SB Nation - Michael Beasley

Big 12 All Decade Team

Evan Pfaff — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:15:09 -0000

by Orlin Wagner - AP

With almost a full year yet to play, Kansas center Cole Aldrich muscled his way onto the Big12Hoops.com First Team All Big 12 Decade Team (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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In the first full calendar decade of the Big 12 conference, one thing was apparent: there were two schools that produced a good majority of the talent. And while the best individual players may not have come from Kansas or Texas, a look at the Big12Hoops.com All Decade team reveals that a majority were either Jayhawks or Longhorns.

Don't see your favorite? The Honorable Mention list is after The Jump

First Team All Big 12

PG – Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa St
SG – Tony Allen, Oklahoma St
SF – Kevin Durant, Texas
PF – Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
C – Cole Aldrich, Kansas

Second Team All Big 12

PG – Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
SG – Acie Law, Texas A&M
SF – Michael Beasely, Kansas St
PF – Marcus Fizer, Iowa St
C – Chris Mihm, Texas

Third Team All Big 12

PG – TJ Ford, Texas
SG – Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
SF – PJ Tucker, Texas
PF – Drew Gooden, Kansas
C – Nick Collison, Kansas

All Big 12 - Honorable Mention

Baylor Bears
LaceDarius Dunn
Lawrence Roberts

Colorado Buffaloes
Reggie Roby
David Harrison

Iowa St Cyclones
Craig Brackins

Kansas Jayhawks
Wayne Simien
Aaron Miles

Kansas St. Wildcats
Cartier Martin

Missouri Tigers
DeMarre Carroll
Clarence Gilbert
Arthur Johnson
Kareem Rush

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Aleks Maric

Oklahoma Sooners
Taj Gray
Hollis Price

Oklahoma St Cowboys
Byron Eaton
Joey Graham

Texas Longhorns
DJ Augustine
LaMarcus Aldridge

Texas Tech Red Raiders
Jarrius Jackson

Texas A&M Aggies
Bernard King

Phoenix Suns 106, Orlando Magic 103

Ben Q Rock — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:17:06 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

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Trailing the Phoenix Suns by as many as 19 points, the Orlando Magic staged a furious second-half rally and took a 4-point lead midway through the 4th period, but faltered from there and lost, 106-103, giving them their first losing streak of the year. Rashard Lewis (24 points) and Mickael Pietrus (a season-high 23) carried Orlando's offense, while Dwight Howard anchored the defense and the glass. But ultimately, the Suns' efficient offensive attack was too much. Steve Nash matched the entire Magic team with 18 assists, scoring 20 points of his own. Amar'e Stoudemire led all scorers with 28 points, including a dunk with 6.9 seconds to play to preserve Phoenix's win.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	95	108.7	50.7%	34.2	33.3	22.2
Suns	93	114.4	53.5%	16.3	25.0	12.9
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Orlando showed its road-weariness early on, and one long dry spell in the first quarter may have proven to be the difference. Howard made the first of two free throws, but missed the second, which Lewis rebounded. Lewis' ensuing 3-pointer rattled out, but Howard corralled it. Stoudemire stole the ball, fueling a layup by Grant Hill in transition. His shot tied the game at 9.

So that's one possession which resulted in one point for Orlando. For the next 6:37, the Magic had 12 possessions, and did not score on any of them. 6 consecutive misses--all jumpers--followed by 6 consecutive turnovers. By the time Pietrus freed himself for an easy dunk underneath to end the drought, Phoenix had taken a 24-11 lead. No team can afford to come up empty against an offense of the Suns' caliber, and especially one that runs the fast break as well as Phoenix does. Discard that awful Magic stretch and you see they scored 103 points on 83 possessions, for an offensive rating of 124.1. Too bad the 12 abominable ones there do, indeed, count in the final score.

Mistakes late doomed the Magic as well; they weren't isolated. They yielded back-to-back, open, corner three-pointers to Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson, which gave the Suns a 101-99 lead. On some level, you're happy they covered Nash and Stoudemire on the pick-and-roll and forced the kickout. But man, those shots are backbreakers. Moments later, trailing by a single point, Nash coughed the ball up into Howard's hands, giving the Magic a transition opportunity. Backup point guard Anthony Johnson, who scored all 11 of his points in the 4th quarter to keep the Magic in the game (!), dribbled the outlet pass off his foot. The ensuing possession set up Stoudemire's offensive rebound and dunk to seal the game. You'll recall that poor box-outs cost the Magic against the Heat three weeks ago, when putbacks by Udonis Haslem and Michael Beasley gave Miami a narrow, one-point victory.

The theme here, I suppose, is that the tired team made mental errors throughout the game to lose when they might have otherwise won.

I'm sure the media will latch onto Howard's only getting one shot attempt--two minutes into the game!--in 41 minutes and make a big deal of it, especially after a game in which he got only 11 shots in 44 minutes. Fact is, Howard got his touches: 5 turnovers, 17 free-throw attempts, 2 assists, and several other wise passes out of double-teams. The Suns forced the Magic to look elsewhere. The absence of go-to-scorer Vince Carter in the second half due to a sore knee made scoring that much more difficult.

A tough loss to take any time. Orlando split its 4-game Western trip, squandering double-digit leads in three games and having to battle back in another. It's clear that the Magic aren't as sharp now as they were weeks ago, when Jason Williams first took over for Jameer Nelson as the starting point guard and could hardly do wrong. 22 assists, 11 turnovers, and 48.3% eFG% on the trip overall, and 11 assists to 7 turnovers in the last 2 games. The bloom is off the rose a bit, yes?

Orlando has plenty of time to regroup, as it doesn't play again until Monday, and will play 7 of its final 8 games of 2009 at home. The Magic are due to bounce back, but the results of this road trip certainly raise troubling questions. At least it's still December.

Heat kick-off homestand by getting shredded by Dallas

DolPhanDave — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:41:19 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Boan - AP

The Heat had no answers for Dirk and the Mavs

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After a relatively long layoff for the Heat, and even longer for Heat fans waiting to see their team in person, this game was an absolute let down. I'm not sure which was harder for the Heat, scoring or defending. Either way, it was embarrassing at times for the home team and now Miami has lost 11 in a row to Dallas. If there ever was a game where you see how important Jermaine O'Neal is to this team...this was that game.

The Heat began this game like a team who hadn't played in a while, looking slow and uninspired. They didn't make a field goal until there was 6:24 left in the 1^st quarter, starting the game 0-for-10. That allowed Dallas to get out to a 13-1 lead, putting the Heat in a big hole before the game really got going. By the time the Heat reached double digits in scoring the Mavs already had 24 points. A late 11-4 run by Miami got them back to within 10 points late in the first quarter, but they still ended up trailing by 12 after 1.

The Heat kept their foot on the gas when the 2^nd quarter started, scoring the first 5 points and using a 9-3 run to close the gap to 6. Miami kept on pushing but their defense was a little suspect. More then once the Heat left men unattended in the paint resulting in easy points for Dallas. While he racks up the blocks, Joel Anthony just isn't the defender that Jermaine O'Neal is, mostly due to his positioning. Anthony did finish the first half with 4 blocks, but that would be the same amount he'd finish the game with.

The Heat were able to get the Mavs lead all the way down to 3, but were unable to get over that final hump. Instead, Dallas used a handful of late free throws to push their lead back up to 6 just in time for halftime. Still, after falling behind by 15 points in the 1^st quarter and being without their starting center, the Heat had to be somewhat pleased with where they were at after the opening half.

The 2^nd half got off to a real crappy start. Miami was taking and missing shots from the outside instead of driving with the ball. Dallas was doing what they wanted on offense and a lot of it had to do with Anthony and Beasley looking lost at times on defense. Dallas pushed their lead back up to 15 with 3:24 left in the quarter when Miami went on an 8-1 run and gained some momentum as the 3^rd quarter drew to a close, but a crucial 5-point swing would prove costly. Udonis Haslem missed a jumper that would've gotten the Heat within 6, then Jason Terry promptly hit a tree-pointer at the other end to put the Mavs up 11 heading into the final quarter.

The Mavs started the 4^th quarter the same way they did the 3^rd, outscoring the Heat early to expand their lead even more. 6 straight points with just under 8 minutes left got Miami back within 11, but their defense was playing so poorly that it was hard to imagine any kind of comeback. The telling stat that indicated the Mavs doing whatever they wanted on offense was that they were assisting on almost every basket.

The Heat never got close in the final period, dropping their record to 11-10 and sending a nice crowd at the AAA home very disappointed. I think this game would've been much different if the Heat had Jermaine O'Neal in the lineup. Erick Dampier absolutely dominated down low, scoring 20 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. He also had 2 blocks, but I was more impressed with his foul shooting. A center that can make free throws....what a concept!

GAME NOTES

Miami started the game just 1-of-14 form the field, then followed it up by making 14 of their next 18 to get back into the game.
Udonis Haslem had his best game in a while, going 6-for-6 for 13 points and 4 boards in the first half. His first miss would come on his 9^th shot, and he finished 9-of-10, good for 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Two other Heat players had double doubles, with Mike Beasley coming away with 16 and 11 and Dwyane Wade finishing with 28 and 11. You could tell at halftime that they would both probably end up with dub-dubs; Wade had 8 boards at the half and SuperCoolBeas had 7.
Wade went 0-for-2 from beyond the arc and has now missed 20 of his last 22 three-pointers.
Dorell Wright played 29 minutes but wasn't really a factor. He did miss another dunk though, which is becoming very annoying. I think he's missed a dunk in each of the past 3 or 4 games.
Dallas finished with 30 assists on 38 field goals. That is an amazing stat for the Mavs, and shows that A- the Mavericks are a great passing team with a lot of offensive chemistry and B- the Heat really let Dallas do whatever they wanted on offense.
The Mavericks have now won 6-srtaight games at the AAA. But hey...we've still got rings.
This loss dropped Miami to 6-6 at home this season after starting 4-0. Their last home win was on November 22^nd against the Hornets, 19 days ago.
Where was Jamaal Magloire? Anyone...? Anyone...? Bueller....?

The Heat get a day to think about this one, then they're back in action on Sunday. Memphis will be the opponent with the usual ‘early' tipoff time coming at 6pm.

Mavericks Vs Heat: Game 23 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:39:21 -0000

Phil is out tonight so you have me (zdgmans) coming off the bench (don't get used to it). To his credit, he did write part of this post!

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: This is the situation that every Mavericks fan does not look forward to. A young stud point guard with something to prove. While Mario Chalmers is not a Chris Paul he is definitely someone who can score in bunches. Jason Kidd has shown that he can slow down these young bucks but he isn't a lock-down defender by any stretch of the imagination. Look for J Kidd to come out on top while getting some help defense from his friends.

vs.

Mario Chalmers: Mario has had a pretty shaky start this year, there have been a few spectacular nights along the way but for the most part he has struggled on the offensive end, and on several occasions on the defensive end as well. Good PG play is essential for the Heat, without it they must shift Wade to that spot causing their offense to go stagnate. Chalmers has been playing with a sore shoulder for a while now, and who knows how much that it is affecting his play.

Edge: Mavs

Shooting Guard

Jason Terry: JET gets another start in place of Josh Howard or Roddy. I would have been really interested to see Josh get the start to see what sort of defense he could play against Wade but I am sure that it is a bit too early for him to take on the task of guarding the top tier players just yet. This is a definite mismatch for the Mavericks as JET is not one of our best defenders and while he can score he is just no match for Wade's offensive potential.

vs.

Dwayne Wade: Okay I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to come up with something to say about D Wade, and well this is all I can come up with... FUCK YOU Wade!

Edge: Heat

Forward

Shawn Marion: Everyone including myself is waiting for Shawn to have a "big" game where he drops 30/10 and just push his defensive assignment around (like the old Matrix). It definitely could happen tonight if Marion decides that he wants to be aggressive with Richardson. Quentin is not a prolific scorer and is only a sub-par defender when it comes to matching up with a player of Marion's talent level. While I can't discount some of the good games he has had, this is a match-up in Marion's favor.

vs.

Quentin Richardson: Deadly in stints but definitely not someone that should be considered a true starting forward (who else do the Heat have though). Quentin has had some good games this year but he is basically at his maximum potential when it comes to this Heat team. Look for Quentin to host up a bunch of early jump shots to try and get himself going.

Edge: Mavs

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: There isn't really much that hasn't already been said about Dirk. The Mavericks franchise player will do his part tonight against the Heat. It seems in Monday's game against the Suns Dirk got some of his scoring touch back (finally breaking the 30 pt barrier after a few bad starts). Look for a continued trend upwards as Dirk pours in a 30+ and 10 performance. Defense is no question here as Michael Beasley is a bit hard to slow when he gets in the zone. Fortunately, Dirk can quickly get the young Beasley in trouble if he is as aggressive with his play as Beasley is with his D.

vs.

Michael Beasley: Is Beasley really a forward? Only a few years removed from college, Beasley is definitely still a bit wet behind the ears. Make no mistake about it, Beasley is a very good basketball player who can score in bunches and defend with a passion but sometimes he lacks focus. This is definitely the year we start to see Beasley mature a bit (now with some of his problems behind him). Although we already know who the match-up goes to in this case, look for Beasley to still have a great game (if he doesn't get into foul trouble).

Edge: Mavs

Center

Drew Gooden: Drew isn't in the game to score but he is in there to bring energy and get the Mavs offensive rebounds. If Gooden decides to be active tonight on the boards he could make a killing (as long as O'Neal is definitely out). Here's to hoping Gooden doesn't decide he wants to take any 15 foot jump shots and instead takes everything close to the basket.

Vs.

Jamaal Magloire: Okay as a backup but definitely not someone you would enjoy starting. Do I really need to say anything more about Jamaal Magloire?

Edge: Mavs

Injuries/Suspensions

Miami Heat

OUT - Jermaine O'Neal (personal reasons)

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Quinton Ross (back)

Prediction: As long as Wade doesn't explode the Mavericks should be able to keep the Heat on low (I made a cooking pun there).

Dallas Mavericks: 110

Miami Heat: 95

Game #21: Dallas Mavericks (15-7) vs. Miami Heat (11-9)

DolPhanDave — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:13:26 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

D-Wade was visibly upset when reminded of the Mavs win streak against Miami.

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After a nice refreshing week off, the Heat will finally return to action tonight back at home against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are one of the best teams in the league and got even better in their last game when they welcomed back Josh Howard after the forward missed 13 games with a sore left ankle. The Mavs are playing back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow (@ Charlotte), and the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Howard will play in only one of the two games, but its unknown which he'll play and which he'll sit out.

On the Heat's side of things, they could be without two of their starters. Jermaine O'Neal could miss his second straight game while dealing with family issues in South Carolina. He attended the funeral of his uncle on Thursday and could be back in Miami in time to play tonight, but nobody is sure. Even if J-O does make it in time, his minutes could be limited due to him being away from working out with the team all week.

Another likely game-time decision will be Quentin Richardson, who strained his right hamstring at the end of the third quarter of the Heat's win in Sacramento on Sunday. While there is no tear, the Heat intend to keep it that way which is why they are treating Richardson with ‘kid gloves'. I can't say I disagree...I'd much rather be without Q for a game or two instead of a week or two.

A key matchup will be at the power forward position. Dirk Nowitzki is having another great season, averaging 27.0 points and 8.5 boards, and has been even hotter of late. He's cracked 30 points in his last two games (32, 33) and in one of those games had four blocks and a pair of treys. Guarding Dirk will be a great test for Michael Beasley, who has been showing lots of improvement on the defensive side of the floor but will certainly have his hands full with Nowitzki. Of course there is always Udonis Haslem on the bench as an insurance policy, but if we have to put U-D on Dirk it will seriously cut into Beasley's minutes.

GAME NOTES

Outside of the 06 NBA Finals, the Mavericks have really owned the Heat the past several years. Dallas has swept the 2-game season series with Miami in each of the past 5 years (10 straight wins), and have won 16 of 18 overall.

Doesn't it seem like a long time ago that Shawn Marion was playing for the Heat? Not quite; a year ago he was still playing for the Heat. Now...he starts for the Mavericks.

I can't remember ever thinking to myself the night before a Heat game ‘I can't wait to see what Dorell Wright does tonight', until now that is. I'm honestly quite anxious to see how the not so youngster responds after his best game in years.

Dallas has the 10^th ranked offense in the league averaging 101.7 ppg.

The Mavs are 8-4 on the road, averaging 101.1 ppg. The Heat are 6-5 at home and give up 93.3 ppg.

Tipoff from the AAA is set for 7:30 and that place should be rockin' on a Friday night. The Heat haven't played a home game in almost 2 weeks (12 days to be exact), so the fans should have a lot of built up cheering to let out. Lets Go Heat!!

Stats blog #2: Coming home on a hot streak

DolPhanDave — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:02:47 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

D-Wade has been getting to the foul line much more frequently of late, something that bodes well for the Heat.

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Here we go with stats blog #2. The Heat have been slacking defensively but picking it up on the offensive end. They have fallen out of the top-10 in both opponents scoring (97.3) and three-point shooting percentage (34.6%) but are still ranked 6^th in field goal percentage against (44.2%). Very slowly the Heat have been getting back to doing the right things on D, and I think the use of Wade at point guard in crucial minutes, as well as the return of Quentin Richardson and the re-emergence of Dorell Wright are serious contributing factors.

Switching back to offense, a few guys have been taking it up a notch the past couple weeks so naturally we'll take a look at their numbers. The first three guys are all starters, which is very good. I'd much rather have my starters, the guys getting the majority of the minutes, to be playing the best.

DWYANE WADE

Wade is having an interesting year, to say the least. A lot of criticism has fallen on Dwyane because of how many long-range jumpers he is taking instead of just driving with the ball and getting to the foul line, which has been his bread and butter for the past several years.

Looking at his last five games the thing that I must point out is that all of these numbers are improvements over the five previous games. Wade is shooting 46% from the field, averaging 26.8 ppg and while he's only shot 71% from the foul line, he is getting to the line 12.4 times/game in the last 5 and 15.7 times/game in the last 3. Compare that to just 7.4 free-throws/game in the 5 games leading up...

The rest of his stat line is impressive as well: 6.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.4 blocks. All we can hope for is that the numbers remain steady and Wade keeps pushing.

MICHAEL BEASLEY

Beasley has been very good ever since back-to-back rough games against Oklahoma City and the Nets. Since then, Beasley has scored in double digits in 10 straight games, including two double doubles.

However, in his last five games Beas has looked even better, showing confidence with the ball in his hands and proving to be a formidable first scoring option when D-Wade is resting on the bench. His average points (18.8), field goal% (53%), free throw% (84%), rebounds (9.4) and assists (1.2) are all well above his season averages.

JERMAINE O'NEAL

Before the season began I tagged Jermaine O'Neal as the wild card for the Heat. From that standpoint, he has more then exceeded my expectations and has been a model for consistency for the Heat. The biggest knock on him from last year was the lack of rebounding, but that problem is now moot. Looking at his last six games, J-O has stayed hot from the field, shooting 55% but has struggled from the foul line. On the year his free-throw average has been 61%, but a much worse 46% of late.

His other numbers are all big improvements however, starting with his rebounding and assists. How about 11.6 rebounds/game and 2.0 assists/game to go along with 1.6 blocks/game, all higher then his season averages.

HOT HEAT SHOOTERS

In my last stats blog I mentioned that the Heat had four guys shooting over 50%. While the players are different, the statement remains the same....sort of. We'll start with the guy whose leading the pack. None other then the ‘big cat' Jamaal Magloire. That is, of course, if in order to be eligible for this honor you make the minimum amount of shots taken to be six. Magloire is 5-of-6 from the field on the season, in just three games.

Getting back to reality, Jermaine O'Neal still sits at the top of the list, shooting 56%. A nice surprise is right behind J-O, and while the sample size is small its still notable that Dorell Wright has hit 20 of his 36 shots, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. That's 56% and 60% to go with the great defense he's been opening a lot of eyes with.

Wright has always been known as a great defender, but while he's been hiding the past few seasons, he has been working extremely hard on his shot. Should he continue to hit them, you better believe that D-Wright will be stealing minutes away from James Jones and Quentin Richardson. Oh, and have you noticed the on-court chemistry between Wright and Dwyane Wade?

The final 50% shooter is none other then Mario Chalmers, who has hit 50.4% of his field goals this season. He's taken about 100 more shots then Dorell Wright, so obviously the consistency is there. The troubling thing is that Rio only takes 6.8 shots a game. When your point guard can shoot at or around 50%, it should be a priority to get him move involved in the offense.

Of course, there is only so much ball to go around. The Heat have several guys who are lethal with the ball in their hands and Chalmers isn't high on that list. Mario has to learn to get the offense going a bit quicker too; there have been too many times where I've seen the Heat just standing still on offense and not get a play going until the shot clock is in single digits.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at a couple guys who could be on the brink something big for both themselves and the Heat, as well as a pair of guys in need of a jolt.

Orlando Magic News for December 7th: Big-Time Recognition, Big-Time Upsets, and More

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:00:37 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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Orlando Magic just keeps winning
The Orlando Magic relish their underdog status--whether or not any team coming off an NBA Finals appearance can possibly consider itself an underdog is up for debate--and tend to not get as much respect as Boston, Cleveland, or the L.A. Lakers; I refer you to the third bullet in this post for Eddy's refresher. So when Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times headlines his weekly NBA column with a positive spin on the Magic, it's news.

Little noted among their "controversies," they have something special beneath [Stan] Van Gundy's lapses in nurturing: the best inside-outside game since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

[Dwight] Howard is the game's hardest matchup, so quick at 6-11, 260 that he often puts the other center on the bench with two fouls in three possessions.

There's no Kobe, but the Lakers never had seven players making 34% of their threes, with four over 40% ([Jameer] Nelson, Jason Williams, Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Redick).

There's plenty more to enjoy at the link.
The 25 Biggest Playoff Series Upsets, 1991-2009
Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference attempts to calculate the most surprising playoff upsets since 1991, using a combination of Statistical Plus-Minus and Simple Rating. The data show that the Magic should have been heavily favored--the stats gave 'em a 77.5% chance of winning!--in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals against Detroit, yet the Pistons took the series in five games. Happier news to Magic fans is where their upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals ranks.
Throwing cash into the stands
Matt Barnes' recent $20,000 fine for throwing the game ball into the Amway Arena seats after the Magic's 99-98 loss to the Miami Heat two weeks ago prompted Van Gundy to wonder if Barnes would have been better off tossing money instead. Ian Ayres of The New York Times examines the possibility in greater detail.

Actually throwing money into the stands might cause a riot. But you could imagine a team keeping some cash on hand at courtside to let players, who were about to commit a finable offense, bypass the NBA middleman and give the fine directly to some designated recipient. Instead of throwing a ball into the stands, Barnes could have ceremonially and publicly deposited cash into a courtside forfeiture drawer — with the money going to charity or to rebate part of the ticket prices.

Hat tip: TrueHoop
Most Improved NBA Player by Division
Jack Jensen of Dime Magazine names Williams the most improved player in the entire Southeast Division; Miami's Michael Beasley is the runner-up.

Jason Williams, Orlando Magic.

The Southeast division was the toughest for me to decide on—post below if you have a case for a guy—and Williams popped into my mind. Not because he has made the most improvement from his last season in the League, but because he has been just as surprising a find as anyone in the NBA this year. If only the NBA still had a Comeback POY award, White Chocolate would have to be near the top of the list. Williams is the Birdman of last year (Minus the two-year drug ban), after choosing to sit and utilize his League Pass subscription instead of playing during the 2008-09 season.

I don't believe any serious Most Improved Player discussion can omit Atlanta forward Josh Smith, who's a virtual lock for the All-Star game if he continues to play this well. Nonetheless, it's nice to see Williams get recognized for what's been a pleasantly surprising season.
Denton: Nelson Still the Starter
UPDATE: In news that should surprise no one, Van Gundy said Monday that Nelson will start at point guard once he's able to return from the knee injury that's sidelined him for the last three weeks. Williams will re-assume his backup role, and Anthony Johnson will play mop-up minutes.

Notes on two former Magic players after the jump.

Man in the Middle: A Look at Defending the Basket

Tom Haberstroh of HoopData looks at O'Neal's effect on the Cavaliers' defense.

Shaq spends more time on the bench in Cleveland so his effect on the team’s numbers should be muffled somewhat. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers have allowed about two fewer shots around the basket per game this season and their opponent field goal percentage in this zone has dipped from .577 to a league-low .550. Shaq may not offer much on the offensive end anymore but he still does a great impression of a wall.

Behind the Box Score, where the glasses aren't helping, Kiki

Kelly Dwyer says Courtney Lee might not be as great as some people make him out to be.

Also, I don't want to pick on the guy, but games like these are why people have to slow down regarding Courtney Lee. He played almost 40 minutes, and had his chances, but scored just four points while taking only five shots. Four turnovers, three assists, and five rebounds. The guy had a 10.7 PER last year at age 23, and was 24 entering this season. He's old, for a second year player, and hardly setting the world on fire (yes, I'm aware of the injuries).

This isn't to say he won't be a good rotation player and sometimes starter provided the situation is right, but this isn't the future borderline All-Star some TV guys would have you believe.

In the interest of equal time, here's Sebastian Pruiti's argument from last week that Lee has improved since last season, despite poor shooting percentages at the start of this season.

Preview: Heat at Kings

Ziller — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:16 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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THE OPPONENT

For all the worry about the toughness of this stretch (guilty!), Miami actually isn't that much better than the Kings. The Heat come in 10-9, with a points differential of -0.37 and an SRS of +0.34, 14th in the league. The Heat offense is ranked 18th, the Heat defense is ranked 18th. This has been a thoroughly average team so far.

Our Kings, of course, are 9-9, with a points differential of +0.11 and an SRS of -0.30, 15th in the league. Sacramento hosts the 6th-ranked offense and the 23rd-ranked defense. This match-up is really, really even. On paper, the Kings have the advantages: ARCO Arena is the site, and starting Heat center Jermaine O'Neal is out. O'Neal has had a bit of a renaissance season, playing 32 minutes a game, and contributing 14/8/1.2 for the Heat. His back-up is Joel Anthony, who is a great shotblocker but happens to do most other things quite poorly. Miami could also use a Udonis Haslem/Michael Beasley frontcourt, considering how strong a defender Haslem has been opposite 7-footers (like Dirk Nowitzki in the 2006 Finals, for one example) in the past. For what it's worth, Erik Spoelstra told the Miami Herald that Jamaal Magloire could get "a dose of extended action" in Sacramento. Like Anthony, Magloire is not very good these days. (The Kings have always been good at making "not very good" opposing big men look like All-Stars, of course).

The Heat are mediocre on the offensive glass and a bit above average on the defensive glass. I think the Kings can win the rebound percentages tonight. It could be a matter of hitting shots.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Dwyane Wade	19	38.4	8.7	20.7	42.2	0.9	3.8	24.7	8.3	10.9	75.5	1.1	4.2	5.2	5.8	3.3	1.8	1.2	2.6	26.7
Michael Beasley	19	31.8	5.9	13.4	44.5	0.4	1.9	21.6	2.8	3.3	85.7	2.1	4.7	6.8	0.9	1.7	0.8	0.6	2.9	15.2
Jermaine O`Neal	18	31.8	5.9	10.6	56.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	2.4	3.9	61.4	1.8	6.2	8.1	1.6	1.5	0.4	1.2	3.8	14.3
Udonis Haslem	17	29.1	4.1	9.0	45.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.1	2.9	71.4	2.6	5.2	7.8	0.9	1.1	0.3	0.4	2.2	10.3
Mario Chalmers	19	30.7	3.6	6.9	51.5	1.4	3.6	39.7	1.5	2.1	72.5	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.0	1.8	1.5	0.2	2.7	10.1
Quentin Richardson	15	28.7	3.1	6.6	46.5	1.6	3.9	41.4	0.3	0.3	80.0	0.8	4.2	5.0	1.3	1.1	0.7	0.2	2.7	8.0
Daequan Cook	12	17.6	2.0	6.7	30.0	1.2	3.7	31.8	1.2	1.3	87.5	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.1	0.7	0.3	0.2	1.0	6.3
James Jones	11	21.2	1.5	3.9	37.2	1.3	3.2	40.0	1.0	1.4	73.3	0.4	1.7	2.1	1.0	0.4	0.3	0.0	1.8	5.2
Carlos Arroyo	18	15.2	1.8	3.9	47.1	0.1	0.2	33.3	0.8	1.1	78.9	0.4	1.1	1.5	1.8	0.8	0.2	0.1	1.4	4.6
Jamaal Magloire	3	9.7	1.7	2.0	83.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.3	25.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.7	3.7
Dorell Wright	12	10.8	0.9	1.9	47.8	0.4	0.8	55.6	0.2	0.2	100.0	0.2	1.4	1.6	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.8	2.4
Joel Anthony	18	12.9	0.8	1.9	44.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.9	58.8	1.3	1.2	2.5	0.3	0.7	0.1	1.1	1.9	2.2
Shavlik Randolph	2	11.5	0.5	3.5	14.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	2.0	3.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	2.5	1.0
Yakhouba Diawara	1	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0

THE KEY BATTLE

Dwyane Wade vs. Tyreke Evans. No word on line-up adjustments from Paul Westphal -- in the backcourt, the Heat are a bit traditional with Mario Chalmers at the point. Quentin Richardson isn't terribly undersized at small forward (especially not against the Kings), and Wade creates problems for any defender or opposing offensive player. I figure that Evans and Wade will match up some, and it'd be a joy to see them go mano a mano down the stretch. Evans has to watch his dribble, or Wade will be darting the other way on repeat.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Dwyane Wade will hit the floor at some point.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Kings by 2.

DETAILS

The Sunday 6PM tip-off. KHTK 1140 AM on radio and Comcast SportsNet on TV. Game thread at 6, post-game thread at 8:45, recap blinking on a gutter.

Game #19: Miami Heat (10-9) vs. Sacramento Kings (9-9)

DolPhanDave — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:42:06 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

It's ok Jermaine, we'll see you back in the 305.

Browse more photos »

Tonight the Heat will wrap up their 4-game western road trip (which has felt more like a 2-week marathon) in Sacramento. The Heat are in danger of moving to .500 for the first time this season, and this coming after a 6-1 start. Granted, it isn't unheard of for a good team to drop 5-games over the course of a couple weeks, but still it kinda sucks.

The Kings are fresh off a road loss last night in Phoenix, in which they we're outscored by 9 in the 4^th quarter and ended up losing by 8. Sound familiar? Maybe with the road game last night the Kings will be a bit more tired then the Heat. I know that some of the Heat players were ‘relaxing' last night because around 1-2am our time I was watching Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers on ustream.com. They were just chillin', watching Hannah Montana and answering some of the ridiculous questions being asked by the 115-or so viewers. It was funny for a while but when Beasley started singing I had to go...

Starting at center tonight for the Miami Heat...Joel Anthony! Nope, not a type-o. Jermaine O'Neal had to fly to South Carolina to deal with his ongoing family emergency, which I was under the impression was a very sick relative. Either way, it will be Anthony with a side of Magloire tonight in Sac Town.

Maybe a return to local T.V. is just what the Dr. ordered for the Heat. They have been on National broadcasts the past couple games, but tonight its just Sun Sports for us. Yes...I realize that this is pretty absurd to be suggesting, but apparently there have been several ridiculous comments on this page the past few days.

GAME NOTES

Sacramento is a very tough home team, winning 4 straight at Arco Arena and holding an 8-2 home record on the season.

However, the Kings are 1-2 on the second night of back-to-backs.

More record stats! The Heat have won 10 of 12 against Sacramento, and 4 of 5 at Arco.

The Kings will be without Kevin Martin, who is still about 6 weeks away from returning from a wrist injury, and forward Francisco Garcia, also dealing with wrist problems.

Remember Andres Nocioni? He drilled four 3-pointers last night for the Kings.

Lakers-Heat Preview

DexterFishmore — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:25 -0000

The Miami Heat look like a team that's ready to get owned. They arrived in Los Angeles early this morning having absorbed an 18-point nutshot in Denver last night. When they play at Staples this evening, it'll be their sixth game in 10 days. The six opponents they'll have faced in that stretch have a combined winning percentage of 0.694. Of the Heat's last four wins, three have come by a single point, including "victories" over NBA speedbags New Orleans and, ahem, New Jersey.

Also, their opponent tonight is the Lakers, who are rested and vibing on a streak of seven straight blowouts.

Other than that, this matchup looks great for Miami.

Tonight will be the first time this year the Lakers have seen the Heat up close, but their roster isn't much different than when we all last hung out. It's still Dwyane Wade, a couple respectable supporting players, and then trash all the way down. As you'll recall, team president Pat Riley tried to poach Lamar Odom over the summer. Tried, and failed.

It feels like Wade's been in the league a decade, but he's still only 28 and he remains a stellar talent. His production this year has, however, slipped from "unbelievably awesome" to merely excellent. From last season's MVP-caliber numbers, his assist rate is down and his shooting is way down. Wade's effective field-goal percentage has fallen from 52% last year to only 45% this year.

A look at his shot-location chart at HoopData reveals the problem: Wade isn't getting to the rim nearly as much. In 2008-09 he attempted 7.5 shots at the rim per game, a rate that's dropped to 6.1 per game - still good but not otherworldly. All those layups and dunks are being replaced by midrange looks out to 15 feet, where he (like most everyone else) isn't as proficient. He's also going through a serious three-point slump, having made only 2 of 18 over the past five games. Wade has remained highly productive because he gets to the free-throw line at an insane rate and does so many other things well aside from scoring, but he's not playing like a Jordanesque talent capable of plucking a road win from the Lakers.

Miami's second option on offense is highly decorated weed aficionado Michael Beasley. The Beez can score some, but his per-game average of 15+ overstates his value because he uses so many possessions to get there. For some reason he thinks he's a three-point shooter and will jack up a couple per game. This is great news for Heat opponents because he's been hitting less than 25%.

Starting point guard Mario Chalmers and center Jermaine O'Neal are decent role-players, nothing more. Chalmers doesn't use a lot of possessions, but he's an important cog in the Miami offense. With him on the floor, they've scored 14 points more per 100 possessions than when he's on the bench. O'Neal's enjoying a modest bounce-back season, and good on him for that. He's nonetheless likely to get worked by Andrew Bynum.

(Remember when the Lakers almost traded Bynum for O'Neal? Yikes.)

O'Neal is backed up by Udonis Haslem, who has his uses, but the rest of the Heat rotation is beyond feeble. Quentin Richardson or James Jones, neither of whom should be getting minutes in the NBA, will start at small forward. Somehow they make about $12 million combined. Q Rich has played almost 400 minutes this year and attempted only one free throw, which he missed. Daequan Cook plays 18 minutes a night but still finds time to jack up 4-5 threes every game. He makes less than a third of those attempts and shoots even worse on his twos. You have to admire his self-confidence, I guess.

(Seriously, the next time you're pissed off about the Lakers' bench, go look at the numbers for some other teams. There is a lot of nastiness out there. Bad benches are the rule in the NBA, not the exception.)

Miami will have to deal with at least two other problems that jump out at me from the numbers. One is that their defense is really starting to crack. In the table below, I've listed their points allowed per possession in each of their last five games. The league average, keep in mind, is slightly less than 1.07 PPP.

Opponent	PPP Allowed
Orlando	1.09
Washington	1.08
Boston	1.06
Portland	1.15
Denver	1.24
Weighted Average	1.12

Wade and Chalmers make up a pretty good defensive backcourt, but O'Neal isn't nearly the defender he once was, and Beasley is downright awful. As we've already seen in so many games this year, Bynum and Pau Gasol are going to get a ton of excellent looks. Miami can mitigate the problem by subbing in Haslem for Beasley, but that move comes at an obvious cost on offense. Against this Lakers team, there's just nowhere to hide a bad frontcourt defender.

The other big problem is that Miami is one of the jump-shootingest teams in the league, and they're going to be playing tonight on dead legs. Thanks again to HoopData, we know they take fewer shot attempts at the rim per game than any other squad. Having played at altitude yesterday and traveled overnight, the Heat could be in for a hugely sucky shooting performance.

If absolutely everything were clicking and Wade were in vintage form, I could imagine Miami giving the Lakers a game. At the moment, thought, the conditions just aren't right - quite the opposite, in fact. This looks to me like another tasty beatdown waiting to happen.

I can think of worse ways to start the weekend.

	Lakers	Heat
*RECORD*	14-3	10-8
*NET POINTS PER GAME*	+8.1 (3rd)	-0.3 (16th)
*PACE*	98.3 (6th)	93.2 (27th)
*OFFENSIVE RATING*	104.6 (14th)	103.7 (17th)
Turnover Rate (Off.)	13.3% (11th)	13.1% (7th)
FTA/FGA (Off.)	0.26 (25th)	0.33 (9th)
Free-Throw %	74.4 (19th)	75.4 (16th)
Effective FG% (Off.)	50.4 (13th)	49.2 (20th)
True Shooting% (Off.)	53.9 (15th)	53.8 (17th)
Off Rebounding Rate	27.1% (13th)	25.0% (23rd)
*DEFENSIVE RATING*	96.6 (2nd)	101.7 (10th)
Turnover Rate (Def.)	14.6% (11th)	13.4% (17th)
FTA/FGA (Def.)	0.26 (5th)	0.32 (21st)
Effective FG% (Def.)	45.7 (1st)	48.1 (7th)
True Shooting% (Def.)	50.2 (1st)	52.6 (11th)
Def Rebounding Rate	72.6 (19th)	73.7 (13th)

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