SB Nation - Morris Almond

Last Night in the D-League; Mo Almond Could Put the Spring in Springfield

Jon L — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:00:16 -0000

Mo Almond played well in his D-League debut yesterday. (via www.nba.com)

Tulsa 66ers 98, Springfield Armor 91

In yesterday's early action, the score of this one was 18-13 after the first quarter. Ugh. I missed it, because I was busy sleeping. I said it was early action. (Okay, so it was 11 am central time. Whatever.) Tulsa's win put them at .500, and they have some nice pieces that could push them higher in the standings. Mustafa Shakur has been a fantastic point guard in this league so far, and he had 27 points on 13 shots with six assists and five rebounds (and also five turnovers). They have a few guys who each can get hot on a certain night, and last night it was Cecil Brown with 5-8 shooting (though he also missed both of his threes). And, cough cough, they have Latavious Williams, who played a season high (it seems wrong to also call it a career high) 15 minutes last night and gave the team 10 points on five shots and seven rebounds. He missed half of his foul shots, but he also didn't commit a foul or turn the ball over once. Byron Mullens (who's technically more a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder than the 66ers) added 19 points and six rebounds.

It's amazing what a former NBA player can do for a team. Springfield lost, but Morris Almond had 27 points and seven rebounds, but he also put a spring in JamesOn Curry's step, so to speak. Curry had 15 points on 7-11 shooting and a season-high seven assists before fouling out. Maybe he just needed someone to pass the ball to. Major Wingate had six turnovers but otherwise continued to play pretty well with 12 points and six boards. The Armor fell to 0-6, but things may be starting to look up.

The rest of the games (which were played at a more reasonable hour) are after the jump.

Iowa Energy 117, Dakota Wizards 108

Where the hell did this come from, Mark Tyndale? 31 points on 9-17 shooting (12-15 from the free-throw line) and eight rebounds for Tyndale in 27 and a half minutes. He had help in the form of 20 points from Earl Barron, nine assists from Curtis Stinson and 16 points on 10 shots (4-7 on three-pointers) from Jeff Trepagnier, but it was pretty much all Tyndale down the stretch.

Dakota got some decent games from Maurice Baker (30 points) and Marcus Dove (eight points on 4-5 shooting, 11 rebounds), but aside from those two the Wizards shot 37 percent from the field. They were also whistled for 33 fouls, which might be more of a big deal if both Griffin and Stinson hadn't fouled out for Iowa. This one was mostly on them, particularly in the second half. David Bell made three of his six three-point attempts but was 0-7 inside the arc. Romel Beck was 0-3 from outside and 3-10 overall. Connor Atchley is giving them nothing off the bench. Et cetera.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers 125, Albuquerque Thunderbirds 112

Joey Dorsey had a field day in this one, as one would expect given how thin Albuquerque is up front. 18 points and 18 rebounds, and he had 14 of each at halftime. Six turnovers aren't great, but I'm sure coach Chris Finch will take that if it comes with 7-9 shooting. The entire RGV starting five scored in double figures, as did Stanley Asumnu. Mike Harris had 23 points and seven rebounds, Antonio Anderson had 17 points on eight shots and 13 assists. The Vipers never scored less than 30 points in a quarter, and now they've won six straight.

Albuquerque wasn't all that bad, they just couldn't keep Dorsey off the boards, couldn't guard RGV's shooters, and couldn't keep Harris out of the lane. But, you know, other than that. Yaroslav Korolev shot 8-12 for 18 points, Carlos Powell had 23 points on 13 shots and Kevin Pittsnogle had 19 points off the bench. Albuquerque had a decent third quarter, but the Vipers had four of them, it's as simple as that.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants 107, Sioux Falls Skyforce 98

Fort Wayne was in control for pretty much the entire game; 40 of the Skyforce's points came in the second quarter. Other than that, I think it's fair to say that they struggled. Jeff Potter posted a to-do list before the game, so let's see how the team did.

We have to get off to a strong start tonight. We can't continue to fall behind early and have success; I'd say that finishing the first quarter with a 30-19 lead qualifies as starting strong
Got to rebound...be physical and BLOCK OUT; Fort Wayne was actually outrebounded 37-49, but that apparently didn't matter.
Execute; Does making 45 percent of your threes count as executing?
Kyle McAlarney has to be a threat; McAlarney was 4-7 from outside and finished with 18 points. Only one of those made threes came in the second half, but we'll be lenient and say that he was a threat early, and opened the floor a little bit for his teammates.
Ron Howard has to make his teammates better and stop looking out for his game. Scouts will be much more impressed with that type of play compared to throwing up a bunch of contested jumpers to try and get 20; Welllllllll...Howard got his 20 points, but he needed a team-high 17 shots to get there. He had seven rebounds and a six assists as well, but I can only imagine that spending several months with Mike D'Antoni's Knicks encouraged him to shoot, you know, whenever

Sioux Falls shot okay overall, 40 percent (okay, not great), but could barely hit anything from outside. Reggie Williams was good, anyway, with 27 points and six rebounds, and Greg Stiemsma grabbed nine boards. That's about it.

Maine Red Claws 116, Erie BayHawks 90

This was a close game at the end of the first quarter, then Erie decided to start missing all their shots. Maine, on the other hand, made 59 percent of its three-pointers, including a 6-8 outside shooting night from Billy Thomas (who had 26 points in total along with seven rebounds), a 5-7 effort from Tony Bobbitt and 3-5 from Billy Walker (who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds). Will Blalock still hasn't been great offensively, but he had a season-high nine assists, and Trey Gilder had 24 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

John Bryant finally had a subpar game for the BayHawks, with 10 points on 10 shots and four rebounds, and only four of those points came after the first quarter. His backup Jarvis Gunter played pretty well with 14 points on nine shots and six boards, five of which were offensive, and Cedric Jackson had nine assists, but other than that the BayHawks just weren't very good on offense. The team has a few days off before playing the Red Claws again in back-to-back games, so perhaps they can come up with a solution by then.

Last Night in the D-League; Break up the Vipers? They'd be better off breaking up the Armor.

Jon L — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:37 -0000

Mike Harris and the Vipers are moving their way to the top of the West standings as a shaggy-haired Jon L looks on (via www.nba.com) (That's not really me, but it's in the ballpark)

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It would be nice if this post generated as many comments as my last one, but I doubt that will happen. Prove me wrong, kids! Prove me wrong.

RGV Vipers 135, Albuquerque Thunderbirds 112

A few days ago, Rockets GM Daryl Morey jokingly posted "Break up the Vipers!" on Twitter after the team won its fourth straight. Well now it's five straight. It helps that they were playing a team on the latter half of a back to back, but the Vipers also have really picked up the three-point shooting after a rough first few games. They made 62.5 percent of their outside shots last night, led by a 7-8 Garrett Temple and a 4-6 Jonathan Wallace. It also helps that one of their strengths (rebounding) mirrors one of Albuquerque's weaknesses. Joey Dorsey (oh, and it also helps to have an NBA player on assignment on your roster) finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike Harris had nine boards along with a game-high 32 points. Antonio Anderson had 12 assists, Wallace had 11 and I'll stop there, because I could list a lot more positive numbers for RGV, because it was that kind of game. Well, not completely; what's up with hitting less than half your free throws?

I don't think the Thunderbirds are a bad team per se, but I can't help feeling that Carlos Powell is "stuck" on this roster. Of course, he should be in the NBA rather than another D-League team, but that's a separate conversation. 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds for Powell, as well as a team-high two offensive boards. That's right, no one for Albuquerque grabbed more than two offensive boards. Keith McLeod has been playing fairly well the last few games, and he had 23 points on 16 shots and seven assists in this one. Kevin Pittsnogle got pushed to the bench, but other than three-pointers (2-7) he shot the ball well, making five of his seven attempts inside the arc and all five free throws, finishing with 21 points on 14 shots. Just five rebounds in 32 minutes, however. The Thunderbirds realllllly need to fix that.

Tulsa 66ers 90, Springfield Armor 74

Mustafa Shakur shot the ball terribly, 3-13, but he handed out 11 assists, picked up three steals and didn't turn the ball over once. The 66ers used some nice three-point shooting from Cecil Brown (3-5, on the way to 23 points) and to be honest, they didn't really need to shoot the ball particularly well (just under 40 percent) based on how the Armor played. Hey, here's a fun exercise: can you guess the player based on last night's stats? Here's a hint, they play the same position for Tulsa.

	Min.	FG	FT	Reb.	Blk	PF	TO
Player 1	25	1-1	4-4	7	1	4	2
Player 2	11	1-4	4-4	7	1	1	0

Can you guess? Player 1 is DeVon Hardin. Player 2 is Latavious Williams. This is one game, true, but it generally holds for both of their seasons so far: Williams is producing about as much as Hardin but with fewer fouls and turnovers, and in half the playing time. I understand why Williams may not be getting much time; he's still adjusting to playing against pros, the Thunder don't have much incentive to develop him, and for all I know he's not doing as well in practice. But based on how he's played in games so far, I maintain that Williams should be getting some of Hardin's minutes, particularly now that Keith Clark is no longer on the team. Neither player is an offensive juggernaut, but Williams can help out as much or more on the boards, and so far in the D-League hasn't shown a propensity for turning the ball over or committing dumb fouls; he's committed just two fouls so far this season and committed five turnovers over the course of 53 minutes, and three of those turnovers are from just one game - he has zero or one in the other four games he's played. Tulsa doesn't even have to start Williams, but put him out there - all evidence points to him being able to play.

For Springfield, Mo Almond can't get to Massachusetts fast enough. 1-10 shooting for Adam Harrington, 3-11 for Tre Whitted, Maurice Maxwell went 4-13, ugh. Kentrell Gransberry was able to stay on the court (a little bit) longer and grabbed 12 rebounds along with scoring seven points. Major Wingate had 18 points and 11 boards and JamesOn Curry had 15 points and eight rebounds. Nice boardwork for the Armor, but along the way they kind of forgot to pass the ball. Gransberry and Maxwell tied for a team-high four assists, and you know what? Morris Almond isn't going to help that problem. They're going to need a lot more former NBA players. But hey, at least pro basketball is back in Springfield.

Orlando Magic News for December 9th: Vince Carter, Fun Facts, Stan Van Gundy's Three-Point Marksmanship, and More

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:00:17 -0000

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First-Quarter Report: Teams' Identities Have Developed, for Better or Worse
The Sporting News' Sean Deveney, perhaps best known to Orlando Magic fans as the guy who picked them to finish behind the Washington Wizards in the Southeast Division this season, writes that the Orlando Magic's addition of Vince Carter has proven to be the best move of the offseason so far.

Offseason payoff: Vince Carter, Orlando. The Magic are still working Carter into the offense, trying to find the right balance between getting him to be aggressive and dominate, and getting him to be one of the cogs on a very talented team. But so far, things have gone well, as Orlando sits tied for the best record in the East.

"Vince is going to be fine," [Dwight] Howard said. "He's been great for us, and the more he gets used to what we do, he is only going to get better."

From Basketball-Reference: Carter leads the Magic in scoring at 19.3 points per game, has a Player Efficiency Rating of 18.2, and has connected on 35.1% of his three-pointers. And despite leading the Magic in Usage Rate at 29.2%, he turns the ball over on only 8.2% of his possessions, second on the team only to Brandon Bass. The only other players to exceed Carter's usage with fewer turnovers this year are Chris Bosh, Josh Howard, Kevin Martin, and Dirk Nowitzki.
Earlier this afternoon, the Magic distributed a list of notes to the media. Here's the first fact:

At 17-4, Orlando has equalled its best start in franchise history (1994-95, 1995-96). The Magic have never been 18-4.

To save space, I've posted the rest of the fact sheet after the jump.
Stan Van Gundy to get shot at 3-point contest trophy
J.E. Skeets makes an important announcement:

The Orlando Magic's Stan Van Gundy will seek to become the first NBA head coach to capture the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout crown, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 13, at American Airlines Center, as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night.

No word on if Magic forward Rashard Lewis, last year's runner-up, will also take part.
The Biggest Aberration?
In a post concerning Gerald Wallace's incredible spike in rebounding this year, Kevin Pelton tries to figure out what the biggest statistical aberration in NBA History is. Former Magic guard Nick Anderson appears in his findings.

A better candidate of a very different kind is Nick Anderson's free throw shooting. Free throw percentage tends to be very stable, especially after a player's first couple of years, which makes what happened to Anderson so bizarre. He was never much of a free throw shooter for a guard, but settled in around 70 percent before inexplicably sinking to 40.4 percent during the 1996-97 season. The odds of a player of Anderson's true ability (about 70 percent) shooting so poorly are nearly 1 in 50,000.
Steve Nash Internet Day!
Visit our friends at Bright Side of the Sun as they honor Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash with Steve Nash Internet Day.
Twitter / tribjazz
UPDATE: Former Magic training-camp invitee Morris Almond is headed to the D-League, reports Ross Siler, who covered Almond when he played for the Utah Jazz:

Former Jazz first-round draft pick Morris Almond will be joining the NBA D-League's Springfield (Mass.) Armor tomorrow.
Kendrick Perkins is core of Celtics' defense, low-post scoring
UPDATE 2 (from Eddy): Want to know why Kendrick Perkins has success defending Dwight Howard? Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated explains.

Perkins' mettle in the low block was validated by his yeoman effort in rooting Dwight Howard out of his favorite spots in last year's Celtics-Magic series in the second round of the playoffs. Unlike most players, Perkins doesn't use a forearm when guarding opponents who operate with their backs to the basket. "If you use the forearm, you don't have enough balance when they spin or fade away," he said. Instead, he uses hands for sensory information; the outside hand placed on an opponents' tailbone to determine where he's going (and, if possible, to guide him), while the inside hand stabs for steals.
NBA ticket revenue slides 7.4 percent (UPDATE)
UPDATE 3 (from Eddy): Ken Berger of CBSSports.com provides an update on the NBA ticket revenue for teams in the NBA.

The Atlanta Hawks (15-6), long challenged in the attendance department but off to their best start in a decade, have seen a league-high 26.8 percent increase in net gate receipts – to $468,036 per game, up from $369,157 at this point last season. Atlanta is selling an average of 10,573 tickets per game, up from 7,900 at this point last season. The other top gainers in net gate receipts are the Denver Nuggets (up 20.3 percent), Orlando Magic (up 17.7 percent), Portland Trail Blazers (up 12.3 percent), and Cleveland Cavaliers (up 11.8 percent).

Again, make the jump to read the rest of the fact sheet the Magic sent this afternoon.

Orlando has won eight straight on the road, the longest road winning streak for a single season. Overall, the record is nine (last two in April '07 and first sevent in November '07). Under Stan Van Gundy (two-plus years), the Magic are 64-30 on the road. At 10-2 on the road this year, the Magic will look to eclipse its seasonal franchise record for road wins (27 each of the last two years).

Orlando has won 23 straight games in which it has scored 100 points. The streak dates back to Feb. 24, 2009.

Orlando has had five or more players score in double-figures in 12 games this year (11-1 record when it happens).

Orlando has made 10 or more three-pointers 13 times this year and is 11-2 when it does so.

Orlando has had 20-plus assists nine times this year and is 9-0 when it does so.

When Orlando outrebounds its opponent the Magic are 13-0.

Over Stan Van Gundy's two-plus seasons Orlando is 91-20 (10-2 this year) when holding opponents under 100 points.

Over Stan Van Gundy's two-plus seasons Orlando is 114-34 (12-3 this year) when holding opponents to less than 50 percent shooting.

Dwight Howard now has 25 career 20+ point/20+ rebound games (two already this year). The Magic are 6-2 when Vince Carter scored 20-plus points this year. Rashard Lewis is averaging 18.3 ppg. over the last six games, while shooting over 50 percent from the field overall and three-point range, compared to 12.6 ppg. and a 33 percent field goal mark the first five games he played this season.

Waive Goodbye, Part 1

Jon L — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:35 -0000

by Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP

Paul Davis poses for trading card photo. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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Here it is; the long-awaited (okay maybe not), oft-promised look at who got waived and who made an NBA roster. I'm breaking this up into three parts, and here's what they'll look like: for each team, there will be a list of who got cut and who got kept (and yes I know the grammar isn't great, but that's what I've decided to go with). To make it interesting, I'll look at one Eastern Conference team and one Western Conference team each day. I probably won't discuss every player, since at this point in his career Juan Dixon can do whatever as far as I'm concerned, but I'll try to hit most of the players who either previously spent time in the D-League or might be considering it as an option this season. I'm also operating under the assumption that the vast majority of guys that I talk about will be playing in Europe. The season's already started over there in a lot of places, but there's usually room for one more skilled American player. Nonetheless, I'll try to keep the D-League optimism up. Okay? Okay. So here we go. First up: the Southeast and Pacific Divisions, below the jump.

Atlanta Hawks

Who got cut: Juan Dixon, Mike Wilks, Courtney Sims, Garrett Siler, Mario West

Who got kept: No one.

Sims and Siler are the main guys to know here, as Dixon, Wilks and West are all veterans at this point who will jump into the pool of emergency guards for less thoughtful teams to sign in case, I dunno, Eric Gordon gets hurt or something. Sims has admirers around the team, and he's showed off his scoring in the preseason, but the rebounding that was so good in the D-League last year has been largely absent thus far. That kind of game (among other reasons) makes me think he's bound for overseas despite the fact that he intrigues front offices. If they really cared, he'd have a contract by now. Siler, on the other hand, is just coming onto the scene and has nice touch and solid rebounding ability. He's just, let's call it "large." If I had to guess I'd say he's a more likely candidate for the D-League, where getting "large" guys into shape seems to be the stock in trade. He's already pretty effective as it is, and he doesn't seem have the foul problems that plague other "large" gentlemen like Mike Sweetney or Kentrell Gransberry, so if he can shed the weight then he might start garnering more serious interest.

Charlotte Bobcats

Who got cut: Dontell Jefferson, Antonio Anderson

Who got kept: Stephen Graham

I was actually kind of shocked at this one. Jefferson is a great man defender (and an all-aaround good guy) who the Bobcats seemed to like (they called him up last year), plus one of their better (if not their best) perimeter defenders with a guaranteed contract just got hurt. So why wouldn't they keep him? Stephen Graham is fine as a player, and he's a D-League success story of sorts so I shouldn't knock him too hard, but while he's a better rebounder than Jefferson, he's not as good of a defender. Hopefully Jefferson comes to the D-League and gets called up quickly, but either of those happening is unlikely, let alone both of them.

Golden State Warriors

Who got cut: Diamon Simpson, Shaun Pruitt

Who got kept: No one

Simpson is raw. Really, really, really raw. But intriguing (at least to me). I thought so when he was on Washington's Summer League team, but he got cut before they played any games and I don't think he played any in the preseason for Golden State, either. It would behoove him to go to the D-League, but who knows if that will happen. He's a Dominic McGuire-type, if McGuire is good enough to have his own type, but it boils down to this: a lot of hustle, the tools to be a very good defender, a very good rebounder, undersized as a PF but no offensive game to make up for it. Who doesn't like that kind of player? Anyway, he'll need to learn some offense somewhere, so why not the D-League? ASSUMING he enters the draft, I could see Rio Grande Valley drafting him and developing him for the Rockets, who are enamored with 6'7" power forwards who rebound really, really well. But what I think should happen and what does happen are usually two different things. Example: Fernwood 2Nite is still not on DVD.

Los Angeles Clippers

Who got cut: Anthony Roberson, Taj Gray, Jerel McNeal

Who got kept: Kareem Rush

Sorry Mike Wilks, Juan Dixon and Mario West, your fellow Brotherhood of Mediocre Shooting Guards member Kareem Rush got this. Roberson is likely headed back to Europe, with all the rest of the good three-point shooters. So is Gray. Jerel McNeal could stick around this neck of the woods, because he's a.) younger and b.) still could use some work on his offensive game. His DraftExpress "best case" is supposedly Shannon Brown, so there's some D-League-to-NBA precedent for a guy like McNeal, and he's solid enough all-around that if he continues to cut down on his turnovers he could draw some real interest.

Los Angeles Lakers

Who got cut: Mickael Gelabale, David Monds, Tony Gaffney, Michael Fey, Thomas Kelati

Who got kept: No one

Somewhat off-topic, but at this point I'm wondering what the point of the Lakers having their own D-League affiliate is. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but...who was the last player they developed in-house? Jordan Farmar, I guess? Does Josh Powell count since he never plays? I know that they're in "win-now" mode as long as Kobe Bryant is on the team, but heck, trading for Adam Morrison? They could've found someone else, put him on the D-Fenders for two years, and still eventually have gotten more out of him than Morrison will end up giving them. And no, this isn't about cutting Sun Yue. Okay, maybe it's partially about cutting Sun Yue. But that was the plan with Mickael Gelabale, I assume, who has a lot of talent and a knack for scoring. But he couldn't earn a deal and DJ Mbenga could? Mbenga is good for something, right? I mean, he is, right? I could've sworn he did something well at some point. David Monds played very well for the Lakers' Summer League team, so that likely got him some attention even if his preseason didn't. I'm willing to bet that he comes back to the D-League, just not heavily.

Miami Heat

Who got cut: John Lucas, Alade Aminu, Andre Brown, Anthony Tolliver

Who got kept: Carlos Arroyo, Shavlik Randolph

Sigh. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. Not that Arroyo is still around, I guess, since he's not the worst option out there and can run the pick and roll adequately, but Lucas really can play, size notwithstanding. I'm pretty sure Lucas has had some problems with not being paid by his European employers in the past, so it could be that he's soured on the enterprise, and if he comes back to the D-League he'll join the Maine Red Claws, but my best guess is that he'll try going overseas again and hope to get his check on time. Aminu may try his hand at the D-League, since his younger (and more talented) brother is still in college. Aminu played some decent defense for Washington's Summer League team, and he's pretty athletic along with being a decent ball-handler for a 6'10" guy. He needs to work on not turning the ball over and acquiring some post moves, and the D-League is as good a place as any to do that.

Orlando Magic

Who got cut: Morris Almond

Who got kept: Linton Johnson

I'm a little surprised that Johnson is still around, although Adonal Foyle got hurt so there's room for another frontcourt player. Sort of. I mean with Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Vince Carter and Matt Barnes around I'm not really sure how much playing time Johnson will get, even in practice. Some of those guys can play guard, true, but this team is apparently committed to the Jason Williams Reclamation Project and not, you know, keeping a guard who can actually help the team out. It's a good question where Almond goes from here, as he's "done with the D-League." Maybe he joins Dixon, et al. or maybe he just cuts his losses and heads yonder, but either way I can't shake the feeling that he never really got a fair look this offseason.

Phoenix Suns

Who got cut: Carlos Powell, Dan Dickau, Raymond Sykes

Who got kept: No one.

Well, at least our long national Dan Dickau nightmare is over. Powell played very well in the preseason, and the team spoke well of him which should help combat some old on-court character issues. He's a strong call-up candidate this season should he go to the D-League, and he's been working hard to get to the NBA so he may go that route. I've already linked to it once, but for more on Powell's play I recommend this Bright Side of the Sun post.

Sacramento Kings

Who got cut: Lanny Smith, Melvin Ely

Who got kept: No one.

I would bet that Smith returns to the D-League. He's not that far removed from breaking his foot in college, and he was a backup in Idaho last year, so he still has a lot to show. He can play, though, and it shouldn't be too surprising if he becomes a top point guard in the D-League this year. That's assuming he goes there, however, and not overseas. He played for the "NBA Generations" team that played in Korea and the Philippines, so he's gotten some international exposure, and non-US teams could come calling.

Washington Wizards

Who got cut: Vincent Grier

Who got kept: Paul Davis

Grier never really played, so this isn't a shock. He's a pretty good combo guard and scorer, but the Wizards have a ton of shooting guards on the team so this was always going to be a longshot. Paul Davis is sticking around because Antawn Jamison will be out for at least a month, and the team was already thin up front. As in, Fabricio Oberto who was signed to be the end-of-bench veteran presence, is now the starting power forward. Davis is now the fifth big, and he's defied my expectations by playing pretty well this preseason, averaging about 18 points and nine rebounds per 36 minutes while staying out of foul trouble. He shot 5-10 from the floor, and I have no idea where those shots came from exactly, but one reason I was skeptical is that last season his eFG percentages were .333 on "close" shots and .344 on jump shots (as determined by 82games.com), which are pretty bad. As long as the Wizards don't expect much from Davis on the offensive end other than dunks and tip-ins, they should be fine.

Orlando Magic Waive Morris Almond

Ben Q Rock — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:05:39 -0000

The Orlando Magic have waived shooting guard Morris Almond, the team announced after its 117-87 win over the Indiana Pacers tonight. Almond signed a non-guaranteed deal on September 16th, hoping to make the final roster with a strong showing in training camp and in the preseason.

After cutting Almond, the Magic's roster stands at 14 players. Combo forward Linton Johnson III, who signed a non-guaranteed deal the same day Almond did, is among them.

Taking a Quick Look at Pre-Season Data for the Orlando Magic

erivera7 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:21 -0000

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In yesterday's news post, I posted a link to Basketball-Reference's blog, in which Neil Paine did a "data dump of advanced numbers" for all the pre-season games leading up to yesterday. I wanted to take a closer and lengthier look at the statistics for the Orlando Magic because I felt it was at least worth glancing at. Granted, one has to take precaution in examining the stats because they don't mean much but we, as observers, should look at how the players have performed in exhibition play.

As I noted before, the Magic (before facing off against the Chicago Bulls last night) rank #1 in offensive efficiency and #5 in defensive efficiency. What I find interesting is that in Pro Basketball Prospectus 2009-10, SCHOENE projects Orlando to rank #1 in offensive efficiency and #5 in defensive efficiency during the regular season. Now again, the pre-season (and the numbers that come with them) means almost nothing but it's an interesting parallel to point out in trying to figure out how good the Magic's offensive and defensive units might be once the games start to count.
How well has Ryan Anderson performed, offensively? Well enough to sport an Offensive Rating of 118.7 (which is a very good number) with a usage rate of 23.2% - impressive .
Not counting Linton Johnson, who only logged 18 minutes, Orlando has eight players with Offensive Ratings of 115 or higher.
There's been a lot of talk about Carter's offensive struggles, and the numbers support the notion - as he has an Offensive Rating of 106.2 with a usage rate of 25.5% - but it would appear that Vince is starting to find his shooting touch following his last two games on the road.
Howard has a usage rate of 28.6%, which is the highest on the Magic. Unfortunately for Dwight, he's been very inefficient offensively - Offensive Rating of 94.2 - but don't be alarmed. It is pre-season.
Floor% reveals that the team is likely to score a point 62.9% of the time when Brandon Bass uses a possession (23rd-best).

Floor Percentage = Individual scoring possessions / individual possessions used. Floor % answers the question, "when Player X uses a possession, what is the probability that his team scores at least 1 point?" Differences in quality between a player's Floor% and ORtg are frequently due to the 3-point shot.
Stop% shows that Dwight Howard has stopped opposing possessions 77.7% of the time (6th-best). Marcin Gortat isn't far behind, at 71.7% (12th-best).

Stop Percentage = (Stops * Tm MP) / (Tm Poss * MP). The % of opponent individual possessions directly stopped by a player through steals, blocks, forced misses, defensive rebounds, and forced TO.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy has done a good job of balancing minutes for all the players, with the exception of Morris Almond, Anthony Johnson, & Linton Johnson.
The fact that A.J. has barely seen minutes - when he has, he hasn't done much with them - most likely means that Jason Williams will be Jameer Nelson's back-up.

If you'd like, take a look at the numbers yourself and come up with observations!

2009-2010 Season Preview - Utah Jazz

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

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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.

Orlando Magic 110, Dallas Mavericks 105

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:49:44 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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In a surprisingly competitive, intense game, the Orlando Magic rallied to dispatch the Dallas Mavericks, 110-105, in the first game of both team's 2009 preseasons. Vince Carter, who did not wear a headband, led 6 Magic players in double-figures with 21 points, incuding 15 in the third period, while Dwight Howard posted 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks before fouling out in 23 minutes of play. Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki shot just 3-of-12 from the field, but converted 17 of his 19 well-earned free throw attempts to finish with a game-high 23 points.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	95	115.2	50.0%	44.7	26.1	13.6
Mavericks	95	110.5	43.7%	45.6	23.8	14.7

With a combined 64 personal fouls and 92 free throw attempts, the game wasn't pretty, especially early as both teams committed plenty of turnovers. The game became easier to watch as it progressed, with teams looking a bit sharper offensively--thanks to poor defense on both sides--and the players willing to let it all out on the floor. The Orlando Sentinel posted this photo to illustrate the teams' hustle tonight, while the double-technical foul assessed to Orlando's Matt Barnes and Dallas' Matt Carroll for jawing at each other in the third period attests to the teams' intensity. You'd think the game counted for something, the way these teams played.

But it doesn't count for anything, which is why it's more important for us to, at this stage, evaluate how some of the Magic's new players fared, and what coach Stan Van Gundy's tendencies were.

For one thing, Carter's performance came across as pedestrian to me; he assessed it as "OK." Five of his 6 first-half shot attempts came from beyond the arc, and it wasn't until the third quarter when he began to assert himself more often. Sure, he still teed-off from downtown plenty, but he also drove to the basket more aggressively. In one sequence which demonstrated his new attitude, Carter drove hard right off a hard pick at the top of the key, attempted to drive the ball to the basket, but could not get all the way there. His off-balance layup clanked off the side of the backboard. Clearly perturbed, Carter got back on defense. When Orlando regained possession, Carter launched a trey from the left wing, which caught nothing but the bottom. In short, it took some time for him to get going, but once he did... well, he looked decent. I hate to see him take three-pointers at such a rate, as they accounted for two-thirds of his shot attempts. But hey, 21 points on 18 shots, just 1 turnover. We can live with that.

More on the rest of the Magic after the jump.

Oddly, it was Barnes and former Maverick Brandon Bass who overshadowed Carter as far as new additions are concerned. The pair combined for 29 points on 13 shots. Barnes impressed me with his heady plays, with 3 of his 4 rebounds coming at the offensive end. Orlando hasn't had a quality rebounder at small forward in a while, and Barnes certainly is an upgrade over Hedo Turkoglu in that respect. Meanwhile, Bass scored 7 of his 13 points in the final two minutes, drawing fouls and converting at the charity stripe. He was as advertised. And earlier in the game, he caught the ball at the top of the key, got into a triple-threat position, and Dallas played him for the drive; apparently, the Mavs were wary of his ability to create off the dribble. He wound up taking the jumper and missing, but it was nonetheless good to know that Bass will frustrate defenses more in the high post than Tony Battie ever did.

Jason Williams? Yeah, not bad, either. Early in the game, Van Gundy elected to assign Williams to cover the speedy Jason Terry, and Williams--coming off a one-year retirement, and not especially quick to begin with--acquitted himself nicely. He posted 6 assists--a team high--and 3 turnovers, but none of his turnovers came after halftime. And he, not Anthony Johnson, was the first point guard off the bench. Of course, it's only one game, so we can't read too deeply into Van Gundy's rotations just yet. But if Williams continues to get the nod over Johnson, well, the writing will pretty much be on the wall, won't it?

Jameer Nelson looks to be okay. 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting--all on three-pointers-- to go with 4 assists and 2 turnovers. All 3 treys were assisted, so we have yet to see his off-the-dribble game. Then again, he only played 24 minutes, so there's plenty of time left for him to show it off.

All in all, it was nice to see the Magic's bench get it done, as Van Gundy and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle elected to let their reserves do battle with the game on the line. Orlando came up victorious... not that it means a heckuva lot.

A few assorted rotation notes:

Williams was the first man off the bench, coming in for Nelson. The next subs were, in order: Barnes for Mickael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat for Howard, Bass for Rashard Lewis, and J.J. Redick for Carter.
That was the entire 10-man rotation. Ryan Anderson and Anthony Johnson were the only available players on guaranteed deals who did not play; Adonal Foyle is still out with a sore knee.
Unsurprisingly, Morris Almond and Linton Johnson III, the Magic's non-roster invitees, also earned DNP-CDs.
Down the stretch, the Magic played Bass, and not Gortat, at center. Gortat struggled, with 0 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block in 16 minutes.

Redick, by the way, didn't make any of his 4 shot attempts--all of them were three-pointers, and they included one airball--but shot 7-of-10 at the foul line to compensate.

And Barnes? 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and no turnovers in only 20 minutes. That's efficient production. He, and not Pietrus, started the second half at small forward. Dude's just active, and plays within himself more than Pietrus does.

As always, share your thoughts from the game in the comments section.

Recapping the Orlando Magic's Busy Summer

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:00:37 -0000

The Orlando Magic's busy offseason is at an end. Tonight, they will take on the Dallas Mavericks in their first exhibition game of the 2009/2010 season. For a refresher, I humbly present this list of 3QC's coverage of the Magic's summer, broken down chronologically.

June 25th: Magic acquire Ryan Anderson and Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, and Courtney Lee

Vince Carter
- Assessing His Fit with the Offense
Ryan Anderson

July 1st: Hedo Turkoglu Enters Free-Agency

July 2nd: Marcin Gortat Signs Offer Sheet with the Dallas Mavericks

July 5th-10th: Magic Host Orlando Pro Summer League

Complete Coverage

July 10th: Magic Sign Brandon Bass

July 17th: Magic Interested in Signing C.J. Watson

July 21st: Magic Sign Matt Barnes

August 6th: NBA Suspends Rashard Lewis 10 Games for Testing Positive for a Banned Substance

Please make the jump to read stories about the rest of the summer.

August 20th: Magic Sign Jason Williams

August 27th: Magic Re-Sign Adonal Foyle

News Post

September 16th: Magic Sign Morris Almond and Linton Johnson III to Non-guaranteed Contracts

News Post

In addition to writing about the Magic's new additions, we also covered what their holdovers were up to. Here are links to those stories, sorted alphabetically by subject.

Dwight Howard

Is He the Next David Robinson?

Rashard Lewis

Fact or Fiction: Lewis Is Better than Turkoglu?

Jameer Nelson

Mickael Pietrus

Fact or Fiction: He Will Maintain His Impressive Playoff Performance

J.J. Redick

When Will He Return to Form?

Otis Smith

Stan Van Gundy

Of course, not all our posts center on a single event or person. To that end, here's a chronological listing of our stories about the team in general this summer.

Orlando Magic News for October 2nd: Emphasizing Charity In Charity Stripe; Checking In On Ryan Anderson

erivera7 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:34:00 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

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Bloggers to Dwight: Hit free throws, raise money for charity
J.E. Skeets of Ball Don't Lie points out how The Puns Are Starting To Bore Me came up with an idea to help Dwight Howard improve his free throw percentage - if Superman improves from the charity stripe at a 70% clip or better in the upcoming season, the site will donate money to his favorite charitable donation and also, ask others to help chip in for a good cause.
Nichols and Dime: TPS, a New Method for Evaluating Players
Jon Nichols of Hardwood Paroxysm takes the time to reveal a new metric he created - TPS, which stands for Talent Plus Style. According to Nichols, it is a player rating system that is totally customizable. For example:

Every variation of TPS ratings is adjusted for position. A center who can shoot three-pointers at the league average is much more valuable than a shooting guard with the same efficiency. Likewise, a point guard with a league average rebounding rate is probably pretty good in that respect. Not only does adjusting for position level the playing field, but it also makes it easier to find players who are unconventionally good at things.
Magic power forward Ryan Anderson likes that he's still Vince Carter's teammate
Tania Ganguli shares a Q/A session she had with Ryan Anderson a few days ago. A definite must-read. Here's an excerpt of the conversation:

Q: Has anyone been instrumental in helping you learn or leading team practices?

A: Well you know all the veteran guys have been giving me advice. Vince has been doing a good job of instructing guys on where to go and if they’re having trouble going to different areas, he’ll send them there or he’ll tell you after plays the right place to go. Anthony Johnson has been great for that. Jameer has kind of set the tone of the practices. He’s probably our most vocal leader from what I’ve noticed.
I’m a Movie Star!!!
Dwight Howard posts on his official blog, today, and asks his fans to check him out on the big screen.

Being in front of the camera is something that I actually really enjoy. It allows me to be myself and have fun. Hopefully I’ll have a lot more opportunities in the future to do more commercials and movies because I really enjoy it.

Actually, a couple of the directors told me that I did a really good job and they want me to come back and do some more stuff with them in the future, so that’s exciting for me.

So ya’ll be sure to check me out on the big screen and let me know whatcha think.
UPDATE (from Ben): Training Camp Invites - Orlando Magic
Jon L. of Ridiculous Upside, SB Nation's D-League and prospects blog, takes a look at Linton Johnson III and Morris Almond, the Magic's two non-roster invitees. Jon concludes that both players are really auditioning for other teams at this point because neither stands a chance of making the team.