SB Nation - Eddie Jones

How will Quentin Richardson fit in with the Heat?

DolPhanDave — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:16:59 -0000

Now that things have settled down after a busy weekend, I can jot down my take on the Quentin Richardson trade. Like most of you, I was shocked by this move. The Heat make a move out of nowhere, and somehow get a team to take on Mark Blount and his giant salary. There aren't many 3^rd and 4^th stringers out there making $8 million a year.

But instead, the Heat have acquired a player who will step right in and compete for playing time at a position where we may have several potential gamers, but nothing has been proven yet (at least not in a Heat uniform, in the case of James Jones).

I wouldn't expect to see the same Quentin Richardson you may have seen last year in New York. He spent most of the year in pain, recovering from back surgery that he had in March of 2007. Still, he only missed 7 games due to injury last season, which is impressive when compared to his game totals during his previous 3 years (55, 49 and 65).

Recovery wise, he should be able to play in just as many games as last season, if not more. If its production you're wondering about, I'd look for him to be more consistent then last year. If you look at his numbers, there are times where Richardson would have a good game then disappear for the next game or 2. Often times he'd be dealing with soreness that isn't expected to as big of an issue this year.

Now one of the best things that I feel Richardson will bring to the table for the Heat is his defense. A healthier back will lead to more stability on the defensive side, allowing for more mobility and for longer periods of time. The Heat haven't had a shut down defensive swingman since Eddie Jones was around, and while Richardson may be comparable to Eddie, I won't be convinced until I see it on the court. Still, it's nice to know that the ability is there from Quentin.

Another positive is the relationship Richardson has with Dwyane Wade. The two are good friends and have been for several years. Now you take a guy who has been a leader on every team he has been on (Richardson) and throw him on a team where his good friend is the face of the franchise. The combination could be great in the Heat locker room, as this is a team that has always thrived when camaraderie reigned supreme.

The main (and only, really) problem that I have with Richardson is that he can sometimes remind you of Antoine Walker. His shot selection is questionable at times, due largely to the clankers he puts up. I've seen shots that hit parts of the backboard that should never be hit when taking outside jumpers.

He also has the tendency to hold the ball longer then he should, and if he does that when on the court with D-Wade, that will be a problem. When he was on the Knicks he may have felt that it was more necessary for him to ‘ball-hog' with their lack of stars and scoring punch.

I'm not trying to scare you...this trade still has me very pleased. You know me; I like to give the ‘big picture'.

Poll

QUICK POLL: Do you like the move bringing Quentin Richardson to Miami? (explain in comments)

Yes

802 votes

No

102 votes

904 votes | Poll has closed

Ends of Eras, the Mark Madsen Open Thread

Stop-n-Pop — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:00:31 -0000

OK, now that we have had some time to think about the Clips/Wolves trade, I would like to add one important item to the discussion: The trade marks the official end of two important eras of recent Wolves history--The KG age and the Roy/Foye debacle. Both eras died when Mark Madsen was sent to LA.

The first point is obvious: Mad Dog was the last player on the Wolves roster to play with KG. He is the last remaining Wolves player who actually laced it up with the greatest player in Wolves history. In just two short years, the Wolves have undergone a complete roster makeover. I can't think of too many rosters in the league that have undergone such a radical makeover in the last two seasons. Everyone is gone.

The second point is a bit less obvious. Madsen, while being a fine citizen, was involved in one of the darkest moments of recent NBA history: He was the key actor in the greatest example of tanking in league history. In the last game of the 05/06 season, Madsen jacked up 7 three pointers, missing them all. The game was remarkable on two fronts. First, the Wolves were in the midst of a grand tank-a-thon, sitting out KG for multiple games and fielding a starting lineup of Eddie Griffin (RIP), Justin Reed, Rashad McCants, Marcus Banks and Marc Blount against the Griz in a last-ditch attempt to keep the top-10 protected pick owed to the Clippers in the Marko Jaric trade. Second, the Griz were trying to lose a game in an attempt to avoid playing the 60-22 Dallas Mavs in the first round of the playoffs. In an overtime game, the Griz did not play a single one of their starters over 25 minutes while sitting Pau Gasol. Madsen ended the game shooting 1-15 from the floor with the aforementioned 7 three pointers. His 15 shots were a career high. Memphis also sat out Eddie Jones while the Wolves gave Ricky Davis the night off. The Wolves lost the game and were guaranteed their first round draft choice.

As we all know, the first round choice was then used on Brandon Roy...who was immediately traded to the Portland TrailBlazers for Randy Foye. To his credit, coach Dwane Casey understood the stakes:

"There's been so much doom and gloom around here," Casey said. "There is a rainbow at the end of the storm."

The rainbow for Casey was Roy. Unfortunately for him, Kevin McHale stood in the way of him keeping Roy as well as him staying on as head coach in the following season.

Actually, Madsen's departure hasn't completely ended the Roy/Foye era. Memphis' leading scorer on that pathetic night was Brian Cardinal, who jacked up 18 points against the lowly Wolves. The front office also has some reminants from the night:

Fred Hoiberg received a standing ovation between the first and second quarters. Hoiberg retired on Monday to join the Timberwolves' front office, deciding not to risk coming back from open heart surgery he had before the season started.

Whatever the case, hats off to David Kahn for doing all he can to right the Wolves' sad history with Ms. Karma. With Madsen and Randy Foye out the door, the Wolves have turned the corner on Roy/Foye and KG. Here's to a new era. We'll have to wait and see what happens to Cardinal and Hoiberg.

Finally, the trade now means that Corey Brewer is the longest tenured Wolf on the squad. How things change.

Until later.

James Jones still not 100%, Mario Chalmers getting off to a good start...and more

DolPhanDave — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:51:27 -0000

Greetings Heat faithful. As is the trend, we'll go over all the Heat news I can find and see where it takes us. Unfortunately, it's still hard to come by...but something is better then nothing! The first thing I'll touch on is something I read a couple days ago about James Jones. If you remember, I wrote a couple weeks ago how Jones was planning on having another surgery to increase the range of motion on his right wrist. But now there is some uncertainty from Jones about his impending surgery, as he feels that increasing the range that he can move his wrist may bring back some of the original problems (and pain) he had before his surgery last pre-season.

"To get my range back," he said, "I would have to have the surgery. But regaining that type of range was the issue from the beginning, is what caused me to have the deteriorating tendon."

Without the surgery, Jones thinks that he can operate at 80 percent of his usual self. Or should I say, 80 percent of the player the Heat signed as a free agent but haven't (and now, likely wont) seen on the court. Of course nobody could've foreseen the injury, but still...it kinda sucks when you bring in a free agent who will never play at the level you expect when bringing him in.

The question that I'd love to ask James is what part of his game is included in that '80 percent' he feels that he can operate on. You would assume that the injury only effects his shooting...so his defense and stamina should be the effected. If that is the case, then I can deal with Jones missing an extra shot or two if he can still provide the solid D that he has throughout his career. But then you have to think about if his wrist will hinder his ability to block and steal the ball. There are just so many variables that have to be considered, unless you can sit down and get some answers from Jones (which obviously won't happen), the answers wont be coming for another 5-6 months.

It hurts me when I think about how badly the Heat need exactly the kind of player that James Jones is/was....whatever. We need Eddie Jones from 5 years ago....or one of the biggest unsung hero's from our NBA Title-run, James Posey. Sure, it was annoying that he obviously picked up his game to another level when he saw fit (which explains how he was such a beast off the bench in the '06 Playoffs), but he could shoot, play shutdown D...just what we need from a small forward.

Another Heat player that will be looking to make an impact in his 2nd season with the team is Mario Chalmers, who will likely be spending a lot of time working on his ball handling and getting a consistent jumper. There were many times during the season I would notice Chalmers looking a little differently when taking a shot, which means he was constantly tweaking his form, trying to find the right touch. Now obviously he made some progress...I remember the first couple games he had shots that never touched the rim...but now he has a whole off-season to get that J looking good.

Chalmers will also be hosting a couple charity events through his 'Mario V Chalmers Foundation'; a golf tournament and a basketball camp. It's the first annual 'National Championship Classic' golf event on July 31st, which will be held at the Alvamar Public Country Club in Lawrence, Kansas. The basketball camps will be held in Salina, KA. It's nice to see Mario has wasted no time in reaching out and using his fame for the better. I'm liking this guy more and more everyday. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chalmers and Alonzo Mourning hook up at some point, same with D-Wade.

Moving on, Udonis Haslem is planning on getting to work a little earlier then usual this summer, but it has more to do with being hungry after the way the Heat's season ended then it does him being a free-agent after this summer. He also wants to keep working on his shot, which was off for almost the entire season. He finally began hitting shots with consistency at the very end of the season, but when he hurt his thumb it was just another setback for U-D. In an interview with Heat Insider, he said this of his thumb:

"It’s OK. I still have a little stiffness and soreness, but it’s getting better everyday. It’s something that we knew at the beginning of the process would take time over the summer to heal completely. I’ll definitely be ready for camp."

Finally, with the NBA Finals getting started tonight in the City of Angels, we at SB Nation have come across this funny new Vitamin Water commercial starring Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. I mean, he's no Chris Bosh, but it's still worth a look. As for the finals...who do you got? I'll take Orlando in 6...and the legacy of Dwight Howard will begin. Just imagine if that guy had a jumper....talk about domination. Anyhoo, here is the aforementioned video...enjoy the finals!

Poll

What is your prediction for the NBA Finals?

Magic in 4

2 votes

Magic in 5

2 votes

Magic in 6

40 votes

Magic in 7

51 votes

Lakers in 4

10 votes

Lakers in 5

48 votes

Lakers in 6

72 votes

Lakers in 7

7 votes

232 votes | Poll has closed

Who Should Start At Point Guard?

erivera7 — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:00:11 -0000

The All-Star break is upon us, and for the Orlando Magic, it couldn't come at a better time. Just a few weeks ago, the main question concerning the team was - can Orlando win an NBA Title? One torn right labrum later, and that inquiry has evolved into - can Orlando win a playoff series?

How funny is it that a player once deemed replaceable (Jameer Nelson) is now deemed irreplaceable? That's the nature of the NBA, where stars are born due to the strangest of circumstances (Paul Millsap and Utah, for example).

With Nelson out, it was to be expected that the Magic would take a hit offensively, given the limitations Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue present at point guard. However, it's been disturbing to watch an offense go from "finely tuned" to "sputtering disaster" over night. If Orlando fans have anything to fear, it's that the Denver Nuggets have come up with a blueprint for future opponents on how to defeat the Magic in the team's current state.

Double and triple Dwight Howard, rotate defensively, and challenge the shooters. It's that easy.

With either Johnson or Lue at the helm at point, neither player has the offensive skill-set to keep defenses honest. Neither penetrates and creates havoc in the lane. Neither kills you with pin-point shooting. They're both the antithesis of Nelson.

You may be asking, is there anyone that can step in as the floor general for Orlando and keep the ball rolling as best as possible? Yes, there is someone that can fill that role and his name is ..

Click after the jump to see the results.

Courtney Lee.

If you think that Lee can't step in as the starting point guard for the Magic, think again. My colleague, Ben, noted a week ago that he found it curious that Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy continued to place Lee as the primary back-up PG to Anthony Johnson, even after Tyronn Lue had already been acquired via trade from the Milwaukee Bucks. What gives, right? Well, it dawned on me after I spoke with David Thorpe last week, I have an idea what Stan is doing.

Look. SVG is a smart guy. After watching him lead the Miami Heat to the Eastern Con ference Semifinals in 2004 with a promising rookie (Dwyane Wade), a troubled youngster (Lamar Odom), and an aging veteran (Eddie Jones), I've never again questioned Van Gundy's ability to coach a basketball team to its fullest potential. The man can flat out coach and I think he's going to prove that, yet again, in the second half of this regular season.

Lee could start at point guard very soon, maybe immediately after the Magic reconvene to begin its stretch run. It's obvious that Van Gundy was giving Johnson a chance to see what he could do as a s tarter again. A.J. succeeded previously when Nelson was out earlier in the year (went 4-1 filling in for Jameer), so it's justifiable that Stan goes back to him this time around. However, those four wins were fool's gold, as they were against teams that played no defense (Washington, Indiana) or teams that struggled at the time (Minnesota, Philadelphia). It's no surprise, now, that the cat is out of the bag in Johnson's case. As for Lee, it's clear that SVG wanted to prepare the rookie a bit with some part-time burn at point guard before possibly upgrading the rookie to full-time duty.

Here's a quick advanced statistical metric to chew on:

Minutes ON Court: 944

Minutes OFF Court: 1460

Anthony Johnson's Net Points per 100 Possessions: -10.5

Now compare that number to ..

Minutes ON Court: 999

Minutes OFF Court: 1405

Courtney Lee's Net Points per 100 Possessions: +2.5

As you can see, the Magic have a net loss when Johnson is on the court but a net gain when Lee is on the court. Both individuals have played nearly an identical amount of minutes, so the above statistics aren't skewed by any means.

It's fairly obvious that Courtney deserves to start at point guard. At this point, what does Orlando have to lose? Lee may not change the team's seemingly inevitable second round exit in the Playoffs, but he'll certainly help the Magic have a fighter's chance against either Boston or Cleveland, assuming each team wins their respective first round series. You can't say the same thing about either Johnson or Lue .

Lee isn't Jameer by any means, either, but given the type of skills Courtney brings to the table, the rookie is pretty darn close. Just ask Thorpe, who's worked with him personally this past off-season.

"I know the guy that I saw on the court all summer is someone that can beat people off the dribble, shoot the three, mid-range game is strong, transition game is strong, his handle is very tight, he's a very, very good ball-handler, a very good slasher."

Sounds a lot like Nelson, doesn't it?

With Courtney at the helm at point, he has the offensive skill-set to keep defenses honest. He penetrates and creates havoc in the lane. He kills you with pin-point shooting. He's the antithesis of both Johnson and Lue.

More importantly, Lee maybe the answer at point guard.

No Eddie Jones Sighting At The Airport

Tom Lewis — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:01:01 -0000

When I arrived back home again in Indy this afternoon 3:00PM, I couldn't help wondering if Eddie Jones was in the vicinity since he was supposed to report to the Pacers by 5:00PM Sunday night.

According to Bruno's latest Caught in the Web, the Pacers have yet to hear from Jones let alone see him in person. This isn't surprising since it makes no sense for the Pacers to actually use Jones nor does it appear that Jones has any interest in playing for the Pacers. Jim O'Brien did his best to play his part of the uninformed coach just taking care of the players management sends out on the practice court.

"He was in a situation that he wasn't in Dallas' camp," said O'Brien. "We would like him in our camp and we would like him on our team unless he decides he doesn't want to play. And then that's something that Larry (Bird) and his agent are going to have to talk about. We anticipate seeing where he is and getting him up here."

Does O'Brien believe Jones could help the Pacers?

"Until I'm told differently, that's my viewpoint," said the coach. "My anticipation is that we just made a trade and we got a player in the trade and we expect any player we trade for to report. If they don't, then there's an issue. But I'm expecting him to be here and to play. That's my expectation. We expect him in here unless he decides to not be in here an then that's out of my hands and it comes down to his agent and our management."

JOB really wanted to tell us about the contractual loopholes they were covering in order to free Jones and move on, but now is just not the time. Should be interesting too see how all of these formalities are worked out. They have to be, because any minute that Eddie Jones would play for the Pacers would be a minute less for Brandon Rush and simply just hold the Pacers back in their quest to move forward.

Couple of other links:

Jeff Rabjohns reports on Eddie Jones and the possibility of Jones not reporting but instead retiring.
Mike Wells chats up Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Travis Diener and finds no concerns with their injured status during camp so far. Considering the couple of times I saw Dun and Murph after games last year they both had their knees and ankles submerged in ice, there's no sense in putting on any additional miles during preseason. Dunleavy did practice on Sunday which is good news.
Shawne Williams is officially ready for his fresh start in Dallas.

Pacers 102, Bulls 93: Fort Win, Indiana

Tom Lewis — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:10:44 -0000

Ahhh, that's better. Preseason wins and losses don't mean a thing, especially with starters sitting out and random combinations of players filling the various playing rotations. But effort and at least appearing to know what you're trying to accomplish as a team is worth measuring. With that minimal metric in mind, the Pacers put forth a vastly improved performance on Friday night in Fort Wayne and relied on their new faces to put away a 102-95 win.

With the game in the balance in the fourth quarter, T.J. Ford led the team with plenty of help from Brandon Rush and Jarrett Jack. Both Rush and Ford finished with 18 points. Ford can't be stopped with the ball in motion and with the ball in the lane showed he can finish with a bucket or an assist depending on what you give him. He sealed the game shut by taking rookie Derrick Rose to the bucket for a hoop and the harm. Beautiful.

As Quinn Buckner mentioned, Rush contributed a quiet 18 points which is backed up by his efficient 7 of 9 shooting night from the floor. Rush played 27 minutes and really looked comfortable on the floor in the second half. One nice aspect of Rush's scoring tonight was his ability to finish at the rim on several occasions. During the first game against the Hornets, Rush was bumped while going to the hole and kind of gave up on the play. But what would've been a foul last year in Allen Fieldhouse, was a clean play in the NBA. No foul, we're going the other way. Tonight he finished strong and certainly wasn't expecting to draw any fouls. I guess the kid's a quick study.

Late in the game somebody had Larry Bird chuckling from his seat in the stands when the camera was on him. Honestly, I can't remember seeing Bird smiling from his seat while watching a Pacers game over the past couple of years. I couldn't help but share the laugh even though I didn't hear the joke.

Here are a few other thoughts from the game:

Danny Granger continued to struggle shooting the ball, but Marquis Daniels was able to get it going. Danny was getting good looks so at this point that's all that matters. When the lights brighten for the regular season, he'll be ready. Both Danny and Quisy sat out the second half.
Is it just me or does it seem like Del Harris is coaching the Bulls and Vinny Del Negro is his assistant? Seemed like both were up every time they showed the Bulls' bench and the familiar face of Harris had me thinking, wait, who's the head coach?
Mike Dunlealvy spent most of the third quarter on the television broadcast with Chris Denari and Quinn Buckner. Sounds like he plans to start practicing next week and will be ready to go for the start of the regular season.
I could watch T.J. Ford break down his defender, pull up and knock down that 15-17 footer all night.
Austin Croshere is officially in the Jonathan Bender zone. We hear about how Cro is wowin' 'em in practice, hardly misses a shot and then his game results reveal pretty much what we've always seen. He'd be a great veteran presence to have on the roster but any actual production will remain a pleasant surprise.
David Morway chatted with Stacy Paetz about the trade. Difficult to give up Shawne but picking up some financial flexibility and assets while thinning out the crowded wing position is a good thing. But wait, Bird said the Eddie Jones will report to the Pacers on Sunday. Has to be a formality, otherwise the wing position remains clogged.
Great to see Stephen Graham back with the team and playing. Toward the end of the third quarter, Stevie was the only player on the floor who was with the Pacers last year.
I may say this after every game, but watching the easy stroke of Brandon Rush is quite enjoyable. Watching said stroke after Ford finds him spotted up on the wing, even better.
Tyrus Thomas is freaky athletic. While Dun was on the broadcast, Thomas missed an open jumper that Dun mentioned wasn't in the scouting report. In other words, let him shoot it all night. A couple of possessions later Thomas flew through the rafters for a highlight finish. Dun remarked that was a shot he (Thomas) won't miss.
Roy Hibbert forced me to yell out loud when he dropped a sweet back-door bounce pass to Jack for a reverse layup. A few minutes later he converted a difficult past to McRoberts for a dunk. Nice. Love seeing all the young guys (Hibbert, Rush, McRoberts) get big minutes.

Wells: Shawne Williams To Dallas

Tom Lewis — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:19:58 -0000

As duke dynamite mentioned in the FanPosts, Mike Wells is reporting that the Pacers have agreed to trade Shawne Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for Eddie Jones a couple of second round picks and $1.8 million in cash.

Shawne appeared to have the same ol' game so far in camp so his minutes were going to be hard to find. The cash will nearly cover the $1.97 mil Eddie Jones is owed this season which gives the Pacers the option of releasing Jones to free up a roster spot.

Shawne gets to reunite with Rick Carlisle who obviously likes what Shawne has to offer.

So the worst case scenario is Shawne for two second rounders. Not bad as Larry Bird and David Morway work to acrue assets, those second round picks are nice to pull out when dealing with other teams.

More details to come on this story...