SB Nation - Will Solomon

2001 NBA Draft Re-draft Part 2

Jon L — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

Brian Scalabrine, who developed into a rotation player in Boston, is still on the board.

It's time for part 2 of our re-examination of the 2001 NBA Draft's second round. Part 1 saw Gilbert Arenas go with the first pick (obviously), and there was some solid talent to be had, like Mehmet Okur, Jamario Moon, Bobby Simmons and Mo Evans. The Chicago Bulls are up first again, so hit the jump for the latter half of the round.

45. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Sean Lampley)

The Bulls shouldn't need a point guard after having drafted Gilbert Arenas in the first round, but they also don't need a big man. As noted earlier, Terence Morris has become a top Euroleague player, so perhaps he's worth a look in the back half of the round.

46. Minnesota Timberwolves (original pick - Loren Woods)

This was one of the drafts in which the Timberwolves forfeited a first-round pick for the luxury of employing Joe Smith. Even though he didn't work out, Woods wasn't a terrible pick here, as Minnesota's other centers were Rasho Nesterovic and Albuquerque Thunderbirds assistant Dean Garrett (and Marc Jackson for part of the year), but they also didn't really have any shooting guards. Plenty of point guards though, with Terrell Brandon, Chauncey Billups, Robert Pack and William Avery (and Felipe Lopez, kind of). There's only one shooting guard left, though, and he'd be a reach even here, and that's still plenty of guards. Eric Chenowith sounds like a less-good Loren Woods (or maybe equally good?), but there aren't any other good fits.

47. Denver Nuggets (original pick - Ousmane Cisse)

Center's a problem area for this team as well, but we're running out. Raef LaFrentz was serviceable at one time, so we'll let it go. Ousmane Cisse was probably a little too raw to enter the draft right out of high school, but he also didn't get much of a shot, being released after getting injured. He was a pretty good shot-blocker in high school, so we'll stick with this pick and give him another chance to develop.

48. Memphis Grizzlies (original pick - Antonis Fotsis)

I said I didn't hate the Grizzlies' earlier pick of Will Solomon, and he's still available. Solomon has become a decent point guard over in Europe, so the Grizzlies will take him despite having Jason Williams, Brevin Knight, and Eddie Gill.

49. Miami Heat (original pick - Ken Johnson)

The backup center position for this team was terrible, which is why they drafted Ken Johnson, I guess. Behind Alonzo Mourning stood Vladimir Stepania, Sean Marks, Ernest Brown and Chris Gatling. Jarron Collins is a stiff, but he's a hard enough worker and I don't remember Sean Marks being much better.

50. Portland Trail Blazers (original pick - Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje)

I can't remember if Rasheed Wallace or Shawn Kemp was the starting center for this team, but Boumtje-Boumtje was obviously meant to help fix that situation. Our center supply is running low, however (which is why Collins went with the last pick). Ken Johnson was second in the CBA in blocks with the Dakota Wizards and put up okay numbers in the D-League.

51. Phoenix Suns (original pick - Alton Ford)

I'm really resisting the temptation to have everyone pick the same guys they originally picked, as many of these players are becoming interchangeable. Ford lasted a few years in the NBA before heading overseas and finally landing in the D-League this year, where he averaged 9.5 points and 7 rebounds. Ford would be a decent pick here, except that Phoenix had several guys who could play forward, and this is who they ran out there at center: Jake Tsakalidis and Jake Voskuhl. Of course I say that like there are better centers available, when there are not. So, Ford it is.

52. Milwaukee Bucks (original pick - Andre Hutson)

I'm not even sure that Hutson made the Milwaukee roster that year. I've probably let Brian Scalabrine drop too far, so the Bucks will take him here. He can join Jason Caffey on the bench. Whee.

53. Utah Jazz (original pick - Jarron Collins)

Well, Collins is gone even though he was the perfect pick for Utah. There are only two centers left, so we'll flip a coin and go with Alvin Jones. Jones made the ACC All-Defensive Team all four years of his college career at Georgia Tech, and he's fourth on the conference's all-time blocks list. That sounds pretty good for Utah, and heck, given some development he might've turned out better than Jarron Collins. Don't pick Alvin! He literally went insane when he played for me up in Minot last year. Tragic situation, and I think he wants to kill me. Unless you think the Jazz will keep his NBA career alive, I beg for you to change his career - he created too many scary/awkward moments for me. kthxbai - Scott

54. Dallas Mavericks (original pick - Kenny Satterfield)

Dallas/we took a shooting guard at the end of part one on the theory that Dallas didn't need a point guard. They still don't, but point guards are mostly who's left. Bryan Bracey was considered a scoring wing coming into the draft, so Dallas should take him and left him learn from Michael Finley.

55. Sacramento Kings (original pick - Maurice Jeffers)

This was a really good team, though if we're going to quibble the backup guard could've used some work (Mateen Cleaves and Price). Kyle Hill has fought through some injury issues (like a ruptured Achilles) and become a solid scoring point guard over in the Euroleague, and he could've been fun to watch develop in Sacramento's system. More fun than Brent Price, certainly.

56. San Antonio Spurs (original pick - Robertas Javtokas)

Javtokas is actually the perfect pick for the Spurs (and no, I didn't hold him back for that reason). He's a European big man who San Antonio has let develop overseas, though they still hold his draft rights. And he has developed a bit, becoming a solid defender and rebounder, though his free throw shooting remains abysmal even though that's improved as well. Javtokas it is.

57. Philadelphia 76ers (original pick - Alvin Jones)

It's best-available-player time, which in this case might be point guard Kenny Satterfield. Philadelphia didn't really need a point guard with Eric Snow and Speedy Claxton (and Allen Iverson), but I'll be crass and say Satterfield's status as a minor streetball legend would've fit in with the Sixers of that era, but Satterfield also averaged 17 points and 6.5 assists in the D-League.

58. San Antonio Spurs (original pick - Bryan Bracey)

That leaves Mike Wilks as potentially the best player left (it's either him or Paul Shirley). Wilks has been on a lot of NBA rosters, which speaks to his effort and the fact that he has some baseline of skill. He was also an economics major at Rice, so he's definitely smart enough to play in San Antonio.

For the wrap-up, I'm tempted to rank the 2001 draft just below 2003 and 2005. Neither of those drafts had a Gilbert Arenas-level talent available (Monta Ellis hasn't produced on a consistent enough level yet), though they had a more consistent level of talent throughout. This one definitely tops 2002, though, and while an Alex Acker-type wasn't available for the final pick in 2001, the middle and back half of the draft still had (or could've had) some back-of-the-rotation potential. We'll continue on to 2000, though I hadn't planned to look beyond that year.

Big Week In Boxes For Other Bynum

Steve Weinman — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:00:09 -0000

Boxed Out: A weekly look at statistical oddities around the NBA

Out of character: Young Pistons guards doing all sorts of scoring, and Renaldo Balkman continuing to put up double-digit rebounding efforts. All that and more comes your way in this week's edition of Boxed Out.

Joel Przybilla, Monday at Memphis: 5-for-7 from the field, 13 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks

The Vanilla Gorilla has done a fine job this year handling duties at center in lieu of that large individual from Ohio State. Just another impressive line.

Mike Conley, Monday versus Portland: 8-for-14 from the field, 3-for-4 on threes, 20 points

He looks more confident since the departure of Kyle Lowry.

Renaldo Balkman, Monday versus New Jersey: 8 rebounds (6 offensive)

He is averaging 10.3 rebounds per game in March, more than half of which are coming off the offensive glass.

Will Solomon, Tuesday at Atlanta: 12 minutes, 0-for-6 from the field, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, minus-15

Bring him back!

LeBron James, Tuesday versus Orlando: 15-for-27 from the field, 4-for-7 on threes, 9-for-10 foul shooting, 43 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, 6 turnovers

Just LeBron doing LeBron things. And hitting his threes. Scary.

Will Bynum, Tuesday at Dallas: 8-for-14 from the field, 19 points, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, plus-8

We're talking about Will Bynum here. Unsurprisingly, he set a career scoring high in this game. Short-lived it would be.

Anthony Morrow, Tuesday versus LA Clippers: 8-for-12 from the field, 4-for-7 on threes, 20 points

This seems like a good time to mention that two undrafted Warriors sit atop the league in three-point shooting this season: Morrow and Kelenna Azubuike. Fun fact.

Andre Iguodala, Tuesday at LA Lakers: 1-for-7 on threes

But that one sure was big, huh?

Danny Granger, Wednesday versus Portland: 12-for-24 from the field, 5-for-9 on threes, 35 points, 10 rebounds, 0 assists

Welcome back, shooter!

Spencer Hawes, Wednesday at Charlotte: 25 minutes, 0-for-3 from the field, 2 points, 0 rebounds

Hawes is the starting center for the Kings. The rebounding issues here combined with Kings coach Kenny Natt's absurd comments after the fact really got to Tom Ziller. But hey, Rashad McCants keeps flinging! He had a smooth 30 in the Kings' billionth straight loss to the Eastern Conference.

Brook Lopez, Wednesday at New York: 23 points 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers, plus-17

Brook not only swishing but dishing as well.

Kevin Love, Wednesday at New Orleans: 23 points, 11 rebounds (4 offensive)

Just another fine showing for the rook from UCLA.

Dwight Howard, Wednesday at Milwaukee: 8-for-13 from the field, 12-for-21 foul shooting, 28 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists

Good passing night for centers around the association.

Marcin Gortat, Wednesday at Milwaukee: 15 minutes, 4-for-4 from the field, 10 points, 8 rebounds

That's great per-minute production.

Derrick Rose, Wednesday at Oklahoma City: 12-for-14 from the field, 25 points, 3 assists, 6 turnovers

Still figuring out the whole point guard deal, but he sure can play.

Thabo Sefolosha, Wednesday versus Chicago: 2-for-7 from the field, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 4 blocks

"Biggest mistake of your life, John Paxson!"

Mike Conley, Wednesday versus Denver: 10 assists, 0 turnovers

Also for the Grizz in this game, Darrell Arthur blocked five shots. All these fun box score lines still aren't buying Memphis too many wins though.

Arron Afflalo, Wednesday at Houston: 7-for-13 from the field, 4-for-6 on threes, 24 points

Another career high for a reserve Detroit guard.

Baron Davis, Wednesday versus Washington: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 20 assists, 3 turnovers

I feel obligated to report any 20-assist performance. Also, Chris Kaman went 9-for-10 from the field in this game.

Ryan Hollins, Thursday at Atlanta: 6-for-9 from the field, 13 points, 7 rebounds (6 offensive), 4 turnovers, 6 personal fouls

Making his presence known in a rare start.

Joe Smith, Thursday versus Portland: 19 minutes, 5-for-5 from the field, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers

Moving on.

Chris Bosh, Friday versus Charlotte: 19-for-20 foul shooting

The Bobcats went 11-for-13 as a team.

Gerald Wallace, Friday at Toronto: 9-for-13 from the field, 30 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, plus-17

Hat tip to my buddy Lee for pointing out an all-over-the-map night for Crash. Didn't hurt the Cats' case that Boris Diaw chipped in with 30 (15-for-21 from the field) as well.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, Friday versus Miami: 5-for-6 from the field, 7-for-7 foul shooting, 18 points

Hello, CDR!

Sacramento Kings, Friday at New York: 121 points scored, 94 points allowed (win)

Crack! Pow! Take that, Eastern Conference!

Will Bynum, Friday versus LA Clippers: 10-for-19 from the field, 22 points, 6 assists, 3 turnovers

That would be his current career scoring high.

Nick Collison, Friday versus Utah: 5-for-6 from the field, 11 points, 10 rebounds (4 offensive)

Providing a nice lift off the bench, especially as of late.

J.R. Smith, Friday versus Washington: 15-for-23 from the field, 3-for-8 on threes, 7-for-8 foul shooting, 40 points

The guy loves to shoot.

Quentin Richardson, Saturday at Orlando: 11-for-20 from the field, 9-for-10 foul shooting, 33 points

That's three more made field goals and 11 more points than the other four Knicks starters combined.

Jarrett Jack, Saturday at Charlotte: 13-for-14 from the field, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover

He went a perfect 12-for-12 from two-point land in this game.

Tyrus Thomas, Saturday versus LA Lakers: 15 points, 16 rebounds

The super-athlete is getting increasingly more productive. Also in this game, tack on another 30 points for Unstoppable John Salmons.

Stromile Swift, Saturday versus Washington: 10 points, 12 rebounds (4 offensive)

Who doesn't love blowouts?

Glen Davis, Saturday at Memphis: 8-for-11 from the field, 8-for-9 foul shooting, 24 points

Career high for Large Baby!

That does it for this week's Boxed Out. As always, feel free to shout at us with anything we missed. The Daily Babble comes your way Monday afternoon.

Catch ya on the flip side of the meridian.

When Reality Attacks

Ziller — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:41:52 -0000

We are the angry hippo.

The lions prepare to feast on the carcass they have studied from afar. Unexpectedly, we rise to the challenge, vital and fierce. Eventually, we get bored and/or scared and go show for a swim. The lions feast.

Last week, Bill Simmons wrote an excellent column about a Cavs-Clippers game in which, with the Clips leading by double digits with seven minutes left, fans at Staples Center began discussing how the home team would lose. You're a liar or a neo-romantic if you didn't have a thought or two during the fourth quarter about a potential Kings loss.

But here's what makes Kings fandom a better deal than Clippers fandom: you could also see scenarios in which the Kings would win! I mean, Kevin Martin was an absolute monster heading into the few minutes (when, not coincidentally, he retracted from Beast Status as LeBron switched onto him). The front line (especially [ahem] Jason Thompson) had a strong night, Andres Nocioni looked like his head could pop off any moment, Bobby Jackson and Will Solomon came out like Wolverine and Nightcrawler. The team played at such a high level that a win seemed not only possible, but plausible!

Or maybe I'm just one of the neo-romantics I mercilessly mock.

Final - 3.13.2009	1	2	3	4	OT 1	Total
Cleveland Cavaliers	28	32	24	32	10	126
Sacramento Kings	32	27	39	18	7	123

Complete Coverage >

* Kenny Natt, for all intents and purposes, ensured the Kings will have a new head coach next season. I'll credit two decisions, both pertaining to (you guessed it) Thompson.

Through three quarters, Thompson was a +30 in the ledger, with 19 points (on 12 FGAs), five rebounds, two assists, a block and zero turnovers. He played rather good (active, certainly) defense and very sleek offense. He had been, to that point, Sacramento's best player. He didn't get back into the game until there were 24 seconds left. A 14-point lead at the quarter break turned into a tied game during that span.
To open the second half, the Kings ran a beautiful (beautiful!) Princeton set. I'm not a fortune teller, but I'm rather certain that's a Pete Carril play. Not a Kenny Natt: Disciple of Sloan play. The play ended (after about 20 perfect passes) with a Thompson-to-Nocioni lay-up. Jason Thompson ran the high post beautifully, and the team ran the Princeton beautifully. That play was basically the only endorsement for Eddie Jordan that you should need. </soapbox>

But the key here is that Joe and Gavin Maloof saw all of this. They might be inarticulate on the radio and TV, but they aren't stupid. They saw the egregious mistake and the beautiful possibilities. The Kings will have a new coach this summer.

* Waiting for LeBron to switch onto Martin was like doing blow off railroad tracks. You know that train is coming, but there's no sense in worrying about it til it happens, right? Right <train horn> "Oh shi..."

* Speaking of which: a couple weeks ago, I asked we tone down the cursing in the game threads. Last night: 78 f-bombs in the thread. I'm frowning right now. Maybe you can't see it (I hope you can't see it, you stalker freak), but I am frowning. So (ahem): please chill on the cursing. The English language is full of so many colorful words. In fact, I'm handing out recs for non-curse colorful words going forward. Be colorful without being blue!

* Finally, Nocioni didn't stop LeBron (of course). But if you watched, you know that he gave every ounce of himself for this game. ~~Sam Amick~~ Melody Gutierrez has a great quote from Noce.

"I left my effort, my energy, everything on the floor, but it was for nothing because LeBron played really well. I tried to play physical, but he's really big. He's strong, fast. It's really frustrating for people like me to try to stop him because you cannot do it."

When you're a bad, no-good, awful team, the little things become big. Nocioni's never-quit attitude might sour Bulls fans that want their players to make the exactly correct play every time. But here in Sacramento, we'll take unbridled passion. Well done, Andres.

HtOST: McNeill On CB4 and the Class of '03

Steve Weinman — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:00:10 -0000

A Daily Babble Production: How the Other Side Thinks

With the Celtics playing a home-and-home set with the Raptors between yesterday and tonight, it seemed only fair to hit you with a double dose of insights from our favorite Raptors experts. On Saturday, Jeff checked in with Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones. This time around, we send our customary barrage of questions at Ryan McNeill, Raptors devotee and editor of Hoops Addict. Ryan is one of my favorite folks around the blogosphere, and he and I have been exchanging emails regularly about the Celtics' Atlantic Division foe since Sam Mitchell's firing a month into the season. Today, Ryan chats with us about Jose Calderon, Jermaine O'Neal and the new coaching situation in Toronto, and he makes a bold assertion about where Chris Bosh will rank in his draft class before all is said and done...

SW: You and I chatted back when Sam Mitchell was fired in the first week of December, and you indicated that though Mitchell probably wasn't deserving of the axe, he was the predictable choice as a fall guy in Toronto. A month (and a 8-13 start under Jay Triano) later, how have your feelings changed about Sam, if at all? What has changed around the team with Jay Triano at the helm?

RM: It's not that I felt Mitchell deserved to keep his job, it's that the timing of the firing was horrible. It's been since Bryan Colangelo took over that he's wanted to change coaches, he just had his hands tied because Mitchell lucked into his Coach of the Year award a couple of seasons back. After he won the award, Mitchell's contract expired, and it would have looked bad for the franchise to part ways with him. Then, last season the team tanked, but you can't fire a coach less than a year after winning that award and one year into a new deal. I think BC should have bitten the bullet last summer or stuck it out with Mitchell this season. Throwing Triano into the fire without having a training camp combined with minimal practice time is the reason for the 8-13 record.

However, with that all being said, I think Triano is the breath of fresh air this franchise desperately needed. His offensive schemes are what Colangelo likes, and the players are really responding to his coaching style. I wouldn't be surprised to see Toronto enjoy one of the best second halves in the NBA and surge into the playoffs as the sixth seed.

SW: Despite the slow start record-wise, is Triano positioning himself to have any chance to retain the job on a permanent basis? If not, who would you like to see get the nod next season, and what do you think the team will do?

RM: I think Triano has earned the respect of the front office and players despite the team's 7-12 record. While the record looks bad, the team has surged out to huge first quarter leads in most of those losses and has wilted in the fourth quarter. That's a problem the coaching staff should be able to easily address as the season goes on.

The other reason for the slow start is that Toronto's barely had any practice time since the coaching change. NBA teams rarely practice during the season due to travel schedules, and I believe one of the few times the team had a block of days where they could practice and start implementing Triano's schemes was over the Christmas break. Not to be a Triano apologist, but he needs some more time to implement his schemes before we can judge him.

If anything, the way he's revived Andrea Bargnani might just allow him to keep his job. If Toronto can play some impressive ball in the second half of the season and lock up the sixth or seventh seed, that may just be enough to remove the interim title.

SW: Jose Calderon's production looks great statistically - better than 13 points and nearly 9 assists per game plus a 63 percent true shooting mark. But are his defensive liabilities as bad as they are rumored to be?

RM: I think Calderon's hamstring issues have really hurt him this season, especially on the defensive end. Even though he's now healed from the hamstring issue, by playing through this issue he's injured his leg. While he will never make first team defensive honours, he's not as bad of a defender as some people are making him out to be.

SW: What is the ceiling for a team whose best player is Chris Bosh?

RM; Really? Are you kidding me? I think you'll find in the summer of 2010 that Bosh is the second most coveted free agent behind LeBron James. Every basketball fan south of the border knows Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but within the next few seasons, he will be known as the second best player in that draft.

SW: The JO experiment: How would you evaluate it at this point?

RM: Evaluating this deal is tricky if you just look at stats. Is O'Neal earning his pay cheque if you look at the 14.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks? No way! But if you take a step back and look at the toughness he's brought to this team, the pressure he's taken off Bosh and the defensive prowess he brings, then yes, he's worth his pay cheque.

The other aspect you need to look at is what we gave up. By giving up a back-up point guard (T.J. Ford), back-up centre (Rasho Nesterovic), 14th man (Maceo Baston) and a draft pick that would have been buried on our bench (Roy Hibbert) I don't really see any problems with this deal. O'Neal is someone who has started a ton of games for us while anchoring our defense and helping out on the boards. I think big men are at a premium, and considering what we gave up, this deal is still a gem for us.

I think the biggest part of this deal is O'Neal's contract expires in time for the free agency bonanza of 2010. With his $24 million to spend, that means we can lock in another premium addition to play alongside Bosh. Ford's deal was worth nearly $10 million and keeping him to be our sixth man would have prevented that from happening.

SW: What is the most intriguing facet about this team that fans around the league don't know?

RM: Jay Triano is the first Canadian to become a head coach in the NBA. While some may see this as a novelty act to sell tickets, he has the coaching resume to back this accomplishment up. He's been on the Raptors coaching staff for eight seasons, he coached the Canadian National team for seven seasons (during which time Steve Nash became one of his biggest fans) and the past few summers he's coached the United States select team. Triano may not be a household name south of the border, but he's one of the more respected coaches in North America.

SW: Time for a Daily Babble staple: word association. Just the first word, phrase or thought that comes to mind, please:

Andrea Bargnani: He is making Bryan Colangelo look like a genius for not giving up on him despite Raptors fans begging him to.

Kevin Garnett: defensive intensity

Air Canada Centre: a first rate hockey facility that is "borrowed" by the Raptors for games

Raptors fans: I think Toronto might be one of the few cities to boo the home team when they are down two points to New Orleans in the fourth quarter. Yes, this actually happened last month, and I'm incredibly embarrassed about it.

Will Solomon: Holly MacKenzie's favourite player.

Jamario Moon: This is the kind of glue guy teams need to win games. It's a shame fans here in Toronto don't know enough to appreciate what he brings to the table each night.

Much thanks to Ryan for taking the time to come aboard today, and good luck to the Raptors tonight. But in the meantime, label me intrigued intrigued by the comment that graced the title of today's piece. How do you feel Chris Bosh compares to the other members of the 2003 draft class?

Speed Racer a Bench Bomber

Steve Weinman — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:00:08 -0000

Boxed Out: A weekly look at statistical oddities around the NBA

The Celtics' post-Christmas won-loss record is among the subject matter that we won't be addressing in today's edition of Boxed Out. But everything else is fair game. Let's roll our way into the sports pages, or perhaps in the parlance of our times, the archive of box scores at NBA.com. Either way, time to crunch some numbers.

Kevin Martin, Monday at New Jersey: 0 starts, 11-for-21 from the field, 4-for-7 on threes, 10-for-11 foul shooting, 36 points, 4 assists, 4 boards

The second of consecutive performances (we covered the first last week) in which the man Sacto fans know affectionately as Speed Racer totaled 81 points off the bench. On stunningly good efficiency, one might add. Two nights earlier, Martin almost outscored the Kings' starting five, falling short by a 48-45 margin. He was not to be denied this time, topping the combined scoring effort of five Sacramento starters, 36-33. Sadly for Kings folk, Martin did not top the Nets, and the Kings fell, 98-90.

George Hill, Monday at Miami: 17 minutes, 4-for-4 from the field, 3-for-3 on threes, 4-for-5 foul shooting, 15 points, 7 rebounds

A lesson for me in the danger of liberally heaving adjectives around. If Kevin Martin's efficiency was stunning (which it was), I'm not quite sure what to call this. Good showing, Dead-Eye George.

Chris Bosh, Monday at Milwaukee: 12-for-14 from the field, 7-for-10 foul shooting, 31 points, 11 rebounds

Seems like we're fixated on guys who had a real easy time putting the ball in the hole this week. In the interest of balance, it seems worth noting that Will Solomon, starting in place of Jose Calderon, went 2-for-13 in this game.

Jameer Nelson, Tuesday versus Washington: 5-for-17 from the field, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers

We mention this only because it's reassuring to be reminded that Jameer Nelson is in fact still human.

Kevin Martin, Tuesday at Chicago: 1 start, 8-for-15 from the field, 2-for-4 from three, 11-for-14 foul shooting, 29 points, 1 rebound, 7 turnovers

Reinsert a guy to the starting lineup, and he just falls off the map, ya know? Or not.

Andres Nocioni, Tuesday versus Sacramento: 12 minutes, 1-for-11 from the field, 3 points, 1 rebound

If you're going to take 11 shots in 12 minutes, you're going to want to hit at least a couple of them.

Eric Gordon, Tuesday at Dallas: 46 minutes, 9-for-18 from the field, 13-of-15 foul shooting, 32 points, 6 assists

Whale of a game for a rookie playing on a shorthanded Clippers team.

David West, Tuesday at LA Lakers: 14-for-23 from the field, 12-of-13 foul shooting, 40 points, 11 boards

It's always impressive when someone rolls into the Staples Center and out-duels Kobe Bryant, albeit narrowly. Mamba settled for a measly 39 on 14-of-22 shooting. Chris Paul chipped in with a slick 32 points and 15 assists. Ultimately, if you find an encore showing of this game on television somewhere, it's worth sitting down for a few minutes. This was a good one.

Andris Biedrins, Wednesday versus LA Lakers: 6-for-8 from the field, 12 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists

Versatile dude.

Deron Williams, Wednesday versus New Orleans: 3-for-7 from the field, 8 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers

The opposing point guard went 10-for-18 for 26 points to go with 7 assists, 0 turnovers and 2 rebounds. But Deron's team won by 26.

James Posey, Friday versus LA Clippers: 6-for-8 from the field, 3-for-5 on threes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers

Miss ya.

Michael Beasley, Friday at Sacramento: 10-for-19 from the field, 23 points, 10 boards

The rook from Kansas State has battled inconsistency this year, but he looked solid in accumulating his second double-double of the week.

Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Friday versus Indiana: 27-for-43 from the field, 22-for-30 foul shooting, 77 points, 23 rebounds, 18 assists, 9 turnovers

And the Pacers managed to take this one down to the wire to lose by just two, despite the Lakers tacking on a 5-for-7 from Josh Powell.

Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz, Saturday at Utah: 9 turnovers each

This stat would be cooler if there were any individual teams in the league averaging more than 18 turnovers per game, but it's still uncommon to see two teams going an entire game in single-digit turnovers. Of course, at 35.9 percent shooting from the field, Detroit might as well have been turning it over on most possessions anyway in a 17-point loss, but we'll let that slide.

As always, please don't be bashful on filling us in on all the statistical goofiness that didn't fit in this week's edition of Boxed Out. Babble comes at ya at one o'clock Monday afternoon. See ya on the flip side of the meridian.

Toronto Raptors 108, Orlando Magic 102

Ben Q Rock — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:50:17 -0000

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic makes an open slam dunk against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, January 4th, 2008. Howard's career-high-tying 39 points weren't enough to push Orlando past Toronto, which won, 108-102.

Photo by Ron Turenne, NBAE/Getty Images

The Orlando Magic got a career-high-tying 39 points from Dwight Howard and a career-high 9 assists from Rashard Lewis, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Toronto Raptors team led by Anthony Parker's 26 points. Poor defense and execution down the stretch caused Orlando to lose for just the third time this season after winning after three quarters; the Raptors improved to 2-17 when trailing after three quarters. Talk about improbable, right?

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	89	114.6	55.9%	22.4	19.0	13.5
Raptors	89	121.3	55.9%	30.3	17.9	11.2

As frustrating as this loss was for the Magic, they should know that they won't lose too many games in this fashion. When the Magic make 15 three-pointers in a single game, they're nearly impossible to beat. But what's even more impressive is that the Raptors won despite making only 3 triples of their own, while matching the Magic in eFG%. They got their share of wide-open layups and dunks, but made several jumpers that, quite frankly, they usually miss. Parker did most of the damage, slipping by Keith Bogans and Courtney Lee on backdoor cuts. But Parker wasn't the only role-player who pestered the Magic today. Will Solomon and Roko Ukic, the Raptors' backup point guards pressed into action due to the absence of usual starter Jose Calderon, combined for 23 points (9-of-14 shooting), 11 assists, and 4 turnovers. The Magic's defense was straight-up lax today, and I don't expect they'll play this poorly again on that end anytime soon.

Apart from the horrendous defense, the other big surprise for Orlando was the fairly solid play from J.J. Redick. Bogans' ineffectiveness on both ends of the floor, coupled with some miscues by Lee, forced Stan Van Gundy to dust Redick off and play him down the stretch. Redick responded with 8 points in 18 minutes, and although he played good defense overall, he made two huge mistakes that loom large over this loss. First, he bumped Jason Kapono in the lane as Kapono lofted in a running hook. Kapono converted the three-point play on what was only his 14th free-throw attempt of the season. Later, Redick gambled for a steal on a pass intended for Parker, who grabbed the ball and hit a baseline jumper to give the Raptors a 99-98 advantage with 3:38 to play. Lewis answered with a three-pointer for Orlando, but the Raptors scored 9 of the game's next 10 points to put the Magic away.

~~For the first time in recent memory, the Magic have lost 2 straight road games~~. D'OH! The Magic lost in Detroit on Monday, but won in Chicago on Thursday. Nope, they're not on a road losing streak at all. My bad. - BQR. The timing on this one is awful, since the Magic face resurgent Washington on Tuesday before a home-and-home set against fourth-place Atlanta and a visit to San Antonio to play the perennial title-contending Spurs. The Magic need to recover defensively, and need to get Hedo Turkoglu going, if they hope to come out of those games on top. Turkoglu almost single-handedly gave the Raptors the game, committing 5 of Orlando's 12 turnovers and missing 8 of his 12 shots from the field.

I hope the Raptors relish this victory while they can, since they likely won't play this well again at any point in the season; this game will prove to be their signature win of the year. Congratulations to them. Based on pure talent, and even when they're completely healthy, they'll lose to the Magic 7 times out of 10. They put in the extra effort today and earned the victory.

Orlando Magic 103, Toronto Raptors 90

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:04:41 -0000

Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic takes a jump shot against the Toronto Raptors on November 18th, 2008. The Magic won the game, 103-90

Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports called last night's Orlando Magic/Toronto Raptors playoff rematch the NBA's "Game to pay attention to". It certainly didn't disappoint. The game was closer than the final score may indicate. The teams were knotted at 45 halfway through, the Magic only lead by 6 points heading into the 4th quarter, and the Raptors were still within 6 with two minutes to play. A three-pointer by Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu 16 seconds later ended Toronto's mini-rally. Ultimately, the Raptors' poor ball handling--24 turnovers in a 99-possession game simply will not get it done--and their inability to stop Jameer Nelson and Turkoglu from nailing perimeter jumpers cost them the game. It's a shame, too, as Chris Bosh once again lit-up the Magic for 40 points (on 14-of-19 shooting) and 18 rebounds. What a waste.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Raptors	99	90.9	45.0%	22.5	27.5	24.2
Magic	99	104.0	52.5%	22.2	19.5	17.2

Obviously, the Raptors missed point guard Jose Calderon, who sat out his second straight game with a strained hamstring. Will Solomon started in his place, and stunk up the joint with a Palacio-esque line of 10 points (5-of-13 shooting), 4 assists, and 7 turnovers. He made poor decisions all night, on both sides of the ball. On offense, he'd either throw the ball directly to Magic players or he'd get caught in midair without a shot or a pass. Defensively--and Magic television color analyst Matt Guokas pointed this out several times during the broadcast--he refused to go over screens to cover Nelson, leaving Orlando's budding star point guard open for jumpers all night. Nelson made him pay, shooting 10-of-15 for 22 points. I wasn't too impressed with Solomon's backup, 24-year-old rookie Roko Ukic, but he should have played more than 16 minutes tonight. Solomon was that bad.

The Magic started this game flat, which didn't surprise me. and let the Raptors score 26 points on 61% shooting in the first period. Bosh scored 6 and Jermaine O'Neal scored 10 of those points. O'Neal, though, got in foul trouble and was a non-factor for the rest of the game, contributing only 6 more points the rest of the way. Quite frankly, I forgot he played at all in the second half. Then again, it's hard for a player to make an impression when he can't get the ball because his point guard is busy throwing it away.

The Magic's defense--or perhaps Toronto's awful offense--kept them in the game until their own offense began to click. It took a while. Neither Dwight Howard nor Hedo Turkoglu made a field goal until more than halfway through the second quarter. It was Howard's first bucket, an awkward hook, that ignited 12-2 Orlando scoring run to tie the game at 41. The Magic had momentum heading into the locker room, even though the game was tied, and pulled away in the third quarter. Fittingly, J.J. Redick made the biggest momentum-changing shot of the game. One possession after drilling an 18-foot jumper over the prone body of Anthony Parker, who flopped on the play, Redick connected on a silky-smooth three-pointer from the left wing. That bucket bumped Orlando's lead to 60-50, blew the roof off the Amway Arena, and forced Raptors coach Sam Mitchell to burn a timeout.

Turkoglu, who was one of the NBA's leaders in fourth-quarter scoring last season, showed the same killer instinct tonight. He started the period quickly scoring 7 points on 3-of-3 shooting--all jumpers--in the first 1:42. The last shot in that sequence pushed Orlando's lead to a fairly comfortable 80-69. He added three more three-pointers later, including a back-breaker to answer Andrea Bargnani's trey on the previous Raptors possession to put Orlando ahead, 97-88, with less than two minutes to play. His overall stat line--22 points on 8-of-20 shooting--won't impress many people, but make no mistake: his fourth-quarter marksmanship likely saved the game for Orlando, which may have not withstood Bosh's 40-point outburst without it.

It seems wrong not to mention that Nelson and Turkoglu were not the only Magic players to score 22 points, a team-high. Rashard Lewis also scored 22. He is a phantom.

More thoughts on Bosh's excellence, Howard's struggles, and J.J. Redick's performance in his first career NBA start after the jump.

That Chris Bosh scored 40 points against Orlando should come as no surprise; Magic coach Stan Van Gundy predicted as much before the game. Further, of the six games in his career in which he's scored at least 40 points, three have come against the Magic. He simply has their number. I didn't keep track of his shot breakdown during the game, but it didn't seem to me that he missed any of the jumpers he took from the top of the key. ESPN'com's shot chart bailed me out by showing he went 5-of-7 from that distance. More impressively, I recall all of those looks being contested. The man is 6'10", can handle the ball, and does not miss from 18-feet even when the hand of another 6'10" man is in his face. And he's 24. Fear him.

For anyone wondering if the Magic should be concerned about Howard's second consecutive relatively pedestrian game, in which he scored 18 points (5-of-10 shooting), grabbed 9 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots before fouling out, the answer is "no." O'Neal is certainly one of the league's best post defenders, and he did a great job of keeping Howard from establishing position. In other words, Howard's struggled only because of the matchup, not because of effort, as it was against Charlotte on Sunday. He'll get it going again soon.

Curiously, I did not notice Howard and Bosh--two close friends--greet each other after the game. Perhaps someone who attended the game can correct me, but I believe Howard headed for the locker room after the game, rather than meeting Bosh at midcourt. Magic television play-by-play man David Steele noted that Howard had words with Bosh after Bosh drew his sixth foul.

Final note: J.J. was solid. He needed 9 shots to get his 10 points, but his missed were in the flow of the offense; two of them rattled in and out of the basket. Should Mickael Pietrus miss Friday's game at Indiana, Redick should once again get the starting nod. He earned it tonight, especially with his defense. His talk of working out this summer was not bluster; he really did appear quicker and stronger tonight. Anthony Parker isn't the league's toughest cover, but Redick never got burned by him. He also made a great help play when he deflected a pass intended for a wide-open Bargnani out of bounds. Overall, I was pleased with his performance.

The Orlando Magic's Point Guard Rotation: Not That Good

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:21:05 -0000

Brian Schmitz says Mike Wilks is basically a lock to make the Orlando Magic's opening-night roster as the team's third-string point guard, but will have to wait until January 10th to know if the Magic have guaranteed his contract for the full year. Here's a quote from the piece:

He has never had a guaranteed contract heading into a season, and this one marks No. 7.

"Every year I go in with a non-guarantee -- every year," Wilks said Tuesday. "I've been blessed where it's worked out every year, where I've done enough to impress the team."

The Magic's point-guard rotation is as follows:

Jameer Nelson, who has yet to play an 82-game season in his four-year career;
Anthony Johnson, a 34-year-old veteran who told the Sentinel a few weeks ago that he knows he's in trouble if he isn't in an NBA team's training camp on his birthday each year; and
Mike Wilks, who has never entered a season with a fully guaranteed deal.

Yup, I'm beginning to see why people aren't exactly high on the Magic's signal-callers this year.

Perhaps the obvious solution is to trade for a new one, like Javaris Crittenton of the Memphis Grizzlies, long connected to the Magic in trade rumors. Problem: he's not playing, even in the preseason. Chip Crain of 3 Shades of Blue tries to make sense of the situation:

Javaris Crittenton, the only remaining piece from that trade [which sent Pau Gasol to the L.A. Lakers] and the only player left with actual NBA experience, did not play [in Memphis' victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night]. That was a coaching decision by the way. He hasn't hardly played at all this pre-season. So far he has logged 21:04 total playing time in 4 pre-season games.

Yeah, something here doesn't add up. Why isn't he playing?:

It just doesn't seem likely that Crittenton would be sitting if [Grizzlies coach Marc] Iavaroni wanted him in the game. After all, Iavaroni needs to show improvement now even if the owner/GM are thinking about a three year plan. I know I would want to be playing the best I had if I was a coach on the hot seat.

So it's entirely possible that he's not any good. Hoo, boy. Well, maybe Kevin Ollie won't work out in Minnesota, although he's doing splendidly right now. Surely the Magic could do worse than sign Kevin Ollie, right?

Right?!

Man, as if I didn't already miss Keyon Dooling enough. Now I'm dreaming about signing Kevin Ollie to be the Magic's third-string point guard. Kevin Ollie!

But as unenviable as the Magic's point guard situation is, it could be worse: it could be the Toronto Raptors'. The team Orlando eliminated in the first-round of the 2008 playoffs has an All-Star-caliber starter in Jose Calderon... and that's where the good news ends. His backups are the veteran retread Will Solomon (who played his rookie season with Memphis before falling off the face of the earth) and the rookie Roko Ukic. Yet despite that, some people think the Raptors' addition of Jermaine O'Neal will be enough to help them surpass the Magic (and a few other teams) in the Eastern Conference pecking order. So maybe we could just forget this whole sound and fury about point guards. But you'll have to forgive me for being a bit worried.

Previewing the Atlantic Division: Toronto Raptors Edition

Jim Weeks — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:00:07 -0000

I started this series last week with the 76ers and Knicks. The Nets are on deck. And my Celtics preview will run October 1st as part of a comprehensive blogger preview initiative. Things are starting to get interesting again...

2008 Record: 41-41

Playoffs?: Eliminated in 5 games by Orlando Detroit in the First Round.

2008 Record Vs. the Celtics: 1-3 - Two of those games stand out:

1. After the C's rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the season series the Raptors got white hot in the final match up of the season. They shot 58% (40-69) from the field, 71.4% (15-21) from beyond the arc, and 100% (19-19) from the line. Keep in mind the Celtics played phenomenal defense. And the game was in Boston no less.

2. On the flip side their initial match up went Boston's way. It was not a particularly well played game and Comcast's coverage cut out during overtime. Still Ray Allen's game winning shot (see below - "KNOCKS IT DOWN!) was one of those early moments that made me think, "Maybe this year will be different."

Ray Allen hits the game winner! (via NBA)

Departures: Maceo Baston, Primoz Brezec, Carlos Delfino, Juan Dixon, T.J. Ford, Jorge Garbajosa, Kris Humphries [Green Bandwagon Note - Humphries is still with the Raptors. My mistake. Thanks for the e-mail.], Linton Johnson, Darrick Martin, Rasho Nesterovic

Additions: Hassan Adams, Nathan Jawai, Willie Solomon, Roko Ukic

Key Story Heading into Camp: The collective health of the Toronto Raptors. Though not exactly the Washington Wizards when it comes to health, or lack thereof, the Raptors missed their fair share of games last season. Jorge Garbajosa only managed to play in 7, Chris Bosh sat out 15, and T.J. Ford missed 31. Of course the fact that Jose Calderon took his rightful place atop the point guard depth chart and Ford departed, along with the injury cloud that hung over him, has to help Toronto. Finally, much like the Celtics in 2008, the Raptors could have some roster flexibility during the season. As far as I can tell they've only inked 13 players to contracts.

X-Factor: 44, 51, 69, 42. Those numbers represent how many games Jermaine O'Neal played in during his last 4 seasons in Indiana. I wouldn't expect him to play 82 games, mainly because in 12 seasons he never has. And maybe that's the key. The Raptors organization and its fan base should go into the 2009 season with realistic expectations. At the same time popular opinion seems to have written him off so much that he's probably capable of more than a lot of people realize. And it was not that long ago (2007) that O'Neal was a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

View From the The Other Side: I caught up with Scott from Raptor Blog and asked what fans around the NBA had to know about Toronto. His response:

"When it comes to the Raptors, most NBA fans are focusing on whether or not Jermaine O'Neal can stay healthy and give Chris Bosh some help on post defense. But don't sleep on Jose Calderon's new, well-earned, full-time starting PG role. He's developed into one of the most dangerous point guards in the East." - Scott from Raptor Blog

Random Points of Information: Regular readers of Green Bandwagon know that I'm a Jorge Garbajosa fan. Unfortunately Garbajosa has not looked right since breaking his leg against the Celtics back in the spring of '07. He was a shadow of his former self during the recent Olympics. Of course in order to play in said Olympics Garbajosa had to end his Raptors career. At this point (he turns 31 in December) you have to wonder if he'll ever be full strength again.

In other news, my old nemesis (long story), Chuck Swirsky, is no longer with Toronto. In hindsight the story really isn't that long. But I don't feel like linking to an old post where I praise Gerald Green's future. I've been open about how wrong I was about Green. We don't need to keep reliving it.