SB Nation User Blog: Stop-n-Pop

Love leads the Vegas summer league in rebounding with a 15 a game and is seventh in scoring (20.7...

Stop-n-Pop — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:51:05 -0000

Love leads the Vegas summer league in rebounding with a 15 a game and is seventh in scoring (20.7 PPG, 45.1 percent) shooting entering tonight’s game against Milwaukee. He did not play most of the second half against the Bucks because of soreness in his right Achilles tendon, a precautionary move to keep him healthy when he joins the select team today. He will not expected to play in today’s summer-league finale against New York.

From Zgoda at the Strib

News Flash: Local Radio Host Says Something Insanely Stupid (about the Lynx)

Stop-n-Pop — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:53:09 -0000

From KSTP:

Some basketball fans and parents are upset by on-air comments by a local radio host.

Thursday morning, radio show host Chris Baker made a controversial statement about the Women’s National Basketball Association.

The topic of Thursday's show on 100.3 KTLK was about things that never lived up to their hype.

But when one caller suggested the WNBA, some say Baker’s response went too far.

"You know what [the WBNA] is? That's a place for lesbians to make out when they score," Baker said.

I'm not going to call for the head of someone who is paid to make ridiculous comments about things he doesn't know a lot about, but as someone who doesn't listen to KTLK or other right-wing radio outlets, it will never cease to amaze me that aside from the offensive nature of these sorts of comments, anyone would find this sort of thing funny.

It's one thing to be offensive and funny. I get the appeal in something like that. It's quite another to be...well, this stupid and unfunny.

This is almost as silly as when Pat Reusseeeeee called women's basketball "synchronized tip-toeing".

Boy, who would imagine that fat male commentators could have issues with athletic women?

Here's a little bit about Baker in his own words:

I am an independent conservative with 3 small children and a wife who I love more than anything I could have ever imagine.

Politically I don't see one qualified person running for the office of President nor do I think that it matters at this point. I see politicians as nothing more than puppets and gangsters and that is regardless of party. Mexico owns this election.

Are you ready for the punchline?

The candidates I supported were Fred Thompson and Ron Paul.

He then gets philosophical:

I believe in the concept of the individual. We are all individuals to start and we join groups as we grow but it is the concept and acknowledgment that we are individuals that is supposed to keep us on the right path. When our group goes down the wrong path then it is up to us as individuals to make a decision as an individual to leave the group and walk a path of righteousness.

He's not just about obtuse personal codes of conduct; he's thinks real hard about current events:

I believe in killing terrorist before they kill someone I love.

...

Global warming is a scam. Anyone who thinks that we can control nature is delusional.

You don't even need to dig all that deep to see that he may...just may...have a little issue with women (and gay people):

I don't exactly know who "CJ" is but it has to be a great job sniffing around celebrities and writing about it.

CJ must be a woman because any guy who thinks he's entitled to start lecturing a football legend about drinking a free beer would be risking his life. How shocking; PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEGEND IS GIVEN FREE BEER AT RESTAURANT OPENING! Alert Larry King!

Carl Eller is a real man and real men do what they want and it's nobody's business until and if he breaks the law. If CJ were a guy he'd still be in the emergency room trying to have his head removed from his a$$.

Other great stories CJ could break;

Gov.Tim Pawlenty; boxers or briefs?

Are their any straight weathermen on TV?

The sad thing about this entire story is that some local news outlet will ask the Lynx to comment on this idiot's take on something he doesn't appear to know anything about. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; it looks like he makes his entire living by making stupid comments about things he doesn't appear to know anything about.

Here's my suggestion as to how to handle this situation: everyone should take the time to visit Chris Baker's KTLK web page. Download one of his podcasts, pop it in your car, and drive on down to the Target Center to catch a Lynx game. It will take all of about 2 minutes in the 1st quarter for you to realize which entertainment option is actually worth your while.

You can buy Lynx tickets here. You can get Chris Baker's ridiculous commentary for free here. It's a tough choice, I know. World class athletes playing a game of precision skill and agility or social commentary that you can find at the end of a bar in your local pub or on the rear bumper of a rusty old 57 GMC pick up truck with a gun rack.

Hat tip to Jerry Jeff's version of the song:

The Wolves have agreed to terms with restricted free-agent Craig Smith on a two-year contract and...

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:57:30 -0000

The Wolves have agreed to terms with restricted free-agent Craig Smith on a two-year contract and the third-year forward is expected to join the franchise's summer-league team in Las Vegas today.

Smith averaged 9.4 points on 56.3 percent shooting and 4.6 rebounds in 77 games (including 11 starts) last season. He scored a career-high 36 points in a game at Washington last December.

From the Strib

Florida Shooters

Stop-n-Pop — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:12:29 -0000

As mentioned in my last post on the subject, I think Memphis and Minny are connected at the hip: from the coin flip to the trade to the marketing importance of off-court racial demographics, the two teams have a lot in common.

Anywho, aside from giving serious thought to having the Grizz replace the Spurs as my 2nd favorite team in the league (sorry folks, I spent a large chunk of KG's time in Minny as a Texan), the Grizz are blessed with some excellent blogs; namely, 3 Shades of Blue and Beyond the Arc. I have both in my daily reader.

Getting around to the main point of this post, Beyond the Arc recently posted an interesting nugget as far as Wolves fans are concerned:

I had a chance to talk to Conley for a few minutes after practice. He talked about working with new assistant coach Kevin O’Neill, who traveled to work with Conley at Ohio State earlier this summer. Conley laughed when he described O’Neill as “very intense” and someone who “picks up on every mistake.” He did say that O’Neill is spearheading a more aggressive but more conventional defensive approach, picking up opponents full court and now forcing opponents to the baseline instead of to the middle, which was the approach last season. Conley allowed that this change in approach was probably more intuitive, because that’s the way he was coached dating back to high school.

Conley was sporting a blue “Let It Fly” wristband he said was given to him by Mike Miller after his shooting improved last season. “I’m keeping the memory of Mike alive,” he said.

Talking about his shooting, Conley said he was trying to build on his strong late-season play from his rookie year and had been corresponding with shooting coach Mark Price, with whom he hopes to meet in Atlanta before the season starts.

It would be interesting to know how much Miller worked with Conley on his shot. I'm hoping that he did and that his coaching (and confidence) will help out the Wolves' very own man-without-a-jumper, Corey Brewer.

PS: Can the Wolves get a frickin' defensive specialist coach of their own?

It's Only Practice, but...

Stop-n-Pop — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:40:38 -0000

The 1st Summer League game is in the books and while we're all aware that it's just a practice game, there are a few things to take note of:

Kevin Love is going to be able to rebound in the league. No matter what happens with the rest of his game, he's going to grab a lot of rebounds on the basis of his strength, positioning, and grit. He had 13 (5 offensive) in his debut.
The Wolves may have assembled one of the worst Summer League teams in league history. The Mavs were bringing players like Shan Foster and Derrick Low off the bench. The Wolves had a few former Gophers and...well, it was ugly and the Mavs won on the strength of their bench.
Pooh Jeter, Blake Ahern, and Drew Neitzel are not the droids the Wolves are looking for at the backup point. Here's hoping there's a Plan B to backup Foye.
It was very nice to see Kevin Love make in-game adjustments. He had a terrible 1st quarter where he didn't seem capable of shuffling his feet side to side and he picked up 4 quick fouls. After the 1st, he settled down, moved a ton without the ball, hit the boards hard, and was quite effective. You could see by the end of the game that the points knew they could get the ball at 1/2 court anytime Love got a rebound or threw the outlet pass. He also is going to make his living on the pick and roll with real players like Foye, Miller, and McCants around him. It's too bad the other players on the team didn't seem capable of moving without the ball so that he could highlight his interior passing ability. Seriously, there was a lot of standing around going on outside of Love. It's pretty obvious when you watch someone who knows how to play surrounded by those who don't.
Corey Brewer made a number of fantastic moves to get open last night. Of course, he followed up on these moves with equally un-fantastic moves right back into the teeth of the defense. Brewer seemed hell bent on taking the path of most resistance to the hoop. There were several drives where he found himself in space and instead of elevating for the shot, he kept on spinning and driving towards the backboard. It was nice to see him aggressive and I doubt that we'll ever see him create a bunch of his own shots, but...well, here's hoping that he was having the same issues with the surrounding talent level as was Love.
Getting back to the awfulness of the Wolves' team, I don't think they have a single scorer or backcourt playmaker on their entire squad.
Did I mention that the Wolves have assembled a terrible SL squad?
It was nice to see Dwayne Casey at the head of a bench again.
Cupcake didn't get to play.
Things to look for in the next game:
- Will Love pick up early fouls?
- Will Brewer play more under control?
- Will Love look for his shot a bit more with zero talent around him?
- Will Carney play?
- Which over-matched guard will figure out that running the pick and roll/pop with Love is probably the best way to make the team?

That's about it. What were your final thoughts on the meaningless game?

Summer League Fun and the Minny/Memphis Bond

Stop-n-Pop — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:02:50 -0000

For all of the marketing that the NBA likes to run with, you'd think they would have figured out a way to get a Love v. Mayo matchup during this week's festivities. Maybe if the 2 players would have already been signed to the same shoe company there would have been a bit of a push behind that idea, but...

The Wolves schedule this week is as follows (all times are CST):

Monday @ 9:30 vs. Dallas
Wednesday @ 7:30 vs. LAL
Thursday @ 9:00 vs. Portland
Saturday @ 7:30 vs. Milwaukee
Sunday @ 3:00 vs. New York

This is kind of a rotten draw for the Wolves as far as seeing exciting young players goes. Instead of the Lakers, and Mavs, it would have been nice to get a peak at the Clips and Memphis. Joe Alexander, Jerryd Bayless, and Danilo Gallinari will be the main draws in the last 3 games, but Dallas and the Lakers? Please.

For all the talk about Portland being the young team of the future (I don't think they will be, but that's the subject of another post), the Grizz are the Wolves' biggest and most direct competition and it would have been nice to see the two teams square off after the trade.

Speaking of Memphis, I just got back from a visit to one of my favorite cities in the world and the general feeling about the trade is one of excitement. After talking to a few friends who live there, there are two main reasons for this feeling: first, say what you will about Mayo, but the hype was large enough to draw interest from casual fans. Second, Memphis is a predominantly black city and fans in the wonderful southern city on the river will have as relatively an easy time relating to Mr. Mayo as fans in the wonderful northern city on the river will have to Mr. Love. I obviously don't think this is why the trade was made, but it is a fortunate demographic byproduct as far as marketing and fan interest is concerned. Unfortunately, there are certain elements at work in the wonderful northern city on the river that like to associate words like "character" and "JR Rider" with the deal between 2 franchises in 2 highly underrated cities that involved 2 highly professional young players (there are probably just as many of these feelings in Memphis: "we don't need another soft white guy" was a position taken by a few of my cohorts). Actually, this sort of transformation goes deeper than Love and Mayo; Minny and Memphis did a 2 for 2 on draft night: Miller and Love for Mayo and Arthur. From this very narrow perspective, and leaving basketball talent completely aside, both franchises won a marketing victory on draft night.

I suppose there is something cosmically wrong and sad with finding positives in the fact that a white player is more marketable in Minny and a black one in Memphis (and vice versa), but without the Rodney King can't-we-all-just-get-along kumbaya campfire philosophy, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the admission that it is easier to relate to the man in the mirror than the one you only see on TV or from afar. Will there be a segment of this demographic that harbors feelings of racial ill-will in their attachment to Mayo and/or Love? Of course. Some of it will be overt and some of it...well, feelings about race are so ingrained in each and every one of us that we may not even know (or are capable of processing) what is going on in our heads when it comes to certain matters involving black and white. A tumor is a tumor even if it's benign.

I'd like to say that the trade and its fallout could be viewed simply in terms of performance on the court, but as anyone who has ever played a game in the park can tell you, basketball is one of the few places where race is out in the open. You can't separate the two...nor should you.

Anywho, I think the Love/Mayo trade is a fascinating one on many levels. I've already been very clear with my thoughts regarding the pure on-court aspect of the deal (it's highway robbery), and I will continue to follow whatever memes continue to spin out of its wake. Getting back to the Summer League, let me close with a few thoughts from the games I have been able to catch:

Eric Gordon is going to have a tough time making it in this league. He's a perimeter player who needs iso-plays to get his j off. He's not a point and he's not really that good in small spaces. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see it at all.
Anthony Randolph is skinny.
OJ Mayo got the buzz on Friday night, but Crittendon and Conley were very composed. I don't think Memphis is going to move Lowry. They can run a Conley, Mayo, Gay, Crittendon, Lowry rotation at the 1/2/3 (Crittendon seems big enough to help at the 3) and put a lot of pressure on opposing perimeter defenses while Arthur (draft-day steal) and Gasol patrol the interior.
Why are the Lakers and Mavs playing in this league?

Well, that's about it for now. Until later.

Surely there must be something else...

Stop-n-Pop — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:51:18 -0000

As you most likely already know, it has been reported that the Wolves have moved a trade exception and a future 2nd round pick to Philly for Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth, and a future 1st that is believed to be the pick owed to the 76ers by the Utah Jazz.

While I'm a big fan of accumulating additional 1st round picks, I'm not sure this trade is a good deal unless the Wolves can move some of their assets for a backup (or starting) point guard. Keeping Carney on the squad simply doesn't make a lot of sense.

	Age	PER	PPR	usgR	FT/FG	eFG	ORtg	DRtg	RebR
Rodney Carney	23	12.26	-1.2	18.5	14	45.2	103	107	8.5
Gerald Green	22	7.9	-3.62	25.1	28	39.4	87	112	5.2
Kirk Snyder	24	13.50	-1.2	15.9	34	52.1	106	111	9.6

These are some basic efficiency stats for 3 players the Wolves had their hands on in the past year for very, very, very few dollars. First off, good ol' Cupcake sucks. He sucks in just about every way imaginable. His replacement, Mr. Snyder, was significantly better; he got to the line, carried a 50+ eFG, and his ORtg/DRtg +/- was far less horrifying than Cupcake's. Carney had below average stats for Philly. His PER was below Snyder's, he didn't get to the line as much as an athletic 6'6" wing should, he didn't shoot the ball well, and he's not that great of a rebounder. Basically, the Wolves had a slightly advanced version of Carney already on the roster. An additional 1st rounder is nice, but...

One of the most interesting things to note about Carney's game is that 52% of his shots in his senior year in college were from beyond the arc. He made 39.1% of these treys. In his freshman year, the ratio was 55/36.3; sophomore was 51/37.1; and junior was 45/32.5. During this time of massive 3 point jacking, he carried a FTRate (FT/100 FGA) of 28, 22, 27, and 26. Upon reaching the NBA, not only did his percentage of 3s decrease by a massive amount (18% in his 1st year; 31% in year 2), but his 3FG% and FTRate did so as well. Is it any wonder that a guy who can't get to the line or shoot the 3 struggles to be an average or above average player in the Association?

Let's imagine for a moment that the Wolves will keep Carney on the roster. Where will he play? What will happen to Ryan Gomes? Who will play backup point? Who will give spot starts at the point should something happen to Randy Foye? Here's how the roster looks right now:

Foye
McCants, Brewer
Miller, Carney
Love, Cardinal
Jefferson, Collins, Madsen

Unsigned: Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Chris Richard, and Craig Smith. (I know that I'm not including Booth in this equation, nor will I as he's terrible.)

Additional 1st round picks are nice, but the only way this trade makes sense is if the Wovles can move some assets for a point guard. Otherwise...well, I have no idea what this trade accomplishes outside of that context. Carney is a very average player who seems to be a cross between 2 players the Wolves already had and let go. It's hard to get too worked up about Cupcake-esque athleticism with Snyder-esque numbers. He may play better d than either Cupcake or Snyder, but...I just don't get this trade if they don't make any more moves.

Philadelphia 76ers forwards Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth and a future No. 1 pick have been traded ...

Stop-n-Pop — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:24:30 -0000

Philadelphia 76ers forwards Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth and a future No. 1 pick have been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves to free as much as $2 million in additional salary cap space for the Sixers to offer Elton Brand or Josh Smith, multiple league sources said.

Minnesota sends Philadelphia its $2.8 million trade exception from a 2007 deal of Mark Blount to the Miami Heat.

Carney and Booth have been told of the deal, sources said. The deal can’t be finalized until the NBA trade moratorium is lifted on Wednesday.

From Yahoo Sports

More to follow.

Free Agent List

Stop-n-Pop — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:00:53 -0000

ESPN has a list up of 2009 and 2010 free agents. You can read it here. Here are some of the names of interest:

Restricted FA:

Luis Scola
Jordan Farmar
Rudy Gay
LaMarcus Aldridge
Brandon Roy
Ronnie Brewer

Unrestricted FA:

Joe Johnson
Josh Howard (T)
Dirk Nowitzki (ETO)
Marcus Camby
TJ Ford
Darko Milicic
D Wade (P)
Tyson Chandler (ETO)
Steve Nash
Shaquille O'Neal
Amare Stoudemire (ETO)
Manu
Chris Bosh (P)

Again, please click on the above link to read the full list.

Centrisity

Stop-n-Pop — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:55:52 -0000

To borrow a term from local blogger Flash, let's take a look at a few numbers of players that Al Jefferson is often cited as having trouble with at the defensive end of the court. The reason for doing this is to build on my post from earlier in the week that talked about playing Al at the 5.

	Off eff	Def eff	Net 48 eff	min	PER diff	iFG	efg	net FTA
Jefferson 4	88.0	97.2	-9.2	3%	+9.8	even	47	+2.1
Jefferson 5	95.6	104.6	-9.0	69%	+4.8	-8%	50	+1.1
Howard 4
Howard 5	107.4	100	+7.4	78%	+11.2	+37%	48	+9.1
Amare 4	112.5	104.5	+8.0	15%	+8.7	+5%	56	+8.4
Amare 5	113.6	106.1	+7.5	52%	+9.7	-6%	60	+6.7
Chandler 4	99.4	87.9	+11.4	4%	+7	+46%	49	+2.3
Chandler 5	102.5	95.4	+7.1	66%	+1	+34%	54	+1.4

Before I continue, let me just point out the absurdity of arguing that Jefferson is more suited for the 4 because of his PER positional court time numbers. By the same logic exhibited in the post at the above link, New Orleans fans should be clammoring for Tyson Chandler to play the 4. His sample size is essentially the same as Big Al's and he has about the same differential between PER as does everybody's favorite T-Wolf. Somehow, the Hornets survive with Chandler playing at his "unnatural" position.

Let's continue to take a look at the numbers of these players:

	% of iFG	% of assisted iFG
Jefferson	47	51
Howard	84	68
Amare	47	74
Chandler	84	63

One of the things that jumps out with these numbers is the off/def +/- numbers of Jefferson compared to the other players. He carries large negative numbers that would make him seem like an inferior player. However, when you take into account that the Wolves carry a -8.5 stat as a team (compared to +6.6, +6.5, and +6.5 of the other teams), he perfoms about as well as can be expected on a 22 win team with the 27th worst offense and defense in the league.

What you will also notice about these numbers is that Jefferson is able to get his own on a level unmatched by the other players. Part of this has to do with the fact that 2 of these players (Amare and Chandler) play with top flight point guards who can get them the ball in a position to score inside. What the numbers also say is that Jefferson is a more effective offensive player at the 5. The reason for this is that when Jefferson plays at the 5, he takes more shots inside the paint: 55% of his shots are iFGs. When he plays at the 4, only 43% of his shots are iFGs. This is an important stat because when Jefferson shoots from the inside, he carries a 64% eFG. When he shoots jumpers, he only nets a 37% eFG. In other words, the man needs to be kept as close to the low block as possible. By playing the 4 (and granted, this is with a very small sample size), Jefferson may make some defensive gains, but he does so at the expense of his greatest asset: his inside scoring ability. I'll ask it again: How can a 22 win team ask its best player to abandon his best position?

Hitting on this point a little more, Jefferson carried a slightly better net efficiency gain at the 5 compared to the 4. He maintained the same point differential at the 5 as he did at the 4 but he lost a bit with rebounding and FTAs. What does this suggest? If you look at his overall efficiency marks, as well as the team's, it suggests that Al plays better man on man defense at the 5 but it may come at the expense of team d. Where this gets tricky is that his offense is so much more efficient at the 5, that he makes up for any loss in team d by an overall net gain in efficiency. Ultimately, much of his lack of success is tied direcly to the general lack of success of his team. Quite simply, the Wolves sucked.

Moving forward, the best parts of Jefferson's game are geared to the offensive end of the 5: he's a dominant low post scorer who isn't that great of a jump shooter. When he plays the 4, his game is significantly altered to the point that he takes more jumpers and less shots inside the lane. While he gives up a lot more points/100 possessions at the 5, he also scores a lot more and he does so in a more efficient fashion. It is unlikely that he will develop into a dominant man-on-man defender like Howard, or a dominant help defender like Chandler, but it is equally unlikely that either of these players will develop into a dominant low post scorer like Jefferson. Should Jefferson ever be blessed with a lead guard who can get him the ball to the tune of 70-80% of what Steve Nash and Chris Paul do for Amare and Chandler, or should he ever be blessed with a second low post option that would allow him to focus on the low block, his numbers (as well as the team's) should dramatically increase. Here's hoping that Mr. Love can give Big Al what he needs with regards to the latter.

UPDATE: I want to highlight something I said to Wim in the comments. Here's what I think the Jefferson 4/5 debate boils down to:

Do you try to maximize his offensive efficiency or do you try to minimize his defensive inefficiency?

That's pretty much it. I admit there is a certain amount of semantics involved in deciding if he's better off at the 4 or the 5, but this question gets to the heart of the matter. Do you surround him with a defensive-minded frontcourt player or with one that can insure he stays in the low block and does what he does best?