SB Nation - Ime Udoka

The Morning After, and Disbelief Still Reigns

Ziller — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:22:55 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

I continue to have real trouble believing that happened. I saw it, watching the game in real time (a rarity for me), and I figured the resilient Kings would get it down to, say, 15 or so. A silver lining of sorts. When the deficit shrunk to 12 and 13, but stuck there most of the fourth quarter, I figured that'd be the end, that the runs had been exhausted and we'd have to be content with a strong second half effort that came up 50 percent short.

But the Bulls continued to have disastrous possession after disastrous possession. The shot clock violation which preceded Ime Udoka's first three-pointer -- the one where Kirk Hinrich basically dribbled around the perimeter for a while -- was amazingly bad. And the Kings cut it down to six ... and the Bulls continued to have no luck, no composure on offense. All the shot Chicago made early bounced off. All the shots the Kings missed early started to fall.

The amazing thing about the comeback is that the Kings didn't really shoot an extraordinary clip: 11-21 in the fourth quarter, which is good but hardly historic. The amazing thing was the Kings defense (or Bulls offense, or more accurately both). The Bulls had seven turnovers in the fourth, and just one offensive rebound in eight opportunities, and shot 2-10 from the floor. That's right: only 10 FGAs for the Bulls. Meanwhile, the Kings had one turnover and four offensive rebounds, and thus got off 21 FGAs, of which they made 11. (Yes, the Kings made more FGs in the fourth than the Bulls attempted. Moving screens are a helluva drug.)

Jon Brockman's line looks bad, but Holy Lord was he effective. He finished +26 in 17 minutes, because he played for nearly the entirety of the big run. His defense was huge (as was that of Udoka -- he completely shut off Hinrich) and he disrupted the Bulls' defensive rebounding enough to get himself and Tyreke Evans some boards.

I think Matt at Blog-a-Bull accurately reflects on why this happened now:

[I]f I had to pick a team that would blow a 35 point lead, it'd be a team who has one of the league's worst offenses, a unit that could go completely in the toilet at any time.

The Kings have, amazingly, become the counterpoint to that: if there's any team that could look completely awful for 27 minutes of basketball but keep plugging and eventually break through, it's the Kings. Amazing, given the status of this franchise last year.

Larry Brown's Young Players in the 2000s

David Arnott — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:28:19 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Rookies! You're getting this many minutes, so show me what you've got!

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Let's take a look at the rookies and second year players Larry Brown has coached this decade. I'll list the teams, the players, and their minutes per game. Guys who went on to reasonably decent role player NBA careers or better are italicized.

This ignores Games Played, and obviously, some guys were blocked by legit starters, but... well... draw your own conclusions. All numbers are from the invaluable Basketball-Reference.com.

===

99-00 76ers -- Ira Bowman (1.8), Larry Hughes (20.4), Jumaine Jones (4.2), Todd MacCulloch (9.4), Nazr Mohammed (6.8)

00-01 76ers -- Raja Bell (6.0), Rodney Buford (12.2), Jumaine Jones (13.3), Todd MacCulloch (9.5), Pepe Sanchez (4.8)

01-02 76ers -- Raja Bell (12.0), Damone Brown (3.9), Speedy Claxton (22.8), Samuel Dalembert (5.2), Alvin Jones (5.5), Jabari Smith (10.0)

02-03 76ers -- Efthimi Rentzias (4.1), John Salmons (7.9), Kenny Satterfield (4.8)

03-04 Pistons -- Darko Milicic (4.7), Mehmet Okur (22.3), Tayshaun Prince (32.9)

04-05 Pistons -- Carlos Delfino (15.3), Ronald Dupree (10.0), Horace Jenkins (6.9), Darko Milicic (6.9), Smush Parker (10.0)

05-06 Knicks -- Trevor Ariza (19.7), Jackie Butler (13.5), Channing Frye (24.2), David Lee (16.9), Nate Robinson (21.4), Ime Udoka (14.3)

===

The first major caveat of a backwards-looking glance like this is that we don't know if Brown's methods helped or hurt anyone. Maybe John Salmons really did need to be eased into the rotation at just under 8 minutes per game, and that was the stepping stone experience he needed. Maybe Efthimi Rentzias was railroaded by Brown's total shutdown, and he's selling insurance in Greece because no one else would give him a chance after that.

So, should we be worried by the fact that not a single star has emerged from Larry Brown's influence, with the exception, perhaps, of Tayshaun Prince?

What I see from this list is that Brown will play the guys he thinks are going to help him immediately, and if a guy can't, he'll sit until he's older. That kills the guys whose ceilings are "decent starter". Todd MacCulloch was no great shakes, but he started at center for back to back NBA Finals teams. Samuel Dalembert won't blow you away with his game, but the year after Brown left, he missed the entire season on the injured list, then the next year began starting and has started at center in Philly ever since.

I get the distinct sense it's a very college-hoops-oriented approach: freshmen and sophomores have a higher bar to clear to prove they should play over juniors and seniors. Of course, in the NBA, young players are paid far below their free market value (as are superstars), so it behooves teams to get production from young players while they're cheap instead of sitting them until they reach their qualifying offer years, when their salaries will come more in line with their potential production.

Game 26 Recap: Blazers 95, Kings 88

Dave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:43:18 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

Cue the M.C. Hammer song.

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A win! And a fairly nicely fought one too! Good news for the Blazers right now. The bad news is that it feels so good to win at home against the Kings, but what they hey. Beggars can't be choosers. And it was a nice win.

The game started out with a really nice offensive run keyed by Brandon Roy. Portland was setting screens on everything--two, three in every set--and players were running off of them on and off the ball. Roy looked sharp every time he came off of a pick, which confounded the Sacramento defense. With at least half an eye on him the Kings let Joel Przybilla and Martell Webster slip. Often that's a good bet but Joel slipped through for a couple of dunks and Martell hit a three and assisted on another to Brandon. Smackety-smackety and the Kings are down 9 before the halfway mark of the first quarter passed by. It was a textbook example of what the Portland offense looks like when it's running right. Everybody moved, everybody was ready to score, nobody held the ball, the team was almost unselfish to a fault, a high percentage of shots went in which made Sacramento stick close to their men which spaced the floor for penetration which in turn set up even more open jumpers. It was fluid, flexible, and fun.

The Kings, meanwhile, ran their offense through Andres Nocioni and Donte Green. They're nice enough players, but that has to be considered a victory for the Portland defense which was also working pretty hard, especially in the middle.

Then, as has been the story frequently this year, Portland got a little comfortable with the lead. They started shooting jumpers first, thinking of other plans later. Predictably misses ensued. When Joel Przybilla went to the bench for a rest the defense also lost its anchor. Beno Udrih and Ime Udoka connected on a couple shots each and the lead evaporated leaving the teams knotted at 23 after one.

The second period continued the way the first had ended. Portland got 4 free throws and a layup in the quarter but every other score was a jump shot. Meanwhile Przybilla started the period on the bench then came in and collected two quick fouls and had to sit again. The Kings' second unit began attacking from everywhere. They penetrated, pushed, stroked shots, shared the ball. The Blazers weren't rotating crisply or getting back in numbers. All of a sudden they're staring down the wrong end of a 31-20 period and the crowd is moaning.

Let's talk about those rotations for a minute. People wonder sometimes why this is so hard to get. A guy needs help, another guy goes to help him, a third guy is supposed to pick up for that second guy, and so on. But that third-guy position is darn tricky. Sometimes you have to pick up the open man immediately. Sometimes you have to shade over and watch how the play develops. Sometimes leaving your own man at all is more dangerous than helping and it's really more someone else's responsibility to cover. It's really easy to make the wrong decision. Sometimes if the opposing team is good enough there is no definitive right answer except for the original guy not getting beat in the first place. Any way you go, though, it requires that you keep watching your man while also being aware of what is happening in at least two other places on the court, processing all of that information quickly and acting.

On occasion we've watched the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch at home. It's the one about the crab fishermen in Alaska...a documentary/reality series following life on the crab boats during the winter season. The most interesting part of the show for the producers, and often for the audience, is the struggles of the greenhorns on the deck. The camera never gives them a break, catching every slip-up, chew-out, and frustrated moment. In the process a couple things become clear. The greenhorns aren't bad guys, nor even substandard workers most times. Their great limitation is that they are only able to do one task at a time because they only see the job in front of them and not how it relates to the whole. An experienced deckhand does his own job but is also able to see what else needs to be done and efficiently slide over to pitch in and keep the whole show running smoothly. That's why the old salts are infinitely more valuable even if they and the rookies do a single task at roughly the same level of competence. The second thing that's clear is that it takes multiple seasons for a greenhorn to develop that kind of vision and confidence. Learning six individual tasks is one thing. Learning how they all fit together and timing the need and your participation in each is quite another. Apparently it takes years to become a full-share deckhand on those boats.

That's fairly similar to what's going on with the Blazers defense most nights, particularly when you have weaker defenders at the point of attack and less experienced guys (which in some ways still includes most of the roster when you figure the primary focus of many of them has been offense) in the help positions. You usually get one good rotation from Portland. You don't always get two. And you don't always get people recovering to the correct place at the right time. It feels like the enemy just has to show a strong thrust to our front ranks to make us react and then they have our flank exposed. They sure seemed to in that second period.

Back to the game...

The third quarter saw a couple of significant developments. First, Joel Przybilla remained in the game. Second, the Blazers fed the offense through LaMarcus Aldridge. LaMarcus ate the Kings' lunch for the first half of the period, scoring 10 of the 15 the Blazers put up before the 6:00 mark. Once again the bold attack opened up opportunities on the perimeter which Martell Webster and Brandon Roy happily took advantage of. The Kings, meanwhile, reverted to their Nocioni-Greene offense. The Blazers encouraged this by steadfastly refusing to let them run. Bingo-Bango-Boinko, the lead is erased and we have a ballgame.

And from the time the score got close around the midway point of the third it really was a good game. The Kings suddenly remembered that they had Tyreke Evans on their side and that we weren't very good at containing penetration. The Blazers started hustling both ways, scrapping for loose balls, and putting up decent shots. The Kings drew first blood at the end of the third when Evans put the Blazers back on their heels. Portland came back by repeating their first-quarter screen-pass offense with some penetration by Brandon Roy thrown in. Evans kept fighting and corralled the heretofore-quiet Jason Thompson into the fight. Portland responded with Aldridge and Roy, then Jerryd Bayless started driving and drawing fouls, exposing the Kings' weakness on defense they way they had exposed ours. In the end three beat two. Sacramento couldn't keep up on the foul line and they never strung together enough shots to make the difference. 95-88, Blazers win. Energy, unselfishness, and a little know-how about breaking down a sub-standard defense carried the day.

Click through for Individual Observations, Jersey Contest links, and other notes.

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy wasn't just the main scorer in this game, he was truly the main catalyst. He gave the Kings fits to the tune of 10-20 shooting and 25 points. But the bigger stat was his 10 assists. He used his influence to get his friends involved, particularly the big men early in each half. That doubled his effectiveness at least. He had 5 turnovers to go with those assists so it's not like the game was completely polished, but it was a Brandon you'd love to see every night. Of equal note: his teammates were ready to make this Brandon look good. They weren't standing. They converted the shots he gave them.

LaMarcus Aldridge matched Roy's 25, dominating the second half as we described. He kept Jason Thompson occupied which helped divert his attention from his strengths. Thompson had 1 offensive rebound on the night. Aldridge had 5. Having to protect the glass against LaMarcus and Joel kept the Kings from getting into their offense as quickly as they'd like.

I loved Joel Przybilla's game tonight. He led the defense in shutting off penetration, set the tone in taking charges (which the team did frequently tonight), grabbed 10 rebounds, and his 2 dunks off of feeds in the first period made the Kings a little leery instead of taking him for granted. He didn't force a thing. He just looked good.

Jerryd Bayless was the star off the bench with 14 points, 8-10 free throws, 3-6 from the field, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and even a block. This defense was made for him and he took advantage, making his bones in the fourth quarter when the coaching staff showed confidence in him by leaving him in until the game was done. He also played some nice defense down the stretch.

Martell Webster had a workman-like game. He kept the floor wide open by hitting a couple threes and came away with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. When Martell is getting assists you know the offense is working.

Andre Miller did not have a good night. He had the usual defensive troubles but he also shot 2-10 from the field for 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 29 minutes. He wasn't in synch with the offense. He was actually duplicating Jerryd's secondary-scorer role but he wasn't scoring.

Steve Blake got 24 minutes and blended in, hitting a couple shots (including a three) to keep the defense honest. 5 points, 2 assists, no big mistakes or awkward moments.

Juwan Howard hit all three of his shots for 6 points but he's no Przybilla on defense. The thing I like best about Juwan, something the other guys could learn from, is that his offense is so compact. You watch him and when it's time to shoot he doesn't mess around with the ball or the dribble or anything. He just takes the shot.

Dante Cunningham got 2 points and 2 boards in 6 minutes.

Final Thoughts

24 assists on 36 made shots with only 11 turnovers is going to win you a lot of games. But the stat of the night was Sacramento with 2--count them...2--fast break points to their credit. Nice.

Boxscore

Read the reaction at SactownRoyalty.

Here's your Jersey Contest Scoreboard. You can enter the form for the Phoenix game here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Another Way to Live: Kings Beat Rockets 109-100

Ziller — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:00:55 -0000

by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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In his post-game comments, Houston coach Rick Adelman blamed a lack of first half defense for the Rockets loss. Obviously, he's right: the Sacramento offense hummed through the first half, especially in the early second quarter.

But a big factor was also the Kings defense -- or Houston offense, depending on how you look at it -- as Sacramento held the Rockets to 37.5 percent shooting in the second quarter, and 31 percent shooting in the fourth.

For the full game, the Kings were able to finish with an above average offense (109 points in 96 possessions, for a 113 offensive rating) and an above average defense (104 defensive rating). Against a good team likely to make the playoffs. Despite a bad performance from the starter with the biggest advantage on paper (Spencer Hawes) and no real stand-out bench scoring efforts (though Ime Udoka had a quiet 10). It was about the least fluky performance imaginable.

Even if the most important shots were an Andres Nocioni leaning shot clock beater from 21 feet, a Tyreke Evans stepback 22-footer, and a Tyreke Evans shot clock beating bank shot from 22 feet.

As expected, Jason Thompson attacked the offensive glass. He did most of his damage early: seven of his nine offensive rebounds came in the first half. But that sort of damage is extensive: JT had as many offensive boards as the entire Houston roster, which is not just high praise for Shock, but for Spencer Hawes (seven defensive rebounds, nine overall in 27 minutes), Evans (six defensive boards), Kenny Thomas (six defensive boards in 19 minutes) and Nocioni (six defensive boards in 27 minutes). The Kings did excellent work keeping the Rockets -- a top-10 offensive rebounding team -- off the glass. It's really an amazing turn of events.

The shooting surplus -- the Kings shot an effective field goal percentage of .531, but are at .488 on the season -- isn't sustainable. The Rockets shot well below their season average, despite quite a few open looks from deep late in the game. I thought Beno Udrih played solid defense for Beno Udrih; at the same time, Aaron Brooks went 4-of-13 because he missed some fairly clean looks, not because of the Kings defense. Give credit to Hawes (who despite an overall miserable game rotated well in help defense), Udoka (a ridiculously sound ball hawk) and Thomas (never caught out of position on defense) for keeping the Rockets from piling on lay-ups ... but don't expect that to happen every night.

I'm pretty amazed at how balanced the offense has been without Kevin Martin. That's not a commentary on Martin -- if you're Kevin Martin, you should be taking 30 shots a game -- but more on Evans, who hasn't taken over the offense to the degree some young stars (think O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook) would. You sense some occasional discomfort between Evans and Udrih -- where one has the ball in the offense and the other really calls for it despite not being in scoring position -- but it hasn't affected the game to this point. Where the Martin absence has affected the offense most is in getting lots of shots for Thompson and the small forward, now Nocioni, who surely should be shooting the ball more frequently than Desmond Mason did. Thompson ended up with 20 shooting possessions (15 FGAs, 10 FTAs) against Houston, and Evans had 18, Udrih had 15, Nocioni had 14 and Hawes had 12. Compare that with Houston's so-called five-man symphony, which saw Ariza with 23 shooting possessions, Scola with 18, Brooks with 14 and Battier with 12. The Kings, who have a clear Alpha right now, were more balanced than the Team of Balance. Pretty impressive self-control by said Alpha. Solid judgment.

Udoka is just about perfect for this team. You wish he had a touch more skill handling the ball, but you could say that about every defensive specialist in the team (Battier included). To have a player that strong able to play shooting guard off the bench ... it's something different than Dahntay Jones gave Denver last season, but similar. It's a boon. Udoka's acquisition is looking brilliant right about now.

5-4. One game over .500. Seventh in the West, a solid third in the Pacific (ahead of those resurgent Clippers). It's the stuff of dreams. Dreams only Kings fans could have, I grant you. But dreams nonetheless.

Kings Whip Out 104-99 Win Over Jazz in SLC

Ziller — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:28:32 -0000

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Early last year, the Kings had what I believed to be a signature win -- at home over the Lakers. Before a raucous crowd, the Kings flew around the court, nailed tough shots, worked the ball around, and did just enough to vanquish the hated Lakers. Though Reggie Theus's second season had begun poorly overall, it was a glimmer of hope for the rest of the schedule.

I really hope this game -- a pretty danged shocking 104-99 win at Utah, without Kevin Martin and Omri Casspi -- doesn't fortell the same letdown. Awful teams (like the 2008-09 Kings) win these games a few times a season. Bad teams win them once or twice a month. Not-altogether-horrible teams mix them in every couple weeks. I think "not-altogether-horrible" is about the most optimism I can squeeze out right now, so one of these wins every couple weeks will have to do.

Whether this is imminently repeatable has so much to do with Tyreke Evans, and how he attacked the Jazz defense.

There's really nothing like a 32-point, 7-assist game to buoy your numbers, especially early in the season. Evans (16-19 from the line) pushed his season free throw shooting near 70 percent, pushed his per-game scoring up above 14, and finally took over the per-game assists lead from Jason Thompson. (Evans is now at 4.2 -- behind only Stephen Curry [5.8] and Brandon Jennings [4.4] among rookies.) But all the numbers ... all those numbers are products of the style Evans played Saturday. Those will come if this continues.

Four of Evans's FGAs were long two-pointers (he hit one), three were three-point attempts (he hit two), and the other eight shots came in the paint (he hit four). He drew nine fouls for 19 FTAs, all of those also coming in the paint. So basically: 17 shots in the paint, three behind the arc, four in no man's land. All for 32 points.

I can take that.

The assists weren't always beautiful. In fact, I don't remember any of them being beautiful. But people forget this about Chris Paul: he doesn't average 11 assists on 11 alley-oops. Most of the assists in today's NBA come on perimeter shots. Drive-and-kick, passing to a teammate who is coming off a screen ... we think of point guards earning their numbers with wrap-arounds and no-look bounce passes, but that's not how it works. Getting the ball to your best shooters in positions where they can score -- that's the name of the game.

That's why the second half of the fourth quarter was so troubling -- the team couldn't get anything it wanted, save for a few plays. The sphincters tightened up and the entire squad began playing conservatively. 'Reke stopped attacking, shooters started hesitating when receiving the pass, forcing a drive and dish, and another hesitation, and ... blah. It was one of those moments when you'd actually pray for a rushed Francisco Garcia three, or a frantic creation by Donte Greene.

Ahem.

DONTE. GREENE.

The Show played almost the entire second quarter, in which the Kings were a +11 (+9 when DG was in). Perfect shooting (4-4 with two threes), decent defense in the 2-3 zone (Orangemen!), and a beautiful spirit (pause). Evans owned the game, and Jason Thompson and Beno Udrih played Pips. But Greene was the spark, and he lit that thing on fire. A thousand claps of applause for DG.

One more player deserves commendation: Ime Udoka. His defense was loads better than I'd seen from Desmond Mason, and he was often seen communicating with Paul Westphal and his point guard (usually 'Reke, but also Udrih and a less-than-receptive Sergio Rodriguez). Udoka's help defense made Sean May look like a capable defender! It was a brilliant debut, and I hope he continues to prove him wrong by becoming a vital cog in the Kings machine.

Four Factors

NBA Stats

Player Impact

NBA Stats

Post-game Interviews

A Young Team With an Aversion to Youth

Ziller — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:16:15 -0000

The signing of Ime Udoka, like the signing of Desmond Mason before it, portends little for the Sacramento Kings. Udoka, like Mason, is an aging defensive roleplayer whose a bit of a drain on offense at a position where the Kings have plenty of talent. Udoka turned 32 years old last August, having only three seasons of real NBA experience. He served as Portland's starting small forward in the halycon Death to Z-Bo 2006-07, 32-win season. Udoka spent the last two seasons as a Bowen Memorial player off the bench in San Antonio. Portland brought him to camp this fall but cut him, and no one had been rumored to give him a serious nibble in the two weeks since.

Except Sacramento.

Before Udoka, the Kings could be considered deep at two positions: point guard (Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, Sergio Rodriguez) and small forward (Andres Nocioni, Omri Casspi, Desmond Mason, Donte Greene). The Kings have the youngest frontline (21-year-old Spencer Hawes and 23-year-old Jason Thompson) in the league, and one of those dudes led the entire NBA in fouls last season. Behind them, Sean May has proven to still be 15-20 pounds too heavy to be consistently effective, Kenny Thomas has proven to be too stonehanded to play more than spot duty, and Jon Brockman has rebounded his tail off but can't get consistent minutes. And all three of those dudes are undersized. At the two-guard, the Kings have literally no one but Kevin Martin (until Francisco Garcia returns sometime after the All-Star break, which is about 50 games away). Udrih, Evans and Casspi have all played at two-guard; it hasn't really worked out.

If the team is to sign a free agent right now, the player should do one of two things: fill a positional need (Udoka played the two forward positions exclusively last season, so he ain't a big or a two-guard) or add a real asset to the team's cupboard. A 32-year-old minimum-salary player no one else wanted is not an asset.

As I said back when I argued against the Mason signing, this team -- this young, building team -- needs to spend these roster spots, these minimum salary contracts on players with potential. The best-case scenario with Udoka is that he replaces Mason as the starter at small forward, allowing Nocioni to get back to his mixed-results PF/SF bench role, pushing Casspi back in the rotation and guaranteeing Greene's ticket to Reno. And at the end of the season, what has happened? You've put a used Band-Aid on a gushing wound, and the used Band-Aid a little closer to ruination.

That's the best-case scenario. What's the worst-case scenario if you sign a young big man or two-guard? Honestly? I mean, the team signed Bobby Brown (a young point guard prospect when the team was hurting at the position) last year, and the worst-case scenario came to fruition: the team had to trade him for expiring contracts. Brown had been absolutely awful ... and he was able to be traded despite a second year of guaranteed money. You don't have to guarantee a second season for these young cats. And they also happen to be a bit cheaper than your average Ime Udoka.

It's like Justin Williams getting caught in a threesome made Geoff Petrie and the front office scared of every D-League prospect in the country. It was a bad idea to sign an aging, without-promise Desmond Mason, and it's a bad idea to replace him with an aging, without-promise Ime Udoka. End the cycle!

***

When Mason is released -- and he will be -- it's going to be pretty sad to hear the send-off. I mean, what can the front office possibly say? "We didn't realize he was this bad, even though all data suggested he was really this bad." How do you justify signing a player for his leadership and defense ... and then signing his replacement five games into the season? It's absurd. Talent is the name of the game, and if Udoka has more talent than no less than two dozen D-League or European league players, call me Mary. Add in the age factor, and it's inconceivable as to why these decisions continue to be made. What's the plan here?

Waive Goodbye, Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:42 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Go ahead and smile, Derrick Byars. You made the team. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Today we continue our look at the players waived or, occasionally, kept by NBA teams as the regular season begins. Next up we move into the middle of the country, or as I like to call it, "America's already-bloated snackhole." (I can say that because I live there.) That's right, it's the Central and Southwest Divisions. (Except that I was looking at the wrong division list when I wrote this and it's actually the Northwest Division. Deal with it, America.) And if you're just tuning in, don't forget to check out part 1.

Chicago Bulls

Who got cut: Curtis Stinson, Chris Richard, Steven Hill

Who got kept: Derrick Byars

Forget Stinson and Hill, this really came down to Byars vs. Richard for the last roster spot. And with all due respect to Richard, they made the right call. Richard played okay, although he averaged less than seven points per 36 minutes, and given that the team that already sports Joakim Noah in the frontcourt they really probably can't handle yet another guy who can't produce on offense. Not that Richard unequivocally can't, he just didn't demonstrate that sort of ability in the preseason, which is when he needed to demonstrate it. Byars helps the team in case Deng gets hurt again, or if John Salmons starts creaking (he turns 30 later this year). I won't discuss Byars in great detail here, because you can read this. It probably makes up for the Bulls cutting DeMarcus Nelson, maybe. Stinson and Hill are both probably headed to Europe, though I could see Stinson sticking around the D-League.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Who got cut: Luke Nevill, Andre Barrett, Russell Robinson, Rob Kurz, Darryl Watkins

Who got kept: Coby Karl

See Marge? These guys get it. Karl actually didn't play particularly well in the preseason, but he had a pretty good Summer League with Denver, and he's definitely talented. He's a nice multi-faceted player who can shoot (and make) threes, help distribute the ball, pick up some steals and rebound a little bit. So in other words he's exactly the right kind of guard for Cleveland. He's also worked damn hard, and he deserves another shot at the NBA. It never feels good to get cut (I'm assuming), but it's probably especially hard for Rob Kurz, who was starting for the Warriors just last season. He'd definitely be a prime call-up candidate should he go to the D-League, as he's a 6'9" guy who can make threes, although he could stand to pick up his rebounding and defense. He also profiles well as a Euroleague guy, so he could end up there. Russell Robinson also could pick either option. He played pretty poorly both in Summer League and the preseason, with turnovers being the major problem. Another stint in the D-League could help that, as he averaged just two and a half per 36 minutes for Reno last season. I'll mention again that I haven't been including Jawad Williams in this discussion because he was signed at the end of last season and has a partially-guaranteed deal, so while he theoretically could be waived later on, the team has been somewhat more committed to him than these other guys. I'm somewhat optimistic about Williams's playing time, since at this point he's more capable than J.J. Hickson or Darnell Jackson, but Leon Powe and maybe Jamario Moon are around to take most of the backup forward minutes.

Denver Nuggets

Who got cut: James White, Kurt Looby, Keith Brumbaugh, Dontaye Draper

Who got kept: Joey Graham

Massive disappointment here, although there's nothing personal against Graham. There was just so much hope that this would be White's year in Houston, then the team decided it wouldn't be, then Denver decided it wouldn't be his year for them, either. Looby getting cut isn't a huge surprise, as he's still carpaccio-raw. But, White getting the boot on top of Sonny Weems being sent away is enough to make one question Denver's commitment to ~~Sparkle Motion~~ the D-League. That would be rash, of course, and unfair to Denver who is clearly trying to win soon. Graham's per-36 numbers are almost identical to White's NBA figures, but I guess there's still too much uncertainty over what White can do when there really shouldn't be. He's headed over to Europe now, I assume, since he's said he's done with the D-League, and who can blame him. If an NBA team says they're committed to your development, then semi-promptly gets rid of you, that would be disheartening for anyone.

Detroit Pistons

Who got cut: Maceo Baston

Who got kept: No one.

Sorry, Maceo. Have fun at your House Party. (Admit it, that's not the clip you were expecting.) (Also, note to self: when you get older, shave your head but leave the sideburns and add a mustache.) But hey, here's a crazy idea; the Pistons also waived their second round pick Deron Washington, who's a 6'7" small forward. James White is a 6'7" small forward. WHAT IF THEY'RE ABOUT TO SIGN JAMES WHITE? They're probably not, but they should be. While Austin Daye looked really, really good in Summer League, and Jonas Jerebko could be pretty good, it seems a bit crazy to rely on three rookies (remember DaJuan Summers) as key bench contributors, rebuilding or no rebuilding. And while James White doesn't have that much more NBA experience, he's been around for a few years and he can contribute. Come on, Joe Dumars. LET'S DO THIS.

Indiana Pacers

Who got cut: Rod Benson, Demetris Nichols, Lawrence Roberts

Who got kept: No one.

Rod Benson is probably going back to Europe this year, even though he didn't have the best experience there last season (although being injured didn't help). I'd guess Nichols goes the same route, and both of them are good enough to play in the NBA right now. (Roberts is already over there.) As for the biggest question, whether we'll seee a return of Boom Tho-ness, I have no idea. Personally I wouldn't expect too much except maybe a continuation of his posts over at Ball Don't Lie. If this website were FreeDarko I'd probably launch into a discussion about whether this year's return to (or first crack at) seriousness for Benson and Gilbert Arenas reflects some kind of "down to business" vibe given off by the Obama Administration, but I have neither the time nor the ability to get into that right now. Or who knows, maybe Benson could write a book that would probably be better than Paul Shirley's (which I haven't read, but Benson's a better writer than Shirley so it's pretty much a lock.)

Milwaukee Bucks

Who got cut: Marcus Hubbard, Mark Tyndale, Charles Gaines, Dominic James

Who got kept: No one.

This was bound to happen eventually, but I don't really have much to say about these guys. Hubbard could do with another season or two in the D-League and work on either a.) becoming a proper interior player, or b.) shooting better than .256 on his three-pointers. Because this in-between thing isn't working. Gaines played well for Austin last season, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes, and shot a good percentage with Maccabi Tel Aviv. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this season, but I'm not sure he's close enough to a call-up to make it worth his time. Let's see, what else can I talk about with these guys...uh hey, I think Ersan Ilyasova can be pretty good, but that's not really under the purview of this series. Three or four players likely going over to Europe. Whee.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Who got cut: Jack McClinton, Alonzo Gee, Jared Reiner, Devin Green, Mustafa Shakur

Who got kept: Jason Hart

I don't have much to say about Jason Hart since he's 31 years old now and last played in the D-League eight years ago. This is probably a stale comment by now, and the team waived Antonio Daniels so they haven't gone completely crazy, but what's the deal with Minnesota and point guards? Who are these people? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one? I've already written about this, but whatever NBA team ends up with McClinton (and there will be one, eventually) is going to love having him, and kick themselves for not having him earlier. Reiner got a raw deal by getting cut right before the game in his hometown, sure. But Nate Jawai is in Minnesota now, and that's something, right? It's at least as much a something as Oleksiy Pecherov being there, certainly.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Who got cut: Michael Ruffin, Tre Kelley, Mike Harris

Who got kept: Ryan Bowen

I saw Kelley play a little bit, and he looked pretty good. He's very quick, and he can get to the basket. Of course, he was being guarded by Curtis Jerrells at that point so take it with a grain of bacon salt. He's almost certainly headed to Europe. Michael Ruffin, eh. I have a sort of personal animus against him through no fault of his, since Eddie Jordan overused him when they were both with the Washington Wizards, but he's already landed on his feet overseas. The question of what Bowen can give the team at this point in his career is a good one, as he's 34 years old and has been pretty inconsistent the last few seasons. I just have to keep telling myself that the Thunder still have D.J. White and Serge Ibaka, and be content with that.

Portland Trail Blazers

Who got cut: Ime Udoka, Jarron Collins, Donell Taylor, Quinton Hosley

Who got kept: No one.

I wonder what will happen to Udoka, as he's probably still good enough to contribute at the back of someone's rotation, but he's also 32 years old and most of the teams that would be interested in him are already full up. He's a solid candidate for a mid-season replacement in case some small forward somewhere gets hurt. He can shoot the three a bit, his rebounding has improved the past few years and he doesn't turn the ball over much.

What, you want me to talk about Jarron Collins?

Utah Jazz

Who got cut: Ronald Dupree, Alexander Johnson, Paul Harris, Spencer Nelson

Who got kept: No one.

Wes Matthews and draft pick Goran Suton aren't really included in this, but in the interest of full disclosure Matthews is in and Suton is out. Suton would be a solid big man in the D-League should he decide to go that route. You're probably expecting me to express disappointment at Dupree being waived, but the fact is that he didn't play well in the preseason. At all. Well, I suppose that's not completely true as he averaged about ten points per 36 minutes, but he's capable of much more than that, and he didn't really contribute much in the way of rebounds, assists or steals. He's really only had one good game, though, against the Clippers when he shot 4-7 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line, and in the rest he shot 5-13 overall. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this year, and maybe if he plays his normal solid, slashing game he'll restore some of his call-up-ability.

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:47:49 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

2 months ago: Los Angeles Clippers forward Craig Smith, center, goes after a loose ball ball as Utah Jazz center Kyrylo Fesenko, left, and center Kosta Koufos look on during the first half of their preseason NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Browse more photos »

Sorry this is late getting up, folks. My computer started making a loud noise as I was writing it last night, which I took to mean "turn off the computer now." But anyway, I also attended last night's Spurs vs. Thunder game, which was played in Austin but which was considered a Thunder home game. It was very odd, and I can only guess that they did it because Kevin Durant went to UT, and they thought people would root for Oklahoma City just because of that. I saw maybe one OKC jersey, the rest were all silver and black. Or maybe they just didn't care and wanted the gate money, which is fine. Whatever the case, it got me ready for the season to start so that I can write about games after watching them, and not just write "so-and-so grabbed three rebounds in three minutes." Not that you shouldn't read that if I write it.

San Antonio Spurs 119, Oklahoma City Thunder 102

So let's talk about this one first. Most of what I saw has to do with players this website doesn't really care about, so I won't bore you with them here, but Shaun Livingston, Curtis Jerrells, Tre Kelley and Malik Hairston all got some playing time, and they looked okay to varying degrees. Livingston had a hard time keeping up with George Hill, but he was decent on the offensive end (he finished with four points on 2-4 shooting). Jerrells played pretty good defense when matched up against Livingston, but his biggest issue was fighting through and/or getting around screens. The Thunder ran him threw several of them and he got lost on all of them. Tre Kelley also was able to take him off the dribble several times, and Kelley made both of his field goals, which came getting to the basket for layups or dunks. Hairston probably played the best of the group, though he took a few minutes to settle down. He made two of his three shots, picked up an assist and generally looked good within the flow of the Spurs offense.

Utah Jazz 108, Portland Trailblazers 97

Kyrylo Fesenko had a solid game, with eight points (though it came on eight shots), six rebounds and three blocks...except he also fouled out in 13 minutes and turned the ball over four times. Oh Kyrylo. Kosta Koufos gave the Jazz the solid rebounding and no turnovers but also no offense. Five boards in a little over 14 minutes and zero points. Oh Kouf. Ime Udoka was okay, 11 points on 3-7 shooting in 16 and a half minutes, although he didn't have any of the rebounding or assists/steals that he'll probably need to regularly produce in order to make the team.

Charlotte Bobcats 94, Milwaukee Bucks 87

Dontell Jefferson didn't have a great night last night, 0-2 shooting with two turnovers in six minutes, but the big story was Raja Bell spraining his wrist. Now, I never root for guys to get hurt, because I'm not a monster. But certainly the opportunity is now there for Jefferson to get more playing time as a lockdown backcourt defender, particularly on a Larry Brown-coached team, and I hope he's able to take advantage of it.

New York Knicks 108, Boston Celtics 103

All J.R. Giddens does is rebound. 0-3 shooting in a little over eight minutes, but he also grabbed five rebounds, including four on the offensive end (who knows how many of those were off his own misses). I have no idea what it's going to take to get him to find a passable offensive game on the NBA level, but if he's given a shot in the NBA I think he could be the greatest rebounding guard ever.

Denver Nuggets 129, Minnesota Timberwolves 100

Jared Reiner finally got some playing time, and while the offense wasn't good (two points on three shots), the rest of it was decent, as he grabbed three rebounds and picked up an assist in eight minutes. No fouls, either.

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:24:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Young - AP

2 months ago: Houston Rockets' Pops Mensah-Bonsu, left, scores over Toronto Raptors' Rasho Nesterovic during second-half NBA preseason basketball game action in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Chris Young)

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Houston Rockets 124, Toronto Raptors 112

Pops Mensah-Bonsu had a huge game off the bench for the Rockets, with 17 points on 8-9 shooting, seven rebounds and five blocks in 23 and a half minutes. It's probably not just optimism that makes me say that Mensah-Bonsu has a solid shot at becoming Houston's backup center this year, as the only other two guys who can play the position are Luis Scola, who's really more of a power forward, and David Andersen, who's talented but also new to the system and to the NBA (he fouled out in 22 and a half minutes). M-B's a bit undersized to play in the middle, true, but that matters less in Houston than with any other team. The lack of a consistent offensive game is what's held Mensah-Bonsu in the past, and one game certainly isn't evidence that it's suddenly shown up, but I do like his chances. Sonny Weems wasn't great for Toronto, scoring 11 points on nine shots, but he was bothered by his foot a little bit and also picked up three rebounds and a steal.

Utah Jazz 99, Portland Trail Blazers 96

Ime Udoka hasn't played much this preseason, but he had a pretty good game last night with five points on three shots, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in 19 and a half minutes. Utah's former D-Leaguers were more of a mixed bag (which makes sense, since there were, well, more of them). On one side there was Kosta Koufos who made his only shot, grabbed two rebounds and had a block, and while his per-minute numbers aren't great (he played just nine, and eight rebounds-per-36 is okay but not fantastic), both rebounds were on the offensive end, so that's nice. On the other side is Kyrylo Fesenko, who picked up four fouls and turned the ball over three times in his 11 minutes of action, though he did also have a pair of blocks.

Miami Heat 97, New Orleans Hornets

The Heat were in control for almost the entire game, and surprise surprise New Orleans' lack of any real bench scoring was one reason why. Rookie Marcus Thornton should help, but I remain puzzled as to why a team with such a smart, capable GM hasn't brought in any cheap help in over the last year. The team reported has liked Courtney Sims in the past, for instance, and he could've helped them out in both the scoring and big man departments. Maybe there are some stories I'm not privy to, or maybe they just don't consider the D-League, and bring in guys like Luke Nevill and Earl Barron and Larry Owens instead. If all of this seems off-topic it's because no one this website cares about played much. The aforementioned Barron played a little over four minutes and had two points and zero rebounds. John Lucas played two and a half minutes and scored four points on 1-1 shooting and going 2-2 from the free throw line, but once again Carlos Arroyo got the big backup PG minutes. Wheeeeeee.

Dallas Mavericks 113, Detroit Pistons 88

Nate Jawai played a little under eight minutes in this one, and the result was, well, Jawai-y. Two points, two assists, zero rebounds, two turnovers, two fouls. Maybe Dallas wasn't crazy for bringing Jake Voskuhl in after all (four minutes, two points, three rebounds, a steal and a block).

LA Lakers 98, Sacramento Kings 92

Shannon Brown seems to have firmed up his place in the NBA the last few years, but I'll include him here to "cover" this game. He didn't play particularly well, shooting 2-7 and finishing with six points and three fouls in 17 minutes, though he also grabbed four rebounds. It also sounds like he'll get some significant minutes this year, as he'll have spent more time in the Triangle, and the team has forwards who can run it (like Luke Walton) while hecontinues to get up to speed.

Monday Practice Report

Ben. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:21:59 -0000

Turn Back The Clock Night

It was a relatively quiet day at Blazers practice as the television stations were out in full force to get soundbytes in preparation for Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Suns that will be played in the Memorial Coliseum. It was a real head-scratcher watching reporters prodding 20-25 year old players who didn't grow up in Portland for their favorite Memorial Coliseum memories. I'm shocked Greg Oden wasn't sure if Clyde Drexler played in the arena. I'm amazed Brandon deferred questions about the MC to his father. I just can't believe Martell Webster isn't able to give us a 20 minute speech about this beautiful landmark. Most of the guys copped to never even being inside the building which led to some television anchor anguish. Gotta love it.

Nate McMillan, on the other hand, certainly remembers the Memorial Coliseum and he sounded genuinely excited to be "on the other sideline" this Wednesday. It's been an interesting transition for Mr. Sonic as he's adopted this Blazers franchise. To me, one of the best hidden gems in that interview yesterday was when Nate referred to the 1977 Blazers as "our championship team." For guys like Nate who have vivid memories of the Memorial Coliseum's heyday, Wednesday should be a treat. Personally I can't wait.

Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard got scratched on the head today (no stitches needed, he said after practice) which led to this rather hilarious picture.

Pick and Roll Defense

This is a holdover from yesterday's extended chat with Nate McMillan but it's pretty interesting. Dwight Jaynes asked Nate for his thoughts on the team's defensive progress. Nate stuck to his guns with his typical answer -- "We need to get better" -- but broke things down into a fair bit of depth when it comes to how the team will handle pick and rolls this season.

Essentially, Nate's base defensive schemes call for small forwards and power forwards to "show hard" when their man sets a pick for the guard. The idea is that everyone in this group -- Martell, Nic, Ime, Travis, LaMarcus, Howard, Cunningham -- has the physical tools (sufficient quickness and length) necessary to impede the ballhandler's dribbling progress until the guard gets through the pick completely, and then recover back.

On the other hand, Nate's schemes require centers to handle things in exactly the opposite way: centers (Oden, Przybilla) are expected to collapse off of the ballhandler. In Nate's words: their job is "dropping back and zoning up and corralling." The goal is to eliminate ticky-tack fouls by the big guys and keep them from getting stuck out on an island in unfavorable mismatches.

Here's where it gets tricky: if the Blazers decide to go with a smaller lineup -- using either LaMarcus Aldridge or Juwan Howard as their center -- which they very well might do, potentially even in late-game situations -- both those guys will be expected to play the pick-and-rolls as if they are 5s rather than 4s. In other words, LaMarcus and Juwan must be well-versed in both ways of handling the pick-and-roll and cognizant of what position they are playing at all times. Additionally, their guard teammates won't be able to rely solely on verbal cues to know how to play a pick and roll. For example, if Andre Miller or Brandon Roy hears LaMarcus shouting that a pick is coming left or right that won't be enough for him to know how LaMarcus will play it, he would also need to recognize whether LaMarcus is at the 4 or 5 spot at that moment. Of course, the Blazers have verbal play calls on defense to account for this, so assuming everyone is communicating properly, there shouldn't be any mix ups. But it's just another thing for the players to remember to talk about on defense and it's an extra responsibility for LMA and Howard to constantly remind themselves about.

McMillan acknowledged that this might cause some confusion for the casual observer but was fairly adamant that the Blazers do, in fact, stick pretty tightly to their defensive rules most of the time. "You may see Howard and LaMarcus [play it] different if they're at the 4 and the 5," Nate warned. But just because they play it differently doesn't necessarily mean that they are playing it inconsistently.

Dwight Jaynes was quick to raise the counter-approach to this philosophy: the Blazers players are not interchangeable parts at every position. Some guys are quicker, some are stronger, some might excel playing pick and rolls one way while others might favor a different approach. I love the idea of a long, quick, smart LaMarcus hard showing on small guards, making their lives difficult and blinding their passing lanes with his long arms as he recovers. Indeed, I wrote about that very thing earlier this summer. But do I like that setup for Travis? Would I fully trust his footwork and recognition? I'm not sure. Nate did acknowledge that players have different strengths but that the overall strength of the defense was increased by sticking to the team schemes that he believes in. Here are his full thoughts on the matter...

It doesn't make a difference who the guys are. They shouldn't be playing a guy different. Not in our schemes. We are going to play the pick and roll defense whether Blake or Miller is guarding the ball. We're going to play the pick and roll defense whether Joel or Greg is into it. Now Joel and LaMarcus play it different because they are 5 and 4. But all of our 4s play it the same as each other. It shouldn't make a difference the combination of players because we're not changing where we have 4 or 5 smalls in the game. That shouldn't change. We're going to shadow and pick up with Blake and Miller and Bayless.

Our 5s, we don't go out aggressive and send them out to hard show. Our 5s we drop them back and let them zone up. When LaMarcus is at the 5, he plays it as a 5 because our rules will allow him to defend it and we can help him if he plays it that way. You're dropping back and zoning up and we're corralling. We still want you up but you're not coming out.

LaMarcus and our fours should be able to jump out and show and that guard gets through. With the 5 man, we don't want him running out on these little guards. It's a different defense that our guys know. Our 3 and our 4 play the pick and roll the same way. They hard show. They don't automatically switch.

Pick and roll defense was one of the team's weakest points last season. Why? Because way too often the players "automatically switched." At the end of the day, there's no ideal, set-in-stone way to play the pick and roll. It depends on who is running it. It depends on your personnel defending it. And it depends on the match-up between the two sides. No scheme is perfect. But if Nate's defensive rules and the responsibilities that go with them can eliminate some of the lackadaisical defending everyone saw last year, I think he will be satisfied.

Jarron Collins Update

Through 3 pre-season games, J. Collins hasn't found much playing time. It's too bad, too, because he looks very much the NBA player in the practice gym. I asked Nate for his assessment of Collins up to this point and whether he'd seen enough of the Stanford grad in game action to render a verdict on the final roster spot. Here's Nate's assessment.

He's smart. He picks up things fairly quickly. We'll give [Udoka and Collins] an opportunity to play. But there are going to be 10 guys in rotation that I want to -- probably by that Denver game -- to start to play. Whether we have rotations with a starting or backup unit, I won't say that. But those 10 guys, I want to look and play them and not play 12, 13 guys [after the Denver game].

Collins knows how to play.

It's just the fact that he's over there in that video room with Greg so that he can talk. He knows what he's doing. He knows why he's here.

At that point, Nate gave kind of a longing look across the gym to the video room, where the two centers were sitting huddled around a monitor looking at game tape. I'm not sure if Nate's look meant, "What a great influence he is on Greg!" or "Man, I'd like to have that guy around all year but there's just no room." Either way, it was clear that Collins' pre-season contributions are appreciated by his Coach, even if his playing time doesn't reflect that at first glance.

Meanwhile, Ime Udoka was one of two players staying late at today's practice, getting in some extra jumpers.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)