
18) Paul Pierce, BOS 21.5 ppg
24) Kevin Durant, SEA 20.0 ppg
33) Kevin Garnett, BOS 19.1 ppg
34) Brandon Roy, POR 19.0 ppg
39) Ray Allen, BOS 18.0 ppg
Former scoring champions Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson are in a dead heat for second place. The Cavaliers are obviously very dependent on LeBron James' scoring, so his average is unlikely to decline very much; in other words, Bryant or Iverson will have to increase their output to catch him. Tracy McGrady dropped from the list because he no longer meets the minimum requirements in terms of point scored/games played.
Top Ten Rebounders (and a few other notables)
----------------------
1) Dwight Howard, ORL 15.2 rpg
2) Marcus Camby, DEN 14.3 rpg
3) Chris Kaman, LAC 14.0 rpg
4) Al Jefferson, MIN 12.3 rpg
5) Tyson Chandler, NOH 12.3 rpg
6) Carlos Boozer, UTA 11.3 rpg
7-8) Antawn Jamison, WAS 10.6 rpg
7-8) Emeka Okafor, CHA 10.6 rpg
9) Yao Ming, HOU 10.6 rpg
10) Zach Randolph, NYK 10.4 rpg
11) Tim Duncan, SAS 10.3 rpg
12) Kevin Garnett, BOS 10.1 rpg
15) Andrew Bynum, LAL 10.0 rpg
20) Al Horford, ATL 9.3 rpg
23) Ben Wallace, CHI 8.9 rpg
25) Jason Kidd, NJN 8.8 rpg
27) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 8.7 rpg
36) Shaquille O'Neal, MIA 7.8 rpg
49) Kobe Bryant, LAL 6.2 rpg
The top nine spots remain exactly the same as last week, but Zach Randolph bumped Kevin Garnett out of the top ten. Anyone who thinks that a player's value can be determined just by looking at his statistics should keep in mind that Al Jefferson is averaging more points and more rebounds than Kevin Garnett but that Garnett is the key player on the team with the league's best record while Jefferson--the main player Minnesota acquired in the Garnett deal--is putting up numbers on a team that may threaten the all-time single season record for losses. I do not mean to say that Garnett is wholly responsible for Boston's success or that Jefferson is to blame for Minnesota's struggles; my point is simply that, because of the 24 second shot clock--which guarantees that each team will have certain number of possessions--no matter how bad a team is someone will be putting up points, rebounds and assists.
Top Ten Playmakers
----------------------
1) Steve Nash, PHX 12.3 apg
2) Jason Kidd, NJN 10.7 apg
3) Chris Paul, NOH 10.3 apg
4) Deron Williams, UTA 9.0 apg
5) Jamaal Tinsley, IND 8.7 apg
6) Jose Calderon, TOR 8.2 apg
7) Baron Davis, GSW 8.0 apg
8) LeBron James, CLE 7.6 apg
9) Chauncey Billups, DET 7.5 apg
10) Mo Williams, MIL 7.0 apg
The first seven players are in the exact same order that they were in last week. James and Billups swapped spots and we have some blood at number 10 as Mo Williams supplanted Allen Iverson.
Note: All statistics are from ESPN.com
Labels: Boston Celtics, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Steve Nash
posted by David Friedman @ 5:16 AM
Celtics Stall Pistons, 92-85
On Saturday, the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons 92-85, ending Detroit's 11 game winning streak; the Celtics are now 29-3 and they own the NBA's longest active winning streak, nine games. Both teams were playing the second game of a back to back and their third game in four nights and that no doubt at least partially accounts for this contest's sloppiness: Boston shot 31-74 from the field (.419), while Detroit shot 31-79 (.392). While most of the name players from both squads shot blanks, rookie Glen Davis--who scored just 10 points in 28 minutes in the previous five games--led Boston with a game-high 20 points. Kevin Garnett had just 15 points, five rebounds and two assists, shooting 4-11 from the field; it must be noted, though, that Garnett easily had the best plus/minus score in the game (+23). Paul Pierce contributed 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists but he also had a poor shooting night (5-16). Ray Allen had a quiet game (nine points, 3-8 shooting). Point guard Rajon Rondo was awful, finishing with three points on 1-7 shooting and no assists; at least he did not have any turnovers. Richard Hamilton (18 points, eight assists) and Chauncey Billups (16 points, six assists) led the way for Detroit but they also shot poorly (6-16 and 4-12 respectively). Billups missed three out of four free throws in the final four minutes and unloaded an airball three pointer with plenty of time on the shot clock and Detroit only trailing 88-85 with :32 left in the game.
It is very important to understand that if these teams meet in the playoffs that it will not be under these conditions; teams have days off between postseason games and each team's coaching staff focuses all of its preparation on the current opponent, with no worries about having to travel and play a different team that poses special challenges stylistically or in terms of matchups. That is why it is sometimes misleading when fans point to regular season head to head records when trying to figure out what will happen in a playoff series. Every game matters but not every game is played under the same conditions that playoff games are played, so simply looking at boxscores or spreadsheets is never enough to really understand what is happening on the court.
A couple weeks ago,
Detroit earned a come from behind road win against Boston that highlighted some of the question marks about the Celtics, namely the point guard situation, the Celtics' ability to execute down the stretch in close games and Kevin Garnett's tendency to disappear in late game situations. One game can neither completely validate nor complete refute such concerns but there is no doubt that this is a big win for the Celtics and that this team is exceeding even the wildest expectations that Boston fans could have had prior to the season.
With most of the Eastern Conference mired in mediocrity--even the fast starting Orlando Magic are just 5-5 in their last 10 games--there is obviously a very real opportunity for either the Pistons to make it to the Finals for the first time since 2005 or for the Celtics to return to at least some of the franchise's former glory. Although I have pointed out the flaws of both of these teams in previous posts, looking at the East right now the only team that seems like it has the necessary parts to beat either the Celtics or the Pistons in a seven game series would be the Cleveland Cavaliers--not that Cleveland would win such a series if it were played now but by May the Cavaliers should be able to get back to playing the way that they did last year defensively and on the glass. The Magic are too inconsistent, the Raptors are too soft, the Nets don't have enough strength in the paint and the Wizards are a first round casualty at best.
Labels: Boston Celtics, Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons, Glen Davis, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton
posted by David Friedman @ 3:46 AM
Orlando's Words to Live By: "Is Dwight Cool With it?"
Orlando Sentinel writer Mike Bianchi
points out that several of the "unpopular personnel assessments" made by fired Orlando Magic Coach Brian Hill "are turning out to be frighteningly accurate." For instance, Hill never put J.J. Redick into his playing rotation, did not make Darko Milicic a regular starter and questioned whether Jameer Nelson is truly a championship level point guard; the Redick situation in particular supposedly had a lot to do with Hill being fired but Redick is actually playing even fewer minutes this season than he did as a rookie.
Dwight Howard has emerged as a legitimate MVP level player this season but the Magic are not doing much better so far under the direction of Stan Van Gundy than they were last year; the Magic are currently 22-13, just one game better than they were last season after 35 games. Orlando started out 14-5 in 2006-07 but finished with a 40-42 record, while this season's squad started out 15-4 and has been sliding backwards ever since. It remains to be seen if Van Gundy can prevent this team from going into the full fledged free fall that ultimately cost Hill his job.
Bianchi says that Hill's departure can be explained by five simple words uttered by Howard. Hill has refused to publicly comment on his dismissal but when Howard was asked about it recently he admitted that Orlando management asked his opinion prior to making the move. What did Howard say? "I was cool with it." Howard may as well have declared, "Off with his head!" It is extremely unlikely that the Magic will fire a coach who Howard likes or hire one he does not like. That is just the way of the world in the NBA. Bianchi quotes a famous line by Chuck Daly, the former Pistons and Magic coach: "It's a player's league. The players allow you to coach them or they don't. Once they stop allowing you to coach, you're on your way out."
Here is Howard's take: "You have to like your coach. I think that's very important. It's hard to be around somebody all the time if you don't like them." I don't have a problem with that; it certainly makes sense for a team to try, within reason, to bring in a coach who establishes a good rapport with the franchise player (and, hopefully, with the rest of the roster as well). What I don't get is why some players are considered to be bad guys for greasing the rails for a coach's dismissal while other players get a free pass. Anyone who has followed the NBA closely for the past 25 years or so knows that Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan had a lot to do with the firings of Paul Westhead and Doug Collins respectively. Larry Bird certainly shed no tears about the firing of Bill Fitch. Shaquille O'Neal clearly preferred to be coached by Pat Riley instead of, ironically, Stan Van Gundy. Johnson got a ton of bad press in the wake of Westhead's dismissal, though the negative coverage receded somewhat after Riley replaced Westhead and led the Lakers to titles in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. K.C. Jones guided Bird's Celtics to a pair of titles, while Phil Jackson led Jordan's Chicago Bulls to six titles and Riley's Heat won the 2006 championship. It is possible that Howard's palace coup will escape national attention simply because it took place in Orlando, hardly a media mecca. However, if Howard does receive criticism then his best course of action will be to follow in the footsteps of Johnson, Bird, Jordan and O'Neal by winning at least one title with a new coach running the show.
Labels: Brian Hill, Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic, Stan Van Gundy
posted by David Friedman @ 4:47 AM
Blazers Outlast Bulls in Double Overtime
The surprise team so far this season, the Portland Trail Blazers, earned yet another win on Thursday, outlasting the Chicago Bulls--arguably the most disappointing team this season--115-109 in double overtime. Brandon Roy had 25 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and two steals. A bruised tailbone slowed Roy down in the second overtime but Jarrett Jack (17 points, five assists, four rebounds) then took over, putting Portland ahead for good with a three point play with just :19 remaining in the second overtime. Travis Outlaw added 21 points for the Blazers, who had six players score in double figures. Ben Gordon, thriving in his new sixth man role, had a game-high 32 points, shooting 15-27 from the field, but his late turnover led directly to Jack's game-clinching play. Joe Smith had a season-high 31 points plus 11 rebounds and Ben Wallace contributed 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Kirk Hinrich had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds but he shot just 5-18 from the field and his late game efforts to defend the larger Roy
reaffirmed Scottie Pippen's assessment that Hinrich should not be guarding the league's top shooting guards because, quite simply, "he's not that talented...Little guards always put you in a vulnerable position. You've got to send help. It puts too much pressure on the defense."
The Bulls suffered a damaging blow in the first half when Luol Deng tweaked his left Achilles and was not able to return to the contest. That forced other players to play more extended minutes and also led to stretches during which the Bulls did not have many offensive options on the court. This was the fourth game in five nights for both teams and by the second overtime the game looked like the last round of a heavyweight bout between two out of shape boxers who spend more time clinching each other than throwing punches; neither team scored for the first 1:53 until Jack made a layup. The Bulls' Andres Nocioni answered more than a minute later with a jumper but most of the concluding points down the stretch came from the free throw line.
Prior to this loss, the Bulls had won three of their four games since firing Coach Scott Skiles but, as TNT's Doug Collins noted, time is running out for Chicago and the Bulls really needed to win this home game. New Coach Jim Boylan is essentially undergoing an extended job interview, while several Bulls players who think that they are worth large contracts need to step their games up. This team is too talented to have such a bad record. Since Boylan took over, the Bulls seem to be playing with greater energy and purpose, which simply reinforces the perception that the players essentially quit on Skiles. Supposedly Skiles was too tough of a disciplinarian but I think that his real downfall is that he was too soft with several of these players. It is obvious that Gordon should be the sixth man, not a starter, and that young players like Tyrus Thomas need to earn their minutes. Skiles kept giving his players opportunities to get out of their slumps when he should have simply made the correct moves without worrying about upsetting people. As soon as Boylan took over, he removed Gordon from the starting lineup and Gordon is now playing better than he has all season. Gordon is a one dimensional player, a gunner. As a starter, he tended to force things and his liabilities in other areas were very evident, but as a sixth man he gets to play a lot of minutes against either tired starters or against second unit players. Either way, if the team needs offense Gordon will be on the court at the end of the game.
Boylan is also emphasizing the importance of pushing the ball up the court and initiating early offense so that the Bulls can get some easy baskets before the defense gets set. Under Skiles, the Bulls were prone to going through long scoring droughts and were putting up some of the worst shooting and scoring numbers in the league. Thomas averaged more than 20 mpg during the first month of the season. His minutes declined in December but they have been slashed since Boylan took the reins; Thomas has not played more than six minutes in a game since Skiles was fired. Collins said that young players have to learn how hard you have to work on a daily basis to be a good pro basketball player and that you earn your minutes by how well you practice. Thomas shoots just .423 from the field, which is inexcusable for an athletic player who gets a lot of dunks and easy baskets; as Pippen rightly noted, Thomas should be a "fetcher," a guy who rebounds and hustles, not someone who takes many shots outside of the paint.
Collins and play by play announcer Kevin Harlan talked a little bit about the awkward position that Boylan is in, taking the place of someone who hired him to be an assistant coach, but I would have liked to hear Collins discuss how Skiles must feel. Collins just touched on this briefly, saying that Skiles did a good job building the team up but won't be around to see everything come to fruition, but Collins never mentioned how this mirrors his own experience; two decades ago, Collins--who was an intense, demanding coach much like Skiles is said to be--led the Bulls to a 47-35 record but was replaced by Phil Jackson, who had been an assistant on his staff. Obviously, these Bulls do not have a transcendent player like Michael Jordan but Collins knows exactly what it feels like to be fired after leading a team to the playoffs and then be replaced by a member of your own coaching staff. It would have been interesting to hear Collins' thoughts about this but maybe the issue is too raw and hits too close to home, even after all of these years. Collins' players supposedly grew weary of his demands but Jackson turned out to be no less demanding, instituting a Triangle Offense that was hardly popular with Jordan at first and placing great emphasis on defense. Much like Skiles is perceived to be tough but may not have actually insisted on the right things in the right ways (i.e., failing to make Gordon into the sixth man and not benching players who were not performing up to par), Collins developed a reputation for being difficult but he actually did not confront Jordan and others as much as perhaps he should have. In
The Jordan Rules, Sam Smith describes how Collins rued that Jordan took too many bad shots and did not pass to his teammates. Jackson, then an assistant, said that Collins should say this to Jordan directly but Collins felt that it would not make a difference and told Jackson that he was welcome to try communicating these sentiments to Jordan; Jackson did exactly that, telling Jordan about how the Knicks in the early 1970s became champions by playing as a cohesive team. Jordan respected someone who would challenge him and make him play better much more than someone who might yell at him at times but would not really confront him in a meaningful way that would guide him down a different path. I've always thought that this little story goes a long way toward explaining how Jackson has been able to win so many championships with Jordan, Pippen, O'Neal and Bryant--and why those championships were not a sure thing just because those players were on the roster: even the greatest players need to be coached and it takes a deft hand (or, more precisely, a clever, determined mind) to find the right way to help such gifted athletes to maximize their talents within the context of the team being successful.
Labels: Ben Gordon, Brandon Roy, Chicago Bulls, Jarrett Jack, Joe Smith, Portland Trail Blazers
posted by David Friedman @ 5:24 AM
Mavericks Follow Correct Prescription, Run Warriors off of the Court
Anyone who visits this site regularly knows that I have repeatedly insisted (most recently in
this post) that teams should not be afraid to run against the Golden State Warriors and that the Dallas Mavericks could have avoided their upset loss to the Warriors in last year's playoffs if the Mavericks had pushed the ball up the court instead of trying to slow the game down. These truths were once against confirmed in Dallas' 121-99 win over Golden State on Wednesday night. Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 29 points on 9-16 shooting, adding eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots. Nowitzki had a game-high plus/minus rating of +25. Five other Mavericks also scored in double figures, including Josh Howard, who had 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as Dallas outrebounded Golden State 50-35. Stephen Jackson led Golden State with 25 points but he shot just 8-21 from the field, including 1-5 from three point range. Baron Davis, who terrorized Dallas during the playoffs, had just 10 points and six assists, shooting 2-14 from the field. The first time these teams played this season,
Dallas also won a fast paced game--120-115--but some people tried to diminish the significance of that victory because Jackson did not play due to being suspended by the NBA.
During a first quarter timeout, Dallas Coach Avery Johnson told his team, "Keep pushing the ball. Run for layups." The Mavericks followed his advice and led 36-23 after the first 12 minutes. Golden State Coach Don Nelson loves to go after whoever he thinks is the opposing team's worst defender and/or whichever individual matchup he thinks is most in favor of one of his players. His starting lineup did not include a traditional center and it soon became obvious that the Warriors were focused on trying to exploiting the fact that Dallas center Erick Dampier was guarding Al Harrington, who is really a small forward. The Warriors may have won that battle on the surface--Harrington outscored Dampier 14-4 in the first quarter--but the Mavericks won the war and had the lead because they took many of their shots within eight seconds on the shot clock, thereby preventing the Warriors from setting up the zone defenses and gimmicky traps that caused Dallas so much trouble during last year's playoff series between these teams. A major mistake that Dallas made during the playoffs was changing a starting lineup that had gone 67-15 during the regular season. There is no reason that the Mavericks cannot beat the Warriors using their regular lineup. Harrington's early points proved to be fool's gold, while Dampier provided a strong inside presence throughout the game, taking advantage of scoring opportunities in the paint, setting solid screens, getting rebounds and blocking shots. Dampier finished with 13 points on 5-5 shooting, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while Harrington did not do much after his first quarter outburst and ended up with 21 points.
Dirk Nowitzki's fast break layup put the Mavericks up 40-25. It is very important to note that when he took that shot only four seconds had gone off of the shot clock. Having your seven foot tall, MVP player shooting a layup is much better than slowing the game down and having him try to score in the post against a swarming defense. Nowitzki's three pointer at the 3:54 mark put Dallas up 58-40; he took that shot after just six seconds had gone off of the shot clock. As I've been saying for months now, Nowitzki is a face up shooter, so it makes no sense to slow the game down and have him grind it out in the post with defenders trapping him as the shot clock winds down; push the ball up the court, have Nowitzki spot up and then the guards will either score layups or if the defense collapses to stop their drives then Nowitzki can drain open jumpers/three pointers all night long. For some reason, in the closing minutes of the first half Dallas decided to "exploit" the alleged mismatch of Davis guarding Nowitzki or Howard on the post. The Mavericks got nothing out of these possessions; on one occasion, Howard bricked a turn around jumper and five seconds later Davis drove to the hoop and was fouled by Nowitzki. The Warriors will push the ball relentlessly regardless of what their opponents do; slowing the game down only leads to bad shots and turnovers (both of which are caused by defensive pressure and poor decisions made with the shot clock running down) that make it easier for the Warriors to score in the open court. Could there be a worse sequence from Dallas' standpoint than a missed shot that five seconds later leads to a foul being committed by the Mavericks' best player? Davis made both free throws to cut Dallas' lead to 60-50. Dallas missed a shot but retained possession when Golden State knocked the ball out of bounds. Howard received the inbounds pass, went one on one versus Mickael Pietrus and took a tough jumper over Pietrus and Davis, who arrived in time to double-team Howard; Golden State rebounded the miss and three seconds later Jackson scored a fast break layup, cutting Dallas' lead to 60-52 at halftime.
Harrington scored 20 points in the first half, while Howard and Devin Harris had 13 points each. Nowitzki contributed 11 points, four rebounds and four assists and Dampier added 10 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Nowitzki shot 3-5 from the field and picked apart double teams with good passes that led to scores. NBA TV's Rick Kamla said during the halftime show that Nowitzki had not played well in the first half; I'm not sure what game he was watching, but when someone shoots .600 from the field, his team is up by eight and he is on pace for 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists I'd call that a pretty good performance. Kamla also said that Dallas needed to slow the game down, apparently not noticing that Dallas was leading and the Mavericks got the lead by playing at a fast tempo. The Mavericks shot 55% from the field, a far cry from how poorly they shot during last year's playoffs when they insisted on slowing down the game. They also held the Warriors to 42% shooting; the Warriors kept the game close by shooting 7-12 (.583) from the three point line and forcing nine turnovers, many of which happened in the half court, not in transition.
The Mavericks opened the third quarter by running a screen and roll play with Nowitzki and Harris. Nowitzki caught a pass from Harris, took one dribble and drained a jumper right in Jackson's eye. There is simply no reason for Nowitzki to post up Jackson, which invites double teams and takes Nowitzki out of his comfort zone; whenever Nowitzki faces up Jackson he can simply use his height advantage to shoot over him, either right after the catch or, like in this instance, after using his dribble to get Jackson to backpedal a bit. On the Mavericks' next possession, they inexplicably did not go back to what worked, with Harris instead driving wildly to the hoop and getting his shot blocked. Ironically, Nowitzki recovered the ball at the three point line, set himself and hit another jumper. On Dallas' third possession, Nowitzki posted up Jackson, backed him down and then took an off balance shot in the lane that rolled off of the rim. Meanwhile, Golden State, employing their customary questionable shot selection, bricked shots from all angles. After a Jackson miss, the Mavericks ran out and Eddie Jones hit a jumper after just three seconds had run off of the shot clock, putting Dallas up 67-54. After that, other than one face up jumper by Nowitzki, the Mavericks went away from what had been working and instead slowed the game down and failed to get the ball to Nowitzki in positions where he could face up and go to work. Meanwhile, Jackson exploited smaller defenders in the post, Golden State hit cutters for layups and Dallas often struggled to get off good shots in the half court set. By the 1:30 mark the Warriors had cut the Mavericks' lead to 83-80; Dallas led 89-85 by the end of the quarter.
Nowitzki posted up Jackson early in the fourth quarter but instead of taking an off balance shot he launched a smooth turnaround jumper that swished through the net and put Dallas up 91-85. Soon after that, the Mavericks finally went back to the Nowitzki screen and roll play; this time it led to a three point play as Jason Terry made a layup and drew a foul. Then the Mavericks forced a Davis turnover and pushed the ball up the court, with Howard driving to the hoop, scoring on a drive and drawing a foul. His free throw put Dallas up 97-85. After a Warriors' backcourt violation, Nowitzki posted up Davis, drew a double team, passed the ball back out and the Mavericks reversed the ball to the corner for an open Howard three pointer that made the score 100-85. The Warriors never mounted a serious threat after that point, plagued by turnovers and some wild shots that missed badly. In one sequence, Nowitzki blocked two Jackson shot attempts before snaring the defensive rebound.
The Mavericks did not push the ball quite as much as they could have and at times they got away from the things that they do best but they took advantage of enough fast break opportunities and Nowitzki face up shots to get the win. If the Mavericks had played this way against Golden State during the playoffs they probably would have swept the series.
Labels: Baron Davis, Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Erick Dampier, Golden State Warriors, Stephen Jackson
posted by David Friedman @ 8:10 AM
NBA Leaderboard, Part VIII
The Boston Celtics won four straight games since the previous leaderboard and are now on pace to surpass the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record. I don't expect the Celtics to win 72 games--or even 70--but the way that this team has jelled so quickly, particularly on defense, is very impressive.
Best Five Records
-------------------
1) Boston Celtics, 26-3
2) Detroit Pistons, 24-7
3) San Antonio Spurs, 21-8
4) Phoenix Suns, 22-9
5) Orlando Magic, 22-11
The Detroit Pistons own the longest winning streak in the league (nine games) now that Utah ended Portland's run at 13 games. If the Celtics and Pistons meet in the playoffs we will witness an interesting matchup between Boston's collection of stars who have never won anything and Detroit's group of stars who won one title but act as though it is disrespectful not to consider them the team of the decade. As usual, the Spurs are hiding in the weeds, attracting little attention and biding their time until the playoffs. The Suns have an excellent record but there are signs of discord in the desert. Despite their protestations to the contrary, Phoenix misses Kurt Thomas' low post defense and there seems to be a disconnect within the organization between one camp that believes that the team can win a championship as is and another camp that thinks that changes must be made.
Top Ten Scorers (and a few other notables)
------------------
1) LeBron James, CLE 28.8 ppg
2) Kobe Bryant, LAL 27.1 ppg
3) Allen Iverson, DEN 26.3 ppg
4) Carmelo Anthony, DEN 25.7 ppg
5) Richard Jefferson, NJN 24.8 ppg
6) Dwyane Wade, MIA 24.8 ppg
7) Carlos Boozer, UTA 24.1 ppg
8) Michael Redd, MIL 23.9 ppg
9) Dwight Howard, ORL 22.9 ppg
10) Tracy McGrady, HOU 22.8 ppg
16) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 21.7 ppg
17) Paul Pierce, BOS 21.6 ppg
20) Yao Ming, HOU 21.3 ppg
26) Kevin Durant, SEA 19.7 ppg
32) Ray Allen, BOS 19.1 ppg
37) Kevin Garnett, BOS 18.8 ppg
LeBron James still leads the pack but his scoring average and field goal percentage dropped dramatically in December (25.8 ppg, .457; he scored 32.1 ppg on .496 shooting in November). Kobe Bryant has yet to put together a string of 40 point games and if he does so then he will take over first place. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony are the league's most explosive scoring duo but the Nuggets are not winning any more frequently with Iverson than they did before acquiring him. If Tracy McGrady's balky knee sidelines him for an extended period of time then he will fall below the minimum required number of games and thus drop off of the list. Richard Jefferson is the only player in the top 10 who has never made the All-Star team.
Top Ten Rebounders (and a few other notables)
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1) Dwight Howard, ORL 15.5 rpg
2) Marcus Camby, DEN 14.2 rpg
3) Chris Kaman, LAC 14.1 rpg
4) Al Jefferson, MIN 12.1 rpg
5) Tyson Chandler, NOH 11.9 rpg
6) Carlos Boozer, UTA 11.5 rpg
7) Antawn Jamison, WAS 10.8 rpg
8) Emeka Okafor, CHA 10.6 rpg
9) Yao Ming, HOU 10.6 rpg
10) Kevin Garnett, BOS 10.5 rpg
12) Tim Duncan, SAS 10.2 rpg
16) Andrew Bynum, LAL 9.8 rpg
18) Al Horford, ATL 9.5 rpg
24) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 8.7 rpg
26) Ben Wallace, CHI 8.6 rpg
28) Jason Kidd, NJN 8.6 rpg
36) Shaquille O'Neal, MIA 7.8 rpg
48) Kobe Bryant, LAL 6.2 rpg
This list is largely unchanged, other than the reappearance of Tim Duncan, who has now played enough games to qualify. It seems virtually certain that Kevin Garnett's four year run as the rebounding champion is over; if Dwight Howard maintains his 15.5 rpg average that would be the best rebounding performance in the NBA since Dennis Rodman averaged 16.1 rpg in 1996-97. Rodman averaged at least 15.5 rpg in five different seasons but the last NBA player other than Rodman who averaged at least 15.5 rpg is Kevin Willis (15.5 rpg, 1991-92)--and the last player who accomplished this prior to Willis is Moses Malone (17.6 rpg, 1978-79). Howard is sometimes compared to Shaquille O'Neal; he does not yet possess the dominating offensive game that O'Neal had during his prime but Howard is emerging as one of the greatest rebounders of the past 30 years.
Top Ten Playmakers
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1) Steve Nash, PHX 12.4 apg
2) Jason Kidd, NJN 10.6 apg
3) Chris Paul, NOH 10.2 apg
4) Deron Williams, UTA 8.7 apg
5) Jamaal Tinsley, IND 8.7 apg
6) Jose Calderon, TOR 8.1 apg
7) Baron Davis, GSW 8.1 apg
8) Chauncey Billups, DET 7.7 apg
9) LeBron James, CLE 7.6 apg
10) Allen Iverson, DEN 7.1 apg
The assists leaderboard tends to fluctuate less than the other ones. Mo Williams (7.1 apg) and Dwyane Wade (6.9 apg) are creeping up on the top 10, though, and Tony Parker is averaging a career-high 6.7 apg.
Note: All statistics are from ESPN.com
Labels: Boston Celtics, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Steve Nash
posted by David Friedman @ 3:57 PM
