SB Nation - Rodney Carney

The Importance of DeMar DeRozan

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:21:32 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

DeMar DeRozan's recent play under the tutelage of Jay Triano has been a big boost for the Raps...

On a day away from previews and recaps, Franchise looks at the impact of DeMar DeRozan to date and discusses how integral he is to the success of the Toronto Raptors this season...

Around noon today the Toronto Raptors will be unveiling their newest jerseys, retro "Huskies" uniforms meant to comemorate the 1946-47 Toronto Huskies basketball club.

These jerseys will be worn during six home games this season as part of the NBA's Hardwood Classic Nights and of course, as part of the Raptors' ongoing 15 year celebration.

Participating in the jersey unveiling, which we'll be attending, will be two current Dinos; Hedo Turkoglu, and the focus of this morning's post, DeMar DeRozan.

As most readers know, DeRozan wasn't my top choice for the Raptors this past off-season in regards to the draft. He did hover in our top prospect rankings most of the season, but there were other players, most notably Gerald Henderson and Terence Williams, who I would have preferred the Raps took a shot at with the ninth overall pick. I just wasn't convinced that DeRozan, apart from being an excellent athlete, had enough dominant basketball skills to be an impact player at the next level. Sure he was good in a number of areas and as mentioned, quite athletic, but the NBA draft is littered with countless "athletes" who never could put it together once they reached the big show.

(Cough...Rodney Carney...cough cough, Joey Graham.)

And up until last week, it was hard to argue that DeRozan wasn't falling into this same realm.

Yes, he was starting for the Raps, but the team was hardly looking like a playoff contender and DeRozan was averaging only 6.6 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting a slightly clunky 44 per cent from the field. His PER was an underwhelming 12.69 (the league average is 15), and for someone with his athleticism and "hops," his rebounding and defensive metrics were quite poor.

Prior to the start of the season I had identified two players as being the biggest X factors this season for Toronto; Andrea Bargnani and Mr. DeRozan. I felt that solid and consistent contributions from these two could really elevate the club's playoff potential simply because both added very unique elements to the team, ones that were essential for on-court success in this league.

In DeRozan's case, it was his ability to get to the rim and create off the bounce. At USC, DeRozan was a handful for opposing guards in this capacity and as the season wore on, he became more and more aggressive in terms of attacking the basket. It was this attribute, in particular from the wing position, that I was extremely interested in this season. Since Vince Carter's departure, the Raps have lacked a player who could do these sort of things and in today's NBA, I thought it critical to have this element in the starting line-up.

Put it this way; of the recent NBA champions, have there been any without an athletic 2 who could create his own shot with the clock winding down?

Maybe Detroit; but they seem to be the caveat to every question like this regarding past champs.

For Toronto to not only return to the playoffs, but to push past the Vegas-set 42 win plateau, I felt it essential to get this sort of offensive attack from DeMar.

Unfortunately as mentioned, DeMar's production was hardly anything to write home about early in the season, to the point that it seemed inevitable that with the Raptors' struggles, he'd be one of the first to be replaced in the starting line-up.

But then a funny thing happened.

Despite being blown out in Atlanta, DeMar had one of his best offensive performances of the season, scoring 21 points. In that game, he got to the free-throw line 12 times, and even when the game was well out of reach for the Dinos, he continued to be aggressive in going to the basket.

This carried over to the next two games as well, both wins, where DeRozan put up 16 and 11 points respectively, and in both matches, helped set the tone early by attacking the hoop and throwing down some vicious dunks.

There's no clear win correlation yet, (the Raptors are 3 and 5 when DeMar averages 10 or more points), but I feel that as the season goes on, one thing will become obvious; when DeRozan is scoring off the bounce and attacking the basket, this Raptors team takes a giant step forward in terms of potential.

Suddenly, with DeRozan drawing defenders into the paint, the Raptors' plethora of outside bombers are free for open looks off of kickouts, and instead of being the primary offensive focus, Chris Bosh is free to use his new low-post mojo to finish any of DeRozan's misses.

(DeRozan takes a break during Summer-League action.)

As well, in a league where many of the top offensive threats reside at the 2, suddenly Toronto is able to ensure that these shooting guards aren't conserving themselves at the defensive end, something which has been the case in the past.

And that's not even getting into DeRozan's ability to ignite the crowd or his team with a highlight-reel flush, something that can't exactly be quantified with any sort of metric.

Am I expecting DeRozan to play like gangbusters each and every night now from here on out?

Hardly.

The Vince Carter comparisons were over-blown as in many ways they are very different players, and I expect like the majority of rookies, his first season will be a series of highs and lows.

There's already some solid talent on this Raptor team so they don't need a VC type rookie performance to carry the club. If the Raptors can simply get a sustained and aggressive offensive attack from the rookie, this will be a huge boost for Toronto.

Already this month, DeRozan has gotten to the free throw line 22 times compared to 32 for all of November so indeed it looks like he's heading in the right direction. If he continues this level of aggression at both ends of the court, and shies away from the forced jumpers, that's really all TO can ask for this season.

After all, perhaps it can be argued that the Raps don't need another VC at the moment, but they certainly don't need another Chris Jeffries...

Sixers lose to Hawks

jsams — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:36:47 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

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Box Score

Tonight the Sixers played well enough to keep it interesting, but ultimately lost their fifth straight game. The way they hung in there reminded me of the 07-08 team, which was good to see. They have no business playing with teams like the Celtics, Hawks and Cavs -- especially with 3 of their best players out with injuries -- but as long as they play with as much effort as they did tonight, they'll steal a few wins here and there. At least good teams aren't blowing them out anymore.

Andre Iguodala continues to struggle, and I'm beginning to lose my patience. His jump shot is flat-out painful to watch, and I wish he'd just stop taking them. I'd rather see Thaddeus Young shoot 30 times a game. After watching him put up brick after brick, complain about every foul and non-foul call, make behind the back passes in traffic, and have Joe Johnson back him down with ease, I'm starting to question my once passionate man-crush on Andre Iguodala. I understand that he doesn't have much help on the offensive end, and I don't care.

Jrue Holiday was equally painful to watch. The defensive stud himself was torched by Mike Bibby. However; this was his second career start, and he's the youngest player in the NBA -- he's entitled to these types of games. For much of the game I had to remind myself that Royal Ivey and Jrue Holiday did not switch numbers, because that's who Jrue looked like. If you're a Sixers fan, no further explanation is needed, but if you've never seen Royal Ivey play, YouTube him. If you don't find a single highlight, there's a reason for that.

Even though Andre and Jrue stunk, the other young fellers impressed. Carney and Smith were all over the place, and look like legitimate bench players. I'm convinced that both of them could play key minutes for a contender right now. And Thaddeus Young was fantastic on the offensive end.

The Sixers gave their best effort tonight, and I'm pleased about that. But after three straight years of "We tried really hard, but still lost," as the team's motto, I'm enjoying watching this team less and less.

Player of the game: Jason Smith.

LeBrons 97 Sixers 91

jsams — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:10:16 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

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Box Score

The good news: the Sixers played their best game of the season. The bad news: it came in a losing effort. King James was simply too much to handle in the fourth quarter, and led his team to a victory with his home crowd cheering him on. His matchup with Andre Iguodala was the major difference in tonight's game. LeBron dominated crunch time and Iguodala tried to play hero, forcing awful, awful shots and just flat out sucked. This has been a developing story all year long. Iguodala worked on his jumper over the summer and all of a sudden thinks he's Kobe Bryant. He settled for jumper after jumper and eventually killed his team in the end.

Big shout out to Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand, Rodney Carney and Jason Smith who gave a terrific effort tonight. Even Eddie Jordan coached a good game. His only mishap was playing Royal Ivey to start the fourth quarter, but I understand his reasoning. It was either Royal or Green because his guards were gassed and needed to be ready for the final 8 minutes. Jrue was not an option. This wasn't the game to "get his feet wet".

Andre Iguodala gave a terrific effort as well. I was just displeased with his shot selection. Other than that, great game.

The were a ton of positives to take from tonight's loss and I'll go more in-depth tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, use this post to discuss the game or why you're sitting on a Sixers blog on a Saturday night.

Pissed off Elton Brand leads Sixers to 86-84 win

jsams — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:47:29 -0000

Box Score

After one good game, I'm not ready to remove the "Reggie Evans 2.0" tag from Elton Brand, but tonight was a step in the right direction. He played inspired basketball from the get-go, showed off his three-inch vertical, positioned himself for offensive rebounds, and used his long arms to disrupt the awful Bobcats offense. In other words, he did everything an 80-million dollar man should do, including getting the game-winning deflection. I never watched Elton in Los Angeles, but I'm starting to think that he was never the "explosive" athlete we thought he was, and his 20-10 numbers were product of him playing on a bad team (except for one year), and having the offense run exclusively through him. Not to sound like Jon Gruden or anything, but that "explosion" we're looking for from Elton in terms of athleticism might never happen. That said, he might not need explosive athleticism to be a good player, which was evident tonight. Elton turned in his best game of the season, and the rumors of him being benched clearly lit a fire.
When the Sixers struggled defensively -- mainly in the first quarter -- Lou Williams was the main culprit. Lou cannot stop penetration or rotate correctly. (Thaddeus has trouble rotating as well.) The most frustrating thing about Lou is that he has all the tools to be a good defensive player, but things like stopping penetration and rotating correctly don't show up in the stat sheet, nor do they reflect directly on him. Point being, Lou is either lazy, not a team player, or both. On offense, Lou played pretty well, but not well enough to make up for his bad defense, in my opinion.
The Sixers biggest offensive problem is settling for too many jumpshots. You can see why this would be an issue, considering the team's biggest weakness is... shooting! Last year the Sixers were 6th in the NBA in free throws attempted and free throws made; this year they're 18th and 15th respectively.
Rodney Carney is the Sixers best backup (now that M16 is hurt) and he showed why tonight. He should be the first guard off the bench every game. I'd even go as far as saying that he should replace Sam Dalembert in the starting lineup, moving Thad to the four and Brand to the five. Eddie had the right idea with benching one of his starters, but wanted to bench the wrong guy. Carney rebounds well, his defense is very, very good, he can make threes, and his athleticism is beastly. *Nickname Alert* RC Cola *Nickname Alert*
FREE JRUE!!! FREE JRUE!!! FREE JRUE!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! FREE JRUE!!! FREE JRUE!!! FREE JRUE!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! FREE JRUE!!! FREE JRUE!!! FREE JRUE!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!! NO MORE ROYAL IV!!!
Overall, the Sixers are still a very mediocre/bad basketball team and did nothing to disprove that tonight. How many times are we going to say, "A win's a win" this year? The best part about tonight was we hardly mentioned Eddie Jordan's name.

Player of the game: Elton Brand with 19 points, 11 boards, 6 blocks and 3 steals.

Brand out? Who's in?

jsams — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:26:35 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Bull - AP

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Earlier today Kate Fagan speculated that there might be a change in the Sixers lineup on Wednesday night. What change? No one is quite sure, especially head coach Eddie Jordan.

Then we asked if that might mean a change to the starting lineup. Here's where it gets interesting. Jordan said, "Ummm," then there was a long pause and he smiled and said, "Who knows? Nothing is going to change until Wednesday, if there is a change."

No surprise there. All we know is, if there is a change, it will most likely involve Elton Brand moving to the bench. This comes after super-sophomore Marreese Speights went down with a partially torn MCL, who some fans wanted to see take Brand's spot anyway. Now that he's hurt, EJ is left with Jason Smith, Bill Green or Rodney Carney as potential replacements.

In the meantime, there are some differing opinions on how much Elton can contribute.

Brand, for what it's worth, said he still thought he was a 40 minute a night player.

Yeah, if he were playing for the LA Sparks.

[Eddie Jordan] was asked if he felt Brand was a 40-minute a night player. His response, without hesitation, was "No."

For what it's worth, I don't Elton thinks you're a 40-minute a night coach, so there.

Here's what I would do:

Bench Elton, start Carney and Iguodala at the two and the three (order doesn't matter), slide Thad to the four and start Jason Smith at center. It sounds crazy, but hear me out.

Carney and Iguodala give the starting lineup two solid wing defenders and insane athleticism to do the whole run and gun thing that has worked for them in year's past (F the Princeton Offense). Jason Smith is an okay defender, and unlike Sam won't commit stupid fouls, turn the ball over on outlet passes, or play outside of his comfort level. In other words, we won't see him attempting to cross-over his man, fight through a double team and throw up a left-handed hook shot while doing a complete 360 in mid-air. (I may have exaggerated a little, but that's exactly how Sam imagines it when he catches the pass.) Smith also stretches the floor with his three-point range. Throw in Lou and Thad (who defends fours better than threes, <--- numbers tell me I'm wrong, my mind tells me I'm right), and the starting lineup is full of:

Athleticism - Fast breaks galore.
3-point range - Everyone on the floor is capable of hitting a three.
No defense - Eddie Jordan will have his opponents right where he wants 'em.

Then, the ever-problematic bench can slow the pace down, rebound well, play solid defense and keep games close. Here's the first five off the bench in my scenario:

PG - Jrue Holiday

SG - Bill Green

SF - Jason Kapono

PF - Elton Brand

C - Samuel Dalembert

Four out of those five guys are average/above average defenders. In theory, Elton and Sam would provide solid rebounding and interior defense, Jrue and Green would stop penetration, and Kapono would stand around like the skinny white guy at the park, wearing matching warm-ups and a head band, hoping the ball doesn't get passed to his man. (Yes, I just described myself.) That's on defense.

On offense, they could rotate between Brand and Green as the focal points and hope Jason Kapono gets open for a couple of threes.

If you have a problem with my suggestion and your argument include the words "de" or "fense", save it, because you know better than that.

That's what I would do, but here's what Eddie Jordan will do: Bench Brand, start Carney at the two, slide Iguodala to the three and Thaddeus to the four. And don't worry, he'll convince Stefanski he's making the right move by conducting a 9-hour "chalk session" before the game.

2009 Season Preview

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:00:25 -0000

Team Name: Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Year's Record: 24-58

Key ~~Losses~~ Additions By Subtraction: Calvin Booth, Bobby Brown, Rodney Carney, Jason Collins, Randy Foye, Mark Madsen, Rashad McCants, Mike Miller, Kevin Ollie, Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Shelden Williams, Kevin McHale.

Honorary Member of the Addition By Subtraction club: Mark Blount.

Key Additions: Wayne Ellington, Jonny Flynn, Ryan Hollins, Sasha Pavlovic, Oleksiy Pecherov, Jared Reiner, Ramon Sessions, Damien Wilkins, Kurt Rambis, Bill Laimbeer, Reggie Theus, Dave Wohl.

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?

Grab a chair folks, this could take a while.

I think the best way to illustrate just how much has happened here in Wolves Land is to take a look at last year's opening day starting line up:

Randy Foye
Mike Miller
Corey Brewer
Ryan Gomes
Al Jefferson

...add in the key reserves:

Kevin Ollie
Rashad McCants
Rodney Carney
Craig Smith
Kevin Love

...compare them to the line up and reserves from the last game of the 08/09 season (and yes, Kevin McHale thought it would be a good idea to give the paying customers at the Target Center their own special version of a Seniors Night):

Kevin Ollie/Sebastian Telfair/Bobby Brown
Mike Miller/Rodney Carney
Brian Cardinal/Ryan Gomes
Mark Madsen/Kevin Love/Craig Smith
Jason Collins/Shelden Williams

...before finally taking a peak at the rotation in the team's first 2009/10 preseason game against Milwaukee:

Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions/Mustafa Shakur
Corey Brewer/Sasha Pavlovic/Wayne Ellington
Ryan Gomes/Damien Wilkins
Kevin Love/Brian Cardinal
Al Jefferson/Ryan Hollins/Jared Reiner

Let's take a quick peak at those starting/closing day lineups with the dearly departed x'd out of existence:

~~Randy Foye/Kevin Ollie~~
~~Mike Miller/Rashad McCants~~
Corey Brewer/~~Rodney Carney~~
Ryan Gomes/~~Craig Smith~~
Al Jefferson/Kevin Love

~~Kevin Ollie/Sebastian Telfair/Bobby Brown~~
~~Mike Miller/Rodney Carney~~
Brian Cardinal/Ryan Gomes
~~Mark Madsen~~/Kevin Love/~~Craig Smith~~
~~Jason Collins/Shelden Williams~~

And no, I do not believe there is another team in the league with only three remaining players from the rotation of their final 08/09 game. Only the Raptors come close.

What did the Wolves lose?

Net Production by Position

Position	FGA	eFG%	FTA	iFG	Reb	Ast	T/O	Blk	PF	Pts	PER*
PG	-0.5	-.061	-1.5	0%	-1.9	-0.7	-0.2	-0.0	-1.1	-3.8	-7.0
SG	0.1	-.034	-0.1	4%	0.1	-0.3	-0.2	-0.0	-0.3	-1.1	-2.4
SF	-3.5	+.001	-2.5	-1%	0.9	0.5	-0.5	0.1	-0.8	-5.5	-4.2
PF	0.3	-.016	-0.3	8%	-0.2	0.3	-0.6	-0.9	-0.3	-0.5	-2.3
C	6.1	-.057	2.1	4%	1.8	-0.9	0.2	-1.1	0.8	6.0	+2.4

They gave up a whole lot of nothing at the point, a Randy-Foye-January-fueled-it-was-really-worse-than-the-final-numbers-suggest basket of crap at the off-guard, a bowl of ineptitude at the 3, some holy-crap-there-is-nobody-behind-Love at the 4, and Al Jefferson and Kevin Love at the 5.

Enter David Kahn.

While I think it is safe to say that most Wolves fans who were paying attention at the time of his hiring (all 1,700 of us) were upset that the team seemed to have bumbled its way through its most important new addition in years (Kahn seemed to be a secondary choice and candidates from the Blazers and Spurs appear to have walked away from the position), The Demolition Man quickly and confidently made a series of moves that have placed the Wolves in a position to win.

He turned Kevin McHale, Jerry Sichting, and Dean Cooper into Kurt Rambis, Reggie Theus, Bill Laimbeer, and Dave Wohl.
He turned two moderate-sized expiring contracts into Ricky Rubio.
He turned a Sebastian Telfair/Kevin Ollie point guard rotation into a Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions one.
He picked up an athletic big who can play the reserve 4/5.
He drafted the 2nd best shooter in the draft late in the 1st round.
He cleared (probably) between $13-15 milion in 2010 cap space.
He picked up another 2010 first round pick.

Best of all, Kahn has made the Wolves interesting again. The process has been full of goofy quotes, funny interviews, nearly weekly roster moves, and the entire Ricky Rubio saga, but the bottom line for Kahn and the Wolves is the results:

Their core is good and tremendously young.
They have drafted the 2 best Euros in the past 2 drafts and stashed them overseas.
They have 3 likely 1st round picks in the 2010 draft.
They will have in the neighborhood of $15 million below the cap in 2010 free agency.
Chances are, they now have a functional point guard on their roster.

This thing is clearly still a work in progress (the team needs help on the wing and the Rubio situation still needs to be resolved one way or another) but it is also clearly pointed in the right direction.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Rebounding. Rebounding. Rebounding, and more rebounding. Kevin Love is one of the league's top 3 rebounders, Al Jefferson's game is built to be close to the bucket and he collects a net positive on the offensive boards, and Corey Brewer can hold his own at either the 2 or 3. If there is a player from last year's squad to get a little chippy about his departure, it is Mike Miller. Despite not shooting the damn ball, Miller was a very solid defensive rebounder and it will take a well above average effort from Pavlovic, Brewer, and Gomes to match Miller's efforts on the glass at the 2/3. Miller was the team's 3rd best rebounder and he did so from the wing. That's going to be harder to make up than what I think most people first realize, especially with the crew of Pavlovic, Brewer, Gomes, and Ellington trying to make up the difference. Ramon Sessions should make up for some of the lost rebounding production vis-a-vis Sebastian Telfair, but Miller's loss probably will have some effect on the glass. How much is something that remains to be seen.

In theory, the Wolves should also be a very good free throw shooting team this season. Last year Ramon Sessions had the 25th best FT/FG rate in the league at 36. Kevin Love was 18th at 39. Big Al was all the way down at 154 with 19. By all accounts in college, summer league, and his small sample of preseason games, Jonny Flynn has all the makings of a high-contact guard who will draw a lot of fouls in an up-tempo system. Last year the Wolves had one fairly legit threat of getting to the line at a high rate: Kevin Love. This year they have 3 players who should draw a ton of contact with one guy (Jefferson) who will have a modest rate but a high volume due to his number of touches.

It's pretty hard for me to overstate just how big of a deal improved free throw shooting will be for the Wolves. Last year the Wolves averaged 2.3 fewer FTAs than their opponents. The year before that they were a league-worst -6.9 in that category (which should give you an idea of the relative merits between Kevin Love and Craig Smith). For a team with a -4.9 point differential these are points that simply cannot be left on the board. With the addition of Sessions and Flynn, and with the continued development of Love, the Wolves appear to have addressed one of their biggest weaknesses of the past 2-3 years and turned it, hopefully, into a positive. For those readers who are just casual fans of the game, I cannot stress enough how important the free throw differential is to the bottom line. I also cannot stress enough just how bad the Wolves have been on this front over the past several years.

The final thing the Wolves are going to be good at is physicality. This is something that will be pretty hard to define over the course of the year but I have a pretty good feeling that they are going to be scrappy. One of the most striking things about their play in camp was they way in which guys like Love, Brewer, Sessions, and Ryan Hollins were getting after it. This has a chance of positively impacting the play on the end of the court they need help with the most. I'm not saying that they are going to be a defensive dynamo, but this year's squad has the opportunity to run out a rotation of Sessions, Brewer, Pavlovic, Jefferson/Love, and Ryan Hollins, which is a fairly significant defensive upgrade over anything they were able to offer up in the 08/09 campaign. This especially becomes the case if Brewer develops into the plus-defender we all hope he can morph in to. Sessions/Brewer/Pavlovic has the potential to turn the epic defensive weakness of Telfair/Foye/Miller into a positive for this club. It's probably not a lineup you'd run out there for long stretches of time, but it is something that this club did not have at its disposal under McHale. All three of those players held their 08/09 opponents to below their average production. The same could not be said for Telfair (-0.009% of opponents' average), Foye (whose opponents went 10.8% over their average production against the former Villanova star), and Miller (a mere 5.6% over average production). If you throw Ryan Hollins into the mix, the Wolves may have something approaching an effective defensive unit that they could trot out on the floor for 4-8 minutes per night.

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

Defense, wing play, turnovers, and outside shooting. I don't really know if there is a good way to break this down in much greater detail but the Wolves are still going to have problems on defense; their 2 and 3 will be manned by a rotation of Corey Brewer, Wayne Ellington, Sasha Pavlovic, and Ryan Gomes, and their backcourt will be led by 2 point guards who will be in their first year with the team. David Kahn has been pretty frontal in his assessment that Gomes and Brewer are both in put up or shut up years. Pavlovic is on a 1-year contract. Nothing is promised or owed to any of these players and if they can't figure it out this year, I think it is becoming more and more obvious that when the Wolves do cash in their draft/free agency chips, it will be for a wing player. At media day and during camp both Gomes and Brewer said enough to make everyone well aware of the fact that they too know the score. As you can see from the positional chart listed above, the score on the wing isn't exactly in the Wolves' favor to begin with.

While I mentioned the possibility of a fairly solid perimeter defensive rotation with Sessions, Brewer, and Pavlovic, the fact remains that there is nothing on this team to suggest a significant overall improvement in defensive efficiency. Until we see some improvement in action, it's hard to believe it in theory. Ryan Hollins gives them a lengthy shot blocker but he fouls a ton. Corey Brewer has the potential to be an A+ defender but he is coming back from injury and is close to completely ineffective on the offensive end of the court. Ramon Sessions is a slightly above average defender at the point but he could end up with a lot of minutes at the 2. The point here is that even with the defensive positives the Wolves have some issues when it comes to weighing their best overall lineups against their best defensive ones. I'd be peachy keen with anything close to a neutral OE/DE ratio.

It can also not be overstated just how bad of an outside shooting club the Wolves are going to be this year. Wayne Ellington is probably their best shooter, their likely starting two guard (Brewer) has a career .250 three point average, their best point guard has 41 career three point attempts (with a .220 average), and Sasha Pavlovic's numbers from beyond the arc have seen a four-year fluctuation of .365, .405, .298, and .410. Could Ryan Gomes be the team's best outside shooter? If that's the case, then the Wolves are in for a long, long year from a perimeter shooting perspective. It's already proving to be a big problem in their limited preseason action.

4. What are the goals for this team?

a- At least a neutral OE/DE rating. Last year the Wolves had a -5.3 point gap per 100 possessions. While this was an improvement over the -7.4 point gap per 100 possessions from the year before, it still is a giant pile of suck. With the addition of a real starting point guard, and the maturation of Kevin Love, here's hoping the Wolves can pick up 2-3 pp/100 poss on the offensive side of the ball and that the return of Brewer and the addition of Sessions and Pavlovic can gain a point or two on the defensive side of things.

b- An increase in pace and shots within the first 10-15 seconds of the shot clock. If the Wolves' new offensive is going to pay dividends we should see an increased pace with more shots taken in transition. 36% of the Wolves' shots in 2008/09 were in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock and 26% came in the next 5. If those numbers go up, it means the Wolves are running and getting opportunistic buckets. Last year the Wolves finished 15th in the league with 91.6 possessions/game. That number needs to go up.

c- Free throw neutrality (or more). As mentioned above, the Wolves should have an increase in free throw attempts this season. I have been harping on this point for two years now: You can't win games while losing by a mile at the free throw line. It can't be done. Between Kevin Love, Ramon Sessions, and Jonny Flynn, the Wolves have three guys who can really draw contact and get to the charity stripe.

d- Injury free.Will Kevin Love break the Wolves' 2nd year injury curse? From Shaddy to Foye to Brewer, 2nd year draft Wovles draft picks have all suffered season-ending injuries in their 2nd campaign. This is one curse that needs to be broken this year. (UPDATE: Of course, as this goes to post, Kevin Love breaks a bone in his left hand and will likely be out 6-8 weeks.)

5. Did David Kahn screw the pooch on draft night?

Let me begin by giving a simple yes or no: No. However, the (excellent) addition of Ramon Sessions begs the question of whether or not the Wolves could have walked away from the Draft with Rubio and, say, Demar DeRozan instead of Jonny Flynn. Sure, it would have been a big bet to wait out for Sessions, and who knows what would have happened with Sessions' negotiations if Rubio stayed in Europe and Flynn wasn't sitting there as a sure replacement, but..well, it's pretty hard to ignore the fact that the Wolves had two big first rounders and a free agent signing over the summer and they were all at the same position. Yes, it's at a position that has killed the Wolves since the days of Sam Cassell but isn't there a nagging little thought in the back of your head that is whispering "it could have been done better?" I think Kahn has done a terrific job but it will ultimately depend on which point guard(s) stick around in 2-3 years and how much he can get with the one (or two) that gets sent away. Will that equation end up being more valuable than the previously mentioned Rubio/DeRozan/Sessions combo? Who knows?

Projected Finish: 31-51

Poll

How many games will the Wolves win this year?

Less than 15

28 votes

16-20

83 votes

21-25

147 votes

26-30

183 votes

31-35

83 votes

More than 35

30 votes

554 votes | Poll has closed

High/Low Expectations: Rodney Carney

jsams — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:00:28 -0000

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Rodney Carney #25 SG/SF

Best case: Rodney's athleticism and hustle win over the coaching staff, leading to a decrease in minutes for Bill Green. Along with being a defensive force off the bench, Rodney was a sneaky good shooter in his last 30 games with the Sixers. He shot 38 percent from beyond the arch, which would've ranked him just behind Donny-Ice as the Sixers best three-point shooter one year ago. He continued his success with the Wolves by shooting 35 percent from beyond the arch, which again, would've ranked him second on the 08-09 Sixers team.

Best case stats: 20 minutes, 38% from beyond the arch, tenacious defense and hustle.

Worst case: Rodney reverts back to looking completely lost on the offensive end, shoots poorly and leaves Eddie Jordan with no other choice but to split his minutes with Bill Green. Or his recent hamstring injury nags him all season (which hamstrings have been known to do).

Worst case stats: 10 minutes, 31% from beyond the arch

Poll

Which is more realistic?

Best case.

82 votes

Worst case.

41 votes

123 votes | Poll has closed

Philadelphia 76ers Preview 2009-2010

jsams — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:00:29 -0000

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Team Name: Philadelphia 76ers

Last Year's Record: 41-41

Key Losses: Andre Miller, Donyell "Donny-Ice" Marshall, Reggie Evans, Theophilus Ratliff

Key Additions: Elton Brand (injury), Jason Smith (injury), Jason Kapono, Jrue Holiday, Rodney Carney

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?

A season removed from signing the biggest free-agent on the market (Elton Brand), the Sixers failed to make a big splash -- if any spash -- this off-season. The bad economy, a handful of terrible contracts, and refusing to commit more than one year to any free agent all factored into the Sixers inactivity. That said, they still managed to have a surprisingly productive off-season.

Interim coach Tony DiLeo resigned immediately after the season and resumed his role in the front office. Since DiLeo was officially named assistant GM in 2003, the Sixers have nearly achieved draft perfection. Him returning to the front office was not only good for the Sixers short-term, but long-term, because he can focus on dominating drafts rather than coaching mediocrely.

Now head coach-less, Ed Stefanski quickly hired former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan. There were other candidates, but Stefanski felt Eddie Jordan's leadership and knowledge of the Princeton Offense benefited the Sixers roster most. (Their long-term friendship probably had nothing to do it.) Last season, one of the Sixers biggest weaknesses was the lack of an organized offense. In 2007-2008 when they made an inspired playoff run under Mo Cheeks, the Sixers M.O. was to out-run, out-jump, and out-hustle their opponents. They had no set offense; it was 'fast break or bust'. Their style was fun to watch and effective in the regular season, but fizzled in the playoffs, so they signed Elton Brand, hoping his post-presence would fix their problems. However; the Sixers failed to realize they also needed a coach who could integrate Brand into the offense without taking away the team's biggest strength -- the fast break. Mo Cheeks sure couldn't, so he was fired, and his replacement, Tony DiLeo never had a chance since Elton was injured for the majority of his tenure. This year the Sixers have a healthy Elton Brand, and a coach who has the ability to blend his post-game with the Sixers fast break.

As far as personnel moves are concerned, the Sixers had very few. They traded an expendable player in Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for the best three-point shooter (tied with Steve Kerr at .45%) in NBA history, Jason Kapono. Why is this significant? The Sixers were the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA last season (32%), so trading Reggie Evans for one of the best three-point shooters in the league is definitely a good move. Reggie Evans was a fan favorite because of his unprecedented hustle and energy he provided every night, but he wasn't a very skilled basketball player, and wasn't going to receive much playing time behind Sam Dalembert, Elton Brand, Jason Smith, and Marreese Speights.

Other significant moves: drafted Jrue Holiday and signed Rodney Carney for the veteran's minimum. Jrue is the point guard of the future, but that doesn't mean he can't contribute this season. In my opinion, he's one of -- if not the best -- defender in this draft class. All the Sixers need from him this season is 10-15 minutes of lights out defense; the rest is gravy. Carney was a sneaky good move. He was cheap. He's comfortable with the team and the city. His athleticism fits the Sixers style perfectly, and he's an improving outside shooter.

Elton Brand and Jason Smith also return after missing the majority of last season with injuries.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

Athleticism: you're hard-pressed to find another NBA team with as much athleticism as the Philadelphia 76ers. I watched a JV basketball game last season. Team A was fundamentally sound, well-coached, and basketball-smart. Team B looked like they barely knew what hoop to shoot on, and bricked 90% of their jumpers in warm-ups. Team A lost; they were literally run out of the gym, blown out, destroyed, and any other adjective you would use to describe a painful beating. Why did this happen? Because Team B was the most athletic JV team on the planet. They didn't need basketball skill, because they didn't take a jumpshot the entire game. They ran, they jumped, they dunked. Why am I telling you this story? Because the Sixers have done the same a handful of NBA teams over the past two seasons. That should give you an idea of how athletic they are.

The Sixers athleticism allows them to out-run and out-hustle slower, older teams in a 48 minute game, and even more so in an 82 game season. It's no coincidence that the Sixers have played their best basketball after the all-star break recently. Other teams wear down; the Sixers do not.

Their athleticism also leads to a lot of fast break points. There aren't many teams who can keep up with Andre Iguodala and co. in transition. Fast breaks normally end with a high-percentage shot, and for a team who doesn't shoot the ball particularly well, you'll take as many easy buckets as you can.

The Sixers second biggest strength is also fueled by their athleticism: defense. Most of their players run fast, jump high, posses cat-like reflexes, and the endurance of Kobayashi during a hot dog eating contest. All bode well for playing solid defense. If the Sixers stay healthy, I predict their defense ranks in the top 5 of the NBA.

Other strengths are: team chemistry, hustle, and an uncanny ability to comeback from a 20-point deficit.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. Can't shoot. They're biggest weakness is their inability to make jumpers consistently. Double D's can only take you so far (Dunks and Defense). If you're going to be a contender, you're going to have to make a jumper once in a while. The Princeton Offense, Jason Kapono and rumored improvement from Iguodala, Thaddeus and Lou should help, but we won't know for sure until the regular season.

The Sixers other major weakness is the point guard position. Andre Miller is gone, and many would argue that he was the Sixers best player during his tenure in the black, gold, white, red, blue (I'm glad those uniforms are gone!). He's in Portland now, and his replacement Lou Williams has been inconsistent and disappointing more often than not. Call me crazy, call me biased -- I'm probably both -- but I believe this will be Lou Williams breakout season. The Princeton Offense does not require a true point guard, which benefits Lou. He's a score-first guard, always has been, always will be. If I remember correctly, the last score-first point guard to run an Eddie Jordan offense was Gilbert Arenas. If Lou can play anything like Gil (with a little more defense and a little less flare) -- and I think he's talented enough -- the Sixers will go a long way.

4. What are the goals for this team?

"We expect to make the playoffs, then you have to make some noise in the playoffs. You always, or you better think that you want to win the world championship." -- GM Ed Stefanski

The number one goal is to make the playoffs and win a series. The Sixers came close the past two seasons, but failed to close out game four not once, but twice. This year, they have the most talented team they've had since Iverson, and two years of playoff experience. If they miss the playoffs or lose in the first round the season will be considered a failure.

My second goal might be first on some fans' lists: the development of the young core. As far as Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams go, I think this will be their final year to drastically improve. However; Thaddeus Young, Jrue Holiday, and Marreese Speights have a long way to go before their reach their full potential. Whether or not they improve this season will determine whether or not this year is a success in the eyes of many Sixers fans. (the ones who don't believe their good enough to make the playoffs and/or advance.)

5. Things a non-Sixers fan might not know.

1) The Sixers are not a better team without Elton Brand. He wasn't 100% healthy last season, and never had a coach who knew how to use him. This season will be different. Don't expect 20-10 Elton, because that isn't what the team needs from him. His presence will be felt on defense and on the boards.

2) Andre Iguodala is a top 15 NBA player. Just because he doesn't score 20 points per game doesn't mean he isn't. Sixers fans are tired of making and/or hearing this argument, so I'll save my breath and link any non-believer to this article. It pretty much sums up our feelings.

3) Andre Iguodala is a really good dunker. Thaddeus Young is a really good dunker. Marreese Speights is a really good dunker. None of them are as good as Rodney Carney.

4) The Sixers lost at the buzzer 8 times last season. If half of those don't go in we're looking at 45-37 instead of 41-41.

5) The Sixers haven't had an All-Star since Allen Iverson left.

Oh, and if you missed it, here are 10 predictions that didn't make the preview.

Predicted Record: 48-34, loss in the eastern conference semifinals to Cleveland Cavilers.

I think the Sixers will be a top 5 team defensively, and the Princeton Offense will allow them to be average on the offensive end. Dominant defense, and average offense should be enough for 48 wins in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers reached 41 last season with a ton of injuries and coaching problems, and I think they're much better this year. I'd be inclined to go even higher if the learning curve for the Princeton Offense wasn't so high. I expect another slow-ish start and strong finish. The Atlantic division will add another "big 3" this season in the form of Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, and Thaddeus Young.

Philadelphia 76ers: 10 Predictions

jsams — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:03:02 -0000

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My official preview for the annual blogger preview series comes out Sunday, but today I'm going to give you 10 random predictions that didn't make the cut.

The Sixers will have their first all-star since Allen Iverson.
Jason Smith will be the most productive big man off the bench.
Elton Brand will silence the critics who think he's a "bust" and that the team is better off without him.
Marreese Speights will take a step backward this season.
Rodney Carney will be the most productive wingman off the bench.
Bill Green, yes Bill Green, will give the Sixers 10-15 solid minutes off the bench.
Eddie Jordan will upset a lot of fans of by not playing Jrue Holiday enough.
Samuel Dalembert will have the best year of his life.
Jason Kapono will shoot a career-low percentage from beyond the arch.
No player will average more than 20 points per game.

Sixers Media Day

jsams — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:11:49 -0000

More photos » by Matt Rourke - AP

Are Thad, Elton and Andre all the same height?

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Earlier today Tanner watched the streaming video of Sixers media day at CSNPhilly.com, and jotted down summaries of all the interviews. Here are his notes:

Jason Kapono
- Thinks will get plenty of threes in transition and new system should open up chances
- Doesn't go into game just focusing on shooting threes - needs to be a threat on the floor to spark the team and open up the middle for the big men
- Worked out very hard this summer
- Most important thing to do in 3 point contest is to show up and not trip or airball anything

Jason Smith
- Excited to be healthy
- Trying to play without fear or hestiance
- Most serious injury evr before that was an ankle sprain in high school - has never had to overcome anything like this
- Really had to keep convincing himself that he will overcome it - rehab was very challening
- Working on three point shooting and hoping to excel with mid range game in new system

Primoz Brezec - first thing noticed is he has miller's number (7)
- Very excited to be back in nba after a year in europe
- Strength he will bring - offense, rebounding, being a team player - feels that's the only way to be a successful player in the league along with defense - hated playing against eddie jordan's team and is thankful to be part of it instead of against it
- Despite being 7'1 he never played center before coming to nba - always worked on outside shooting

Rodney Carney
- Different to be back
- Feels game improved immensley - 3 point shooting is the most improved part of his game he feels - confidence is the most important thing to his improvment
- Expects to be give energy, threes, and most importantly defense off the bench - feels he can be a nuisance on the floor
- Feels lou has a better opportunity to show what he's learned in his first few years now that andre miller is gone

Sam Dalembert is holding a gift box filled with stuffed animals.

Royal Ivey
- Felt philly was the right situation and wanted to re-sign since the end of the season
- Role players really need to step up during preseason to earn minutes on the floor with the new coach
- Defense intensity is what he brings to the team - knows that what allows him to play
- Trained with staff at university of texas (rick barnes) - lost 15 pounds
- Dropped third person "i wanted what was best for royal"
- Was a modern, tap, jazz, and ballet dancer as a kid

Brandon Bowman
- Found out 2 wks ago that he was added to training camp roster
- Invited because of elton brand - played pick up with him and liked what he saw

Sean Singletary
- Very excited to be invited to his hometown team
- Played in a half time game when a kid
- Feels he can change pace of the game and straight up play which is why he feels he will make the team
- Already been a part of 4 teams (now five) despite only being in the league for one year

Samuel Dalembert
- Fresh new cut
- Learned to swim to work out this summer - took yoga classes - scuba diving
- Asked him to rebound, block shots, and defend to be successful
- Feels he's prepared to be successful in the new offensive scheme
- Says he always accepts his role (as i roll my eyes as that comment)
- Has been working on ball handling and jumper

Marreese Speights
- Had to delay interview cuz he was eating candy
- Keep energy up and get crowd into the game
- Working on post game
- No mention of DEFENSE!!!!
- Says he comes from florida and all they do is win so he expects to win
- No matter where he is on the court he feels he can make a positive impact
- Best thing about new season is not having to get doughnuts for ppl or taking bags off the plane for the veterans

Bill Green
- Says he plans on shooting three more cuz of new scheme
- Likes princeton o because it's based on fundamentals and is based on movement

Stromile Swift
- Found out this weekend he was invited
- Says if don't work hard it's tough to stick around in the league (from his tone it sounds like he's speaking from experience)

Dionte Christmas
- No more than 5 minutes after draft he got a call from stefanski to come to summer league
- Went to vegas with clippers
- Got an invite from t'wolves and thunder but chose sixers because he says it's "his city" - really looking forward to competing and signing a contract to officially become a 76er
- Show the front office that he can defend will get him a spot on the team
- Feels he can guard pg, sg, or sf very well

Ed Pinkney
- Likes Carney's athletisicm to help out an already athletic sixers roster
- Thinks lou is the most important factor to becomming a successful team

Thaddeus Young
- Young smoove (hence twitter name) is his nickname apparently
- Working with mark price has been huge for him
- Gets down to basics when teaching - talks about angles ball has to been on to make threes
- Shot preparation is something that has really improved over the summer
- Zero problems with the ankle over the summer - did strengthening exercises every day