SB Nation - Andrei Kirilenko

It's AK Hair Intervention Time aka It's an Off-Day

moni — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:05:45 -0000

I originally meant to do something like this--Great Moments in Suns Hair History--but a rudimentary trip through the ol' archives pretty much killed that notion.

[To wit:
Karl Malone: receding hairline-->shaved head.
Jerry Sloan: black hair-->white hair, but same hair.
John Stockton: same hair for 19 years.
Horny, Ostertag, Russell, Eisley, Keefe, Eaton, Boozer, Harpring, Memo*, KK*...you get the idea.

*Memo and KK both once sported horrid frosted tips, but they were, respectively, a Piston and 76er at the time.

I could have devoted a post to the wonders of Phil Johnson's magnificent mustache, but that would have been a short one.]

So anyway, the lone standout was AK-47. And given the bowl cut he's been sporting lately--

--I feel that it is Hair Intervention time. Let's offer AK a helping hand.

[Ed. Note, 12/15/09 2:22 PM MST ] The link for the jump comes after the poll.

Option A: I call this the "Baby AK." The style he was sporting in the early years in Utah, his hair is soft, yellow, and downy like a baby chick.

Option B: Baby AK grew out into this Euro-fashiontastic somewhat-metro highlighted spike-slick look (clearly, I am making this up as I go; I have no idea what you call this). I think AK made it work though.

Option C: My personal favorite. The mojohawk is badass and it rocks the house. I have absolutely nothing to back the following statement up with, but I am absolutely certain that if AK brings this back, his play on the court will immediately revert to that of '03-'04 AK. Hence, the mojohawk.

Option D: Let's call this short, spiky cut the Standard AK--it's the one that we're most familiar with and most used to seeing.

Option D also comes in Option D-1: Now with frosted tips!

Option E: The Superman. AK showed up at training camp this season with a new slicked Dean Cain Superman look that I quite like, and that:

--KOC called "more mature"
--AK said was the result of having no time to get a haircut
--Jerry said he wouldn't comment on because he wasn't going to marry AK lol.

Option F: "The KK with Product"--during the preseason Europe trip, AK toyed with combing his bangs forward. It looks a lot like what KK's hair would look like if he put hair product in it.

So, what do you think?

Poll

AK should bring back...

Lakers-Jazz Preview

DexterFishmore — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:00:17 -0000

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't the only team that hasn't been getting out of the house much. The Utah Jazz have played seven of their last eight at home. They've won six of those eight to get well after a 4-6 start to the season, but the competition has been squishy: Utah's eight most recent opponents have a combined winning percentage of 0.415. The Jazz tonight attempt a big step up in weight class, facing the Lakers for the first time since the teams' opening-round playoff series last April.

Strength of schedule aside, there's no debating whether Utah's on a good run. They are. Carlos Boozer, the world's second-most famous Alaskan, is putting up All-Star numbers, and his running mate Deron Williams is getting sharp again after missing a couple games to deal with a family medical issue. Center Mehmet Okur, who played little in the playoffs last year, is back as the third option. Wesley Matthews and Eric Maynor are intriguing rooks getting real minutes.

There are new friends and old, in other words. With seemingly half the Lakers' games so far coming against Phoenix, Houston or New Orleans, I look forward to seeing someone new come to town. Let's get to know them a little better.

First, a quick review of who's not playing. Forward Andrei Kirilenko (strained lower back) and backup center Kyrylo Fesenko (stomach virus) did not travel with the team to Los Angeles. So much, I guess, for ratings in the former Soviet Union. Shooting guards Kyle Korver (recovering from knee surgery) and Ronnie Price (foot injury) are out as well. Utah's playing thin, obvy.

Also absent tonight will be our boy Stu Lantz. Stu, it's been announced, will miss the next seven games while his wife Linda recovers from surgery. Hot Rod Hundley, former Laker and longtime Jazz announcer, will be filling in for tonight at least. All our best to Stu and Linda.

Utah's strength is its offense, which tactically hasn't changed in about three decades. They still run that deliberate, half-court pick-and-roll game that drives everyone nuts. Their Offensive Rating of 107.3 ranks seventh in the NBA, and they're top six in both Effective Field-Goal and True Shooting Percentage. You won't see them bomb away from three a whole bunch, and their team three-point accuracy of 35% is only middle of the pack, but Jazz shooters enter tonight's game on a hot streak. Over the past five games they've drained a stellar 41% of their long balls.

After a forgettable, injury-filled campaign last year, Boozer now looks like a man playing for a new contract, which not coincidentally he is. The guy is destroying people. Here are his numbers over the last eight games.

FGs	EFG%	FTs	FT%	TS%	PPG	RPG
82-125	66%	45-56	80%	70%	26.1	10.2

A look at Boozer's shot-location chart shows the engine of his improvement: the midrange game. Away from the rim and out to 15 feet, he's taking the same number of shots he did last year, about four per game. But whereas last season he made only 34% of his attempts, this year he's making 50%. The Laker bigs have the length and quickness to frustrate Boozer, but they'll have to be active and aggressive. If they kick it near the hoop and wait for Boozer to come from them, he'll feast all night on those little 12-foot J's.

Deron Williams, though he's been playing pretty well lately, doesn't seem quite himself this year. His turnovers are up, he's making only 72% of his free throws (after hitting about 80% over his first four seasons), and he's getting to the rim much less than he has in years past. He still presents a difficult matchup for the Lake Show. I'm of the view that Derek Fisher has been better on D than he was last year, but he just doesn't have the muscle to control Williams. With Kirilenko and Korver out of commission, Utah's wings aren't much of a threat, so it's likely we'll see both Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest try to body up Williams at some point.

Who are Utah's wings, you ask? Matthews has been starting at shooting guard, and Ronnie Brewer at small forward. An undrafted rookie out of Marquette, Matthews has been a surprise contributor. He's a low-volume, turnover-prone offensive player, but he's making 38% of his threes, so you can't totally forget about him, and he's been earning positive notices for his D. He'll likely get first crack at guarding Kobe - good luck with that, young buck.

For the second straight game, the Lakers face an opponent with a "stretch 5" - a center who enjoys chucking threes. Channing Frye didn't do much damage on Sunday, and now Okur and his 48% three-point shooting are the challenge. The Lakers are the best in the league at defending the money ball. Their zone-y defensive principles mean Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol don't have to chase guys like Okur all over the court, and there's enough size on the perimeter between Kobe, Artest and Lamar Odom to make drainable looks hard to come by even for the tallest gunners. It seems, therefore, the Laker D is well designed and equipp ed for this matchup.

Eric Maynor is a dude I'm excited to check out. A member of what appears to be an all-time great class of rookie point guards, he comes off the bench for 15 minutes a night. He hasn't found his shooting touch in the NBA yet, but his assist and turnover numbers are fantastic. He should have a long pro career as a backup point.

Also off the bench we'll see power forward Paul Millsap, at $8 million luxury-grade reserve. He hasn't been the same productive force he was last year - turnovers up, rebounds down - but is nonetheless a valuable part of the second unit. Small forward CJ Miles recently made his season debut and could get 15-20 minutes of run.

Not unlike the Suns team the Lakers just got done embarrassing, the Jazz undo a lot of their good work on offense with a pretty terrible D. They control the defensive glass well but are below average in everything else. They're coming off two particularly grim performances, allowing 1.19 points per possession to Minnesota and then 1.16 PPP to San Antonio. Fouling the hell out of their opponents, look a disreputable feature of the Utah D, is again emerging as a tendency. Their opponents have an FTA/FGA of 0.34 for the season, seventh highest in the NBA, and that number has been even higher (0.41) over the past five games.

A central problem with their defense is their starting big men: Boozer and Okur have been terrible at that end of the floor. Their advanced metrics coming into this season weren't bad, but they've both posted defensive plus-minus stats this year that are just putrid. Millsap has been better those guys, as has been Kirilenko. The Lakers catch a break by not having to deal with the latter.

Utah is a perfectly decent team, to be sure. Williams is always fun to watch, and if the Laker big men are sloppy on D, Boozer and Okur could get big numbers. Staples Center, though, has become where perfectly decent teams go to get pounded. Absent a bed-crapping reminiscent of the Miami game, a 10th straight victory for the Lake Show awaits.

	Lakers	Jazz
*RECORD*	16-3	12-8
*NET POINTS PER GAME*	+8.3 (2nd)	+3.3 (9th)
*PACE*	97.8 (5th)	93.6 (22nd)
*OFFENSIVE RATING*	105.6 (13th)	107.3 (7th)
Turnover Rate (Off.)	12.9% (5th)	14.0 (18th)
FTA/FGA (Off.)	0.27 (25th)	0.31 (16th)
Free-Throw %	75.5 (15th)	75.3 (16th)
Effective FG% (Off.)	50.3 (12th)	52.2 (5th)
True Shooting% (Off.)	54.0 (16th)	56.3 (6th)
Off Rebounding Rate	27.8% (10th)	26.8 (18th)
*DEFENSIVE RATING*	97.4 (3rd)	104.6 (19th)
Turnover Rate (Def.)	14.5% (12th)	13.6 (7th)
FTA/FGA (Def.)	0.27 (6th)	0.34 (24th)
Effective FG% (Def.)	46.0 (1st)	50.2 (20th)
True Shooting% (Def.)	50.5 (1st)	54.8 (20th)
Def Rebounding Rate	72.3 (21st)	75.3 (5th)

All statistical terms defined here. Parentheses indicate league rankings. Numbers are courtesy of Basketball Reference and HoopData and, except for record and net points per game, are through Monday night's action.

The Downbeat - 23 November 2009 - #106 - The Real Edition

Basketball John — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:54:45 -0000

via d.yimg.com

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This has nothing to do with basketball, but a huge congrats to Real Salt Lake for winning the MLS Cup. What an amazing story to have had a disappointing season, squeaking into the playoffs with about a half million things falling into place, and then proceeding to tear it up.

The icing on the cake is sticking it to the LA Galaxy which features David Beckham and Landon Donovan. Anybody that can win a championship and do it against an LA team is fine by me. And you know, having a championship in Utah is nice.

Just a great story. Look forward to the Disney adaptation coming summer 2011.

If you want to read more about it from someone that actually knows about soccer/football, here's RSL SoapBox.

As the comments stated, who knew that Greg Miller was so tall. He's got to be about 6' 5" doesn't he?

A couple of big games this week against division teams. Not log overlook the Bulls, but we have OKC tomorrow night with Portland coming in on Saturday. The Thunder are just a half game behind the Jazz right now and are sitting at .500.

The bigger game though will be against Portland on Saturday. They're 8-2 over their last 10 games and are two games up on the Jazz. It will be a good early measuring stick for both teams.

After having won just 1 game before last week, the Knicks caught fire and won two straight last week giving them 3 wins on the season. Then, they almost beat the Celtics last night. Thanks Boston.

They could easily lose their next 7 though as they have 5 of those on the road and have PHX and Orlando at home.

Their next game that they might win is against NJ, a team that still hasn't won a game and doesn't look like they will either for at least another couple weeks.

Maybe in addition to VoteDeron.com, I should have picked up VoteAK.com? 14.5 a game, 1.2 blocks, 3 assists and nearly 5 boards a game. His 3P% is almost at a career high. Making the All-star team will be a big stretch but it could be argued that he's the MVP of the team so far. He has saved the team on a number of occasions and has played just about every position so far.

If he continues to come off the bench, which he should, he could win 6th man of the year.

Same Song & Dance: Jazz 100, Pistons 97

Packey — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:43:29 -0000

Chalk up another winless year in the Salt Lake City. After falling in overtime on Saturday night, the Pistons are now winless in Utah since 2002 and have not beat the Jazz, period, since March 2005. More importantly, the Pistons dropped their fourth straight of the 2009-2010 season to fall to 0-3 on the current west coast swing and 5-8 on the season. Things don't get any easier as they travel to play the first place Phoenix Suns, with tip off in less than 24 hours. Detroit is 0-4 this season in the second game of back-to-back's.

Aside from the demoralizing final result, this was probably the best game of the season. It was back-and-forth for the full 48 minutes of regulation and fans received a free five minutes of overtime basketball to boot. There were nearly 20 lead changes and over 10 different tie games.

Even though it was an entertaining game, that doesn't mean it was aesthetically pleasing. The Pistons turned the ball over 17 times and allowed Utah to get to the charity stripe 44 times, of which they made 33, serving as the difference maker in this one. Detroit made 21 of their 25 attempts.

Trailing by one in overtime with 15 seconds remaining, the Pistons had a chance to take the lead and possibly win it. Unfortunately, Will Bynum's one-on-one drive to the hoop resulted in the ball slipping from his hands and out of bounds. Utah, as they were all game, hit the free throws when they needed to put them up three with a little under 10 seconds to play.

As the Pistons did against the Mavericks when they needed a three to tie the game, they drew up a play for the efficient shooter, Ben Gordon. They had him inbounds the ball to Bynum and ran him off a Ben Wallace screen, only it didn't look well executed at all. Ben Gordon got the ball in his hands, but his man was on his tail the entire time. He was forced to put up a contested three with the time expiring. The shot sailed to the left of the rim, buzzer, and curtains.

Ben Gordon led the Pistons with 25 points on 10-20 shooting. Kirilenko and Boozer each had 22 points to lead the Jazz.

Reflections, and more, after the jump.

Heading the ugly column, continues to be the shooting of Rodney Stuckey. He did score 18 points, but on just 7-18 shooting. He is now 16-51 in his last three games (31%) and his misses haven't been close. Despite his poor shooting, he somehow manages to salvage his stat lines. He led the team with five steals and a team-high six assists on Saturday night (opposite four turnovers). I think it's safe to say he's ready to get the heck away from this west coast road trip.
Despite the big shots the Jazz were able to hit, the Pistons put up great effort on defense, I thought. The two things the Pistons could not contain were Utah's pick-and-rolls with Boozer and working the back door cuts with the ball in Boozer's hands in the post. Utah picked Detroit apart on those plays.
Ben Wallace played 43 minutes, nearly logging a double-double. He had eight points and nine rebounds.
Charlie Villanueva had an impressive game. He was very active on defense, finishing with three blocked shots. He fouled out in overtime, but his final line was respectable with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
The Pistons did a great job clearing the glass. They outrebounded the Jazz 40-34 and had five guys with five or more rebounds.
One of the Pistons lowlights of the season has been their free throw shooting. Tonight they were 21-25, great for 84%. They were shooting just 72% from the stripe coming into tonight. Ironically, and I might be nitpicking, but Will Bynum's missed free throw late in the overtime proved to be crucial. For starters, the Pistons would have been tied on the possession Bynum lost the ball out of bounds with 10 seconds. It would have also put the Pistons within two, as opposed to three, on the final possession allowing Detroit to go to their strength in the final nine seconds, rather than force up a three.
Game highlights:
Box Score
SLC Dunk for the opposing view.

Game Preview #10: Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs

Tim C. — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:06:08 -0000

That kid is soooo a Spurs fan right now.

Are you pissed off now? You can bet the Spurs are. Both teams in this game are already backed into a corner in the young season, and are going to fight to the death tonight. This is a SEGABABA for all involved, so... we got that going for us.

Utah Jazz @ San Antonio Spurs
Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
When: November 18, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSN Utah (SLC); FSN Southwest (SA)

How They Stack Up


4-1	Home	3-2
0-4	Road	2-4
101.9	Offense	100.8
99.9	Defense	100.9
46.4	FG%	48.1
34.8	3-pt%	32.5
73.1	FT%	79.0
40.1	Rebounds	41.5
12.0	TOs	13.6
4-5	Last 10	5-5
Lost 2	Streak	Won 1
3rd, Southwest	Position	4th, Northwest


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	10:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Philippines	10:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	2:30 AM
Least Coast	8:30 PM
Colorado/Arizona	6:30 PM
Perth, AUS	8:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	9:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	11:30 AM

Spurs (4-5)	Matchups	Jazz (5-6)
George Hill Coach's Pet	Point Guard Tony's still out, and George has done a pretty good job standing in for him. Unfortunately for Cubits, he's getting a nightmare assignment tonight. Unlike the two-headed monster of Beaubois/Barea that he was up against last night, Williams is the total package. He's got size, speed, athleticism and excellent court vision. Did I mention he also plays defense? He's my personal favorite among current point guards, because he usually gets the better of CP3 head-to-head. Look, we all love Cubits, but he's completely out of his league here. And let's not even talk about Mason running the point. The best thing George can do is attack the rim on offense and use those long arms to draw contact. Advantage: Jazz	Deron Williams 2nd Best

Keith Bogans The Boogeyman	Shooting Guard As of this writing, Manu is officially out for this game. That means we'll see a lot of Bogans, probably guarding Williams. If he can get a couple of corner threes, that'll be nice, but I want him completely focused on limiting Williams. When Bogans is sitting, we'll probably see a lot of Michael Finley and Roger Mason, with a bit of Malik Hairston thrown in for good measure. Malik did good things last night, and appeared to earn Pop's trust for the most part, so I hope he can have a decent contribution off the bench. For the Jazz, Wesley Matthews and Ronnie Brewer will likely rotate at the 2 - these 2 need to be SHUT. DOWN. Cubits, are you up to it? Advantage: Nobody	Ronnie Brewer Meh.

Richard Jefferson Still Waiting For Some RAGE	Small Forward RJ still looks lost out there sometimes when the big 4 all play. Luckily for us him, Tony and Manu won't be there to defer to. Kirilenko is an able defender, but there's no way he can stop Rage. There better be a full assault on the rim tonight by RJ. Advantage: Spurs	Andrei Kirilenko AK-47

Antonio McDyess Anti-Boozer	Power Forward Poor Dice - he gets two incredibly difficult assignments in a back to back. Luckily, Boozer had to chase Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani around all night last night. If SAM plays the kind of D he has on Dirk tonight against Boozer, he'll be all right against a tired Boozer. In other news, DeBeast will get another shot at Millsap tonight. Let's hope all those comparisons were right. Advantage: Jazz	Carlos Boozer

Tim Duncan WWTD?	Center Okur was held out last night with flu-like symptoms, replaced by the 7'1" Ukranian, Kyrylo Fesenko. I'd expect him to return tonight, but Timmy has the advantage either way. If Timmeh does enough to counter the Boozer/Millsap combo, this game is in the bag. Something tells me he will. Advantage: Spurs	Kyrylo Fesenko Chernobyl Mutant?

Michael Finley Wise Beyond Our Years	Bench & Role Players The Findog is going to be backing up both of the wing positions, and needs to hit some shots to make up for his horrible defense. Roger Mason attacked the rim last night, and I would love for him to continue doing that, but he's going to be playing PG at times tonight. Please, Roger, break out of your shooting slump tonight. Matt Bonner, Malik Hairston, Dejuan Blair and Theo Ratliff probably see court time tonight as well, and they can all be effective. Utah's bench is decidedly thinner, but their bench wings are a pretty nasty matchup. Advantage: Spurs	Wes Matthews Undrafted Rookie Starter

Gregg Popovich The Veins Are Popping Out	Coach That Sloan has never been Coach of the Year is a crime against humanity, and a stain on the NBA. He gets no respect. He's the only coach who's been with his team longer than Pop, and he's done a great job year after year, even when he doesn't have much to work with. I still can't bring myself to take Pop's white box away, but Sloan gets one too. Advantage: Tie	Jerry Sloan Rodney Dangerfield
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
Intangibles
Both of these teams are failing to live up to expectations so far. That doesn't mean it will continue, though. The Spurs have only looked slightly better. Advantage: Spurs
Mojo
On a SEGABABA, it's coming down to whose home crowd can give them an extra boost. Oh look, that's us! Advantage: Spurs
Winner: Spurs
There's no reason for the Spurs to lose this game. Well, no reason other than having our 2 best guards unavailable. Prediction: Spurs win, or our secret suicide pact takes effect.

Keys To The Game

Defense - The Jazz destroyed us in Utah a few weeks ago because our interior D was pathetic. The inside D has made great strides since that sad day, but it needs to continue. Without our two best outside scorers, we're also going to need the perimeter guys to step up. If the Bogans/Hill combo can limit the effectiveness of Utah's backcourt, Pop will have a happy face. OK, that was a lie - Pop never has a happy face.
Rebounding - This is getting old. Dallas got 17 offensive rebounds last night. Seventeen. The fact that the Spurs even had a chance to win this game is pretty ludicrous when you take that into account. These guys need to box the fuck out.

Strength of Schedule

The Spurs played a tough, demanding OT game against a division rival last night. The impact of that is compounded by the loss of Tony and Manu, causing our available backcourt to play a lot of minutes.

As for Utah, they had an easier go of things last night, beating Toronto 104-91. However, they always play much better at home. A SEGABABA on the road is usually terrible news for Jazz fans. The short flight the Spurs took home from Dallas is much easier than the considerably longer flight from SLC to SA.

Last Time They Met

Utah sliced and diced us mercilessly at home about 3 weeks ago. REVENGE!

Some Other Reading

Copied from previous Jazz game, due to lack of sleep.

Jazz

SLC Dunk - The Jazz SBN blog. They are not too happy about the start of the season and the Boozer mess.
Salt City Hoops - This is the TrueHoop network blog for the Jazz. I know nothing about this blog, but it looks snazzy.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, we're extremely lucky that the best one is dedicated to the Spurs. Tim and Graydon always do an excellent job of breaking down everything that's happening in the Spurs' organization.
Project Spurs: Good independent blog with lots of good content. Spurs fans are lucky to have so many good blogs out there.

The (sort of) Daily Twitter

DeJuan45

How do everybody like my new pic? It's a hott wall paper!!! Lol http://twitpic.com/q0m09

The Magic That Happened

Lots of stuff to read in the comments if you flip through the game threads. Really, it's fun.

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be televised on local stations only. Fox Sports has the rights in both Utah and San Antonio.

Online

As always, NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area.

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email with your PtR username to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year if all else fails, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Raptors' Rapid Recap - Utah 104 - Toronto 91

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:49:55 -0000

-Toronto ends its four-game Western Conference road trip with a 104 to 91 loss to the Utah Jazz tonight.

-Much like earlier in the week against the Clippers, the Raps got in a big hole early with some extremely lazy play at both ends. However again like the LA game, after being down big (18 points), Toronto charged back, getting as close as 3 points in the fourth quarter.

-Unfortunately that's as close as things got. The Dinos shooting went ice cold in the fourth quarter and they had no match for Utah's small back-court of Deron Williams and Eric Maynor.

-Bosh led the Raps with 32 and 17, and Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson made huge contributions off the bench.

-For Utah, Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 18 rebounds, while Andrei Kirilenko pitched in a quiet 20 off the bench.

-Again, this game was another prime example of what happens when TO's jump-shots stop falling. The team shot only 37 per cent from the field, 24 per cent from long-range, and yet kept heaving them up.

-The club therefore finishes the roadie with a 1 and 3 record and drops two games under .500. And even though Toronto's next game is back at home, it's against a hot Miami team, and that's followed up by another tough home match against Orlando.

Jazz 95, Knicks 93

Seth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:23:36 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

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I know that there's "no such thing as a moral victory" and whatnot, but I'm gonna go ahead and take the moral victory on this one. For the most part, this game was the usual fare: a truly horrid start followed by a spirited comeback that fell just short. We've seen that before. There were a couple elements of this one, though, that made it stand out. The primary one, as you might have heard, was the performance of a particular "precocious neophyte".

Yes, for perhaps the first time in his young career, Toney Douglas did what Toney Douglas do. It wasn't a revelation, really. Toney played 23 minutes of steady, determined basketball, and ultimately took the fall for a heartbreaking loss. The contrast, though, between TD and Chris Duhon was a sight to be seen. I know Chris means well, but he's been playing like he doesn't care. Most of us picked up on it, and I think Mike D'Antoni finally gave into the suspicion as well. He benched Du for the entire fourth quarter and handed the keys to Pretty Toney, who very nearly won the game by his damn self. Throughout the evening, but particularly in the fourth quarter, Douglas showed his full arsenal- three-point bombs, pull-up twos, and speedy drives to the rim. Though Toney threw away more turnovers (2) than assists (1), it was immediately evident that his ability and willingness to score prevented the D from sagging and made for many more passing opportunities. Should he continue to score so successfully, the pick-and-roll options and team-wide ball movement should thrive in turn. This isn't even close to Toney Douglas's team yet, but he made it very clear that he deserves a chance at taking the reins. His playing the full fourth quarter suggests that D'Antoni is fully willing to grant him that chance. As for that last shot, one more dribble and he could have splashed a nice running floater off the correct leg. Toney's a rookie, though. These things happen. If he keeps up this nerve, I'd be more than happy to watch Toney Douglas learn on the fly. DWTDD.

The rest of your game notes are after the jump...

- This was mentioned in the comments, and it's really a splendid thought. I see two ways to deal with the Knicks' tendency to fall behind early then storm back late. One would be to make them play two or three quarters of five-on-five before the game starts so they're in endgame mode by the time tip-off rolls around. Another would simply be to change the scoreboard to indicate that they're down 18 in the fourth quarter from the outset. You could totally pull that off, at least at home.

- I asked my team of trained genius badgers to run some numbers and found the following: The Knicks have lost every first quarter except for two (vs. Indiana and New Orleans). Through 8 games, the average first quarter margin is -9.4. Meanwhile, the Knicks have won every fourth quarter except for one (against Indiana), with an average margin of +7.6. That just goes to show that my first bullet point is no joke. The Knicks have really clicked in fourth quarters, but never enough to crack the eggs they collectively lay in first quarters. Part of this is that the opposition gets sloppy in the waning moments of a blowout, but part of it is significantly better New York basketball. Like I said, start each game with a fourth quarter and the Knicks would be a pretty solid team.

- Danilo Gallinari had a quiet night. His outside shots weren't really in rhythm, and he didn't get nearly as many touches as one would hope. It's tough for a youngster to demand the ball on offense, but I'd rather watch Gallo go iso for 20 seconds than see most anyone else try and create offense. Danilo also had two fantastic blocks (he's better at that than I expected) and was seen pounding his signature dish- scaloppini di Gallo- with Tina Cervasio in a pre-game feature. It's gnocchi with veal, if you're curious. I would love some right now.

- The presence of both Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer nearly made Walt Frazier's head explode. By the end of the game, I'm pretty sure he resorted to calling both of them "Broozum".

- One thing that distinguished tonight's loss from every other loss was that the Knicks got back into it with zone defense. D'Antoni saw the opportunity to create turnovers and exploit Utah's lack of shooters by employing a 2-3 zone for very lengthy stretches. He was successful on one of two fronts. With Toney and Larry Hughes in the backcourt, New York was able to disrupt a lot of passes and even turn some steals into fast break buckets. At the same time, though, Utah accepted the challenge to shoot and did so with considerable success. Andrei Kirilenko hit 5 of 8 threes, many of which were so wide open that the nearest defender was someone in the crowd. Jerry Sloan also made his squad stack one side of the floor, which meant that one guard (often Douglas) found himself stranded at the top of the zone. The ensuing scramble repeatedly left Ronnie Brewer open for a mid-range J, or one of the big men open off a backdoor cut.

- That was the other big thing. Be it laziness or a child-like understanding of object constancy, the Knicks were completely baffled by backdoor cuts. I don't have much more to say on this. If somebody disappears for a second, that doesn't mean they're completely gone. I thought that was a given.

- This movie 2012 shouldn't be advertised on MSG. It almost makes me think Walsh should be clearing cap space for John Cusack, since it seems like he'll be the only dude around in a few years.

- Jared Jeffries has a new haircut. It looks fresh. Jared Jeffries's free throws look like the opposite of his haircut.

- Al Harrington really troubles me. He's trying very hard to be the difference and provide energy, but his shots just ain't falling of late. It's problematic, but I'm not as ready to bench him as some of y'all are.

- I guess Larry Hughes (and Toney, right?) deserves some credit for holding Deron Williams to 2-10 shooting for just 5 points and 7 turnovers. D-Wil did have 16 assists, though.

- Listen, I think the fact that the Knicks promote the Lustgarten Foundation is really, really excellent. Pancreatic cancer is a serious problem and it's a worthy cause for the organization to advocate. All that said, I can't help but single out Mike D'Antoni's performance in his ad spot for the foundation. Where Channing Frye's former rendition of "sometimes, dinner was just crackers" for the Garden of Dreams foundation was classically deadpan, D'Antoni's gratingly loud delivery of "WORKINGTOGETHERASATEAM (beat) THAT'SHOWWE'LLBEATPANCREATICCANCER." lacks nuance and prosody to the point that I have to laugh. The cause is truly noble, but the execution is downright hilarious. Am I a bad person for thinking that? Probably. Just to clear my conscience, why don't I link you over to the foundation one more time.

- In her regular halftime interview, Jill Martin asked Darryl Strawberry what trend from the 80's he'd most like to have back. Once more, I felt like a bad person for thinking the thoughts that I thought.

- It's funny how a 17-point deficit feels like nothing at halftime. That's practically a tie game in the context of this early season incompetence.

- I couldn't have told you without looking that Wilson Chandler (33 minutes, 17 points on 8-15 shooting, 10 rebounds, 2 assists) had a good game, but I guess he did. I'd prefer he not shoot 4 threes and 0 free throws, but hats off to Wil, I suppose. That's a nice line.

- According to the boxscore, Jordan Hill played in this game. I must have been blinking.

I don't have much else to say. The Knicks, as usual, hung tough when they hit open shots and play defense with even a hint of conviction. As usual, that occurred in the fourth quarter. As usual, it wasn't quite enough. Luckily for us, this game was distinct because of a compelling stretch of zone defense and an intriguing breakout performance from Toney Douglas.

Next game's on Wednesday against the Hawks.

2009-2010 Season Preview - Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:16:18 -0000

More photos » by Daniel Ochoa de Olza - AP

Browse more photos »

First, thanks to Jeff at CelticsBlog for coordinating all this and setting it up.

Team Name: Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Record: 48-34

Key Losses: Golden State at home (4/11), Minnesota at home (4/3), Morris Almond, Jarron Collins (key?), and soon to be Matt Harpring

Key Additions: Eric Maynor (drafted), Wes Matthews(?), Deron Max + AK Max + Opt Ins + Portland Hosing = Luxury Tax

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

The Jazz were in wait-and-see mode all off-season. They had three players, Kyle Korver, Mehmet Okur, and Carlos Boozer that could have opted-out. In the end, all of them ended up opting in for various reasons.

Korver decided that the This is The Place Heritage Park reminded him of his home state of Iowa too much to leave.

Okur decided that launching threes in the thin mountain air while making $10M per wasn't such a bad proposition.

And of course Boozer, he who was opting out and getting a raise, regardless. Then, as young people who try to move out of their parents' house find out, things are not as easy financially as they seem. Having no suitors willing to give him a raise with a long-term deal, Boozer opted back in and then went on his nationwide tour of radio stations to drum up interest for a trade.

When that didn't pan out, Boozer headed back to Jazz camp and has so far kept quiet.

The Jazz also didn't make an offer up front for Paul Millsap, though he was their number one priority to re-sign over the summer. They were content to let the market set the price. Due to market conditions, the Jazz were poised to re-sign Millsap for much less than the $8-9M he was looking for. After OKC, one of the last teams with cap space, apparently dropped out of the bidding, it looked like the Jazz were home free. And they would have got a big break too if it hadn't been for those darn kids up north. Portland made a large front-loaded offer for Millsap that looks like it was designed more to adversely impact the Jazz than it was to sign Paul.

The Jazz made two draft picks with Eric Maynor in the first round from VCU and Goran Suton from Michigan State in the second.

Maynor projects to be a third-string backup to Deron Williams and Ronnie Price.

Suton probably would have been signed in any other year, but with the Jazz already over the luxury tax and having enough big men, he will probably not be offered a contract.

Should the Jazz sign anyone else, it would be either Wes Matthews or Ronald Dupree. With CJ Miles out the first 6 weeks or so and Matt Hapring already in the studio, the Jazz are in need of another wing player. Right now, Matthews is the favorite to get the job.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Jazz still have one of the best offenses in the league. Three seasons ago when they went to the WCF, they had the third-best offensive rating. The year after that they were first in that same category. And last season, with injuries littering the Salt Lake valley, they were still a respectable 8th.

While it comes at a very, very high cost (almost $50 M), the Jazz have one of the best front-courts in the league in Okur, Boozer, Millsap, and Andrei Kirilenko. That gives you three former All-stars and at least half of them play respectable D.

As for the logjam at PF, if and when Boozer gets traded, it looks like Sloan will find a way to play both him and Millsap 30+ minutes. There has been some experimentation with Paul at the SF in the pre-season. He won't play significant minutes in that spot, but in some matchups, he could be there. Also, Kirilenko can play SF, PF, and even some C. Millsap and Boozer playing together, mass hysteria.

What I think will be the biggest strength for the Jazz this year is the team chemistry. Most of these guys came into the league around the same time. They've all played with each other for around 3-4 years. They know each other. Whether it's only words, the team has said they've moved on from the Boozer distraction. While I don't have anything to back it up, I believe locker room conflicts was a big cause of the team's stumble down the stretch last season. What I'm hoping to see is the the familiarity and cohesiveness helps eliminate in part some of the team's weaknesses.

And Energy Solutions Arena will be a perennial stronghold for the Jazz

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

I'm not sure that they're any different from last year's preview.

Let's start with the defense again. The Jazz were actually a bit above average last year in defensive rating. Where the Jazz are bothered on defense is length on the inside. They'll clean the glass with the best of them, but most big men can get whatever shot they would like off down low. This comes as being a bit undersized against a lot of opponents This is where the development of Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko, the two seven-footers, would be beneficial. The Jazz also have the propensity of not getting back on D quickly and giving up easy points after a made bucket or drive by one of the guards.

For what it's worth, every other word out of all the players' mouths so far this season has been "defense". It may not be lip service this year.

Second on the list is the inability to win on the road. This has been a problem the last three seasons. Just breaking even on the road the past couple of years would have earned them a two seed two years ago and 53 wins last season.

This is where the next weakness comes in. There was a lack of mental toughness or focus last year, particularly on the road. A good example of this was the Orlando game after a crushing 3 OT loss to Miami the night before. It wouldn't have mattered if the Orlando game was two days later, the blow from that loss, being on the road, and being the second game of a B2B, there was no way the Jazz were going to even compete in that game, let alone win.

They may not have won against a very good Orlando team anyway, but even if Vegas gave them 30 points, I still would have wagered against the Jazz. The late season collapse had more to do with a mental breakdown than anything else. Inexcusable losses at home to the Warriors NBDL team and to the Wolves sealed the team's fate as the 8th seed in the West.

With each of players a little older and hopefully more mature, perhaps we can expect a more focused team this season.

Finally, for the Jazz to be taken seriously, they need to acquire a two-guard that can hit a three and create his own shot. I think Ronnie Brewer is fantastic, but I don't know if his jumper will ever come around. He' would be a great three, but when Kobe can sag 10-15 feet from you, there are problems. The Jazz as a team don't shoot the three well. The top teams shot nearly 40% while the Jazz had just one player (Okur, 44.6%) shoot at least that. That should go up this season.

4. What are the goals for this team?

I'm glad that most previews have the Jazz finishing at the bottom of West this season. Last year they were supposedly the dark house and that didn't turn out so well. According to Hollinger in prior playoffs, they should have gone to the finals. Whenever the team has been counted out is when they've surprised people. So that bodes well.

This is a team that has won 51, 54, and 48 games the last three seasons. For the most part, it's been the same team each year. Last year I had projected that they would win 56 games prior to Deron Williams' injury. Who knew that his pre-season ankle sprain was merely a precursor to the injur-plagued season the Jazz would suffer. There's no doubt that all of the injuries contributed to at least 2-4 losses.

This is the same team that's been here the last three seasons. For good or bad, that's what it is. So when everyone is healthy, there's no reason that this team shouldn't win 50-55 games. Heaven help us (and the league) if they figure out how to win on the road.

Should the Jazz be able to trade Boozer for a true shooting guard and get some expiring deals as well, Kevin O'Connor could be Executive of the Year.

We should see the Jazz challenge the Nuggets and Trail Blazers for the Northwest Division title.

5. Does Andrei Kirilenko need a hair intervention?

I mean, how can he be Ivan Drago with the flat hair?

Projected Finish: 52-30

Check out TBJ's preview as well.

Andrei and Masha Kirilenko Adopt a Baby Girl

Basketball John — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:21:25 -0000

via ss.sport-express.ru

First, thanks to moni again for the great find. Second, glad to hear that the reason AK was heading back to Russia wasn't bad news.

Here's a couple of excerpts from the article via Google Translate (gotta love GT):

Andrei Kirilenko and his wife, Masha was adopted by a two-month old girl - the corresponding court decision was taken yesterday.

Apparently, in Russia, baby adopts you!

I've never adopted, but it's obviously not an overnight thing in any country. AK explains that it has taken a while,

As I have said many times, to abandon the trip to Poland I was forced to family circumstances. And now in this story finally is over. We Masha adopted by a girl. Russian. She is only two months. Just do not want to talk about it in advance, to avoid speculation. The whole process took a very long time - it began in February.They gathered all the necessary documents, talked with psychologists, in the last month visited the child. In fact, to resolve all issues, took virtually all summer. Problems arose even from the fact that we Masha registered in different cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg. And just this morning a meeting of the court, which formally recognized our parents of the child.

And as moni reported, her name will be Alexandra which is a Greek name meaning "Man's Defender." Appropriate given AK's role on the team.

Congrats again to the Kirilenkos.

A Message for Rudy

Stop-n-Pop — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:26:04 -0000

One of the things that we have tried to do over the years on this site is to foster a sense of interest in advanced stats among casual basketball fans. Only knowing about points, assists, rebounds and free throw percentages is no way to go through life and we wouldn't wish that upon even the worst of our enemies. Well...maybe one or two people.

I myself try to include as much basic-level stat-geekery as possible in my posts in hopes that they can provide something a tad more objective than simply saying that Player X looks better than Player Y when talking about the latest and greatest game. Even if no such distinction really exists, at least it makes for some fun discussion with clear parameters for everyone involved.

As long-time readers of the site know, this deference to geekery tends to color my view of who is and who isn't a good player. I tend to favor offensively-minded efficient players who can play at least two positions and who excel in adj +/- categories. I'd love nothing more than to see a Jason Kidd, Kevin Martin, Andrei Kirilenko, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol starting five.

That being said, there are a few players I like simply for...well, even after looking as hard as I can at their stats, I don't have a solid case to make why I'd love to see them on my favorite squad other than that I think they simply look like they can ball like very few others. One of these players is Rudy Gay.

I don't think there is any other human on planet earth who has won more from the basketball genetic lottery than Mr. Gay. 6'8" with a 7'3" wingspan and a nearly 9' standing reach to go along with a 40+ inch vertical and the agility of a shooting guard. All of this in a player who is only 23 and headed into his 4th professional season. It's absurd.

Rudy is not an efficient player. He's not a particularly good defender. There have been questions about his effort in Memphis. Sometimes he does little more than sit out on the perimeter and wait for long jumpers. We've all heard the knocks and we're all familiar with them.

I want the Wolves to take a run at Rudy for the following reasons:

He is 23 and entering his 4th professional season. He's right in the age wheelhouse that the Wolves need to be looking at.
He has the talent and physical package to transcend a bad stat sheet, in theory.
During the Olympic try outs Gay showcased the dynamic, versatile game that could (and should) make him an unguardable offensive force in the league for the next 5-6 years.
Rudy fits right into the Wolves' free agent wheel house; entering the market when most eyes are on Tier A players like LeBron and D-Wade and no one will be left with as much cash as Our Beloved Puppies to spend on players in Tier B.

Over the course of the summer I put together a few drafts for posts that broke down Gay's stat line and potential. Let's make one thing clear before I wrap this up: It's not like there's nothing there to look at; the guy had a very nice sophomore season and there is probably a lot to be said about the negative aspects of playing in a crappy situation like Memphis (and I do still plan on making a post where we look at what his stat sheet has to offer). After reading these posts, they really didn't hit home with the main reason why I want the Wolves to go after Gay: It's a gamble on a player with a huge risk/reward quotient. His upper-level fits perfectly into each and everything the Wolves are looking for: an athletic player on the wing who can excel in transition, take his defender off the dribble, make quick plays, and hit the outside shot when it comes his way. No matter what David Kahn does or does not do in the next 2-3 years, the Wolves are still going to need some luck making it to the top. That's just the nature of the NBA; competence gets you 45-55 wins; you need to luck into a LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, D-Wade, Shaq, or MJ to do the rest. Gay is probably not that type of player but I'm pretty sure the Wolves aren't getting that sort of guy in the draft and I don't like their chances for a 2010 Tier A kind of guy.

Signing or trading for Gay would be a huge risk for the Wolves. I'm not going to argue that point. What it would also be is a home run swing for a club with 3 additional 1st rounders, cap space, Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic, and a new up-tempo offense. Let's say the Wolves can turn their 3 draft picks into someone like Evan Turner in 2010 or Harrison Barnes in 2011. Toss in Rudy Gay and the 2 stashed Euros and suddenly you're looking at this:

Rubio/Flynn/Sessions
Turner/Sessions/Brewer
Gay/Turner/Brewer/Gomes
Love/Pekovic/Gomes/Hollins
Jefferson/Pekovic/Hollins

That's a team that can go toe-to-toe with any young team in the league in terms of talent and potential. It also has tremendous flexibility in what type of lineup you can trot out on the floor. You could go long and defensive:

Rubio
Brewer
Turner
Jefferson
Hollins

You could go up tempo and crazy:

Flynn
Sessions
Gay
Love
Hollins

You could go 1/2 court pick and roll/in and out:

Flynn
Turner
Gay
Love
Jefferson

You get the picture.

Anywho, I know this post is somewhat anti-climatic in terms of putting together a good argument for Rudy Gay but I really couldn't be honest with all y'all if I didn't say that there was something kind of emotional here; I want to see the Wolves swing for the fences and take a chance in free agency (or trade) on someone like Gay...or Thad Young and Danilio Gallinari....but that's a topic for another post.

What say you?